Inviting the Moon to the Farmhouse

"Quack quack quack..." The sound of ducks came from over the street, and Tian Guang was herding the ducks back.

Xia Lanyue looked at the empty duck pen. Tian Guang had let the ducks back while she was out.

"Uncle Tian, ​​Village Chief Zhao came looking for you earlier and asked you to go see him," Xia Lanyue told Tian Guang immediately.

"Yes, Dai You told me. I'll go now." Tian Guang closed the duck pen, wiped his hands, and walked out.

Watching Tian Guang leave, Xia Lanyue turned to look at the bucket beside her. She was eager to know how she looked. She hadn't washed or dressed up before going to Xia Yao's house that morning, and she didn't know what impression she had left on him. Feeling uncertain, she felt she would only feel at ease after seeing her reflection. Xia Lanyue couldn't wait to lean over and look at herself in the water. She looked slightly haggard, but fortunately, she had a good foundation and still looked quite pretty.

Xia Lanyue turned around with satisfaction, just as Dai You was looking at her.

Xia Lanyue's smile faded. "What's wrong?"

Dai You shook his head, said nothing, and continued bandaging his wound.

Xia Lanyue saw the pile of discarded bamboo materials next to him and thought it would be inconvenient for him to clean them up, so she went over and started cleaning them up.

She first gathered the large and long ones into a handful, picked them up, and walked outside.

"Where are you going?" Dai You asked.

"Throw it away."

“This can be used to start a fire,” Dai You said, pointing to the kitchen.

Xia Lanyue looked at the kitchen and suddenly realized what was going on. Then she carried the bamboo strips and walked towards the kitchen.

"Where are you going?" Dai You asked again.

"Put it in the kitchen to keep for later use."

"It needs to be cut shorter," Dai You suggested.

"Huh? Oh!" Xia Lanyue had never started a fire before, so she had no idea there were these steps involved. She then took the bamboo stick and walked into the yard.

"Put the bamboo on the table," Dai You instructed Xia Lanyue.

Xia Lanyue arranged the bamboo as he instructed. Dai You picked up the bamboo-cutting knife on the ground and chopped the bamboo into sections. Xia Lanyue then picked them up and carried them into the kitchen, piling them next to the woodpile.

The remaining small pieces of bamboo on the ground were swept out of the yard along with the soil.

After finishing, Xia Lanyue nodded in satisfaction and went to wash her hands by the bucket. Seeing her reflection in the water, she couldn't help but admire it for a moment. She couldn't help but feel a little smug; how many men must have been captivated by her beauty? Xia Lanyue sighed inwardly. However, when she thought of Xia Yao, unsure if he liked her, she suddenly lost her confidence.

"What are you looking at?" Ah Xiang's voice suddenly came from beside her, startling her.

Xia Lanyue quickly turned around and saw that Dai You had gone into the house. She breathed a sigh of relief and pulled A Xiang aside to quietly ask him, "Why isn't Mr. Xia getting married?"

As soon as she asked the question, Xia Lanyue realized it was a bit difficult for A Xiang. He hesitated for a long time before finally managing to say, "He's too picky."

Xia Lanyue was amused by his words. These were clearly not words that a child like A Xiang could say. She wondered which adult he had heard them from.

"What else do you know about Mr. Xia? Tell Aunt Yue about it."

"I'm back," Wang Cui said, pushing open the door to the courtyard.

Wang Cui's appearance interrupted Xia Lanyue's question. Xia Lanyue quickly covered A Xiang's mouth, made a shushing gesture, and whispered, "This is our secret, you can't tell anyone else."

Ah Xiang nodded obediently.

Xia Lanyue stood up with a smile and went forward to greet Wang Cui, "Aunt Wang is back."

"I came back after Mr. Xia and the others finished cooking. I told them that there were still several people waiting at home," Wang Cui said.

"Hehe, Aunt Wang, I'll cook for you," Xia Lanyue said.

"Haha, you can cook? I don't believe it," Wang Cui teased.

"I can, I can..." Xia Lanyue's words trailed off. She didn't know whether this young lady should know how to cook.

"What can you do?" Wang Cui asked with a smile.

Xia Lanyue thought to herself, "I am Dai Xiyue now. Whether she can do it or not is just a matter of her saying so. Whatever she says she can do, she can do!"

“This is scrambled eggs,” Xia Lanyue said, pointing to the scallions in the vegetable garden.

"Stir-fried chives with eggs, but we don't have any eggs," Wang Cui said with a troubled expression.

"Huh?!" Xia Lanyue was taken aback.

"Then let's make noodles. I'm really good at making noodles."

"We've run out of flour at home," Wang Cui said. "The wheat harvest is coming soon, so we'll eat some more in a few days."

Xia Lanyue felt that saying too much would only make things worse, so she decided to stop fussing and said, "I'll just help Aunt Wang start the fire."

Wang Cui smiled and said, "You play with A Xiang, I can do it myself faster." After saying that, she turned around and went into the kitchen.

Ah Xiang came over and hugged Xia Lanyue. "Aunt Yue, Mr. Xia asked me to recite a poem. He said he was sick, but I can't slack off."

“Oh? Ah Xiang, recite the poem, Aunt Yue, listen,” Xia Lanyue said.

Xia Lanyue and A Xiang recited the poem while A Xiang listened, completely unaware of Dai You's puzzled gaze beside them.

Just as dinner was almost ready, Tian Guang returned.

Upon seeing Tian Guang, Xia Lanyue immediately stood up, wanting to greet him, but the words caught in her throat.

Unlike usual, Tian Guang returned with a heavy heart, as if he was thinking about something, and went straight to the main house.

Wang Cui sensed something was wrong and looked at Xia Lanyue with a puzzled expression. Xia Lanyue was also completely confused.

Xia Lanyue was puzzled. What had Village Chief Zhao said to Uncle Tian? Could it be about them? But what could they possibly have to do with each other?

Tian Guang simply went inside to change his clothes and came out quickly.

Five people sat around the dining table eating.

"Why is one bowl missing?" Wang Cui noticed the small bowl Dai You was using and counted the number of bowls.

Xia Lanyue felt guilty and was trying to figure out how to explain when Dai You answered for her first.

"Aunt Wang, I was distracted while washing the dishes and one of them drifted away," Dai You said apologetically.

"Ah, it's nothing," Wang Cui forced a smile, then pointed to the steamed buns and said to Xia Lanyue, "Axiang left these steamed buns for you, don't let anyone else touch them."

Xia Lanyue smiled, took the bun, broke it in half, and gave half to A Xiang, who happily accepted it.

Tian Guang ate in silence the whole time, without saying a word.

Wang Cui couldn't help but ask him, "What were you doing just now?"

Tian Guang looked up and said, "I went to Village Chief Zhao's house."

"He's back? What did he want to see you about?" Wang Cui asked curiously.

Tian Guang's eyes flickered slightly as he glanced at Xia Lanyue. "The village chief asked what's going on with these two."

"What did you say?" Wang Cui asked.

"Let's just tell the truth, we pulled two people out of the river."

Two? Dai You also drowned? Xia Lanyue's heart sank.

"What else did he say?" Wang Cui felt that things were not so simple.

"He said we can't take in people of unknown origin, and that we should tell him our identities so we can investigate if anything happens," Tian Guang said, then lowered his head and stuffed a mouthful of food into his mouth, no longer looking at Xia Lanyue and the other person.

Wang Cui listened quietly to Tian Guang's words without saying a word. Her eyes darted between Xia Lanyue and Dai You, as if she was thinking about something, as if she had something to say but didn't say it.

Xia Lanyue glanced at Dai You out of the corner of her eye, but Dai You neither reacted nor spoke.

Xia Lanyue didn't know what to say at this moment. She knew nothing about Dai Xiyue's identity; all the information she had came from Dai You's account. Thinking that Dai Xiyue was just a frail girl and couldn't possibly do anything earth-shattering, she wasn't worried at all.

After a brief silence, Dai You finally broke the silence, "Uncle Tian, ​​we are indeed from the capital, and our family runs a legitimate business."

“Well… Brother Dai, it’s not that your aunt doubts you, it’s just that you two really don’t look like siblings,” Wang Cui said hesitantly.

“I am an adopted son,” Dai You said calmly.

Upon hearing this, both Wang Cui and Tian Guang showed surprise.

Xia Lanyue was also taken aback, but she immediately lowered her eyes to hide her emotions.

Wang Cui quickly changed her worried expression to a relaxed smile, "Oh, I see! We misunderstood, don't mind. I knew you people with your looks and demeanor wouldn't be strange. I've seen a lot of people, I can tell good from bad."

“It’s alright, Aunt Wang,” Dai You said in a nonchalant tone.

Then Wang Cui's expression changed, and she complained to Tian Guang, "Is it really necessary for you to have such a long face over something like this?"

"There's still some left. Village Chief Zhao said that taxes have increased this year, so everyone should be prepared."

"What?!" Wang Cui's voice suddenly rose, startling everyone around her.

Wang Cui, who had been in a good mood, couldn't laugh when she heard the news. "How are we fifth-class households supposed to survive? Village Chief Zhao worries about useless things all day long. He should be doing us a favor. Our village is the poorest in all the surrounding areas. Now that taxes have increased, how are we supposed to live?!"

"Keep your voice down."

“I’ll speak loudly, I’ll make him hear what he’s done.” Wang Cui’s voice grew louder with each sentence.

Tian Guang also grew impatient, turning his head to the side and refusing to respond to Wang Cui.

Wang Cui was so angry that she pushed the bowl away and stood up to go find the village chief to reason with him.

Seeing this, Tian Guang quickly stopped her.

“What’s the point of you going? He’s not the one who decides the taxes. What’s the point of getting angry with him?!” Tian Guang said.

"We need to let him know, otherwise he'll think we're all soft and easy to bully."

"It's no use, it's no use, don't make things worse."

"How will we know if it's effective if we don't make a scene? Get out of my way, I'm going."

Wang Cui nimbly dodged the crowd, trying to rush out of the house, but was stopped by them, and the scene descended into chaos.

Ah Xiang was so frightened that he cried loudly, so Xia Lanyue had no choice but to take him home first.

The couple, Tian Guang and his wife, argued incessantly over this matter. After a while, when Xia Lanyue returned and found the courtyard quiet, she dared to go inside.