Chapter 17: Jia Qingshan – Wuyou Grass

The crowd dispersed, and Li Youyin walked over to Shen Shi, saying, “I’m sorry you had to go through this today; it won’t happen again in the future.”

“If you encounter anyone from the old house again, don’t feel the need to hold back,” Li Youyin softly told his children who stood in front of him.

The children nodded in understanding, and the incident quickly passed. Life continued as usual.

Li Guo’er noticed the water in the water tank had almost run out, so she grabbed a water bucket and went to the back mountain to fetch water.

There were two public wells in the village, but since the Li family lived at the foot of the mountain at the far end of the village, both wells were quite a distance away.

Li Youyin, feeling sorry for the children having to carry water when he was not home, had found a small spring in the upper stream of the back mountain, where he opened a bamboo pipe and connected several of them to bring water to the back of their house.

He built a small water storage pond with green bricks. When not in use, he covered it with a wooden lid to prevent dirt or other contaminants from falling in.

Jia Qingshan, who was chopping firewood on the back mountain, was preparing to carry a load of firewood down the mountain when he saw a rabbit flash by him.

He had been working short-term jobs in the town recently and hadn’t gone hunting for some time. The cured meat at home was almost finished.

Seeing the rabbit run past him, how could he let it go? He picked up a stone and threw it at the fleeing rabbit.

Usually, Jia Qingshan was very good at archery, and this rabbit was no exception. Unfortunately, it was hit.

He tied the rabbit up and placed it on the firewood before carrying it down the mountain.

When he reached the foot of the mountain, he saw a girl sitting on the ground, rubbing her ankle, her clothes slightly wet with mud, and two water buckets covered in dirt beside her.

His eyes suddenly brightened as he saw the girl’s fair skin and the round face with big, watery eyes, with tears still hanging at the corners of her eyes, making her look even more charming and lovable.

Li Guo’er looked up and saw a tall man walking toward her.

The man appeared to be around twenty years old, with a wheat-colored complexion, thick eyebrows, large eyes, a high nose, and full lips. He looked quite handsome and gave off a grounded, reliable vibe.

Jia Qingshan felt his heart race, almost as though it would leap out of his chest. He couldn’t even describe what this feeling was like.

He put down the load of firewood and, unable to control his legs, stepped forward. “Miss, are you okay?”

“I slipped and twisted my ankle. It hurts so much I can’t stand up,” Li Guo’er said, not caring about propriety between men and women. She couldn’t just sit there on the ground forever.

This put Jia Qingshan in a dilemma, as men and women shouldn’t have physical contact. If he helped her, it would certainly damage her reputation.

Seeing the man frown deeply, Li Guo’er knew exactly what he was struggling with. She almost wanted to laugh. Since she had been rejected from the engagement, did she even have a reputation left?

Li Guo’er didn’t want to make things difficult for him. She smiled and said, “Could you please help me get a wooden stick?”

“Of course, of course, just wait a moment, I’ll get it for you right away,” Jia Qingshan stammered as he spoke, and immediately ran into the woods behind him.

He handed a wooden stick, about the size of his wrist, to Li Guo’er. After she thanked him, she tried to use the stick to stand up, but after several attempts, she still couldn’t manage it.

Seeing the beads of sweat on Li Guoer’s forehead, Jia Qingshan’s heart raced even faster, as if something was about to burst out from within him.

It felt as though two little voices were arguing inside his mind: one said, “You should help her,” and the other replied, “You can’t do that! It will ruin her reputation. How will she ever get married? Will you marry her?”

In the end, his personal desire triumphed over his sense of righteousness, and he reached out to help Li Guo’er up. Jia Qingshan thought to himself that if his actions affected the girl’s reputation, he would marry her.

If he had to marry someone, he felt that this girl standing before him would be a good choice.

When his hands touched her body, Jia Qingshan couldn’t help but think of the poetic line about a slender waist that could be grasped with a single hand.

Though she was frail, it didn’t diminish her unique beauty. As he thought back to the sensation, his face burned. Li Guo’er, however, didn’t notice the change in the man.

“Can you walk?” Li Guo’er tried to take a step forward, but pain shot through her body, and she couldn’t help but let out a muffled groan before stumbling forward.

The expected pain didn’t come, though, because she fell into Jia Qingshan’s arms.

Li Guo’er was stunned for a moment, then realized she was still in someone else’s arms, her face turning red in embarrassment.

Looking down at the girl’s flushed face, which looked like a ripe red apple, Jia Qingshan felt his mouth go dry. His throat tightened as he swallowed, and his face burned even more.

Afraid the girl might notice his awkwardness, he quickly looked down and helped her forward.

“Where do you live? I’ll go get your family to take you home,” Jia Qingshan asked, looking at the girl in front of him.

“My house is just ahead,” Li Guo’er said, feeling embarrassed as she recalled the earlier incident.

When she mentioned that her home was ahead, Jia Qingshan immediately guessed who she was. The story of the Li family’s second house being sent to the old house at the foot of the western mountain was well known in the village. The only people living here were the Li family.

The Li family had two daughters and one son—Li Guo’er, the eldest daughter, and Li Xing’er, the youngest. Given her age, this girl before him was obviously not the youngest.

If he wasn’t mistaken, she should be the girl, Li Guo’er, who had been rejected by the Sun family.

For some reason, when Jia Qingshan learned that the girl before him wasn’t engaged, he felt a sense of relief, and he noticed that a faint smile seemed to linger at the corners of his mouth.

Since he didn’t understand why he felt this way, he decided to follow his heart.

Jia Qingshan looked around at the small courtyard in front of him. It was clean and bright, with lush greenery growing on the fence, giving off a particularly warm and inviting feeling.

Inside the yard, Li Youyin, who was repairing farm tools, looked up and saw a young man he didn’t recognize standing outside, inspecting the surroundings.

“Can I help you?” Li Youyin asked.

Jia Qingshan quickly explained the reason for his visit.

Hearing that his daughter was injured, Li Youyin hurriedly put down the tool in his hand and called, “Xiulan, come out here!” When Shen Shi, inside the house, heard her husband’s urgent voice, she came outside.

It was rare to see her husband so anxious, and she asked, “What’s going on? Why the hurry? Take your time and tell me.”

Li Youyin repeated Jia Qingshan’s story, and only then did Shen Shi realize there was someone else standing in the yard. She looked at the young man’s handsome features, and a brief flash of understanding passed through her eyes.

She stepped forward to thank Jia Qingshan before following her husband toward the back mountain. Upon seeing her daughter’s swollen ankle, both parents felt heartbroken.

The family of three thanked Jia Qingshan once again, and Li Youyin stepped forward to carry Li Guo’er while Shen Shi took a bucket of water and walked back toward their home.

Watching their retreating figures, Jia Qingshan felt a sense of loss. He shook his head, picked up his load, and headed towards the thatched house on the eastern hill of the village.

Back at the house, Li Youyin placed his daughter on the kang (a heated platform), propped her up with a pillow against the headboard, and Shen Shi went to the kitchen to fetch a warm towel to apply a compress to Li Guo’er’s swollen ankle.

At dinner time, Li Xing’er and her younger brother learned that their older sister had twisted her ankle. Li Wen, the little sycophant, immediately ran over to her and said, “Let me blow on it; if I blow on it, it won’t hurt anymore.”