Gao Zhiru paused at this point, then waved his hand, "No need to speak about it."
Ji Xiulan is still his woman after all he would be the first to lose face if such scandal unfolded. How could Gao Zhiru, the face-loving man, bear it?
The drunkard across the table showed sudden interest, "Oh, so your woman, who is yet to be wooed by you, has already stepped out to another man?"
"Get lost!" Gao was irritable and waved his hand, "She assured me personally that she is pure."
"Well then, in the end, she’s not worthless. Test out the shoes sooner to decide if they fit or not. The girl is not too bad-looking, quite ladylike, so there’s nothing to lose!"
Gao waved his hand irritably,"Enough, enough I can’t be bothered! Just a woman, it’s not like I can’t live without her!"
In reality, Gao wasn’t uninterested. As clever as Ji Xiulan was after listening to Lady Ding’s words, she only showed herself of ladylike elegance, never letting him make any moves, no matter how close they got or how he seduced. First, to maintain her noble frame and to let him see her worth, second, to keep him longing. If he easily gets her, would he have second thoughts about their marriage?
She has to make him crave but keep it unreachable, and to obtain it, there is only one way - marry her.
At this point, Lady Ding could be said to be an expert; Ji Xiulan had learnt many tricks from her.
Now when Gao claims to be annoyed and not wanting Ji Xiulan, it was merely him keeping his own face.
Thinking about it made him more irritated.
The two people watching could sense the mood, and one of them patted him on the shoulder, saying: "It’s just a woman, there’s no need to take it to heart.
Some interest sparked in Gao, as if he suddenly thought of something. "However, I recently discovered a real beauty in Yangluowan."
The drunk mocked, "Alright, what beauty can be found in a place like Yangluowan? The only decent one is your two women. Could there be any better ones? Do you think we’ve never been there?"
Gao chuckled, "You’re mistaken. I’ve just found one, who’s definitely prettier than both Ji Xiulan and Wang Er Ya."
The two men regained interest and leaned over to ask, "Who is it?"
Gao spoke mysteriously, "Ji Xiulan’s younger sister, Ji Xinhe!"
"Ji Xinhe?" The men glanced at each other as if pondering for a while. "Ji Xiulan has a younger sister?"
"Yes, you didn’t know? But then again, she doesn’t go about making herself known, and most of the time she dresses like a boy. Now, however, it’s different. A few days ago I saw her dressed simply, and she looked better than Ji Xiulan."
"Really?" The two men clearly had mixed feelings of belief and skepticism.
"Tch! What use would there be in lying to you guys? Anyway, I’ve set my eyes on Ji Xinhe, and I’ll definitely make her my woman!"
"Well, then we’d have to wait and see! Haha! However, if she really is as beautiful as you say, would she set her eyes on you?"
To put it nicely, Gao Zhiru is the only scholar in Yangluowan, with prospects of becoming an official in the future; to put in bluntly, he’s just a poor scholar. The fake posturing and bragging he does are just adequate enough to fool the country girls in the village.
"What do you mean? You don’t think I’m up to scratch, do you?! You wait until I pass this provincial exam, then we’ll see how you handle your words today!"
Having said this, Gao Zhiru snorted coldly, smashed the wine cup on the table, and stood up, "I have to get going."
The two men, however, burst into laughter, their tone full of mockery: "What can this boy do except talk big? He skips classes every day and hardly reads any books, knowing only how to flirt with girls. He even had the audacity to ask us to wait and see–even in our dreams, we won’t see him pass the exam!"
——
"Will the bamboo shoots turn sour and crispy in a few days?", Xiao Bei peeped into a small jar as he asked.
"You’ll be able to taste it in a few days, Xiao Bei," Ji Xinhe replied with a smile.
Xiao Bei swallowed his saliva and nodded happily, "Okay!"
Ji Dong chuckled, "Xiao Bei is becoming more and more like a little glutton!"
Xiao Bei blushed and hid behind first Ji Xinhe, clearly embarrassed. He is naturally shy and gets embarrassed easily.
Ji Xinhe patted his head with a smile, then suddenly thought of something and asked, "Brother, yesterday there were six eggs left in a basket in our courtyard. I don’t know who left them there, do you?"
Ji Dong’s eyebrows furrowed slightly, shaking his head, "How would I know? Could it have been Jin Bao who delivered them?"
"How could it? Jin Bao just delivered rice and flour and eggs to our house in broad daylight just some time back. Even if he wanted to send these again, he wouldn’t do it surreptitiously, would he?"
Ji Dong had no clue, he said, "I don’t know. We don’t really have a special relationship with anyone in the village except Li Zheng’s family. Moreover, if someone was really giving us that, they wouldn’t need to do it sneakily."
It was then Ji Xinhe said, "If someone has sent something to our house, at least it means no ill intentions. As for who it could be, they would probably appear again in the future."
Since they don’t have any ill intent, Ji Xinhe doesn’t need to be too vigilant, and didn’t feel the need to investigate it further.
"Xinhe, Xinhe!"
The call for Ji Xinhe from Hong Qin came from beyond the courtyard, she immediately replied, "Yes, I’m here!"
Hong Qin came to the door and smiled at her, "Xinhe, would you like to go net-making? It’s leisure time now, it’s always good to do some extra work at home to earn a little extra."
Net-making is similar to tying a chinese knot, if done well, selling them in Xiu Zhuang at the town center can be a good source of income.
This is a common way for girls to earn money here.
Ji Xinhe also used to make these with the girls. The women of Shaokao Village would get the ropes needed for net-making from Xiu Zhuang, and then the girls would do the task. Whoever made the most would be paid accordingly.
She does not want to stand out at the moment, as any drastic change might arouse suspicion. She responded immediately, "Yes! I’m coming right away."
She turned around to tell her brother and Xiao Bei, "I’m leaving now!"
"Go ahead."
Ji Xinhe ran out with Hong Qin, and then asked, "Hong Qin, who’s house are we going to for net-making today?"
Hong Qin took Ji Xinhe’s hand and laughed while walking, "Wang Er Ya’s house, her mother bought a lot of red rope, and all the girls in our village are there working!"
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