Inviting the Moon to the Farmhouse

For the past few days, Xia Lanyue has been able to wake up earlier than the rooster.

She woke up with a smile today.

In the courtyard, Dai You was already making bamboo strips. He used the tools that Tian Guang had lent him, which made splitting the bamboo much easier.

Xia Lanyue looked at the bamboo strips, then at his hand, and only felt relieved when she saw that it wouldn't affect his wound.

"Brother, what are you planning to do in town?" Xia Lanyue asked, squatting down beside him.

"Chop some firewood to sell, and then find some errand-running jobs."

Xia Lanyue nodded and asked, "What do you think I can do?"

Dai You looked up at her and said, "I've already told you, you don't need to earn money, just avoid causing trouble."

Xia Lanyue pouted, "What trouble did I cause?"

Her gaze swept over the bamboo strips on the ground, and suddenly an idea flashed into her mind: these discarded materials could be used to make bamboo dragonflies, which could then be sold at the market.

"Are there bamboo dragonflies for sale at the market?" Xia Lanyue asked.

"I really didn't notice that."

Xia Lanyue looked at the materials scattered on the ground and thought that it would be a waste not to use them, so she might as well make some first.

Then, she selected the more evenly shaped bamboo pieces from the pile of broken bamboo and used charcoal as a pencil to draw patterns on them.

After drawing the picture, she took a file from the tools on the ground and began to file it little by little, trying to carve out the shape. This task seemed simple, but it was actually quite difficult and required some strength. Xia Lanyue worked hard to file the bamboo, and after several strokes, the bamboo was only slightly damaged.

Dai You glanced at her, which Xia Lanyue saw. She immediately raised her eyebrows and said defiantly, "Don't worry, it will be alright."

Dai You took the bamboo strip from her hand, chopped it twice with his broadsword, and the strip was the width she wanted. Then he used the knife to remove the excess parts on both sides and handed it to Xia Lanyue.

Xia Lanyue happily accepted the bamboo strip, which saved her a lot of effort.

She then found tools to smooth the edges, create a slope, and then knock a hole in the center.

Now all that's left is the middle stick to complete the task.

Xia Lanyue took a piece of bamboo and handed it to Dai You, saying, "Brother, can you help me chop a stick?" After what had just happened, Xia Lanyue knew how to use Dai You for help.

With a snap, Dai You cut off a small stick. It was a bit crooked, so he tossed it aside and cut off another one. Only when he was satisfied with it did he hand it to Xia Lanyue.

Xia Lanyue smoothed it with a file, and the round bamboo skewer was ready.

Xia Lanyue inserted the bamboo skewer into the middle of the bamboo wing, and a bamboo dragonfly was finished.

She placed the bamboo skewer in her palm, rubbed her hands together, and released it, sending the bamboo dragonfly flying.

"Look!" Xia Lanyue excitedly pointed to the bamboo dragonfly that flew away. "Did you see that? It flew so well."

“Hmm, it’s crooked,” Dai You said after glancing at it.

Indeed, Xia Lanyue picked it up, filed the wings again, and tried it again. It was better than before. She picked it up again, readjusted it, and released it again. This time, it flew very steadily.

Xia Lanyue ran to pick it up, fiddled with it, and looked at it from all angles. "I'll give this to A Xiang."

"What do you mean, 'give it to A-Xiang'?" Wang Cui asked as she walked out of the main house.

"Aunt Wang, look," Xia Lanyue said, then released a bamboo dragonfly for Wang Cui to see.

"Not bad, Dai You's skills are good."

Xia Lanyue was displeased upon hearing this, "I made this."

"Huh?" Wang Cui's mouth dropped open in surprise. "You?"

"Yes," Xia Lanyue nodded heavily.

"Wow, I didn't realize you were so skillful," Wang Cui said with a smile. "You guys have fun, I'm going to cook."

"Hmm," Xia Lanyue muttered to herself as she went to retrieve the bamboo dragonfly, "I still have so many more to make."

Xia Lanyue squatted down in front of Dai You, wanting to pick up bamboo, but Dai You stopped her with his hand, "Don't do that, it'll hurt your hands. If you really want to make money, I'll go to town and see if there are any jobs copying books. If there are, I'll bring them back. Your handwriting is beautiful, so copying books will be easier for you."

Xia Lanyue was stunned when she heard this; how could she possibly write calligraphy?!

Seeing Xia Lanyue's troubled expression, Dai You assumed she was angry. "If you don't want to do it, that's fine too."

Xia Lanyue lowered her eyes, sighed softly, and began to regret why she hadn't learned a special skill when she was young.

Oh, wait, she has a special talent, she can swim! Xia Lanyue suddenly remembered, but it seems that this talent can't be monetized.

"Aunt Yue," A Xiang's voice came from behind.

Xia Lanyue stood up and had just turned around when A Xiang rushed over and hugged her. Although A Xiang was small, he was very chubby, and Xia Lanyue stumbled.

Dai You raised his hand to support Xia Lanyue as she fell backward, then turned around to greet Tian Kuan who had arrived.

"I'll have to trouble you to take care of him today," Tian Kuan said with a smile.

“It’s no trouble at all, I enjoy playing with him,” Xia Lanyue said.

"Alright, I'm going back now," Tian Kuan said, turning to leave.

"Hey," Wang Cui called out to stop him, "Isn't it time to harvest the wheat?"

"It should be time to harvest in the next couple of days. Xiuer and I will go to the fields to take a look first."

"Okay, let me know when it's time to harvest the wheat. I'll go with your dad."

"Okay, I'm leaving now, Mother," Tian Kuan said before leaving.

Looking at the bamboo strips scattered on the ground, along with the remaining material, Ah Xiang asked Dai You, "Uncle Dai, what is this?"

Dai You teased him on purpose, "I won't tell you, you'll know when it's done."

Ah Xiang tilted his head, picked up the glass beside him, fiddled with it for a bit, and then pretended to be thinking.

Xia Lanyue pulled A Xiang over and handed him the bamboo dragonfly. "Look, what's this?"

"Bamboo dragonfly!" Ah Xiang jumped up in surprise.

"Do you like it?" Xia Lanyue asked.

"Hmm," Ah Xiang reached out and took it.

“This was made for you by Aunt Yue. I don’t give it to any other children,” Xia Lanyue said, then pulled him closer. “So, who are you closest to now?”

"Hmm... with Ahe."

Upon hearing this, Xia Lanyue realized that this child wasn't following the script. She pretended to be angry and said to A Xiang, "I bought you a calligraphy brush, didn't I? I even made you a unique bamboo dragonfly. I've been so good to you, why don't you want to be good to me?"

"Then, for now, I'll stick with you," said Xiao Xiang, seemingly understanding but not quite.

Xia Lanyue patted A Xiang's head and gave him a meaningful smile. "Aunt Yue and A Xiang are the best of friends."

Dai You split the bamboo strips, bundled them into a neat bunch, tied them up, and placed them in a corner outside the kitchen. Then he came back to clean up the scraps and waste on the ground.

Xia Lanyue, quick-witted and agile, hurriedly gathered the materials she needed to make the bamboo dragonfly. Her hands were overflowing, so she simply hugged them to her chest. After finishing, she smiled at Dai You and took them back to her room.

Dai You didn't say anything more, and he split the remaining unused bamboo into shorter pieces and put them into the kitchen.

After the meal, Dai You carried a bamboo basket and a sickle to chop firewood.

Xia Lanyue took A Xiang out to herd ducks.

"Ah Xiang, is Mr. Xia feeling better?"

"Hmm, are you feeling better?"

"You haven't seen him today, have you? Do you want to see him?"

Ah Xiang, playing with his bamboo dragonfly, absentmindedly uttered a "hmm".

“I knew it, Ah Xiang cares about Mr. the most.”

Xia Lanyue herded the ducks into the river. The ducks would need a while to find food. She looked around and, seeing no one, beckoned to Axiang, "Axiang, come here quickly, Aunt Yue has a task for you."