Her cheeks flushed slightly as she struggled to break free from Feng Monian's embrace.
Feng Monian felt her body stiffen and tremble slightly. His heart tightened, and he quickly released his arm and turned to face her.
Seeing her cheeks flush and her eyes filled with a mixture of shyness and annoyance, Feng Monian felt a surge of smugness.
Li Xi had just come to her senses and was so busy hiding her inner turmoil that she didn't notice Feng Monian calling her name so intimately.
Although she had lived for twenty or thirty years in her previous life and had dated, this was the first time she had ever felt her heart racing and her cheeks burning.
She lowered her head slightly, trying to make her voice sound calm: "Brother Feng, we are all men. What kind of behavior is this, hugging and cuddling? If your men saw it, I'm afraid I would never be able to clear my name even if I jumped into the Yellow River."
Yes, she is a man now, and if she appears too nervous, it might arouse his suspicion.
It must be said that being a man has brought her many conveniences in this era.
Sometimes she wanted to simply reveal her true identity as a woman, but now was not the time, as her adoptive father repeatedly told her not to expose the secret of her female identity.
"What are you thinking about, you little rascal?" Feng Monian chuckled when he saw her serious expression. Suddenly remembering something, he asked her with a serious face:
"Then why were you chatting with a man in your room in the middle of the night?" He was furious when he arrived and saw Li Xi talking to a strange middle-aged man in the room.
"Oh, you mean Brother Song? He's an old friend of my father's. He came to me specifically to ask about some things," Li Xi tried to explain, making her tone sound as natural as possible.
"An old friend of my father's?" Feng Monian frowned slightly, seemingly not entirely believing this explanation. But he didn't press further, choosing instead to believe her.
"Alright, since you don't want to talk about it, I won't ask anymore. But remember, if you need any help, be sure to ask me," Feng Monian gently instructed.
Looking into his concerned eyes, Li Xi felt a surge of warmth in her heart.
She knew that in this unfamiliar era, it was a rare stroke of luck for a man to care about her. But they were just brothers.
"Okay, I will. Thank you, Brother Feng." Li Xi nodded with a smile. "By the way, why are you back at this hour? You must be tired. Go and get some rest."
She needed to calm down, so she told him to leave. Although it was his yard, she was becoming increasingly shameless.
Feng Monian smiled helplessly, "Alright, you should rest too."
Li Xi watched his departing figure, and a strange sense of melancholy welled up in her heart.
As the night deepened, Li Xi gradually fell asleep around four in the morning, but it felt like she was having a dream.
In her dream, she returned to the original owner's childhood.
Her parents took her to the village. The lush green rice paddies, the crystal-clear stream, and the ancient stone bridge—everything felt so familiar, yet so distant.
"Daddy, where is this? Why did you bring Xi'er here?" Four-year-old Li Xi blinked her round eyes at Li Huaifeng.
Wan Jin squatted down beside her, patted her head, and said softly, "Xi'er, this is a good place your parents have prepared for you. It will be your dowry when you grow up."
“Look at what your mother is saying. Our Xi’er will never get married. Your parents will take care of you for the rest of your life.” Li Huaifeng smiled and interrupted Wan Jin.
Li Xi listened and nodded as if she understood, then pointed to the rice paddy and asked curiously, "Is this rice paddy also part of my dowry?"
"Haha, Xi'er is so smart." Wan Jin laughed and picked her up, pointing to the rice paddy. "This rice paddy is the most fertile in our village, and it produces a lot of good rice every year. When you grow up, this rice paddy will be yours, and you can grow your own delicious rice."
"Really? Then I'll come here every day to see my rice paddies." Li Xi clapped her hands excitedly, her face beaming with a childlike smile.
So, from that day on, Li Xi would come to the farm with her parents every day to watch the rice paddies turn from emerald green to golden yellow, from harvesting to sowing.
Zhuangzi? Li Xi kept thinking about that dream after waking up; it seemed to be the original owner's memory.
It seems this manor isn't far from Mu City, only a few hundred miles away. I should find some time to go and take a look.
The original Li residence has long since turned to ruins, and no clues can be found. Perhaps we should go check out the estate; maybe we'll find something there.
"Gentlemen, what would you like to buy?" The rice shop waiter looked at the well-dressed Li Xi and Song Yuan with a warm smile on his face.
"How many kinds of rice do you have? We need a lot." Li Xi held a small handful of rice and rubbed it between her fingers.
Song Yuan stood to the side, his sharp eyes scanning every corner of the rice shop, as if searching for something.
Seeing how serious the two men were, the rice shop assistant quickly replied, "We have more than ten kinds of rice, from southern indica rice to northern japonica rice, we have everything. How much do you gentlemen need, we can supply it for you."
Li Xi nodded and said, "We want to make a large purchase, and it would be best if we could get a discount."
"Of course, since you two gentlemen are purchasing in large quantities, we will definitely offer you a discount," said the rice shop assistant, who then quickly had someone bring out the manager.
Li Xi nodded slightly, indicating her satisfaction: "Our demand is indeed very large, and we need a long-term, stable supply. We hope your store can guarantee the quality and offer fair prices."
The shopkeeper confidently assured, "You can rest assured about the quality. Our shop has been in business for many years, with branches all over the country, and we've always had a great reputation. As for the price, we guarantee it's fair and reasonable, and definitely great value for money."
After listening, Li Xi nodded in satisfaction. The small handful of rice in her hand had been kneaded into fine rice flour, emitting a faint aroma of rice.
"Okay, give me two hundred bushels of this first, and I'll send someone to pick it up later." Li Xi estimated that it should be about right.
Upon hearing this, the shopkeeper's face lit up with joy. Two hundred bushels of grain, while not an exceptionally large sum, was still a considerable business deal. He nodded eagerly in agreement and then asked, "How long will it take for you two gentlemen to transport this shipment?"
Li Xi thought for a moment and said, "Tomorrow, you can arrange for someone to help me transport it. It's only an hour's journey."
"Okay, no problem." The shopkeeper agreed with a smile, already planning how to prepare the goods.
As they left the rice shop, Song Yuan asked curiously, "Xiao Xi, why did you buy so much? Even if you're just scouting, you don't need to spend so much money, do you?"
Li Xi was figuring out where to find a trucking company to haul the goods when he asked her a question. She smiled and said, "Isn't that just being a sucker? Besides, I do have a use for this rice."
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