94 Mid-Autumn Festival
◎The most powerful warrior on the grassland◎
Shu Yao was startled: "What happened?"
Yang Xiuhe put down the beans she had just picked and walked over. "Oh, your twelfth son went hunting in the mountains yesterday and encountered a wild boar. He accidentally fell down the mountain and broke a bone."
"Ah? Is it serious?"
Yang Xiuhe: "It seems like he has a broken bone. The old doctor from the village came to check him out and said he can't get out of bed for two weeks."
Shu Yao lowered her eyes.
When she pushed open the gate, she saw Twelve, who was leaning on a crutch and herding chickens and ducks with his inconvenient legs. When he saw her coming, he turned around and smiled at her.
Shu Yao hurried over to check his injuries, lifted up his trouser legs, and saw thick gauze wrapped around his legs. As if she remembered something, she grabbed his right hand, and sure enough, there was a hideous scar on his palm.
Her eyes darkened, and she calmly pushed him onto the recliner: "Twelve, you're injured, so rest more."
Ji Shijing next to him went back to the house silently.
…
On the Mid-Autumn Festival, the village became noticeably more lively. Some villagers set up stalls in front of their homes with freshly baked autumn pancakes on them. Villagers who didn't want to make autumn pancakes could just go to them and buy ready-made ones.
In the evening, the village organized a buffet banquet and every household received an invitation, including Shu Yao.
As the sun was setting and a refreshing autumn breeze blew, Shu Yao went back to the house and put on another layer of clothes.
In the past few days, Twelve's legs have almost recovered and he has thrown away his crutches.
The three of them packed up and prepared to go to the buffet.
Seeing that Twelve was still wearing a cross-collared half-sleeved short shirt, she couldn't help asking, "Aren't you cold?" It was late autumn now, and the weather was gradually getting cooler. Everyone had changed into long shirts, but Twelve seemed not to be afraid of the cold and was still wearing summer clothes.
Twelve shook his head. His long, slightly curly hair was neatly combed behind his head, and his facial features were much more three-dimensional than those of ordinary people.
She looked at Ji Shijing again.
Ji Shijing was dressed neatly in a white long gown with a red inner trim showing at the collar. His black hair was still held up high with a red headband. His eyebrows and eyes were sharp and delicate, and he was very eye-catching wherever he stood.
Shu Yao found that Ji Shijing had grown up. He used to be a little pale and thin and malnourished, but now he has become a handsome young man.
If she were a girl of seventeen or eighteen, she would definitely like him.
Ji Shijing noticed her gaze and turned his head to look at her. The afterglow of the setting sun shone on the side of his face, making his facial features more three-dimensional, and each one looked like the graduation project of Nuwa.
"What are you looking at?" he asked calmly.
Shu Yao met his gaze: "You." Without waiting for his reaction, she walked out quickly.
Ji Shijing's heart skipped a beat, his long eyelashes cast shadows on the corners of his eyes, and his eyes were filled with unclear emotions.
Twelve walked in last and locked the door.
The buffet was held at the village chief's house. When they arrived, many villagers were already seated and chatting about family matters.
Shu Yao found a quiet corner and sat down, with Ji Shijing and Twelve sitting on either side of her.
All around her ears were the gossips of the aunties around her, such as the silly boy from a certain village married the daughter of the county magistrate, the big yellow dog in the village gave birth to eight puppies, and so-and-so divorced his wife... She listened with great pleasure.
Dongping Village had a total of eighty-five people, all gathered here. Before the meal began, the village chief came over with a flourish, stood in the middle of the group, and after clearing his throat, he spoke: "Today is the Mid-Autumn Festival. I've specially ordered two cows, five sheep, and twenty chickens and ducks. Everyone, eat as much as you want."
The villagers were noisy.
The village chief asked his wife to bring a basket of copper coins, and said to everyone with a smile: "Today is a festival, I want to wish everyone good luck." After that, he began to distribute the money in the basket, starting from the first table, five cents per person.
No one could believe that the usually stingy village chief could be so generous. Someone in the crowd murmured, "It's because he found a good son-in-law. I heard that the village chief's son-in-law gave him 100 taels of silver during the Mid-Autumn Festival. Of course he was willing to spend these small copper coins."
After hearing this, some villagers suddenly realized what was going on.
As the village chief distributed the message, he said, "Everyone, remember to vote for me in the village election next year."
The villagers naturally agreed.
Twelve gave the five cents in his hand to Shu Yao, and Ji Shijing did the same. Shu Yao accepted them all and put them into her own small purse.
After the money was distributed, the meal began to be served. Today's meal was particularly rich, comparable to the day when the village chief married his daughter, and everyone ate to their heart's content.
When everyone was halfway through their meal, Jiang Fu's family hurried over, followed by Qin E and Jiang He.
They had just gone to the town to deliver some wine and had hurried over.
Shu Yao was just about to wave them over as she still had a few seats available, but someone else had already taken them. Chen Er stood up to greet them and led the three of them to their seats. He also helped Jiang He move her seat and picked up some food for her from time to time.
However, sitting opposite them were Ji Liang and his wife, and Jiang He began to feel a little uncomfortable. She kept her head down and ate in silence, with Chen Er's nagging voice filling her ears.
She was really annoyed and couldn't help but yell at him in a low voice.
Not only was Chen Er not angry, but he came over with a smile on his face to help her peel the shrimps.
Jiang He was helpless. The two of them kept bickering with each other, and she gradually forgot that Ji Liang was sitting opposite her.
Jiang Fu and Qin E were comforted to see the two children being so "harmonious", especially Qin E, who felt that these two children had a bright future.
She had watched Chen Er grow up. He had been honest, diligent, and capable since childhood. He was an excellent young man. Her daughter would definitely not suffer if she followed him. Moreover, she and Chen Er's mother were close friends, so she was relieved to let her daughter marry him.
On this side, Chen Er secretly gave Jiang He a small red envelope.
Qin E saw it, smiled and continued eating.
It was not until the sun set that everyone left after having a full meal and a drink. The scene was in a mess. Several villagers who had a good relationship with the village chief's family took the initiative to stay and help clean up the mess.
Chen Er went to Jiangnan to discuss business two days ago and got a rare thing. After dinner, he dragged Jiang He to see the rare thing.
Shu Yao took the initiative to help clean up and did not return home until dark. She was holding a lantern and was flanked by two guardians, so she was not so scared walking on the night road.
The bright moon hung high in the sky. Shu Yao stood on the edge of the field, looking up. Her thoughts suddenly drifted away. She wondered if the moon she saw in modern times was the same one she saw now.
She handed the lamp to Twelve next to her, then clasped her hands together and made a wish to the moon: she hoped to go home early and escape from the world in the book as soon as possible.
She almost won the Best Actress Award and was already sitting in the audience ready, but her seat suddenly became electrified and she was transported to the book.
No one could be more unlucky than her.
After she made the wish and opened her eyes, she found that both of them were staring at her. She subconsciously covered her face and glanced around: "Why are you all looking at me?"
They both looked away at the same time, one looking at the flowers and plants by the roadside, the other looking up at the bright moon in the sky.
Ji Shijing looked at the moon in the sky and asked her, "What wish did you make just now?"
Shu Yao: "If you say your wish out loud, it won't come true."
He smiled, didn't ask any more questions, and closed his eyes, as if making a wish.
Shu Yao also asked Twelve to make a wish quickly, but Twelve's gaze fell on her face, and a gentle light appeared in his blue pupils.
He used to think that all women in the world should be as cheerful, unrestrained and carefree as the daughters of the grassland, and should drink, eat meat, race horses and shoot guns like men.
But now he felt that a good woman should be like the one before him, gentle and kind...
A strange emotion arose in his heart, and a voice in his heart was clamoring wildly: Take her back to the grassland.
He closed his eyes and made a solemn wish in his heart.
The autumn breeze brought a refreshing coolness. Shu Yao opened her eyes and hugged her coat. The temperature dropped at night and she felt a chill. She took the lantern from Twelve's hand and said, "Let's go back."
The two nodded and protected her on the left and right.
At night, Twelve lay naked on the bed, his muscular upper body exposed in the candlelight, with distinct muscles.
With every breath he took, the quilt beneath him rose and fell.
He untied the wolf fang hanging around his neck and looked at it in the candlelight for a long time.
When he was fifteen years old, the boy was ignorant of the immensity of the world and bravely broke into the wolf's den on horseback and shot an arrow, taking the wolf king's head.
He brought back its head and pulled out its teeth. From then on, he became the most powerful warrior on the grassland.
Carefully stroking the wolf's fangs, he thought of the first time he met Shu Yao.
In the ruined temple, he had the intention to kill, but...
He came to his senses and did not put the wolf tooth back on. Instead, he carefully placed it next to his pillow. Then he took out a pen and paper and wrote two crooked words from the Central Plains on the rice paper.
The flickering candlelight illuminated his tall and majestic figure.
…
On the second day, Shu Yao heard Ji Liang say that it was the day when the college entrance examination results would be announced, so she got up early, washed, and then took an ox cart to the capital.
She originally wanted to call Ji Shijing, but when she thought that he still had to go to private school, she did not disturb him.
The sun slowly rose and the fog on the forest path gradually dissipated.
Shu Yao and the old man pulling the ox cart have become familiar with each other.
The old man asked, "Girl, I remember you went to the capital not long ago. It hasn't even been half a month. What happened?"
The people in their villages are not rich, and very few people go to the capital city. Some people don't go there once a year, and there are only a handful who go there twice a month. But this girl went there twice in half a month, which is really rare.
Shu Yao gave the old man one of the sesame cakes she brought from home. "The college entrance examination results are announced today. I'm going to see if my little brother passed."
The old man laughed and said, "Oh, there aren't many people in these villages who can take the college entrance examination. Your little brother is a learned man."
When Shu Yao heard someone praising Ji Shijing, she felt happy. The two chatted all the way and unknowingly arrived in the capital.
Shu Yao was afraid that there would be no car in the afternoon, so she gave the old man one or two taels of silver and asked him to wait for her.
She walked all the way to the examination hall. When she arrived at the entrance, she saw that the public notice board at the entrance was already surrounded by people, and there was no way to squeeze in.
She simply sat on the steps and waited until everyone had finished watching before she went to watch.
Suddenly, a mournful wail was heard from the crowd, followed by earth-shaking cries: "I passed, I passed, God, I have been taking the exam for thirty years and finally I passed."
I saw a madman running out with disheveled hair and one of his shoes missing. He ran forward like a madman, clapping his hands from time to time, which scared passers-by.
Some people in the crowd fainted after seeing that their names were not on the list.
For a moment, the place was full of excitement.
It was not until half an hour later that the people gathered in front of the list gradually dispersed.
Shu Yao stood up and rubbed her sore feet. There were about a hundred names on the list, densely written on the red list, making it difficult to find them.
She stood at the end of the list, starting directly from the last name.
She searched carefully all the way, and the further she got, the faster her heart beat. In the end, only the top three were left. She took a few deep breaths before she dared to continue looking.
She stared quietly at the top three, her eyebrows raised in surprise, then turned around as if nothing had happened, and the corners of her mouth couldn't help but curl up.
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