n

n

n

n

n

nThe few of them sat around in the study room and looked at one another in silence.

n

n“How can we send her away?” Xia He said as she looked at Xia Zhe helplessly.

n

n“We can’t really find an officer for her to marry, right? When you first came back, didn’t you say that you can only bring her home when you find someone to marry her?” Xia Fang said.

n

n“Ask Kong Lu to come and take her away,” Xia Zhe said expressionlessly.

n

n“It’s not enough to just ask him to come. He must pay for all the damages done to this house before taking her away,” Qiao Mei said.

n

nFrom her quick cleanup session just now, she found out that two stools in the living room had been damaged and could not be used anymore. There were also a few glasses and bowls on the coffee table that had been shattered.

n

nIn addition, if there was any damage to that set of jewelry, she also wanted them to compensate for it.

n

n“It would be best if he would come,” Xia He said with a sigh.

n

nShe had already forgotten when she last saw Kong Lu. It was probably more than half a year ago.

n

n“Aunt, put all your valuable things at my house first. I’ll help you to replace whatever you need after Kong Li leaves,” Qiao Mei said to Xia Fang.

n

nXia Fang nodded, then she turned to look at Xia He and said, “During this period of time, come with me to live in the house in the neighboring apartment complex. The military had allocated that house to your uncle for his family to live in.”

n

n“But she can’t be allowed to live in this house alone. Who knows what else she might do,” Xia He said with a frown.

n

n“Why don’t you all come to my house? It’s not far from the hospital where Aunt worked and it’s also easy for you to go to work from there,” Qiao Mei said.

n

n“Never mind, let Aunt stay with you. I should watch over her in this house. Otherwise, it would be disastrous if she really did something nasty,” Xia He said as she shook her head.

n

n“I’m going to stay in the house allocated to your uncle. You don’t have to worry about me. That house is also not far from the hospital,” Xia Fang said.

n

nHearing what Xia He said, Qiao Mei had no choice but to ask her to take good care of herself.

n

nXia Zhe and Qiao Mei only managed to reach home late at night. As soon as they entered their courtyard, they could hear the Cao family next door starting to dig again. The sounds were very faint, but could still be heard clearly.

n

n“I’m amazed that they don’t find it tiring at all. They have to go to work during the day and then come over to dig up the house at night. Then, they have to return it to its original state in the morning. The way they do it, they won’t be able to do much even if they dig till the cows come home,” Qiao Mei said mockingly.

n

n“I couldn’t care less about them. Let’s eat first,” Xia Zhe said.

n

n“Eat? What are we eating?” Qiao Mei asked curiously.

n

n“I’ll cook today. You can just take a rest,” Xia Zhe said.

n

nSeeing how enthusiastic Xia Zhe was, Qiao Mei did not want to discourage him. However, when she thought about how he had turned the potatoes into small potato chunks the other day, she felt that the meal today was fraught with grim possibilities.

n

n“Alright, go ahead then. I’ll just wait to eat,” Qiao Mei said.

n

nAfter Xia Zhe left, Qiao Mei stood under the cherry tree and looked around.

n

nAlthough this cherry tree was still alive, it was not growing well nor in a good condition. Qiao Mei felt that it would definitely be able to grow better if she exchanged some energy with it. Furthermore, if she helped to spread its roots underneath the entire house, it would also make it easier for her to investigate the matter of the treasure.

n

nOtherwise, if too many vines started appearing out of thin air in the entire courtyard, it would also arouse suspicion.

n

nBy now, Qiao Mei could already communicate with plants silently. She could achieve her desired goal just by communicating through her consciousness without making any physical contact.

n

nThe only difference was that when Qiao Mei communicated with the plants using her consciousness, the plants’ speed of growth might only be around double the original speed. If she touched them, the speed of growth could reach up to ten or even twenty times the original speed.

n

nQiao Mei gently touched the tree trunk, causing its roots to grow rapidly. Over the past few days, Qiao Mei had taken a long rest and recovered her energy.

n

nThe cherry tree’s roots grew quickly. Before long, they bumped into a box underground. It was a big box that was buried directly under its main trunk.

n

nQiao Mei immediately understood why this cherry tree had not grown properly for so many years.

n

n