Uncle Nine, where are you running to?

Tonight, some people slept soundly, while others couldn't fall asleep the whole night. It was not until dawn that Erdi took a nap.

The small bed outside suddenly creaked, scaring him so much that his sleepy eyelids opened instantly, his eyes widened like bells, his body tensed under the quilt, and his hands on his abdomen suddenly grabbed the quilt tightly.

The sunlight outside shone a little into the room through the bamboo walls, making the screen seem translucent. His eyes fell on her back for some reason.

She sat up.

She put on her shoes.

She, she’s coming?! !

Oh...she walked out.

Erdi felt mixed emotions at this moment, her mind was in a mess, and she couldn't figure out anything after trying to think about it for half the night.

He hadn't slept all night and his head felt a little dizzy. He was so angry that he kicked the quilt and sat up with a squeak.

"Boss Liang, are you awake so early?" A young man heard the voice and turned to look in his direction.

"..."

Erdi felt inexplicably embarrassed and lay back down silently.

Just when the young man thought he had fallen asleep again, Erdi walked out from behind the screen with a dark face, one hand behind her back and the other holding an empty little teapot.

When she passed by him, Erdi let out a low "hmm" from her throat.

The young man was lying on the bed, but his head involuntarily followed the white figure.

Boss Liang...didn't sleep well and is feeling grumpy when he woke up?

Also, his lips seem a little red today. Doesn’t he look like he didn’t sleep well?

……

Erdi walked into the dining room carrying a small teapot and ran into Aunt Zhou who had gotten up early to cook.

"Boss Liang? You're up so early? I just started cooking. How about you sit and wait for a while?"

Erdi raised the teapot in her hand to signal:

"No, do you have hot water? I'll make a pot of tea."

Aunt Zhou wiped her wet hands on her apron and looked at the familiar little teapot with a puzzled look:

"Jingzhi didn't make it for you? Didn't she say before that she bought some new tea leaves and wanted to give you some to try?"

"..."

Erdi looked at Aunt Zhou's teasing eyes and felt the blood rushing to her face. She rubbed her fingers against the cold body of the purple clay teapot, feeling inexplicably melancholy.

Seeing him standing there, not saying a word, just staring at the teapot in deep thought, Aunt Zhou didn't know what she was thinking about, and suddenly smiled awkwardly:

"There's hot water, I'll get it for you."

Erdi turned around and walked out again, with her back to him, she straightened her waist and said:

"no need."

It won’t kill you if you don’t drink tea in the morning.

……

The mornings of the opera troupe were equally lively. On the stage, Ah Gui was practicing his moves with a young martial artist holding a red tasseled spear, while the Hua Dan on the left was singing and warming up her voice. The band on the right was not as coordinated, with only the drummer and the erhu player sitting on the side stage more than a meter above the ground.

The erhu player was called Lao Yang. He stopped his bow, gently covered the still trembling strings with his hands, and frowned at the people standing in the stands:

"Erdi, what happened to your throat this morning? Do you want some water?"

"...I'm fine, go on."

As soon as she finished speaking, Jingzhi walked out from a corner of the stage with a basket of vegetables in one hand and Aunt Zhou's arm in the other.

Old Yang looked up and immediately smiled with wrinkles all over his face:

"Jingzhi, are you out shopping for groceries with Aunt Zhou again?"

Jingzhi's ridiculous background had long been spread throughout the troupe. She was hardworking and had a sweet mouth.

Everyone always has a bit of pity in their eyes for this girl who has white hair at a young age.

"Yeah, Uncle Yang, you're up really early. I'll bring you some tobacco leaves when we go to the market later."

Jingzhi seemed not to see Erdi. She raised her head slightly and looked at Lao Yang on the side stage with a smile on her face.

"That's great. How did you know I was almost finished?" For some reason, Lao Yang stole a glance at Erdi below.

"I'm counting the time. You ask Aunt Zhou to pick it up every three days."

"Thank you very much, I'll give you the money when I get back."

"It's a small matter! Let's go!"

After saying that, she walked straight past Erdi and headed outside.

It was not until the bamboo curtain at the entrance fell that Lao Yang withdrew his gaze, with a smile still on his face.

"Come on, let's rehearse." He grinned and put the bow on the strings again.

Erdi clenched her fists tightly, took a step forward, picked up the empty teapot on the table, and turned to leave:

"I'll go get some water."

Old Yang stared at his back in a daze, somewhat bewildered. However, he was tired after talking for so long, so he bent down and picked up his water cup. When he lifted the lid, a scent of tea wafted into his nose. He blew away the smoke and took a sip with relish. The drummer immediately leaned forward and sniffed.

"Jingzhi also made some for you?"

Lao Yang rolled his eyes at him:

"As if you didn't."

The drummer chuckled and bent down to pick up his water cup and started drinking.

The drummer sighed while drinking:

"Jingzhi looks carefree, but she's actually very attentive. Do you think Boss Liang has a grudge against her? He's been driving her around like crazy for the past month. He's never been like that with us."

Old Yang took another sip and then said slowly:

"Who knows."

"Hey, do you think I have a chance? Otherwise, how can she make tea for me?"

"...Tsk, you shameless bastard, you're already fifty-eight and still want to marry a beautiful wife?"

"Hey, just think about it."

……

It was around six or seven in the evening, the sky was getting dark, and opera had already started outside.

Jingzhi didn't want to see Erdi, so she squatted in the kitchen alone, lit the lamp, and picked beans.

Just then, Aunt Zhou came over from the front hall with a gossipy look on her face.

She nudged Jingzhi's shoulder and whispered:

"Hey, Jingzhi, let's do it tomorrow. Guess what I just saw?"

Jingzhi picked the beans lightly with her fingers, and the beans broke, but fell to the ground. She bent down, picked up the beans and pressed them with her fingers.

Well, her ability to buy vegetables has improved a lot. Look, they are still crispy and fresh.

She said nonchalantly, her hands moving non-stop: "What did you see?"

Aunt Zhou exaggeratedly opened her arms and made a big circle and said:

"So many gifts are piled up in the dressing room. It seems they were brought by Liang Zan, the last time we came to challenge him. Oh, and there's an old man with him, dressed in gold and silver. He looks really impressive!"

"Liang Zan?" She couldn't help but frowned.

That kid hasn't learned his lesson yet, how dare he come?

"Hey, where are you going?"

"……I gonna go see."

“This dish?”

"I've chosen."

Aunt Zhou looked down and saw that the beans were just as long as they had been measured with a ruler. A full pot was placed on the small stool at her feet.

She couldn't help but sigh in her heart that Jingzhi's work was getting better and better.