Old Master Wu pointed at Fang Zichen, his chest heaving, his hand trembling. He almost couldn't catch his breath. Fang Zichen was shocked and hurried back to the kitchen to get him another bowl of water: "Old man, quick, quick, have some water."
Fang Zichen was really afraid of getting into trouble. Never mind the money issue, if he caused an old man to die of anger, he was certain he would be condemned to the underworld and its boiling oil cauldrons. He patted the man's back in a steady rhythm and said: "Don't be angry, don't be angry."
This old man is probably a staunch supporter of Qinghe Academy, and being a native of Yuanzhou, naturally he can't stand hearing such words.
Fang Zichen patted his own mouth and apologized sincerely: "Look at this mouth of mine, always spouting blunt truths. The truth is often hard to hear, old man, don't take it to heart, alright?"
Old Master Wu: "......"
A wave of profound frustration washed over him.
He felt completely and utterly stifled.
___
In the afternoon, He Huihui carried a wooden basin towards the river. It contained a few items of clothing.
Those who stayed home and didn't work the fields focused on household chores in the morning: cooking, feeding the chickens, sweeping the yard. If they raised pigs, they had to go cut pigweed first, so the livestock wouldn't go hungry. Washing clothes was usually left for the afternoon. There were several women washing clothes at that moment. Seeing her approach from afar, someone wondered, "Why has He Huihui been back for so long this time? It's been half a month, right?"
He Huihui was married into a family in the town. It wasn't New Year or a festival, yet she suddenly ran back to her parents' house and had been staying for nearly half a month. It was bound to arouse curiosity.
"Who knows?" One of the women replied, her voice dripping with a sour, envious tone.
In the past, the two most accomplished young people from Xiaohe Village were Ma Wen and He Huihui.
For a girl from the village, marrying into a family in town was a significant achievement and not easily done.
He Huihui was good-looking, and her family doted on her. Her family spared her from laboring in the fields. During the busy times, she only helped with light household chores. Because of this, she maintained a fair and clear complexion. With her carefully penciled eyebrows and the powder on her face, she carried herself like a young lady from a wealthy family.
The other girls and gers of her age in the village worked in the fields every day, weathered by wind and sun, their complexions dull and gray, completely outshone by her. And that wasn't all. When He Huihui was fifteen, through a matchmaker's introduction, she married into the Wu family, who ran a tofu business in town.
He Huihui's mother went to the Wu family a few times and came back to the village bragging every day about how good the Wu family's business was, how they had two or three meat dishes on the table every meal, how the Wu family's son doted on her daughter, buying her pastries from the pastry shop every day, and buying clothes whenever she wanted.
Every season change, her daughter would get several new outfits. Two large chests in the room were full of her clothes.
The villagers only ate meat during New Year and festivals, and only had a few sets of clothes to wear and wash, often mended and patched.
Who wouldn't envy the life He Huihui was living?
Zhao Ger and Zhou Ger were also there at the moment, talking with others.
Because of Fang Zichen's influence, the villagers were quite eager to befriend Zhao Ger now. Their spot was crowded. He Huihui hadn't been close with Zhao Ger before she married, but now she walked straight towards him.
"Zhao Ger."
"Ah?" Zhao Ger moved closer to Zhou Ger, making space for her, and asked, "Is something the matter?"
"No, I just haven't seen you in a long time." He Huihui smiled, squatting down beside him like an old friend she hadn't seen in ages, and asked, "Have you been well recently?"
Zhao Ger glanced at her: "Pretty good."
He Huihui scrubbed her clothes: "I heard you were sold by the Ma family to the new fellow in our village?"
"En!"
He Huihui was wearing a pink outfit, with a silver hairpin adorned with plum blossoms in her hair. She was not only good-looking but also had a pleasant voice, unhurried and gentle, melodious and pleasing to the ear. Her hands were extremely well-maintained, smooth and white as jade, clearly not used to doing much work. After a brief exchange of pleasantries with Zhao Ger, she subtly and deliberately, shifted the conversation toward Fang Zichen.
"My mother said he was the one who carried my grandfather back from the mountains. My grandfather has always treated me very well since I was little. For the kindness of saving his life, I think I should thank him in person. I wonder when he might be free?"
Zhao Ger was a bit puzzled. Before He Huihui married, although they were from the same village, they didn't have much interaction, they might not have even exchanged a single word. Sometimes when they happened to meet on the road, He Huihui would act aloof and superior towards him, seeming to look down on him quite a bit. Moreover, He Huihui had visited the village just two months ago. If she had genuinely wished to express her gratitude to Fang Zichen, that would have been the perfect opportunity.
Old Man He's incident had happened over half a year ago. Offering thanks now now seemed rather late.
If her gratitude were genuine, the distance from Fu'an Town to Xiaohe Village was not great. She could have made the trip at any time. Zhou Ger, who had already finished washing his clothes, frowned at the exchange. He cut in, urging, "The sun is scorching. Zhao Ger, hurry up and finish washing. Let's go back together."
Zhao Ger grunted in agreement. There were still things to do at home. His and Fang Zichen's clothes were easy to wash, not very dirty, but Guaizai's clothes had some oil stains and were harder to scrub. They were almost done now. Zhou Ger helped him, wringing them out quickly, and urged him to leave.
On the way back, Zhou Ger said indignantly, "Let me tell you, you should be wary of this He Huihui from now on."
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