Wine-scented Beauty

Chapter Sixty-Six: Recruiting

She quickly went home and changed out of her men's clothes. Looking at herself in the mirror, she felt more comfortable in women's clothes.

"Madam Ji? Is Madam Ji here?" Madam Li called out twice from outside.

Ji Meiqing came out without even having time to redo her hair. Upon seeing her, Madam Li immediately stepped forward and said, "The person you asked me to find a few days ago, I've found him. Take a look, are you satisfied?"

Ji Meiqing glanced at them; there were three in total. They looked strong and healthy, and their faces were also quite energetic. After pondering for a moment, she asked, "What are your skills?"

"We're just ordinary farmers. We don't know how to do anything else besides farming and herding cattle."

"I don't do any heavy lifting here, just brewing wine. I just don't know how good your memories are?"

"Our memory..." they chuckled dryly, "is so-so."

"Okay. You all go back first." Ji Meiqing waved her hand without saying a word, and immediately turned her gaze to Li Shi. The others were a little confused and looked at Li Shi, unsure whether Ji Meiqing was agreeing or not.

Somewhat hesitantly, Li followed Ji Meiqing's words, "Everyone, please go back first. I will let you know if there is any news."

"OK, got it."

"Let's go."

……

After everyone had left, Ji Meiqing asked, "What do you think of those guys...?"

"I personally think they're alright. Those few are strong and healthy. They can do brewing and heavy work." Li glanced at Ji Meiqing a few times, unsure of Ji Meiqing's thoughts, and said vaguely.

Ji Meiqing agreed with her statement, but those two people...

She sighed. Everyone has their own perspective. But saying it directly wouldn't be good for the Li family either.

Torn between the two, she could only say tactfully, "You should go back first, let me think about it some more."

Seeing her expression, Li had a pretty good idea of ​​the outcome. She felt a little uncomfortable, but still smiled and said, "I'll look again."

"Okay. Go back and rest early." Ji Meiqing didn't say much more and told her to go back directly.

It was still early, so Ji Meiqing casually wrapped her hair in a strip of cloth and then took her clothes from the day to the river to wash them.

There weren't many people by the river at night, so she could quietly wash her clothes all by herself.

The river was shallow and clear, with some small fish jumping around in it. Seeing that the riverbank was shallow, she tried walking over and playing in the water.

The sun was setting, and she wanted to get back to shore. But she stepped on something, lost her balance, and landed hard on a rock.

Ji Meiqing rubbed her bottom and picked up the thing she had been stepping on. Its crystal-clear appearance shimmered under the pale light of the sky.

She looked closely, then got up and rummaged through the spot where she had been sitting, finding a necklace there.

The faintly glowing object in my hand was one of the beads from the necklace. Only after the entire necklace was dug out did I realize it was a chain whose name I didn't know.

A very large ruby ​​is set in the center, and after being washed in water, the entire gemstone emits a translucent luster.

"Hey...are you alright?" Someone suddenly called her from the riverbank. Ji Meiqing quickly packed her things and got up.

The man walked over and frowned when he saw her soaking wet appearance. "Are you alright? You're completely drenched."

The night air was chilly, and Ji Meiqing finally felt a bit cold. The man took off his outer coat, saying, "Come here quickly, don't catch a cold."

"Thank you..." She turned to look at the person, then suddenly froze. The person recognized Ji Meiqing as well, handed her the clothes, and said coldly, "Put them on quickly."

Ji Meiqing took it and put it on. The water was cold after all, so she stood there for a while before running out.

She looked at the man in front of her and said with a faint smile, "Thank you, I'll wash the clothes and return them to you."

"No need, you keep it. So you don't end up lying in the river again if you have a brain fart."

"...I..." She didn't know what to say, "...I..."

"Go back quickly. It's so dark, people might think I did something to you."

Ji Meiqing thought for a moment, then picked up the clothes and headed back. There weren't many clothes, but they were quite heavy after being soaked in water, and she struggled to walk forward.

"Thank you. Your clothes." She took two steps forward until she was out of the way.

The night was still quite chilly, so she took off her shoes and carried them home. Lu Yu had already returned, and candles were lit in the living room. Ji Meiqing took the clothes to the back to hang them up to dry, and Lu Yu came over, holding a pair of embroidered shoes.

"Put these on. It's chilly at night." Knowing her mannerisms, he didn't ask any questions and simply placed them at her feet.

Ji Meiqing smiled and said, "Wait a moment, let me hang the clothes to dry."

He didn't say anything, but simply placed the shoes in front of her, saying, "Put these on first, it'll get chilly tonight."

Unable to refuse him, Ji Meiqing had no choice but to put on the shoes. The shoes were very soft, and she turned back to smile at him, saying, "Thank you."

Lu Yu didn't speak, but just looked at the clothes she was wearing. Then he said in a deep voice, "Who gave you these clothes?"

"Oh, I fell into the pond today. My clothes were soaked, but luckily a boy gave me his coat. Look..."

She twirled around, showed herself to Lu Yu, and then playfully stuck out her tongue, "Don't I look handsome in men's clothes!"

Lu Yu didn't say anything, simply picked out the clothes and left. Ji Meiqing watched his retreating figure; he seemed somewhat angry.

After hanging up the clothes, Ji Meiqing returned to her room.

She quickly changed her clothes, and Lu Yu knocked on the door. She looked at her clothes, hurriedly tied the ties, and went to open the door for him.

"Wait a minute." After finally straightening her clothes, she asked, "What is it?"

The door opened, and Lu Yu came in carrying two buckets of hot water. Ji Meiqing immediately hid to the side, watching him.

The water in the bucket was poured into the wooden tub, and steam seeped out from behind the screen. After a while, he came out, looked at Ji Meiqing, and said calmly, "Hurry up and soak in it, don't catch a cold."

"Oh..." Ji Meiqing glanced at it. There was a faint floral fragrance in the air, which smelled quite pleasant. Ji Meiqing was a little puzzled: "What...did you put in it?"

"I put some flowers in it. When I came back, I saw that the flowers on the hillside were pretty good, so I brought them over to make a tea for you."

“…Brother Lu.” She suddenly called his name.

Lu Yu looked at her.

"I think your idea is quite interesting," Ji Meiqing said, looking at him very seriously. Lu Yu didn't say anything and just left.