Chapter 138
During her time at the Zhou family, Ye Di encountered many things that she had never seen or dared to imagine before.
Ye Jia started as a small stall and eventually built a shop, where her food business thrived. She never imagined she'd one day become the shopkeeper. Not only did she become the shopkeeper, but Ye Jia also praised her for being a more talented cook than she was. Ye Di had never considered cooking delicious food a significant achievement; she'd cooked for years without even receiving a single compliment from her family.
Although the shop belonged to Ye Jia and the Zhou family, Ye Jia paid her well. With food, clothing, and shelter provided, plus a salary, Ye Di was filled with energy and enthusiasm every day.
Business was getting better and better. Ye Di felt that people from all over Dongxiang Town were coming to buy the large intestines. It had to be said that the people in Dongxiang Town were much wealthier than those in Libei Town. If this food shop was in Libei Town, it would definitely not be so popular.
This is a good thing. Only when everyone likes to eat them can they make money and live a good life.
But life wasn't always smooth sailing; there were always bumps and bruises. Because her brother-in-law was an officer, no one dared to cause trouble at Xishi Shop. But there were still some who were fearless and tried to gain some advantage through words. Especially since the shopkeeper at Xishi Shop was so pretty, some rough-hewn men passing by would often say something unkind, or try to take advantage of Ye Di.
If this happened to any other girl, she'd probably be terrified. But Ye Di wasn't afraid of this little difficulty. The girls of the Ye family were all beautiful, and Ye Di had been used to this kind of thing since she was a child. She could endure it.
Whenever something like this happened, as long as it wasn't a major incident, Ye Di never told Ye Jia about it. But once, she was bumped into by Liu Yuan, who was buying some food at the shop. The burly man, presumably a bodyguard for a foreign caravan, noticed Ye Di's exceptional beauty and, while she was settling accounts with him, tried to touch her hand.
The sturdy man had just put his hand on Ye Di, and before Ye Di could react, the person in front of her was thrown to the ground.
Liu Yuan looked elegant and lazy, but his blows were decisive and brutal. The burly man screamed and shrieked, curled up on the ground, and cried, "I won't do it again." Liu Yuan smiled and beat the man until his face was bruised and swollen, frightening the crowd of onlookers outside.
Seeing him in his military uniform and listening to the townspeople talking about the Zhou family, even though there were strong men among the crowd, no one dared to speak out.
"Everyone, open your eyes and look carefully. This is where we are." Liu Yuan squatted in front of the huddled burly man, looking at the people outside with a smile. Although he looked harmless, a chilling coldness emanated from him, which was quite frightening. "Don't dare to mess with me. If anyone dares to touch the girls in the shop again, it won't be as simple as a beating..."
As soon as these words were spoken, there was complete silence outside.
Ye Di stood behind the counter and looked at the man standing in front of her. Her eyelashes trembled and she bit her lip and lowered her eyes.
From then on, Liu Yuan would often come to Xishi's shop to buy things. Ye Di didn't say anything to him, but she still felt a little guilty. Ye Di was just like that; she felt bad if she didn't return a favor. She thought about it over and over again, trying to find a way to repay the favor. But as an unmarried girl, she didn't know how to repay the favor, so she asked Ye Jia several times in a roundabout way.
I don't know if my sister noticed something, but she stared at her for a long time. Ye Di's heart was pounding, and she bravely endured the scrutiny.
Ye Jia finally chuckled and told Ye Di that officer Liu Yuan was a glutton. Ever since he'd had a few meals at Zhou's house, he'd been pining for Zhou Jingchen to take him home for a good meal. He said he couldn't stomach food made outside. He didn't know where Liu Yuan got the idea to be so picky, but Ye Jia's words also told Ye Di how to repay the favor.
Ye Di thought about it and finally decided to make some of her specialties and send them to Liu Yuan as a thank you gift.
At the Zhou household, Ye Jia never interfered with her. She had free reign in the kitchen. Ye Di didn't have much to offer, except for her culinary talents, which Ye Jia had praised. She figured that one gift wasn't enough; after all, he had saved her twice. She should repay him twice. So she found a day to prepare her best dish and bring it to Liu Yuan at the base.
Her first visit was on an early autumn evening. It just so happened that her sister had asked her to bring some food to her brother-in-law. She carried two large food boxes, told the camp's gatekeeper her purpose, and waited outside at the edge of the woods.
Not to mention that the Zhou family frequently brought food to Zhou Jingchen, and everyone in the garrison was used to it. Let's just say that Liu Yuan was surprised to learn someone was looking for him that day. He had just returned from the martial arts training grounds, drenched in sweat. Thinking something had happened at the Zhou family, he hurried over without even washing up. He trotted out and spotted a little girl beneath a golden ginkgo tree, her complexion blending seamlessly with the autumn colors.
It had been a while since we last met, and perhaps because Zhou Jia's food was so good, the little girl had blossomed. Her already lively features seemed to have been colored, gradually revealing the vibrant beauty of a woman. After spending so much time with Zhou Yun'an's wife, the little girl had also picked up Ye Jia's unique aura, and was incredibly captivating to look at.
Liu Yuan never noticed that from the moment he ran from the door to Ye Di, his heart, which had been silent for a long time, began to beat loudly in his chest.
He stopped two or three steps away from the little girl, looked at her with his eyes lowered, and asked her what she wanted from him.
The little girl's eyelashes trembled like the wings of a butterfly. With a dull face, she handed the two large food boxes to her: "Brother Liu..."
Ye Di originally wanted to call him Lord Liu, but somehow it became Brother Liu. She said it without thinking, and even after realizing it was the wrong name, she couldn't change it. She stared at the smiling person in front of her with dead eyes, and Ye Di tilted her head back for a long time, feeling overwhelmed. After a long while, Ye Di pretended to be nonchalant and finished her words: "Here are two food boxes. The one with the decoration on it is for my brother-in-law. I made some food for him to change his taste... The other one is for you. Thank you for helping me last time."
"Hmm?" Liu Yuan raised an eyebrow and looked at her. The little girl's body shape also changed. After the extension, her chest was visibly bulging. Realizing that her eyes were not honest, Liu Yuan coughed dryly and turned away. "You did it?"
Ye Di pursed her lips, paused, and said, "No, the one for my brother-in-law was made by my sister."
Unfinished words, gave him what she did.
A smile flashed in Liu Yuan's eyes and he nodded: "Thank you very much, I will enjoy it."
Ye Di said a dull "hmm," then said, "Put the lunch box under the tree when you're done. I'll pick it up when I have time." Then she turned stiffly and walked away. Liu Yuan stood there, watching the little girl walk away, then returned to the camp with the lunch box in hand.
The sentry at the gate saw his smile and couldn't help but say, "Did your wife bring you some food?"
Liu Yuan glanced at him with a smile on her face: "Don't joke around, she's still young."
Seeing that he wasn't angry and that his eyes were full of smiles, the sentry thought for a moment and added, "She'll be able to get married if she's raised a little longer. With her figure and appearance..." But before he could finish his words, Liu Yuan's smile faltered, and his expression turned cold. The sentry was startled and dared not speak again. But Liu Yuan stared at him coldly, warning, "Keep your eyes away."
After saying that, he turned and left, carrying two large food boxes. The sentry at the gate waited until he was far away before patting his chest, frightened and saying, "Oh my God..."
The next day, Ye Di found the food box behind the ginkgo tree. After that, she took the opportunity to send food and other items to her brother-in-law and sent Liu Yuan several more meals. Liu Yuan was truly a lover of food. Even someone who usually avoided unmarried women, despite the gossip that "your young wife is sending you food again," she happily ate the food Ye Di fed her several times.
Ye Di had no idea what the people around Liu Yuan called her, the one who brought him food. After three or four times, they felt they'd repaid the debt and stopped bringing him food. This was a real pain for Liu Yuan. He was a picky eater, always thinking about the good stuff.
After waiting for several days and seeing Ye Di not coming again, he became a little restless.
But he was a stranger, and since Zhou Jingchen didn't mention going back, he couldn't find an excuse to go to Ye Di. After waiting for a long time, Zhou Jingchen finally had some free time, and he hurried home to see his wife. Liu Yuan schemingly pestered him, using his eloquence to win over the others, who worked together to persuade Zhou Jingchen to go to Zhou's house for a free meal.
Zhou Jingchen didn't know if he saw through his thoughts or what, but when he looked at him, his deep eyes made people's spines shiver. Liu Yuan touched his nose and argued, but Zhou Jingchen calmly withdrew his gaze and agreed to go to Zhou's house together.
Ye Jia is a good cook, but Ye Di is even better.
While everyone was busy, Liu Yuan approached the kitchen. Since no one was around, he went in to find Ye Di. While Liu Yuan loved food, he wasn't someone who didn't know how to avoid suspicion or know when to eat. But for some reason, he used his picky nature as an excuse to see this little girl again and again. Liu Yuan lowered his eyes to take in the little girl, who had grown to his shoulder height. The little girl stiffened her neck and said, "I've repaid the favor I owe you."
"Paid it off?" Liu Yuan was amused by her. He was stunned for a moment, and then blurted out, "I saved your life twice, is this all you're worth?"
The little girl didn't seem to expect him to say such shameless words. She glared at him fiercely and said, "So what do you want?"
"Send it to me again." Liu Yuan had never thought he could be so shameless, but he had to finish what he said. He said with a playful smile, "I won't waste your money on food in the future. I'll give you some money, how about you do it for me?"
The little girl frowned and stared at him for a long time, as if she was intimidated by him. After a long time, she bargained awkwardly: "No, you have to pay me for my work."
Ye Di tried hard to imagine what Ye Jia did, and then she imitated him and said, "My sister said my cooking skills are comparable to those of a master chef, so I can cook for you. This is considered payment for my cooking skills, so you have to pay me for my work."
Liu Yuan was amused by her, and the smile in his eyes was like the ripples in the lake: "Okay, it's a deal."
In this way, Liu Yuan made a deal with the little girl with sweet talk.
From then on, in addition to receiving wages from her elder sister, the little girl could also earn extra money from him.
Later, they would bring him food, making him happy. Liu Yuan was also happy. His appetite and everything else were satisfied, and life seemed much more interesting. Every time Ye Di came to bring him food, the people around him would joke, "Your wife is here to bring you delicious food again." Liu Yuan would laugh and scold those people, kicking each one, then smilingly carry the food back to hide in the house to eat.
It wasn't long before something bad happened at the camp. With the arrival of winter, Liu Yuan and Zhou Jingchen would be away from the camp for extended periods, working on business.
Although Liu Yuan often smacked his lips, missing Ye Di's food, the girl never brought him any more without the money. As the tasks grew heavier and the dangers grew, Liu Yuan put aside his idle thoughts and focused solely on eliminating these bandit pests.
In the dead of winter, they waited for a long time before finally finding a clue to the village surrounding the brothel. Liu Yuan lay motionless on the rooftop, listening to the people inside engaging in a lewd sexual act. In the past, even if that beautiful woman were to strip naked before him, he would remain unmoved. But somehow, after returning home that day, Liu Yuan had several nights of erotic dreams.
In his erotic dream, a woman's delicate arms embraced him, her soft, boneless body pressed against his. Her soft, sweet voice hummed incessantly beside his ear, captivating him. Every time he embraced her and indulged himself wantonly, the woman blushed, and pinching her face would startle him awake.
Not for any other reason, just because the woman had a very familiar face - little girl Ye Di.
Liu Yuan woke up from his sleep, sweating profusely. He opened his eyes and abruptly sat up, straddling the edge of the bed with his long legs spread. His bare feet felt the cool floor, a sobering sensation. His feet were bony, yet white and slender. He turned his head to glance at the bed, but it was clearly too dark to see. A strong smell filled the air. Even so, Liu Yuan's restless blood continued to race, becoming increasingly excited. Liu Yuan was never dull; on the contrary, he was extremely intelligent. No matter how hard he tried to hide it, he couldn't change the fact that he had developed feelings for the girl, eight or nine years his junior.
"Liu Yuan, please behave like a human being..."
Liu Yuan pinched the bridge of his nose, closed his eyes and exhaled, "Be a human being."
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