59 Flirting
◎The village widow teased him◎
A dreamless night.
Shu Yao was awakened by the crowing of roosters outside. She stretched and struggled to get up in a daze. After a while, she remembered that she had arrived in Dongping Village.
Looking at the empty bed on the other side and thinking of the scene last night, she swallowed and felt a little uncomfortable.
She put on her coat, got out of bed, and opened the door. It was already bright outside. She looked around and found that Ji Shijing was not in the dilapidated courtyard.
She suddenly felt nervous for no apparent reason. Just as she was about to rush out to look for him, a shrill female voice came from the side: "Hey, isn't this the girl from the Shu family?"
Shu Yao looked in the direction of the voice and saw a woman wearing a floral jacket, two square scarves on her head, and thick white powder on her face leaning against her door. She looked Shu Yao up and down with an intriguing look in her eyes.
Shu Yao felt a little uncomfortable being looked at by her. She searched for the woman in front of her through the memories left by the original owner, and she still had some vague impression of her.
The woman's name was Yang Xiuhe, and everyone in the village called her Widow Yang. However, her husband died when she was 28, and she has been a widow ever since. She likes to tease good-looking young men. The women in the village can't stand her behavior, mainly because Yang Xiuhe is quite beautiful, and they are afraid that one day she will really seduce their husbands away.
Shu Yao's yard and Widow Yang's house were separated by a half-person-high earthen wall.
Shu Yao greeted her: "Sister Yang, good morning."
Yang Xiuhe came closer, looking mysterious, her red lips moving in and out: "Sister Yao, I heard you got married in the capital, why are you back?"
Shu Yao shook her head helplessly, looking like she didn't want to elaborate. Seeing her like this, Yang Xiuhe stopped asking and seemed to remember something. Yang Xiuhe said, "This morning, a very handsome man came out of your room. Who is he?" She looked curious, and a hint of inexplicable excitement flashed in her eyes.
This morning, when she saw such a good-looking person, she thought she saw a god.
Shu Yao was startled and asked quickly: "Sister Yang, did you see where he went?"
Yang Xiuhe thought for a moment and said, "I saw him carrying a bucket this morning, and it seemed he was heading to the stream."
Shu Yao thanked her and just as she stepped out of the yard, she saw Ji Shijing coming towards her with a bucket of water. Her red hairband fluttering in the wind was particularly eye-catching, so she trotted over.
Ji Shijing's hair was messed up by the wind. Seeing her anxious look, he pursed his lips and said, "There's no water at home."
She went over and lent a hand: "Ah Jing, next time you go, can you tell me where you're going?"
He nodded and said "hmm" very softly.
A cool breeze blew, and Ji Shijing's red hairband kept brushing Shuyao's neck, making her feel itchy. She leaned to the side. After he noticed it, he took off the hairband directly, and her black hair cascaded down to her waist like ink.
Shu Yao looked at his profile, half hidden by his black hair, and was slightly lost in thought.
After entering the yard, Yang Xiuhe looked over the wall. When she saw Ji Shijing, she immediately became interested and greeted him quickly: "Young Master, Young Master."
Ji Shijing frowned and looked at her, then lowered his head and poured the water in his hand into the pot.
Seeing that he ignored her, Yang Xiuhe walked over and stood next to Ji Shijing. She touched her hair seriously and said in a soft voice, "Young Master, what's your name?"
Ji Shijing still ignored her.
Yang Xiuhe was left out and felt a little embarrassed.
Shu Yao came over to smooth things over: "Sister Yang, A Jing doesn't like to talk."
Yang Xiuhe grabbed her hand and asked excitedly, "Who is he to you? Are you married?"
Shu Yao was dizzy from being shaken by her, but she still understood what she meant. She thought Yang Xiuhe wouldn't have fallen for Ji Shijing. She pulled Yang Xiuhe aside and said, "He is my brother-in-law. He is still young, so I haven't considered marriage yet."
Yang Xiuhe rolled her eyes around and looked at Ji Shijing and Shu Yao suspiciously: "Did you stay in the same room last night?"
Shu Yao knew she had misunderstood and explained, "Sister Yang, you saw it too. The west room has collapsed. We spent the night in the east room yesterday."
Yang Xiuhe nodded hesitantly, and returned to her room, looking back every few steps. Her eyes fell on Ji Shijing with lingering reluctance.
Shu Yao put all the rice, flour, oil and salt she bought in Beijing yesterday into the kitchen and made a delicious breakfast.
At the dinner table, she took Ji Shijing's hairband and gently tied his hair. Her soft fingers gently brushed his skin, and his hands hanging on his legs were quietly clenched.
The matches in the stove next to him crackled, and the flames jumped in Ji Shijing's eyes, with a dark light flowing through them.
After breakfast, Shu Yao thought about going to her uncle's house. After the original owner's parents passed away, she had been living with her uncle. To be honest, her uncle was actually very nice to the original owner.
Seeing Shu Yao's back disappearing on the path, Ji Shijing slowly closed the gate.
Yang Xiuhe next door was always paying attention to every move here. After seeing Shu Yao go out, she immediately went back to the house to dress up and put on her most beautiful dress. Although the dress was pretty but not practical and as thin as gauze, she still couldn't wait to put it on.
She had a plump figure, and the dress was a little small for her. She tightened her belt to make herself look more fragile, then rummaged through the drawers and found a flower veil that she hadn't used for a long time and put it on herself.
Looking at the person in the mirror, she always felt that something was missing, so she took out the rouge and powder and applied it again. She applied a thick layer of rouge and powder. When she smiled casually, the wrinkles on her face appeared, and it looked like thousands of ravines, but she was completely unaware of it and still happily put on makeup.
Near the end, she put on a big red lipstick.
The person in the mirror had a pale face and a scarlet mouth. At first glance, she looked very much like a man-eating female ghost.
After everything was done, she imitated the women in the storybooks, twisting her waist and taking small steps to go to Shu Yao's yard.
The courtyard door was not locked, so she pushed it open gently and found the tall and thin figure hunched over washing dishes. She tiptoed behind him, stretched out her slightly rough fingers and touched Ji Shijing's waist, then smiled.
Ji Shijing paused while washing the dishes. Time seemed to have stopped and he did not move for a long time.
Yang Xiuhe was a little confused. She walked around to the front of him and saw that he had his eyes downcast and his eyelashes were trembling slightly. She smiled quietly: "My dear, how can there be someone as good-looking as you in the world? I like you." She usually spoke bluntly, and this was the first time she spoke in such a literary way.
After saying this, she looked up at him shyly like a little girl.
Ji Shijing put down the dishes in his hands and looked directly into her eyes. His eyes were cold, but an elusive smile appeared at the corner of his mouth.
Seeing him smile, Yang Xiuhe seemed to gain courage in an instant. She moved closer to him, rubbing her chest against his arm, her cheeks flushed.
Ji Shijing just looked at her like that, and his whole body became colder and colder, but Yang Xiuhe was completely unaware and continued to dawdle.
His eyes flashed, and he suddenly raised his hand, his cold fingertips roughly brushing across her cheek.
Yang Xiuhe was shivering from the cold, as if what was on her face was not a hand but a piece of thousand-year-old ice.
She looked at the handsome and flawless face in front of her, and was extremely fascinated, but gradually, she found something wrong.
“Help…Help…”
…
Shu Yao followed the path in her memory to her uncle's house, carrying the cakes she bought from the street yesterday. After all, she couldn't go to a relative's house empty-handed, so she knew this etiquette.
The villagers along the way were a little surprised to see Shu Yao, and Shu Yao greeted them one by one with a smile.
After walking for half an incense stick of time, I finally saw the familiar door. The vermilion door was half-open, and the aroma of wine wafted out from inside.
Shu Yao's uncle Jiang Fu is in the wine-making business, and his family is doing well. But half a year ago, his daughter fell seriously ill, and all the family savings were used to buy expensive medicines. Their lives were bad for a while, but a lean camel is bigger than a horse, and Jiang Fu's family is still considered a wealthy family in Dongping Village.
Shu Yao went over and knocked on the door. Jiang Fu was drinking with his back to the door. Thinking it was a visitor, he hurriedly called out, "Want to buy some wine? Osmanthus wine or peach wine?"
There was no sound from behind.
He turned around in confusion. The moment he saw who was coming, he immediately put down his work and limped over to Shu Yao. His old eyes were filled with mist. His hand, which was stained with the scent of wine, shook Shu Yao excitedly: "Yao girl, why are you back? Did that family treat you badly?"
Shu Yao felt a pang of sadness in her nose. Her uncle had treated her very well since she was a child, but her aunt was too strong and her uncle was a soft-hearted person. Everything in the family was decided by her aunt, so she was sold to the Ji Mansion.
She raised a smiling face and called softly, "Uncle."
"Hey." Jiang Fu wiped his eyes and said, "Come in, come in."
Jiang Fu poured her a cup of hot tea, and Shu Yao told him about her experience in Ji's house. Jiang Fu sighed repeatedly, saying that she had a miserable life.
"Are you still bringing the second young master with you?" he asked.
She nodded: "It just so happens that we depend on each other."
Jiang Fu didn't say anything more. He turned around, took out a few taels of silver from his waistband and put it in her palm: "Yao girl, don't blame your aunt for being cruel at that time. Take this money for now. If you need anything, just come to your uncle."
Shu Yao's eyes were red, and she pushed the silver back: "I saved some money during these days in the capital."
As the two were pushing each other, they heard the door slam shut. They both looked towards the door and saw a middle-aged woman with a vegetable basket standing at the door. She stared at the few taels of silver in Shu Yao's hand with a serious expression, but said nothing. She just snorted heavily and walked straight past them.
Then I heard crackling sounds coming from the kitchen.
Jiang Fu was a little embarrassed and smiled awkwardly, "That's just your aunt's temper."
Shu Yao returned the silver to Jiang Fu. During the two years that the original owner lived in her uncle's house, her aunt never treated her well.
She sighed and explained the purpose of her visit. The yard was too dilapidated and needed to be repaired, but she didn't know any masons, so she could only come to Jiang Fu.
Jiang Fu pondered for a moment and said, "Your small courtyard has long been uninhabitable. Why don't you and the second young master of the Ji family move to your uncle's house?" Although he said so, he had no confidence at all, and his eyes glanced towards the kitchen from time to time.
Sure enough, as soon as he finished speaking, there was another noise from the kitchen.
Shu Yao quickly waved her hand and said, "Thank you, uncle. My small yard is fine, but the west room has collapsed. Uncle, do you know any reliable masons? I want to repair the west room."
Jiang Fu: "Li Dazhu from the village specializes in helping people repair houses, but he should be in town now. I'll go ask him for you tonight."
Jiang Fu's face changed as if he thought of something: "Yao girl, our village has been in turmoil recently. It's best not to go out at night."
Shu Yao nodded. She sat for a while before getting up to say goodbye. Before leaving, she asked Jiang Fu for some paper to paste on the windows.
As soon as she left, Qin E came out of the kitchen, leaned against the door with a spatula in her hand, and said in a disdainful tone: "The debt collector has left."
Jiang Fu glared at her: "Why are you so angry with a child? Those things have nothing to do with her."
Qin E rolled her eyes.
…
When Shu Yao walked to the gate of the courtyard holding the window paper, she saw Yang Xiuhe running out of the courtyard in disheveled clothes. She covered her face with her hands and her steps were disorderly.
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