Chapter Ten Scenic Views Outside the Village

  Breakfast was still simple and warm, a bowl of porridge, a plate of dried wild vegetables that had been carefully cooked. In addition, a few days ago, Third Uncle Wang brought back a freshly caught wild rabbit for the family, so there was also a rare appearance of meat on the Wang Min's dinner table, although it was only a few pieces, but the sweet aroma emanating from the earth still made Wang Min's mouth water and his stomach open up after a morning exercise.

  Looking at his anxious appearance, Qin Yunniang couldn't help but smile. What's left of the scholar's demeanor? He's clearly just a gluttonous kid! At this point, she said with a hint of annoyance: "Look at you, you don't look like a scholar at all, but rather like that greedy macaque! As she spoke, she covered her mouth and giggled.

  "What's a macaque? What thing can compare to your husband and me?" He said, even more proudly: "Your husband is elegant and refined, with a full face, even if he's not an emperor descended from heaven, in his past life he must have been a great immortal official!"

  "Hmph"

  After listening to Wang Min's shameless words, Qin Yunniang finally couldn't bear it anymore. Her slender fingers trembled and pointed at Wang Min, who was still admiring himself, and she burst out laughing, spitting out the rice grains that had just entered her mouth, not wasting a single one, but instead splashing them all over Wang Min.

  Looking at her husband's appearance, Qin Yunniang couldn't help but laugh, her waist swaying back and forth.

  "Alas!"

  Wang Men was so helpless, really, if you don't do it to death, you won't die! If I had known earlier, I shouldn't have gone to tease her. Now look, early in the morning, I got a saliva wash on my face.

  Shaking his head, he wiped the rice grains off his face one by one, looking at the pretty face in front of him. Wang Min suddenly had a feeling and said softly: "Yunniang, shall we go out for a walk today?"

  "What?"

  The girl was taken aback, just a moment ago she was still in distress, how could it change to another look in an instant, the transformation was so fast that it was hard to accept.

  Upon hearing this, the girl couldn't help but feel slightly stunned and was somewhat unable to keep up with his erratic train of thought. She then carefully and uncertainly asked: "You... want... to go out?"

  "Hmm! Since I woke up, I haven't been able to go out and take a look. These past few days, I've felt my body recovering a bit of strength, so I decided to go out for a walk."

  Oh!

  At this time, the girl finally understood and was afraid that Wang Min would regret it. She hastily nodded her head and quickly agreed.

  Seeing the girl's anxious appearance, Wang Min couldn't help but laugh a little, but after laughing, he felt more of a deep sadness.

  It's not hard to imagine that since she fell ill, the girl's frail shoulders must have borne a tremendous amount of pressure. So when I first proposed this suggestion, she readily agreed. It can be inferred that in those lonely and helpless days, her life was extremely difficult.

  Every time he thought of this, Wang Jin's heart was even more difficult to calm down for a long time.

  Although Wang Jian had speculated about the rural scenery before, he was still deeply stunned when he really stepped out of the house.

  "Too beautiful!"

  As far as the eye can see, all is emerald green.

  Azure sky, weeping willows, tender grass everywhere, spring is all around, everything is so beautiful, so full of poetic charm.

  As I look around, the fields are arranged in a neat and simple manner, with a rough beauty that comes straight to my face. On it, some diligent figures have already spread all over, pulling plows, driving old cows, and busy tilling the land, coming and going, bustling with activity.

  Sometimes there are one or two greedy old cows, pulling a plow and walking in the fields. Taking advantage of the farmer's inattention, they quickly roll up a bunch of green grass beside them into their mouths, walking while chewing with relish. When the farmer discovers that the speed has slowed down, the old cow has already eaten it clean, without any trace to be found.

  Then, the shouting and whipping sounds were transmitted from far and near with the gentle breeze, low and whispering, making one's ears itch, just like a close friend speaking softly in their ear.

  Not far from here, some earth and stone buildings are scattered with a few stars, as the sun rises slowly, wisps of blue smoke also rise, intertwined with each other, forming a beautiful picture, set against the blue sky and white clouds, a natural landscape painting is formed in this way.

  Those busy figures, seeing the towering pillars of cloud, were like hearing a lover's call, and one by one they stopped their work in hand and walked towards the fields. They knew that their wives at home had long since prepared breakfast, waiting to reward them for getting up early to work in the fields. Occasionally meeting one or two familiar people, they also exchanged warm greetings.

  "Tian Er, why are you running so fast? Are you in a hurry to go home and see your wife?"

  The speaker was a farmer who had just been busy all morning. With his bare shoulders and no shoes on, the mud stains were still not washed off in time. When he saw the young man rushing by his side, he couldn't help but make a joke.

  A group of farmers walking on the ridge were about to leave, but after hearing the farmer's words, their attention was also irresistibly drawn over, and they stopped one by one, with a look of astonishment, each fixing their gaze on him.

  The latter had thick eyebrows and big eyes, a strong waist and body, but at this moment he was flushed with embarrassment, seeing that everyone was looking at him, and he felt even more self-conscious, his dark face also showing a hint of redness.

  He is the second child in his family, and just a few days ago he got married to a girl from the same village. The honeymoon period has not yet passed, and life is still sweet. So when he saw white smoke coming out of his own roof, he immediately put down his farming tools and hurried towards home, on one hand for food, on the other hand, haha! also missing the lovely person at home. Thinking of that beautiful person, the young man couldn't help but feel a wave of passion.

  But unexpectedly, it suddenly became a laughing stock, becoming the object of ridicule. Although my own little thoughts were accidentally exposed, I still pretended to be calm and muttered: "Nonsense... I just... was hungry, wanted to go home... eat, also good... do more work"

  The young man's actions and expressions seemed serious, but as soon as he opened his mouth, the stuttering tone completely revealed the turmoil in his heart.

  "Hmm"

  Originally, everyone thought the young man would strongly refute him with righteous words and justifications. Therefore, when they saw the young man open his mouth, they immediately turned their heads back, held their breath, and stared at the young man, expecting him to say something astonishing.

  But just as he turned around, he was amused by the young man's stuttering tone, holding his belly with his hands and bursting into loud laughter, with a sound that shook the clouds and cracked the rocks.

  There were still some people who, even with the expression of expectation on their faces not yet faded, upon hearing the young man's words, immediately stumbled and almost fell over. With great difficulty they stood up again, but didn't say a word, just stared at the young man with an eerie gaze, though this only lasted for a moment before they burst out laughing along with everyone else, only their movements were even more exaggerated than before.

  The young man's face turned even redder, and at this moment, he was also unable to continue keeping calm, opening his mouth, constantly waving his arms, facing the crowd, and explaining to the newcomers with a red face.

  However, the young man's action did not convince the crowd, but instead made them burst into laughter.

  "What's so funny?"

  Seeing this strange scene, Wang Jin, who had just revealed himself, couldn't help but ask out loud.

  When someone asked a question, the one who was closer to Wang Min immediately turned his head back with a big laugh, thinking of boasting about what had just happened and retelling it to the newcomer. However, when he saw that the newcomer was actually the village's Xiucai gentleman, he stopped in his tracks. In front of fellow farmers, they could joke around freely. But in front of a scholar, even if given the courage, they wouldn't dare speak nonsense as usual, knowing that the latter would become a high-ranking official in the future.

  The laughter of the crowd gradually subsided, and those standing aside nodded in unison with Wang Min.

  But there was one exception, who was still laughing loudly at this time.

  Because he was facing the crowd, he didn't know what was happening behind him. So even now, he still stood there, laughing and smiling as if nothing had happened.

  But as he laughed and laughed, he found that something seemed a bit off...

  He raised his head, with a faint hint of suspicion, and slowly swept his gaze over the crowd. He found that everyone's expression was strangely tense, wanting to laugh but not daring to, all trying to suppress it, and one by one, their faces were even flushed bright red.

  People who usually get along with each other have also completely lost their usual familiarity at this moment, standing cautiously on the spot, looking at themselves and constantly winking at themselves.

  "Huh?"

  Subconsciously, he slowly turned his head back, and a handsome face came into view.

  All he saw was a man wearing a green robe, with sword-like eyebrows and eyes that shone like the stars, now smiling warmly at him.

  "Oh no, it's Master Xiaozai!"

  As soon as they perceive the identity of the newcomer, they immediately bow their heads and make a courtesy call.

  Wang Min's eyes were quick and his hands were fast, he took a step forward and immediately helped the person up. He wouldn't let someone really bow to him. They lived in the same village, they would often see each other, and besides, when he was ill, the villagers also didn't neglect their own affairs.

  So as soon as he bent down, he immediately set it up again.

  However, after this, the former not only did not relax, but instead became more rigid, still standing upright with his waist straight, neither straight nor bent, extremely awkward.

  Seeing this scene, Wang Qian let out a faint sigh, alas! The world has indeed changed!

  He knew that he couldn't change the situation for a while, so he didn't investigate further and had to reluctantly accept a big gift from the former. This made Wang Min's heart slightly heavy and somewhat heartbroken.

  Although the people present had never met before, Wang Min knew from memory that most of them had helped him during his most difficult and struggling times. So when he saw them bowing to him, Wang Min's heart was not feeling well either, and his eyes were slightly red.

  "What an unassuming person!"

  Looking at the crowd, Wang Minyu clenched his fist and bowed to everyone, saying slowly: "We are all fellow villagers, no need for formalities. In my heart, I have never considered you as outsiders."

  "I will never forget Old Tian, Fan and Erpi who came to help me repair my house in the rain. I won't forget Yu Tian aunt who brought us a bowl of meat soup on New Year's Eve when her own family was struggling to make ends meet. And I won't forget you all, who quietly plowed our land while I was bedridden. I know all about it! Thank you, so please accept my gratitude!"

  As he spoke, Wang Jin bowed deeply to the crowd once again.

  Seeing this scene, everyone was shocked and some were at a loss. But afterwards, their hearts were filled with endless emotion. Looking at Wang Min, they couldn't speak for a long time. However, from those pairs of grateful eyes, it wasn't hard to see the unspeakable excitement in his heart at that moment.

  Seeing everyone like this, Wang Jin's heart was also quite unpeaceful.

  "Ladies and gentlemen..."

  "Min'er, something's wrong!"

  Wang Meng just wanted to say something, but at this time, a loud shout with a hint of panic suddenly came from afar and got closer and closer, interrupting what he was about to say.

  Wang Men was puzzled and couldn't figure out who had come or what had happened.

  The crowd was even more astonished and one after another lifted their heads to gaze into the distance.

  Wang Men also raised his head at this time, but as soon as he saw the person coming, he was startled. The girl beside him was even more nervous, and her jade hand, which had been clenched tightly all along, involuntarily tightened its grip.

  "It seems like something's gone wrong..." King Wen murmured.