Chapter 12 He's Favoritistic

Pei Wu is such a forgiving person.

Just a second ago, Jiang Ru had been fierce with him, but he seemed to have no temper at all. He was still worried about Jiang Ru's hand, afraid that she would get burned, so he went out in the rain to pick herbs for her.

Jiang Ru looked at the dandelion in his palm, silently reached out, and took it.

Jiang Ru used a clever technique to extinguish the fire, without even touching the oil lamp. However, Pei Wu, that fool, thought she was being reckless and tried to put it out with his bare hands.

It was, after all, Pei Wu's good intention; he braved the rain to gather herbs for Jiang Ru, and Jiang Ru didn't want to discourage him.

As for the dandelion, Jiang Ru placed it on the windowsill. The window frame couldn't be completely closed, and wisps of wind slipped in through the gaps. The evening breeze rustled its branches and leaves, and glistening dewdrops slid across the branches and leaves, falling into the old window frame and disappearing in an instant.

...

After two days of rain, the sun finally came out.

The first rays of morning sunlight shone through the window, making the dandelions by the window glow slightly. The sunlight reflected off them and stung them a few times. Jiang Ru sat up in bed and slowly got out of bed.

Pei Wu gets up earlier than her every day, probably before dawn. Not only does he get up early, but he also cooks and reads, which shows how hard he works.

As soon as Jiang Ru opened the door, she smelled the aroma of porridge.

The ground in the courtyard was still a bit damp, so Pei Wu didn't read in the courtyard, but instead set up a table under the eaves.

Steam rose from the stove, and the sunlight slowly crept up to my feet, its warm rays making me feel exceptionally comfortable.

After Jiang Ru washed up in the courtyard and braided her hair, Pei Wu, who was under the eaves, looked up as if he sensed something and asked, "Is your hand alright?"

Jiang Ru held up her palm, which was as fair and tender as before, without any wounds. She smiled and said, "Thank you for the herbs, cousin. I'm completely healed overnight."

Pei Wu said, "It's good that you're alright."

Speaking of her injury, Jiang Ru ran back to her room, washed the dandelion grass that Pei Wu had picked the night before, and threw it into a pot to cook with the porridge.

The porridge was almost ready. After cooking for a few more minutes, Jiang Ru scooped up two bowls of porridge and called Pei Wu to eat.

A few green vegetable leaves floating in the pot stood out conspicuously. Pei Wu picked up his spoon several times and put it down again, finally asking casually, knowing the answer already, "This vegetable..."

Jiang Ru took a sip of porridge and casually replied, "The dandelion grass you picked last night wasn't all used up, so we cooked it together."

It was Pei Wu's idea after all, so it wasn't good to refuse him. It was perfect to use it as a dish, making the best use of it.

Pei Wu was speechless at her words. He paused for a moment before picking up the spoon again. Dandelion tasted bitter, and he didn't like it.

Jiang Ru didn't like it much either. She had only thrown it into the pot to cook with the other ingredients because she didn't want to waste it, but she regretted it after only a few bites.

Both of them finished their porridge with furrowed brows. Pei Wu wiped his mouth and said, "If you like, I'll go pick some more."

Jiang Ru shook her head repeatedly: "No need."

After drinking a bowl of unpalatable porridge, Jiang Ru suddenly noticed a basket by the stove. Inside were the snacks she had bought at the market a few days ago, as well as some maltose.

Jiang Ru's eyes lit up. She lifted the cloth covering the basket and took out the maltose.

She put a piece in her own mouth first, and the sweet taste spread to the tip of her tongue. She squinted her eyes happily, took the candy and walked to Pei Wu, asking him to eat it.

The candy was already at his lips when Pei Wu reached out and took a piece. The maltose completely suppressed the bitterness of the dandelion, leaving only sweetness.

Jiang Ru sat down opposite Pei Wu and said, "You should always carry this candy with you. If you ever feel dizzy again, eat a piece to relieve it."

As she spoke, she handed a small bag of candy to Pei Wu. The paper bag was opened, revealing several pieces of candy inside. Jiang Ru then wrapped the paper bag up again and handed it to Pei Wu, saying, "Here you go."

Pei Wu didn't even look at it, stubbornly saying, "I won't faint; it was just an accident."

Pei Wu is fine in other aspects, but he has one bad point: he is stubborn. He always sticks to his own opinions and trusts himself too much.

Jiang Ru smiled and said, "You always say it's an accident. If you faint next time, I won't save you. Here, take it. It's your money anyway."

She pleaded with him, both good and bad, before Pei Wu finally accepted it.

Now that the weather has cleared up, Jiang Ru will continue her farming business, not only for their future but also to distract Pei Wu from his studies.

The yard is quite large; you only need to clear out a small area to plant a lot of things. But if you want to enclose a small vegetable garden, you'll need to collect soil.

The soil was easy to collect, but carrying it back was a hassle. The two of them made several trips back and forth, carrying heavy soil back, before they finally managed to fence off a vegetable patch.

This was all physically demanding work, and Jiang Ru was exhausted, collapsing onto the table without moving.

It just so happens that Aunt Zhang's family steamed some buns today, and they sent a few over, saving them the trouble of making lunch.

As Jiang Ru munched on a large steamed bun, she felt that farming was no longer so enjoyable. She thought it would be better to wait for Pei Wu to become the regent and live a life of luxury with him. Why suffer through such a miserable existence?

But she only dared to think that way, after all, following Pei Wu in his rebellion meant she only had ten years left to live.

She slumped onto the table in a mournful manner, while Pei Wu hesitated behind her, as if he wanted to say something but couldn't: "Actually..."

"Stop." Jiang Ru raised her hand to signal him to shut up. She couldn't let Pei Wu's pessimistic remarks defeat her, otherwise all her efforts in the past few days would be in vain.

After lunch, she took advantage of her spare time to scatter the rapeseed and spray some water. Now, she just had to wait for the seedlings to grow.

After finishing all that, it was already afternoon. On the first day after the rain, the children came together again.

The rain had just stopped, and the ground was dirty, so this time they all brought stools and sat down in a row.

After not seeing each other for a few days, Zhang Xingjun became very talkative, always trying to find opportunities to dodge with Jiang Ru. Jiang Ru was extremely tired today and had no time to pay attention to him.

Zhang Xingjun talked a lot, but Jiang Ru didn't respond at all. When he turned around, he found that Jiang Ru had already fallen asleep.

No matter how mature she is mentally, her body is still that of a little girl who is not even fifteen years old. After a busy morning, she is naturally sleepy.

She was dozing off with her head down, completely oblivious to what Pei Wu was saying. Seeing that Pei Wu was about to approach and would soon discover her daydreaming, Zhang Xingjun winked and made noises to try and wake Jiang Ru.

Unfortunately, Jiang Ru was sleeping too soundly and didn't hear it at all.

Just as Zhang Xingjun was about to reach out and wake Jiang Ru, he suddenly saw Pei Wu turn his gaze toward him.

Zhang Xingjun's heart skipped a beat. He secretly sympathized with Jiang Ru, knowing that being caught slacking off by Pei Wu would be a serious matter.

Sure enough, Pei Wu extended his index finger, signaling Zhang Xingjun not to wake her. Zhang Xingjun immediately mourned for Jiang Ru, fearing that her brother Pei was going to come and catch Jiang Ru in the act himself.

However, after Pei Wu finished making this move, he even lowered his voice and stopped walking, as if afraid of waking Jiang Ru, and didn't even wake her up.

Zhang Xingjun suddenly felt that his brother Pei was so biased, being so strict with him but indulging Jiang Ru in every way.

Throughout the class, Jiang Ru slept for the same amount of time as Zhang Xingjun studied. He didn't even get a chance to say a word, and since he was daydreaming, he had no one to do it with, so he could only roll his eyes and leave.

The children around her had all left, and the commotion was neither too loud nor too soft. Jiang Ru woke up.

Almost the instant everyone left, Jiang Ru groggily opened her eyes and subconsciously answered the question Zhang Xingjun had asked her before she fell asleep.

At that time, Zhang Xingjun asked her, "I know a nest of bird eggs, do you want to come with me to collect them later?"

Jiang Ru replied, "Sure, you climb the tree, and I'll catch you from below."

Then, a voice suddenly came from in front of her: "What tree are you climbing?"

Jiang Ru's sluggish brain took a moment to process Pei Wu's voice. She looked up in confusion, staring at her empty surroundings, and exclaimed in shock, "Where is he?"

Pei Wu rarely laughed when she made him laugh. His smile was very faint, just a slight curve of his lips. After the fleeting smile, Pei Wu said, "I was just thinking that if you are really sleepy, you should go back to your bedroom to sleep. But you are sleeping so soundly that I don't want to wake you up."

After digesting her thoughts for a moment, Jiang Ru looked up at the sky.

By this time, the sun was already setting in the west, and only half of the courtyard was exposed to sunlight. It was already afternoon, and she had slept for about an hour.

Jiang Ru felt embarrassed and couldn't help but mutter, "You didn't even wake me up."

It turned out to be Pei Wu's fault, but Pei Wu remained calm: "It's my fault. I'll definitely wake you up next time."

Jiang Ru slept through the afternoon. At her inconsistent pace, it would take her forever to learn enough characters for daily use. Jiang Ru suddenly felt a sense of crisis.

Pei Wu was the same age as her, but he got up earlier and went to bed later than her every day. He would secretly study behind Jiang Ru's back every night. Jiang Ru already knew this because Pei Wu would only go to the courtyard to wash up in the middle of the night.

His movements were very light, but the night was so quiet that Jiang Ru could always hear some faint noises, like the splashing of water. It wasn't enough to wake her up, but she could still get a general idea of ​​Pei Wu's routine.

Thinking back to her past life, Jiang Ru would sometimes fall asleep without even eating after returning from the fields, while Pei Wu, on the other hand, would study like crazy after working with her.

Jiang Ru couldn't help but ask, "Why aren't you sleepy?"

Pei Wu paused for a moment, then said, "Over the years, I've gotten used to it."

Jiang Ru frowned, rubbed her sleepy eyes until her vision cleared a little. Since she had wasted the afternoon and had slept enough, she decided to finish what she hadn't done.

Jiang Ru ran inside to grab a sickle and dashed out of the yard: "I'm going to cut bamboo."

She left in such a hurry that she forgot to take Pei Wu with her, but Pei Wu can go find her himself.

There was only one dense bamboo grove in the village, not far from where they were moving soil today. Pei Wu quickened his pace and soon caught up with Jiang Ru.

Jiang Ru was raising her sickle to cut bamboo. The blade was very dull, and she couldn't cut through it on the first try. She had to cut it several times before she finally managed to cut it through.

Pei Wu stepped forward, intending to take the sickle from Jiang Ru, but Jiang Ru brushed his hand away. Pei Wu had no choice but to withdraw his hand, preparing to take the sickle from her when she was tired.

Jiang Ru worked efficiently and decisively, as if she had done this a thousand times before. She chopped down four or five bamboo stalks in a row, and only stopped when she felt she had done enough.

Jiang Ru gathered the bamboo together and handed it to Pei Wu, who took it.

Pei Wu held the bamboo in his hands, and before he could ask, Jiang Ru took the initiative to explain: "Take it back to make a fence."

Pei Wu lowered his eyes. The bamboo in his hand had been shaved by Jiang Ru. The thinnest point at the top was gone, and the blade was neat and the length was just right.

Pei Wu said, "You seem very skilled at this."

Holding the sickle, Jiang Ru casually remarked, "Practice makes perfect."

Like Jiang Ru, many children in the village started working in the fields at a young age, and they earned a lot. Perhaps Jiang Ru was the same, learning to support her family at a young age.

Pei Wu looked at her, momentarily at a loss for words. It seemed that she could live a good life without Pei Wu.

A note from the author:

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