The two walked for a while longer, and seeing Baoxiangfang not far away, Jiang Yimian looked at Lu Cijian and smiled helplessly, "How did we end up here? Shall we go in together?"
Let's see how many guests Chen Feiyan brought to the banquet today.
Lu Cijian smiled and shook his head, "I have things to take care of, so I won't go in. However, Baoxiangfang's business seems to be doing much better."
He had heard a lot about Baoxiangfang these days, and learned from Wang San that the shop had been extremely quiet with no business lately.
But at this moment, there were clearly quite a few people in Baoxiangfang, and even outside there were many carriages parked, so it didn't seem like business was bad.
Jiang Yimian pretended to be smug and said, "That's right, don't you even know who the manager of Baoxiangfang is now?"
The little girl spoke earnestly, her bright eyes filled with a hint of a smile, making her whole face bright and lively.
Lu Cijian curled the corners of his lips and smiled, "Yes, my Mianmian is really amazing."
Jiang Yimian glanced at the person in front of her with dissatisfaction, "How perfunctory!"
I'll probably be heading back to Pingjiang County tomorrow, so if you're not coming in with me, you'll only have a few hours left to spend with me.
In just a few days, Lu Cijian investigated so many things in the Ministry of Works, which clearly shows that things in the Censorate are not easy.
I finally have some free time today, but I don't know when we'll meet again.
Lu Cijian was taken aback, clearly not expecting Jiang Yimian to be leaving tomorrow. He immediately frowned and said, "Don't you want to see me every day if you don't stay a few more days?"
If he hadn't been so busy with official duties these days, he would probably only have Mianmian on his mind.
Jiang Yimian glanced at him indifferently and said seriously, "I don't want to. It's too tedious to see it every day."
Lu Cijian was so angry he laughed. He reached out and pinched her fair cheek, saying fiercely, "You're so heartless."
He longed to see the person in front of him every single day.
Jiang Yimian waved away the person's hand in annoyance and said with dissatisfaction, "What, are you angry? If you don't want me to get tired of you, then you'd better think carefully about what surprises you can give me every time you see me, otherwise, I will get tired of you sooner or later."
She spoke seriously, but her words were full of teasing; it was clearly a joke.
Lu Cijian, however, began to think about it seriously.
A surprise? I wonder what kind of surprise Mianmian would like.
I thought for a long time but still couldn't come up with a way to surprise the person in front of me.
Jiang Yimian suddenly laughed, tiptoed, leaned in quickly and kissed him on the lips, then hurried off towards Baoxiangfang.
Lu Cijian was taken aback and subconsciously touched his lips.
He looked up and saw Jiang Yimian waving at him from across the street, mouthing, "Just kidding, I won't get tired of it."
The little girl's eyes were curved, like a cunning little fox who had succeeded in her schemes, sly yet irresistibly drawing people closer.
In an instant, Lu Cijian felt his heart pounding violently, as if it were about to burst out of his chest.
The softness seemed to linger on his lips, and he subconsciously reached out to touch them, only to find them unusually hot, like his heart pounding wildly.
His lips unconsciously curved into a beautiful smile until that slender figure disappeared into Baoxiangfang and was no longer visible. Only then did he turn his gaze away and leave in a very good mood.
The lingering resentment he felt upon seeing Lu Chengyuan vanished completely.
But that night, he dreamed again of that thing buried deep in his memory.
On an ordinary spring day, the child looked at the few coins in his hand, his face streaked with tears.
The gardener, lying in bed, smiled weakly. "It's nothing, cough cough, just a common cold. I, I'll be fine soon. Keep this coin to buy some candy, cough cough."
He spoke with difficulty, but still gently stroked the child's fluffy head.
The child wiped away his tears and sobbed, "You, you wait, I, I'll go find a doctor right now."
After saying that, ignoring the obstruction behind him, he ran straight out of the greenhouse.
A few months ago, someone in the village also caught a cold, but not long after, that person was wrapped in a tattered straw mat and thrown up the mountain.
He didn't want the gardener to be thrown up the mountain as well.
He wanted to borrow money from those old women.
However, several people tried to find him, but they all chased him away with brooms.
Having no other choice, he took the few copper coins he had and went to the doctor, hoping to buy some medicinal herbs from the clinic.
However, before they could find a chance to escape the village, a tall man suddenly appeared in front of them.
The man had a kind and approachable appearance. He looked down at the boy, who barely reached his knees, and smiled, saying, "Are you Lu Cijian?"
The child was startled and stared at the strange man in front of him, asking warily, "Who are you? I've never seen you before in the village."
The man simply bent down, patted the child's head, and said with a smile, "I am an old friend of your mother's. I will take care of you from now on. Would you like to leave with me?"
The child paused, met those kind eyes, and inexplicably felt a sliver of unrealistic expectation.
If he could leave with this person, wouldn't he no longer have to stay in the village, no longer have to eat leftovers, no longer have to endure the scorn of those old women, and no longer have to be beaten all the time?
Will the gardeners no longer have to suffer from those people's bullying, no longer have to do those dirty and tiring jobs, and be able to go home?
My gaze fell on the greenhouse not far away.
In the small greenhouse, besides the flowers and plants filling the room, there was a small bed in the corner. It was called a bed, but it was actually just a wooden board with a few stones on it, covered with dry grass and a quilt.
At this moment, there was a person lying on it with his eyes closed and his face pale; that was the gardener.
The gardener has been sick for several days.
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