With such good side dishes for drinking, Magistrate Chen could have a bowl of wine even if his stomach felt unwell.
Thus, Little Xi Tian's fried grasshoppers became the main dish of the meal, to the point that after Zhao Guihua finished preparing the cucumbers, no one reached for them with their chopsticks...
"Ah, it's rare to have a few days of leisure. I'll have a couple of bowls of wine and take a nap, hic!" Provincial Governor Qin burped, his face flushed, clearly having had a bit too much.
Old Man Yun smiled and said, "Governor Qin has traveled a long way to our Dashui Village, so please stay for a few more days. I'll have Guihua heat up your kang thoroughly. After drinking, lying on the kang feels so good..."
Zhao Guihua paused while eating and secretly glanced at Old Man Yun.
First, preparing cucumbers, then heating the kang – was he really treating her like a maid?
In the past, with Jin Huaihua and Hu Xier helping her, Zhao Guihua didn't feel particularly tired. Now, even with Du Tieshan at home, she still felt uneasy...
She always felt like something was missing.
The two plates of fried grasshoppers were completely cleaned out, not even a grasshopper leg was left.
Old Man Yun and his sons only drank two liang of wine. They still had to go to the fields to husk corn in the afternoon, and drinking too much would delay their work.
After lunch, everyone went to rest...
Husking corn was a demanding task that required a lot of manpower.
In the afternoon, the entire Old Yun family went out.
Gu Shi tied a headscarf, slung a basket over her shoulder, and led a group of young girls to the fields.
Zhao Guihua also covered herself up thoroughly and walked out of the house to help her parents with the farm work.
Du Tieshan was to stay home to wash clothes, bedding, and curtains. She didn't need to prepare dinner, as everyone knew they were going to the west house for drinks that evening...
"Mom, you husk corn so fast, I can't keep up!" Little Xi Tian followed behind Gu Shi, picking up the corn from the ground and putting it into the basket.
It was strange; she rarely saw her mother doing farm work. She never expected that once they were in the fields, her mother's speed was no less than that of her brothers...
Gu Shi smiled and said, "Farm work is a necessary skill for making a living. No matter what environment a person grows up in, they must learn to work and not be too lazy, understand?"
Little Xi Tian held the large basket with both hands and looked at her mother's back with a hint of daze.
Were these the words of a peasant woman?
Why did they sound like profound wisdom...
"Mom, have you never thought about leaving Dashui Village to live in the prefectural city or the capital?" Little Xi Tian ran a few steps forward and asked.
Gu Shi stopped walking, her back to Little Xi Tian, and remained silent.
Her slender figure was like withered grass in late autumn, a loneliness tinged with a hint of desolation.
"Mom, if you don't like those places, then we'll never go..." Little Xi Tian walked over like a cat and came to her mother's front.
Gu Shi lowered her gaze, her expression tinged with melancholy, and a barely perceptible bitterness lingered in her eyes.
After a moment, she came back to her senses, squatted down, and gently tucked a stray strand of hair from Little Xi Tian's forehead behind her ear. "My daughter will grow up sooner or later. As long as you are happy and joyful, your mother will be content. As for places like the capital, if my daughter likes it, then go. Your mother is quite content here in Dashui Village..."
Little Xi Tian hugged Gu Shi's waist. "No, Xi Tian wants to be with Mom forever!"
Since she had transmigrated, her family had treated her very well, but Gu Shi's affection for Little Xi Tian was etched into her very bones.
Gu Shi looked at Little Xi Tian with a loving expression, picked her up, and tickled her little nose. "You won't say such things when you grow up. Look, which daughter doesn't get married when she grows up? You'll have to manage the household, raise children, and take care of domestic affairs. You can't always stay by your parents' side..."
Little Xi Tian wanted to say more, but Gu Shi kissed her chubby little face and carried her out of the cornfield. "Let's go, Mom will wash a melon for you to eat!"
In autumn, the temperature difference between morning and evening in Dashui Village was significant.
Old Man Yun would put on a sheepskin jacket when he went to the fields early in the morning. After working for a while and warming up, he would take it off...
But by noon or afternoon, the sun was like a furnace, almost making the grass smoke.
The Yun brothers took off their shirts and worked bare-chested.
Cartloads of corn were pulled to the Yun family's courtyard and unloaded in the open space.
When people returned home, they would arrange them to dry. Later, the corn kernels would be rubbed off, which could be used to make coarse grain porridge or ground into cornmeal to steam flatbreads...
The Yun family had fifty mu of land, half planted with corn and half with wheat. Even with the entire family working, they couldn't finish husking the corn in an afternoon.
At dusk, the sun slanted west towards the horizon, and a gentle breeze blew, causing Old Man Yun to shiver.
"Hoo, it's getting dark so quickly. Da Man, Er Man, tidy things up, let's go back for dinner!" Old Man Yun said.
"Understood, Father!" Yun Da Man loaded the last basket of corn onto the cart and then called his mother and sisters to go home.
At the same time, in the west house of the Yun family.
The sound of stir-frying came from the kitchen, and clouds of oil smoke drifted out through the windowpanes, signaling that dinner was about to begin...
Magistrate Chen stood outside the kitchen with his hands behind his back, sniffing the air. "Hmm, stewed chicken with mushrooms!"
A moment later, another aroma of dishes wafted over, and Magistrate Chen raised his eyebrows slightly. "This is pickled cabbage stewed with buckwheat noodles!"
"Father, what are you doing standing here? Young Master Xiao wants us to come in..." Chen Xiaoran said speechlessly.
Magistrate Chen glanced at his daughter and suddenly asked, "Xiaoran, how many years older or younger are you than Young Master Xiao?"
Since the Jinshan matter was out of the question, why not marry Xiaoran to the young prince? In the future, she could enter the palace and become a Virtuous Consort, or a Noble Consort, or a Worthy Consort, or a Virtuous Consort, etc.
Chen Xiaoran: "..."
Why did she feel like her father's gaze was a bit frightening?
"Father, Young Master Xiao has never revealed his age, why are you asking this?" Chen Xiaoran rolled her eyes.
Magistrate Chen looked up at the main hall of the west house. Xiao Jinheng was already sitting at the dining table, chatting with Old Man Yun and Gu Shi about something. "Looking at his height, he seems to be only about seven or eight years old, which is perfect for you!"
"Xiaoran, when we eat later, you should give Young Master Xiao more food, chat with him, and if nothing else, tell him a few jokes!"
As long as they could please the young prince, would their family still have to stay in Heyang County in such embarrassment?
Chen Xiaoran: "..."
Sometimes she felt her father was even more unreasonable than her mother.
This time, Xiao Jinheng hosted the banquet and invited all the close people in the village.
There was the village chief, Du Laosan, and Fu Daqiang, as well as the villagers who went into the mountains to search for them overnight when they went missing. Even the strong men and women who contributed the most when building the waterwheel were invited...
Provincial Governor Qin saw this and was delighted by the young prince's magnanimity.
Yun Latou placed a pig's trotter for Gu Shi and scanned the dining table. "Huh? Where did Si Man go?"