Chapter 919 Liu Aliang with a Powerful Background (Seeking monthly votes mid-month!)
Li Shu pulled Ouyang Rong off the boat and onto the shore, keeping a little distance from the others in the purchasing hall.
The two stopped.
Ouyang Rong pulled back his sleeve, rolled it up at the wrist, and said expressionlessly:
"Aren't you mute? How can you speak human language?"
Li Shu sniffed, stood on tiptoe, and patted Ouyang Rong's shoulder hard.
She didn't answer, but turned around, put her hands behind her back like a little adult, and looked up into the distance.
He turned his back to Ouyang Rong and remained silent.
A melancholy figure with a look of "Don't blame me," "I had no choice," and "I can't protect you."
Seeing this, Ouyang Rong didn't hesitate to give her a thumbs-up and praise her:
"Little fairy, you are aloof, you are amazing."
Li Shu seemed a little embarrassed by what was said, and shyly lowered her head, looking at her little toes that were repeatedly rubbing against the ground.
Ouyang Rong pointed to the ships and said with a calm expression:
"Then let the fairy continue to play. This servant will not disturb you any longer. I still need to move the boxes. I will not disturb the fairy's elegant mood."
"Hey hey hey!"
As soon as the young man in monk's robes turned around, Li Shu looked up, grabbed the hem of his robe, and pulled him back.
Ouyang Rong turned around in confusion:
"What brings you here, fairy?"
The very loyal little girl carefully observed the expression on her very loyal new friend's face and noticed that he seemed a little angry, making her even more embarrassed.
Li Shu pointed to a small island to the south, touched her belly, crossed her two index fingers in front of her mouth, and then shrugged her shoulders.
She wore a pained expression, as if she herself was being controlled too strictly and had no choice but to comply.
Ouyang Rong nodded and asked warmly:
"I understand, so you didn't say anything and pretended to be mute all those days, so it doesn't count as making a mistake on your own initiative, right?"
"I always insisted on cooking for you. You never asked me for it. It was just that you occasionally dropped a fish or chicken when you passed by. Otherwise, it was none of your business."
"As for why I braised these fish and chickens into delicious dishes and forced them into your mouth, you don't understand either. In the end, you ate them without even knowing how, right?"
Ouyang Rong's words were a bit convoluted, and Li Shu listened with a slightly confused expression.
After listening, she first nodded her little head, then realized what she meant, shook her head vigorously, and waved her hands vigorously.
"Mmm..."
Ouyang Rong ignored him and continued speaking to himself:
"Yes, even now, I don't dare to speak. I try to say as little as possible, because I'm afraid the two goddesses will hear me, right? As expected of the little fairy, everything is under control, leaving no room for doubt."
Li Shu listened silently, then suddenly her shoulders slumped, and she lowered her head without saying a word.
Ouyang Rong glanced at her out of the corner of his eye and noticed that the short-legged little girl in front of him looked dejected. She seemed to be quite frustrated by what he said, but this time she didn't try to be cute. It seemed that she was really hurt by what he said.
"I... I'm not very good at talking."
A moment later, he heard Li Shu's soft voice:
“I used to always offend my eldest and sixth senior uncles with my words, so Master told me to talk less… You’re unhappy today, and I’m afraid I’ll say something wrong and hurt you again, which would be so disloyal of me…”
Ouyang Rong remained silent for a moment.
There was a moment of silence between the two people, one big and one small.
Ouyang Rong suddenly asked:
"So, you're not pretending to be mute like others?"
Li Shu tilted her head in a question:
"Learn from others?"
Ouyang Rong didn't answer, but sighed softly, looked around, and taking advantage of the moment when his back was to the ship, suddenly reached out and ruffled Li Shu's hair, which was tied in a topknot:
"I don't blame you, little fairy. I have to go down the mountain. I hope we can meet again when I return."
Ouyang Rong turned around and walked towards the ship, waving goodbye to Li Shu with his back turned.
The latter paused for a moment, then asked earnestly:
"We only meet if we're destined to... but what if we're not?"
"If you're not meant to be, you won't meet. It's like asking if you can eat without paying... Never mind, never mind, you actually could do that."
After Ouyang Rong finished speaking casually, he hadn't taken more than a few steps when Li Shu suddenly rushed up and circled around him.
As the short-legged little girl spun around, she uttered a few words, then stopped spinning, ran off into the distance, and waved her little hand:
"Don't worry, I'm a loyal friend. Consider it a favor I owe you. Pinky promise, never to be broken! Hmm, thumbs-up is too much trouble, let's not do it for now, it's a gentleman's agreement~"
Ouyang Rong paused for a moment, watching the short-legged figure disappear into the distance.
Feeling somewhat helpless, he shook his head.
He didn't really expect any favors or favors anymore; he just hoped the little girl wouldn't give him any more abstract tasks...
Back on the boat, Madam Chen and the others went about their own business, keeping their eyes straight ahead.
But after a short while, Ouyang Rong noticed that the atmosphere had changed slightly.
Occasionally, some eyes would glance over.
Perhaps because they had all witnessed Li Shu's initiative to approach Ouyang Rong, some speculations began to arise.
Ouyang Rong didn't bother to explain, since he wasn't familiar with these colleagues who were involved in the housing procurement anyway.
He rested for a while, then prepared to move the boxes again.
Just then, some footsteps came from below the boat, as if more outsiders had arrived.
Suddenly, Madam Chen boarded the boat and shouted towards Ouyang Rong:
"Liu Aliang, someone is looking for you again."
Ouyang Rong put down the box, clapped his hands, and followed Madam Chen off the boat.
As soon as he reached the shore, he saw Li Wan and Lu Jinghong standing by the ferry crossing, looking at him.
"Madam Li, Young Master Lu."
Ouyang Rong looked somewhat surprised.
The main surprise was Lu Jinghong's arrival.
"Brother Liu."
Lu Jinghong clasped his hands in greeting to Ouyang Rong.
Li Wan smiled and said:
"Knowing that you were going down the mountain today, Jinghong told me that she wanted to see you off, so we came together."
Lu Jinghong explained, "I just happened to have a day off today, so I came back for a visit."
Ouyang Rong looked at the mother and son.
It seemed that things had returned to normal between them, and it was unclear whether the conflict from that night had been resolved.
However, during his observation, he still noticed some details.
For example, the distance between the mother and child's arms was a little too far.
In addition... Young Master Lu's face was slightly swollen.
However, it seems that because both sides of her face were slapped by the rain, the swelling was quite even.
Ouyang Rong's gaze didn't linger for long before he quickly looked away.
Li Wan maintained her smile and gestured for the two of them to talk first.
She stepped forward first, took Chen's hand, and led her to the side.
Out of the corner of his eye, Ouyang Rong saw Li Wan chatting familiarly with the somewhat wary Madam Chen, and then, unsurprisingly, slipping her a small gift...
This is standard practice; if you have money, you use money to pave the way. Mrs. Li didn't find it vulgar at all.
Moreover, this amount of money was small for Li Wan, but by helping Ouyang Rong pave the way and making some arrangements, she could gain a great deal of favor.
Li Wan was indeed very perceptive when it came to these social niceties.
This time, they probably brought Lu Jinghong with them too.
Just then, Lu Jinghong, who was standing to the side, spoke up:
"I've heard some of what happened to Brother Liu. That goddess was being unfair to the dining hall."
Ouyang Rong shook his head:
"I was indeed meddling in other people's business."
Lu Jinghong glanced at his expression and nodded:
"Brother Liu has a really good temper."
Ouyang Rong waved his hand.
He remained taciturn, and the two of them didn't have much to talk about anyway; one was a nobleman, and the other a commoner—they weren't exactly kindred spirits.
The atmosphere quickly turned awkward.
Instead, the sound of Li Wan and Madam Chen chatting intimately could be heard quite loudly.
Lu Jinghong looked around, seemingly searching for something.
After a moment, he asked, "Didn't Miss Song and the others come to see you?"
Ouyang Rong immediately understood and shook his head:
"No……"
Just then, two familiar figures walked towards them.
"Brother Liu?"
Sha Ergou shouted, and Yu Mili followed behind him. The two walked over with smiles on their faces.
"Er Gou? Miss Yu?"
Ouyang Rong's tone was surprised.
Sha Ergou explained:
“Brother Liu, I heard about your situation from Miss Yu. I happen to be on leave today, so I thought I'd come and see you off.”
Yu Mili asked worriedly, "Brother Liu, wouldn't you say you've been bullied?"
Ouyang Rong shook his head:
"No, I was also at fault in this matter."
Lu Jinghong, who was standing to the side, had already silently turned his back, preparing to leave alone. However, Sha Ergou took the initiative to approach him, saying with some surprise in his tone:
"Young Master Lu, what brings you here? Why didn't you say so? We could have come together. I thought you were busy going home..."
"Uh-huh."
Lu Jinghong forced a smile and gave a vague response.
Li Wan bid farewell to Madam Chen and returned leisurely. She glanced at the two newcomers and smiled, saying:
"Brother Sha, Miss Yu, you've arrived..."
Lu Jinghong didn't look at Sha Ergou, but glanced around and asked Yu Mili as if nothing had happened:
"By the way, Miss Yu, where is Miss Song? Why didn't she come today?"
Yu Mili didn't think much of it and casually said:
"Sister Song has something to do, and Qiutang is out on an outing, so she can't come. She asked me to see Brother Liu off."
Lu Jinghong nodded silently.
Sha Ergou asked enthusiastically:
“Young Master Lu, we happen to be going the same way, why don’t we go back together later? By the way, I have something to say…”
Lu Jinghong suddenly said, "No, thank you."
He forced a smile and explained to the short-haired youth who looked puzzled:
"I have urgent business to attend to and need to go home. Brother Sha, you can go home by yourself."
Having said that, Lu Jinghong bowed apologetically to Ouyang Rong:
"Take care, Brother Liu. See you next time."
Ouyang Rong nodded: "Take care, Young Master Lu."
Lu Jinghong left in a flash, leaving in a hurry.
Li Wan stayed for a few words of casual conversation, but she was also absent-minded. She quickly took her leave, probably to go find Lu Jinghong.
Ouyang Rong didn't want to interfere in the conflict between the mother and son, so he let them be.
Only he, Sha Ergou, and Yu Mili remained on the field.
Sha Ergou said reluctantly:
"Brother Liu, I didn't expect you to be the first one to come down the mountain. Luckily, you were just buying things and were able to come back. At first, I thought you weren't coming back, and I was so angry that I almost went to plead with Master..."
Yu Mili nodded:
"Exactly, exactly. Those two goddesses are really strange. How can they forbid their disciples from eating? What's wrong with letting them eat a little? It's just giving them a piece of meat. If they're so capable, they shouldn't let them eat at all..."
Both of them felt indignant on behalf of Ouyang Rong.
Even though it was Ouyang Rong who was being punished, he calmly offered them a few words of comfort, as if they were the ones being punished.
Yu Mili asked, "Brother Liu, when you go back to town, will you be able to walk around on your own, or will you need to travel with the group?"
Ouyang Rong glanced at her and asked directly, "Is there something you want to tell Madam Yu?"
Yu Mili nodded somewhat shyly.
Ouyang Rong said softly, "You can tell me. If you pass by the Red Dust Inn, I'll take you there."
Yu Mili whispered a few words, which Ouyang Rong remembered.
As for letters and other items, they cannot be taken down the mountain; Yu Mili understands these rules.
Compared to Yu Mili, Sha Ergou seemed a bit lonely, standing still.
Ouyang Rong glanced at him and took the initiative to say:
"I haven't forgotten about your sister. I'll try to find out more about her when I have the chance."
"Okay, okay."
Sha Ergou grinned and scratched his head.
Ouyang Rong glanced back at the boat and said goodbye:
"If there's nothing else, I'll be going now. Please be careful on your way back."
Goodbye, Brother Liu.
After saying goodbye, unlike Sha and Yu who kept looking back, Ouyang Rong walked towards the ship without looking back.
Back on the ship, Ouyang Rong sensed that the atmosphere had changed again.
The way Madam Chen and her colleagues looked at him clearly had something more to it.
Ouyang Rong remained silent, glancing at the spot where he had just been standing below the ship. He found that from the angle on the deck, it was quite clear.
Clearly, everyone had seen the scene where people were constantly trying to strike up a conversation with him.
And they're not stupid.
Yu Mili's Wu-style skirt and peach-shaped pendant, along with Sha Ergou and Lu Jinghong's bamboo pendant attire, made their general identities clear to everyone.
Not to mention the short-legged little girl who arrived first; although her snow-white dress was dirty, her status was even more noble.
Just for making one trip, so many "friends" have come to care and search for him. The background of this young man in monk's robes is simply unfathomable... He doesn't seem to have been punished to be here. It's more like there's some hidden story behind it.
Madam Chen and the others looked on with disbelief.
Ouyang Rong didn't think too much about it, but as they spent more time together, he clearly felt that Madam Chen and the others became more enthusiastic and polite towards him, and some of them started to strike up conversations with him. He tried his best to remain silent and reserved.
Soon, a Yue woman came to inform them, and Madam Chen gave a signal, and the boat set off, heading south.
This ship belongs to the dining hall and is not very large. On this trip, the purchasing department sent about thirteen people, including Ouyang Rong.
Ouyang Rong recalled the process of eating lotus seeds when he last entered Yunmeng Sword Marsh. He looked around but did not find Yue Nu.
The ship was getting closer and closer to the white fog containing poisonous miasma.
Just as Ouyang Rong frowned, Madam Chen's voice came:
"We're almost there. We'll follow the fairies out in a bit. Everyone, please be quiet and don't leave the ship without permission..."
Having said that, Madam Chen seemed to be instructing the boatman:
"Move the boat alongside it and follow it closely."
Ouyang Rong raised the brim of his hat, tilted his head slightly, and looked around.
Ahead, in the white fog, stood a large ship, about two or three times the size of the ship used for purchasing houses, quietly resting in place.
Two small boats, resembling house-buying vessels, followed it down the mountain, apparently also accompanying it.
Ouyang Rong had excellent eyesight and could vaguely see women's snow-white skirts fluttering on the deck of the large ship.
On the cuffs of their Wu-style skirts, a blooming orchid was faintly embroidered...
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(End of this chapter)
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