Wine-scented Beauty

Chapter 50: Relief

Lu Yu choked, turned his head away, and ignored her.

Ji Meiqing lowered her head, seemingly lost in thought. When the food in the bowl was almost gone, Ji Meiqing put the bowl away.

"Tomorrow is another new day, Brother Lu, get some rest."

Lu Yu nodded, got up, and left. Ji Meiqing tidied herself up a bit and went back to her room to rest.

These days, quite a few people have come to the village. She figured she might as well take advantage of them and have them renovate the place. She had a good plan and went straight to their encampment.

Large sheds have been built there, and many people are lying inside or cooking.

Ji Meiqing walked in, looked around, and then headed towards the people who had tools.

"Excuse me... are you a craftsman?" She patted him cautiously, and the man's eyes narrowed into slits.

"who are you?"

“I’m from this village, and I want to renovate my house and add two more rooms.” After explaining her purpose, she looked around again and said, “If possible, you can also recommend someone to come. After all, my house is in a pretty dilapidated state.”

"Hmm..." He struggled to get up and patted the dust off his clothes. Ji Meiqing didn't dodge and said, "I can prepare the blueprints for the room, and you can tell me directly what you need. It's just... I hope to save as much as possible on the construction of the house."

He remained silent. Ji Meiqing thought for a moment and realized that she hadn't mentioned the salary yet.

"One ingot of gold after it's done," she said, then added earnestly, "Because things are urgent, if you have the means, we can try our best to meet your needs, but we hope it can be completed within two months."

"I understand," he said slowly, his voice low and drawn out, as if he were dragging a heavy iron block along the road.

Ji Meiqing then smiled, "If you'd like, you can come back with me now."

"Let's go." He took two steps, and the two of them returned to the Lu family home together.

They encountered many people along the way, but seeing Ji Meiqing's smiling face, they still felt a little itchy.

Ji Meiqing ignored those people, led him into the house, and then closed the door.

This little courtyard was in such a sorry state that if it hadn't been cleaned up, it would probably look like a crippled construction site.

Ji Meiqing led him around the house, and then took him to the backyard courtyard.

"It's roughly like this, but I'd like to add another floor here. And then add a small, suspended attic here, something like that." Ji Meiqing smoothly finished explaining everything she had in mind, then looked expectantly at the person in front of her, "Is that okay?"

"The blueprints will suffice." He pondered for a moment, then looked around. He had probably memorized all the details, but Ji Meiqing was quite pleased.

The house can be rebuilt, and then a few more living rooms can be added. That would be pretty much it. But then Ji Meiqing added one more request, "Um, could you please add a few more windows, the kind that let in light and let in the sun?"

"Alright, when will you give me the blueprints? You'll need to prepare the materials yourself, but we'll need some pine wood. I hope you can prepare that."

The two reached an agreement, and Ji Meiqing smiled as she saw him out. As soon as the door opened, a line of onlookers appeared. Ji Meiqing frowned slightly at their strange looks.

"What are you doing?"

The spectators scattered in a panic, leaving the area in front of the door completely clean. Ji Meiqing watched the people disperse like birds and beasts, feeling a strange sense of irritation.

After seeing the carpenter off, she returned to her room. In her own room, the blueprints were neatly laid out on the table.

She glanced at it, then put it away.

Next, she should go buy some pine wood. Ji Meiqing excitedly took the blueprints and walked outside, only to be met by an angry Lu Yu.

"What's wrong with you?" Ji Meiqing was taken aback. She had never seen Lu Yu like this before, as if someone had offended him.

Lu Yu stared at her intently, his expression dark. Ji Meiqing waved in front of him, but seeing that he didn't react, she became even more puzzled.

"What's wrong with you? Is something the matter?"

"It's nothing." He turned and left, looking rather annoyed, leaving Ji Meiqing somewhat bewildered. She felt that he was acting strangely today, but he didn't say anything, which made it even more puzzling.

Ji Meiqing followed, but before she could say more than a few words, she saw Lu Yu stop.

"I'm fine, you go ahead and do what you need to do." He said calmly, his expression returning to normal in an instant, as if everything that had just happened was a fantasy.

"Oh..." Ji Meiqing glanced at it a couple more times before watching him leave in a hurry. The blueprints in her hand were slightly damp with sweat; Lu Yu just now... seemed very angry.

Lu Yu walked back, his mind in turmoil. He had been sitting by the water fishing when he suddenly heard several gossiping women passing by.

It wouldn't have been a big deal at first, but when they heard about Ji Meiqing, their ears involuntarily perked up to listen.

As I listened, I realized something was off. I heard that she brought a strange man home and closed the door for a long time.

He got a little anxious and rushed over, only to find... it was just a farce. Ji Meiqing was fine, and so was he; it was just someone else's rumor.

Thinking of this, he became even more anxious. He moved his fishing rod, intending to catch a few fish, but all the fish surrounding him were startled and ran away.

Lu Yu simply put down his fishing rod. As darkness fell in the distance, he tidied up and went home.

Ji Meiqing was no longer in the house; the house was empty and drafty.

Just as the rain was about to fall, a sudden gust of wind arose. Fallen leaves and wild grass on the ground began to fly into the sky. Lu Yu frowned, his eyes filled with anxiety.

A bright light shone all around, as if some treasure chest had been opened. The sky brightened instantly, but returned to normal in a short while.

Lu Yu grabbed his umbrella and was about to go out when he saw Ji Meiqing turning back halfway. She was carrying a scroll of paintings and hurrying back.

She saw Lu Yu and ran over excitedly.

"Brother Lu." She had barely called out when the rain started to fall, and Lu Yu rushed over without thinking. The rain was heavy, and the raindrops pelted down like stones.

Ji Meiqing finally reached Lu Yu's side, her silk dress almost completely soaked. She patted the water droplets off her clothes and looked at her hair, thankfully it wasn't too wet.

"Thank goodness, I almost didn't make it back." She looked into the distance with relief.