My humble days in ancient times

Du Lei said seriously, "Since you and the young lady are from the same village, you should tell me your names. I'm going to tell the young lady about this tonight. Besides, I've already seen your appearance and can draw it."

When Xiong Da and Zhou Qiang heard this, they had no choice but to tell him.

Xiong Da said helplessly: "My name is Xiong Da."

Zhou Qiang also said: "My name is Zhou Qiang."

Du Lei nodded and said, "Okay, I'll remember that. Please go back."

After saying that, Song Ping'an quickly opened the gate and let them out.

As Xiong Da walked, he said, "It's a bit awkward tonight. But Xu Ruyi is so young and already has servants and is a young lady. I just heard Du Lei call her that, but why am I still not used to it? It always feels weird."

Zhou Qiang also sighed and said, "Isn't it? It seems that in the future, Xu Ruyi will be the most powerful person in Xujia Village. She has a brilliant mind. How could she come up with such business ideas as egg pancakes, rice balls, and chili oil? She's amazing. I'm ashamed of myself and have to admit defeat."

The two of them whispered all the way home and found that Old Li was still there.

Old Li couldn't wait to ask, "Did you see anything?"

Old Li saw that they looked calm and composed, as if nothing had happened.

Xiong Da waved his hand and said, "It's just a misunderstanding. Nothing happened. Don't worry about it."

Xiong Er asked doubtfully, "Really?"

Xiong Da nodded solemnly and said, "Xu Ruyi bought a few servants, and they are there to guard the house!"

"What?" Old Li's eyes widened, almost popping out of his head. It turned out he was wrong, and saw a human, not a ghost. He'd been feeling all sorts of anxiety and uneasiness for the whole day.

Xiong Er suddenly became interested: "Even buying servants, this is a new thing in our Xujia Village."

Zhou Qiang continued, "Of course. We heard the servant Du Lei call Xu Ruyi 'Miss' with our own ears."

Xiong Er muttered to himself, "I never thought Ruyi would become the eldest daughter at such a young age. It's really frustrating to compare yourself to others."

When Old Li heard that Xu Ruyi had become the eldest daughter, he somewhat agreed. He stroked his beard and said, "Now it seems that girl is different from other children. When other children were still ignorant and naive, she had already made chili oil, egg pancakes, and rice balls. Other children would just play around carelessly, but she could tell stories, sing songs, play the guzheng, and cook delicious dishes. She's hardworking, smart, and beautiful. She looks like a young lady."

After hearing this, several people nodded in agreement.

Old Li realized that it was just a misunderstanding, and now that the misunderstanding was resolved, he got up and went back to sleep.

Zhou Qiang didn't leave, choosing to stay with Xiong Da and Xiong Er. They were enjoying a good night's drinking when Old Li's disturbance, along with Huang Guiyun and the discovery that Xu Ruyi had married the eldest daughter, made them so overwhelmed with surprise that they couldn't sleep. They simply lit an oil lamp and sat around chatting until half the night.

They talked about interesting things in the village, their views on life, and Xu Ruyi and her brother, and mainly about Xu Ruyi. But Xu Ruyi was completely unaware of this and was now having a sweet dream in her sleep!

In her dream, Xu Ruyi lived the life of a landlord. She spent her days picking chrysanthemums under the eastern fence, leisurely gazing at the southern mountains. Every day, she could smell the fragrance of flowers and hear the birds singing, a truly delightful experience.

Except for Xu Ruyi who is now intoxicated in her sleep, everyone else is destined to stay awake tonight.

First of all, it was Du Lei. After the commotion caused by Xiong Da and Zhou Qiang, he felt uneasy, so he turned a blind eye when he slept, fearing that someone would cause trouble again.

As he thought about it, Du Lei quickly sat up, got off the bed, and walked to the table.

Song Pingan was awakened by his movement and asked, "What's wrong? Are you thirsty? Or did you think of something?"

Du Lei replied: "Neither, don't worry too much."

Du Lei took out the brush and ink, waved his arms, and wrote quickly. Soon the two portraits were completed.

Song Pingan came over to take a look and said, "They really look alike."

Yes, the figures drawn on it are Xiong Da and Zhou Qiang. They look so lifelike, as if they are about to walk out of the paper.

Xiong Da and Zhou Qiang would never have thought that they were actually drawn by Du Lei.

Du Lei's parents were also tossing and turning in bed, so Du Dazhu sat up and said worriedly, "Why don't you tell our son to get some sleep? I won't sleep tonight. I'll stay by his side so that if anything happens, I can handle it."

Ye Mei sighed softly and said, "Just save yourself some energy. It's already like this. Do you think Lei'er can still sleep? Let's not disturb him. Let him stay alert on his own. Lie down quickly."

Du Dazhu thought about it and agreed, but he was still nervous, like he was holding a little rabbit in his arms. He hesitated for a long time before lying down. He kept thinking to himself: "God bless me, I just worked for the master and lived a stable life. I must not make any mistakes. If something goes wrong, it will cause losses to the young lady, which will be terrible."

The next one was Huang Guiyun. After Huang Guiyun returned, Xu Shi was very angry and said with a frown: "Why don't you sleep well every day?"

Huang Guiyun said disapprovingly: "I can't sleep, and there's nothing fun to do, so I'll just wander around the village."

Xu Shi said seriously, "Don't think that no one knows what you did. If you don't want others to know, then don't do it. You can't stop the villagers from talking. Can't you be a good person and behave uprightly?"

Huang Guiyun's eyes widened, and he raised his voice and said, "Everything is fake, only real gold and silver are real. People can't live a stubborn life. I'm just doing small things. I won't do anything that harms others, so don't worry!"

Xu Shi sighed deeply and said, "What do you mean by petty trouble? Stealing is wrong. Don't do evil, no matter how small it is, and don't refrain from doing good, no matter how small it is. Living a down-to-earth life is better than anything else. Don't think about those extraneous things. What is destined to happen will happen, and what is not destined to happen will not happen by force."

Huang Guiyun suddenly quit, put her hands on her hips, and shouted, "I don't believe in fate. I just want to live a good life and be better than them. No one can stop me!"

Xu Shi shook his head helplessly, his face full of worry: "You are just too ambitious, always thinking of reaching the sky in one step. How can it be so easy?"

Huang Guiyun became even more unhappy after hearing this. She curled her lips and said, "That's better than you. Look, there are so many names, but you insisted on being called Xu Shi. Shi means honest. No wonder you are so honest and timid. Why don't you change your name? Maybe our family's feng shui will improve, and we can live a prosperous life."

Xu Shi was too lazy to pay attention to her, so he simply turned around, pulled the quilt over his head and went to sleep, no longer paying attention to Huang Guiyun.

Huang Guiyun saw that Xu Shi was no longer listening to her, so she shut up. Then, furious, she went to bed, pulled the quilt over her and fell asleep. But she felt uncomfortable. So, she started to think about random things again.

Finally, let's talk about Old Li. After Old Li walked out of the Xiong family, the depression caused by the misunderstanding in his heart dissipated a lot, and he felt much better.

Back home, he lay on the kang, tossing and turning, but couldn't fall asleep. He didn't know why. He simply opened his eyes, staring at the dark roof, and began to think about the past, both good and bad, as if it were a movie playing in his mind. He thought about Xu Ruyi and her brother, and how Xu Ruyi had become a young lady, and couldn't help but think of himself. If he were a wealthy landlord, he would be living a life of luxury, surrounded by beautiful women, enjoying delicious food and drinks every day, and traveling to beautiful places. How comfortable...