As soon as Xu Xiaotao saw Zhao Dashu, she rushed over, her forehead still covered in fine beads of sweat.
Zhao Dashu stopped in his tracks, looking at the girl in front of him with a puzzled expression, and asked, "Are you looking for us, young lady?"
Xu Xiaotao nodded quickly, searched around but couldn't find Jiang Yimian. She paused for a moment before handing over the basket in her hand, "Thank you so much for saving me and my aunt last time. Here is some tofu, I hope you won't mind."
Upon hearing this, Zhao Dashu suddenly remembered who the pretty girl in front of him was. The last time he saw her, he only saw that her face was covered with bruises and purple marks, and he didn't remember her face at all.
Seeing the faint blue marks on her delicate face, he suddenly realized, "Oh, it's Miss Xu. It was just a small favor last time. You're too kind, Miss. Please take this back."
They hadn't really helped much last time, so he couldn't accept this thank you.
Xu Xiaotao simply shoved the basket in her hand into his and ran off on her own.
Since that girl helped them last time, the Xu family members haven't dared to provoke her anymore; they're clearly afraid of the constables.
She was incredibly grateful. She had wanted to thank these people for a long time, but they hadn't come to town for the past few days. She had waited for several days but hadn't seen them. Now that she had finally seen them, she couldn't leave without giving them a thank-you gift.
When Zhao Dashu looked up, he saw that Xu Xiaotao was no longer in the crowd, so he had no choice but to leave with his basket.
When the group returned to the small depression, it was almost noon. They immediately spotted Lu Cijian playing with Mimi in the yard.
Wang Xiaohei ran over with a grin and said excitedly, "Brother Cijian, you don't know how many people were at your door when we came back just now. Men, women, young and old, it annoyed the village chief so much that he chased them away."
He thought he was seeing things when he went up the mountain; there was such a huge crowd that it almost scared him to death.
He thought something had happened again, but when he learned that they had come to see Lu Cijian, he understood.
In a remote and impoverished place like Qingshi Village, the fact that someone could afford to build a house with blue bricks and tiles naturally aroused curiosity, especially since yesterday someone had spread rumors about Lu Cijian's appearance and family background throughout the village.
Knowing that the other party was just one person, without parents, sisters-in-law or any other relatives, all the women in the village with daughters became restless, and with many others joining in the fun, he felt like he wanted to tear the roof off.
Zhao Dashu also felt a jolt of fear and said, "Brother Cijian, why don't you stay in the small depression for a while? I'm afraid you'll be torn apart by those women as soon as you go down there."
If it weren't for the village chief chasing people away, those bricklayers probably wouldn't have been able to start work today; it was quite frightening.
Lu Cijian chuckled, glanced at Jiang Yimian who was gloating beside him, and said softly, "May I stay here?"
Jiang Yimian's smile hadn't faded when she unexpectedly met Lu Cijian's gaze, looking somewhat aggrieved.
She was taken aback, then quickly shook her head coldly, "That won't do. If you don't go down the mountain and handle this properly, what if those people come looking for you?"
She didn't want to deal with those people; they were a real hassle.
Zhao Dashu shuddered at the thought of those people gathering on the mountain and quickly said, "That won't do, Brother Cijian. You're so capable, you definitely won't be afraid of those people. If it really comes down to it, just bear with it."
Lu Cijian: ...
Although he didn't really intend to stay in the small depression, he still felt inexplicably disappointed when he was actually rejected. Yi Mian was truly heartless!
Meeting that particularly resentful gaze, Jiang Yimian felt a little guilty and went straight to feed the fish.
She just wanted to see what the commotion was like. If Lu Cijian really did settle down on the mountain, there would be no excitement left to see.
Thinking about it, the slight guilt on her face vanished instantly, and she focused on the fish fry in the bucket.
The fish and loach fry in front of me have grown quite a bit, from the size of a small shrimp to the size of a thumb in just over half a month.
After a few days, once the enclosure is placed in the lotus pond, fish fry and loach fry can be released.
Jiang Yimian was in a great mood, and only then did she remember to ask about her business. She looked at the group of people who were still chatting and asked curiously, "Big Tree, has anyone from Huichuntang come looking for you?"
Judging by the time, those soaps should have been sent to the county town long ago. It's unlikely that Huichuntang didn't send anyone to deliver the message because they weren't selling well.
Zhao Dashu suddenly slapped his forehead and hurriedly said, "Yes, the people from Huichuntang said that you should go there tomorrow, Sister Mian, because they have something important to discuss. I bought a big piece of pork fat today, and it's in my basket."
It was all because of the scene he saw in the village that he was so shocked that he completely forgot about his business.
Jiang Yimian nodded and was about to continue making another batch of soap when Zhao Dashu stopped her, "Sister Mian, there's something else."
Jiang Yimian looked at him.
Zhao Dashu scratched his head before handing over the small basket, saying hesitantly, "This was brought by the girl from the tofu stall last time. She said it was to thank us for saving her."
Jiang Yimian was taken aback, and it took her a while to remember Xu Xiaotao. She nodded and said, "Since it's a thank-you gift, then accept it. I'll be making fish head tofu soup today."
She hadn't heard anything about any women in the neighboring village being bullied by their uncles or elders in the past few days, which she figured was probably because Ma Ming had intimidated the people of Xujia Village last time.
In addition, Widow Cheng is not one to be bullied, so it's estimated that the matter has been resolved.
*
The next day, Jiang Yimian and the three Zhao brothers went down the mountain together.
Since it wasn't market day, there weren't many people on the oxcart. As soon as they got on, Yang Er drove the oxcart away.
Although there weren't many people on the oxcart, Qinghe Town was still bustling, even more so than a month ago, with caravans passing by from time to time.
I reckon the roads around Xinghua Village have been completely cleared.
The three Zhao brothers continued to set up their stall to sell konjac, while Jiang Yimian took soap to Huichuntang.
There were quite a few people at Huichuntang today, and the staff were so busy in the lobby that they could hardly keep up with the demand.
Jiang Yimian was watching curiously when the waiter, Xiao Liang, rushed over to her, his face covered in sweat and beaming with joy. "Miss Jiang, you've finally arrived! My boss has been waiting for you for days. He was getting so anxious if you didn't come soon."
Jiang Yimian raised an eyebrow, asking curiously, "What happened? Is there something wrong with the soap?"
Xiao Liang chuckled twice, then led Jiang Yimian to the back room before saying, "Miss Jiang, you should go find the shopkeeper yourself. The doctor from the county town is here to see patients today, and he's very busy in the front. I can't leave."
Jiang Yimian responded and went straight to the private room where she had met Zhang Qingquan last time.
Zhang Qingquan was sitting in the private room drinking tea when he saw Jiang Yimian enter. He quickly stood up with a smile and said, "Oh dear, Miss Jiang, you've kept me waiting!"
He initially thought Jiang Yimian's family would set up a stall at the market every day, but to his surprise, they only went on market days. This worried him greatly, as he waited and waited, but they just wouldn't come.
He was so anxious that he almost wanted to find out where Miss Jiang lived.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
