Inviting the Moon to the Farmhouse

"Ayue?"

"A-Yue is awake!" Xia Huifang exclaimed.

Xia Lanyue opened her eyes groggily and looked at Xia Huifang and Dai You who had rushed in. She tried to sit up, but Xia Huifang pressed her down, saying, "Don't move, you have a fever. Lie down."

"Huh?" Xia Lanyue asked in confusion, but judging from her symptoms of feeling cold and weak all over, she was indeed sick.

Dai You's eyes were filled with self-blame, and he stood at the foot of the bed without saying a word.

"I'm fine, I'll be fine after a day's sleep, don't worry," Xia Lanyue said, closing her eyes.

Xia Huifang said to Xia Lanyue, "I've saved some porridge. You can heat it up and drink it when you feel better."

"Where are you going?" Xia Lanyue asked.

"Silly child, let's go to the fields. It's alright, don't be afraid, Xia Yao is here," Xia Huifang said with a smile.

"Tch~" That sound came from Acheng at the door. He stood there and said to Xia Huifang, "Aunt, shall we go?"

Xia Huifang turned around and glared at him. "Come on, you guys go ahead first, I'll catch up right away."

After hearing this, Acheng turned and left in a huff.

“This child,” Xia Huifang glared at him, then turned and pointed to the bowl on the table, “That bowl contains ginger water. Drink some to get rid of the cold before you sleep, and you’ll be fine after sweating it out.” Then Xia Huifang leaned down and whispered in Xia Lanyue’s ear, “Xia Yao is home today. If you need anything, just ask him. Don’t be shy!”

Xia Lanyue smiled weakly and said, "Auntie, you're busy," and then watched her leave.

As soon as Xia Huifang left, Xia Lanyue sat up, looking much better.

"You're faking it?!" Dai You exclaimed in surprise.

"Don't pretend, I really have a fever. Give me that ginger soup, I need to get better quickly."

Dai You handed her the ginger soup, which she took, grinned, and drank it all. She then handed the bowl back to Dai You.

"Why are you like this..." Dai You couldn't quite figure her out.

"What? I need to get better quickly so I can go sell rice cakes. I want to show that Manager Song whether I'm afraid of him or not!" Xia Lanyue said indignantly.

Dai You looked somewhat bewildered. "A-Yue has indeed changed a bit."

Xia Lanyue was startled, then pretended to be weak and lay down, saying, "Oh dear, my head hurts, I need to rest."

"A-Yue, get some rest. I'm going to town today, I'll be back soon, you..." Dai You didn't finish his sentence, but seeing that Xia Lanyue didn't seem to be listening, he gently closed the door and left.

Xia Lanyue slept for an unknown amount of time, then woke up when she vaguely heard the sounds of children playing.

Lying in bed, she kept thinking about what Xia Huifang had said to her that day, and an idea popped into her head. So, she whispered, "Xia Yao."

No one paid any attention to her.

Xia Lanyue thought to herself, "It must be because my voice is too soft that he can't hear me." Then she raised her voice a little, "Xia Yao."

Still, no one paid any attention to her...

"Xia Yao~"

"Bang, bang, bang," someone knocked on the door.

"Ouch!" Xia Lanyue was startled by the sudden sound. She hadn't expected Xia Yao to actually come. She immediately suppressed her smile, feigned weakness, and said to the door, "Come in."

The door opened, and Ah Xiang walked in.

Xia Lanyue glanced at the door; there was no one else there. A hint of disappointment crossed her face. "Why is A-Xiang here instead of studying?" she said.

"Mr. Xia asked me to ask if Aunt Yue has something to say?" Acheng said.

Sure enough, how could someone as proud as him let her come running whenever she called?! Xia Lanyue thought to herself, and pouted.

"Aunt Yue is hungry and wants to drink porridge, but she has a headache and can't get out of bed. Could you please heat up some porridge for me, Mr. Xia?" Xia Lanyue said to A Xiang.

Afraid that he wouldn't understand or remember, I repeated it to him again.

Ah Xiang ran out the door, and from Xia Lanyue's position, she could see him go straight to the west room. She was a little expectant, but after waiting for a long time, he didn't come out. Instead, Ah Xiang ran back.

A-Xiang stood in front of Xia Lanyue. "Mr. Xia said that Aunt Yue was lively and energetic yesterday, so why can't she get up today? Is she faking it?"

"Heh~" Xia Lanyue was so angry she laughed. She glared at the door of the west room, then looked down at A Xiang and said, "Come on, A Xiang, go tell Mr. Xia that if you don't want to serve hot porridge, that's fine. When Aunt Xia comes back, I'll tell her that I can't afford to serve the esteemed Mr. Xia!"

Ah Xiang ran to the west room, and soon returned.

"Mr. Xia said that he is lecturing to the students and cannot leave. Aunt Yue, who is sensible, will not disturb the students' studies and can also handle small matters such as meals."

Xia Lanyue understood; he still wanted to flatter her and make her back down. So she said to A Xiang, "A Xiang, go study. Let Aunt Yue go hungry."

"Okay," Ah Xiang nodded and ran back.

Sure enough, how could Xia Yao possibly offer her soup? Xia Lanyue thought to herself, but A Xiang's quick answer only made her more annoyed. She turned over and lay back down.

But not long after, someone knocked on the door again.

Could it be that Xia Yao had a change of heart? Xia Lanyue quickly sat up and called out to the door, "Come in."

Ah Xiang kicked open the door, walked in holding a copper coin, and stood in front of her to deliver a message, "Mr. Xia said that everyone wants to buy ten packs of rice cakes. Please ask Aunt Yue to prepare them before 5 pm. Everyone will take them after school." After saying that, he placed the copper coin on Xia Lanyue's bed.

"What?! I'm already like this..." Xia Lanyue's voice was a little loud, and she quickly lowered her voice, "Even like this, I can still prepare rice cakes for you?"

"Before 5 PM," Ah Xiang reminded him again, still worried, before turning and running to the west room.

"I really owe you something!" Xia Lanyue said speechlessly.

But as the saying goes, how could she not make money when it was already in her hands? Xia Lanyue rolled her eyes at the west room, then put the copper coins into her purse and got up to go to the kitchen.

After finishing making the rice cakes, she glanced at the bowl of porridge on the table, but didn't really want to drink it, so she went straight back to her room.

Not long after, someone knocked on Xia Lanyue's door.

“Come in,” she said, lying in bed.

This time it wasn't A Xiang, it was Dai You who came back. As soon as he entered the house, he took out a paper packet from his pocket, which contained some brownish-yellow powder. He sprinkled it in the corners of the room.

Soon, a peculiar stench wafted over.

"What's that smell? It stinks!" Xia Lanyue said, covering her nose. "What did you scatter?"

"This is realgar powder, it repels snakes and insects. With this, you won't be afraid of snakes anymore," Dai You said, putting away the paper packet, then turned to ask Xia Lanyue.

Who made the rice cake?

“You know perfectly well why you’re asking,” Xia Lanyue said.

"You're sick, why are you doing all this?" Dai You said, walking closer and touching her forehead. "You still have a fever."

Xia Lanyue knew that Dai You would definitely scold her, but since it was out of concern, she could accept it.

“I’ll go heat up some porridge for you,” Dai You said.

“I don’t want to eat anything,” Xia Lanyue said.

"What would you like to eat? I'll make it for you."

"No, I'll just have dinner with everyone tonight," Xia Lanyue said.

Dai You nodded and turned to leave.

After a long while, Dai You pushed open the door and came in carrying a bowl of medicine. "This medicine was given by Doctor Zhang to dispel the cold; you must drink it." But when he looked at Xia Lanyue, he froze. Xia Lanyue's mouth was dark and very abnormal. "A-Yue, what happened to your mouth? Did you eat something?"

Xia Lanyue quickly explained, "No, no, I didn't eat."

"What's wrong with you?" Dai You asked, looking at her anxiously.

Xia Lanyue was taken aback. She saw Dai You put the bowl on the table, turn around and shout loudly, "Aunt Xia, come and see!"

Xia Lanyue was surprised that he would call Xia Huifang over, so she rushed over and covered his mouth.