At noon, Min Yueqing was fairly satisfied with the two children's practice results. She whistled to attract their attention, and then waved her hand to signal the end of the practice.
Pei Ji and Shi Tou were covered in sweat again. Pei Ji took out a small handkerchief from his pocket and wiped the sweat that was about to drip into his eyes. Suddenly remembering something, he called out to Min Yueqing, "Mother, you didn't teach us how to whistle yesterday!"
Min Yueqing leaned against the tree, tapped her head with one hand, and said as if she couldn't remember, "Who was it that went to bed and fell asleep right after dinner yesterday?"
Pei Ji's face was already flushed from exhaustion, and upon hearing this, she felt her face heat up even more. She shyly fiddled with her fingers and said, "It's me, Mother. Will you teach me today? I promise I won't forget today, and I won't go to bed so early."
Standing to the side, Shi Tou nodded vigorously, secretly reminding himself that he couldn't go to sleep right after eating tonight.
Seeing the two children's expectant looks, Min Yueqing said, "Then we'll see how you perform tonight. If you haven't forgotten, you'll have a chance to learn."
Pei Ji and Shi Tou naturally gave their assurances.
Stone looked up at the sky and realized it was lunchtime, so he ran to Little Horse and took off his bundle. Sister Mei had given him two bundles today; he wondered what delicious food she had prepared for them.
Shi Tou returned to the large rock from yesterday, carrying the package. Pei Ji had already drunk several mouthfuls of honey water from his water pouch, and his mouth was dry after practicing all morning. When he saw Shi Tou running over, Pei Ji handed him the water pouch.
As soon as Shi Tou stopped, he felt his throat was burning. He quickly took a few gulps of the water. There must have been some honey in it. It wasn't too sweet, but it had a light, refreshing fruity flavor that was very pleasant to drink.
Pei Ji and Shi Tou opened the two packages and were surprised to find that one of them contained two sets of clean clothes, one large and one small. They cheered in unison.
The reason Amei didn't bring any for Min Yueqing was that she noticed yesterday that both children's clothes had a noticeable dampness and a strong smell of sweat, while Miss's clothes had none at all.
Amei guessed that her mistress had probably come up with some new idea to train the young master and Shitou again, and that she herself was probably just sitting on the sidelines watching the fun, just like when they were in the manor. Besides, since they were outside, and the two children were still young, it wouldn't be a problem for them to find a secluded place to change their clothes, but it wouldn't be very convenient for the mistress.
Pei Ji and Shi Tou were feeling sticky and uncomfortable, so they were overjoyed to see the clean change of clothes.
This was actually quite good; thankfully, Min Yueqing led them to this bamboo forest. The bamboo in the forest grew tall and provided excellent shade, so even with the midday sun shining brightly, not much sunlight directly hit them. Otherwise, they would have been covered in sweat and smelled foul, far more than just sticky.
Min Yueqing walked over at this moment. Upon seeing the things on the big rock, she knew that they must have been prepared by Amei. Amei was always meticulous. Min Yueqing immediately said, "These preparations are very good. You should go and wash up first. Go to the stream over there and don't go too far."
As she spoke, Min Yueqing pointed to the stream where they had washed their hands yesterday. It was very close to here, and she could see it from where she was sitting.
Upon hearing his master's words, Shi Tou immediately responded, picked up the bundle, and said to Pei Ji, "Let's go wash up first."
Pei Ji, who was always particular about cleanliness, readily agreed and followed after telling his mother.
As soon as Shi Tou reached the stream, he took off his clothes and then quickly kicked off his shoes, walking barefoot into the stream. Pei Ji was speechless at how fast he moved.
Shi Tou called out to Pei Ji, "Come on down, it's so refreshing in the water."
Although Pei Ji was only five years old, he was a very well-mannered little boy, influenced by his parents since childhood. He was a little embarrassed, so he waved his hand and said, "I won't go down, you go wash."
Having wandered the capital for two years, Shi Tou knew that wealthy families had many rules, so he didn't insist. He simply nodded and said, "Then I'll wash myself." As he spoke, he cupped water in both hands and splashed it on himself, instantly feeling all the heat disappear.
If it weren't for the rush to eat, Shi Tou felt he could soak in the water for an hour without getting bored at all.
Pei Ji slowly took off his shirt, took out a fine cloth folded by Amei from his bag, dipped it in the stream, and then wiped himself with it. He didn't know that he should wring it out first, so the water dripped down the cloth, soaking a large area of his underwear.
Pei Ji looked at his wet pants with a blank expression, unable to think of any solution, so he had no choice but to continue wiping them off. After finally finishing wiping them off, he was still covered in water, and most of his clothes were also soaked.
Shi Tou stared dumbfounded at the young master's series of actions, his eyes wide with amazement. It wasn't until Pei Ji took out clean clothes from his bag and prepared to put them on that Shi Tou quickly exclaimed "Hey!" and stopped Pei Ji from doing so.
“Young Master, you haven’t dried yourself off yet. If you put on clean clothes now, won’t you get these clothes wet too?” Shi Tou walked to the stream in two quick steps and said to Pei Ji.
Pei Ji said, bewildered, "But I don't have any dry cloths."
Shi Tou was both amused and exasperated, his expression almost contorted. If it weren't for Pei Ji's dual role as his benefactor and "little teacher," which prevented him from being presumptuous or making fun of him, Shi Tou felt he would have laughed for three days and three nights straight.
He clenched his fists, trying his best to suppress his laughter. He reached out and took the wet towel from Pei Ji's clothes, rinsed it in the clear stream upstream, wrung it out, and handed it back to Pei Ji.
Pei Ji took the now-dryer cloth and wiped himself again. He was surprised to find that this time, not only did the cloth not drip water, but it also dried him off. He turned to Shi Tou and said, "How did you dry yourself? Do it again for me."
This time, Shi Tou really couldn't hold it in anymore. He turned his back, suppressed his laughter, and chuckled twice, his whole body trembling with silent laughter.
Seeing him suddenly turn around, Pei Ji asked, puzzled, "Shi Tou, what's wrong?"
After laughing for a while, Shi Tou finally vented a little. Hearing Pei Ji's question, he turned around with a straight face and said, "Give me the cloth, and I'll teach you. It's very simple. Just twist it between your hands and wring it out."
Pei Ji handed the used cloth to Shi Tou, then squatted by the stream, staring at him with his big, round eyes. Shi Tou indeed demonstrated the movements in slow motion very seriously. Pei Ji watched closely this time and felt it wasn't too difficult, so he wanted to take it and try it himself.
Stone said, "Your back is still wet, and your pants are all wet too. You should wipe yourself dry and change into dry clothes before trying it on. Turn around and face away from me."
Pei Ji was soaking wet and wasn't feeling very comfortable, so he obediently turned around.
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