Inviting the Moon to the Farmhouse

"Are you really going to sell rice cakes?" Dai You stood next to Xia Lanyue, watching her swing the shovel incessantly.

"Of course, it'll be ready soon. You won't doubt me after you've eaten it," Xia Lanyue said, switching pots, adding some sugar, and after another flurry of activity, a plate of rice cakes was placed in front of Dai You.

"Try it," Xia Lanyue said, picking up a piece.

Dai You tasted it and nodded.

"What do you think we should call this?" Xia Lanyue asked.

"Rice cake is fine."

Xia Lanyue knew this would happen. "I'll take a piece and let Xia Yao try it, and ask him for his opinion."

Dai You reached out to stop Xia Lanyue, "He doesn't like sweets."

"how do you know?"

"Otherwise, how could the sugar have gone bad without anyone noticing?"

Xia Lanyue nodded, agreeing that it made sense.

"Then let's leave some for Aunt Xia to try," Xia Lanyue said, placing the rice cakes on the table. "By the way, I also need some wrapping paper for them. Where can I buy that?"

“They should sell them in town. I’ll go check tomorrow. But…” Dai You hesitated, “I’m afraid something might happen to you while I’m gone.”

Xia Lanyue smiled and said, "Are you worried that the Xia family will harm me? It's just a little over forty bushels of wheat. They wouldn't risk harming us. If something happens to us at their house, they won't be able to escape either."

Xia Lanyue seemed to have thought of something, "When you buy paper tomorrow, remember to bargain. But never mind, let's go together after Jiang Di comes tomorrow."

Dai You nodded. "That's for the best."

“There should be a lot of paper in Xia Yao’s house. Is there any in the room where you live?” Xia Lanyue asked.

Dai You shook his head. "I haven't noticed."

Xia Lanyue decided to go and take a look herself, so she ran to the west room.

"No, right?" Dai You asked as Xia Lanyue returned to the kitchen empty-handed.

"No, but let's buy it anyway."

Xia Lanyue squatted at the door, eating rice cakes, waiting for Dai You.

Dai You went to inquire about the progress of catching the thief, but Xia Lanyue was too lazy to go.

A little girl, about five or six years old, walked over from a distance, carrying a bamboo dragonfly. As she passed by Xia Lanyue's door, the little girl kept staring at the rice cake in Xia Lanyue's hand.

"Want some?" Xia Lanyue asked.

The little girl stopped, looked at her timidly, and then nodded.

Xia Lanyue smiled, broke the rice cake in her hand into two pieces, one large and one small due to uneven force, and asked, "Which piece do you want?"

The little girl pointed to the larger one.

Xia Lanyue smiled and handed the larger one to her.

As the little girl drew closer, Xia Lanyue realized that the bamboo dragonfly in the girl's hand looked like the one she had given to A Xiang. Unsure, Xia Lanyue asked, "Do you know A Xiang?"

The little girl nodded.

She guessed right; Xia Lanyue seemed to know who this girl was. "Let me guess, you're Ahe, aren't you?"

The little girl's eyes widened upon hearing this. "How did you know?"

"Because I'm amazing! I know so much!"

Why are you at Mr. Xia's house?

"I live here."

"Then why haven't I seen you before?" Ahe asked, tilting her head.

"I just moved here. Did you used to come to Mr. Xia's house often?"

Ahe nodded. "I study here."

"Huh?!" Xia Lanyue was very surprised. Girls go to school too? To be precise, do girls in the village have the opportunity to go to school? This made Xia Lanyue even more curious about whose child Ahe was, and why her family was so open-minded and wealthy. "Whose child are you?"

"My name is Zhao Qinghe."

"Could it be the Zhao family's?" Xia Lanyue asked. "Is the Zhao family's chief Zhao your grandfather?"

"He is my father."

"Ah," Xia Lanyue was taken aback, but quickly understood. Elder Zhao Li had a daughter. However, she had the opportunity to win over the little girl today. Xia Lanyue used her gentlest voice, "Does Ahe think this rice cake is delicious?"

Ahe nodded.

"When you want to eat, come find your aunt again, okay?"

"Can I share some with Ah Xiang?"

"Of course you can," Xia Lanyue said, beginning to envy their friendship.

"Thank you, Auntie."

"You're welcome. My aunt's name is Dai Xiyue. Please put in a good word for her with your father."

"Are you trying to fool a child?" Xia Yao's voice came from above.

Xia Lanyue was startled. After calming down, she said to Xia Yao in an annoyed tone, "What nonsense are you talking about? I was just coaxing her."

"Hello, Mr. Xia," Ahe said, and ran over to hug Xia Yao and act coquettishly.

Xia Lanyue stood up and looked at their cloying behavior, and couldn't help but purse her lips. Xia Yao had even captured the hearts of little girls.

Xia Yao patted Ahe's head, then looked at Xia Lanyue with a look of disgust and said, "What was that sound you just made?"

"what sound?!"

"Hmph," Xia Yao sneered, "I've heard that Village Chief Zhao is a very fair person and doesn't like sycophants. Your approach won't work."

"I didn't intend to do anything. It's best if he's fair and just; I'm actually worried he might not do his job."

"Mr. Xia, is your foot better?" Ahe asked, hugging Xia Yao's leg.

"almost done."

"Father asked me if I would start studying again after the summer vacation? Is that right, Mr. Xia?" Ahe asked.

"Yes, have you been studying hard lately?" Xia Yao asked Ahe, looking down at her.

Ahe nodded, then took a bite of the rice cake.

"Is it okay for you to feed this to a child?" Xia Yao turned to look at Xia Lanyue.

Xia Lanyue was displeased upon hearing this. "Poisoned..." She felt her voice was a bit loud, then looked around and whispered, "The problem is with your bag of candy, what does it have to do with my rice cakes? Don't spread rumors, I'm going to sell them for money." After saying that, she handed the rice cakes in her hand to Xia Yao, "Try them, see if you still get poisoned?"

She thought Xia Yao wouldn't accept it, but he did and started eating.

Xia Lanyue was speechless; she had lost another piece of cake.

"It tastes good. It would be even better if the corn flavor was coated with sugar," Xia Yao said.

Xia Lanyue perked up upon hearing this, "What do you think would be a good name for that corn?"

"You want me to help you come up with a name?" Xia Yao revealed a sly smile.

Seeing Xia Yao's expression, Xia Lanyue said, "No, I was just asking. Everyone says Mr. Xia is very knowledgeable, and I just wanted to see for myself. Now it seems I was overthinking it. Naming is not Mr. Xia's forte."

Xia Yao smiled and looked down, not replying to her, but instead said to Ahe, "Go home early, don't let your father worry."

"Let me take you home, Ahe. I'm worried about you going home alone," Xia Lanyue said to Ahe with a smile.

Then, Xia Lanyue followed Ahe to Zhao Lizhang's house, which was in the next village. It took them about half an hour to get there.

Perhaps because she wasn't familiar with Xia Lanyue, Ahe remained quiet the whole way until she saw the front door of her house, at which point she excitedly ran over.

"I'm home, thank you, Auntie," Ahe pushed open the courtyard gate and went inside, without inviting Xia Lanyue in.

"Ahe, is your father home?" Xia Lanyue couldn't help but ask.

"Father isn't home; he's in the fields."

Xia Lanyue felt a little regretful that she hadn't asked clearly earlier. "Then Aunt Yue will go back now. You stay at home."

Ahe nodded and walked towards the door. Xia Lanyue quickly said, "No need to see me off, you can stay home." Then she saw Ahe reach out and latch the door.

Xia Lanyue smiled awkwardly, then waved her hand and walked back.