Farmhouse Green Plum

Chapter 595 The icing on the cake

Aunt Liu's face suddenly became full of colors, as if a dye vat had been overturned. First it turned red, then blue, and finally settled into an awkward eggplant purple. "Oh my, look at my memory. The duck eggs are not sold out yet. If I don't go now, the market will be over soon and no one will buy them!"

As she spoke, she walked out and nearly stepped on the hem of her skirt when she turned around. After taking a few steps, she stopped abruptly and took out two duck eggs from the basket and stuffed them into Song Ying's pockets. "These are laid by our ducks. Let you try them."

Before he finished speaking, the man had already run three meters away, as if there were wild dogs chasing him.

The wind blew, and the ginkgo trees above swayed gently. The sunlight that filtered through the gaps made the gray-white fluff stuck to the eggshells sparkle.

Song Ying looked at the two duck eggs in her hand and suddenly felt ironic. She was hungry every day at the time. Not to mention duck eggs, the villagers were reluctant to even give her a bite of steamed bread.

Now that she had ridiculed Aunt Liu to the point where she was embarrassed, she still put on a smile and gave her duck eggs.

In this world, there are indeed more people who add icing on the cake than those who provide timely assistance.

The woman wearing a brown headscarf next to her didn't know whether to laugh or cry. "Liu Daju is really stingy. How could she just give someone two duck eggs?"

Song Ying had no idea where she came from or what her name was. He only remembered that she was an aunt from two villages away from Xinghua Village, and her family had a piece of land right next to the official road leading into the city.

After what happened to Aunt Liu, the others became more cautious when talking to Song Ying.

In fact, they had unconsciously begun to look up to her a few years ago. After seeing her ability to make money with their own eyes today, they added a bit of awe to their admiration. They felt that she had become unattainable, and they subconsciously spoke to her with some caution.

After a few words, these former neighbors tactfully left. Song Ying then spoke to Yuan Shan, "Did you come into the city alone?"

Yuan Shan nodded. "My parents are busy tilling the land and can't leave. It's getting cold, so my family made a cotton-padded jacket for my brother. Sister Song Ying, you're amazing! Tell me what's going on. I don't quite understand."

"I have patients waiting for me. I don't have time to tell you stories right now. If you're anxious, go talk to Aunt Chen."

Yuan Shan looked up and saw that it was very lively in front of Aunt Chen's candied fruit shop. A group of people were gathered at the door. She could not see Aunt Chen at all, nor could she hear what she was saying. She could only hear people's exaggerated exclamations from time to time.

Although she wanted to squeeze in and listen, she shook her head and said, "Let's talk about it later. I have to leave quickly."

Song Ying still had patients to see, so he couldn't keep her any longer. He told her, "Buy some food to fill your stomach. Don't go back hungry."

"Don't worry, my body is no longer what it used to be." Yuan Shan grinned, "Now my family has more land, and we don't have to pay summer taxes and autumn grain. I can't guarantee the best food, but I can have enough rice and flour!

I also brought some candy. My brother always says eating candy gives you strength, and he says you taught him that."

As she spoke, she took out a few candies from her purse and handed them to me. "Try them. I bought them at Wang Ji on Salt Shop Street. They're delicious."

Song Ying picked up a piece of tangerine candy. "Let me try one. I'm really hungry right now. By the way, are you thirsty? The tangerine peel and hawthorn drink I made this morning is the best for quenching thirst..."

A moment later, Yuan Shan came out of Huichuntang with a full stomach and headed towards the county school with a backpack on her back.

As a student on government stipend, Yuan Qing had a separate dormitory in the county school. The dormitory was nearly 2 feet deep and more than 1 feet wide. It could not only accommodate a couch and a wardrobe, but also provide an independent desk area.

Yuan Shan followed Zhaifu inside. As they neared the house, they heard an unfamiliar voice inside mocking himself, "I've always despised Li Yi in 'The Story of Huo Xiaoyu' for his unfaithfulness. I never thought that one day I would end up like Lu Sheng, the same person who failed his beloved."

Yuan Shan didn't know what the story of "The Story of Huo Xiaoyu" was, but she understood the meaning of the word "betrayal" and she became extremely curious.

Maybe it was her illusion, but the man leading the way also slowed down his pace.

Only his brother's voice was heard in the room, with no emotion in it. "Since Brother Lu has made his decision, he should have made it clear with the Shen family as soon as possible so that they can each get married and not delay each other."

Brother Lu?

Is it Lu Xu, the newly elected Juren this year?

Yuan Shan became more and more curious, but unfortunately, the person in the room didn't say anything more. She only heard the man's voice sighing, "Oh, drink, drink, a drunk will relieve all your worries."

Then, there was the crisp sound of cups colliding.

Zhaifu's pace quickened again, and he led Yuan Shan to the window and said to Yuan Qing inside, "Mr. Yuan, your sister has brought you some winter clothes."

Inside the room, Yuan Qing turned the desk by the window and sat opposite Lu Xu. On the desk was a pot of Tianxianglou's Pear Blossom White, two bottles of celadon wine, and a few side dishes.

At a door farther away, there stood a boy of about twelve or thirteen years old. Judging from his clothes, he looked like a book boy.

Seeing Yuan Shan and Zhai Fu, a hint of embarrassment flashed across Lu Xu's slightly drunk face, and the red on his cheeks deepened a little.

He stood up and bowed unsteadily, "Since you're busy, I won't bother you anymore. We'll talk another day."

Yuan Qing returned the greeting and walked him to the door, "Goodbye, Brother Lu."

He also thanked Zhaifu and asked him to send Lu Xu out of the county school.

Lu Xu was now a juren, so Zhaifu naturally had no choice but to help him. He and the servant supported him on both sides and escorted him out and helped him onto the carriage.

After they left, Yuan Shan couldn't wait to ask, "Brother, is Master Lu going to break off the engagement with the Shen family? When the Shen family was worried that Miss Shen's three years of mourning would hinder his future and took the initiative to cancel the engagement, wasn't he the one who insisted on waiting?"

At the beginning, Shen Zhuangyuan had only mentioned this marriage verbally to the Lu family. Both parties were interested, but they did not formally ask a matchmaker to propose marriage. Not many people knew about it, and there was no formal token of love, so the matter was dropped, and it had no impact on Lu Xu.

But he insisted on waiting.

This matter was widely circulated in the streets, and the storytellers in the teahouse even compiled a script called "Lu Sheng's Righteousness". All the young girls and wives praised Lu Xu for his integrity and called him a true gentleman.

I heard that scholars also praised him, saying that he had the character of "not changing with prosperity or decline". Even Tao Tixue personally praised him as "as trustworthy as Wei Sheng".

She didn't understand what "信比魏生" meant, so she asked her brother to explain it to her. After listening, she was very yearning for a man like Weisheng. She even found "Zhuangzi" from her brother's study and memorized that section.

Even now she still remembers the original text: Weisheng made an appointment with a girl under a beam, but the girl did not come, and the water did not go away, so she hugged the beam and died.

In just a few simple words, she saw the most loyal love in the world.

I heard that Miss Shen Liu was very moved. When she learned that Lu Xu's grandmother was in poor health, she asked her maid to send a piece of high-quality old mountain ginseng to nourish the old lady.