Chapter 52 Spring Rain
With the fields irrigated, planting plans can be put on the agenda, seeds can be planted in the ground, and a harvest can be made in the autumn.
The irrigation canal flows to the largest plain in Jinzhou. The severe drought no longer has a significant impact on Jinzhou, and Jinzhou has finally ushered in a new life.
Pei Wu remained unconscious for several days, his face drained of color, and his cheeks were almost empty. He was unusually well-behaved during his illness. Jiang Ru fed him medicine several times, and even though he was not fully conscious, he would open his mouth whenever Jiang Ru called him, allowing her to feed him the medicine.
Pei Wu looked pitiful when he was sick. Jiang Ru reached out and pinched his cheek. With the arrival of spring, Pei Wu's face was no longer as dry as before. His face felt soft and tender to the touch.
Pei Wu's face was very handsome, with delicate features and a face like jade. No matter how many times Jiang Ru looked at him, she would be amazed by his face. Jiang Ru pinched his nose bridge again. Perhaps because Pei Wu was thin, his face was also very angular. His features were extremely prominent on his face, with a straight nose bridge, giving him a very rugged appearance.
Jiang Ru pinched his nose for a while. She sometimes liked to touch Pei Wu inappropriately, like playing with a doll. After all, every part of Pei Wu was beautiful. He wouldn't let her touch him when he was awake, but she could always touch him when he was asleep.
Unfortunately, before she could retract her hand, Pei Wu opened his eyes.
His eyes wandered aimlessly for a moment before settling on the hand pinching his nose. Pei Wu blinked in confusion as his eyelashes brushed against Jiang Ru's face, a very gentle touch. Jiang Ru quickly withdrew her hand.
Pei Wu looked at her, as if asking a question, and Jiang Ru stretched out her hand and waved it in front of Pei Wu's eyes: "Oh dear, there's something dirty above your nose."
Pei Wu didn't know whether he believed it or not, but he didn't say anything. He just stared at Jiang Ru silently for a while. Jiang Ru guiltily changed the subject: "Cousin, you've lost a lot of weight."
Despite having lost weight, Pei Wu worked on digging the canal every day, resulting in well-proportioned and powerful arm muscles, a more upright posture, and a gradual shedding of his youthful thinness, with his masculine characteristics becoming increasingly prominent.
Jiang Ru has been taking care of him these past few days, and she sometimes feels a sense of disconnect. Pei Wu has changed so much; he is completely different from the naive young man she first met. He is slowly transforming.
Seeing that Pei Wu was still staring at her, Jiang Ru hurriedly asked someone to get some porridge. When the hot porridge was brought over, Jiang Ru handed it to him and said, "Here, have some."
She had gotten used to feeding Pei Wu medicine these past few days, so she subconsciously scooped up a spoonful of porridge and held it to Pei Wu's lips, even touching them with the spoon.
Jiang Ru didn't even realize that her lips were slightly wet from the porridge. She even raised her chin at Pei Wu, signaling him to open his mouth, until Pei Wu reached out and took the spoon away.
But once she took it, Jiang Ru didn't let go. Both of them held the spoons, and a spoonful of porridge was spilled onto Pei Wu's quilt.
The porridge quickly spread on the quilt, and Jiang Ru hurriedly grabbed a handkerchief to wipe it. Pei Wu, holding the porridge, reached out to help her several times, but Jiang Ru was too hasty, and he was stopped by her as soon as he reached out.
Fortunately, only a spoonful of porridge was spilled on the quilt, otherwise it would have been impossible to clean it properly. After wiping the quilt, there were still some damp marks on it. Jiang Ru covered them with her hand and said, "It's alright now, you should drink your porridge."
Pei Wu looked at her quietly for a while, seemingly wanting to laugh at her, but only slightly tugged at the corners of his lips. He held the spoon and, under Jiang Ru's gaze, slowly finished the bowl of porridge.
He had been ill for the past few days and hadn't eaten much, but now that the hot porridge had entered his stomach, Pei Wu finally had some strength again.
He was living in a daze, not knowing what day it was, and could only ask Jiang Ru, "How many days have I been unconscious?"
Jiang Ru replied, "Three days."
Before Pei Wu could ask, Jiang Ru continued, "The water in the ditch is indeed very useful. The people have planted almost all their seeds, so you don't need to worry."
She knew what Pei Wu wanted to ask, and reached out her hand to him: "Do you want to get up? I'll take you to see him."
Jiang Ru's hands were not as delicate as they were before she came to Jinzhou. Exposed to the wind and sun all day, the backs of her hands had become much rougher and were not as white as before. Pei Wu stared at her hands for a while and said softly, "You have really suffered since you came with me."
Jiang Ru: ""
She couldn't understand why Pei Wu had suddenly become so sentimental. Seeing that he didn't get up, Jiang Ru bent down to meet his gaze as he sat on the bed and asked, "What did you say?"
Pei Wu didn't look at her; his eyelashes drooped, concealing the darkness in his eyes. Jiang Ru couldn't see his gaze, yet she felt a chill on the back of her hand. She hid her hand behind her back: "What are you doing?"
Pei Wu shook his head to indicate that he was fine. Just as he was about to get up, Jiang Ru bent forward again to help him.
He didn't need Jiang Ru's help; he could sit up by supporting himself on the bed. However, he was only wearing his undergarments, making it inconvenient for him to get up. So, Pei Wu said in a consultative tone, "Cousin, could you go out first? I need to change my clothes."
Jiang Ru: "Why don't you just change it directly..."
Jiang Ru only said half of what she wanted to say. She roughly understood what Pei Wu was avoiding, so she had to leave the room first. She almost forgot that the person in the room was a feudal ancient person. In ancient times, wearing only undergarments meant not wearing clothes. If Jiang Ru saw him, wouldn't that be the death of him?
Jiang Ru waited patiently outside for a while before Pei Wu tidied himself up and opened the door.
He wasn't wearing official robes, but rather casual clothes. However, the clothes that used to fit him perfectly were now too short, and the trousers were too high, making the clothes look extremely ill-fitting.
This is the outfit he wore in Bianjing last year. Now, half a year has passed, and he has actually grown a little taller. Jiang Ru felt as if time had flown by. Pei Wu was almost seventeen years old.
She stared at Pei Wu's figure and sighed for no reason: "In a few days, it will be time to make you new clothes again."
Not only Pei Wu, but Jiang Ru's clothes no longer fit her well, even though she's at the age where she can still grow.
Jiang Ru stepped forward and compared her height with Pei Wu's. Their heights had grown almost at the same rate, and she still only reached Pei Wu's shoulder.
As the two were competing, they heard a series of rapid footsteps. Perhaps Pei Wu had recovered from his illness, and Zhang Xingjun, who was guarding the yamen, had received the news and rushed over.
He was dressed in the clothes of a constable and ran straight to Pei Wu before stopping: "Brother Pei, you're finally awake."
He was recently recruited by the Jinzhou government and is now a lowly temporary servant. He is strong and skilled in martial arts. Although he is not tall enough, he is very capable in his work.
Besides, he could earn some wages every month working at the government office, which he could take home.
Pei Wu glanced at him and praised, "You've got quite the flair."
Zhang Xingjun held his head high with arrogance, and even gave Jiang Ru a provocative glance, extremely arrogant.
Not to be outdone, Jiang Ru tugged at Pei Wu, who could only follow her force toward her. Then Jiang Ru made a face at Zhang Xingjun: "Go be my servant, I'm going out with your brother Pei."
Ignoring Zhang Xingjun's incompetent rage, the two walked out of the government office side by side.
Compared to just a few days ago, Jinzhou has undergone a complete transformation. The previously worried people now have smiles on their faces, and passersby are all cheerful. Even shops that had been closed for a long time have reopened.
The dusty shops were being cleaned from time to time, and there was a bustling scene everywhere. When they came to a cosmetics shop, Pei Wu called out to Jiang Ru.
Jiang Ru turned her head, and Pei Wu pointed to the shop and said, "Let's go in and take a look."
The shop had a fairly complete selection of items. Jiang Ru glanced at them but wasn't very interested. Pei Wu, on the other hand, looked at everything carefully before heading to the section selling hand cream.
He took the largest box, then glanced back at Jiang Ru, and then went to get a box of face cream.
The shopkeeper hadn't expected anyone to come to the shop, so he was busy tidying up. When he heard Pei Wu ask to pay, he glanced at the bill casually and said, "Twenty coins in total."
After he finished speaking, he glanced at the two customers. He thought that this young man was really good to his wife, bringing her to buy face cream as soon as the shop opened. But when he looked up, he saw Pei Wu.
Pei Wu's name was known to everyone in Jinzhou. The people knew that he was the benefactor of Jinzhou. During the drought, he personally went to various places to offer condolences and never hesitated to distribute grain and money. Even if it was difficult to raise money, he would never let them go hungry.
They had assumed the new prefect would be just like his predecessor, only putting on a show, but to their surprise, everything Pei Wu did was beneficial to the people, and they had long since completely trusted him.
When he was building the irrigation ditches, he ate and lived with the people. He was easygoing and approachable. Everyone who met him regarded him as a god.
The shopkeeper immediately knelt down with a thud: "Lord Pei, Your Honor, you are our second parents!"
Pei Wu was startled by his actions. He had said on his first day in Jinzhou that there was no need for formalities, so almost no one had ever bowed to him so respectfully. This made him panic when faced with this situation. Pei Wu was at a loss and hurriedly dodged away, instinctively hiding behind Jiang Ru.
Jiang Ru turned around and looked at him in shock. When the shopkeeper saw that Pei Wu had changed his position, he turned around and was about to kneel down to Jiang Ru.
Jiang Ru could only retreat in a panic and hide behind Pei Wu.
Pei Wu stood at the front again and said helplessly, "Old man, please don't kneel. If you make me kneel as soon as I arrive, I won't dare to come next time."
The shopkeeper on the ground patted his knees and stood up, chuckling sheepishly, "I forgot, I forgot."
Seeing that Pei Wu had taken several boxes of face cream, he hurriedly and eagerly added a few more boxes for Pei Wu, saying, "If you like them, sir, take them all. Take as many as you want, it's free."
Pei Wu looked at the face cream that was about to fall off in his hands and politely declined, saying, "I only want these two boxes."
The shopkeeper stepped forward with the face cream in his hands and insisted on putting it in Pei Wu's hands. Pei Wu was afraid that the face cream would fall to the ground, so he had no choice but to take it.
After taking it, he put the face cream back on the cabinet. Facing the shopkeeper who wanted to give him more, he could only say softly, "I don't need so much. It will just collect dust if I take it back. There's no need for you to send it to me, sir."
The shopkeeper slapped his forehead, seemingly regretting that the face cream he was selling wasn't a consumable item. He could only tell Pei Wu, "Then, sir, take these two boxes back and use them first. If you like them, you'll come back again in the future."
Pei Wu nodded, placed the money on the table, and the two turned and ran in perfect unison. The shopkeeper wanted to chase after them with the money, but by the time he stepped outside, they had already vanished.
Jiang Ru pulled Pei Wu into a nearby alley, still shaken, and said, "That was terrifying."
Pei Wu held the two boxes of ointment in his hand and nodded, saying, "Although it's frightening, it's a token of my goodwill."
That makes sense. Jiang Ru turned to look at Pei Wu beside her and sighed, "I'm afraid I won't be able to go out with you anymore."
Pei Wu asked in confusion, "Why?"
Jiang Ru: "Your face is so distinctive that I'm afraid people will force you to give them things as you walk by, making you look like a corrupt official."
She held up Pei Wu's face, then took out her own handkerchief, tiptoed, and loosely draped it over Pei Wu's face. The handkerchief was small, just enough to cover the lower half of Pei Wu's face.
She stood on tiptoe, swaying precariously as if she were about to fall at any moment. Pei Wu had to bend down to help her maintain her balance.
Jiang Ru pressed her face against his: "Let's put a veil over your face, making you mysterious and ethereal, and there'll be no risk of being recognized."
The handkerchief was embroidered with a few small pink flowers, clearly a girl's handkerchief. Pei Wu frowned: "I don't want it."
Jiang Ru: "I'll take it."
The two exchanged a glance. Pei Wu tried to push Jiang Ru's hand back, but then lowered it again and finally said, "Move it away."
Jiang Ru's hand got tired of holding it up, so she complained to Pei Wu and withdrew her hand.
Just then, Jiang Ru felt a slight chill on the back of her hand, but she didn't pay it any mind.
However, soon, a few drops of cool water fell on her face. Jiang Ru looked up and saw fine raindrops falling from the sky, leaving traces on their hair and clothes.
It's spring rain.
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