Inviting the Moon to the Farmhouse

The two quickly arrived in town and set up their stall at the same spot, where many people were already waiting.

Dai You counted out five packets of rice cakes, saying he wanted to bring them to Zhang Langzhong and his assistant, and then went to work at the pharmacy.

"Girl, you've finally arrived! I thought you ran off with the money," said the aunt who had ordered rice cakes yesterday.

"I'm sorry, Auntie, something came up today," Xia Lanyue put down the basket, took out five packets of rice cakes, and handed them to her aunt. "Auntie, here are five packets, please take a look."

"Okay, here's thirty coins, let's settle this," the aunt said.

“Yes, that’s perfect. Come back after you finish eating, Auntie,” Xia Lanyue said.

Xia Lanyue quickly set up her stall and started selling. The reputation of the rice cakes seemed to spread, and many customers brought acquaintances to buy them, and they were sold out in no time.

"Oh dear, is that all?" an old man said as he walked up to her stall, holding his grandson's hand.

"Grandpa, I want to eat, I want to eat!" the little boy cried as he snuggled into his grandfather's arms.

"I'm sorry, we're sold out for today. Please come again tomorrow," Xia Lanyue explained.

"I came here earlier, but you weren't here. Now I'm here again, and you've sold out again. You don't have a fixed time for this, so how are we supposed to buy?" The uncle was a little unhappy.

"I'm sorry I'm late today. I'll try to come at the same time next time. Or, I can give this half bag to the children. It's clean. I had the guests try it earlier, and there's half left," Xia Lanyue said, handing over the half bag of popcorn.

The uncle reached out and took it, opened it to look at it, then placed it in front of the child and asked, "How about you eat this?"

Upon seeing the salted rice popcorn, the child immediately stopped crying and reached out to grab it and eat it.

The uncle immediately raised his hand, afraid the paper would spill, and turned to Xia Lanyue, saying, "Okay, thank you. When are you coming tomorrow? Could you save me two packets? I can't keep watching you all the time."

“I’ll be here tomorrow at noon, or you can make a reservation. Once you pay the deposit, I’ll definitely reserve it for you,” Xia Lanyue said.

"Young lady, you're good at business. How much are two packs?" the uncle said.

“Twenty coins,” Xia Lanyue said.

"Here you go," the uncle counted out twenty coins and gave them to Xia Lanyue. "I wanted the sweet kind, not this kind."

"Yeah, okay, I'll remember that."

After the uncle finished speaking, he took his grandson and left.

Xia Lanyue put away her purse and tidied her basket. Then she walked towards the end of the street.

There's a carriage rental shop here. Xia Lanyue noticed it a few days ago and decided to come and ask about it today.

"Miss, would you like to rent a carriage?" the waiter greeted her warmly.

"How much does it cost for this carriage?" Xia Lanyue asked.

"Which kind of girl should I rent? This smaller one can seat two adults and one child, it costs 150 coins a day. The larger one can seat four to five people, it costs 250 coins a day."

"How far can such a small one travel in a day?" Xia Lanyue asked.

"Where are you going, young lady?"

"Baizhou".

"That will take about seven days and cost 1,050 coins."

Xia Lanyue nodded.

"When will you use it, young lady?"

"Ah, I haven't decided yet. I'll come find you again after I set a date," Xia Lanyue said, getting up to leave. But after taking a few steps, she turned back. "Young man, just one more question, what about horses? How much would that cost?"

"One horse costs one hundred coins a day," the waiter said.

"Thank you," Xia Lanyue said, then turned and left, only to return later.

"Young man, do you rent boats here?" Xia Lanyue asked.

"Rent a boat? We don't have any boats here. This river is a tributary, and there aren't many people traveling on it. I'm afraid you'll have to go to Gwangju Wharf to catch a boat."

"Ah, thank you," Xia Lanyue said, and this time she really left.

In the evening, Ah Niu returned home. Ah Cheng said that he had been working too hard these past few days, so he was the one to come home and rest.

"Hey, I'm back!" Ah Niu greeted the people in the yard as soon as he returned.

"Ah Niu is back! You've arrived just in time. Go wash your hands, dinner's ready," Xia Huifang said, peeking out from the kitchen.

After Ah Niu washed his hands and came back, he was the last to sit down. Xia Lanyue wanted to say a few words to Ah Niu, but when she turned her head, the strong stench emanating from him made her vomit.

Xia Lanyue quickly covered her mouth with both hands, looked at A Niu in panic, and dared not move, feeling extremely embarrassed.

Feeling somewhat calmer, she lowered her hand, clutched her stomach, and stammered, "I...I...my stomach feels a little uncomfortable."

Ah Niu seemed to understand what she meant, his eyes revealing a sense of helplessness. He lowered his head and sniffed his sleeves a few times, then dared not utter another word.

Xia Huifang quickly spoke up to ease the awkwardness, "Oh, is A-Yue alright? Will it affect our meal?"

“It doesn’t affect… ya…” Xia Lanyue covered her mouth again, not daring to speak anymore. She was afraid of losing her composure again, so she said, “Aunt Xia, my stomach feels really uncomfortable, so I’d better not eat anymore. Everyone, please eat slowly. I’ll go back to my room first.”

"Hey," Xia Huifang called from behind, but Xia Lanyue ignored her and rushed into her room.

At the dinner table, the group looked at each other awkwardly, and the atmosphere became tense.

The four sat at the table, but none of them touched their chopsticks.

Xia Huifang broke the silence, "Dai You, get some rice for your sister and take it inside. Let her eat if she gets hungry in the middle of the night."

“Okay, I’ll go right away,” Dai You said, placing some vegetables on top of Xia Lanyue’s bowl of rice before leaving her room.

"Here, eat," Dai You said to Xia Lanyue, who was lying on the bed.

Xia Lanyue cautiously glanced outside. "What was that smell just now? It was so awful, I couldn't breathe."

"These past few days, I've been soaking the seeds in manure water while raising seedlings. After a few days, my body smells like this," Dai You said calmly.

Xia Lanyue took a deep breath, "That was so embarrassing. I've offended A Niu too, sigh~"

"It's okay, he won't mind."

"You'll be sharing a room with him tonight, the smell must be... *chuckle*" Xia Lanyue said, unable to hold back her laughter.

"Look how happy you are! You're making me stinky, and you're that happy?"

"Haha, I really couldn't help it, but you're too pitiful. I thought A-Cheng would be more annoying, and A-Niu would be better, but it's even more upsetting," Xia Lanyue said with a laugh.

"It's okay, he'll take a shower in a bit, don't worry."

"Hmph, it's all marinated and flavorful, how could it possibly be washed off?" Xia Lanyue said jokingly.

"I'm not going to worry about you anymore, I have to go back to eat," Dai You said, then turned and left, closing the door behind him.

Not long after, there was another knock on the door.

"Come in," Xia Lanyue said while eating.

This time, it was Xia Yao who pushed open the door, which surprised Xia Lanyue.

"Here's some corn," Xia Yao said, putting down the bowl of corn and turning to leave.

"Hey," Xia Lanyue called out to Xia Yao in time, "Did I offend you in some way?" she asked bluntly.

Xia Yao stopped, turned his head, looked at her with a slightly cold gaze, and then coldly uttered two words, "No."

"Then why do you always have a stern face when you see me?"

"I'm naturally not a big smileer."

"Hmph, if I didn't know you before, I would have believed you," Xia Lanyue said. "Tell me, what exactly happened? Let me know what I did and how I offended you."

"No," Xia Yao insisted.

"Then why is that?" Xia Lanyue didn't expect Xia Yao to be so good at keeping things to himself.

"Since you think you've offended me, then figure it out yourself. Only your own ideas will show sincerity," Xia Yao said, opening the door and walking out. Just as he was about to close the door, he couldn't help but chuckle.

"Heh," Xia Lanyue was taken aback, and suddenly felt less guilty about A Niu's matter. But what exactly had she done to offend him? She really couldn't figure it out.