Xia Xiao couldn't resist grandma's enthusiasm and drank half a bowl of wine while eating chicken. This was the wine sent from the imperial capital. Although it was not as good as nectar, it was more mellow than brewed rice wine. Ah Zhu and grandma also drank some, not much, but they were both a little drunk, not knowing whether they were too happy or had something on their minds.

After cleaning up the dishes, when she was drunk, grandma was radiant and prepared hot water for Xia Xiao to wash. Ah Zhu followed her and whispered in Xia Xiao's ear:

"You're really lucky."

Xia Xiao wanted to protest, he didn't do anything and he wouldn't do anything to exploit an old woman. But after hearing what Ah Zhu said, he had something to say to his grandmother.

"Grandma, Ah Zhu can do all these jobs."

Grandma looked at her precious granddaughter and thought, how could she, an old woman, be as charming as Ah Zhu? So she asked her to take the water to Xia Xiao's room and she went back to make the bed.

Seeing Ah Zhu pouting her lips, Xia Xiao held the lamp and said with a smile:

"I asked you to bring me some water, and you're so proud of yourself!"

Ah Zhu snorted. She didn't mind taking care of Xia Xiao, but she didn't want to do this in front of her grandma. She put the basin down heavily, and some water splashed out. Ah Zhu said unhappily:

"Wash quickly."

"Wash it for me."

Xia Xiao made a joke to annoy Ah Zhu, but when he took off his shoes and socks, Ah Zhu actually moved a small stool and sat down in front of him, then rolled up the narrow sleeves of her long skirt and put her hands into the basin of water with a suitable temperature. Xia Xiao was stunned, thinking that this was really the end. In the nearly seven years since he came to this world, no girl except Shu Shuang had washed his feet. This wash would probably cause a lot of trouble.

Ah Zhu's face was serious, and her cheeks were slightly red because of being drunk, but Xia Xiao deliberately raised his foot, causing a few drops of water to splash onto her face, almost entering her rosy little mouth. Wiping her face with her wrist, Ah Zhu said angrily:

"What are you doing?"

"Itchy, I'll do it myself."

"That's weird. Never mind you."

Ah Zhu frowned and left angrily, but Xia Xiao was not so nervous. Fortunately, this girl was not as smart as a grandmother, otherwise she would definitely take advantage of his need for her and do whatever he wanted, and he would definitely not be able to get rid of her. The old ones are still spicy, and the young ones are mostly not as good.

Lying on the bed, Xia Xiaoan soaked her feet peacefully, then took off her clothes and went to sleep. She didn't know where the senior was, nor what he was doing, but since he didn't come with her, he must have his own things to do, so she didn't need to worry too much. When she fell asleep, Azhu and grandma were still washing up. Azhu washed grandma's feet, not too fast or too slow, with just the right amount of force on his fingers, which reminded grandma of the quiet time a year ago.

Grandma still wanted to hear about Ah Zhu's experience. She hadn't finished telling it at the dinner table before, so she continued:

"Some time ago we went to the Earth King Palace, which is in the westernmost part of Longgang, on the border between the Great Xia Dynasty and the Southern Shang Empire - the Changbai Mountain Range. I wanted to come back to take a look at it, but because of my mission, I couldn't delay, so I didn't come back. Grandma, don't blame me, I always missed you."

"It's okay. Grandma won't blame you. You are so successful now. Those old guys in the village should envy you and admire me. My decision was not wrong. Ah Zhu is great."

Azhu wiped her grandma's feet and then threw herself into her arms and acted coquettishly.

"Grandma, when I achieve something in the future, I will come back to accompany you. We can also move to another place, and I will accompany you every day."

Grandma stroked Azhu, patting her back to coax her to sleep like when she was a child. She said yes again and again, but she didn't ask for anything. She just hoped that Azhu could have a good home, so that even if she went to heaven, she would feel at ease.

The old and the young were lying on the bed, and the grandma hugged Ah Zhu with her dry hands and fell asleep slowly. Ah Zhu slept soundly no matter where she was, because she was very tired during the day. She didn't dream tonight, because she had returned to her dreamland. When she first became conscious, she heard rustling sounds in her ears, just like when she was a child. When she was half asleep, the grandma had already gotten up, started to clean the room, and then went to make breakfast.

In the morning, I could always smell the aroma of rapeseed oil. My grandma liked to cook porridge in the morning and eat it with fried pickles. But the aroma of oil this morning was not from it, but from the fact that my grandma fried eggs and steamed buns with the white flour sent by the Xia family.

There is a village between two mountains, with only four households in the village. One of the houses has a new house and yard, but the chimney is still black, just like the chimneys of the other three. The chimney emits oil smoke, which floats everywhere at dawn, drifting to the fields that have not yet sprouted in winter and spring, and to the mountains behind the houses, as if connected with the morning glow, covering the entire small mountain village, making several old guys wake up earlier than usual.

Several old folks gathered together as usual. Unlike grandma, they didn't like quietness, so they all came over to see what delicious food the eldest sister made at home. There was a strong aroma of chicken at nightfall last night, and there was such a strong aroma of oil early this morning. But before they entered the room, grandma came out with yesterday's chicken soup and said in a low voice:

"Get out of here, we have guests at home!"

The old guys looked at each other. Guests? They were in a remote area, with few people, let alone guests. But the eldest sister drove them away, and her serious look made it impossible to doubt. They hid by the haystack at one side of the yard, wanting to see the guests that the eldest sister cared so much about, but they only saw Ah Zhu follow the eldest sister out of the room. Ah Zhu, when did Ah Zhu come back?

Ah Zhu stretched comfortably. He hadn't woken up in this familiar place for a long time. It felt good. Although the air was scarce, the smell was familiar and there was a floating fragrance that made him a little greedy.

"Grandma, what delicious food did you make?"

"You'll know in a moment. Go wake up the adults!"

Ah Zhu nodded and walked into the side room. A moment later, a handsome man followed him out. This man had a different aura in his movements. They seemed to have heard from the eldest sister that this man was a cultivator who had taken Ah Zhu away. Now that he was back?

Even though Xia Xiao didn't look back, the old guys were secretly shocked and chose to leave. They had never seen a cultivator in their lives, and they only knew that such a person was not in the same world as them, and the distance between them was like that between a domestic dog and a poodle.

The family dog ​​thought the small mountain village was big enough, and it would take a long time to walk around. When he walked over the bridge, he could relax. When he reached the mountain road, he was far away from home, and he had to run for a while before he could get back. The precious dog's home was probably this big, and the people and scenery he saw were things that many people would never see in their lifetimes.

The old guys went back to heat up the chicken soup, which still had a lot of meat in it. They ordered a bowl of noodles and ate it. Xia Xiao and Ah Zhu ate eggs and drank porridge, but the latter still wanted to eat the leftover chicken soup to cook noodles. However, grandma said that she had given it to the villagers, and she did not forget to kick Ah Zhu in secret. You stinky girl, you don't have to pretend to be noble in front of a man, and you can eat leftovers, but not all words are suitable to be spoken.

"Eat more so you can carry out the mission later."

Grandma looked at Ah Zhu with eyes full of love. She had put all her efforts into this girl, but her hard work paid off.

"Grandma, is there anything you need?"

If Ah Zhu drank one more mouthful of porridge from the bowl, he would leave one second earlier. Therefore, she drank quickly and didn't want to stay any longer, because she was afraid that she would not want to leave. When she asked if she was missing anything, grandma quickly shook her head and looked at Xia Xiao with gratitude. Just this look made him drink a few more bowls of porridge, otherwise the old lady would not feel good.

"Sir, I appreciate your kindness, but I can't finish all the food you send me. Even if we share it with the old people in the village, it's enough for us to eat for a year, so please don't send so much food. I have only one wish, which is that you can take care of Ah Zhu. This girl has no parents and has suffered a lot since she was a child. Fortunately, she met you, and she will have another relative in the future."

Grandma started again, and Xia Xiao had to admit that she was amazing. After she said all that, why didn't he take care of Azhu?

"Don't worry, grandma. Ah Zhu is doing well in the academy."

"I do feel at ease being with adults."

Grandma is old but her mind is not old. The reason why they can go on a mission together is definitely not because of Ah Zhu's strength, but because of other things, such as Ah Zhu's ability. She knows all this. When she was a child, she played hide-and-seek. No one in the village could find Ah Zhu, but she hid behind the door. Ah Zhu was lucky. In the eyes of grandma, Xia Xiao was definitely a gentleman. Although Xia Xiao didn't say many polite words, she would not make a mistake!

"Eat more, sir."

Xia Xiao nodded repeatedly. He often ate this kind of dried wild vegetable in Longgang. It had a unique flavor when paired with eggs and white flour steamed buns.

After breakfast, Ah Zhu helped her grandma wash the dishes before packing her backpack. Although her grandma had told her many times that she could handle it herself, Ah Zhu should pack it up and leave early so as not to delay the time, but she still wanted to accompany her grandma for the last period of time.

"Grandma, this is the best snack in our dynasty, this is salted fish from the south, and this is dried meat from Gou Longbang."

Seeing Ah Zhu taking out so many things from his backpack, grandma kept muttering.

"I'm an old woman, I'm not used to eating these, and I don't like them either. You take them home and eat them, be obedient! I really don't want them! I don't have good teeth, I can't eat these!"

No matter how hard grandma pulled her, Ah Zhu refused. She ran out with a light backpack containing only a piece of clothing, smiling:

"Don't worry, grandma. I still have plenty. By the way, you have to eat that snack as soon as possible. You can put salted fish in it, just like dried meat. It's best to stew it so it won't be hard."

Seeing that she couldn't control this girl, the grandmother could only sigh, but she still had a smile on her old face. She followed Ah Zhu and said:

"You must listen to adults when you are outside, and you must not act out of temper. You must do whatever adults tell you to do."

Xia Xiao raised his eyebrows. Was this a hint to him? It should be, but he couldn't take it seriously. He didn't want to do anything to Ah Zhu.

"I'll take you out."

It seemed that only by crossing the bridge could they truly leave. They walked over there together, with Ah Zhu and Xia Xiao supporting their grandmother. She was already in her twilight years, and her old legs were no longer agile. If she wasn't careful, she would fall, so they had to be extra careful.