Inviting the Moon to the Farmhouse

Chapter 5: This game is overplayed.

"Time to eat!" Wang Cui's voice came from the kitchen.

Tian Guang came out of the main house and saw Xia Lanyue in the yard. He pointed to the kitchen and gestured for her to go eat.

Xia Lanyue nodded in response, walked into the kitchen, looked around, and her gaze fell on a corner where a rolled-up quilt was draped over a pile of firewood. It seemed that Tian Guang had prepared a makeshift bed for Dai You. "Tian Guang is so thoughtful," Xia Lanyue thought.

Once everyone was present, Wang Cui started preparing breakfast. Breakfast was simple: congee, side dishes, and a single boiled egg.

Wang Cui peeled the egg and, under the watchful eyes of everyone at the table, placed it into the porridge bowl in front of Xia Lanyue.

Xia Lanyue hurriedly peeled the egg out and put it into A Xiang's bowl, saying, "A Xiang, eat the egg and grow tall."

"Hey, what's wrong with you, girl?" Wang Cui said, picking up A Xiang's bowl and bringing it close to Xia Lanyue's bowl to put the egg in. "In my rural area, there's nothing good. You have to eat this egg; you're still sick."

Seeing this, Xia Lanyue quickly picked up her bowl and moved it to the side to avoid it. She was too embarrassed to eat the only egg. "Aunt Wang, I'm fine. I'm all better now."

"Don't push yourself. The doctor said it will take at least half a month for you to fully recover."

"Aunt Yue, have some eggs," Ah Xiang couldn't help but say.

Xia Lanyue shook her head and said to A Xiang, "The eggs should be left for A Xiang to eat."

“He’s eaten a lot here. You’re sick, so hurry up and bring the bowl over.” Wang Cui held up the bowl and, seeing that Xia Lanyue didn’t move, urged, “What’s wrong? You’re not listening to your aunt. Hurry up.”

Xia Lanyue shook her head again, "Give it to A Xiang, he's growing taller."

And so, Xia Lanyue and Wang Cui remained deadlocked for quite a while before Wang Cui finally gave in.

A bowl of eggs was placed in front of A Xiang, who obediently began to eat without saying another word.

"Ah Xiang, does your mother give you eggs at home?" Wang Cui asked Ah Xiang.

Tian Guang nudged Wang Cui's arm, and Wang Cui rolled her eyes at him.

"Ah Xiang isn't very talkative today," Wang Cui said in a slightly strange tone.

"The master taught us not to speak while eating or sleeping." A Xiang looked up at Wang Cui.

"Mr. Xia taught well," Tian Guang said with a smile, glancing sideways at Wang Cui.

Fearing that Xia Lanyue might not understand what they were talking about, Tian Guang explained, "Mr. Xia is the only teacher in our village, and his scholarship is renowned in the surrounding villages."

“Mr. Xia was bitten by an insect,” A Xiang said.

"Huh? Not sick? It's an insect bite?" Tian Guang asked A Xiang.

Ah Xiang nodded. "The doctor said it will take Mr. Xia a long time to recover."

"When did this happen?" Tian Guang asked.

“Mr. Xia did not give a lecture yesterday afternoon,” A-Xiang said, blinking his big eyes.

"Oh my, what kind of bug could bite like this? Will it ruin his chances of passing the imperial examination? I have to go check on him later. No, I have to go now," Tian Guang said, quickly finishing the porridge in his bowl. He then told Wang Cui, "Wash the dishes later," and got up to leave.

After finishing his meal, Dai You grabbed the bowl and chopsticks and put them in a bucket. Wang Cui had gotten a feel for his temper over the past few days, so she didn't argue with him.

Dai You wiped the table and went to the river to wash the dishes. Xia Lanyue wanted to go with him, but everyone objected, so she couldn't step out of the courtyard.

Xia Lanyue is usually someone who doesn't care about doing anything at home, and now she didn't know what to do, so she thought she might as well sweep the yard.

She had just picked up the broom when Wang Cui snatched it away, pointing to her room and saying, "Go back and lie down."

Xia Lanyue didn't want to lie down; the bed was uncomfortable. But Tian Guang's family wasn't well-off, and she was too embarrassed to ask for bedding. So she said, "I've been lying down too much these past few days, and I'm thinking of moving around a bit."

A Xiang wrote the two characters "Tian Xiang" on the ground at Xia Lanyue's feet with a stone, then looked up at Xia Lanyue and said, "Aunt Yue, look at my name."

Xia Lanyue squatted down to look, but before she could speak, Wang Cui spoke up first, "Yes, why don't you help A Xiang practice writing? You look like a literate girl."

Xia Lanyue was taken aback upon hearing this, unsure of how to respond, so she simply nodded.

If she says she can read, she only knows simplified characters; if she says she can't read, Wang Cui will think she's just making excuses.

"Come on, Ah Xiang, tell your aunt what you can do."

The little guy immediately perked up upon hearing this, stood up straight, and began to recite, "Heaven and earth were dark and yellow, the universe was vast and boundless, the sun and moon waxed and waned, and the stars and constellations were arrayed in the sky."

Xia Lanyue smiled, surprised to find that the Thousand Character Classic was also part of their early childhood education. She had memorized it when she was a child, but had forgotten it now.

“Cold comes and heat goes, autumn harvest and winter storage, leap... leap..." A Xiang stammered, looking helplessly at Xia Lanyue.

Xia Lanyue was taken aback, pretending not to understand A Xiang's expression. She really couldn't continue. What should she do? What should she do? She was starting to panic.

"Ah Xiang is great!" Xia Lanyue didn't know what to say, so she just praised him. She glanced at Wang Cui out of the corner of her eye. Wang Cui was busy tending the vegetable garden and didn't have time to pay attention to them.

"Sister-in-law, are you home?" At this moment, a strange aunt came to the door looking for Wang Cui.

Xia Lanyue breathed a slight sigh of relief.

The unfamiliar woman was dressed simply, with patches on her clothes. She stood outside the door, talking to Wang Cui through the door. Her gaze swept over Xia Lanyue in the courtyard, and she nodded to her as a greeting.

"Hello, Auntie," Xia Lanyue felt she should stand up and greet her as a younger person.

The unfamiliar aunt nodded in response, then said to Wang Cui, "Come out and say a few words, sister-in-law."

Wang Cui turned to Xia Lanyue and said, "You take A Xiang to play for a while, I'm going to visit some neighbors." Wang Cui, who had been chatting and laughing with them just now, now had a droopy face.

Xia Lanyue nodded. After watching Wang Cui leave, she felt relieved. She no longer needed to pretend and pulled A Xiang over to ask, "Who was that person who came just now?"

“That’s my great-grandmother. She has a lot of amazing chickens,” A-Xiang said proudly. “Aunt Yue, would you like to see the chickens? I can take you there.”

Xia Lanyue shook her head. Children's joys are so simple, but she wasn't interested in chickens. They played for a while, then Axiang started clamoring to go outside. Xia Lanyue was unfamiliar with the area, and no one was home, so she didn't want to take him out. She thought for a moment and said, "Let's play jacks. Do you know how?"

Ah Xiang shook his head. "How do you play that?"

"Wait here, I'll find some pebbles," Xia Lanyue went to the door, picked up ten relatively uniform and smooth pebbles, returned to the yard, squatted down in front of A Xiang, placed the pebbles on the ground, and then taught him the rules, "I'll demonstrate for you."

"Demonstration?" A-Xiang asked.

“…Ah, I’ll show you how,” Xia Lanyue took out one of the stones, tossed it up, quickly grabbed a pebble from the ground, and then caught the falling pebble. After finishing, she showed the two pebbles in her hand to A Xiang, “It looks like this.”

"I know how to do this, we call it 'grab a handful'."

"Oh?" Xia Lanyue was taken aback. This game has been around for so long?

“Ahe likes to play, and she plays better than me.”

Who is Ahe? Probably his good friend? Xia Lanyue didn't ask. Anyway, she was only staying for a few days and didn't want to know who these people were.

"Let's have a competition," Ah Xiang suggested, even though I thought he wouldn't like it.

"Okay."

"What if you lose?" A-Xiang asked, tilting his head.

"Ah... this... what if we lose?" Xia Lanyue didn't know what the children here liked. Candy? Yes, children all like candy.

"If you lose, you'll marry Mr. Xia," A Xiang had already thought of the answer for Xia Lanyue before she could even speak.

Upon hearing this, Xia Lanyue couldn't help but laugh out loud, "Ha, you little rascal."

“Let’s play like this,” said A Xiang, taking the two pebbles from Xia Lanyue’s hand and beginning to teach her how to play. The method was a little different from hers, but it was easy to understand, and Xia Lanyue quickly learned it.

"Alright, let's start the competition. Don't cry if you lose," Xia Lanyue teased Xiao Axiang.

"I won't cry."

Just then, the courtyard gate opened, and Dai You returned from washing the dishes.

"Uncle Dai, come and watch our competition!" A-Xiang extended a warm invitation.

“Okay,” Dai You said, putting the bucket into the kitchen and then squatting down next to them.

"You will be the judge," Ah Xiang gave Dai You a role.

Dai You nodded in agreement, and the match began.

Axiang won the first game.

Xia Lanyue won the second game.

Axiang won the third game.

Xia Lanyue won the fourth game.

In the crucial fifth game, Ah Xiang won.