His mind went through many twists and turns, but in the end he finally felt at peace.
Qin Bei forced a smile, "Sister Su, what a coincidence."
Su Ruanruan didn't notice the change in how he addressed her and asked curiously, "Why did you come to the county town? I remember you said before that the work in town wouldn't be finished for another month."
Qin Bei made up a reason: "Today I came to the county town with my boss to deliver goods, but the shopkeeper is not here and will not be back until later. The goods were left behind, but we still have to wait for the shopkeeper to come back and check them. My boss told me to wait, and that's when I ran into Young Master Mu while I was strolling around."
It was rare for Su Ruanruan to run into an acquaintance here. You see, to get to the city, you have to take an oxcart in the village, and then transfer to another oxcart in the town. A single trip would cost several copper coins, and a round trip would cost more than ten copper coins.
Few villagers come to the city unless they have something urgent to do.
No one would be as foolish as the original owner, traveling for hours every day from dawn till dusk to sell tofu at the tofu shop.
The original owner had other options; staying in town to do odd jobs would have been acceptable, as it would have been closer to home.
But just to earn a few extra copper coins from the tofu shop, he chose the much longer route.
Now, her palms and soles are covered with calluses.
During the time I haven't returned to the village, I don't know if anything has happened to the Su family.
She also wanted to ask Qin Bei about it.
Mu Bai stood quietly to the side, listening to Su Ruanruan introduce him, "Brother Mu Bai, this is Brother Qin Bei. He grew up in the same village as me. He used to bully me a lot when we were kids."
Mu Bai bowed and said, "So it's Brother Qin. My apologies for not recognizing you."
Qin Bei scratched his head awkwardly, "I wouldn't dare to accept that. I'm just a carpenter, how could I presume to be on friendly terms with Young Master Mu? Sister Su, Young Master Mu and I have already met."
Mu Bai laughed, "I've only studied for two more years, I'm not an ordinary person. Brother Qin, please don't call me Young Master anymore. You're a bit older than me, you can call me by my name like Ruan Ruan does."
"Oh, okay. Mu... Bai."
Su Ruanruan still had some questions for Qin Bei, but it was already lunchtime, so she had to show off her skills.
She tugged at Mu Bai's sleeve playfully.
"Brother Mu Bai, are you going back to the academy today?"
Mu Bai suppressed his sadness and gently stroked the top of her head.
"Today, the Master gave me a few questions, and I need to write them down for him to see. In general... once Brother Qin has repaired this door, I will go back."
Su Ruanruan was somewhat disappointed, but she knew that everything depended on his future.
"Then let's go back after dinner. I bought meat today and will cook it myself."
Su Ruanruan turned back to Qin Bei, who was busy at work, and said, "Brother Qin, why don't you stay and have dinner with us? You haven't tried my cooking yet."
"Well... no, I need to check if the shopkeeper is back yet, so I won't bother you any longer."
"The shopkeeper's shop is in the county town, and he can't run away. It's still early, so it shouldn't be a problem to go later. Why don't you stay for a meal?"
"Yes, Brother Zhou, why don't you stay and have dinner with Ruan Ruan? Since you two are familiar with each other, I feel at ease. I won't stay for the meal; I'll head back to the academy first."
Qin Bei said, "That won't do. It would damage her reputation if I were alone with Su Meimei in a room."
Su Ruanruan didn't interrupt, but raised her almond-shaped eyes to look at Mu Bai.
Mu Bai happened to be looking at her and smiled at her with his eyebrows arched.
"Ruanruan doesn't care about those formalities, so I don't mind either. Ruanruan and Brother Qin grew up together, so he can be considered Ruanruan's half-brother."
"It is my fault that I failed to fulfill my duty as a host on my brother's first visit. I should ask Brother Qin not to take offense."
Mu Bai really wanted to stay, but the thought that these dishes might be related to Huo Yan made him unable to eat.
And where did that hen come from when I was sick last time?
He dared not think about it, nor did he want to.
Qin Bei was genuinely flattered. He had never dealt with scholars before and was quite tongue-tied, so he didn't know what to say. He gave a somewhat awkward smile and turned back to his work.
Mu Bai led Su Ruanruan back into the house, took out a purse from his sleeve, and stuffed it into Su Ruanruan's hand. He whispered, "Although we have a long-standing friendship, Brother Qin also has a family to support. Remember to give him this wage later."
Mu Bai stroked her hair, his tone becoming firmer, "Although I am penniless now, I will never let you suffer. There are not many taels of silver in this purse, but it is enough for you to spend for a while. Buy whatever you want to buy or eat, and I will give it to you in a while."
Su Ruan held the slightly worn purse embroidered with bamboo in her hand.
She could feel her palms getting warm; it was the first time someone had handed her a purse.
It was as if the whole family was being handed over to her.
Su Ruanruan smiled like a cunning fox.
"Brother Mu Bai, are you going to take care of me?"
Hearing her say this, Mu Bai looked at Qin Bei, who was busy at work, through the window, feeling a little embarrassed.
Her ears turned slightly red, and she coughed awkwardly.
"Um."
Su Ruanruan threw herself into Mu Bai's arms again, "Brother Mu Bai, you're so good."
Mu Bai bent his finger slightly. "Is he alright?"
Is he really okay?
If he's good, why can't he be the only one in Ruan Ruan's heart?
...
After Qin Bei repaired the door, he also tightened the wooden furniture, tables, chairs, and benches in several rooms.
Su Ruanruan has already prepared two dishes and a soup.
A dish of sweet and sour pork, a dish of lotus root with diced pork belly, and a dish of tofu and vegetable soup.
At the dinner table, Qin Bei ate his meal in silence. It was the first time he had eaten food cooked by Ruan Ruan, and he hadn't expected her cooking skills to be so good.
He had a lot of questions he wanted to ask, but now he didn't know how to start.
Actually, it doesn't matter whether you open your mouth or not.
From the moment the meal began, the smile on her face never faded.
She was very happy.
Seeing that he was only eating the rice in his bowl with his head down, Su Ruanruan pushed the two dishes towards him again.
"Brother Qin Bei, why don't you eat some food? Is it because my cooking doesn't suit your taste?"
Qin Bei shook his head. "No, your cooking is quite good."
In fact, he hadn't eaten meat for a long time.
He was willing to spend his wages on chicken legs for her and medicine for his mother, but he never spent any of it on himself.
Even the clothes he was wearing had a patch on them.
Young Master Mu is handsome, owns a house in the county town, and has so many books in his room, while he is just a humble carpenter, which makes him feel ashamed of himself.
The meat in the bowl smelled delicious and sweet, but he couldn't taste it.
Seeing his listless appearance, Su Ruanruan thought of his bedridden mother and assumed that her illness had worsened.
How has your mother been feeling lately?
Qin Bei snapped out of his reverie and smiled with relief as he thought about how his mother had been able to sit up these past few days.
"Ruanruan, I really owe you a lot. I got a few doses of the medicine from the prescription you gave me, and my mother's condition really improved after taking it."
"Since it works, keep the prescription safe. If your mother takes it for a while longer, she might recover completely."
She prescribed this remedy, so of course it works.
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