What’s In It For Me If I Keep Your Secret?
Xiaoye was so excited; he picked up a tree branch and was about to start drawing on the ground. Lu Cijian, however, was somewhat doubtful. Then he thought of something, looked up, and met Jiang Yimian’s wide eyes.
Jiang Yimian felt regret. She said she forgot something. She winked at Lu Cijian, signaling him not to tell anyone. Then she saw Lu Cijian blink his eyes questioningly and said strangely, “When did I…?”
Jiang Yimian’s heart pounded. She rushed forward and covered Lu Cijian’s lips with her hand, glaring at him warningly.
However, she didn’t notice the slight curve of Lu Cijian’s lips.
Xiaoye looked at the two people curiously, with an incomprehensible look of doubt in his eyes.
Jiang Yimian said, “I don’t recognize a few characters,” and dragged him away.
Watching the two of them hide in a corner where there were no other people around, Jiang Yimian released her hand. After hesitating for a while, she revealed, “I hope you don’t tell others that I can read.”
Lu Cijian’s brow furrowed slightly, and he pretended to be surprised, “You can read?”
He didn’t intend to say it earlier; he just wanted to tease her. Who knew she was so easily teased and told him directly.
The corners of his lips unconsciously curled up. Watching the young girl in front of him go from calm to wide-eyed, he finally couldn’t help but laugh.
Jiang Yimian glared at him unhappily, but was stunned by his smiling face.
The young man was already exquisitely handsome, with a pair of peach blossom eyes that were exceptionally affectionate, especially when he smiled; his eyes seemed to be filled with stars.
Especially the red mole below the corner of his eye, which also came alive at this moment, was particularly attractive.
Jiang Yimian’s displeasure instantly dissipated.
Forget it, being able to make a beauty smile, she considered it worth it.
She immediately said calmly, “I hope you can keep it a secret.”
Lu Cijian extended his long, slender fingers, palm upward, and said casually, “I’ll keep it a secret for you. What’s the benefit?”
Jiang Yimian was startled and almost exploded on the spot.
If it weren’t for the fact that this guy was really handsome, she really wanted to punch him.
Helplessly sighing, after a long while, she proudly said, “If you keep it a secret for me, you can come to my house for meals every day.”
This guy doesn’t look like someone who can cook. He probably only eats game and casually fills his stomach. The meals at her house will definitely attract him.
Sure enough, Lu Cijian nodded thoughtfully, and after a long while, he said something that almost made Jiang Yimian spit blood.
“Grandfather said just now to let me come for meals when I have time. If I want to go to your house for meals, Aunt Fengqin should be willing too.”
Lu Cijian’s expression was calm, without any emotional fluctuations, but there was a fleeting smile in his eyes.
Jiang Yimian：……
She wasn’t playing anymore.
She wanted to retort that her mother wouldn’t, but just because he helped them drive away those refugees and taught several children to read, her mother wouldn’t refuse to let him eat.
Immediately, she said angrily, “Say it or not.”
After saying that, she was about to leave.
Lu Cijian was startled and quickly reached out to clap Jiang Yimian’s hand, saying hurriedly, “It’s a deal. I’ll keep it a secret for you. As for the benefits, I’ll think about it later.”
After saying that, he left first, not giving Jiang Yimian a chance to refuse.
Watching him leave quickly, Jiang Yimian smiled triumphantly.
Playing against her, he was still too young.
When he really asks her for benefits later, she’ll deny it. She didn’t agree to today’s matter.
Having solved a major hidden danger, Jiang Yimian walked much more briskly, humming a little tune as she returned to the Liu Family courtyard.
At this moment, Xiaoye and several other children were gathered around Lu Cijian learning to recognize characters.
Gousheng and Zhao Dashu were nowhere to be seen, clearly having escaped.
Jiang Yimian looked around, confirmed that few people were around, and didn’t search any further, only silently offering condolences for them.
With Xiaoye, that clever talkative child, once Lu Cijian leaves, after Xiaoye learns those characters, he will definitely spend all day pestering Gousheng and the others to teach them, and they will have to learn whether they want to or not.
There’s no escaping it; what will come will come.
Tonight’s dinner was exceptionally sumptuous. There was a pot of mutton soup, a large plate of braised rabbit meat, and almost every dish had meat in it. Even the Guanyin Tofu was mixed with minced meat and seasonings, making it exceptionally fragrant.
Today, they specially deep-fried some taro cakes. They were crispy and sweet, and the children particularly liked them.
Everyone ate to their hearts’ content, especially the mutton soup. The taste was rich, without any mutton smell. After a bowl of soup, everyone felt warm.
Indeed, autumn and winter are the best seasons for mutton soup.
Although autumn has arrived, the temperature is still relatively high. After a bowl of mutton soup, everyone was sweating, but they all felt comfortable.
Drinking mutton soup and chatting, time passed quickly.
With Old Man Liu’s invitation, Lu Cijian would always come to the small low-lying land for meals when he had time, each time bringing a lot of game, which allowed the people in the small low-lying land to enjoy meat every day.
The children had all visibly gained weight.
Jiang Yimian finally found a reason to take out the cotton.
There was quite a bit of wild cotton growing sparsely in the distance. The cotton bolls had already burst open, and some cotton fluff had fallen to the ground. In a few days, it would probably all fall.
Jiang Yimian quickly went to pick the cotton bolls. Mimi was catching birds nearby, occasionally catching an unknown bird which he instantly ate. The woods were filled with the sound of birds flapping their wings and chirping.
It sounded like he was cursing very badly.
Jiang Yimian picked cotton bolls while watching Mimi’s skilled actions, only feeling that Mimi’s wild nature was becoming more and more exposed recently.
In a few months’ time, it had grown into a tiger over a meter long, with yellow and black stripes evenly distributed on its body. Occasionally, it would let out a roar, looking quite intimidating.
Fortunately, Mimi only showed a ferocious look when it came out to catch birds. In the small low-lying land, it was still the same as before, playing with the children.
It just occasionally couldn’t control its strength, using too much force, and smashing the bamboo-strip woven balls with one paw. This made the adults give up the idea of letting the children play wildly, afraid that Mimi might accidentally flatten Xiaoye and the others.
Now they only let them occasionally touch and feed it from a distance.
Fortunately, recently, the children’s minds were all on learning characters, diligently recognizing and writing characters every day, so they weren’t afraid of not having Mimi to play with.
After watching for a while, Jiang Yimian withdrew her gaze and continued picking cotton bolls.
The wild cotton looked sparse, but after picking it all, she had filled a whole basket.
Later, she would pick the cotton fluff and mix it with the cotton in her space, then distribute it to several families. No one would be able to tell the difference.
Having thought this through, she was about to take Mimi back.
Turning her head, she saw Mimi struggling with vines wrapped around its body.