Inviting the Moon to the Farmhouse

Dai You returned and silently began clearing the dishes. Tian Guang tried to stop him, but he insisted on doing it. "It's alright, Uncle Tian, ​​I'm not tired."

“You’ve been in town since morning and busy until night, how can you not be tired? Take a break, I’ll take care of it.” Tian Guang urged him to leave, but he wasn’t as strong as Dai You and was eventually pushed back into the house.

Tian Guang sighed and said slowly, "I'll have to trouble you with today's matters."

Dai You understood that it was about Ma Ruisheng taking the imperial examination. "It's alright, Uncle Tian, ​​it's no trouble at all."

Tian Guang patted Dai You on the shoulder and went into the house to rest.

After Dai You put the bowls and chopsticks into the bucket, Xia Lanyue came over to try and lift it. However, the bucket was unusually heavy today. Unwilling to give up, she tried with both hands and managed to lift it with difficulty. Just as she was about to drop it, Dai You, quick as a flash, grabbed the handle and took it from her.

If it falls to the ground, several bowls will break, and Wang Cui will be unhappy about that.

Seeing Xia Lanyue's clumsy appearance, Dai You couldn't help but chuckle. Then he turned and walked towards the riverbank.

It seemed like the first time Xia Lanyue had ever seen him smile like that.

Xia Lanyue skipped along behind, asking, "What are your plans for their situation?"

“I will write to my friends and let them make the arrangements.”

"Would it be too much trouble to ask a friend? Or family members...?" Xia Lanyue thought of how he was her adopted son, and she couldn't write a letter, but Dai You could.

"It's alright, I'll take care of it."

Xia Lanyue nodded. "Actually, we can go back to the capital."

Dai You turned his head to look at Xia Lanyue, "Why have you decided to go back again? Don't you like it here?" He couldn't figure out Xia Lanyue's thoughts. Yesterday she said she liked it here, but today she changed her mind.

“Hmm…” Xia Lanyue didn’t know how to answer, “Going to my aunt’s house as planned is fine too.”

Dai You was even more confused. "Is it because Uncle Tian and his wife don't want to stay here?"

"No, it's just that I find the village too boring," Xia Lanyue said, not telling the truth.

Dai You stopped in his tracks. "But I don't know the exact location of your aunt's house. I only know it's in Baizhou. Since I came with you, I didn't ask for the exact location."

What?! Xia Lanyue was a little confused. She thought she had many choices, but now she'd better just work hard to earn some money and then decide what to do next.

When they arrived at the river, Xia Lanyue didn't want Dai You's hands to get wet, so she insisted on washing the bowl for the time it takes to burn an incense stick.

When they returned to the Tian family home, Tian Guang and Wang Cui had already rested.

Dai You said, "Go back to your room and rest, don't sleep too soundly," and then turned and went to the kitchen to brew medicine.

Xia Lanyue followed him to the kitchen and watched him tend the fire. She tentatively asked him, "Brother, do you think it was strange when I woke up after drowning?"

Dai You looked directly at her without saying a word, his eyes seeming to be asking her a question.

"What I mean is, do you think I've changed compared to before? Don't you have any questions for me?"

Dai You lowered his eyes. "When did A-Yue learn to wash dishes?"

"I... I learned how to wash dishes by watching you do it."

"What about making noodles?"

"I learned it when I was a child, but I haven't done it myself since," Xia Lanyue explained.

Xia Lanyue bet that Dai You, her adopted son, was someone Old Master Dai had taken in in recent years and was unaware of her childhood. Sure enough, Dai You raised no objections.

Xia Lanyue wanted to try to deal with Dai You's suspicions. She felt that if she could deal with Dai You, she should be able to handle things when she returned to the Dai family.

However, Dai You is quite meticulous about these trivial matters. If I hadn't asked, I wouldn't have known he was hiding these thoughts.

"Is there anything else?" Xia Lanyue simply asked, since she wasn't afraid of Dai You's suspicion.

“You never used to haggle when you bought things,” Dai You said, looking at the ground this time.

“We had money before, but we don’t anymore, so we have to be more frugal. Life still goes on.” Xia Lanyue tilted her head to look at Dai You, but unfortunately she still couldn’t see his eyes and didn’t know what he was thinking.

"Is there anything else you want to ask?" Xia Lanyue asked.

"No, anyway, no matter what I ask, you can always explain it away."

Xia Lanyue smiled, feeling that she had passed his test.

Seeing that she didn't speak, Dai You urged her to go and rest, but no matter what, Xia Lanyue wouldn't leave.

"What's wrong with you today?" Dai You sensed something was off.

"Nothing's wrong, I'm just not sleepy."

Dai You was puzzled. Usually, the snoring would start at this time, so this was obviously a lie.

Xia Lanyue glanced guiltily at Dai You, and when she saw him looking at her, she quickly turned her head away.

"Tell me, what is it?"

Xia Lanyue stammered for a long time, "Do you remember Uncle Tian had a deceased son? The room I live in is his room." A complicated expression appeared on Xia Lanyue's face, and her features were almost scrunched up.

Dai You was also taken aback; clearly, he hadn't considered this question either. He glanced at the room, then seemed to be deep in thought.

As drowsiness crept in, Xia Lanyue couldn't help but yawn.

"Go back to sleep. I'll sleep on the floor outside your door. Call me if you need anything."

Xia Lanyue shook her head.

"Then you can sleep in the kitchen, and I'll sleep in the yard."

Xia Lanyue shook her head again.

“We all sleep in the yard.”

Xia Lanyue remained silent.

After some discussion, it was finally decided that Xia Lanyue would sleep in the kitchen, and Dai You went to Xia Lanyue's room.

Dai You tossed Xia Lanyue's blanket to her, reminded her that "there might be rats at night," and then went back to his room to sleep.

What? There really are rats? Xia Lanyue slapped her mouth. "You jinx! Serves you right for talking nonsense."

Even though Xia Lanyue was scared, she couldn't resist the drowsiness that came over her and soon fell asleep.

In the middle of the night, while she was sound asleep, she heard a soft rustling sound. Her consciousness gradually cleared, and then she was startled awake by the sound.

She hugged the blanket tightly, got up, and searched for the source of the sound.

It seems to be behind the stove.

After waiting for a long time without seeing anything emerge, I started to have wild thoughts: Could there be thieves in this place?

But she quickly dismissed the idea; the villagers were so poor that even thieves would probably shed tears of pity if they came.

Xia Lanyue mustered her courage and walked over, when a dark shadow darted out from under her feet. "Ah~ Ugh~", Xia Lanyue quickly covered her mouth.

It's okay, it's just a mouse, it's Jerry, Xia Lanyue comforted herself.

She lit the oil lamp, opened the door, and started banging and chasing away the firewood with a stick, leaving no corner unchecked. But when she saw something on top of the pile of firewood, it caught her attention.

Xia Lanyue took the item down. It was woven from bamboo strips, and the basic shape was already visible. It looked like a horse. Was this the skeleton of a bamboo horse?

"I must say, the weaving is quite lifelike," Xia Lanyue exclaimed. "Dai You's hands are truly skillful."

She put the bamboo horse back and continued searching for the mouse. Then she tapped a corner on the ground, and the mouse scurried away.

Xia Lanyue was relieved. She went over to close the door and lay back down on the mattress on the floor.

The floor was a bit cold in the middle of the night, and the chill seeped through the mattress and spread throughout her body, so she unconsciously wrapped herself tighter in the blanket.

Tian Guang had originally made a bamboo bed for her, but the bamboo itself is curved, which meant that the mattress wasn't thick enough and it was very uncomfortable to sleep on, so Xia Lanyue simply slept on the floor.

She mocked herself for living such a miserable life, eating simple meals and sleeping on the cold floor. It wasn't that she blamed Tian Guang for his poor hospitality, but she just happened to be caught up in this period of misfortune for the eldest daughter of the Dai family. It seemed that she was destined not to be able to lie down and relax.

She wanted a warm bed, sumptuous meals, money to spend as she pleased, and someone like Xia Yao…

Thinking of this, she felt a little regretful; she had thought Mr. Xia would be different from others. Unfortunately, one cannot judge a book by its cover. But this is for the best; in a few days she can leave without any regrets.

"Bang bang bang..." Someone knocked on the door.

Xia Lanyue mumbled incoherently, "Come in."

The knocking stopped, but no one came in.

Xia Lanyue thought her voice was too soft and the other person hadn't heard her, so she sat up and called out loudly, "Come in."

“Ah…ah…” Wang Cui’s voice came from outside the door, hesitant.

"Almost done," Xia Lanyue said, quickly getting up to tidy up the bedding.

"Good morning, Aunt Wang," Dai You's voice came through the door and reached Xia Lanyue's ears.

"Oh, you've moved to a new place? Hehe," Wang Cui's voice was noticeably clearer.

Judging from her tone, Xia Lanyue suddenly realized that Wang Cui had misunderstood them.

"We're going to the fields to harvest wheat today, so we got up a little early. If you're not awake yet, go to my room and keep sleeping," Wang Cui said with a smile as she pushed the door open and came in.

Xia Lanyue glanced out the window; it was just getting light. She turned back and said, "It's alright, Aunt Wang, I'm up."