Inviting the Moon to the Farmhouse

At dinner time, Acheng took out a jar of wine from the storage room, saying, "It's a good day today, we have to have a drink."

“Go ahead and drink, but don’t drink too much. Don’t do what happened last time, falling asleep right outside my door,” Xia Huifang said.

Xia Lanyue couldn't help but laugh when she heard this. She remembered the last time he was drunk and left him to sleep alone in the kitchen, only to come out of the house the next day. She couldn't help but ask, "Then how did you get back to the house?"

"Hehe, I went back as soon as I woke up in the morning," Acheng said, scratching his head sheepishly.

“Come on, fill it up,” A-Cheng said, holding up the wine jar.

"Huh?!" Xia Huifang glared at him, scaring Acheng away.

"Ah, don't fill it up completely, just pour it in," Ah Cheng poured half a bowl of wine into everyone's bowls, and didn't dare to pour any more.

Everyone raised their glasses to celebrate the successful conclusion of the matter, drank their wine in one gulp, and began to eat.

Xia Lanyue pulled off a chicken leg and put it into Xia Huifang's bowl, saying, "Auntie, you can have the chicken leg."

"Oh dear, this is for A-Yue," he said, and tried to put the chicken leg back to Xia Lanyue, but she dodged it.

“You’re my aunt, so you should eat this chicken leg,” Xia Lanyue said.

Xia Huifang was deeply moved and stopped trying to refuse.

"Here's another chicken leg," Acheng said, tearing off the other chicken leg and putting it into Ayue's bowl. "You've been doing a good job bringing me food these past few days, so you can have this chicken leg."

His action elicited complex expressions from the people present.

Xia Huifang said with relief, "Acheng has learned to take care of people."

Xia Yao's questioning gaze swept between A-Cheng and Xia Lanyue.

Dai You frowned slightly, glancing sideways at the chicken leg, then at Xia Lanyue, his thoughts unreadable.

Xia Lanyue originally bought the roast chicken to appease Xia Yao, but seeing the chicken leg in her bowl, how could she not? Xia Lanyue picked up the chicken leg and gave it to Xia Yao, saying, "Mr. Xia, please eat. This roast chicken was specially bought for you. How can you not eat this chicken leg?"

Xia Yao was somewhat surprised. She looked at the chicken leg, then at Xia Lanyue, and then at the others.

Acheng and Daiyou both seemed a little unhappy, but Xia Huifang had a big smile on her face and winked at him.

Xia Huifang's gaze darted back and forth between Xia Lanyue and Xia Yao, trying to find some unusual signs, but the two of them just kept their heads down and ate without exchanging any words. This made Xia Huifang feel a little disappointed, so she also lowered her head and continued eating.

In the evening, Acheng returned from bathing in the river and saw Xia Lanyue picking rice in the yard. He went up to greet her, "Hey."

Xia Lanyue looked up at him and replied with a simple "Mm".

Acheng stood there for a long time, hesitating and stammering, before finally saying, "Thank you." His tone was extremely unnatural, suggesting that he had gone through a lot of internal struggle before finally saying those words.

Xia Lanyue was confused by the sudden thanks, but she still responded, "Ah? You're welcome."

"Do you know what I'm talking about?" Acheng asked.

"I don't know," Xia Lanyue replied directly.

"I didn't know you agreed so quickly."

"What else?" Xia Lanyue looked at Acheng.

"Tch~" Acheng was a little disappointed, but he didn't explain. He just looked up and went to the west room.

Xia Lanyue watched his retreating figure, still so smug. She snorted coldly, then looked away and continued picking rice.

Early in the morning, Xia Lanyue and Dai You rushed to Zhao Lizhang's house without having breakfast.

"Is Village Chief Zhao home?" Xia Lanyue called out from outside the courtyard gate.

"Yes," said Village Chief Zhao, putting down his bowl and chopsticks and walking over to open the door.

“Oh dear, Village Chief Zhao is having lunch. We’ve come at the worst possible time,” Xia Lanyue said.

"It's nothing. Why did you come so early? Is there anything I can help you with?" Village Chief Zhao asked.

"Hmm... Acheng came home yesterday and said the matter has been resolved. We've come to ask if we can take the silver notes now?"

“Ah, about this matter, come in and sit for a while, I’ll tell you,” said Village Chief Zhao, pointing to the side room.

"Why don't we just give it to us instead of going in? We won't keep you from eating," Xia Lanyue said with a smile.

"I have something else to say, please come in."

Xia Lanyue looked back at Dai You, and she suddenly had a bad feeling that this matter might not go so smoothly.

She and Dai You went into the toilet room and waited for Village Chief Zhao to come and talk to them.

Village Chief Zhao entered the house, gestured for Xia Lanyue and Dai You to sit down, and then sat down himself in the main seat.

"Xia Yao has told you everything, so I won't go into details. As for your banknotes, you can't take them for the time being," said Village Chief Zhao.

As expected, Xia Lanyue's premonition was correct.

"Why is that?" Xia Lanyue asked.

"Because the real thieves haven't been caught yet," said Village Chief Zhao. "Those thieves are very skilled and experienced in their thefts. Their actions have attracted the attention of higher authorities, so we have to wait until the investigation is over before we can return the money to you."

"But what does this have to do with us?" Xia Lanyue asked.

"To be honest, there's no direct connection. It's just unfortunate that the young lady came to the village at the wrong time. To be on the safe side, we'll check your identities. Only after we've confirmed there are no problems can you leave."

“We’re not afraid of being investigated, but we want to know how long it will take?” Xia Lanyue asked.

"Well, that's hard to say. It could be a few months at the earliest, or it could take longer..." Village Chief Zhao stroked his beard.

"One year?"

“It’s possible that it could take a year or two,” said Zhao, the village chief.

Hearing this, Xia Lanyue was stunned. Dai You had indeed been right. But hearing it from Dai You was one thing, hearing it from Village Chief Zhao was another. Xia Lanyue had given up all hope, feeling a sense of helplessness, like seeing something about to be obtained only to have it slip away.

"Village Chief Zhao, we need some banknotes for working capital. Could you return some to us first so we can have a little more cash on hand?"

Village Chief Zhao thought for a moment, then shook his head, "It's not possible yet."

"We're not thieves, so you can't treat us like thieves, can you?"

"If we considered you thieves, or even had any connection to us, you would all be in jail by now. How could you still be moving around freely outside?"

Xia Lanyue said defiantly, "I just want the silver notes, I'm not leaving."

"Hmm, do you think the young lady would stay after receiving the silver notes?!"

"Xia Yao vouched for me, so why are you afraid I'll run away?"

“There are quite a few people who have been implicated because of their guarantees,” said Zhao, the village chief.

Upon hearing this, Xia Lanyue stood up abruptly. "What does the village chief mean by this?!"

"I hope the young lady can understand, and also give the higher-ups some time to investigate this matter," said Village Chief Zhao calmly.

“Xia Yao and I are old acquaintances. We met in the capital, and he even visited my home. That should prove that our identities are not in question, right? Even if you don’t believe me, you can still trust him, can’t you?”

"Old acquaintances? You were friends before?" Chief Zhao's tone was full of distrust.

"Yes, we met in the capital. You can ask him."

“I will ask, of course. Please, Dai siblings, do not leave for the time being,” said Village Chief Zhao.

"In the end, they still treat us like suspects," Xia Lanyue said angrily, crossing her arms and turning her face away.

But none of this mattered to Chief Zhao, who continued to look at the two of them with indifference.

Dai You stood up and bowed to Village Chief Zhao, saying, "In that case, my sister and I will head back now."

After saying that, Dai You pulled Xia Lanyue out of the door of Zhao Village Chief's house.