Su Xiaoqi stood by the window, looking at them innocently.
"Oh, why did Auntie come? Isn't the meal about to start?"
Qian shi looked around but saw nothing.
Disbelieving, she peered under the bed, but it was empty.
"Quick, tell me where you hid the wild boar meat?" she demanded, refusing to believe.
Su Xiaoqi was speechless. Greedy Qian shi was indeed a very useful pawn.
"What do you mean, Auntie? If I truly wanted to hoard the wild boar meat,
why would my husband agree to share it?
The wild boar was hunted by my husband. If he didn't want to bring it out, would anyone dare to forcefully snatch it from the scholar's home?"
Su Xiaoqi deliberately invoked Shen Yun's scholar status, hoping to remind Qian shi that he was no longer an ordinary commoner.
He was not someone she could easily manipulate.
"Bao Gui's mother, let's go back. Husband Shen is not that kind of person," said Yu shi, the village chief's wife, trying to mediate.
Her husband had been mentioning Shen Yun often these past two days.
He had told her to build good relations with the Shen family from now on.
Therefore, at this moment, she was willing to speak up for Shen Yun and Su Xiaoqi.
Qian shi could ignore Shen Yun and Su Xiaoqi, but she dared not disregard Yu shi's wishes.
When Qian shi became rowdy, she was even more aggressive than Yu shi.
Just then, someone from the Zhao family's old house called out that the wild boar meat was being distributed and the meal was about to begin.
Upon hearing this, Qian shi and her companions hurried away.
Shen Yun looked at Su Xiaoqi, his eyes asking where she had hidden the person.
Su Xiaoqi blinked her peach blossom eyes, her pupils rolling slightly.
She was contemplating how to explain.
Shen Yun glanced at the room, which he could see through at a glance, and made no move to search.
Instead, he kept his gaze fixed on Su Xiaoqi.
She had been the only one in the room just moments ago. The person must have been hidden by her.
"He, he is..." Su Xiaoqi lowered her head, her brows slightly furrowed.
How could she tell Shen Yun that when she saw she couldn't stop Qian shi,
to protect her reputation, she had moved the person into her space on a whim?
Before that, she hadn't even known that people could be hidden away.
He was currently lying under the blue sky and white clouds of her space, and his condition didn't seem good.
The environment inside was not suitable for human survival; he was suffering from oxygen deprivation.
She needed to find an opportunity to release him.
Shen Yun was still waiting for her answer.
Su Xiaoqi pouted her rosy lips and suddenly threw herself into his arms.
She pushed him onto the bed, unthinkingly covering his eyes with her hands.
She channeled her consciousness and released him from her space. With a dull thud, he landed under the bed.
Shen Yun's eyes were completely covered. He only heard the sound. By the time he pushed Su Xiaoqi's hands away and looked,
Zhao Guanggun had already appeared.
Combining the sound he just heard, Shen Yun glanced at the thatched roof beam.
"Did you hide him up there?"
Su Xiaoqi looked up at the beam, about two meters high, and nodded subconsciously.
"That's right. There was nowhere else. Oh dear, my hands are so sore, I'm exhausted."
Shen Yun's handsome brows were knitted; he clearly didn't believe her fib.
As he was about to ask more, Su Xiaoqi cupped his chin and offered him her red lips.
The familiar scent, the soft touch, the familiar longing...
Shen Yun temporarily abandoned his search for the truth.
After a bout of entwinement, Shen Yun tossed Zhao Guanggun back into his dilapidated thatched hut and took Su Xiaoqi back to the Zhao family's old house.
The banquet officially began.
Su Xiaoqi, having just escaped such a perilous situation, had no appetite.
She held her bowl and surveyed the people present.
It was clear that Zhao Guanggun's sudden appearance was no coincidence.
Someone must have been instigating him from behind the scenes.
It was a pity that time was limited, and she hadn't had a chance to ask.
Her gaze lingered on the sisters Zhao Xiaohua and Zhao Hai'e.
Her eyes darted around, filled with deep suspicion.
However, her attention was soon diverted.
It was caused by a remark from Zhao Xiaohua:
"Good heavens, little sister, little sister, this dish called stir-fried pig intestines is truly delicious.
Is this your handiwork?"
"No, no, it's my sister-in-law. She's skillful and knows so many dishes."
Zhao Xiaohua's eyes darkened. Damn it all.
She had complimented the wrong person.
Seeing Shen Xiaomei busy in the kitchen, she had assumed it was her creation.
She hadn't expected it to be that woman.
Could she, a young lady from the Su family, actually cook?
"Heh heh, then Sister Xiaoqi is truly amazing. If I ever have a feast at my home, I'll invite her to help cook."
Zhao Xiaohua, as expected of Zhao Xiaohua.
With one sentence, she had pegged Su Xiaoqi's identity as a helper bustling around the stove.
Su Xiaoqi looked at her calmly. She had nothing to say to this hypocrite.
After all, even if her family invited her, she wouldn't go.
However, Zhao Xiaohua's remark had indeed sparked praise for Su Xiaoqi's cooking skills among everyone.
It was truly because those few dishes made from pork offal were unexpectedly delicious.
The women, disregarding that the banquet wasn't over, all crowded around Su Xiaoqi, asking how to prepare pork offal.
Su Xiaoqi, entangled by them, couldn't focus on observing Zhao Xiaohua and her sister.
She pointed at Shen Xiaomei: "I've given the recipes to my little sister.
If you want to learn, just find her."
"Sister-in-law, I, I can't." Shen Xiaomei, habitually timid, showed a lack of confidence all over her face.
"Believe in yourself, you can do it." Su Xiaoqi cheered Shen Xiaomei on.
While Shen Xiaomei might not be proficient in other things, she truly had a talent for cooking.
She learned quickly with a single lesson and was very intuitive.
Shen Yun didn't want all the attention to be on Su Xiaoqi.
He pulled Zhao Liushun to help as hosts, ensuring everyone ate well and drank well, so they could divide the wild boar meat afterward.
The mention of dividing the wild boar meat livened up the atmosphere of the banquet.
After eating and drinking their fill, deducting the fifty jin of wild boar meat used for the banquet, and the ten jin kept for their own sustenance,
Shen Yun, as promised, distributed the remaining two hundred jin equally among fifty households in the village.
Each household, carrying four jin of wild boar meat, had joyous expressions on their faces. They offered Shen Yun many auspicious words, wishing him success in every exam and a high official position in the future.
After helping to clean up the venue, they dispersed happily.
As the crowd receded, Zhao Guanggun arrived late.
He had just woken up from his stupor and, remembering the grand meal he had missed, scrambled to his feet.
When he reached Zhao Dashan's house, everyone had already dispersed.
The sturdy cypress courtyard gate was tightly shut.
His family was numerous and powerful, and he dared not be as reckless as he had been at the Shen's.
After clarifying through the gate that the banquet had ended, he stomped angrily towards the Shen's house.
Su Xiaoqi was in the courtyard, washing her inner garments with hot water.
Hearing the sound, she looked up, her eyes filled with a fiery red glow.
Damn Zhao Guanggun, how dare he show up again.
She was feeling unwell and planned to rest for a few days before dealing with him.
Yet, he had delivered himself to her doorstep.
After hanging her clothes to dry, she stood up and walked to the entrance, blocking his path.
Her expression was indifferent, her demeanor cold.
Zhao Guanggun was intimidated by Su Xiaoqi's appearance.
He took a deep breath and glared at Su Xiaoqi, saying:
"Bring, bring the wild boar meat that was supposed to be distributed to me."
Su Xiaoqi snorted coldly:
"The wild boar meat was distributed to the villagers, not to animals."