Chapter 88 Staying at a Farmhouse
The man in the straw raincoat craned his neck and peered through the rain. Sure enough, he saw a very luxurious carriage parked under a locust tree not far away. He also noticed that although the young man in front of him was soaked to the bone, he spoke logically and his attitude was neither humble nor arrogant. The young man even offered to pay him. The rain was getting heavier and heavier, and the young man's umbrella was no longer of any use. He was completely drenched.
The man in the straw raincoat had grown up in the fields since childhood. He was simple and honest. Seeing others so soaked and hearing that a young woman was going out, how could he harden his heart and refuse them entry? He considered for a moment and asked, "How many of you are there?" He needed to see if there was enough room in the house.
“There are four in total,” Li Yue replied: “two young ladies, one maid, and myself as a guard.” He deliberately emphasized “young ladies” and “maid” to lower their guard.
The man in the straw raincoat thought for a moment. Since there were mainly three young women and one guard, they probably weren't bad people. Moreover, judging from the carriage and their clothes, they seemed to be young ladies from a wealthy family in the city traveling, so there shouldn't be any trouble. "We don't have that many houses. Right now, we only have two side rooms available. If you don't mind squeezing in, please come in!" He finally relented.
"Two rooms are enough. Thank you for taking me in, brother." Li Yue thanked him, feeling relieved. He handed over the piece of silver, saying, "It's just a small token of my appreciation. I'm sorry to have troubled you."
Upon seeing the silver, the man in the straw raincoat quickly waved his hand, "I don't need this much, I don't need this much..." Two qian of silver was enough for his family to eat for several days.
"Of course, we still have horses to feed." Li Yue stuffed the silver into his hand.
The man in the straw raincoat hesitated for a moment, clutching the slightly cool silver coins, but eventually accepted them, his attitude becoming even more enthusiastic. "Do you need me to help you move the carriage over to the yard? It's raining so hard!"
"No need to trouble yourself, brother." Li Yue declined his offer. Li Yue, who usually had no expression, forced out a smile that could be considered kind. "I'll go and bring the carriage over right away. Please open the gate for me, brother."
"Alright, wait here, I'll open the courtyard gate!" The man in the straw raincoat had only opened the gate a crack earlier, but now he pulled it wide open and ran to open the double wooden gate of the courtyard wide as well. He had just taken a look at the size of the carriage from afar, and good heavens, how could they get in if it wasn't opened?
"Thank you." Li Yue, holding up his umbrella, turned and walked quickly toward the carriage at the village entrance.
The man in the straw raincoat was astonished to see Li Yue disappear so quickly in the heavy rain. He called out to the house, "Wife, get ready quickly, a guest is coming to take shelter from the rain!" Then he muttered to himself, "The rain is so heavy, but he walks so fast. The wind is blowing so hard, but he doesn't even sway. This martial arts expert is really something else..."
Li Yue quickly walked to the carriage, closed his umbrella, and jumped onto the carriage shaft. He whispered to the people inside the carriage, "Miss, I have found a family to stay with, and the owner has agreed. We can rest at their house for a while and set off again when the rain stops."
"Okay. You've worked hard." Jiu Ya's voice came from inside.
Then Li Yue said to Bai Yu, "Bai Yu, give me the reins. We'll go over there now."
"Oh, okay." Bai Yu let go, and Li Yue easily got the reins. With a gentle shake, he shouted, "Giddy up!" and drove the carriage away from under the locust tree, heading towards the gate of the man in the straw raincoat's house.
Yes, the carriage is quite large, and it's especially spacious for comfort.
The carriage stopped at the open gate, and Li Yue and the man in the straw raincoat who came out after hearing the noise exchanged glances. The gate was quite large, but it was clear that this overly "ostentatious" carriage couldn't possibly fit through. Two horses might be able to squeeze through someone else's gate, but this carriage was too big to pass through at all. They couldn't very well ask for a place to stay and then tear down someone else's courtyard wall, could they?
Inside the carriage, the three girls exchanged glances and instantly understood what was happening outside.
"Pack your things and get off the bus," Jiu Ya decided decisively. They quickly retrieved several packages they needed from what appeared to be under the seats but were actually from their spatial storage. These packages contained changes of clothes, valuables, and daily necessities, and were packed into two rather large bundles. As for the rest of their belongings, it was naturally safest and most convenient to keep them in their storage space.
Jiu Ya lifted the carriage curtain, and a little wind and rain immediately poured in. "Li Yue, just park the carriage outside the door and find a safe place to tie it up. We'll take some of our belongings inside."
“Yes, Miss,” Li Yue replied, jumping off the carriage to secure it.
Jiu Ya, Rong Jiang, and Bai Yu each carried an oil-paper umbrella as they alighted from the carriage. Jiu Ya stepped forward and greeted the somewhat embarrassed man in a straw raincoat standing at the courtyard gate. Raindrops pattered against the umbrellas, making a continuous thumping sound.
Jiuya gave a slightly apologetic smile. "Thank you for taking us in, brother. Our carriage is too heavy to fit in the courtyard. We're sorry to have troubled you."
The man in the straw raincoat blushed instantly upon seeing the three beautiful girls. He didn't know what to do with his hands and feet, and stammered, "N-nothing! How could we be bothering you? The rain is too heavy, please come in quickly! Don't get wet!"
"Thank you, big brother." Jiu Ya smiled sincerely.
The man in the straw raincoat quickly stepped aside and led the three girls into the courtyard. Li Yue swiftly freed the two horses from the carriage, patted their necks to reassure them, and then, holding the reins, followed Bai Yu inside. There was a shed in the courtyard where livestock could be tethered.
"Wife! Wife! We have guests! Come out quickly!" the man in the straw raincoat called out towards the main house.
A young woman dressed in coarse cloth hurried out of the kitchen, holding a spatula in her hand, and called out loudly, "Yes, I know! I'm boiling water!" She was taken aback when she saw three beautiful girls who looked like they had stepped out of a painting enter the yard, and then she smiled warmly and simply.
The man in the straw raincoat instructed his wife, "Wife, please make some ginger soup, and put in plenty of ginger! The rain is really heavy today, look how soaked they are, it would be terrible if they caught a fever." Thinking of the two coins he had, he felt he had to take good care of his guests.
Then, somewhat apologetically, he said to Jiu Ya and the others, "Ladies, that's my wife. You can go inside with her; it's warm inside. I'll take this young man to tie the horse to the shed and feed it some hay."
After saying that, he led Li Yue toward the livestock shed in the corner of the yard.
The young woman came out holding an umbrella and warmly greeted Jiu Ya and the other two, "You guys come in with your sister-in-law! It's so cold outside!"
Jiuya smiled sweetly, "Thank you, sister-in-law."
Jiuya and the others followed the young woman into the house.
As soon as the young woman led Jiu Ya and the other two into the main hall, a faint scent of firewood and hay wafted over them. The main hall was clean and tidy; several strings of dried chilies and corn hung on the mud-brick walls, and a few intricately woven straw baskets were piled in the corner. As she walked, Sister-in-law Gu wiped her hands with her apron and said with a smile, "My husband's surname is Gu, so you young ladies can just call me Sister-in-law Gu. May I ask how you young ladies should address me?"
“My surname is Shang,” Jiu Ya said with a smile, her gaze sweeping across the main hall. She noticed that the New Year pictures on the wall had faded a bit, but their original vibrancy was still evident.
Rong Jiang smiled faintly, her demeanor elegant, "My surname is Rong."
Bai Yu nodded slightly, her attitude respectful yet poised. "My name is Bai Yu."
Sister-in-law Gu nodded gently and silently recited the three names, "Miss Shang, Miss Rong, Miss Bai."
As soon as the group entered the main hall, three children curiously peeked out. "Mom, who is it?" The eldest boy, about eleven or twelve years old, immediately shrank back shyly when he saw his mother leading three unfamiliar older sisters in. His little face turned bright red, and he only dared to peek through the crack in the door.
The two younger girls, about four or five years old, had soft, fine hair parted in two sections, each tied into a small bun on top of their heads. The red ribbons tied at the ends of their hair swayed with their movements, making them look very playful and cute. The two girls were probably twins, as they looked extremely similar, except that their clothes were different colors and styles. One wore a pink jacket, and the other wore light blue. One quietly hid behind her brother, while the other skipped and hopped lively to her mother.
The lively one hooked her little finger around Gu Dasao's finger, then smiled sweetly at Jiu Ya, revealing two dimples, and asked, "Mom, who are these three older sisters?"
The young woman smiled and patted her daughter's head. "These three older sisters are just staying with us for a while. Wasn't it raining quite heavily today?"
"Oh, oh." The little girl nodded, seemingly understanding but not quite, but soon her curiosity took over, and she stared at the three unfamiliar guests with wide eyes.
"Alright, go play by yourselves!" Aunt Gu patted the little girl on the back. The three children obediently ran to a corner to continue their game, but would occasionally sneak a peek over.
"I'll take you to an empty room to wash up. Look at the three of you, you're almost completely soaked. You'll catch a cold later." Aunt Gu saw that Bai Yu was carrying two rather large bundles and knew that they must have some clean clothes. Her gaze fell on the three of them's wet clothes, her brows furrowing slightly, revealing genuine concern.
"Thank you, Sister-in-law Gu," Jiu Ya said.
Sister-in-law Gu led them through the main hall to a short corridor. A small window opened in the earthen wall of the corridor, and rainwater streamed down the window frame, forming a fine curtain of water. They came to a wooden door, which Sister-in-law Gu pushed open, revealing a clean room inside.
Although the room was empty and uninhabited, it was spotless. The kang (a heated brick bed) was covered with faded white sheets, a wooden clothes rack stood in the corner, an oil lamp sat on the windowsill, and even the floor was swept clean of dust. It was clear that the lady of the house cleaned and tidied the room regularly.
The Gu family were peasants; their courtyard was just an ordinary farmhouse. However, their ancestors had been diligent and had built a large house, making it much more spacious than other families and placing them among the middle-class households in the village. By the time of Gu's eldest sister-in-law's generation, there were no other brothers, and her parents-in-law had passed away. Only the couple and their three young children lived in the house, so naturally, there were empty rooms in the house.
“I clean this room often, it’s always spotless. You three ladies can change your wet clothes, and I’ll go make you some ginger soup. It’ll help you warm up.” Sister-in-law Gu pointed to the room, which was spotless, with a hint of pride in her voice.
Jiu Ya quickly waved her hand, "Thank you for troubling Sister-in-law Gu. But there's no need for ginger soup. We're all healthy, a little rain won't hurt us." She didn't like the taste of ginger and didn't want to cause her hosts any more trouble.
We're just asking for lodging, why should we provoke them into making a big fuss? Jiu Ya thought to herself, these farmers don't have much to offer, why waste their firewood and ginger?
Sister-in-law Gu strongly disagreed with Jiu Ya's words. These three people looked like delicate young ladies from wealthy families, and they'd gotten soaked in such heavy rain today. What if they caught a fever? "How can that be? It's just adding some firewood. You all change your clothes first, and I'll go to the kitchen to boil water!"
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