Inviting the Moon to the Farmhouse

Xia Lanyue grabbed a basket and rushed to the kitchen, eagerly stir-frying some corn with salt. She then tasted it; it was delicious.

At this moment, Xia Yao also came in, tasted one, nodded in satisfaction, and then started chatting with Xia Lanyue intentionally or unintentionally.

Who was that person who just came in?

"Um... a friend."

“Ah Yue has only been here a few days, but she’s already made new friends.”

"Hmm," Xia Lanyue said smugly.

"How did A-Yue learn to make this?" Xia Yao asked, holding a popcorn.

I learned it from books.

Xia Yao smiled meaningfully, "Could you share A-Yue's book with me?"

"No, I don't want too many people to learn my skills."

"You're even wary of me?"

Xia Lanyue shrugged.

Just then, a voice from outside the door interrupted their conversation, "Mr. Xia," the voice sounded like Ahe.

"It's so lively today," Xia Yao said, turning around to open the door. Xia Lanyue jogged past him, reached the door first, and opened it.

Two children, Ah He and Ah Xiang, were waiting patiently at the door.

"Ah Xiang," Xia Lanyue ran over, squatted down, and hugged Ah Xiang. "Have you missed Aunt Yue, Ah Xiang? Aunt Yue has missed you so much." After saying that, she let go of Ah Xiang's arms and looked at him.

Kids grow so fast; I haven't seen A-Xiang for just a few days and he seems to have grown taller.

Ah Xiang nodded shyly.

“They’re here to see me,” Xia Yao said from behind.

“They’ve come to see me,” Xia Lanyue argued.

"They just called him Mr. Xia."

Xia Lanyue ignored Xia Yao and pulled the two of them into the courtyard.

Xia Lanyue took out the popcorn she had just made and placed it on the small table in the yard for the two of them to eat.

"Wow, what is this?" A-Xiang asked, his eyes wide.

“This is different from what I had last time,” Ahe said.

“Yes, you should try it and see if it’s good,” Xia Lanyue said.

The two children, afraid of being taken advantage of, filled their hands before starting to eat.

Xia Yao pulled up a stool and sat down next to him. "What do you want to see Mr. Xia about?"

The two children didn't seem to hear Xia Yao's words and continued to say to themselves, "We ate something sweet yesterday."

"Which one tastes better?" Xia Lanyue asked.

“I like sweet things,” Ahe said.

"Aunt Yue will make some sweets tomorrow, and you can come and get them then, okay?" Xia Lanyue said.

"Okay," they both said in unison.

Xia Yao felt a little awkward watching the group eat and chat happily. He cleared his throat and said, "Ah Xiang."

“Mr. Xia,” A Xiang said, looking at Xia Yao.

“Don’t call me Mr. Xia at home, call me Uncle,” Xia Yao corrected him.

"Uncle, have you eaten this? This is the first time I've ever seen corn like this," A-Xiang said, holding up some popcorn. Then he turned to Xia Lanyue and asked, "Aunt Yue, what's this called?"

"Hmm..." Xia Lanyue hasn't given it a name yet.

“Salted rice cakes,” Xia Yao said.

Xia Lanyue suddenly realized, "What a great name!" She looked at Xia Yao and gave him a thumbs up.

Xia Yao saw her gesture, turned his face to the side, and smiled.

"Xia Yao, do you have any paper? I want to wrap some for the two of them so they can take it back and eat it."

Upon hearing this, Xia Yao stood up and walked towards the west room, saying, "I'll go take a look."

Taking advantage of Xia Yao's absence, Xia Lanyue leaned closer and whispered to Ahe, "Have you mentioned me to your father?"

Ahe nodded.

Did your father say anything?

"Father said not to eat anything you give me, he's afraid it might be poisonous," Ahe said calmly.

"Heh," Xia Lanyue sighed, "It's alright. Take some back today and let your father try it too. Tell him that Mr. Xia has also eaten this, and then say some good things about Aunt Yue."

"What are you talking about me?" Xia Yao came out of the west room, holding two pieces of paper in his hand, and handed them to Xia Lanyue. "This is all."

Xia Lanyue smiled and said, "It's nothing, just telling the truth," and then took the paper.

"Can I take it back to my mother too?" A-Xiang asked.

“Of course, you should take some back with you,” Xia Lanyue said, then, as if remembering something, “I heard you’re going to have a little brother, is that right?”

Ah Xiang nodded.

Xia Lanyue divided the remaining salted rice puffs in the plate into two portions, wrapped them up, and gave one to each of the two people.

"Take this back with you."

The two accepted it and thanked him.

Ah He said to Ah Xiang, "Let's go."

"They're leaving already?" Xia Lanyue was a little confused. "What did you want to see Mr. Xia about?"

“We just came to visit him,” A-Xiang said.

“Oh, then you guys play with him,” Xia Lanyue said, looking at Xia Yao.

"We're done playing, we're going home."

Xia Yao glanced at Xia Lanyue and said in a nonchalant tone, "You're here to study at twenty-two. Don't forget, I'll see you out."

"Let me take you home, Xia Yao, your leg is injured," Xia Lanyue said, taking A Xiang's hand. "Come on, A Xiang, I'll take you home."

After Xia Lanyue escorted A Xiang and A He to the Tian family's house, A He refused to leave, saying that she had made an appointment with her father to wait for her there.

Xia Lanyue thought it was a good idea, as it saved her from going to the next village. So she went straight to the Tian family's field.

Xia Lanyue spotted Wang Cui turning over wheat in the field from afar. "Aunt Wang."

"Oh, you're here! Come and sit down for a while," Wang Cui walked over and took her hand. "I heard from Doctor Zhang that you ate something bad. Look at you, you've lost weight."

"I'm fine, Aunt Wang. Shall I come with you?" Xia Lanyue asked, looking at the wheat scattered on the ground.

"Take a break," Wang Cui said with a smile.

Xia Lanyue could tell that she was quite happy. Thinking that Wang Cui had a lot of information, Xia Lanyue simply followed Wang Cui to turn over the wheat.

“Ah Yue, Li Chuan just passed by here, and we asked around. He said that some of the grain has been recovered.”

"That's great! Who stole it?" Xia Lanyue asked.

"They didn't say who it was, they said they were interrogating them, and that they found a large cartload of grain, probably ten bushels."

"So, this matter is about to be resolved?"

"That's about enough," Wang Cui said, looking at Xia Lanyue. "Ah Yue, the villagers wronged you that day, and your aunt didn't stand up for you or say a word of justice. Are you still angry with your aunt?"

Xia Lanyue shook her head, "This is not Auntie's fault. Auntie was also anxious because she lost the grain."

"Then... does Ruisheng's matter, the one about going to the capital, still count?!" Wang Cui looked at her expectantly, waiting for a response.

Xia Lanyue didn't hesitate much, "It counts, and Mr. Xia is included too, let's go together."

Upon hearing this, Wang Cui's face immediately lit up with a smile. "I knew it! A-Yue is a kind and compassionate girl."

Xia Lanyue felt a little embarrassed by the praise and smiled with her head down.

Dai Xiyue's body is weak; Xia Lanyue was already out of breath after working for only a short while. "Aunt Wang, let me rest for a bit."

“You should rest. I told you not to do it, but you insisted. Hey, look, Dai You is here,” Wang Cui nudged Xia Lanyue’s arm and gestured toward the edge of the field.

Xia Lanyue looked over and saw Dai You walking along the country path towards her. When she noticed Dai You looking in her direction, Xia Lanyue quickly waved to him.

Dai You seemed to be in a good mood. He walked up to Xia Lanyue, took the cane from her, and started threshing the wheat.

Once Wang Cui was a little further away, Xia Lanyue quickly asked, "How is it?"

"I found out that the man called Master Wei is a well-known second-class household in town. He not only owns a lot of land, but also raises cattle and donkeys. Every planting season, he rents out these animals and collects rent. He's stingy and cunning, and has a terrible reputation in town. I heard that many people have been taken advantage of by him. A-Cheng also rented a cow from him. I heard that the cow died a few days after it was returned. Master Wei insisted that A-Cheng hadn't taken good care of it and had fed it something unclean, which is why it died. He demanded that A-Cheng pay him ten strings of cash. A-Cheng was definitely unwilling to pay. Master Wei wanted to get it back, but A-Cheng was too poor and had nothing to ask for. The two of them had a very tense argument."

"According to Aunt Wang, some of the grain has been recovered, and the person who stole the grain has been caught. Was it Master Wei?" Xia Lanyue asked.

Dai You shook his head. "I don't know. I only heard about what the people in town said about Master Wei. I haven't found out anything else."

"It's okay, we should have the results soon."

Dai You nodded and continued working.

Xia Lanyue looked at him, then suddenly remembered Xia Yao's words and asked, "Dai Jingyuan, he..."

Upon hearing her words, Dai You's face immediately showed an expression of disbelief. He threw away the cane in his hand and grabbed Xia Lanyue's shoulders with both hands. "You remember everything?! Right?"