Chapter 353: Are you on good terms?

This was the statement he and Jiang Luli had agreed upon beforehand.

Try not to involve Gu Jiayue. She is already conspicuous enough now, so it is better to keep a low profile.

"What? It's going to rain for a month?"

"Then all the rice seedlings I've been planting these days while wearing a raincoat, haven't they been in vain?"

"Next month? Will my three adobe houses be washed away?"

"Could it be that Chief Jiang Shan was deceived? It has never rained for so long in Annan County."

"It's very likely! The last time I went to the county town, I heard someone was pretending to be a monk and defrauding people."

"Oh, this is too bold, even a monk dares to pretend!"

The villagers were in an uproar, their chattering almost blew the roof off the ancestral hall, not giving the village chief any chance to continue speaking.

The village chief sighed heavily, his brows furrowed into a knot. Fortunately, he had known this would be the reaction.

He winked at the village guard next to him, who immediately raised the gong in his hand.

"Dangdangdang--" A few deafening gong sounds came down, and the yard suddenly became so quiet that you could hear a pin drop.

"That master is quite famous, and his predictions have never been wrong." The village chief's voice was filled with undeniable authority. "So we must take precautions. When you return home today, pack up your belongings and hide your valuables somewhere. Set aside one-third of the grain, weigh it, and send it to the school..."

He glanced at the confused and uneasy faces in the yard and slowed down his tone, "I know some of you don't believe it in your hearts, but it's better to be prepared than not."

"The village chief is right," someone in the crowd muttered. "If the food gets soaked, the coming year will be miserable. No matter how long the rain lasts, we can't let our guard down."

"I think the village chief is right. My grandfather observed the sky last night and also said it would rain for a long time."

"Did Fifth Grandfather really say that?" someone immediately chimed in, "Then it seems like this is almost certain. No, I have to go home quickly to pack up and find a new place to store the food."

"Oh, since Fifth Master said so, it must be true! I have to go and pack up. If not, I can take my wife and children to hide at my aunt's house for a few days."

…

The villagers talked among themselves as they dispersed in twos and threes, hurrying home.

Gu Jiayue looked at this scene and breathed a sigh of relief. She turned around and whispered to her grandmother beside her, "Grandma, who is this Fifth Master they are talking about?"

Grandma had a gentle smile on her face. "Oh, he's an elder of the Zhang family. He likes to study the weather. If he says it's going to rain, it won't be sunny. Nine times out of ten, he's right."

I see. Gu Jiayue nodded.

Seeing that the villagers did not resist fiercely, a stone in my heart finally fell to the ground.

But she didn't know that there were still a few stubborn old ladies in the village who had other ideas in mind.

At Zhang Laosan's house on the west end of the village, the old lady was sitting on the edge of the kang, clapping her hands on her thighs and shouting in a shrill voice: "What if we send it over and they don't return it to us? That's half a year's food supply for our family!"

Zhang Laosan was overwhelmed by what he heard, and veins on his forehead throbbed. "Mom, this isn't the most important thing right now! We need to gather all the valuables and food at home and hide them somewhere high to protect them from the rain. The school is located on high, large, and flat ground, making it a perfect place to take shelter from the rain."

He patiently explained, "Besides, given the current situation in the village, the village chief and the elders wouldn't be so greedy as to take advantage of our small amount of food."

According to Zhang Laosan, it doesn't matter even if the village doesn't return the grain.

We are all from the same village, so it doesn’t matter who eats it.

"You bastard!" the old lady slammed the table, her eyes wide. "Have I ever told you that you can only judge a person by their appearance, not their heart? Look, the rain has subsided. It's guaranteed to be sunny tomorrow. How can there be any mudslides or floods? They just want to take our food!"

Her chest heaving violently, she pointed at the door. "Anyway, you're not allowed to send food to the academy! And that girl named Gu Jiayue, who's always in the spotlight, doesn't look like a good person. Tell the girls at home to stay away from her!"

"Mom!" Zhang Laosan stamped his feet anxiously.

"What are you yelling about?" The old lady stiffened her neck, her voice as sharp as a thorn. "Go back! If you don't listen to me, I'll hang myself at the gate!"

Zhang Laosan looked at his mother's stubborn expression and felt powerless. He sighed heavily, turned around and walked out, his steps full of irritation and helplessness.

Some people are uncooperative, while others are very obedient.

The village road gradually became lively. Some people were carrying brown rice on their shoulders and hurried to the school. Beads of sweat mixed with rain were dripping down their foreheads, but they didn't care.

The door to the backyard of the school was pushed open with a creaky sound.

Gu Jiayue stood inside the door, watching the villagers arriving one after another, and whispered, "The children are in class, so please walk lightly when you pass through the yard."

The villagers quickly lowered their voices, and if anyone accidentally stepped on a branch, they would get a cold eye.

Jiang Luli stood in the middle of the yard, his eyes sweeping over the familiar blue brick floor, the stone table under the corridor, and the still green bamboo in the corner.

He raised his hand to wipe away the rain marks on his sleeves, and a faint smile appeared on the corner of his lips: "I haven't been here for a few months, but this yard hasn't changed at all."

Gu Jiayue smiled upon hearing this, a warm look in her eyes: "It's just a yard, how much can it change in just a few months?"

She paused, her fingertips lightly brushing the smooth wood grain on the porch pillars. "No one will live here after you leave, but the housekeepers will come and take care of it every day. The windows are spotless and you can move in any time."

She raised her eyes to look at Jiang Luli, with a hint of teasing in her eyes: "Or, do you want to go back to your own yard to live?"

Since Jiang Luli left, the craftsmen have never stopped working in his yard. It was just completed last month. With its blue bricks and black tiles, it is more elegant than the one in the school.

"I'll stay here for now." Jiang Luli's eyes fell on Gu Jiayue's face, with a hint of subtle expectation. "Leave my yard empty. If a disaster really happens, it can be used to accommodate some of the victims."

He originally thought that these words would win her approval, but Gu Jiayue just nodded calmly.

"That's fine," she said calmly, as if she was just talking about the weather. "This yard is empty anyway, so if you live here, it'll be more lively."

The wind under the corridor brought the coolness after the rain, causing the bamboo shadows to sway gently.

Gu Jiayue suddenly remembered something, frowned slightly, and added a bit of worry to her tone: "Oh, right, I plan to tell Qinghe about the rainstorm. Do you think he will believe it?"

"If I tell him, I'm afraid he'll think I'm exaggerating. If I don't tell him... I'll feel really uneasy."

There are several low-lying villages like Taohua Village in Annan County. If heavy rain really continues for a month, the consequences will be unimaginable.

"Qinghe?" Jiang Luli's voice suddenly deepened, with a subtle hint of sourness at the end, like a plum soaked in vinegar. "Are you on good terms?"

Gu Jiayue didn't notice anything unusual. She just thought carefully for a moment and nodded, "Not bad. I've been seeing him more recently." A hint of approval flashed in her eyes. "Only after meeting him did I realize that the praises of him by those people in Kyoto were true. He's a very talented and profound gentleman."

"Oh. I see." Jiang Luli responded, feeling as if something was blocking his heart, making him feel sour and uncomfortable.

But he was able to distinguish between the important and the unimportant, suppressing his inexplicable emotions. He said seriously, "It's raining, so it's inconvenient for people to deliver the letter. I'll ask Lu Yao to go there. Take my handwritten letter with him. Even if he doesn't believe it in his heart, he must obey."

Gu Jiayue was amused by his overbearing tone, her eyebrows curved like a crescent moon. "Are you trying to use your power to oppress others?"

Jiang Luli raised his eyebrows, a sly smile playing on his lips: "Humph, if you have the power and don't use it, wouldn't you be a fool?"

Sometimes, force can suppress people much faster than persuading them with reason.

What's more, he had another plan in mind.

I really don't want Gu Jiayue and Zheng Qinghe to have too much contact.

After all, they were once a legitimate engaged couple.

What if they get to know each other more and their old love is rekindled and some feelings arise? Wouldn't his journey to pursue his wife be even longer and endless?

He looked at Gu Jiayue's profile, which was completely unaware, and sighed inwardly.

It's difficult.