However, this plan also failed.
“We don’t have any land. My second brother’s land is naturally used to grow grains. Nobody grows sunflowers.”
Amian asked, "Is there any way to get a piece of land from the village?"
Meng Chijian said, “There is a lot of wasteland in the village, but we have to clear it ourselves. Weeding and turning the soil are hard work, and the harvest is mediocre. The best land is the one where my second brother lives, which is already cultivated. Even if we have a piece of land, no one will farm it. You and the donkey alone can’t manage. You’ll get exhausted and it will damage your health.”
He found out which village the opera troupe was visiting during a free day, and then bought rouge and lipstick and placed them on the table.
We don't do any business, we just go out and have fun!
Early in the morning, A-Mian changed into a floral dress, tied her hair up, and curiously opened the little boxes and bottles. She played with them enthusiastically, painting her face bright red, making her look like a peach from afar.
However, he thought it was very good, so he rode Ah Dou to see the play.
Meng Chijian followed beside him without changing his expression.
Meng Jing, who had been ordered not to go with them, burst into a thunderous laugh as soon as they left.
"After this incident, I reckon many bizarre rumors will spread throughout the villages!"
As she hurried along, many people stared at Ah Mian.
"Am I drawing that badly?"
Meng Chijian was blatantly misrepresenting the facts, his words heavily filtered. He looked at it again very carefully, "Not ugly, very good-looking."
She looked at him suspiciously, and finally arrived at the village where the opera troupe was located in the afternoon.
By this time, quite a few people had arrived to join in the fun. They lined up at the back. Meng Chijian was tall, while A Mian was riding on a donkey. Both of them could see the stage.
While looking around for something interesting, Ah Mian, with her sharp eyes, spotted a familiar figure in the crowd.
The one chatting and laughing right now is none other than Zhang Yixing.
Many people were flattering him, saying, "Look at Zhang Sheng, he's sure to pass the provincial examination!"
The provincial examination was usually held in the autumn, and passing it meant becoming a Xiucai (a scholar who passed the lowest level of the imperial examinations).
With this official title, one could be exempted from corvée labor and land taxes, and would also enjoy benefits such as not having to kneel before officials and being able to travel and study. It was even said that the government would provide grain! In the eyes of the farmers, it was an extremely glorious and joyous event that would free them from the muddy land.
After passing the county-level imperial examination, if one could pass the provincial-level imperial examination and become a successful candidate in the provincial-level imperial examination, it would bring great honor to the entire village.
"No wonder he's a scholar; his appearance is quite different! He's destined for great things..."
Zhang Yixing cupped his hands in a polite gesture and said, "Not at all, how could I know before the exam even started..."
"Your wife said you have a great destiny and are sure to pass the imperial examination to become a scholar!"
"That's right, that's right, you've always looked smart since you were little!"
Lu Amian stopped riding the donkey and quickly got off to hide herself in the crowd.
"What?" Meng Chijian refused to listen and instead grabbed her sleeve. "Once the performance starts, you won't be able to see anything. You'll only be able to see people's backs."
Ah Mian responded.
"Are you close to him? You wanted to leave as soon as you saw him. I think he really wanted to talk to you last time in town."
Ah Mian found this strange and her tone was different from usual, "Oh, you're my neighbor. Didn't I tell you?"
Meng Chijian said coldly, "You can't like a man like that. He's good-looking but useless. At best, he can only fool some naive young women."
“He’s already married, what kind of young wife would he have? But,” A-Mian asked, “how do you know he’s no longer useful?”
"..."
Meng Chijian raised his hand and turned A-Mian's head away, his tone completely flat: "That's because he's so thin and weak, he's obviously incapable of doing any work. He can't even lift a bucket full of water with one hand, so naturally he's useless."
"oh."
"Don't talk to him, he seems to have a bad heart."
"oh."
"You're not allowed to look at him either."
"oh."
Meng Chijian listed several rules unreasonably, and only breathed a sigh of relief when he saw that A Mian obediently agreed to them.
However, Ah Mian promised him she wouldn't talk to Zhang Yixing, but Zhang Yixing took the initiative to talk to her.
To be precise, Zhang Yixing approached with a distorted expression, his face full of "it's hard to describe": "A-Mian, what kind of mess is this on your face? I wouldn't have recognized you from a distance. You look like a red-bottomed rabbit from Mount Emei, and this lip rouge...did you just eat raw rabbit meat...?"
A-Mian was furious when she heard this and loudly defended herself: "You don't understand, this is pretty rouge!"
Since they couldn't agree on anything, Ah Mian simply waved her hand and said, "What are you doing blocking my view of the show! Move aside!"
Meng Chijian walked over and stood there, blocking the way like an iron wall.
Zhang Yixing, however, was extremely disappointed and walked away in a daze.
After some music and fanfare, the country folk performers made their appearance.
An old man led out a small, clever monkey that was quite adorable. The monkey even mimicked human gestures, bowing repeatedly to the audience. A-Mian watched in astonishment, clapping her hands incessantly.
Then the little monkey started performing other acts, jumping between several benches.
Soon came the main event. The old man took out a ring made of some unknown material and sprayed alcohol onto it continuously. Then he took a match, lit it, and it became a ring of fire. He then placed the ring of fire between two stools and had the little monkey jump over it.
Animals are generally afraid of fire, and the little monkey hesitated, standing on the bench, too afraid to go over.
The audience cheered and shouted "Jump!", and Ah Mian's palms were sweating as she watched.
Just as I was getting nervous, someone suddenly grabbed my hand.
After much hesitation, the old man took out his whip and lashed the ground a few times. Finally, the little monkey nimbly jumped across the middle.
"good!"
Many people cheered, but only a few people threw copper coins.
Amian leaned close to Meng Chijian's ear and asked, "Will he beat up the little monkey when he gets back?"
Meng Chijian had no idea about this, but he didn't just give A-Mian a piece of his mind. He simply said his thoughts: "It's hard to say. After all, it's his livelihood. He'll definitely discipline him a bit, but if he really breaks it, where will he conjure up a new monkey?"
However, Ah Mian was still worried that the little monkey would suffer if it was not popular, so she immediately took off her shoes and took out the two coins hidden in her socks.
"Wait, wait, wait! Why do you always hide your money on your person like that?" Meng Chijian quickly stopped him.
Although there are many rules in the world, the custom of not letting men see a woman's feet is only prevalent in wealthy and powerful families. Such customs are impossible to find in the countryside; firstly, having a pair of straw sandals is already quite a luxury, and besides, many women have to work in the fields!
So his intervention was purely to prevent Ah Mian from performing difficult acrobatic tricks on the donkey.
Instead, he took two coins out of his own pocket and gave them to her.
Ah Mian, who was usually very stingy and wouldn't spend a single penny, quickly threw the two coins into the small bowl and shouted, "Great! The little monkey performed the best!"
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