I looked around and around, but didn't see anyone. I frowned, wondering if I was being blinded.
He turned around and left, continued to fetch water, rinsed his mouth and face, and then returned to the house to rest.
Lao Tong and Zhi Changle came back not long after. Zhi Changle went to find Zhili and said that Liu Xianbao ran away as soon as he saw them. Liu Xianbao's mother died of dystocia in her early years, and her father was taken away to serve as a soldier ten years ago. His life and death were uncertain.
An old grandfather plowed the fields and helped him grow up. As soon as Liu Xianbao ran away, they were too embarrassed to trouble the old man. They would find another chance another day, but the pheasant was returned.
"It's quite pitiful," said Zhili, "but isn't this even more shameless? Why does he like my senior sister? She has a family background but no family background, and she has talent but no talent. How dare he like her? To put it bluntly, who will marry me in the future?
Whoever is unlucky will live in poverty for the rest of his life."
Zhi Changle hesitated and scratched his head: "Well, he is still young, why don't we be so serious."
"I'm young too," Zhili said, "The main reason is that he's annoying. If he wasn't annoying my senior sister, I wouldn't say that to him."
After Zhi Changle left, Zhili looked at the mortise and tenon album in front of him and couldn't see it.
He held up his cheeks and thought of Liu Xianbao, who was so vivid, but he couldn't imagine that the situation at home was so miserable.
Forget it, I didn’t want to think about it anymore, Zhi Changle put away the book, blew out the candle, and went to lie down on the bed.
When he was about to fall asleep, he got up out of habit and looked out the window. The candle in the study was still on.
So he put on a coat, went to the kitchen, put the pastries he made today on a plate, and cut some fruits and put them aside.
Sent to the study room as usual, Xia Zhaoyi was still reading.
Zhili put the plate down, glanced at the book she was reading, and frowned: "Sister, you have read this book more than eight times."
Xia Zhaoyi smiled: "You're still counting for me."
Zhili looked at the two thick stacks of books piled up next to her: "I don't understand why Master wants you to read these."
"Do you want to see it?" Xia Zhaoyi said.
Zhili shook his head, paused, and said: "Zhi Changle and Lao Tong came back and told me about the situation in Liu Xianbao's family. His life experience is very pitiful. I said some... rather harsh words."
"He can't hear it, just don't say it in front of him in the future."
"Sister, if you get married in the future, what kind of person will you marry?"
"Why should I get married?" Xia Zhaoyi asked.
"Uh," Zhili said as if he was being choked, "Didn't it say that men should marry when they are young and women should marry when they are young?"
Xia Zhaoyi smiled again: "Others said this. I can also have my own argument. I can say that men should not marry and women should not marry."
"You are...senior sister, after all, those words are agreed upon."
The four words "convention" made Xia Zhaoyi chuckle, and she looked at the books at hand that had been discussing "convention".
"Things that are agreed upon by convention," Xia Zhaoyi said, "may be right at a certain time, but they may not always be right."
“Can I still be right sometimes and wrong sometimes?”
"Does rain need rain during droughts, but does it need rain during floods?" Xia Zhaoyi asked.
Zhili nodded, then shook his head: "No, senior sister, I'm not here to talk about this. I just want to say, uh... By the way, it seems like there's been no news from Mr. Shen for a long time?"
The only person named Shen Langjun in Zhili's mouth was Shen Lie, so Xia Zhaoyi didn't need to ask who it was, and said, "He went to Zuoxing. Zhao Ning mentioned it in today's letter."
"You said Mr. Shen has been here for so many years, why doesn't he come to us?" Zhili said again.
Xia Zhaoyi frowned slightly: "It's up to him whether he comes to find you or not, I don't know."
"Go left," Zhili said thoughtfully, "I don't know what Mr. Shen is doing there."
Xia Zhaoyi smiled: "Okay, why did I suddenly think of Shen Lie?"
"There has been no response to the several letters I have written to Mr. Shen over the years. Maybe he doesn't like us anymore," Zhili sighed, "When I said those mean words just now, I easily thought of him. Mr. Shen's appearance He is a rare person who is outstanding, has a good family background, and has good skills. However, his appearance and family background are innate, so that's it. Good skills and a good person are what are worthy of praise."
"You have a lot of emotions," Xia Zhaoyi said.
Zhili frowned and said, "Senior Sister, I won't talk nonsense anymore. Senior Sister, please go to bed earlier. You have already memorized the book, otherwise we won't read it."
"I know," Xia Zhaoyi smiled, "See you tomorrow morning."
Before leaving, Zhili gently closed the study door.
Xia Zhaoyi looked away and his eyes fell on the plate of cakes and fruits that Zhili had put down.
Speaking of which, she often thinks of Shen Lie. She has sent at least five letters in the past four years, but no reply. When she passed Zuilu last year, she visited the Guo Mansion, but the door of the Guo Mansion was almost stepped on. Shit, the name card she handed over was said to have to be queued for at least five days.
Xia Zhaoyi was just passing by and couldn't stop, so he didn't go.
She had also thought before that those letters would be caught in the snowflakes sent to the Guo Mansion and sent to the kitchen to be burned as firewood, but that would be too exaggerated.
Over the years, she took Zieli, Lao Tong and Zhi Changle to many places. They said they traveled around, but in fact they only lived in one place for three or four months before moving again.
The places she went to were all relatively remote and peaceful places. When she came to Ning this time, even though she couldn't compare with those prosperous big cities, and the Bajiang Lake where she was now was in an extremely remote corner of Lining, it was also her recent visit to Ning. It is the most affluent place in China in recent years.
Really fast, Xia Zhaoyi suddenly realized that several years had passed in the blink of an eye.
Early the next morning, when Lao Tong and the others woke up, Xia Zhaoyi had already gone out as usual.
Every day she would go hiking with a sandbag tied on her head, and then take a long detour when she came back, specifically to go to the market to buy some pancakes or steamed buns.
The sun was already rising high. Lao Tong raised his hand to cover his forehead and put his other hand on his waist.
Feeling something at this time, he lowered his hands and raised his eyes to look ahead.
Opposite the small courtyard is also a peach forest, full of vitality and colorful fallen flowers. In the peach blossoms, a figure seems to flash past, but when the wind blows, Lao Tong wonders if he has seen it wrong.
Zhi Changle came out wiping his face, looked around and said, "Ali hasn't come back yet."
"There seemed to be someone just now." Lao Tong said, looking ahead.
"People are just people, there are always people here," Zhi Changle said, "Liu Xianbao is not the only one who likes Ah Li."
Lao Tong nodded.
Just after they finished ordering, they saw a girl timidly walking out of the peach grove, standing cautiously under a peach tree and looking at them.
His clothes are in tatters and his hair is disheveled, he looks like a beggar.
