Chapter 118 Building Another Yard
After about ten minutes, there was a smell of meat coming from the straw hut.
The old village head held a steamed bun in his right hand and held a bowl of broth in his left hand. While he was eating, he did not forget to look at Xiaowu and confirm repeatedly, “Xiaowu, these…aren’t stolen by you really?”
Xiaowu scratched his head and felt awkward. If it was said that he stole the food… it didn’t seem to be wrong. Xiaowu hadn’t realized that this Mr. Bodyguard was not a servant of Lady Su Li. Fang Mu asked him to take food, so he took food directly.
Seeing Xiaowu’s expression, the old village head put down the steamed bun and said sadly, “Are these stolen really? What have I always taught you? How can you steal?!”
Xiaowu hung his head shamefacedly. Fang Mu laughed, “Old village head, do not blame Xiaowu. It was me who asked him to take the food. Presumably, based on Lady Su Li’s tolerance, she will not mind such trifles.”
“Lady Su Li?”
The old village head looked confused. Then Xiaowu talked about his experience in the past three years and his current situation. The old village head listened to him in tears and touched the heads of Xiaowu and Datian. He fetched a deep sigh and said,
“G.o.d bless you to meet Ms. Su Li, such a good person. By the way, thanks to this man’s elixir, so I can recover so quickly. But I don’t have a single penny left on me and cannot afford it!”
“You are unyielding and admirable. Although the elixir is good, it is not a patch on a life.”
Fang Mu looked sincere and he said with a gentle smile, “Besides, the elixir is given to me by my master. Therefore, I have a say in it. I believe that even if my master knows that, she will not say anything. You can rest a.s.sured.”
“You really have a heart of gold.”
Xiaowu looked at Fang Mu and his grandfather having an animated conversation. He forced the anger in his heart temporarily. He secretly said to himself that Mr. Bodyguard looked like a cold fish, but he was very kind in fact. It’s surprising.
“Grandpa, it is almost dark. Go back with me.”
Xiaowu was about to hold the old village head as he said. However, the old village head heard him and looked pale. He waved his hands and said, “You go back. I will not go there so that I will not make troubles for Dafu.”
“Grandpa, what are you talking about?”
Xiaowu frowned and anxiously said, “Grandpa, you did nothing wrong. Why do you want to starve and suffer hards.h.i.+p here? It is obvious that w.a.n.g Li wants to throw you out. I will not let her do that. Besides, don’t you want to visit Lady Su Li? She is the benefactor of Datian and me. Maybe she will dispense justice for you!”
The old village head couldn’t dissuade Xiaowu. Finally, he went back to the small building with them.
“Oh, what’s the odor? It’s sour and smelly. I can smell it from far away!”
w.a.n.g Li ran out of the courtyard covering her nose. When she saw Xiaowu and others coming back, she was furious at once. Her scream almost penetrated their eardrums.
“Xiaowu! How can you bring him back? He stinks. Get out. Don’t dirty the courtyard!”
Xiaowu was angry and was about to go forward. However, Fang Mu stepped forward before Xiaowu and said, “Mrs. w.a.n.g, it’s my idea to bring him back. It’s also the idea of my master. Do you have any objection?”
w.a.n.g Li was slightly stupefied and said brokenly, “Even if… it’s your Miss’s idea, she can’t… interfere other people’s housework, right?”
w.a.n.g Li stepped aside and didn’t block the door as she said.
Xiaowu saw her behavior and snorted. He carried the old village head on his back into the courtyard. Then he and Datian immediately helped the old man bath and change clothes. Fang Mu glanced at w.a.n.g Li, who stood on the side resentfully. Then he was perturbed and went to the second floor. Before he reported, he heard a euphonious and ringing voice, like the sound of a yellowbird, from the room.
“Come in.”
Fang Mu’s scalp tingled. He hesitated for a few seconds, and then obediently opened the door to go in. He saw Su Li sitting in a chair back to him and reading a book. Then he lightly walked a few steps to stand behind her.
It was the first time for him to face Su Li alone. He was nothing but so nervous. Although they were at the same age, Su Li’s image in his heart was heavier than his eldest brother Fang Yuan. She was like a deity in the heaven overlooking all mortal beings and could not be offended.
“You are self-a.s.sertive actually.” Su Li turned back and slightly smiled to say, “I have never asked the old village head to come here.”
“Uh…”
Fang Mu embarra.s.sedly smiled and didn’t know what to say. He was indeed self-a.s.sertive.
“Besides, the elixir that I gave you is used for consolidating and restoring your cultivation. And you gave it to him, didn’t you?”
Su Li’s last words made Fang Mu’s smile freeze. He stuttered to explain, “The old man was so weak that he was about to die, so I …”
“Well, it seems that you do not know the value of the elixir.” Su Li said and looked down again to read the book, “Since he was Xiaowu’s grandfather, I don’t make a fuss with you. But, the cost of refining the elixir is borne by you. I will deduct it from your wages.”
Fang Mu had a hollow laugh and said, “Can I ask how much the elixir costs?”
“It just costs your three-year wages. Now get out.”
Su Li said briefly. Fang Mu looked wronged and almost cried. However, he thought about it and realized that he ate, drank and lived in the Linli Building. Even if he didn’t have wages, it would not matter. However, if he wanted to go shopping outside in the future, he had to ask his eldest brother for money.
Mammy Li sent Fang Mu away. She looked at his listless appearance and could not help but snicker. The Miss really liked to tease these guys. She didn’t know the Miss liked which type of man. As a matter of fact, The Miss was sixteen years old. It’s time to think about marriage… Time went so fast.
“As a matter of fact, the old Miss also died for 16 years.”
Mammy Li stood by the door and looked at Su Li who was reading quietly. She lamented in heart and said to herself, “If the little Miss was still alive, she would be at the same age with Erya.”
In the bathroom, Xiaowu and Datian boiled three barrels of bath water for the old village head. The old village head was so dirty that they almost used most of the firewood stacked in the room to boil enough water. Seeing there was so little firewood left, w.a.n.g Li could not help but abuse.
“Old Cat! You just come back and waste so much firewood! When the Miss leaves, I won’t let you off!”
Xiaowu was so busy that he had no time to confront w.a.n.g Li. He was happy to dress his grandfather in the clothes brought from the Qinghe Town, and combed his grandfather’s unkempt white hair. After that, the old village head immediately changed from inside to outside and seemed to become another person. He was the venerable old man three years ago again instead of a shabby old beggar.
Looking at his dress, the old village head could not stop being happy. He asked, “Xiaowu, it isn’t impolite for me to see Ms. Su Li in this dress, is it?”
“No, it isn’t!” Xiaowu smiled brilliantly and said, “Ms. Su Li is very nice. Even if you go with sackcloth, it doesn’t matter as long as it is clean.”
“It’s inappropriate.” the old village head said seriously. He looked himself up and down in a mirror and said, “Ms. Su is also your benefactor. I must be more serious. Datian, come and help me to comb my beard. It is too messy to meet people…”
When they were busy in that, a short and fatty man came to the door. It was w.a.n.g Dafu.
Seeing his father had been refreshed, w.a.n.g Dafu had a very complicated emotion in his heart for a moment. All kinds of words piled in his heart stuck in his throat and finally became only one word, “Father!”
The old village head turned his head and saw w.a.n.g Dafu. His face was gloomy instantly. After a while, he snorted and said, “Rest a.s.sured. Even if you give me this place, I will not live here! I come here this time because I want to visit the benefactor of Xiaowu. I will not bother you.”
w.a.n.g Dafu heard that and instantly breathed a sigh of relief. He nodded without saying anything and then left the room.
Xiaowu was so angry that his lungs were about to explode. He roared, “You even don’t care about your father’s life. w.a.n.g Dafu, are you still a human being?!”
The old village head held Xiaowu at once and sighed a few times. His wrinkled face looked exhausted. He said, “Forget it. I am tired too. Abuse doesn’t work. Xiaowu, don’t give Ms. Su trouble. Just let it go.”
He would rather suffer losses by himself than something bad happen to his son. It was retribution. If he knew what kind of person w.a.n.g Li was, he wouldn’t ask his son to marry her, and he would not have this kind of end today.
Looking at the old village head, Xiaowu felt a pain in his heart. He finally could only promise the old village head that he would no longer look for trouble to w.a.n.g Dafu.
“Thud, thud, thud…”
Accompanied by Xiaowu, the old village head went upstairs. After Mammy Li opened the door, the old man who was about 60 years old saw a young maiden in room and immediately stood in amazement. He looked around and asked,
“Where is Ms. Su? Why isn’t she upstairs?”
Xiaowu whispered at once, “Grandpa, she is Ms. Su, the youngest special-cla.s.s lecturer in the Qinghe Girls’ School!”
The old village head completely stunned. Su Li looked only 16 years old. How could she become the special-cla.s.s lecturer of the Qinghe Girls’ School?!
“Grandpa…”
After he was called by Xiaowu twice, the old village head instantly came to his sense. He tidied his clothes and walked in. Before he knelt, Su Li stepped forward and held him. A sound as gentle as a spring breeze like a stream flowed into the old man’s heart.
“You are an elder. Generally speaking, I should salute you. You can’t kneel down to me.”
Su Li’s laugh relaxed the old man immediately. He shook his head and said, “In ancient times, a knowledgeable person can be a teacher. Ms. Su can become a special-cla.s.s lecturer of the school, then you must be genuine talent. I’m just a Xiucai (one who pa.s.sed the imperial examination at the county level in ancient times) who flunked the examination. How can I be mentioned in the same breath as Ms. Su? It is nothing wrong to salute you.”
“You really are a talkative person.” Su Li poured tea personally and asked the old village head to sit down. She said, “May I know your name?”
The old village head was flattered by taking the tea and quickly said, “My name is w.a.n.g w.a.n.gniu. All generations of mine lived in the Daw.a.n.g Village. In fact, I could be a village head only because I went to the nearby town to take the Provincial Examination when I was young. I have less experience than Xiaowu. It’s such a shame…”
“You are really modest. In fact, in addition to relax myself here, I want to ask you a favor. Hope you can help me.”
Su Li said and glanced at Mammy Li. Mammy Li knew her meaning and immediately brought Xiaowu and Datian away.
The old village head saw Su Li was so cautious, so he couldn’t help but tense himself. Originally, he was wondering why a special-cla.s.s lecturer of the Qinghe Girls’ School could come to such a poor and backward village. It turned out that she really had another purpose.
After ruminating on it, the old village head looked serious and slowly said, “Ms. Su, you can just tell me what you want. Thanks to your help, Xiaowu and Datian can live a better life. As long as I can do, I will definitely help you.”
Su Li said with a gentle smile, “You don’t need to be nervous. It’s not a big deal. You have lived here for decades, so you must know the terrain well. Do you know some beautiful and unfrequented places? I want to build a yard to enjoy the view. After all, I can’t lodge in others’ home every time, right?”
“I see!”
The old village head suddenly be enlightened and he immediately smiled, “You’ve asked the right person. I know nothing but the nearby landform, and no one in hundred miles of the neighborhood equals me. When I was young, I worked in a pharmacy and went into the mountains to collect herbs every day. You are finding a good place, and I will take you to go around tomorrow!”
Su Li slightly smiled. She shook her head and said, “It is in no hurry. I have told others to buy maps of nearby mountains. When they come back, you only need to mark appropriate places. Someone will explore them. It can save a lot time.”
“That’s good.” the old village head said ashamedly, “I am too weak to go into the mountains. Ms. Su, you are so thoughtful.”
“I just want to save time, so you don’t need to be ashamed of it.”
After comforting the old man, Su Li drank her tea without saying anything. The old village head also drank his tea like her, but he secretly felt strange.
If she only wanted to find a place to build a yard, was it necessary to send others away in order to keep the secret?