Chapter 60: Oxcart is silent and stuffy
Because Tianshui Village has many hills and bumps, the villagers' houses are not next to each other. Therefore, although Tianshui Village is a small village, there is still some distance from the end of the village to the beginning.
Lin Shu used to only hang out at the end of the village. This was her first time walking towards the head of the village. Along the way, she met many unfamiliar faces while following Zhou Ye.
She could feel that as she walked along, many eyes were fixed on her, and some of them were filled with gossip.
These villagers didn't say anything to her face, but they might turn around and mutter about her being a fake daughter who had usurped the throne.
Lin Shu is not afraid of being seen or talked about by others. She is thick-skinned, and she is so beautiful.
Finally, the two of them reached the village entrance. Zhou Ye suddenly turned around and looked at her. "Ah Shu, come with me."
Lin Shu was puzzled, but she followed him obediently.
After walking over a big slope, Lin Shu saw an ox cart.
The driver was in his forties or fifties, and was none other than Old Man Liao from the village. There were already two middle-aged women in the car. One had a big face and a slightly plumper figure than the average person, which was quite rare in a poor place like Tianshui Village. The remaining one was about the same thin as He Guixiang, but unlike He Guixiang, who looked gentle and kind-hearted, she was thin enough to make her look like someone who was not easy to mess with. When she looked at Lin Shu, she seemed to give her a glare.
Although the ox cart is not big and there are backpacks, baskets and other miscellaneous items on the cart board, it is more than enough for three people to sit, and if they squeeze in, one more person can sit.
Lin Shu was stunned for a moment, then suddenly looked at Zhou Ye.
Zhou Ye looked calm and motioned her forward, "Ah Shu, get in the car."
Lin Shu was delighted when she confirmed that this car was waiting for her and Zhou Ye.
The family had enough money to pay for a ride in an ox cart, and He Guixiang wanted to ask her to ride in Old Man Liao's ox cart, but the ox cart was so small, and the villagers who planned to go to the market by ox cart had already asked Old Man Liao to reserve a seat early, so it was too late for them to reserve one now.
Lin Shu looked at Zhou Ye in surprise and asked in a low voice: "How did you do that?"
Although she felt that she had no problem walking more than ten miles, who would refuse if there was a car available?
"I'll talk to you later. Get in the car first."
The ox cart had no roof, just low wooden boards on three sides. Lin Shu held onto the wooden fence, stepped onto the ox cart, and then looked back at Zhou Ye.
At this time, Zhou Ye had already counted out five copper coins and gave them to Old Man Liao. He said, "Old Man Liao, please be careful on the road."
Old man Liao smiled so hard that the wrinkles at the corners of his eyes deepened. "Aye boy, don't worry, I'm driving the cart. It's very stable."
The flat-faced woman on the oxcart smiled and said, "This is the first time for Miss Lin Shu to ride in this oxcart. Old Man Liao is an old hand at driving oxcarts, so don't worry."
Seeing that she was easygoing, Lin Shu sighed at her and replied with a smile, "Okay, auntie, I'm not afraid."
The other woman curled her lips secretly but said nothing.
After Zhou Ye counted the copper coins for Old Man Liao, he stood firmly beside the car. Lin Shu realized later that this man had no intention of getting on the car.
She couldn't help but widen her eyes, "Aye, you want me to ride alone?"
If we squeeze in, four people can sit in this oxcart. Although... Zhou Ye squeezed in alone, the scene was indeed a bit strange.
Zhou Ye didn't respond, but only said: "Wait for me at the gate of Jingxi Town, I will catch up soon."
After a pause, he added, "Don't run around."
After giving the instructions, he left the ox cart and continued forward alone.
Lin Shu hurriedly shouted at him, "Aye, put the backpack on the car, so you can relax on the road!"
Zhou Ye waved his hand at her, indicating that it was not necessary.
Not to mention that he was only carrying a basket of dried mushrooms, which was not very heavy at all, even if he was carrying something heavy, he didn't plan to put it on the ox cart.
If there was one more thing, the oxcart would be a little more crowded. He looked at Lin Shu's delicate and charming appearance and felt that even if she had an oxcart to ride in, it would be unfair to her.
Old man Liao waved the donkey whip in his hand and shouted, and the ox cart quickly passed the burly man in front.
Lin Shu leaned against the car fence and looked at him, humming in her heart.
Could it be that Zhou Ye was afraid that she would really ask him to carry her on the way, so he found a way to get her a "ticket"?
Next time she would definitely walk to the market by herself to show the man that she was not some spoiled girl.
But then she thought of something and couldn't help but fall into deep thought.
Zhou Ye's one step was equivalent to two or three of hers, and asking him to accommodate his pace for the entire sixteen miles was like asking her to take small steps all the way. She felt uncomfortable just thinking about it.
Forget it, her speed was far inferior to Zhou Ye's, so she shouldn't force it. She would rather find a maid or a new bride of similar age to go to the market with, so that at least she wouldn't hold anyone back and wouldn't have to accommodate others.
Lin Shu looked at the two tire tracks behind the car, turned her head away and didn't look at Zhou Ye again.
Zhou Ye kept staring at the ox cart that was moving farther and farther away.
The woman in the cart sat cross-legged, her posture slouched, her back unsteady. She leaned against the cart railing, looking languid. Her long, dark hair was tied at the back of her waist with a crabapple-colored headband. Perhaps it had been tied hastily, a strand of hair had gotten tangled in it...
The ox cart went farther and farther away, and Lin Shu's figure became smaller and smaller.
Zhou Ye looked at the dawn sky and couldn't help but quicken his pace.
On the ox cart, Lin Shu did not initiate a conversation. She leaned her head against the wall and looked at the lush green rice fields on both sides of the narrow path, looking dazed, which was unusual for her.
It was the woman with the flat face who took the initiative to speak and started chatting with her.
During this casual chat, Lin Shu found out that the woman with a flat face was actually the eldest daughter-in-law of the village head.
Lin Shu is a person who knows how to chat. Even if someone is not in the mood to chat, she can make the other person feel warm and relaxed by chatting from time to time.
However, she didn't know if it was her illusion, but Aunt Zhang's eyes occasionally showed a strange look when she looked at her, as if she was thinking of someone through her, and then revealed a look of regret and sigh.
Her speech and behavior seemed quite generous compared to other women in the village. Logically, Lin Shu should like this kind of temperament, but the few glances that she inadvertently revealed made her feel displeased.
She keenly realized that Aunt Zhang might be comparing her with Lin Yao, but she didn't know why she was regretting it.
"Auntie, I'm really sorry. This is my first time riding in an ox cart, and I feel a little nauseous. We'll chat later." Lin Shu didn't mind making good connections with the villagers, but if she felt uncomfortable, she would never let herself down.
Her excuse was so appropriate that Zhang immediately stopped talking and asked her a few words of concern.
The other woman nearby immediately rolled her eyes and said sarcastically, "This rich young lady from the capital is just too spoiled. But compared to the horse-drawn carriage you're used to riding in, this ox-drawn carriage is indeed much more shabby. It really does you a disservice."
Lin Shu felt that her voice was very harsh. It was a pity that the three of them were riding in an ox cart together. The ox cart was so small that no matter how much she moved to the side, she could not get away from the source of the noise.
She pretended to be uncomfortable and ignored the sarcastic woman's words.
Seeing her silence, the woman became even more aggressive and demanded more. "I really don't know how you have the nerve to come back. You've been living the life of Lin Yao, the daughter of the Marquis's family, for over a decade, yet you've made Lin Yao a village girl for over a decade. If I were that girl Lin Yao, I'd hate you to death. Tsk, you're so shameless! You still have the nerve to laugh! Just now you were smiling at Zhou Ye like you'd never seen a man before!"
These words were really hard to hear. Zhang couldn't bear to listen any longer. She frowned and said, "Alright, alright, stop talking. What are you talking about?"
Lin Shu originally didn't want to pay attention to this guy, but this guy had already ridden on her head and peed on her. If she didn't fight back, she would not feel at ease.
She immediately sneered, "Madam, who are you? Oh, I've enjoyed sixteen years of happiness in the capital, and you must be jealous, right? Why wasn't it you who was taken away to the Marquis' Mansion to enjoy happiness? It's a pity, Madam, that you just don't have such good fortune. Don't think my words are harsh, but with your looks, even if you have such good luck, people can tell at a glance that something is wrong. After all, you don't have the face to be a lady from a noble family."
"You! You you..." The woman was very angry at Lin Shu's words. If she was not still on the ox cart, she would probably jump up in anger.
Lin Shu was so frightened that she hid behind Zhang, whimpering and pretending to cry. "Auntie, I'm so scared. Is this lady angry and going to hit me? I was wrong. I shouldn't have thought you were so magnanimous and said such unpleasant things to me. I should have praised you for being as beautiful as a fairy, unlike me, who is just a willow. Auntie, don't be angry. You are the most beautiful woman in our area. If someone mistakenly took you away to a marquis's mansion or a prince's palace, you would never be suspected because of your appearance!"
Lin Shu spoke sincerely, but the woman was so angry that she almost fainted. If Zhang hadn't been blocking her, she would have gone forward and scratched Lin Shu's face.
"Sister Zhang, you heard it too! This little girl called me Auntie, not only did she make me look ten years older, she also called me ugly!"
Zhang tried to smooth things over, "Alright, alright, Aunt Gao, we're all elders. Why are you arguing with a little girl? Don't you think it's embarrassing? Lin Shu, you should also be quiet. Look how mad you've made Aunt Gao."
Lin Shu timidly nodded, "Okay, I'll listen to you, Auntie. But I really didn't mean to do that. I didn't know that this Aunt Gao, oh no, Aunt Gao, was so narrow-minded that she couldn't even listen to the truth."
Gao: ...
She was so angry that she almost fainted! If Zhang hadn't been there, she really wanted to tear the little girl's mouth apart!
Thanks to Zhang's mediation, the ugly scene did not happen. However, on the way thereafter, Gao deliberately excluded her and kept chatting with Zhang, without even asking Lin Shu to reply.
Lin Shu was more than happy to do so, and thanks to Gao's endless chatter, she actually got a lot of information.
Gao's words to Zhang were full of flattery and she praised Zhang's eldest son in various ways.
Although there was some exaggeration, Lin Shu learned that Zhang's eldest son was an extremely intelligent scholar, unique in Tianshui Village. Because of his outstanding talent, he was very likely to pass the imperial examination and bring back a scholar for the village. Tianshui Village had not produced a scholar in decades, so if Zhang's son could pass the exam, he would be considered quite talented.
Lin Shu's thoughts suddenly drifted away.
She didn't forget that she was in a book.
She was originally wondering, Tianshui Village is also the heroine's first copy. As the heroine, how could she not have a few admirers, especially such an outstanding character like Zhou Ye, who actually had no feelings for Lin Yao.
But when she heard Gao's praises of the future scholar, she suddenly changed her mind. Perhaps it wasn't that there wasn't one, but that Zhou Ye wasn't yet qualified for the role of "admirer." After all, in the eyes of the world, there were more outstanding scholars, such as the eldest grandson of the village head, Zhang Zongyao.
All things are inferior except reading. Compared with real scholars, Zhou Ye is just a rough and uncouth man with a little more strength.
Lin Shu had been sitting there for a long time and felt a little bored. Gao's expression of deliberately not letting her interrupt was really ugly.
She glanced at the old man Liao who was driving the cart honestly in front of her and said in a loud voice, "Old man Liao, do you go to town every day?"
Old man Liao asked loudly: "What? What did you say, girl?"
The sound of driving and the rutting of wheels drowned out Lin Shu's voice.
Lin Shu asked again, and Old Man Liao finally said cheerfully, "I'm old and can't do the heavy work in the fields, so I saved up some money and bought an ox cart. I have nothing to do all day, so I go to town every few days to take a look around, and bring back some firewood, rice, oil, salt, and sundries for the villagers. It would be even better if I could pick up one or two people along the way."
"Would you like to bring some things to the villagers?"
Old Man Liao said, "We're from the same village. Small things that don't take up much space are fine. If it's something large and heavy, I'll give you as much as you can. Girl, if you want to bring something in the future, you can tell me, but you have to say it the night before. If you want to go to town by oxcart, you can tell me a day in advance. But if it's market time, you have to come several days in advance. Three or five days is not enough. Any later and there might be no room."
Lin Shu asked hesitantly, "Father Liao, when did Ah Ye tell you that?"
"Aye boy first approached the Miao family. The Miao family asked me to reserve a seat for her, but she suddenly changed her mind last night and said she would give the seat to Aye boy and not go today. I was wondering why Aye boy, who is so tall and strong, would ride in an ox cart. But when I saw him bring you here just now, I realized that the seat was reserved for you."
Old man Liao said with a smile: "Aye is a kind boy. It will be a blessing for the girl to marry him in the future."
After hearing this, Lin Shu's mouth curled up higher and higher.
The ox cart was actually ordered last night, but Zhou Ye remained silent and didn't mention a word.
Well, a silent and reserved man.
Very likable.
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The author has something to say: My readers are just like the protagonist, they just read the article without saying anything. Smile.jpg.
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