Originally, Tian Xiaobei was not so deeply in love with her that he couldn’t extricate himself; they hadn’t even kissed yet. Sometimes Xia Dabao felt that she should cry about it, but she couldn’t even bring herself to cry.
Thus, she gradually returned to being that little village girl who could hunt in the mountains and fish in the rivers, spending her days cutting fishgrass with Axian and catching up on the village gossip, living very fortably.
A month after Tian Xiaobei had left, Xia Dabao received another letter from Long Aixi:
Sister Dabao, I have convinced father and mother to let me stay with you for a few days. I will be leaving on the fifteenth of next month. My parents and a butler will also e, so please prepare for us. Thank you for your efforts, Sister Dabao.
In the past, Long Aixi’s letters were always long-winded, discussing all manner of trivial matters, but now his letter contained only this sentence.
Is he really ing?
Xia Dabao became excited and quickly lifted the letter and ran to tell Nan Feng and Yege, “Dad, Mom, look, Xiao’ai has sent a letter saying they’re ing to visit us.”
“They are ing?” Nan Feng was surprised, “Let me see… Yes, Long Third and Jianxi are also ing.”
Excitement was unmistakable on Nan Feng’s face, “Yege, it has been over a decade since we’ve seen them, right? We don’t have much to entertain them here in the countryside. Where should we arrange for them to stay? Should we consider letting them stay at an inn in the county town?”
Yege smiled faintly, always so posed, “Nan Feng, there’s no need to be so anxious. Jianxi and Long Third are not strangers. It doesn’t matter where they stay. Besides, our Peach Blossom Village is so beautiful, they will surely love it if they e here. They might even find staying in the county town less enjoyable. I was thinking of enjoying a few cups of tea with Long Third in this courtyard.”
“Yege is right, I’ll go and get ready, cleaning out two rooms,” said Nan Feng with a smile.
“No rush, they have just sent the letter now. They won’t leave until the fifteenth, and from Fujun to here it takes at least four or five days, so we have about twenty days left, no need to hurry. We just need to prepare two rooms. Let Xiao’ai stay with Axian, or if he’s not used to it, let Axian room with Abao and Xiao’ai can have his own room.”
“Okay, then I’ll go to the market to buy some window decorations and wall cloth. Long Third has a bit of a cleanliness obsession, and Jianxi hasn’t been on the battlefield for decades; he has surely been spoiled by Long Third. I want them to feel as if they are at home here. Oh, and I’ll buy an incense burner, they might be used to that scent.”
Having said this, Nan Feng turned to Xia Dabao and said, “Abao, you e with me, Axian doesn’t need to go. Axian will go to the fields with Dad. You’re six years old now, you should learn how to farm.”
“…” Six years old, is that very old?
Axian felt a bit aggrieved.
…
Because of the preparations for hosting Long Aixi and his family, Xia Dabao became busy once again, and between cutting fishgrass and occasionally helping to fertilize the potato garden, Xia Dabao found she hadn’t thought about Tian Xiaobei for a while.
One evening, as Xia Dabao was spreading fishgrass by the fish pond, Axiang also came to spread fishgrass on the other side of the pond.
Xia Dabao often saw Axiang by the pond. In the beginning, Axiang had some smiles on her face, but later, her smiles became very forced, as if hiding unspeakable pain, enduring silently.
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