Inviting the Moon to the Farmhouse

It was Xia Lanyue's first time traveling this road, and she wasn't familiar with it. When she reached the fork in the road, she was a little confused, unsure which way led back. Fortunately, after waiting for a while, a villager passed by.

Xia Lanyue ran up to her, "Auntie, could you tell me which road leads to Hegu Village? Is it this one or that one?"

The aunt didn't answer her question, but looked her up and down, and then said, "Oh my, aren't you the girl who stole the grain?"

Xia Lanyue was taken aback, and quickly explained, "I'm not!"

"What do you mean no? I remember you, and there was a guy with you, you were in cahoots," the woman said, then looked around. "What are you doing here? Scouting the place?!"

"Auntie, you've misunderstood. We're not thieves. I was just passing by and got lost."

The woman glared at Xia Lanyue and shouted at the people approaching from a distance, "Come quick, someone come quick..."

Upon seeing this, Xia Lanyue disregarded which road she was on and ran towards a deserted path.

After running for a long time, Xia Lanyue looked back and, seeing no one, stopped with relief and sat down by the roadside to rest.

Having already arrived at this point, she decided to walk a little further along the road and try her luck. Fortunately, she was lucky enough not to have chosen the wrong path.

When she got home, Dai You was already back and peeling bamboo shoots.

He saw Xia Lanyue and said, "Xia Yao said you went to take Ahe home?"

"Yes, I almost couldn't find my way back," Xia Lanyue said, sitting down on a stool, looking very weak.

"Drink up," Dai You said, handing Xia Lanyue a glass of water.

Xia Lanyue needed water to quench her thirst, so she took it and gulped it down.

"It's a pity that Village Chief Zhao isn't home," Xia Lanyue said, wiping the water from her chin. "But at least we got to know the way, so it's still worthwhile."

“I asked around today, and the grain was transported in the direction of the town. It doesn’t seem like it was stolen by thieves,” Dai You said.

"Why do you say that?"

"Because the technique was unprofessional, too many traces were left behind."

"Unprofessional? Do you think they're unprofessional, or does the neighborhood chief think they're unprofessional?"

"It was Village Chief Zhao, but I didn't hear this from him, I heard it from Uncle Tian. He meant there were too many flaws. Doctor Zhang was called in for a talk by the village chief, but it was all about his illness."

"That's even better! It will soon be proven that it has nothing to do with us," Xia Lanyue said, feeling particularly happy. "My silver notes will be back soon too."

Dai You nodded and continued peeling bamboo shoots.

At this moment, Xia Yao opened the door to the room and came out, looking at Xia Lanyue, "Did you see Village Chief Zhao?"

"No, but I'm still happy."

"What are you so happy about?"

Xia Lanyue thought for a moment, "It's a secret."

Hearing this answer, Xia Yao didn't seem to care. Seeing that she didn't say anything, he changed the subject, "A-Yue is too diligent, digging up so many bamboo shoots. But how do you plan to eat these bamboo shoots?"

"It would be even better if it were stir-fried with some pork, the taste would be..." Xia Lanyue said, seemingly immersed in the deliciousness, smacking her lips, "And the shredded bamboo shoots in chili oil are also delicious."

"What is red oil?" Dai You asked curiously.

“Chili oil,” Xia Lanyue said.

"What kind of dish is chili oil?" Dai You asked, puzzled.

"Don't you know what chili oil is?" Xia Yao asked Dai You.

Dai You shook his head and looked at Xia Yao, "I don't know, do you know?"

"I don't know either," Xia Yao said, then looked at Xia Lanyue with Dai You.

Xia Lanyue realized she had said the wrong thing, looked at the two of them, and said, "I don't know either, I read it in a book."

"A-Yue has read a lot of books," Xia Yao said.

Xia Lanyue smiled to hide her inner panic.

Dai You prepared the bamboo shoots, reserving some for stir-frying that evening and preparing the rest for pickling.

"You can even pickle bamboo shoots?!" Xia Lanyue exclaimed as she watched Dai You cook the bamboo shoots.

"Well, my cooking skills are so-so, but I can eat a lot."

"We'll know once we try it. How many days until it's ready to eat?" Xia Lanyue asked.

"Three days later."

Xia Lanyue had never tried pickled bamboo shoots before, and she was already looking forward to it.

"Cousin, we're back," came A-Cheng's voice. He and Xia Huifang had returned.

“Perfect timing, go get the jar of wine, we’ll have some tonight,” Xia Yao said to Acheng. “We’re adding dishes today to celebrate Ayue’s recovery.”

"What dishes are served today?" Xia Huifang asked.

"Bamboo shoots," Xia Lanyue said.

"That's great, you guys are really quick. It's busy with farming right now, and everyone's too busy to pick bamboo shoots. Once the harvest is over, you'll have to fight over them if you want to eat bamboo shoots. Hehe, thank you for your hard work, Yue," Xia Huifang said with a smile.

"It's not hard work, it's just..." Xia Lanyue asked hesitantly, "These bamboo shoots don't come from any particular family, right?"

"Of course, that forest belongs to everyone, whoever finds it keeps it."

Xia Lanyue nodded with a smile, but in her heart she cursed Jiang Di.

During dinner, the group ate and drank lightly. After Xia Huifang left the table, Acheng couldn't wait to fill everyone's glasses with wine.

Dai You gave Xia Lanyue a look, and Xia Lanyue smiled. She understood what A-Cheng meant and signaled to Dai You not to worry. This situation was exactly what she wanted; very good, very good.

"Come on, come on, I'm not good with words, but this wine is to welcome you all. Cheers!" Acheng raised his glass, clinked it with everyone's, tilted his head back, and drank the wine in his glass. Then, seeing that everyone was still holding their glasses but not drinking, he said, "Drink up!"

"Drink," Xia Lanyue said, taking a sip.

Dai You turned his head to look at her, a hint of worry in his eyes, "Last time at Uncle Tian's house, you had a headache after drinking too much, have you forgotten?"

"I remember, I remember, I'll only drink this one," he said, covering the glass to prevent Acheng from pouring more wine.

Seeing that she was relieved, Dai You drank the wine in his glass and said, "My sister can't drink, so I'll drink with everyone else." Then he filled his own glass.

Xia Yao said nothing, silently drank the wine, and refilled his glass.

"I don't have many hobbies, but I really crave this kind of wine, hehe," Acheng said, pouring himself another glass.

That's great, no need to force him to drink, he can drink on his own. Xia Lanyue is happy, and then pretends to advise, "Drink less, don't get drunk."

"You're drinking so much, you're wasting my good wine," Xia Yao said to Acheng.

“Good wine should be drunk like this to truly enjoy it,” A-Cheng said, smacking his lips. “I’m only getting this wine today because of A-Yue, otherwise my cousin wouldn’t have brought it out. Hehe, shall I toast you?” A-Cheng unusually offered to toast her.

"Ah, okay," Xia Lanyue picked up her wine glass.

Dai You, who was standing next to her, quickly took the cup from her hand and said, "I'll drink it for her."

“Okay, hehe,” Acheng drank another cup.

"I'd like to raise a glass to Brother Dai. Please forgive me for any shortcomings in our hospitality these past few days," Xia Yao said, raising his glass to Dai You.

Dai You didn't say anything, but raised his glass. The two toasted each other and then drank.

Drinking like this is too slow, and only A-Cheng is drinking continuously, which makes Xia Lanyue a little anxious.

"Why are you just drinking straight? There aren't any drinking games?" Xia Lanyue asked.

"Let's guess," Acheng said, grabbing a small handful of corn kernels and holding them in his hand. "Guess whether it's odd or even. If you guess wrong, you'll have to drink; if you guess right, you can ask me a question. How about that?"

“Okay, that’s easy,” Xia Lanyue said.

"Ah Yue isn't drinking, so why is she more enthusiastic than us?" Xia Yao said.

"I saw you were all too reserved, so here's what I'll do: I'll give you a riddle, and you guess it. That way, I'll participate too," Xia Lanyue said, picking up a few corn kernels and holding them in her hand. "Xia Yao, you go first."

Xia Yao lowered his head and smiled, "Then I'll guess an odd number."

Xia Lanyue spread out her palms and counted, "It was indeed an odd number. Xia Yao won."

Then, Xia Lanyue put her hand under the table, fiddled with it for a few moments, and then held out her fist, "Acheng, guess."

Even numbers.

Xia Lanyue opened her palm and said, "That's right."

Next, it was Dai You's turn. Unfortunately, Dai You guessed wrong and drank a cup.

Xia Lanyue was a little anxious. What if Dai You fell down first after several laps, and Xia Yao and the others hadn't fallen? She had to think of a solution.

In the next round, Xia Yao guessed correctly again, while A-Cheng guessed wrong and drank a cup. When it was Dai You's turn, he looked at Xia Lanyue, who blinked—a hint she was giving him. She wondered if Dai You would understand. But as luck would have it, Dai You guessed correctly, and Xia Lanyue was secretly delighted.

In the next round, Xia Yao finally guessed wrong, while Acheng and Dai You both guessed correctly.

The fourth round yielded the same result.

"Brother Dai is really lucky; he always manages to avoid all the drinks," Xia Yao said, his words seemingly carrying a hidden meaning.

Xia Lanyue pretended not to understand, but did not refute. "Is Xia Yao envious of this luck? But this wine is so good, those who drink more will not lose out."

“This is good wine, and A-Yue only drank one cup. It’s a waste,” Xia Yao said.

These words really struck a chord with Xia Lanyue. She glanced at the wine in her glass and secretly swallowed.