84 House Swapping
◎Ajing...there is a lustful ghost in this house◎
Shu Yao, who was applying fertilizer on the mountain, sneezed. She felt like someone was saying bad things about her behind her back. She touched her nose and diluted the fertilizer in her hand with water.
Twelve was helping to weed. With two swipes of the hoe, he cut the newly grown cabbage seedlings in half.
He was stunned, glanced at Shu Yao quickly, and quickly blocked her view with his body. Then he picked up the two seedlings and planted them back in the soil. However, the seedlings were soft and fell down again when he took his hand back.
He was anxious, wondering why the seedlings were so soft.
Shu Yao saw him squatting there fiddling with something, so she walked over curiously and asked, "What are you doing?"
Twelve's back froze, and he immediately turned around and stood in front, holding a bunch of weeds in his hand.
It turned out that they were weeding. Shu Yao suddenly realized: "Then you can continue."
Twelve turned around, breathed a sigh of relief, and threw the wilted seedlings into the pile of weeds. These two plants would not survive anyway.
The work was not finished yet, and it was already three o'clock in the morning. Shu Yao took out the buns she had brought with her and gave two to Twelve. They sat on the edge of the field with the farmers and ate lunch.
During the lunch break, several villagers gathered around and chatted idly.
One of the men looked up at the top of the mountain and said, "Do you know that half of the beets planted by the village mute have been frozen to death?"
No one reacted, saying calmly, "It's so cold on the top of the mountain, the beets won't survive."
"The mute is also pitiful. He was allocated land on the top of a mountain, where nothing can be grown. I heard that all the vegetables he planted in the past two years were frozen to death."
"Yes, I even heard that he went to town to beg for food."
Everyone was talking about the mute, and Shu Yao listened carefully. She asked, "Didn't he build a greenhouse?"
As soon as she finished speaking, everyone looked at her with confusion: "Yao girl, what is a greenhouse?"
Shu Yao chewed the steamed bun in her mouth. It seemed that the people here didn't know about greenhouse cultivation. She swallowed it and said, "It's just building a shed over the seedlings to increase the temperature inside."
The villagers still don't understand
Shu Yao secretly shook her head. They didn't know about greenhouses, and they certainly didn't have the plastic film to cover them. They should have straw mats, right? She asked, "Uncles, does anyone in your family have straw mats? The bigger the better."
Everyone looked at each other, and one of the older people asked her, "What do you want the straw mat for?"
She smiled and said, "I won't take it for free. A straw mat costs one penny."
Upon hearing that there was money to be made, some villagers dropped their hoes and ran home, wanting to sell their unused straw mats to Shu Yao. Seeing this, others followed suit.
In an instant, Shu Yao and Twelve were the only two people left in the huge mountain. She saw a bamboo forest not far away and asked Twelve to cut some bamboos.
The villagers returned one after another, carrying mats. Shu Yao was sorting the bamboo strips that Twelve had split. She wiped the sweat from her forehead and took out a few coins from her purse and handed them to the villagers who had brought the mats. "I'd like to trouble you to take these mats to the top of the mountain."
"On the top of the mountain? Aren't you going to give it to that mute?" someone asked.
Shu Yao remained silent. She had just heard from the villagers that the mute's vegetables had all frozen to death, and he had no income for a year and had been reduced to begging. She felt a little sorry for him.
Most importantly, she had just received a memory from the original owner.
When the original owner was seven or eight years old, she was the only one left in the family. She had not yet been taken away by her uncle and aunt. She was hungry and cold every day and lived a miserable life. This mute uncle once bought her two white flour steamed buns. She must repay this kindness on behalf of the original owner.
Everyone didn't understand, but they still did it.
Shu Yao and Twelve also followed with the split bamboo sticks. The stone road on the top of the mountain was rugged and steep, making it very difficult to walk. She found a stick for herself and walked up the mountain panting.
About half an incense stick's time later, when everyone was approaching the top of the mountain, they heard a sobbing sound.
Someone said, "Look, the dumb man is crying again."
When we reached the top of the mountain, we saw a man covered in patches sitting on a rock with his head lowered. When he heard the voices, he looked up and his face was pale and gray.
"Mute, Yaoyatou is here to build a greenhouse for you." someone said.
Everyone threw their straw mats on the ground and prepared to leave. After all, they still had their own crops to take care of at the foot of the mountain.
The mute was very short and thin, with messy hair with patches of white and black. His face was dark, and although he was not very old, it was covered with wrinkles. Hearing someone say this, he looked at Shu Yao uncomfortably.
Shu Yao handed him the remaining buns: "Uncle, eat something to fill your stomach first. I have a way to make these seeds come alive."
The mute was surprised and opened his mouth and said "Ah Ba Ah Ba" twice, then shook his hands at her, indicating that she could not be saved.
"Uncle, just leave it to me." After saying that, he started working confidently.
She had built a greenhouse with her grandfather in the countryside before, but she was still a little unfamiliar with it. She tried hard to recall the details of handling the greenhouse, and cooperated tacitly with twelve or two people. It didn't take long to build the frame. The next step was to cover the mats, covering the frame one by one, and tying thick ropes in the places where it was easy to slip. A simple greenhouse was built.
However, it did not end here. Shu Yao wrapped the commonly used ground film on the straw mat to reduce the infiltration of wind.
After finishing the work, Shu Yao looked at her masterpiece with satisfaction, hoping that it would be useful.
The mute went into the greenhouse. The temperature inside was high, almost the same as at the foot of the mountain. He was delighted and took a look at the vegetables in the greenhouse. Maybe they could really be saved now.
He bowed to Shu Yao and even knelt down to express his gratitude.
Shu Yao quickly helped him up, but this was not allowed. She waved her hand to indicate that you were welcome.
On the way back down the mountain, Shu Yao's steps were unsteady. She had just worked for so long that she was really tired. In addition, the road was not easy to walk on, so she stumbled all the way.
Twelve had been paying attention to her situation. When she fell for the third time, he walked straight up to her and carried her on his back without saying a word.
Shu Yao was just too lazy to walk, so this was perfect.
Twelve's back was broad and the muscles were hard, and she felt like she was lying on a rock.
He didn't feel tired even after carrying it all the way, and when he reached the foot of the mountain, his steps were still steady.
The sun had already set, and the people working in the fields had mostly left in groups of three or four, but Shu Yao saw a familiar figure in the fields.
Ji Shijing looked at the two people coming from a distance, especially when he saw Shu Yao on Twelve's back, their bodies were in close contact. He clenched his palms and trembled.
The ice in his eyes quickly solidified, and the chill emanating from his entire body was even colder than an ice cellar.
Until the two people approached, he suddenly loosened his clenched fists, his expression changed slightly, and a hint of jealousy flashed across his eyes, like a dark cloud passing across a clear sky.
He forced a smile and said, "I've been looking for you for a long time."
Shu Yao got off Twelve's back and knew that Ji Shijing was talking to her. She felt a chill inexplicably and walked forward: "Congratulations, I heard from Mr. Ji today that you passed the imperial examination."
The curve of Ji Shijing's mouth became deeper, but there was no smile in his eyes. He took Shu Yao's hand and said calmly, "Let's go home." Then he pulled her up and left, completely ignoring Twelve behind him.
He just held her hand gently, but she couldn't break free.
She turned around and called to Twelve: "Remember to take the hoe."
Twelve's eyes fell on their clasped hands, silently observing their every move.
Shu Yao was being held by Ji Shijing, and could feel the anger in him. She really didn't understand what he was angry about. Was he angry that she wasn't waiting for him at home? That wasn't the case.
As she was thinking this, they arrived home. Ji Shijing didn't say anything to her and behaved as usual.
Shu Yao just thought she was overthinking it.
In the evening, the three of them hurriedly ate something and went back to their rooms to rest. Shu Yao had been busy on the mountain all day. As soon as she lay down on the bed, she almost fell asleep in a daze. However, she still forced herself to get up and check the doors and windows. After making sure there was no problem, she fell into a deep sleep.
This time she did not have that strange dream. She slept until dawn and felt comfortable all over. But when she lowered her head, she was stunned again. The only remaining undergarment was loosely covering her body.
She was petrified on the spot.
This...this...what is going on?
She clearly didn't take off her coat last night, she remembered it clearly.
She was really scared now. She hurriedly put on her clothes and opened the door. She saw Ji Shijing getting ready to go to class. She grabbed him and said, "Ah Jing, can we move to another room?"
Ji Shijing was in exceptionally good spirits today. He raised his eyebrows and opened his thin lips slightly: "Why?"
Shu Yao thought about it and told the truth: "There is a lustful ghost in my room."
When he heard the word "lecher", Ji Shijing's mouth twitched, but soon returned to normal.
"Okay." He said, but then he changed the subject, "Then what benefits does sister-in-law plan to give me?"
Shu Yao: "I'll go buy you a roast chicken."
Ji Shijing smiled and said nothing, but stared at her with burning eyes. Shu Yao couldn't stand it anymore, so she spoke: "Okay."
Seeing that he agreed, Shu Yao quickly pushed him out the door: "Hurry up and go to class, don't be late."
After he left, she immediately moved her things to the west room, and then moved Ji Shijing's things to the east room. The two rooms were connected, so it was convenient to move things.
After finishing her work, she sat in the yard to rest, and Twelve sharpened his arrows beside her.
She saw Yang Xiuhe next door preparing to go out, and she called out, "Sister-in-law Yang, where are you going?"
"Let's go to town and buy some things." Yang Xiuhe replied.
Shu Yao walked over and said, "Sister-in-law, can you buy me a roast chicken?" Then he took out five cents and handed it to her.
Yang Xiuhe smiled and said, "No problem." Then she stuffed the money into her pocket and walked away with her waist twisted.
The weather in May had started to warm up. Shu Yao took off her sweatshirt and combed her hair up. She picked up the twelve-pointed arrow and played with it. The arrow was so sharp that it almost cut her palm.
Twelve weighed the finished arrows. Although they were far inferior to those he had used before, they were still acceptable.
He loaded his bow and arrows and planned to go for a walk in the woods. When he reached the door, he turned back and pulled Shu Yao.
Shu Yao was confused: "What for?"
Twelve gestured to her, but she couldn't understand anything.
He sighed helplessly and pulled her up the mountain.
He heard that women in the Central Plains all like rabbits, so he hunted one for her today.
Shu Yao looked at his gear and knew he was going hunting. She was a little scared: "There are wild beasts in the mountains behind. Don't go."
Twelve continued to move forward. Seeing that she was a little resistant, he asked her to wait at the foot of the mountain, and then he went into the depths alone.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
