Chapter 31: Escaping Marriage White Moonlight 8 Pearl
After hearing Lu Jingming's words that night, Ali's uneasy heart finally settled down. She stayed at Xu Ying's house all day, learning farming knowledge.
Because the Lu family's two acres of land are not fertile enough, the most important thing this winter is to improve its fertility so that it can be cultivated in the spring of next year.
Seeing this, Xu Ying waved her hand and transported all the remaining fertilizers at home in a bullock cart. She taught her step by step how to apply fertilizer, how to turn the soil, and how to plow the land.
Ali was willing to work hard and learn quickly. He quickly mastered the skills and also learned to make some fertilizers on his own.
Shangxi County was born by the river. Xu Ying told her that the silt in rivers, ponds and ditches is also an excellent fertilizer. After drying and crushing, it can be applied to farmland to improve the soil structure.
Ali wrote it down and found some time to go to Peijiu River, which was closest to the Lu family, to take a look.
The water in the upper reaches of the Peijiu River flows rapidly, and it is easier to dig out the silt in the lower reaches blocked by mountain torrents. However, this silt has to be dug out and transported to farmland, which is certainly impossible to do with one's own hands and feet.
So, at dawn a few days later, Lu Jingming, who was still asleep, was awakened by the noise outside. He put on a coat and walked to the back window. He pushed open a corner of the window frame with his long fingers and looked up.
It turned out that Uncle Wei was teaching Ali how to drive an ox cart in the yard.
But this cow seems to have a very bad temper, and I don't know where it learned to treat people differently according to their taste.
When Uncle Wei was driving, it would behave itself and go wherever he was told. But when it was Ali's turn, it would either rush around recklessly, almost knocking Ali off, or lie still and just chew the grass in the corner.
"Brother Niu, can you please move a little?" Ali pulled the reins desperately, looking very embarrassed, but the old cow in front of him didn't move at all.
Lu Jingming was a little annoyed at being woken up, but when he saw this scene, he felt a lot better.
He pushed open all the windows and began to read with great interest, occasionally offering some pointers.
Ali was angry and annoyed: "Mr. Lu, could you please stop causing trouble?"
"You woke me up, and I haven't held you responsible yet." Lu Jingming opened his beautiful eyes wide, looking very innocent.
Uncle Wei quickly said, "It's my fault for disturbing you, Master. We will change the time so we don't disturb you again."
Lu Jingming nodded approvingly and looked at Ali beside him.
Ali felt his blood boiling, and his body, already panting from the torment of the old cow, became even hotter.
She was speechless and could only laugh dryly a few times. She turned around, took a deep breath, tried her best to forget Lu Jingming's ridicule, and concentrated on fighting wits and courage with the old cow in front of her.
After hundreds of rounds, with the help of Uncle Wei, Ali finally tamed the stubborn bull.
She sat steadily on the ox cart, not bothering to wipe the sweat off her face, and looked back proudly.
The person watching the show by the window had long disappeared.
Ali withdrew his gaze and curled his lips unhappily.
*
As night fell, Ali hurriedly drove the ox cart back from Peijiu River. The cart was loaded with a thick pile of river mud, which smelled unpleasant.
Ali took out the cloth he had prepared in his arms, covered his mouth and nose with it, and tied it behind his head.
This is the last truckload of river mud. Xu Ying came to check it out this afternoon and said that the fertilizer has been applied almost completely. They will load the last truckload and store it after drying it tomorrow to be used as fertilizer for future farming.
Ali thought that there would be many places where fertilizer would be needed later, so he dug a lot more and forgot about time.
She pulled on the reins and quickened her pace.
Half an hour later, Ali piled all the river mud on the side of the farmland, waiting to dry it tomorrow. She got back into the car, looked at the dirt on her body, fanned herself in disgust, and decided to take a good bath when she got back.
"Let's go back, old friend." Ali patted Lao Niu and hurried towards the Lu family.
There was no one on the road, only the copper bell hanging on the old cow's neck occasionally made a crisp sound.
Ali touched her empty stomach, wondering what delicious dishes Aunt Wei had prepared today and whether she had left any for her.
Suddenly, the handkerchief that had been placed neatly on the cloth bag was blown away by the wind. Ali quickly stopped the cart and jumped out to look for it.
It was dark at night. Ali bent over and searched for a long time before she found the dirty handkerchief beside a ditch. She picked it up carefully, opened it in the palm of her hand, and inside was an orange pearl, emitting a warm fluorescent light.
Previously, when Ali was digging silt by the river, he saw a dead clam on the river bank. When he walked closer, he found a tiny bead inside, and the delicate lines were clearly visible in the sunlight.
Ali picked up the beads in surprise. This was the first time she had picked up pearls of this color. They would be worth a lot of money if sold.
But on the way back, she had already decided to give the bead to Lu Jingming to thank him for taking her in.
In fact, she has been thinking about this these days. A young man like Lu Jingming who was raised in luxury must have no shortage of good things. He would laugh at anything she gave him. But this pearl is different. She dug it out "with her own hands", so it can be considered a gift of great sentiment.
Ali was thinking about how Lu Jingming would react when he received this, and suddenly he smiled foolishly. He wiped the pearl carefully again and put it close to his body in his arms.
Suddenly, Ali was knocked down by a huge force from behind. She screamed in fright, but the man hugged her even tighter. The strong smell of alcohol and fish was overwhelming. Ali had difficulty breathing and almost vomited.
"Who are you?! Let go!"
The man's heavy breathing sounded in his neck, and a pair of hands were groping around in front of Ali. Ali was so scared that he was shaking uncontrollably and could not exert any strength. All the blood in his body seemed to solidify at this moment.
"Let me go! Help!"
"Don't worry, my little beauty! I'll take good care of you!"
The man roughly turned Ali over, pinned her wrists above her head with one hand, and began to tear her clothes.
Ali saw his face clearly. It was full of fat. There was a gleam of color in his eyes as big as green beans. There was a dark spot under his eyes. It was obvious at a glance that he was a drunkard and a womanizer.
“Help!”
Ali screamed and struggled desperately, and the cloth wrapped around her face fell to the side. The man saw her face clearly and couldn't help but pause.
Ali noticed it immediately, and taking advantage of his unpreparedness, he pushed him away with all his strength, turned over and got up, staggering towards the ox cart.
The man quickly caught up, cursing, "How dare you run, ugly thing!"
Ali's hands and feet were so weak that he couldn't even climb onto the ox cart. He could only pick up the weeding shovel that he had forgotten on the cart yesterday and said to him, "Don't come over here!"
The man laughed grimly: "It's quite strong, but it's a pity..."
Ali's hair was scattered in front of her, and her clothes had loosened a lot during the struggle. Her face was full of panic, and helpless tears were flashing in her eyes. The man's sticky gaze slid from the scar on her face to her fair and slender neck.
"But it should be okay for just playing around." As he said that, he tugged at his belt and grabbed towards Ali with a wicked smile.
Ali gripped the shovel tightly in her hand and swung it as hard as she could, but it was easily dodged. The man threw her to the ground again and kicked the shovel aside.
His hands and feet were tightly bound, and his strength to resist was rapidly draining away. Ali's heart was filled with endless despair, as if he could never escape his predetermined fate.
The man thought she had finally figured it out, and he smirked. His hands moved more and more quickly, not caring about holding on to Ali anymore. "That's right."
Her hand was released and fell limply to the side, hitting a stone.
Ali's eyes were filled with tears. She opened her eyes wide to prevent the tears from flowing down. At the same time, she gripped the stone in her hand tightly until her palm was cut. Then she used all her remaining strength to smash it on the man's head.
After a muffled sound, the person in front of him slowly fell to the side.
Ali was breathing heavily, and he moved away little by little with his hands, as if he had come back to life, but his hands were still tightly grasping the blood-stained stone.
She looked at the man not far away in horror, her face as pale as paper.
There seemed to be the sound of horse hooves behind me.
A hand came up to his shoulder, and Ali raised a stone to throw it as if by reflex, but he saw a familiar face.
Seeing Ali's panic-stricken look, the confusion in Lu Jingming's eyes was instantly replaced by concern. He grasped Ali's trembling wrist and slowly took the stone from her hand. "What happened?"
Ali was breathing rapidly and couldn't say a word. She just bit her lips tightly. The tears in her eyes couldn't be controlled and finally slid down and dripped onto the back of Lu Jingming's hand.
Lu Jingming withdrew his hand as if he was scalded. He had never seen her cry before.
No matter how difficult the situation was, she would grit her teeth and fight to the end. Even when she was ridiculed by him, she would just walk away quietly. Lu Jingming almost thought that someone as shameless as her would never be sad.
He didn't dare to look at her current appearance, and could only helplessly hold her thin shoulders in his arms. His panicked eyes missed her and found the disheveled man not far away. His pupils constricted and he almost immediately realized what had happened.
Lu Jingming's hands gradually tightened, and he took off the crane cloak silently, wrapped Ali tightly and put him on the horse's back.
He whispered in her ear: "Wait for me."
Not long after, Lu Jingming mounted his horse and held the cold Ali in his arms: "It's okay, let's go back."
The scenery around him kept receding. Ali half closed his eyes and didn't have even a trace of strength.
"...Why are you here, sir?" She forced herself to speak, trying to drive the images from her mind.
Lu Jingming raised his hand and put the hood on her, isolating her from the cold. "Aunt Wei said you didn't come back until late at night."
The tears on Ali's face had dried. She moved her fingers, touched the thing in her arms, and chuckled softly: "Master, I have something to show you."
A round pearl lay in her bloodstained palm. Lu Jingming was stunned for a moment, not understanding what it meant. Ali also noticed it. She withdrew her hand and said to herself, "...Forget it."
He tried his best not to think about those things, but the more he did so, the clearer the images became. Ali felt more tired than ever before and was exhausted.
Soon they arrived at the gate of the Lu Mansion. Lu Jingming carried her off the horse. Aunt Wei, who had been waiting there, came forward and asked anxiously, "What happened to Ah Li?"
Ali buried his face in Lu Jingming's arms, looking extremely tired.
Lu Jingming did not stop and carried Ali back to the room, then asked Aunt Wei to boil water.
He closed the door, turned around and sat down on the steps in front of the door, wiping the blood off his hands.
Aunt Wei quickly brought the hot water over, and Lu Jingming nodded slightly: "Send it in, don't ask too many questions."
The door behind him closed again, and Lu Jingming's fingers unconsciously clenched into fists, feeling like something was blocking his heart.
He sat there all night but still couldn't sort out his thoughts.
I don't know when snowflakes started falling from the sky, they were fine and dense, and fell to the ground silently.
Lu Jingming looked up. The first snow of this year in Shangxi County came suddenly.
He reached out to catch a snowflake, letting it melt in his palm, and then inexplicably placed it against his heart, as if this could dispel the soreness and confusion there.
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