As soon as Jiang Xi stepped out the door, Yan Zheng's expression returned to its aloofness. He was tense, his arms resting on the table, his head hanging low, and a low-pressure atmosphere surrounding him.
Initially, Yan Zheng thought that more people meant more strength, but when he thought about how Yan Jing'an looked at Jiang Xi when he left in the morning, he felt unhappy.
There might not be any romantic feelings between them, but Yan Jing'an couldn't accept the way he looked at Jiang Xi, the way he seemed to be looking at someone else through her.
Jiang Xi shouldn't be treated like this; she can't replace anyone.
The matter of getting Yan Jing'an to move is urgent.
In addition, Jiang Xi's missing memories from that morning left even the usually composed Jiang Xi somewhat at a loss. He had a vague feeling that the person in question was not his Jiang Xi.
If a situation like this one in the morning continues for half a day, or even a whole day, or longer.
Just thinking about it makes me uneasy.
He took a deep breath, stood up straight, rolled up his sleeves to reveal his strong forearms, picked up the cloth on the table, lifted the pot lid, and saw steaming hot food.
Lin was having a great time playing with Xiao Hei outside the courtyard. Seeing Jiang Xi approaching, Lin's eyes lit up: "Xiao Xi!"
Jiang Xi gave her a big smile: "Du Ling."
Upon hearing this name, Lin's smile vanished, and the corners of her eyes suddenly reddened.
“Du...Ling”.
She repeated it to herself.
Jiang Xi gently patted her head: "Do you remember? It's your name."
Lin nodded, tears falling like beads from a broken string.
I've finally found it; I've finally found my lost name.
The name that had appeared countless times in my dreams was finally mentioned again.
This was the first time she had heard such a clear pronunciation. Her throat tightened, and Du Ling raised her sleeve to wipe the tears from her face.
Jiang Xi pulled her to squat down on the ground, picked up a twig from the ground, and carefully drew lines on the ground.
"This is your name. It's composed of 'wood' and 'earth', 'spirit', and 'fire' below."
Du Ling read it very carefully, but she couldn't remember anything about the text, only a few syllables.
Seeing how diligently she was studying, Jiang Xi grabbed another branch from the side and handed it to her.
"I'll teach you step by step."
Du Ling nodded, took the branch, and carefully copied the strokes.
Yan Zheng placed the food on the stone table. After the weather got warmer, their dining table was moved to the area under the fig tree.
A gentle breeze was blowing as several people sat around a stone table, eating and chatting, watching Xiao Hei frolicking around the yard – a truly pleasant experience.
Seeing that the two were studying diligently, he decided not to rush them and fed Xiao Hei half a bowl of sweet potato rice mixed with a little vegetable soup.
The little bit of goat milk in the morning wasn't enough for it, so Little Black finished off all the food.
Yan Zheng stroked the fur on the back of its neck and said with satisfaction, "It really is a country dog... even the leopards in the countryside eat leftovers."
Unfortunately, Little Black is in an awkward situation right now. There isn't enough goat milk for it to drink, and it's too small to hunt any prey.
Humans don't even have fresh meat to eat, so they can only occasionally give it some low-salt food as a snack.
Jiang Xi taught Du Ling to write her own name, and Du Ling was very happy. She kept writing it over and over again, and would recite it from time to time.
Looking at the lively Lin in front of her, Jiang Xi found it hard to connect her with the blood-stained, mentally impaired girl in the forest.
That's it. Just live well like this, so as not to let down the half of strength she left behind.
During the meal, Yan Zheng asked Du Ling, "Where is Yan Jing'an?"
Du Ling pointed to the woods, and Jiang Xi glanced at Yan Zheng, whose expression remained calm.
Yan Zheng placed a piece of fish on her plate and said in a cool voice, "Eat first, I'll go find it later."
What is this? A love-hate relationship?
Jiang Xi picked up a piece of fish and silently repeated to herself: "A man's heart is like a needle at the bottom of the sea; I just can't understand it."
After dinner, Jiang Xi and Du Ling cleaned up the dishes, while Yan Zheng took his sword and went into the woods.
Yan Jing'an didn't go very far, nor did he deliberately hide his tracks. Yan Zheng found Qiao Mu, where he was, without much effort.
When he arrived, Yan Jing'an was still asleep in the tree. Yan Zheng stared at him for a while, and seeing that there was nothing unusual around him, he turned around and left the woods to return to the village.
Yan Zheng took a fish trap and a bucket from the warehouse and happened to see Jiang Xi and Du Ling sitting at the stone table spinning thread as he passed by the courtyard gate.
Under the shade of the tree, Jiang Xi split the degummed vine fibers into thin strands.
Her hands were slender, and the invisible threads twirled and danced beneath her fingers, before Du Ling wrapped them around the shuttle that Jiang Xi had made herself.
The two girls were whispering to each other. Jiang Xi smiled happily, her eyes crinkling, and the wisps of hair on her forehead were blown by the breeze, making her look even more radiant than the spring sunshine.
Yan Zheng stared at her, lost in thought, and a smile unconsciously crept onto his face.
Not wanting to disturb the two, he closed the gate for them and turned to walk towards the field.
During this period, Du Ling has taken good care of the fields. From a distance, there is not a single weed, and the white flowers of the tomatoes are blooming profusely in clumps.
Yan Zheng didn't look closely and continued walking forward.
He planned to go down the waterfall and catch a few more fish. The pond had been completed and lotus roots had been planted, so he just needed to put a few fish in to test it out.
The most difficult part is next: it's uncertain whether the pond made with spring water can support the river fish.
He had heard from the old people in the ancient village in the mountains that the water in this pond needed to be conditioned, and that if the water was conditioned well, all kinds of fish and turtles could live there.
Yan Zheng casually asked an elderly man in the village, "Uncle, how do you maintain this water?"
The old man, leaning on his cane, waved his hand and said, "Just wait, it will heal in time."
Yan Zheng smiled, now he had figured out a bit of the meaning in his mind. Just like the fruits in the mountains and the crops in the fields, they all need time to grow slowly.
Following the path Yan Jing'an had found earlier, we walked around the waterfall and down the lake. It wasn't far, and the sun was still high when we reached the lake.
First, I shot a wild bird with a wooden arrow, gutted it, threw its internal organs into the fish trap, and then placed the trap in a good spot.
The rest of the time was spent waiting. Unlike the cave, this place wasn't teeming with wildlife, but Yan Zheng couldn't stay idle, so he simply picked up his bow and arrows and went into the forest.
On the other side, Jiang Xi asked Du Ling mysteriously, "Lingling, will you bleed?"
On the one hand, she was worried about her health, and on the other hand, Jiang Xi also had many questions in her mind.
She had been in this jungle for more than half a year, but had only had her period twice.
She was certain she wasn't pregnant; it was just that the intervals between her periods were getting longer and the amount of blood was decreasing. At first, she thought it was because her body wasn't in good condition, until she heard her grandmother say something in her dream last time.
"I think Du Ling is in deep trouble. At best, he will be crippled and childless; at worst, he will become mentally impaired."
In a way, she and Du Ling both live by the power of half a bell, so it's hard to say whether she has any undiscovered hidden ailments in her body.
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