Inviting the Moon to the Farmhouse

“Dai You, today is the nineteenth! There’s a market in town, and there will be lots of people. Let’s bring some rice cakes to sell!” Xia Lanyue excitedly jumped around Dai You.

Dai You smiled indulgently, "Okay, then, do you have time to prepare?"

"There's still time, I'll get started now," Xia Lanyue said deftly as she heated the pan.

"I'll bring Acheng his lunch; that way we'll save time, and I can get to the pharmacy earlier today," Dai You said.

"be careful on the road."

"Okay," Dai You said, and jogged to Chief Zhao's house.

Today, in addition to the two baskets of rice cakes that Dai You was carrying, Xia Lanyue also carried two baskets of salted rice cakes.

On the way to town, Dai You asked Xia Lanyue, "Have you finished writing the letter? Where did you put it? I couldn't find it yesterday."

“I didn’t write it. I thought about it yesterday, and it’s better for you to write the letter to your friend yourself. Think about it, your friend has been gone for a long time and must miss you. Only a letter written by you personally can show your sincerity,” Xia Lanyue said.

Dai You looked troubled.

"Will your friends care if your handwriting is good or bad? No, they only care if your heart is sincere!" Xia Lanyue continued to persuade, "So, the handwriting doesn't matter, it's better if you write it."

After listening to her words, Dai You nodded as if he understood but not quite.

The home of Village Chief Zhao.

"Village Chief Zhao, this is Xia Yao. My mother and I have come," Xia Yao called out in Village Chief Zhao's yard.

The door to the main house was opened, and Village Chief Zhao came out. He stopped in front of Xia Yao and her son and said, "You've come. I have good news to tell you today. Wei Liangxing wants to reconcile and he wants to talk to you."

When Xia Huifang heard what Village Chief Zhao said, she was so happy she didn't know what to do.

"He wants to reconcile? He admits that he stole the thirty bushels of grain?" Xia Yao asked.

Village Chief Zhao shook his head. "No, something happened at his home. Last night, Wei Liangxing's wife came. She said that while Wei Liangxing was away these past few days, the house had been in complete chaos. Some servants stole grain, some stole money and ran away, and even former tenants started defaulting on their debts. They said if he didn't go back, the house would be robbed clean. Wei Liangxing got anxious and asked me how he could leave. I told him he could only leave after he resolved his dispute with the Xia family. That's why he rushed to see you this morning," Village Chief Zhao said. "Mr. Xia, you should talk to him. Just state your demands; I think he'll agree by now. If you reach an agreement, Acheng can go back too."

"Is there still no news about those thirty shi of grain?" Xia Yao asked.

Village Chief Zhao nodded. "Chasing thieves isn't really my job. I only deal with minor disputes between neighbors. Your feud is nothing more than a grain dispute. I think once the grain issue is resolved, the matter is settled." Village Chief Zhao leaned closer and whispered to Xia Yao, "Master Wei is quite wealthy. Thirty shi of grain is nothing to him. You should seize the opportunity. The only problem is that he's notoriously stingy, so you might have to go through some trouble."

Xia Yao looked at Village Chief Zhao and asked, "Does the village chief mean that he should pay these thirty shi of grain to settle this matter?"

“Hey,” Zhao, the village chief, gestured for people to stop. “I didn’t say that. What I was thinking was that if a conflict can be resolved here, there’s no need to bother the higher-ups.”

Xia Yao understood what Village Chief Zhao meant, nodded, and looked towards the side room, "Are they inside?"

"I'm here, come in," said Village Chief Zhao, preparing to enter the house.

"Wait a minute, Village Chief Zhao, could you do me a favor later?"

……

Inside the house, Acheng and Wei Liangxing sat on the ground, with two village security guards standing beside them, and an unfamiliar woman. Xia Yao guessed that she must be Wei Liangxing's wife.

When Wei Liangxing saw Xia Yao arrive, he immediately stood up.

"Kneel down," Zhao, the village chief, ordered.

Wei Liangxing quickly knelt down, and Acheng, who had been sitting to the side, also knelt down facing them.

After Zhao, the village chief, sat down in the main chair, he said, "Wei Liangxing, Xia Yao is here. If you have anything to say, please say it quickly."

"Hey," Wei Liangxing nodded to Zhao Lizhang, then turned to Xia Yao and said, "Xia Yao, I want to talk to you about something. You see, I really didn't steal this grain, I'm truly innocent, but I have an urgent matter at home and can't stay here any longer. Could you make an exception and let me go back and take care of things at home first?"

Xia Yao was taken aback. "This is the first time I've heard you say this. Does the reconciliation that Master Wei mentioned mean compromise?"

“I’m not going to run away. My family is well-off, I can’t run away. I’ll come back to cooperate with the investigation after I’ve settled my family affairs,” Wei Liangxing said.

Xia Yao shook his head. "I can't make that decision. You should ask Village Chief Zhao."

"Village Chief Zhao asked me to ask you. If you agree, that's fine," Wei Liangxing asked Village Chief Zhao. "Right, Village Chief Zhao?"

"Is this what you told me yesterday? You said you wanted to reconcile with Xia Yao and hear his terms. I said if you reached an agreement and Xia Yao agreed, you could leave. Instead of telling you to go out for a few days and then come back?!" said Village Chief Zhao.

Xia Yao sneered, "Master Wei, let's stop beating around the bush and get straight to the point about the thirty bushels of grain. If you pay back the grain, this matter will be settled."

“Don’t even dream about me giving you those thirty bushels of grain,” Wei Liangxing said.

"Oh? So what do you want to reconcile with me about?" Xia Yao retorted. "I can't get my grain back, so what do I want to reconcile with you about? You don't want the grain? That's impossible."

“I…” Wei Liangxing was speechless for a moment. His tone softened. “Xia Yao, you are a teacher here. You teach and nurture people, and morality comes first. You are a person who understands great principles. Can’t you make an exception for my suggestion? I will definitely come back.”

“I’m just a schoolteacher, it’s not my fault that I’m locking you up. You’re here because of theft,” Xia Yao said. “Village Chief Zhao is locking you up according to the rules, and there’s nothing wrong with it in terms of reason or morality.”

"This isn't a place you can come and go as you please," said Village Chief Zhao, sounding impatient.

"So, let's not waste any more time, Master Wei. What are you going to do with those thirty shi of grain?" Xia Yao asked.

"What to do? How should I know what to do? It wasn't me who did it," Wei Liangxing said, then suddenly seemed to realize something. "Wait, wait, is it because you can't catch the person that you want me to take the blame? You're not planning to do something dirty like interrogating me, are you?!"

“No, I trust Chief Zhao’s character; he’s fair and just. But it’s only right to pay back debts. If you feel that my request is forcing you, you can refuse. Then we’ll wait for the magistrate to investigate. That way, it won’t be right for me to say I’ve wronged you,” Xia Yao said, turning to Chief Zhao. “Chief Zhao, I don’t want to reconcile with him. Let’s proceed according to the law.”

Wei Liangxing frowned. "You're threatening me?!"

“This is not a threat. All the evidence points to you. You admit to theft and lied even in the face of the evidence. You are the prime suspect. Even if you are sent to the county magistrate, it will be the same,” said Village Chief Zhao. “However, there will be no reconciliation then.”

“I didn’t steal it, are you trying to frame me?” Wei Liangxing said, tilting his head back.

"No, but you can't go anywhere until the matter is investigated. The county jail isn't a safe place to stay," said Village Chief Zhao.

"Village Chief Zhao, are you speaking up for him?" Wei Liangxing looked at Village Chief Zhao with suspicion.

“Village Chief Zhao wasn’t speaking up for me; he was analyzing the pros and cons. If we report the loss of grain as theft, not only will it be recorded, but we’ll also have to pay for the lost grain, get a beating, or even go to jail. Which of those things is worse than what we’re seeing now?” Xia Yao said.

“I didn’t steal anything, so I’m not afraid of being investigated,” Wei Liangxing said.

“In that case, let’s just wait for the magistrate to investigate,” Xia Yao said.

"you!"

Xia Yao turned to Zhao, the village chief, and said, "Village chief Zhao, I'm going back now. If this person tries to reconcile with me again, I will not agree. Please don't call me again."

Upon hearing this, the woman standing nearby stepped forward to advise Wei Liangxing, "Master, don't make a big deal out of this. Just compensate with some grain."

“What do you know? This is a frame-up. Someone is trying to trap me,” Wei Liangxing said, glancing at Xia Yao and Village Chief Zhao inside the house.

Village Chief Zhao shook his head. "Then think of it this way. I'll send someone to take you to the county magistrate this afternoon, so you won't say I'm being unfair."

"No, no, no, Village Chief Zhao, please calm down. Let me persuade him," the woman said hurriedly, then turned to Wei Liangxing and said, "Master, we can't wait any longer. If we wait any longer, we'll lose more than thirty bushels of grain."

"Shut up! You can't even protect a home properly!" Wei Liangxing roared angrily at the woman beside him, but from his panicked eyes, it was clear that he was still somewhat wavering.

Seeing Xia Yao about to leave with Xia Huifang, Wei Liangxing stopped him, "Wait, I have something to say."