20 Old Friend Returns
◎Forgot my sense of proportion for a moment◎
The door was gently pushed open from the outside, but it still made a creaking sound under the weight. The iron ring had long been rusted, as if it had just been wiped by someone, and it was shining coolly in the moonlight as the movement progressed.
The plum blossoms had bloomed a long time ago, and now they were falling onto the moss on the ground, which had some traces of being trampled on, staining Tian Nongxi's trouser legs a dark green.
His steps were a little slippery, Tian Nongxi steadied himself and asked, "You don't study now?"
"Hmm?" Qi Heng'an was puzzled at first, until his eyes fell on the plum tree and his face flushed slightly. "The cold wind bites my skin. I have no choice but to stay indoors for a while..."
Before he could finish his words, a few rapid coughs were heard from inside the room, interrupting their conversation.
Qi Hengan's expression became nervous, his brows furrowed, his mouth pursed tightly, and his steps became bigger.
Although the Qi family's house has a connected roof like the Tian family's, it is not like the Tian family's house with only one courtyard. This small courtyard has three courtyards.
The first and second courtyards are places for daily activities, and the third courtyard is where the owner lives.
The coughing sound came out from the tightly closed carved window lattice and could be heard clearly even in the front yard.
Tian Nongxi lifted the gift in his hand, stepped quickly from the slippery moss to the stone path, and when he looked up again, he could only see Qi Hengan's hurried back.
She followed Qi Heng'an's fluttering clothes into the third courtyard, her heart in turmoil.
As soon as Qi Hengan came knocking on the door, she knew that the glimpse she had taken from a distance on Ruiyang Street today was not wrong. The half face holding the pipa was indeed Madam Qi.
Memory recognized it before she did.
Tian Nongxi was glad that she had acted decisively and bought some just the right gifts, but she couldn't help feeling a little nervous.
This is an elder who loves Tian Er Niang very much and perhaps understands her better than her family.
Qi Hengan had already knocked on the door and went in, bending over to say something to his mother.
Tian Nongxi stood at the door with a smile on her face, knocked on the door symbolically, and said in a cheerful tone: "Madam Qi, you are back."
"Second Mother is here." Qi Mi took the soft pillow handed to her by her son and leaned against it. She waved to Tian Nongxi and said in a hoarse voice, "I haven't seen you for two years. You've grown into a big girl."
Children who have not yet grown up are like willow trees in spring, which will grow up if you are not careful. If you keep watching them, you won’t see anything. But if you are delayed for a while and then look at them again, the changes are enough to make everyone marvel.
Just as Heng'an was always by her side, she couldn't see anything.
I haven't seen Er Niang for a long time, and at first glance she seems like a different person.
Tian Nongxi walked closer and his hand was pulled over.
The touch was a little cold, and she shuddered slightly.
Qi Mi caught the fleeting movement. She stuffed the warm hot water bottle into Tian Nongxi's hand and glared at her son reproachfully: "Anger, you are such a fool! I told you to come and try my cooking tomorrow, but I couldn't help myself when I heard you were back."
After saying this, Qi Mi realized how explicit her words were and quickly changed the subject: "Is everyone at home okay?"
The girl before him didn't blush as she usually did. She just nodded and said, "It's all right. I have something to do tomorrow, so I came to bother you."
Tomorrow is March 21st, which happens to be the ten-day holiday of Ruoshui Academy. Tian Nongxi could have taken a day off, but the cabbages he planted some time ago have grown. If he doesn't pull them out, it will not only affect the taste, but also lead to excessive consumption of soil nutrients.
She thought about it and decided to take this opportunity to verify the effect of Cai Cai.
If it is not there, we cannot achieve the so-called "30% higher than the market price",
That's really bad.
"Why bother you? I wanted to see you earlier too." Qi Mi patted Tian Nongxi's hand and joked, "You used to call me aunt, but now it feels strange."
Tian Nongxi came back to his senses and called out sweetly, "Auntie."
"When will you be back tomorrow?" Qi Mi took a sip of tea to moisten his throat before asking, "Come over for dinner after you're done. Call your grandparents and brother."
She was used to doing everything by herself, and she didn't bring any servants with her this time.
Qi Hengan, who was sitting on the side, glanced at Tian Nongxi's expression and suddenly interrupted: "Mom, if you are not in good health, don't work too hard."
Qi Mi glared at her son and said, "Are you disgusted with me?"
The Qi family is a family of doctors. She has been recuperating at home for the past two years, but her health has not improved.
The pain seemed to have eased a little at the beginning of this year. I really missed this land, so I begged my father to come back.
First, to pay tribute to her late husband, and secondly... Qi Mi glanced at her son, then patted Tian Nongxi's hand, "Come when you're not busy."
"Okay." Tian Nongxi was not embarrassed. Why not cook one less meal?
The two chatted for a while, and Tian Nongxi responded based on his memory without making any mistakes.
Finally, Qi Mi couldn't bear it anymore. Tian Nongxi breathed a sigh of relief and took the initiative to say that it was getting late and they should go back to rest.
She brought in the gift she had prepared and spoke under Qi Mi's gentle gaze, "I remember you loved drinking tea, so I happened to come across someone selling scented tea and bought a box. It's not as expensive as the ones you usually drink."
It is not as expensive as the tea drunk by prominent families like the Qi family, but a box of this flower tea costs two hundred wen. Tian Nongxi bargained with the boss for a long time before he bought it for one hundred and eighty wen.
She was in so much pain that her steps were unsteady on the way home.
But if it weren't for the care of the Qi family mother and son, it's not certain whether Tian Er Niang could have survived her teenage years of hunger and cold.
Tian Nongxi gritted her teeth and put the scented tea on the cart with tears in her eyes.
The more Qi Mi watched, the happier she became. She didn't care what kind of tea it was. Even if it was wine, she would still drink it despite her sick body.
As they were about to part, Qi Hengan reminded them, "Mom, didn't you also bring a gift for Second Mother?"
"Look at me, I'm confused." Qi Mi patted his head lightly and took down a hollow gold-inlaid wooden box from the top of the wooden cabinet.
She had wanted to pack it up tomorrow and give it to Er Niang, but she never expected that her good-for-nothing son would leak the secret. She was in a dilemma and decided to give it away directly.
It is so difficult to find a small wooden comb in a box full of things.
Qi Mi endured the discomfort and took out layer upon layer of cloth and put them aside. She searched the bottom of the box but still couldn't find it, so she had to go back and search through the cloth again.
Tian Nongxi was extremely sleepy and yawned secretly. Tears filled her eyes. When the tears disappeared, she saw Qi Mi holding the cloth and took it from him.
"Thank you, Auntie." She thanked him in what she thought was a sweet tone. "It's just right for making some sachets."
Qi Mi didn't respond. She looked Tian Nongxi up and down for a few times before saying, "Wait a minute. There's also a wooden comb. You're busy embroidering and it's inevitable that you'll feel dizzy. Even if you're young, you should be careful. Using it more often can help promote blood circulation, help you sleep, and calm your mind."
She pulled out a mother-of-pearl wooden box from among the brocade and handed it to Tian Nongxi, "Take a look."
This is a lacquered rosewood comb. A lifelike chrysanthemum is painted on the top of the comb teeth using the gold-drawing technique, and it feels warm to the touch.
Tian Nongxi raised his head and thanked him solemnly, declined Qi Hengan's farewell, and left the Qi family with a lot of gifts.
She was concentrating on the object in her hands and naturally did not hear the sigh behind her.
“It has definitely changed a lot.”
…
When she returned home, someone had left the door a crack for her. Tian Nongxi went into the yard and gently locked the door.
There was no candlelight in the main room, so she washed in the moonlight.
I felt groggy while washing, but I wasn't sleepy anymore after I finished.
Tian Nongxi simply moved a small stool and sat in the house to pound camphor leaves.
By the time we had pounded all the camphor leaves we had picked a few days ago, the sky was already turning pale.
The unconscious mechanical movement was finally completed, and the long-lost sleepiness came over me.
Tian Nongxi went out, washed his hands, took off his clothes and lay down on the bed.
I tossed and turned in bed, but I didn't sleep very well and had a disjointed dream.
In her dream, she returned to the door of the banker.
The attentive doorman changed his expression, looked ruthless, and tried to drive her away with a knife.
The next second after the knife came down, the world spun around.
When she recovered, she had inexplicably entered the dealer's house.
Zhuang Xueling sat upright, giving orders in an arrogant manner.
The servant beside her forced her to kneel down, and Zhuang Xueling's pretty face became a little distorted when she got closer.
"What are you doing here?"
Emotions were swirling in her dream, and she felt an unprecedented surge of jealousy.
Tian Nongxi heard his own cold voice: "Wrong way."
She pushed the servant away, stood up, brushed the dust off her knees, and walked straight out of the shop.
The sky in the dream was thickly dark, with heavy dark clouds almost pressing down on Tian Nongxi's head. It started to rain heavily as she walked out of the farmhouse.
The feeling of raindrops hitting your body is very uncomfortable, sticky and wet, like someone strangling you by the neck and stuffing you into bitter sea water.
Finally, a paper umbrella separated people from the rain. She turned around with anticipation and saw Tian Nongle's half-smile on his face. "Good boy."
"Good boy." Tian Niu, Huang, Tian Yaozu, and other deceased and vague members of the Tian family spoke at once.
She staggered and pushed the Tian family away, her wet hair sticking heavily to her cheeks, blurring her vision.
When I groped my way to the banker's door relying on my memory, a chill went straight into my heart and I couldn't stop shivering.
The door had been closed long ago, and even the doorman had disappeared.
Tian Nongxi raised his hand, and the rain in his sleeves came out like snakes.
"Dong-dong-dong-dong"
…
"Dong-dong-dong-dong"
"Are you up yet?"
Not long after, the wooden door was opened from the inside.
There are differences between men and women. Lin Luan should have left when he heard the answer, but he didn't expect Tian Nongxi to open the door directly.
Tian Nongxi stood in the house with a listless look on his face, wearing only his undershirt, his fatigue hard to hide.
Lin Luan forgot his sense of propriety for a moment, frowned and looked at Tian Nongxi, and asked, "Are you feeling unwell?"
Tian Nongxi yawned and waved his hand before answering, "Nothing, I'm just too sleepy."
There wasn't much work to do today, so Lin Luan didn't call her too early.
Looking into the yard, even the grandmother had already prepared the medicine and was sitting on a stone bench drinking it.
At this moment, he had just put down the bowl and kept looking at the two of them.
Tian Nongxi leaned against the door and relaxed. When his mind became a little clearer, he closed the door and went to put on more clothes.
She left a small gap just big enough to plug her head, and said to Lin Luan who was turning to leave, "You must wait for me."
The voice was small, with a hint of laziness as if one had not yet woken up, like a newly hatched bird eager to spread its wings for shelter.
"Yeah." Lin Luan lowered his eyes to hide what he was thinking.
【Author’s words】
Lin Luan: Although I really want to know what you did last night, I won’t ask.
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