Inviting the Moon to the Farmhouse

"This is..." Xia Lanyue couldn't help but ask.

“Ah, this girl has some mental issues, she’s a bit slow,” Wang Cui explained to her. “It’s good that you know, but don’t mention it in front of them later. Your uncle is fine, but your sister-in-law can’t stand it, she’ll definitely cry.”

Xia Lanyue nodded. She seemed to remember what A Xiang had mentioned about her uncle's family, and asked, "Does Uncle Tian raise chickens?"

“Yes,” Wang Cui said, puzzled. “How did you know? Did Lin Xiu tell you?”

“No, it was A-Xiang who said he was going to take me to see chickens,” Xia Lanyue said.

Wang Cui nodded and then said, "Then you've worked hard, I'll go back to the fields now."

After seeing Wang Cui off, Xia Lanyue and Dai You went to work in the fields. Song Mei was very happy to see them come to help.

Throughout the morning, Song Mei asked Xia Lanyue and the others several times if they were thirsty or hungry, but they only asked for some water.

Xia Lanyue tried to strike up an awkward conversation with Dai You, but Dai You wouldn't talk to her and kept avoiding her.

"Let's see how long you can hide," Xia Lanyue thought to herself.

After several days of farm work, they became much more skilled and faster, and by late afternoon they had already finished harvesting the wheat and were resting by the field.

Xia Lanyue worked exceptionally hard today, so she got hungry early on. Thinking she would go back and get some food to fill her stomach, she didn't delay and said goodbye to Tian Feng and Song Mei, then went directly back to Tian Guang's house with Dai You.

On the way, Xia Lanyue asked, "Have you ever heard of chickens participating in competitions?"

Dai You nodded.

Xia Lanyue saw that this guy was paying attention to her, so she continued to talk to him, "What competition is it? Does it pay a lot? Tell me about it."

"The fighting cocks in the capital are very famous. There are usually competitions between January and April. Winning can earn you a lot of money. These chickens are not ordinary chickens. They are a special breed. If you want to participate in the competition, you have to train them regularly and feed them well in order to have a chance of winning. I didn't expect that people in such a small place would raise them."

Xia Lanyue wasn't interested in chickens, but seeing that Dai You had spoken to her, she figured the matter was over.

The days are getting longer each day. When Dai You came back after washing the dishes, it wasn't dark yet.

While waiting for Dai You, Xia Lanyue neatly folded the dried clothes and placed them on the cabinet in the east room. Turning around, she noticed the stool under the window was covered with bamboo dragonflies!

She hadn't had time to work on it since she collected the bamboo, but she was surprised and delighted that Dai You had made so many in one night. She took one out and test-flew it in the yard, and it flew quite well.

As soon as Dai You entered the courtyard, Xia Lanyue jogged over and said, "The bamboo dragonfly you made flies so well, and the bamboo horse is just like it."

Dai You nodded and walked past her without saying a word.

Xia Lanyue frowned. "Hey, why aren't you saying anything again?"

Dai You stopped, turned around, looked at her, said nothing, and then turned back to the kitchen to put the bucket away.

Xia Lanyue was unhappy. "Aren't you going to talk to me?" she asked angrily, standing at the kitchen door with her arms crossed.

Dai You came out of the kitchen, dried his hands, took out a pale yellow object from his pocket, and handed it to Xia Lanyue.

It was a wooden hairpin, the same style as the one in her hair.

Wasn't this the hairpin she asked him for a few days ago? Xia Lanyue's mood improved instantly when she saw the hairpin. She took it and examined it repeatedly. The wood grain of the hairpin was clear, and it had been polished very smoothly. She was very satisfied. Then she put the new hairpin in her hair and asked Dai You, "Does it look good?"

Dai You nodded with a faint smile.

Xia Lanyue reached up to remove the new hairpin from her hair, but when she lowered her hand, her fingers accidentally snagged her hair, ruining her hairstyle. Frustrated, Xia Lanyue simply removed all the hairpins from her hair.

Without the hairpins to restrain her, her long hair fell freely. Her hair was already well-maintained, soft and glossy, like black, shiny silk. In the setting sun, it reflected a soft light, making her appear even more gentle.

When she looked up again, she met Dai You's eyes, who were gazing intently at her. Their eyes met, and there was no evasion in his gaze, only honesty and sincerity, and an overflowing love.

Faced with this situation, Xia Lanyue panicked and didn't know what to do. She slowly called out to him, "Brother?!"

Dai You didn't react, still staring intently into her eyes.

Xia Lanyue withdrew her gaze, lowered her head, and after leaving behind the words "Brother, get some rest," she quickly turned and ran into the house, closing the door behind her.

At this moment, she was in a state of utter confusion. Dai You's gaze was truly inscrutable. How could this be? Wasn't he Dai Xia Lan Yue's brother? Didn't he have someone he admired?! Could it be... no way!

Xia Lanyue peered through the crack in the door, trying to see what was happening in the yard. The door, which was usually drafty, was now so narrow that there wasn't a single wide gap, and she couldn't see anything outside.

Sitting back on the bed, Xia Lanyue sorted out her thoughts. Her interactions with Dai You during this time had been perfectly reasonable; it was simply a brother's care and concern for his sister, nothing inappropriate. As for what had just happened, perhaps she had misunderstood, or perhaps he had misjudged her gaze.

"Yes, that's it," Xia Lanyue told herself not to think too much, and then lay down.

Xia Lanyue turned over, repeatedly rubbing the two hairpins in her hands. She was thinking about how to get along with him in the future. She liked their current way of being together, cherished this affection, and didn't want to ruin it, didn't want to lose this brother...

She thought for a very long time until she felt sleepy and then fell into a deep sleep.

When she woke up again, the sunlight was blinding. Xia Lanyue rubbed her eyes, sat up, and looked around; it was already broad daylight.

Wait, isn't this the room she stayed in before?! She suddenly remembered how frantically she ran yesterday and ended up in this room without realizing it. Luckily, it was daytime now, so she wasn't so scared anymore.

Xia Lanyue looked out the window and realized it was getting late. Why hadn't anyone called her to the fields today? Puzzled, she got out of bed and went outside. There was a stool in front of the door with a food box on it.

She looked around; the yard was empty, the main house door was locked, and the kitchen door was closed—they must have all gone to the fields. But she wanted to confirm, so she called out, "Dai... Aunt Wang... Aunt Wang..." Sure enough, no one answered.

Xia Lanyue thought to herself that it was better not to go, to avoid embarrassment. Then she went back into the house, tied up her long hair, hesitated briefly, and then chose a wooden hairpin to put in her hair. She also put a jade hairpin under her pillow.

She went out and opened the food box. There was a bowl of porridge on the top and a bowl of medicine on the bottom, both still warm.

Just as she picked up her porridge to eat, two suspicious-looking people at the courtyard gate caught her attention. She saw the two walk straight towards the gate and reach out to pull the latch. When they saw Xia Lanyue, they obviously paused for a moment, then withdrew their hands. "Oh, you're home."

Xia Lanyue remained silent, staring at them to see what they would do next.

The two people were unfamiliar faces; Xia Lanyue had never seen them before. She was a little scared. She was alone at home, and if the two forced their way in, she wouldn't be able to fight them off.

She could only try to remain calm, but fortunately they didn't linger and continued on their way.

Xia Lanyue breathed a sigh of relief, quickly put down her bowl, and craned her neck to look in the direction they had left. Only after confirming that they were far away did she feel at ease.

She had a feeling that these two were not good people.

Xia Lanyue couldn't eat anymore. She put the bowl and food box back in the kitchen and stood at the door to observe if there were any suspicious people.

It was wheat harvest time, and everyone who could work was out in the fields, leaving almost no one at home. These two strong men shouldn't be wandering around the village instead of working in the fields. Thinking of this, Xia Lanyue decided it would be best to talk to Tian Guang about it.

Xia Lanyue reached out and locked the door from the inside, then ran towards the edge of the Tian family's field.

Tian Guang and the others were threshing wheat in the field. Xia Lanyue steadied her breathing and said, "Uncle Tian, ​​two strangers came to the village just now. They didn't look like good people."

Everyone on the field stopped what they were doing and looked at her. Lin Xiu asked, "What did those two people look like?"

"Square face, quite dark-skinned, small eyes, about this tall," Xia Lanyue gestured with her hands.

Lin Xiu frowned as she pondered. Perhaps her description was too vague, and judging from her appearance, she didn't know who she was.

Everyone looked at each other, speechless.

“You don’t recognize everyone in the village. Maybe you’re someone’s family?” Wang Cui asked.

“They were about to open the gate to the courtyard when I happened to see them from inside. The two of them ran away as soon as they saw me,” Xia Lanyue said.

"Oh, if you put it that way, there really is a problem," Wang Cui said, also feeling a little uneasy.

"What could they possibly be doing in broad daylight?" Tian Kuan asked.

“Sigh, everyone is busy in the fields right now, and no one is home,” Tian Guang said.

"What should we do then? Uncle Tian, ​​should we notify each household?" Xia Lanyue asked.

“Everyone’s busy in the fields here. How long will it take to notify everyone about this large area? I’ll go back tonight and tell everyone then. We’re all poor in our village, and there’s nothing to steal from our homes,” Tian Guang said.

Xia Lanyue nodded. She didn't know much about the village either, but as long as she delivered the message, her task was complete.

Then her gaze swept across the wheat field, unexpectedly meeting Dai You's eyes. She then casually looked away, as if she hadn't noticed his presence.