Green Lotus Peasant Girl

108

Whenever this matter was mentioned before, someone would always interrupt and change the topic. But now, Mrs. Zhou took the initiative to bring it up.

"How did he get lost?" Li Qinghe questioned out of curiosity.

Zhou Chengkang patted her shoulder and said, "Qinghe, go and check if the meal is ready yet. The handwriting practice is much more tiring than working in the fields. I am very hungry."

Hearing his words, Mrs. Zhou came back to her senses and interjected, "Studying takes a toll on your health. I have seen many scholars who are delicate and weak, and so they easily fall sick. You need to eat some good food to make up for your nutrition. I have nothing to do these days, so tomorrow I will take Xiyu with me around town and buy some meat on the way back… He's still far too young afterall. He doesn't need to study as hard as you both. Wait for two more years, and then get him to work hard."

After she finished speaking, she went to the kitchen. They heard her ask Mrs. Chen, "Is the food ready?"

Xiyu dropped his pen and followed his grandmother.

Li Qinghe kicked Zhou Chengkang's foot and asked him with a teasing smile, "You are growing more and more courageous. You dared to pat and interrupt me so that I wouldn’t ask about it, huh?"

Though Mrs. Zhou was in a trance, her voice still had a calm in it. So why couldn't she ask her?

"Big brother and third brother probably took me out to play and then they threw me into the woods on purpose. Such kinds of pranks are common among children, but it is quite hard for parents to cope with such a situation. It will make mom sad if you bring it up again." Zhou Chengkang gently squeezed her hand and said, " Let us just try to live our lives well. Don't think so much about what has already happened.What's the use of bringing up the past in the very different present anyway?"

Li Qinghe snorted softly in playful sarcasm, and teased again "Aren't I just worrying about you?"

"Yes, yes, my beloved wife loves me a lot." Zhou Chengkang bent down, kissed her hand softly, and said. He continued with a smile, "It changes a lot when one reads a book. You know this better, with the fragrance of ink on your hand."

Even though Li Qinghe was usually thick-skinned, her face blushed upon hearing his praise. The fragrance of the ink was not from the hands but from the ink that stained her hands. If one dedicatedly reads something, then they are bound to get an easy recognition of the characters. But in the case of writing, in addition to talent, one has to practice a lot. The course of writing was not something that could happen overnight. In their case, putting this much effort was not needed since they were just getting started.

On this day, she again heard the quarrel from the next door. It didn't take long before Yu Yan came to her house with her embroidery supplies. When she saw Li Qinghe practicing her calligraphy, she laughed and said, “It looks like you are turning into a model student. Even the noises from next door aren’t able to waver your focus."

Li Qinghe looked up at her and said with a smile, "Go ahead and feel free to pour out some tea for yourself. I can’t do it since I am quite focused on studies at the moment."

"The Yang family is really…" She shook her head in disappointment, "Min Rui just came back from the next door and he said that the people from the Xu family had come over. Xu Changjie's mother…" She shook her head once again, but this time her face had an indescribable expression. She lowered her tone and said, "Isn't the house next door written in Xu Changjie's name? Now, his mother came over and said that after his second brother gets married, he will come and live here with them."

Li Qinghe looked up in surprise, "Really?"

Mrs. Xu was quite a thick-skinned person.

That house obviously belonged to the Yang family. Although it was under Xu Changjie's name now, it still belonged to the young couple. Now she wanted to directly use it as the Xu's family's house.