Chapter 112 It would be great if you could come with me.

Green hills and trees, with wisps of smoke rising from chimneys.

Liu Wenshu sat in the courtyard, watching the busy figures in the kitchen through the window.

Poor families only papered the blue-and-white windowpane of the room where they slept; they didn't paper the other windows. They would only try to paper them in the winter.

Daya and Yehua went to make winter clothes, while Erya helped Yewan in the kitchen.

"Young master, have some tea." Yantai saw that his young master was staring at Lady Ye in a daze, so he hurriedly picked up the teapot and poured water.

Liu Wenshu turned his gaze away from the window, holding the bamboo cup in his hand. "This tea is delicious. I felt hot just now, but I'm not hot anymore."

The inexplicable heat from before has subsided, and I feel refreshed and exceptionally cool.

Ye Wan, who was in the kitchen, overheard the conversation and replied, "This is barley tea, which I roasted myself. It has a cooling effect, and it's good to drink more of it when you're feeling hot in autumn."

"Madam Ye, your face..." Liu Wenshu's lips curved into a smile.

"My face?" Ye Wan touched her face, then turned to Er Ya and asked, "What's wrong with my face?"

The flour on her hands somehow got smeared onto her face, leaving two streaks on each side.

"Mom, you'd better wash your face quickly, you've turned into a clown, hahaha." Er Ya burst out laughing.

Ye Wan came out, washed her face in the yard, and then went into the kitchen.

Liu Wenshu, sitting in the courtyard, was stunned.

Without any concealment, Ye Wen's skin was as smooth as jade, like a lotus emerging from clear water, naturally beautiful without any artifice...

"Young master, young master!"

The inkstone beeped twice, but Liu Wenshu did not respond.

"Young Master!" Yantai raised his voice again.

Liu Wenshu finally snapped out of his daze, "What's wrong?"

Sanya, with her head bowed and two little pigtails, was handing him a black ball.

Liu Wenshu put down his fan. "Would you like me to eat this?"

What is that black thing? A date? It doesn't look like one.

Sanya shook her head and continued to pass the black ball forward.

Just as Liu Wenshu was about to reach for it, the small black ball suddenly turned into a beetle and began to move in Sanya's palm.

Liu Wenshu abruptly pulled his hand back, and the fan in his hand fell to the ground.

"ah!"

"Young master, are you alright?"

Yantai was also startled and pulled Liu Wenshu to stand up and back away.

Sanya laughed, "Young Master Liu, this is Xiao Hei. It doesn't bite. It wants to play with you."

Looking at the large, shiny black insect, Liu Wenshu felt a chill run down her spine. A little girl playing with insects and even giving them names—it was terrifying!

"No, I won't."

Liu Wenshu thought to himself, "No way, he's terrified of insects."

“Young Master Liu, Little Black is quite fun. You can treat it like a ball and roll it around.” Sanya said, putting Little Black on the ground and flicking it with her finger like a marble.

The large, shiny black worm rolled a short distance on the ground.

"Young Master Liu, why don't you give it a try?" Sanya looked at Liu Wenshu expectantly.

Liu Wenshu: ...

"Sanya is really amazing." Liu Wenshu praised her dryly, looked her over from left to right, took off the jade pendant hanging from his lapel and handed it to her, "This is for you, you can go play over there."

Oh no! Please, please, stay away from this big black bug!

"Sanya, don't take it." Ye Wan, who was in the kitchen, heard this. "Young Master Liu, the things you have should be quite valuable. Don't just give them away."

I already owe them a favor, so how could I possibly accept their gift?

"It's alright, I find this young girl quite charming." Liu Wenshu picked up the fan on the table to cover his face, handed over the jade pendant, and took a few steps back.

"Happy" is an ironic statement; please don't come over again.

"Thank you, Young Master Liu." Sanya took the jade pendant and went to pick up Xiao Hei again.

Liu Wenshu simply stood there, not daring to sit down, for fear that the girl would bring that big black bug back.

Er Ya came out carrying a basin of water and stared intently at Liu Wenshu for several moments. When she saw that he had no intention of bringing her anything, she pouted.

"Er Ya, do you have guests?"

Aunt Wang looked at the carriage at the door and quietly asked Er Ya, who had come out to pour water.

"Yes!" Er Ya exclaimed excitedly, feeling incredibly proud. "The man from my house is Young Master Liu, the son of the wealthy Liu family, who came first in this year's provincial examination..."

"Your mother even knows the son of the Liu family?" Aunt Wang asked in surprise.

She was just visiting when she saw a carriage at the entrance of Lin Anyuan's house. She didn't expect it to be from the Liu family.

Er Ya was very proud. "Of course! Last time, San Ya and I were almost sold off, and it was Young Master Liu who saved us."

"Oh no, I'll head back now."

When Aunt Wang got home, she told her family about it, and then her daughter-in-law spread the word.

Is this true?

The village chief also heard it from his own wife.

The village chief's wife, Zhao, chimed in, "Wang said it herself; she saw it with her own eyes. The carriages were all parked at the door."

The village chief puffed on his pipe and thought for a moment, “There’s not much work lately, we’re just waiting for winter to come. Cheng Dong and Cheng Cai, you two brothers should go around the Ye family’s area more often, and if there’s any hard work, help the Ye family out.”

Zhao was displeased when she heard this. "Let your son go work at Ye's house. There's only one woman and three children in her family. Aren't you afraid people will gossip?"

The village chief tapped his pipe on his shoe. "If you're worried about gossip, you should go too. That woman with long hair and short brains, she's got connections with the Liu family. This Ye woman is quite capable."

"Fine, I'll go."

Zhao thought to herself, "This is a good thing. Maybe I'll be able to ask Ye Wan for help later."

That's what the village chief's family thinks, but other families don't.

Rumors even circulated that Ye Wan was being unfaithful and flirting with others.

...

...

"Madam Ye, I'm leaving."

It was almost noon, and Liu Wenshu's stomach was so full that it was hard to even stand.

At that moment, he felt that all the classical Chinese texts he had read had gone to waste, and he had never eaten like this before at someone else's house.

But it's so delicious!

Thinking of that table full of food, Liu Wenshu wished his stomach were bigger so he could eat more.

Ye Wan prepared a total of twelve dishes, all of which were eaten. Looking at Liu Wenshu, whose belly was bulging, she went into the kitchen for a moment and came out carrying a bamboo tube.

"This is some digestive tea I brewed. Take it with you on the road."

Don't let them overeat and cause serious harm.

Liu Wenshu blushed and called out, "Daddy!"

He took the bamboo tube, thanked them, and hurriedly got into the carriage.

Once on the carriage, he felt he was being too undignified, so he lifted the curtain, about to say a few words.

Baozi thought the young master was in a hurry to leave, so he raised his whip and shouted, "Giddy up!"

The carriage immediately started moving.

Liu Wenshu, who was sitting in the carriage, almost fell onto the inkstone.

"..."

"Young master, Madam Ye's cooking is truly superb. Even a burp from her now smells delicious."

After walking a short distance out of the village, Yantai was still savoring the memory of today's meal.

Last night he was thinking to himself that the young master was crazy, but now he feels it was all worth it, really worth it.

Even the chefs at Xilailou don't have such good skills.

Liu Wenshu sighed, "I wish you could come with me."