Chapter 98
The two were helpless and were about to leave when they saw the door creak open again.
Mrs. Li looked at the two of them, then looked outside, sighed, and said, "Come in."
The two were delighted to hear this and followed the old woman inside.
Old man Li in the room frowned when he saw his wife bringing two young men in.
"who are they?"
"Old man, we are just passing by and are hungry. We would like to buy some food from your family to fill our stomachs."
After hearing this, the old man said nothing more, turned around and walked back into the house.
Mrs. Li said, "That's my old man. He doesn't like to interact with people on weekdays. Don't be surprised."
Luo Chaoyan looked around the house inconspicuously. Although it was a bit shabby, the yard was clean and tidy.
Mrs. Li asked them to sit at the table in the main hall and wait, saying, "Please sit down and wait for a while. I will go get you some food."
"Aunt, we are not picky about food, so just make something simple." Luo Chaoyan said.
The old woman nodded.
Not long after, Mrs. Li brought them two bowls of vegetarian noodles.
The two looked at the plain noodles in front of them and couldn't help but look at each other. This was truly plain noodles, with just a few vegetable leaves on it, without even a trace of oil or water.
"Thank you, auntie." Luo Chaoyan said.
The two of them came just after lunch and were not hungry at all.
Luo Chaoyan picked up the chopsticks, picked up a large portion and handed it to Pineapple, saying, "Brother, eat more."
Pineapple twitched the corners of her lips. She wasn’t hungry, okay? We had just agreed to ask for a bowl of water, but the young lady insisted that asking for water was too rustic and could not be used.
Luo Chaoyan ignored Fengli's sad face. She turned to Mrs. Li and said, "Aunt, I see that your crops are growing well. I think it will be another bumper harvest in the autumn harvest season."
Mrs. Li said calmly, "It's a great harvest."
Luo Chaoyan looked envious, then said with some sorrow: "Aunt, I really envy you for having such a good harvest, it's not like our Xuanzhou!"
Mrs. Li was stunned and asked, "Are you from Xuanzhou?" She knew that there was a flood in Xuanzhou. She heard that not only were the houses not collapsed, but there was no hope for a good harvest from the crops.
Fengli swallowed the noodles in a hurry. After all, she had to act out the whole play. Otherwise, if she got caught, the young lady might scold her again. She pretended to be rude and rubbed her face. She said sadly, "Yes, there was a flood in our place. The crops were destroyed and we lost our house. We had no choice but to leave our hometown and come to the north to seek refuge with relatives to see if we can settle down in Kyoto."
It has to be said that Pineapple's performance made the old lady, who was originally a little wary, less cautious.
Mrs. Li sighed softly and said, "Aren't we the common people the ones who suffer in this world? It's either natural disasters or man-made calamities..." Thinking of the village chief's advice, she stopped talking again.
Luo Chaoyan's eyes flickered, and she said, "Aunt, I think your land is good, and the crops are growing well. If my brother and I can settle down here, we can buy two acres of land for each family, and do some odd jobs in our spare time. I think our life won't be that bad."
"You...you want to buy a farm?" Mrs. Li was a little surprised, then her eyes were evasive, and she said, "I advise you to go somewhere else. You can't buy a farm around here."
"Is the land here too expensive?" Luo Chaoyan said.
Mrs. Li thought about it and decided that it would be a good idea to mention it to them. She said, "The land here belongs to officials and is not for sale. It is only rented out for three years."
"Then can we rent it?" Luo Chaoyan asked quickly.
At this time, Old Man Li walked in and said sternly, "If you want to live a peaceful life, go somewhere else."
Ignoring the puzzled looks on Luo Chaoyan and the others' faces, he said, "Okay, hurry up and finish your meal and leave. If you want to settle down in Kyoto, you still have to go to the government office in the city to get it done. If you're late, the city gates will be closed."
It seems that this couple is very tight-lipped and it is obvious that nothing can be found out from them. But the more this happens, the more it shows that there is a problem.
The land near Lianzhuang all belongs to the old lady of the Huo family. The old lady is never short of money on a daily basis. Given the family tradition of the Huo family and her face-saving nature, she will definitely not raise the rent for money and damage her own reputation. This can only mean that the managers in Zhuangzi were pretending to obey but actually disobeying the orders. It seems that she still has to help the old lady check the accounts of the farm.
Luo Chaoyan asked Fengli to give her some copper coins and then said goodbye to the old woman.
Mrs. Li waved her hand and said, "No, it's just two bowls of noodles."
"Aunt, please take it. We two brothers have hands and feet, how can we eat for free?" Pineapple said as he stuffed the fruit into her hands.
At this moment, there was a sudden knock on the door outside the yard.
"father!"
"Mom! Open the door!"
When Old Man Li heard the voices of his son and daughter, he hurried to the door and opened it.
"What's wrong?" Old man Li asked hurriedly when he saw his son and daughter looking anxious.
Li Da was filled with resentment and said, "Dad, that villain Li Yao wants to take Ah Shuang as his concubine."
When Mrs. Li and Luo Chaoyan heard the noise, they also came over.
"What? That bastard Li Yao wants to marry my Shuang'er!" said Mrs. Li anxiously.
Li Da was so anxious that he didn't care about the two strangers in the house. He said, "Mom, go pack up your sister's things. I'm sending her away now, otherwise that bastard will take Ah Shuang away tomorrow."
"Oh God, why are you so blind? Why can't you let us ordinary people live a peaceful life?" Mrs. Li couldn't help crying as she said this.
Li Shuang was also wiping away tears with a heartbroken look on his face.
Old man Li was suddenly struck hard, and his body was swaying as if he was about to fall down. He said angrily: "It's all Dad's fault."
"Aunt, uncle, why don't you report to the police? We don't allow bullies to seize our women under the throne of the emperor." Luo Chaoyan said.
Li Da and Li Shuang finally reacted after hearing what was said and looked at the two strangers.
Li Da looked at them warily, "Who are you?" He was afraid that they were people sent by Li Yao.
Luo Chaoyan cupped her hands and said, "Brother, we are from Xuanzhou. We passed by here and asked for a bowl of noodles because we were hungry. We have no ill intentions."
Li Da didn't want to say too much to him, so he just said, "Since you have finished eating, please leave. My family can no longer entertain you."
Luo Chaoyan thought about it, and seemed to be hesitant to speak, but in the end she looked at Mrs. Li and Old Man Li with a firm face and said, "Aunt, uncle, I am not a nosy person, but we met by chance. I... my relative is working in the government office. If you have any grievances, I can help you tell him something."
Li Da looked her over and asked, "What's your relative's name?"
Luo Chaoyan didn't expect that this person was quite vigilant.
Fengli suddenly thought of a person and said, "He is a police chief in the government office. His surname is He and his given name is Yang. He lives in the corner courtyard of West Street."
Li Da was stunned when he heard this. There was indeed a captain of police named He in the city's government office. He had met him several times and the places they lived matched.
He hurriedly bowed and said, "So you two are relatives of Captain He."
Luo Chaoyan secretly gave Fengli a thumbs up. It seems that the gossip I usually hear is not in vain.
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