Chapter 5 Asking for Water Big Brother, can you give me a bowl of water? ...
This place is hilly, and the country roads are narrow and bumpy. Lin Shu lifted a corner of the car curtain and looked outside.
The scattered villagers along the road were all dressed in coarse linen clothing, some even patched. Some carried bamboo backpacks, others carried bamboo poles, each carrying a bamboo basket. Inside the backpacks and baskets, you could see hints of green, like unsold fruits and vegetables.
As the carriage passed, the villagers gave way, their eyes filled with curiosity: This was a carriage only the wealthy could afford! The path led to several villages, the farthest being Tianshui Village. No one knew where the carriage was going.
The dozen or so villages under Jingxi Town were all poor. Those who could afford oxen were considered wealthy, and spring plowing was mostly done by hand. In Tianshui Village, for example, only the village head and Old Man Liao owned an ox. Old Man Liao harnessed his ox to a cart and headed to town early every morning, bringing back daily necessities for the villagers. He offered a ride to anyone who wanted one, offering them three or five copper coins. Near sunset, Old Man Liao would return, often picking up a few more people. He earned a considerable amount of copper coins just from transporting goods and people with his oxen.
Such a magnificent carriage as the one before them was rare even in their Jingxi Town.
On the narrow country road, the carriage was driving in the afterglow of the evening, as if it was coated with a layer of golden light. After a while, it fell behind an ox cart.
The ox cart belonged to Old Man Liao from Tianshui Village. On the cart were three village women and some sundry items, such as bamboo backpacks filled with things, bamboo baskets stuffed to the brim, jars and cans, and even a large vat tied to the cart.
The road was narrow and Old Man Liao couldn't give way to the carriage, so the carriage could only follow slowly behind.
Old man Liao was a little nervous, but no matter how fast the ox cart was, it could not be faster than the horse carriage.
"Mammy, you and Uncle Shi Qing can take me here. The ox cart in front can still seat one more person if we squeeze in. I'll take that ox cart." Lin Shu took the initiative to suggest.
Nanny Gui looked at the simple thatched ox cart and frowned without saying a word. Shi Qing, on the other hand, said, "It won't take a moment. I'll take the young lady home."
Lin Shu stopped insisting after hearing this. Shi Qing wasn't a warm-hearted person, and she suspected that Lin Yao might have asked Shi Qing to secretly bring something to her parents.
When the ox cart reached an open area in front, Old Man Liao finally breathed a sigh of relief and hurriedly made way for the horse-drawn carriage behind him.
Shi Qing shouted, and the carriage sped up immediately. The wheels kicked up a cloud of dust, covering the faces of the people on the ox cart.
A middle-aged village woman with a flat face on the ox cart said "Puh, Puh" twice, "Where did this rich family come from? What are you doing in this rural area?"
Another woman, with narrow eyes and thin lips, looked shrewd. She was watching the departing carriage with a look of curiosity on her face. "The last time I saw a carriage was two years ago. The carriage at the Marquis's mansion was much more luxurious than this one, and the servants were even more extravagant than the county magistrate."
As soon as the word "Marquis' Mansion" came out, the expression of the remaining woman who lowered her eyes and remained silent suddenly changed.
The three women sat together, and she looked particularly beautiful against the backdrop of the other two, but her eyes and eyebrows looked too gentle.
The woman who was speaking knew she had spoken out of turn. She slapped her lips lightly and said apologetically, "Look at my mouth. I keep bringing up all sorts of things. Sister He, please don't take it personally."
He Guixiang is a gentle and easy-going person, but this time she tightened her lips and said nothing.
"Oh my, Sister He, it's been two years. It's time for you to let it go. Lin Yao has gone to the capital to enjoy her life. Being the daughter of a marquis is a blessing we couldn't even pray for in our ancestors' graves! Anyway, this girl will get married sooner or later, so just treat it as if she is marrying far away. Speaking of getting married, Zhou Ye is unlucky, otherwise he would have married a daughter of a marquis. But you are not at a disadvantage either. Zhou Ye is so strong and can do anything. He was bought by you, and even if he marries someone else in the future, he will have to take care of you in your old age. If you are really worried, let Zhou Ye wait for your little Pu. It will only take five or six years at most. Even if your little Pu is not in good health, I don't know if she can have children..."
Seeing that the other party was getting more and more outrageous, the woman with a flat face immediately pinched her arm and said, "You better stop talking!"
How can you advise people like this? Every word hurts people's heart.
"I mean well... Wait a minute! Sister He, that carriage just now... could it be your Lin Yao coming back to see you?"
"I remember now, the driver was the same one from two years ago! Sister He, it must be your daughter who has come back to see you!"
The shrewd-looking woman on the ox cart is not the only one with a good memory in Tianshui Village.
Someone recognized that this was the guard from the Marquis' Mansion who had come to the village to pick someone up the year before last, and they immediately started shouting excitedly.
"Someone's coming from the Marquis' Mansion! Someone's coming from the Marquis' Mansion!"
"Hurry up and tell Lin Lao Er that someone is coming to the Marquis' Mansion!"
At this time, the sun was setting and the farmers who were busy in the fields had already gone home one after another. Lin Laoer lived at the end of the village and the land he was allocated was far away, so he had not returned yet. His wife He Guixiang also went to the town in an ox cart this morning, leaving only Lin Xiaopu, the debt collector, at home.
Several little girls in the village ran separately. Two of them went to the road to look for Old Man Liao's ox cart to see if Aunt He had returned. The other two ran towards the other end of Lin Laoer's land. When they could see Lin Laoer's fields, they ran and shouted: "Uncle Lin, Brother Zhou Ye, someone is coming from the Marquis' Mansion in the capital——"
In the fields, Zhou Ye and Lin Dashan were preparing to go back.
Lin Dashan's back was slightly hunched, and sweat soaked through his coarse linen clothes.
Zhou Ye took the hoe, sickle and other farm tools from his hands and walked behind him silently.
Lin Dashan was a skilled hoeman, considered a sturdy fellow in Tianshui Village, but Zhou Ye, standing next to him, seemed a full head taller than him. He was broad-shouldered, long-legged, and muscular. His sleeves half-rolled up, revealing a sliver of his arms, revealed his solid muscles and slightly bulging veins. After a day's work, he did more than three times as much as Lin Dashan, yet he looked refreshed, with only a thin layer of sweat on his forehead.
When they heard someone shouting, they were both stunned.
"Aye, that's the second daughter of the Fan family. What did she just say?" Lin Dashan's voice was a little hoarse.
Zhou Ye was stunned for a moment, then calmly replied, "They said someone from the Marquis' Mansion is coming."
Lin Dashan was sure he had heard correctly, so he quickened his pace. Thinking of something, he pushed Zhou Ye and said quickly, "Aye, you're quick on your feet. Go back first and don't keep the people in the mansion waiting for too long! Pu Yatou is the only one at home, and she's shy. Don't leave her outside without opening the door..."
Zhou Ye hummed and walked away quickly. He didn't need to run, just used his long legs to move faster, and soon he had left Lin Dashan far behind.
When we got home, the Lin family's courtyard was already surrounded by villagers who came to watch the fun, and the village head and his family were all there.
A large carriage was parked outside the Lin family courtyard.
It was called a courtyard, but it was just a small yard enclosed by a bamboo fence. The fence was so high and dense that you had to get close to the gaps to see what the people in the yard were doing. The door to the yard was made of two wooden boards and looked quite real. The door was bolted from the inside.
Zhou Ye walked closer and looked at the man from another village.
Zhou Ye recognized the man driving the carriage; it was he who had forcefully taken Lin Yao away two years ago. The village head was slightly hunched over as he engaged in conversation with the man, who would occasionally respond without even lowering his head, acting as if he was superior.
"Zhou Ye is back!" someone shouted.
Shi Qing took a look and then looked away. The people he wanted to see were the Lin couple.
Zhou Ye stepped forward and performed all the necessary etiquette. "Second Uncle Lin will be back in a while. Would you like to come in and have a bowl of water?"
Shi Qing: "I won't bother you any more. I'll meet the Lins and give them a message in person and then I'll leave."
"Then please do as you please." Zhou Ye nodded. The bamboo tube he used to hold water had long been empty, and his mouth was dry.
But at this moment, someone on the motionless carriage suddenly lifted a corner of the curtain, and a pair of bright black eyes looked towards him. A ray of soft dusk light fell right into those eyes, as if warm stars had fallen into them. The eyes, filled with stars, curved slightly towards him, "Big brother, can you give me a bowl of water too?"
That soft voice is sweeter than the spring water in Tianshui Village.
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