Inviting the Moon to the Farmhouse

"Don't eat it, you might get food poisoning..."

"...Zhang the doctor came to the village yesterday, I think the village head summoned him..."

"What did Doctor Zhang say about your foot..."

Xia Lanyue was half asleep, but she could hear the conversation next to her very clearly.

"Why isn't she awake yet? It's almost dark. Now everyone's going to blame us..."

The door opened, and A-Cheng asked in a loud voice, "Is she awake?"

"Not yet," Xia Yao said.

"Hmph, see? I told you we shouldn't have let them come. Now they're blaming you for this!" Acheng said sarcastically.

Then Xia Huifang sighed, "Keep your voice down, is her medicine ready yet?"

"It's all ready, and my cousin's medicine is ready too," Acheng said.

Xia Lanyue rolled over, slowly opened her eyes, and then, seeing a room full of people, asked with some surprise, "Why are you all here?"

Xia Huifang immediately asked with concern, "Is A-Yue feeling better?"

"I'm fine now, Aunt Xia, I don't feel bad anymore," Xia Lanyue said calmly as she sat up.

“That’s great,” Xia Huifang immediately explained, “Ah Yue, the candy wasn’t given by any intention. It was a gift from Pangao’s uncle. He doesn’t like sweets, so he didn’t eat it. He only gave it to you because he heard you liked it, which led to this misunderstanding.”

“He wouldn’t give me the candy I asked for,” A-Cheng complained.

"I'm fine, I don't blame you," Xia Lanyue said.

"That's good. I knew A-Yue was reasonable. Let's eat then, so you can take your medicine."

"Just let Dai You give it to me. You've all had a long day, so take a rest," Xia Lanyue said.

“Okay, I’ll go call it for you,” Acheng said without further ado.

After everyone left, leaving only her and Dai You, Xia Lanyue finally didn't have to pretend anymore. She sighed and relaxed. The things they said while she was asleep made her feel aggrieved.

"Let's eat," Dai You said, picking up the porridge and bringing it to her lips.

Xia Lanyue shook her head without opening her mouth.

"What's wrong? I wasn't here this afternoon, did something happen?" Dai You asked.

"No, I was planning to go and find out some information, but this has wasted another day," Xia Lanyue said dejectedly.

"I passed by the Tian family this afternoon and asked Uncle Tian about the situation. He said that the thieves ran away in two groups and they have already started investigating separately. The group that took the land route should be found in the next couple of days, but the group that took the water route will be harder to find."

Xia Lanyue was somewhat pleased, "So, we'll be cleared of all charges soon. I didn't expect that Chief Zhao is such a good official."

"Maybe."

"By the way, did you know that Doctor Zhang was summoned by the village head yesterday?"

Dai You shook his head. "They're probably asking about us."

Xia Lanyue nodded. "My illness is real, and I'm not afraid of him asking."

"Lin Xiu is pregnant."

"Huh?" Xia Lanyue looked at Dai You in surprise. "When did this happen?"

"She was four months pregnant. This afternoon, when she passed by Tianjiadi, Dr. Zhang took her pulse and said it seemed to be a boy."

"That's great news! Shouldn't we send something to congratulate them?" Xia Lanyue asked.

"I don't have much money left, what should I prepare for her?"

Xia Lanyue didn't have any good ideas at the moment. "Anyway, her delivery is still a long way off. Let's think about it slowly."

Xia Lanyue took the medicine and drank it. She valued her life highly now, as there were still many things she hadn't done. After finishing the medicine, she went to rest early.

At breakfast time, Dai You came to knock on her door, "A-Yue, are you up yet?"

"Get up," Xia Lanyue hurriedly got up, opened the door and went out, meeting Dai You's concerned gaze. "I'm fine."

Xia Huifang specially prepared meat porridge for Xia Lanyue to help her replenish her strength and recover faster. The four of them sat down at the table and started eating without waiting for Acheng.

“Ah Yue, I’ve figured out what happened with the candy. The candy was given to Uncle by our neighbor. Uncle didn’t want to eat it himself, and then he got sick, so he gave it to us. Over time, it got contaminated. You see, we didn’t do it on purpose, so please don’t blame us,” Xia Huifang explained.

“I understand. You explained this yesterday. I know,” Xia Lanyue said while eating.

Perhaps because I vomited all my fluids yesterday, the porridge tasted especially delicious today, and I wanted to have another bowl after finishing mine. But seeing how little porridge was left in the pot, I felt too embarrassed to get more.

"Never mind, I'll be full after taking the medicine, so I'll save some room in my stomach," Xia Lanyue thought.

After dinner, Dai You went to the river to wash the dishes, Xia Huifang was brewing medicine in the kitchen, and Xia Lanyue was sunbathing in the yard.

She felt everything was fine and just wanted to continue her popcorn experiment after Xia Huifang left. But Xia Huifang insisted on staying to brew the medicine, and Xia Lanyue wouldn't let her do it herself, so she could only continue waiting. She glanced at the spot where she had vomited yesterday; it had already been cleaned with soil.

After finally preparing the medicine, Xia Huifang went to the fields.

Xia Lanyue and Xia Yao each held a bowl of medicine and were drinking it.

"Does your medicine really work for treating amnesia?" Xia Yao asked.

Xia Lanyue shook her head.

"So how did you get your amnesia? Didn't Dai You tell you?"

"He didn't know either; he's not a doctor."

"I've heard that if someone loses their memory, they might recover it if they relive the experience."

Xia Lanyue frowned. So this saying has existed since ancient times. "I was hit by a car, where can I go..." She stopped mid-sentence, realizing something was wrong, and quickly shut her mouth. She secretly glanced at Xia Yao, who didn't react and was just drinking his medicine with his head down, so she was relieved.

"Who told you about this method?" Xia Lanyue asked.

“In the book.”

"You read quite a wide range of books."

"It's alright, I just enjoy reading."

"Your family has lost so much grain, aren't you worried?"

“There’s no use in rushing. The grain won’t come back on its own. I trust the village chief’s abilities,” Xia Yao said, finishing the last sip of his medicine and handing the bowl to Xia Lanyue.

Xia Lanyue rolled her eyes at him, took the bowl, and turned to leave, but Xia Yao stopped her.

"I really didn't know that the candy had gone bad."

"Oh."

Xia Lanyue said nothing else, left Xia Yao's door, and went into the kitchen.

Dai You has returned and is setting the table.

Xia Lanyue put the bowl into the bucket and asked Dai You, "Did you eat the popcorn I made yesterday?"

"have eaten."

"what about the taste?"

"Hmm...it's good...how did A-Yue come up with this?"

"I learned it from a book," Xia Lanyue said.

"It would be better if we stir-fried it with salt; then the corn wouldn't stick to the sand," Xia Lanyue said with a hint of regret, as salt was too expensive here.

What are you going to do with this?

"We'll sell them for money, and we'll also have those rice cakes from yesterday; kids will love them."

“But this kind of street vendor work is not suitable for your status.”

Xia Lanyue wanted to laugh when she heard the word "status". They were in such a state now, what did it matter about status? Survival was the most important thing.

"Did you bring the candy?" Xia Lanyue asked.

Dai You took out a paper packet from his pocket and handed it to Xia Lanyue. "He gave you that candy on purpose, didn't he?"

Xia Lanyue looked at Dai You with a puzzled expression and reached out to take the candy from his hand.

“He must have known there was something wrong with the candy. Don’t eat anything he gives you again,” Dai You said.

Xia Lanyue understood what he meant and nodded, "I won't eat it next time."

"And this person, he's very cunning, stay away from him."

Xia Lanyue didn't want Dai You to worry, so she kept nodding.