My humble days in ancient times

In the depths of autumn, the world is painted a brilliant golden hue by a magical brush. In the fields, ripe rice ears droop their heads, swaying gently in the breeze, forming a rolling golden ocean.

The trees along the fields were dyed golden by the autumn, and the fallen leaves danced like butterflies. Even the autumn sunlight became particularly soft and warm, and its light immersed the whole world in this rich and intoxicating golden color.

These days, the usually bustling wasteland is now deserted, as everyone is busy harvesting rice in their own fields.

As the gentle breeze blows, the golden rice fields surge like a large golden wave, which is beautiful beyond words.

The children were playing happily on the ridges of the fields, and their laughter echoed in the fertile fields.

At night, the sound of frogs croaking one after another is like a beautiful piece of music played by nature. Some frogs croak loudly, as if cheering for the harvest; some frogs croak low, as if telling of the peaceful years.

The moonlight shines on the rice fields, and the rice ears seem to be coated with a layer of silver, which interweaves with the sound of frogs, forming a beautiful picture under the moon that is full of poetry and warmth.

Xu Ruyi concentrates on learning dance at home, stretching her body gracefully and playing beautiful music on the strings with her fingers nimbly.

Xu Xiaohua and Du Xiaoyue were also studious and sometimes enthusiastically studied with Xu Ruyi and Xu Ruyuan.

Xu Ruyi was pleasantly surprised to find that Xu Xiaohua was becoming more and more confident. She seemed to smile more often than before, and her whole body was radiating a different kind of radiance.

Not only that, Xu Ruyuan is also a person who loves making delicious food, and often takes Du Xiaoyue and Xu Xiaohua to work in the kitchen.

That day, Xu Ruyuan and her friends were making dumplings stuffed with beans and meat. The variety of their creations was dazzling. There were crescent-shaped dumplings, delicate petal-shaped dumplings like blooming petals, willow-shaped dumplings resembling slender willow leaves, big-bellied dumplings with bulging bellies, lucky bag dumplings with auspicious meanings, and even cloud-shaped dumplings that looked like drifting clouds...

Xu Ruyi looked at these dumplings of various shapes and sizes, and couldn't help but praise them: "They are really good! Each of them can open a dumpling shop in the future."

Xu Ruyuan's eyes lit up when she heard this, and she asked expectantly, "Sister, can we really open a dumpling shop?"

Xu Ruyi nodded affirmatively: "Of course, why not. But the fillings of the dumplings should be varied, not too single."

Xu Ruyi thought for a moment and continued, "It would be best to pair it with some delicious soup, like beef vermicelli soup, beef offal soup, or something like that..."

Xu Ruyuan nodded excitedly, her heart blossoming with joy: "Sister, when I turn ten and I can't go to school, I'll open a shop. I'll open a dumpling shop."

Du Xiaoyue ran over happily: "I'll help Miss take care of it when the time comes."

Xu Ruyi laughed and said, "When the time comes, open a few more so Xiaoyue can be too busy."

A few people laughed for a while, and then they heard Xu Qinghe's voice.

Xu Qinghe bought two more strong horses today.

Xu Qinghe asked excitedly, "I've been learning horse riding these days. Do you want to come over and watch?"

Everyone nodded: "Of course!"

"That's right, why don't you go and see it?"

Several people quickly arrived at the horse farm. Xu Qinghe confidently led out a majestic horse, then rode on it with a nimble posture and ran a circle in a dashing manner. Everyone was so excited that they couldn't help cheering.

After running a few laps, Xu Qinghe's face flushed, he dismounted with a slight breath and asked, "Who wants to try it?"

They all said in unison: "Of course the eldest lady has priority!"

Xu Ruyi gave them a reproachful look, thinking that these guys wanted to see her make a fool of herself, and said, "I'll go last. Let Xiaoyue and Xiaohua go up first and take a turn. Remember not to fall down!"

Du Xiaoyue and Xu Xiaohua looked at each other, their eyes full of panic, and then they ran away like frightened little rabbits.

Xu Ruyi shouted from behind, feeling both angry and amused, but they didn't turn around. The sound echoed in the empty horse farm, but it didn't bring them back.

Finally, Xu Ruyi had no choice but to climb onto the horse and ride for a while. Unexpectedly, this ride felt quite good, with the breeze brushing against her cheeks, bringing a touch of comfort.

In the evening, Xu Ruyuan carefully made a plate of delicious fried dumplings.

When Xu Ruyi saw it, her eyes lit up and she praised: "Not bad, not bad. I know you like it. I should make it often in the future!" After that, she couldn't wait to eat it.

Xu Ruyi ate with such relish, one after another, unable to stop. In a short while, she had eaten more than a dozen, and her stomach was bulging.

Seeing this, Xu Qinghe kindly said, "Don't eat too much. Just eat until you are 70% to 80% full, otherwise your stomach will feel uncomfortable."

Xu Xiaohua said obediently, "I'll accompany Miss for a walk later to help digest the food."

Xu Ruyuan covered her mouth and laughed, "Big sister just eats more fried dumplings, unlike Qingyan who might eat meat!"

Xu Qingyan immediately retorted, "I have to practice martial arts and study every day, so naturally I have to eat more meat. And I'm not fat, which means I don't eat much."

Xu Ruyi smiled, put down her chopsticks, and leisurely went for a walk in the yard.

She stood on the arch bridge, the breeze gently brushed across her face, blowing away some of the heat, and she felt very comfortable.

Xu Ruyi suddenly thought of Grandma Wu and turned to ask, "How is Grandma Wu doing recently?"

Xu Xiaohua's face was filled with smiles as she said, "Thank you for your concern, Miss. Grandma is getting better day by day, and she's in good spirits. She can even help with some simple chores."

Xu Ruyi nodded with satisfaction.

The two came to the garden again and stopped in front of a bunch of beautiful flowers.

Xu Ruyi reached out and gently touched the petals, and found that there was already crystal dew on them.

This scene reminded her of the poem: "A ray of setting sun spreads across the water, half the river rustles and half the river red. Pity the night of the third day of September, the dew looks like pearls and the moon looks like a bow."

It turns out that the poem describes the scenery so aptly. Such beautiful scenery is truly intoxicating.

Xu Ruyi stayed in the garden for a while, and Xu Xiaohua kindly reminded her, "Miss, it's quite cold in the morning and evening now, so why don't we go back to the house?"

Xu Ruyi nodded slightly.

The two of them slowly returned to Wutong Courtyard and climbed up the stairs.

As he walked up the stairs, Xu Ruyi's mind drifted away and he thought of a poem again.

"Speechless, I went up to the west tower alone, the moon was like a hook. The lonely phoenix tree locked deep in the courtyard locked in the autumn. It kept cutting, and it was still messy. It was the sorrow of separation, and the feeling of separation was still in my heart."

Xu Ruyi smiled and shook her head. Sometimes, her thoughts would drift back to her past, those past memories flashing through her mind. However, everything was gone, and she could only sigh.

Xu Xiaohua didn't understand what was going on, and asked with a puzzled look on her face, "Did you remember something, Miss?"

Xu Ruyi smiled bitterly, looking dejected: "It's just some helpless things."

Xu Xiaohua gently advised her, "Miss, don't dwell on irrelevant things. The past is the past. We just need to live in the present."

Xu Ruyi nodded thoughtfully: "You are quite open-minded."

Xu Ruyi stood quietly in the corridor, gazing up at the night sky. The moonlight, bright as snow and gentle as silk, gently fell on her body.

Xu Xiaohua tiptoed into the house, brought out a soft cloak, and carefully put it on Xu Ruyi.

Xu Ruyi stood there silently for a long, long time, as if she had become one with the quiet night. Her eyes were deep and distant, as if she was searching for something in the vast starry sky, or as if she was recalling the past.

The night wind blew her hair, but she was unaware of it. She was just immersed in her own thoughts and did not move for a long time.