Inviting the Moon to the Farmhouse

Chapter 28 Salt Smugglers

"Ah Yue, you've come at the right time. Help me with the beating for a while, I can't lift my arm anymore," Lin Xiu said, handing the yoke to Xia Lanyue.

“You can’t lift it, but she can? With her skinny arms and legs, she can’t do this,” Wang Cui said.

"Heh, Mother, your favoritism is too obvious. A-Yue looks much more energetic than me," Lin Xiu pouted.

Xia Lanyue was also unhappy to hear this. She was just chubby and didn't have any strength!

"If you're not harvesting wheat, what are you going to do?" Wang Cui asked Lin Xiu.

"My arm hurts, it's all from carrying A-Xiang. Now that she's here, I'll go and spread out the wheat over there to dry," he said, putting down his yoke and going to spread out the wheat.

Wang Cui rolled her eyes at Lin Xiu, said nothing, and continued working.

"Are they really treating me like family, ordering me around like this?" Xia Lanyue thought to herself.

"Have you finished your medicine?" Dai You's voice came from beside her, interrupting Xia Lanyue's thoughts.

"Not yet," Xia Lanyue replied without looking at him.

"Go back and take your medicine."

Xia Lanyue didn't turn her head, but she could see Dai You walking towards her out of the corner of her eye, and she suddenly became a little flustered.

When he reached Xia Lanyue's side, Xia Lanyue turned and ran towards the Tian family's house, saying, "I'm going back to take my medicine."

"Stay home and watch the house, don't come over," Wang Cui called out from behind her.

"Know it."

Back home, Xia Lanyue went straight to the main house and was relieved to see that the locks had not been pried open.

After taking her medicine, she felt uneasy, so she locked the door and went for a walk in the village.

Of the dozen or so households in the village, she had only seen a few. Last time, she rode in Tian Guang's mule cart and passed by each house, but she didn't see many people.

As she approached Mr. Xia's house, she heard voices coming from the gate of his yard, and then the gate opened.

Without saying a word, Xia Lanyue immediately dodged to the side, using a large tree as cover. It wasn't that she had anything to hide, but she was afraid that Xia Huifang would pull her into the house again and make her talk to Mr. Xia.

The gate opened, and two people tiptoed out. They reached through the crack in the door, seemingly trying to latch it from the inside. Then, the two men headed straight for the end of the village. Xia Lanyue looked closely—weren't these the two men she'd seen that morning?! How did they get out of Mr. Xia's house? Xia Yao should be home. What did they steal? Or do they know each other?!

Xia Lanyue was still wondering when a man's voice came from behind her, "Who are you?"

Xia Lanyue was startled and turned around sharply, only to find a strange man staring at her suspiciously. The man looked to be sixteen or seventeen, with round, bright eyes. Seeing that his appearance wasn't frightening, she breathed a sigh of relief and then began to beat around the bush, "You don't even know me?!"

The man was taken aback and looked her up and down.

Xia Lanyue wasn't afraid of his scrutiny. She raised her face, tilted her head, and looked at him.

Seeing her defiant yet self-righteous attitude, the man said, "I'm from this village, how come I've never seen you before?"

Xia Lanyue frowned. She and Dai You had been in the village for seven or eight days. Was there anyone in the village who didn't know them? Even if they hadn't seen them, they would guess it was her. So there was only one possibility: he hadn't been back to the village for a long time. And she knew of only one person who hadn't been back for a long time: Jiang Di from next door.

"Why don't you think about it again?" Xia Lanyue raised an eyebrow and said to him.

"You're a strange person. Tell me, who are you? What are you spying on here for?"

"I didn't peek; I just happened to be walking here and taking a break from the heat."

"Ha, why don't you go to the cool bamboo forest and instead enjoy the shade in front of someone else's house?" Clearly, the man didn't believe her.

"Isn't this... just where I am? Look how strong the sun is," Xia Lanyue looked up at the sky, just as a cloud happened to block out the sun.

But that doesn't matter. The main thing is that Xia Lanyue wanted to tease him after she found out his identity.

The man looked down at Xia Lanyue and said, "If you don't tell the truth, I'll take you to see the village chief."

Ha, Xia Lanyue held back her laughter. She heard he was a salt smuggler, and he still dared to run into the village chief's face?

"Well... why don't you take me to see the village chief? I want to talk to him about something, but I can't find where he lives."

"Why are you acting like such a rascal, girl?" The man was at his wit's end with her.

Xia Lanyue deliberately tilted her head to annoy him, "Where are you being a rascal? I really want to see the village chief. Where does he live?"

The man looked somewhat helpless, turned his head to the side, snorted, and walked away.

Xia Lanyue smiled and said behind him, "Jiang Di, is there any more salt?"

The man froze, then turned around with wide eyes. "You...know me?"

"Of course, the village chief is looking for you." Xia Lanyue started being cheeky again.

Jiang Di was speechless, glancing sideways at Xia Lanyue, "How can you be like this, girl? It's such a waste of such a pretty face."

Xia Lanyue was indignant upon hearing this. Was she resorting to personal attacks because she couldn't win an argument? "Fine, enough of that. Tell me, is it okay to ask you for help buying salt?"

Jiang Di hesitated for a moment, then nodded.

"Let's go buy some salt," Xia Lanyue said to him.

Jiang Di glanced at her, then dawdled as he walked home. Xia Lanyue couldn't stand his behavior, so she walked ahead of him, constantly turning back to urge him to hurry up.

Jiang Di's house was next to Tian's house, but it was still more than ten meters away. Xia Lanyue stood at the door of Jiang's house and watched him come out with a small jar.

Jiang Di asked, "Whose new bride are you?"

Xia Lanyue glanced at him, but didn't reply. She took the jar from his hand, twisted it open, dipped her finger in it, and put it in her mouth. It was salt. She nodded, then put the lid back on. "How much is this jar?"

"Twenty cents."

"The salt money will be settled at the farmer's house in the evening."

"Hey, you're leaving already?" Jiang Di stopped him.

"Yes, I said I'd settle the money with the Tian family tonight, but I don't have any money with me right now."

"You're from the Tian family? I've never seen you before."

"Look, here we are." Xia Lanyue waved to her and turned to leave.

In the afternoon, Dai You and Wang Cui returned first. As soon as Wang Cui entered the house, she busied herself starting a fire to cook.

"Oh my, how come there's a jar of salt?" Wang Cui came out with the salt jar, looking at Xia Lanyue with surprise, "Where did this come from?"

“Ah, the person next door is back. I asked him what I bought,” Xia Lanyue said.

"Oh, you've gone to so much trouble, young lady. This jar must have cost a lot of money, right?" Wang Cui's eyes crinkled with laughter.

"No, just a little money."

"That's great! I was just worried about salt, and here it is. This salt is really good, so white," Wang Cui said softly. "It's much better than the salt we buy from the government. Okay, I'll hurry up and cook, everyone's starving." After saying that, Wang Cui went back to the kitchen to cook.

Xia Lanyue nodded, then turned to look at Dai You, who was feeding the chickens in the corner. Originally, she didn't want to talk to Dai You and wanted to follow his example and give him the cold shoulder for a few days, but she had no money on her. How embarrassing would it be if Jiang Di, the salt seller, came to ask for money later?

So, with a cold face, she casually walked behind Dai You and then walked around him to try and make her presence known.

Dai You had already noticed her coming over. After feeding her the beans in his hand, he turned around and asked, "What's wrong?"

"Ah, it's nothing serious, it's just that the salt payment hasn't been settled yet. The person who bought the salt will come to collect the money later," Xia Lanyue said, kicking a stone on the ground with her hands behind her back.

“Okay, I understand,” Dai You said.

After receiving a response, Xia Lanyue nodded, turned and walked towards the east room. Just as she was about to push open the door, she suddenly remembered something and turned back to the courtyard.