Gift
Not to mention leaving the courtyard, she rarely even comes out of her own room. Only when her eyes are tired from carving jade will she go to an open space in the courtyard, find a shady spot to bask in the sun, and occasionally squint her eyes and curl up on a chair to doze off, just like a lazy cat that has eaten and drunk its fill.
Dongxia was washing clothes, occasionally glancing back at the small house, hearing the sound of the washing wheel turning, then turning back again, her expression blank, only washing the clothes in her hands—these were the clothes she had painstakingly found in Jingwan's room. This mistress only had three or four sets of clothes to change into, and before she came, Jingwan had washed them herself. Just now, when she went to tidy up Jingwan's clothes, she kept pulling at them, saying she wanted to do it herself. Dongxia had to use a lot of persuasion before she finally let go.
Qingmo and Eryu pouted as they sat on the sidelines, but dared not slack off anymore. After all, they had experienced how formidable their new partner was. Even if they were dissatisfied, they had to work obediently. Qingyu had even yawned. In the past, she would have used this precious time to sleep.
Dongxia glanced at him, her wide-open mouth immediately closed, and she continued working with her mouth shut.
Jingwan had been busy for several months. After she had finished working on the jade materials in the house, she packed a few small jade ornaments and quietly left home under the cover of night.
Before leaving, she leaned against the door of the room where the little maids were sleeping and listened. Qingyu's snoring was so loud that she could hear it clearly even from outside the door.
After thinking it over, Jingwan decided to tidy up a new room for Dongxia and Moyu to sleep in tomorrow.
Unbeknownst to her, the door to the cottage opened as soon as she left. Dongxia gently closed the door and followed her in.
Having learned her lesson last time, Jingwan covered herself up very well this time, with a headscarf covering her head and half of her face, only her thick black hair peeking out.
She sat in front of the stall, sketching a rough pattern on a piece of jade, completely absorbed in her work.
The Dongqiao Night Market is a mixed bag, with many hooligans strolling around at night. Even if Jingwan tries to conceal her appearance, her pair of fair and delicate hands are still exposed and scrutinized by sharp-eyed people.
The stubble-bearded, dirty man tried to touch the small hand, but as soon as he reached out, his hand was dragged away.
The man grabbed the thug by the back of his collar and dragged him to the ground. The collar was tightly wrapped around his throat, and the thug couldn't breathe. He held onto the front of the collar with both hands and desperately rubbed his feet on the ground to try to catch his breath. Before long, the man dragged him to a corner, threw him hard, and slammed his head against the wall.
The dark corner made the newcomer appear even taller. Standing in front of the thug, his shadow completely obscured the rat that was about to steal the fragrance.
The thug cowered in the corner, listening to the mountain-like figure say, "If you go to that stall and bother people again, I'll chop your hands and feet off!"
The thug repeatedly kowtowed and cried out, "Hero, spare my life! Hero, spare my life!"
Jingwan had already sensed that the newcomer was up to no good. When she hurriedly withdrew her hand, she looked up and saw that the thug had already been dragged away.
The person being dragged looks very familiar, as if I've seen them before.
After careful consideration, she realized that this was the same hero who had helped her teach that scoundrel a few months ago, and she never expected him to lend a helping hand again this time.
Before long, the burly man appeared in the crowd, but he didn't pass by her stall, seemingly not wanting to greet her. However, he was tall and stood out in the crowd.
Jingwan called out to the person, but the person seemed not to hear her, did not turn around, and just walked faster and faster until they disappeared around the corner.
Jingwan looked around but couldn't find anyone, so she had to return dejectedly. Sitting on the stall, she thought about what had just happened and guessed that the burly man had appeared at the night market several times, and might appear again in the future. When she saw him, she would definitely thank him in person.
After figuring it out, she picked up the jade and started sketching, looking just like a jade idiot.
Dongxia watched her from a distance. She leaned against the side of the alley, surrounded by a bustling crowd. The shadows cast by the wall concealed her figure, making her difficult to spot.
It's rare to see a woman with such a strong physique in Pingdu, so it's inevitable that some tourists would take a second look at her.
Suddenly, the burly man reappeared and stood next to Dongxia, but Dongxia didn't even glance at him, still looking at Jingwan with her arms crossed.
It's obvious at a glance that these two are acquaintances.
The burly man shook his head and said, "With Miss Qingchen being such a gem, I really don't know what it is about her that you, sir, have taken a liking to."
Dongxia, who never showed her emotions, said calmly, "Perhaps it's because she is truly beautiful."
The burly man frowned, disagreeing with her: "Young master is not such a vulgar person; how could he be easily tempted by beauty?"
Dongxia revealed a scornful smile: "That only means that Gu Qingchen is not beautiful enough, so she cannot attract the young master's favor."
The two women were talking to a buyer about her jade ornaments, and she held up a three with her finger, indicating that she was haggling over the price.
Having lived under the same roof with her for several days, Dongxia hadn't spoken much to this new master, but she felt that he was a simple person. She looked at the burly man and said, "We will both do as you in the young master's orders. If you do a good job, the young master might allow you to continue to stay by his side."
Upon hearing this, the burly man's complaints vanished, and he became even more invigorated. He was determined not to disappoint the young master and to let him know that he was still the reliable soldier of the Lu family army!
Dongxia glanced at him, said nothing more, and turned to leave.
The burly man's surname was Shen and his given name was Xiaozhou. Although he was called Xiaozhou, his body was as big as a large ship. He had followed Lu Zhi to fight enemies since he was a child and had a deep relationship with Lu Chang.
Lu Zhi died on the battlefield, and the Lu family army, which had been famous throughout the Northwest, was laid down and returned to their fields overnight. Shen Xiaozhou also went south. Back then, he tried his best to stay by Lu Chang's side but was persuaded to leave. Only in recent years did he have contact with Lu Chang again, but he was summoned to Pingdu to guard someone.
Shen Xiaozhou continued to stand in the shadows of the corner, watching Jing Wan. Tonight was not peaceful; they had just gotten rid of one scoundrel, and now another ungrateful person had appeared.
Shen Xiaozhou had an amazing memory; he recognized the playboy who had ambushed people a few months ago at a glance. He stuffed the half-eaten pancake into his pocket, rubbing his hands together, ready to drag the boy away if he made another move.
Unfortunately, after waiting for half a day, apart from the boy talking incessantly, I didn't see him being rude at all, nor did I see the young lady appear flustered.
Actually, Jingwan was afraid when she first saw this young man, because she remembered what happened last time.
The young man sensed Jingwan's wariness of him from the way she looked at him, and smiled wryly. This time, he didn't bring even a servant, nor did he dare to get close to Jingwan. He only spoke to her in front of the stall.
For the past few months, he had been wandering around the Dongqiao Night Market every day, hoping to see Jingwan again and apologize to her, but he had never managed to catch her. Today, he finally saw her, but the burly man who had beaten him that day appeared again. The young man was so frightened that he quickly shrank back. Only after the burly man did he dare to show his face again.
The person in front of me kept talking about how much he had offended me that day; if I were to write it down, it would take several pages!
He only used his mouth and did nothing else rudely, which made Jingwan give up her idea of packing up and leaving. She sat aside and listened to him ramble on.
Seeing that she was no longer as afraid of him as before, the young man finally breathed a sigh of relief and slowly got to the point, saying, "To show my sincerity, I would like to give you a gift. I hope you will not refuse."
Jingwan shook her head: "I don't want your gift."
The young man grew anxious: "No, please! Look before you refuse!"
He looked only a year or two older than Jingwan. He was a child raised in a wealthy family, with fair skin and neat features. Jingwan mustered up her courage and looked back at him. Seeing his pitiful appearance, she felt a sudden pang of sympathy. So, she waved her hand and said, "Let me take a look!"
She thought, "I won't want it anyway."
Seeing her back down, the young man ran off excitedly, almost bumping into a passerby in his haste to get up.
Shen Xiaozhou, who was not far away, waited for a long time but the playboy did not make a move. Then he saw the man suddenly run away. He was a little depressed. Not long after, he saw the man return. He was dragging a large box, and he didn't know what was inside.
Jingwan was also curious, but when she saw him open the box, she was so shocked that she couldn't make a sound—the box contained a spinning wheel.
Now it was her turn to crane her neck to look at the box.
Seeing that she was staring intently at the contents, the young man knew he hadn't given her the wrong item. He picked up a pair of footstools and introduced them to her: "These are water stools commonly used by jade carvers. However, ordinary water stools require two people to use, so I modified them. When you're grinding jade, you just need to step on these footstools to move the water stool. You can control the speed. I've had people try them out, and everyone who tried them said they were great!"
He introduced his goods to the customers like a dutiful owner, but he was also aroused by the customers' curiosity. Jingwan tugged at her skirt and kept staring at the footstools.
When she left the Northwest, she asked the master who taught her how to work jade for a jade-working machine and brought it to Pingdu.
However, the grinding wheel requires two people to use it, one to pull the rope and the other to grind the jade. Qingmo and Eryu in the courtyard were unwilling to do this tedious work, so she could only use both hands. But doing so greatly reduced efficiency and did not improve her skills much.
But today I see that the pedal design is really good. If I had it, I could control the speed myself and concentrate on polishing the jade.
But how could one accept it so casually? Even if he was rude that day, one should not use that as an excuse to accept something from a stranger.
She slowly sat back down and shook her head: "I don't want it, you can take it back. I won't hold what happened that day against you."
The young man found it strange; he wasn't mistaken, she had just been very interested.
"What, you don't like it?"
Disappointment was also in Jingwan's eyes. Of course she liked it, but she couldn't have it.
She didn't speak, only looking at the few jade ornaments in front of her. In fact, the person was right. The things she had made were of ordinary workmanship, even somewhat rough. She really didn't have suitable tools or a master to teach her, so her skills hadn't improved for a long time, and had even regressed. The jade ornaments she had made recently were not as good as those made in the Northwest. If she were given the best jade material to make another one of the little jade rabbits she had sent away, she wouldn't have the courage to cut into it.
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