My humble days in ancient times

After the autumn harvest was over and the wheat was planted, the wasteland began to bustle with activity again.

By the time winter arrived, two-thirds of the wasteland had been reclaimed, but the ground was becoming harder and harder, and the weather was getting colder.

The stove in Xu Ruyi's house began to come in handy, and the house finally felt a little warmer.

That day, the four siblings planned to go to the county town for a trip. Having not been there for a while, the town seemed busier than ever. They were joined by Xu Xiaohua, Du Xiaoyue, and Du Xiaoxing.

Xu Qinghe took Xu Qingyan and Du Xiaoxing straight to the bookstore, while Xu Ruyi took Xu Xiaohua and Du Xiaoyue into the cloth shop.

Xu Ruyi carefully selected the cloth in the cloth shop and bought several pieces of cloth in the high, medium and low-end areas, and also purchased a lot of ready-made clothes.

When Xu Qinghe arrived in his carriage, it was already fully loaded. Xu Ruyi's carriage was also overflowing. The brother and sister smiled at each other.

Xu Ruyi's car was filled with clothes and food, while Xu Qinghe's car was filled with pens, ink, paper, inkstone and coal.

Xu Ruyi praised: "The weather is getting cold, and Big Brother knew to prepare the carbon earlier. It's really thoughtful."

Xu Qinghe smiled and said, "Coal isn't too expensive right now, but I'm afraid it'll go up in price if it gets colder. It's always good to be prepared in advance."

Xu Ruyi nodded in agreement.

After Xu Qinghe finished shopping, he took Xu Qingyan and Du Xiaoxing back home.

Xu Ruyi and her friends continued to stroll on the streets of the county town.

They came to a small restaurant and ordered six dishes with great interest.

The waiter who served the food kindly reminded them, "You girls, didn't you order too much?"

At this time, the shopkeeper came over and said, "That's right, that's right. If there's too much, wouldn't it be a waste if you can't finish it?"

Xu Ruyi smiled and said confidently: "Don't worry, boss and waiters, we will finish it."

The shopkeeper and the clerk looked at each other with suspicion on their faces.

The shopkeeper said, "I really don't believe you can finish it all. How about this, if you can finish it, I won't charge you a penny."

Xu Ruyi nodded without hesitation: "Okay!"

Soon, six delicious dishes were served: the stewed chicken was fragrant, the fried beef was tender and juicy, the steamed fish was plump, the stir-fried pork with beans was delicious, the tofu soup was smooth and delicate, and the stir-fried pork liver was fresh and delicious.

The shopkeeper and his employees were waiting to see them waste food, and the customers in the store also looked at these girls curiously.

The way they dressed was indeed not like the children from the village. They were dressed neatly and cleanly, like children from wealthy families in the city.

But they were soon dumbfounded. Although they ate elegantly, they ate mouthful after mouthful so quickly that their plates were empty in no time. Each of them even ate a large steamed bun!

Du Xiaoyue and Xu Xiaohua, in particular, ate like wolves, devouring everything in sight. Their cheeks were puffed out, and they chewed rapidly, as if they had been hungry for a long time.

Xu Ruyi couldn't bear to watch it anymore and couldn't help but glance away.

Not only did they eat in a hurry, they also dipped the steamed buns into the soup vigorously, and in the blink of an eye, not a drop of the chicken soup was left.

Xu Ruyi thought to herself: This is really unbearable, unbearable. These two girls usually look quite quiet and well-behaved, but when they see delicious food, they completely disregard their image.

The shopkeeper, his assistants and the customers in the store were all stunned.

Finally, Xu Ruyi wiped the oil from her lips and said, "Boss, you must keep your word!"

The customers in the store also joined in the commotion, saying, "Shopkeeper, please speak your mind!"

The shopkeeper felt a little regretful at this time, as the dishes they ordered were still a bit expensive.

But since he had already spoken, he couldn't go back on his word, so he said, "No need to worry about the meal. You little girls have really opened my eyes today."

After saying that, everyone in the room burst into laughter, and the laughter echoed in the restaurant.

Because of this interesting episode, several people were in a particularly good mood and couldn't help but stay on the street for a while longer.

As Xu Ruyuan was walking, she saw some kites being sold on the street and said excitedly, "Sister, let's buy some kites to take back!"

Du Xiaoyue also said cheerfully, "Flying a kite must be fun. I will definitely have fun with the two young ladies when I get back."

Xu Ruyi smiled and said gently, "Okay, we'll each have one for the four of us. Choose carefully."

Everyone started choosing carefully. Du Xiaoyue chose a kite with a vivid crab pattern, Xu Xiaohua chose a kite with a nimble and light swallow pattern, Xu Ruyuan chose a kite with a colorful butterfly pattern, and Xu Ruyi chose a kite with a graceful maid pattern.

Finally, they thoughtfully selected an interesting frog-patterned kite for Xu Qinghe, a lively and cute children-patterned kite for Xu Qingyan, and a majestic prawn-patterned kite for Du Xiaoxing.

After returning, Xu Qingyan saw the kite and his eyes lit up instantly.

Xu Qingyan couldn't wait to say, "Brother and sister, let's go fly a kite now."

Xu Ruyi saw his eager look and said with a smile, "Okay, okay, let's go now."

Several people came out of the yard happily and flew kites by the big pond outside Xu's house.

The wind was blowing and soon carried the kite into the sky.

Soon, kites with various colors and exquisite patterns flew into the blue sky.

Everyone in the village was basking in the sun and chatting at Uncle Xu's house!

Widow Wang discovered the kite in the sky on the first day.

Widow Wang exclaimed in amazement, "Oh, those kids are flying kites! Look how high and beautiful they are!"

Zhang San quickly came over, stretched his neck to take a look, and said, "I saw a frog, prawns and crabs flying into the sky."

Huang Guiyun was also full of surprise and said, "There are also swallows, butterflies and so on, as well as patterns of beautiful women and children!"

Uncle Xu squinted his eyes and looked for a long time, then said, "You all seem to have sharp eyes. I only saw something flying in the sky, but I couldn't make out what it was."

Aunt Li looked at it with great delight and said with emotion, "Only children have such energy. The rest of us are getting lazier and less energetic as we grow older."

Many adults and children in the village saw it. They stopped what they were doing and stood still, staring at Xu Ruyi and her friends' kite in the west without blinking.

Old Li stood quietly in the slightly shabby yard of his house, with his hands behind his back, his head slightly tilted back, staring at the kite intently without blinking.

His weather-beaten face was etched with traces of time, yet now he revealed a hint of childlike curiosity and yearning. His eyes were a little hazy, as if his thoughts had drifted off to a distant place along with the soaring kite. Perhaps he was recalling his youth, or perhaps he was imagining the carefree and happy scene of Xu Ruyi and the others flying kites.

Da Niu, Da Hu, Er Hu, Xu Dayan, Xu Eryan and others also discovered the colorful kites in the sky.

Erhu was overjoyed and wanted to run over to take a look. He said excitedly, "Why don't we go and take a look together!"

Daniu frowned and shook his head, saying, "It's too far. I'm going to be hungry after going there and back. Let's not go."

Erhu, however, stared intently, his eyes full of desire.

Xu Eryan also had an envious expression on her face. She couldn't help but wonder in her heart: Why is it that Xu Ruyuan has everything while she has nothing, even though they are both human beings?

Xu Ruyuan could wear beautiful clothes, wear beautiful hairpins, eat delicious food, and live in a big courtyard. With maids to do the work, she could play all day long. Now she's flying a kite again, so she must be very happy! As she thought about it, Xu Eryan's eyes dimmed.