Du Jiang pursed her lips and said, "Well, Auntie, I heard from Sister Tianniu that there is a master..."

Du Jiang didn't say the rest, but Aunt Cui understood what the other party was asking. She wanted to evade the question, but when she thought about her daughter's pestering of Du Jiang on the mountain today, she finally started to speak, "Girl, since you ask, then Aunt Cui won't hide it from you. There was a person who saw not only your sister Yingying, but all the children in the village. He said he was a master, but in fact he was just a beggar fleeing famine. The instructions for each child were similar, nothing more than things like having enough food and drink in the future. Yingying was the same."

"Is that so?" Du Jiang felt that Aunt Cui was not telling the truth, or was half-truthful, but it was not easy to continue asking, so he could only nod in agreement. "I don't think it's a big deal, but Sister Tianniu looks so mysterious. It's getting late, Auntie, I have to go feed the pigs."

"Okay, I should go back to cook, so I won't bother you anymore."

After Aunt Cui left, Du Jiang looked at the messy yard and slowly picked up the broom to sweep.

When Huo Yang heard the news and rushed over, he saw Du Jiang staggering around cleaning up the mess on the ground. The ground was covered with pig manure and traces of trampling.

Du Jiang

"Huh?" Du Jiang turned around and saw Huo Yang's tall figure appear at the door of the pigsty. His sturdy body took up most of the doorway, making the already small yard look even more crowded.

As Huo Yang approached, Du Jiang could see beads of sweat on his forehead and his tanned, now slightly flushed, cheeks. He must have run all the way here. Seeing this, Du Jiang quickly said, "Brother Huo, I'm fine. Did you run here?"

"Yeah," Huo Yang nodded, and looked Du Jiang up and down. Seeing that Du Jiang was not in a mess at all, he immediately felt relieved. "I heard the news in the back mountain and rushed over. I'm glad you're okay."

When Du Jiang heard that Huo Yang came running from the back mountain, he was immediately filled with gratitude, "Thank you, Brother Huo. Well, wait a moment, I'll go to the house to get you a glass of water." After all, they were a single man and a single woman, so Du Jiang couldn't invite Huo Yang into the house to drink water, so he could only let him wait in the yard.

Huo Yang also knew Du Jiang's taboo and did not object. "Okay, I'll wait for you in the yard."

After Du Jiang entered the house, Huo Yang was not idle either. He picked up the broom that Du Jiang had leaned against the wall and started sweeping. When Du Jiang came out with the wooden cup he had bought from the carpenter, the yard had been cleaned spotlessly. Looking at Huo Yang who was shoveling the garbage out, Du Jiang quickly hugged him and said, "Brother Huo, just leave it there. I'll take care of it later."

"It's okay, there's only this one shovel left," Huo Yang said as he walked out with the shovel. Du Jiang couldn't chase him out with the cup in his hand, so he could only stand in the yard and wait.

When Huo Yang came back, Du Jiang asked him to go into the house and borrow a pot to wash his hands before handing him the cup. "Boiled water, thank you, Brother Huo."

"You're welcome. You came here with me, so I must be responsible for your safety." Du Jiang had no way to refute these words. Although he always felt that something was wrong, he couldn't put his finger on it.

"Brother Huo, thank you for today. When my house is built, I will invite you to warm up the house."

"Build a house?" Upon hearing this, Huo Yang's expression changed strangely, and he looked at Du Jiang a few times, hesitant to speak.

Du Jiang felt a little uneasy, "Huo...Brother Huo, is there something wrong?"

Huo Yang hesitated and said uncertainly, "That Du Jiangjian's house should be next to mine, right? But you know a girl should have a big room, no matter how small her house is. Although Village Chief Du is very strict, there are still some scoundrels, and there are also a few lazy people in the village. You... Isn't this clearly telling others that you are rich? Qian Meili and He Jiefang are going to get married, and you..."

This was probably the most talkative time Du Jiang had had since he met Huo Yang. From the hesitation at the beginning to the earnest teaching later, Du Jiang was inexplicably reminded of the dean of studies at school, except that the dean's hair was not as lush as Huo Yang's.

But Huo Yang's words also made Du Jiang's heart tighten, "Brother Huo, I...I didn't think it through."

"Nothing, you're just a kid, but your idea is good."

To Du Jiang, it was better not to praise her at all, because it made her feel inferior to Huo Yang. They were obviously of the same generation with only one year difference in age, but it made it seem like there was several generations between them.

"Thank you, Brother Huo." What else can he say? Thank you. Du Jiang uttered these words stiffly with twitching cheeks.

Unfortunately, Huo Yang didn't realize that she was insincere and continued to preach.

"It's good that you know. Think about it carefully. If you can't make up your mind, come to my house. My grandparents have been there a lot and have seen a lot, so they can give you some advice. Also, if you want to build a house, you might as well build a wing against the wall in the educated youth camp. The land in the same yard is free and cheap. Even if you leave later, you won't have to argue with anyone, and no one will be tempted to take advantage of you."

It has to be said that the talkative Huo Yang really opened up a new direction of thinking for Du Jiang. Du Jiang touched his chin, thinking about the feasibility, and found that it was a very good suggestion. He immediately clapped his hands and interrupted Huo Yang's chatter.

"I know what to do. Thank you, Brother Huo, but I still need to discuss this with Sister Qian."

"Qian Meili, are you going to take her with you?"

"Well, this way, they won't be a eyesore. Besides, the courtyard of the educated youth site is quite large, so it won't affect our two families building wing rooms. As for the vegetable patch, it's a pity that it's been moved behind the house. The open space behind the house has been idle. I think other people will also want to build a house."

"That's a good idea. If the land wasn't so expensive, Xu Zhizhou would also want to move out. You can go ask him."

"Brother Xu? I haven't heard of that. Okay, I'll go back and ask. Brother Huo, thank you so much today."

"You're welcome. It's getting dark. I'll take you home. It's on my way."

Du Jiang did not refuse Huo Yang's farewell. After what happened today, Du Jiang finally understood that no matter how harmonious they were on weekdays, outsiders were still outsiders after all.

On the way back, the two of them were very silent, walking one in front and the other behind, Du Jiang in front and Huo Yang behind. Their shadows were stretched long by the sunlight and overlapped with each other.

Perhaps Huo Yang's presence represented a sense of security, and Du Jiang felt very relaxed along the way. She had also experienced this kind of relaxation from Du Que. It was like being surrounded by an invisible armor, and the security made Du Jiang want to cry.