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With Little Qiyue’s laughter echoing across the countryside, a gentle breeze began to blow.
This breeze was strange—not only was it not cold, but it was also quite warm.
Tan Xiaomei lifted her head slightly and looked at the sky. “Could it be that spring is coming early this year?”
Tan Yiliang looked up as well. “Little Aunt, you’re talking nonsense again. It’s not even New Year’s Eve yet. How could spring come now?”
Tan Erqian added, “Yeah, Little Aunt.”
Tan Xiaomei tightened her hold on Little Qiyue and lowered her head. “I have a feeling that spring is coming early this year.”
As she spoke, her gaze landed once again on the Lingzhi field, and she froze for a moment.
The Lingzhi in the field seemed a little different. They appeared to have grown a lot, but when she looked more carefully, they didn’t seem to have grown much at all.
She quickly turned to the two brothers and asked, “Yiliang, Erqian, come look. Has the Lingzhi grown bigger?”
Tan Yiliang and Tan Erqian looked toward the Lingzhi field. After a while, they couldn’t tell the difference.
Tan Erqian responded, “Little Aunt, it does seem a bit bigger. Maybe we didn’t notice it clearly before, but now that we’re looking closely, it does seem bigger.”
“That’s right,” Tan Yiliang agreed, lightly touching the large Lingzhi. “Second Brother, you should take some Lingzhi to the county to sell. Whether you sell them to the villagers or to Shopkeeper Bai, you can try both.”
Tan Erqian nodded. “Alright, should we pick a few today?”
“Good!” Tan Yiliang agreed, and the two brothers quickly came to a consensus.
Tan Xiaomei, hearing their conversation, thought to herself that perhaps she had just misjudged. Maybe the Lingzhi had always been this big.
After a short while,
Tan Xiaomei finished delivering the water and returned home with Little Qiyue and Liujin.
As soon as she entered, she saw Liu Zhoucheng sitting inside the house.
Liu Zhoucheng stood up quickly when he saw her and smiled. “Miss Tan.”
Tan Xiaomei entered the house, placed the two children on the bed, covered them with a blanket, and then turned to smile at him. “Liu Shiye, what brings you here today?”
Liu Zhoucheng smiled as he recounted the reason for his visit to the Tan family again.
Tan Xiaomei had originally thought that he was just mentioning the ink, paper, and brushes casually, but she never expected him to truly bring them over in person.
Although Liu Zhoucheng was born in Yonghe Village, the Liu family was a well-known scholarly family in the village. Unlike the Jiang family, where only Old Master Jiang was considered a scholar, the Liu family had been a family of scholars for generations. Although they had never gained any official titles, they had studied extensively. Even growing up in this small mountain village did not diminish the scholarly air of a gentleman about him.
In Tan Xiaomei’s eyes, such a person was beyond her reach. For her, it was already a great favor that Liu Zhoucheng did not mind staying for lunch. Now, he had personally brought over the items. His actions made him seem down-to-earth, friendly, and open-hearted, which caused her to look at this young man in a new light.
She lowered her head, unsure of how to thank him.
“Xiaomei, you’re back. Come, quickly, bring the dishes. Liu Shiye is staying for lunch,” called Wan Chunmei, who was frying dishes.
Tan Xiaomei quickly responded, “Oh! Sister-in-law, I’m coming.”
After saying that, she washed her hands and went forward to serve the dishes.
It was a plate of garlic stir-fried cured pork and a plate of tender eggs.
The Tan family had fried the cured pork, which they usually saved for special occasions, and had also simmered a bone with white radish.
Tan Xiaomei, holding the steaming hot dish, swiftly placed it on the table. It was still burning hot, and she quickly withdrew her hand, inhaling sharply. She pinched her ear and turned to serve the next dish.
Liu Zhoucheng saw this and immediately stood up, walking over quickly. “Let me carry it.”
The sudden voice from behind startled Tan Xiaomei, and in her flustered state, she took a step back, accidentally bumping into him.
Although Liu Zhoucheng had become somewhat thinner, he was still tall. Her slight bump happened to land her right in his arms.
The broad chest of his carried a faint scent of sandalwood.
Tan Xiaomei’s face turned crimson, and she quickly stood up and lowered her head. “Liu Shiye, I didn’t see where I was going just now and bumped into you. I apologize for the inconvenience. I truly apologize.”