Inviting the Moon to the Farmhouse

The next day, after Xia Lanyue finished making rice cakes, she and Dai You carried them to deliver food to Acheng. She had discovered the day before that Linzhao Village, where the village chief Zhao lived, was closer to the town, so they could go there directly without taking many detours.

"Everyone, try this. It's rice cake that I made myself. It's delicious." Xia Lanyue gave each of Li Chuan and the village head in the yard a bag of rice cake, and then took two more bags to knock on the door of Village Chief Zhao.

“Village Chief Zhao has gone to town and isn’t home,” Li Chuan said.

"Oh, is that so? Then please give these two packets to Village Chief Zhao so he can have a taste," Xia Lanyue said, handing the rice cakes to Li Chuan.

Li Chuan took it and nodded. "Miss Dai, are you taking so much to sell?"

"Yes."

"Miss Dai, are you... experiencing village life?" Li Chuan asked, puzzled.

Xia Lanyue noticed the puzzled look on Li Chuan's face and, on a sudden inspiration, said in a pitiful tone, "I'm short of money. All my money is tied up with Village Chief Zhao. My wallet is empty, and right now I can only do some small business to make ends meet."

Li Chuan looked embarrassed. "Does Mr. Xia know about this?"

Xia Lanyue was taken aback. She didn't understand what this had to do with Xia Yao. "He... of course he knows."

"Didn't he say anything?" Li Chuan asked curiously.

Xia Lanyue shook her head.

Li Chuan didn't say anything more, just nodded.

Xia Lanyue, remembering that she had come to deliver food, said to Li Chuan, "I'll go in and check on Acheng," and then went into the side room.

Dai You had already given the food box to Acheng, who was sitting on the ground eating. When he saw Xia Lanyue arrive, he smiled and said, "You've gone to so much trouble for me."

Xia Lanyue was taken aback, then realized he was referring to the rice cake. "Ah? Ha! Just remember to return it."

Ah Cheng chuckled sheepishly, finished the last bite of rice in his bowl, and put the bowl back into the food container.

Xia Lanyue picked up the food box, and without further delay, she gave Dai You a wink, and the two of them headed outside.

Acheng hurriedly asked, "Don't I have rice cakes?"

Xia Lanyue said without turning her head, "No."

Rice cakes sold very well today, and some customers from yesterday even brought their friends to buy them.

"This rice cake is brand new, and it's quite delicious," the customer praised.

"Would you like to try some popcorn? It gets more fragrant the more you chew it," Xia Lanyue said, opening a bag of popcorn for the guests to sample.

No one was shy about trying them; passersby would come over and have a few.

"This can be bought for the child's father; he always complains of a bitter taste in his mouth after taking his medicine," an auntie said. "How much is a bag of this kind of corn?"

"Six coins."

The aunt pointed and said, "Two packs of this, and one pack of that."

"Okay," Xia Lanyue tied two packets of popcorn and a packet of rice cake together, handed them to her aunt, and then took the twenty-two coins.

Just then, Dai You ran over and said, "A-Yue, I work odd jobs at Zhang Langzhong's pharmacy. Come find me here in a bit."

Xia Lanyue was surrounded by customers buying rice cakes. The voices of the crowd overlapped with Dai You's voice. She could only vaguely understand what they were saying and didn't know who to agree with. Anyway, she nodded her head like a pestle being pounded.

Dai You assumed Xia Lanyue had overheard him, turned around, and jogged away.

Xia Lanyue wanted to call him back, but everyone kept shaking her and asking her to buy rice cakes. This made her forget about Dai You and she had to focus on the things in front of her.

Finally, after the rice cakes were sold out and the people around her had left, Xia Lanyue looked exhausted, as if she had just gone through a battle. She sat on the ground, took out her earnings for the day, counted them—a total of two hundred and twenty coins—nodded with satisfaction, put the money in her pocket, and then began to pack up her stall.

Xia Lanyue tried hard to recall Dai You's words. She couldn't hear his voice clearly, but his lip movements seemed to say "pharmacy".

Xia Lanyue wasn't sure if she was right, but she figured she'd find out by going and seeing for herself, so she picked up her load and headed to the pharmacy to find Dai You.

Upon arriving at the pharmacy, Xia Lanyue spotted Dai You immediately, but unfortunately, he was busy cutting medicinal herbs and didn't notice her arrival.

Xia Lanyue stacked the baskets together, placed the carrying pole upright by the door, and walked towards him.

"The girl has arrived."

The familiar voice made Xia Lanyue stop in her tracks. She turned her head and saw it was Physician Zhang. "Hello, Physician."

Doctor Zhang nodded. "How is the young lady's memory recovering?"

“Hmm…it hasn’t recovered,” Xia Lanyue said, and seeing the disappointment in Zhang Langzhong’s eyes, she quickly added, “However, sometimes I will recall a few fragments of memory, not actively, but suddenly.”

A hint of surprise flashed in Zhang Langzhong's eyes. After thinking for a moment, he gestured for Xia Lanyue to sit down. "Come, let me take your pulse again."

Xia Lanyue sat on the stool, placed her hand on the pulse pillow on the table, and quietly watched as Zhang Langzhong placed his hand on her wrist.

After a long while, Doctor Zhang withdrew his hand. "Young lady, why don't you go to the clinic in the prefecture? They are knowledgeable and experienced, and perhaps they can treat this illness there. It would be better if my limited medical skills delayed your treatment."

Xia Lanyue understood Zhang Langzhong's good intentions and shook her head, "It's alright, Zhang Langzhong. Although I have no memory, it doesn't affect my daily work or my thinking. As for memories, they're gone, so be it."

“This is the first time I’ve encountered a case like yours,” said Dr. Zhang. “It seems that the medicines I usually prescribe are useless for you.”

"Not necessarily. I've only been taking the medicine for less than a month, but it's too bitter, and I don't want to drink it anymore."

"Hehe, the girl is still so willful," Zhang Langzhong shook his head.

Xia Lanyue felt a little embarrassed and looked away, glancing at Dai You, who had stopped what he was doing and was looking in their direction. Xia Lanyue quickly waved to greet him, and Dai You smiled and nodded, but in that smile, Xia Lanyue seemed to see a hint of disappointment and helplessness.

Seeing that Dai You was busy, Xia Lanyue didn't disturb him and strolled around the market alone.

"Tofu, freshly cooked tofu."

Xia Lanyue went closer and saw the tofu. Suddenly, she wanted to eat fermented tofu. "Boss, how much is this?"

"Five coins a pound."

"Two catties, please," Xia Lanyue paid the stall owner ten coins and walked back.

They arrived just as Dai You was finishing work, and the two walked home together.

"You bought so much tofu?" Dai You looked at the huge block of tofu in the basket. "It'll spoil if we can't finish it."

"Not much. I want to eat fermented bean curd. I'll make some when I get back," Xia Lanyue said.

"what is that?"

"A novel food."

"Did A-Yue learn this from a book again?"

Xia Lanyue nodded.

“How come I didn’t know before that the books A-Yue reads were so interesting?” Dai You said, seemingly a little sad. He turned his face to the other side so that Xia Lanyue wouldn’t see him.

However, before he turned his head, Xia Lanyue caught his emotions. "Although I don't remember many things now, I have a feeling that I will remember them all in the future."

“Hmm,” Dai You looked ahead, “Zhang Langzhong suggested to me that I take you to the state clinic for treatment.”

Xia Lanyue gets scared whenever she hears suggestions about taking medicine, and quickly says, "I just have a missing piece of memory, it doesn't affect anything else. Look, I can run, jump, eat, and sleep, so I'd better not go see a doctor."

Xia Lanyue could sense that Dai You really wanted her to remember him, but even if she remembered those things, she wasn't Dai Xiyue, and she couldn't live in her place. Besides, she would have to drink those bitter medicines again, and she didn't want to drink another drop.

The two did not speak again for the rest of the journey.