Chapter 1, Rice Flowers
It is the golden autumn of August and the sun is shining brightly.
On the vast land, the golden rice sea is blowing in the breeze, creating layer upon layer of rice waves.
In the swaying golden waves, a little girl in a green jacket and skirt with short hair closed her eyes, opened her arms, and immersed herself in the rolling rice fragrance with a look of contentment.
"Rice Flower~"
"Rice Flower~"
The clear, carefree and joyful sound that belonged only to the boy came from far away and quickly spread into the rice waves with the breeze.
When the little girl heard the voice, her eyes opened immediately. She tilted her head and saw the wind-like boy on the ridge of the field running towards her quickly, waving his hand.
Seeing the boy, the little girl's eyebrows curved, and a bright smile immediately appeared on her face. She raised her hand and waved at the boy: "Third brother, I'm here!"
When Yan Wentao saw the little girl, his expression lit up with joy and he took even bigger steps with his long legs.
In the golden rice waves, a little green girl stands with a faint smile, her eyebrows are green without makeup, her lips are red without makeup, her eyes are like stars, and her skin is like cream.
Even after nine years, Yan Wentao still felt that he could never get enough of looking at his eldest sister. She was like a fairy beside a god.
"Third brother, why are you here?"
As soon as the boy arrived, the little girl started talking with a smile. Her fair and delicate cheeks were slightly flushed by the bright sun, making her look even more cute and adorable.
"You're still asking, what are you doing out in such a scorching sun? Aren't you afraid of getting tanned?"
As soon as Yan Wentao arrived, he immediately took off the straw hat on his head and carefully put it on the little girl's head.
"Look, your face is all sunburned. Your grandmother will definitely scold you when you get home."
The little girl stood obediently, letting the boy put the hat on her. After it was put on, she took the boy's arm affectionately and said coquettishly: "If grandma gets angry, third brother must help me plead for mercy."
"You!" Yan Wentao tapped the little girl's forehead with his finger, his expression both doting and helpless. "Let's go, let's go back quickly. Uncle has a letter, and grandma is waiting for you to read it."
"ah?"
The little girl was stunned for a moment, "Why did you receive a letter at this time?"
Yan Wentao shook his head: "The autumn harvest is coming soon. I guess they are asking when we will go to the county town where my uncle is serving."
The little girl shrugged nonchalantly, indicating that she didn't care at all.
Seeing this, Yan Wentao smiled happily: "Why, don't you want to see your uncle and aunt?"
The year my eldest sister was born, my eldest uncle passed the imperial examination and the following year he was appointed as a seventh-rank county magistrate as a fellow-jinshi. At that time, my eldest sister was young and my grandmother was in poor health, so it was not convenient for my eldest uncle to take them with him when he took office, so they stayed in their hometown.
Eight years passed since then.
Looking at his older sister who had only seen her parents a few times until she was nine years old, a trace of heartache flashed in Yan Wentao's eyes.
"I want to see you!"
The little girl replied indifferently.
Compared to being confined in the backyard of a deep house, she prefers the unrestrained pastoral life. If possible, she would rather stay in the fields all her life and be a comfortable and idle person.
At this time, the two siblings had already walked onto the country road, and there were suddenly more and more people around them.
"Oh, it's Daohua and Wentao!"
"Third Uncle!"
"Master Wu!"
"Sixth Aunt!"
"Fifth Uncle!"
The two siblings greeted everyone in a sweet and cheerful manner, causing the smiles on the faces of those around them to deepen.
"Why are you guys out in such a bright sun?"
"What else could it be? It must be the rice flowers coming out to inspect their rice fields again."
As soon as these words were spoken, everyone laughed happily.
The little girl also laughed: "I have to see it, my family depends on this harvest."
"Daohua, listen to your aunt. Your father is the county magistrate. As the daughter of an official, you don't need to work as hard as we do. Just go home and enjoy your life."
The little girl smiled and replied, "Auntie, the county magistrate also needs to eat!"
"Hahaha, look at our Daohua. She knows how to help the family at such a young age. No wonder Old Madam Yan loves her so much."
"Isn't it because she is so popular? If I had a granddaughter like this, I would love her to death."
Listening to everyone's laughter and jokes, the little girl had a smile on her face all the time. She held her third brother's arm with one hand and put the other hand among the rice ears by the field. She walked briskly and skipped towards the most imposing house in the village.
As the two siblings walked away, discordant voices immediately arose from the crowd.
"What's the point of attracting people? She's just a girl!"
"Lai Er, stop spraying manure here. Did the rice flowers provoke you?"
"I just can't stand you fawning over a little girl like that. If her father, the county magistrate, had any regard for her, he wouldn't have kept her in his hometown for eight years."
"If you don't know, don't talk nonsense. Daohua is fulfilling her filial duty to Old Madam Yan on behalf of her parents."
"Humph, this is just a lie to fool outsiders, and you still believe it? I heard that when County Magistrate Yan was in office, he married a concubine from a scholarly family. The concubine gave birth to twins, a boy and a girl. The girl was as beautiful as a flower, and County Magistrate Yan loved her very much. Daohua, who grew up in the village, looks like a country girl. It would be strange for County Magistrate Yan to like her."
The farmers spoke very loudly, and the countryside was spacious, so even after walking some distance, Yan Wentao and his sister could still hear the conversations of the crowd intermittently.
"Third brother, what are you doing?"
The little girl grabbed Yan Wentao who was about to go back to argue.
Yan Wentao was tall and strong. Although he was only thirteen years old, his height was almost as tall as that of an average adult man. The little girl almost couldn't hold him back.
"I'm going to teach that dog that can't spit out ivory a lesson."
Looking at the angry Yan Wentao, the little girl laughed out loud: "Oh, Third Brother is really good, you can speak eloquently now!"
Yan Wentao was well-known for not liking reading. When he heard the girl's teasing, his anger dissipated a little.
The little girl took the opportunity to pull the person back: "It's just some boring talk from outsiders, why take it so seriously?"
Yan Wentao reached out to rub the little girl's head, but was blocked by the straw hat: "Daohua, don't listen to their nonsense. You are the eldest daughter of our Yan family. That concubine's woman will definitely not be able to surpass you. Even if... Even if..."
The little girl tilted her head to look at Yan Wentao, whose face was flushed red. Her round almond-shaped eyes turned slyly and she smiled brightly, "What's the big deal?"
Yan Wentao gritted his teeth and said, "Even if uncle really likes that concubine's daughter, don't be afraid. You still have grandmother and us. We will definitely not let you be bullied!"
The little girl smiled brightly, revealing her dazzling white teeth. She turned her right hand back and forth among the rice ears at the edge of the field. When she saw that the green rice flower in her palm had deepened in color, the smile in her eyes became even more intense.
"Yes, grandma is there for everything. No matter how high a position Dad holds, will he dare to disobey grandma?" There wasn't a trace of worry in his tone.
"Daohua, you crazy girl, why don't you get back to me right away? I really want you to be sunburned into charcoal!"
A strong shout came from the courtyard more than ten meters away. As soon as you heard it, you can tell that the speaker is in good health.
The little girl shuddered, and with a helpless look on her face, she ran towards the gate on her short legs, shouting as she ran: "Grandma, your lovely little rice flower is back!"
(End of this chapter)
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