Chapter 70 Going up the mountain

The two of them had a lot of mischief last night. Ye Annian thought that he would not be able to get up, but he didn't expect that he woke up the next day when it was slightly light.

　　Turning his head, Jiang Zhu was still there. Feeling his gaze, she also opened her eyes.

　　Perhaps because he just woke up, Jiang Zhu's expression was still a little lazy, and his eyelashes trembled. After meeting Ye Anian's eyes, his originally erratic eyes instantly regained clarity.

　　This was the first time Ye Anian saw him like this, but facing this face, he remembered what the two of them had done last night, and instantly felt a little uncomfortable.

　　"It's almost dawn, it's time to get up." He coughed lightly and planned to get up.

　　Unexpectedly, Jiang Zhu pulled him back, wrapped his arms around him, and pressed him back into the quilt: "Lie down for a while."

　　Ye Anian was hugged by him, turned sideways, and lay face to face with him.

　　Seeing that his eyes were clear and he didn't feel sleepy at all, he frowned and said, "I'm not sleepy anymore, why should I lie down?"

　　"Lying alone is naturally boring."

　　Jiang Zhu hugged Ye Annian tighter, held his waist with one hand, and rubbed his head with the other pillowed hand, "But aren't we two together?"

　　"Then just lie down for a while." Ye Anyian breathed a sigh of relief.

　　He felt that laziness was contagious, and now that he was being held by Jiang Zhu, he didn't even think about it.

　　The two of them stayed like this for a while, and then the sound of copper coins banging on the door was heard outside.

　　Afraid of waking up the two sleeping children in the west room, the two had to get up.

　　After Jiang Zhu cleaned himself up, he went out to wash up and prepare for breakfast. Ye Anian folded the quilts for the two of them, placed the kang table by the feet of the kang, and went out to get a broom to sweep the floor.

　　As soon as he came in from the outside, he was faced with an indescribable smell that made his face turn red. He quickly climbed onto the kang and opened the window for ventilation. He also took out the sheets he had changed and washed them.

　　After eating the morning meal, the two of them were preparing to go up the mountain. Shi Shi was carrying a basket of cut rabbit grass on his back and came to play with Fu Zai.

　　Fu Zai was feeding the rabbits in the yard. When he saw the stone coming, he waved him over.

　　"Brother Shitou, come and see my little rabbits, what's wrong with them?"

　　Shitou walked over with the basket on his back and saw the two little rabbits, one brown and one white, stacked on top of each other.

　　Fuzai didn't know why, and after watching it for a while, he suddenly realized: "Oh, it's Xue Duanzi carrying the sesame ball!"

　　Shitou was bigger than him and knew more about raising rabbits, chickens, ducks, cattle and sheep. He knew at a glance that these two rabbits were in charge.

　　Children have simple minds, Shitou thought he understood it well, so he said so.

　　"No, they are playing with the little rabbit."

　　"Pairing with a little rabbit?" Fu Zai didn't understand, "What does it mean to match with a little rabbit, brother Shitou?"

"Um..."

　　This time the stone was stumped. He scratched his head and hesitated: "Anyway, as long as they are stacked together like this and play on their backs, they can give birth to little rabbits."

　　"Is that so?" Fu Zai blinked and glanced at his brother and Brother Jiang who were busy in the main room, thoughtfully.

　　My brother and Brother Jiang have been sleeping together for so long, and he still doesn't have a niece. It must be because they sleep together in the wrong position.

　　Here, Ye Annian separated two of the six candied haws that were left over from yesterday, wrapped them in oil paper, put them in the basket, and took out three more candied haws, and gave them to Ding Qiu, Fu Zai and Shi Shi.

　　He handed the basket to Fu Zai and said, "You and I, brother Jiang, will go up the mountain to pick fruits later. After you two feed the rabbits, you can run an errand for me and deliver it to the second sister and your brother Zhao."

　　Brother Zhao is Shitou's uncle Zhao Le.

　　"Okay." Fu Zai said happily as he chewed the sweet and sour candied haws in his mouth.

　　Shitou also patted his chest: "Brother Ye, don't worry, I will definitely protect Fu Zai."

　　After sending the two children away, Jiang Zhu arranged the books for Ding Qiu to memorize today, and then went out with Ye Anian.

　　The two of them each carried a large bamboo basket and a bamboo basket, picked up long-handled iron clips, and went up the mountain.

　　The weather was good today. It was sunny and there was a gentle breeze. The two of them strolled around and ate the last remaining candied haws among themselves.

　　He looked unhurried, as if he were going for a walk.

　　Wangyue Mountain is a wild mountain, and no one has paved the roads. They are all wild roads made by villagers and hunters from nearby villages who have walked a lot.

　　Jiang Zhu had already walked up the mountain with the stones yesterday and took Ye Anian straight to the place where he picked hawthorns and chestnuts yesterday.

　　The hawthorn tree was not far away from the mountain. Jiang Zhu held Ye Annian's hand. The two climbed up the dirt road for a while and saw the wild hawthorn tree growing on the roadside.

　　There were already many big, red hawthorns hanging on the tree, and many ripe ones fell to the ground, with traces of being pecked by birds on them.

　　"The chestnut trees are in another place. Let's pick the hawthorns first, and then go there when we've almost finished picking them," Jiang Zhu said.

　　"Okay." Ye Anyian agreed.

The two then began to pick the fruits.

　　The location on the mountain is high, and the wind blowing in front of us makes people feel refreshed. The two of them were picking hawthorns and chatting about each other.

　　Not long after, I heard footsteps getting closer and closer.

　　Ye Annian was wondering who was coming up the mountain when he heard a surprised voice from behind: "Oh, Mr. Jiang, why are you here?"

　　This voice was quite familiar to him. Wasn't it none other than Aunt Tianhua's daughter Ji Fangfang?

　　Ji Fangfang carried a small basket and walked up to the two of them. She ignored Ye Anyian and only glanced at Jiang Zhu.

　　"Dr. Jiang is also here to pick hawthorns?"

　　Jiang Zhu kept moving his hands, picking the big, red fruits on the tree.

　　Hearing the sound, he smiled lightly and said, "Didn't the Ji family girl have her eyesight checked by someone?"

　　Ji Fangfang's face stiffened, she laughed sarcastically, and said, "You are the only doctor among these eight villages in ten miles. I'd like to see it. Isn't it because I'm afraid that Brother Nian will get jealous?"

　　Ye Annian looked at her coquettish behavior and couldn't help but think of what he and Jiang Zhu overheard that night when they came to the stream to sober up.

　　The thought of her actually getting together with Ye Ansong was a bit unbearable.

　　And he didn't know if it was a psychological effect, but he always felt that Ji Fangfang looked much more mature than before.

　　"Brother Nian, I'm just going to have a word with Doctor Jiang. You won't be jealous, right?"

　　Seeing Ye Anyian not saying a word, Ji Fangfang said deliberately.

　　"Why am I jealous?" Ye Annian glanced at her, "Are you jealous of someone else's husband?"

　　"you...!"

　　Ji Fangfang blushed because she choked, and glared at Ye Anyian: "What are you so proud of! I tell you, I'm already engaged too! We'll get married in May next year!"

　　When she said this, it instantly evoked the memories of the two people.

　　Ye Annian and Jiang Zhu looked at each other and thought of overhearing the conversation between Ji Fangfang and Ye Ansong that day.

　　Ye Anqing coughed and said, "Since you have already made an engagement, just wait and wait to get married."

　　"That's natural!" Ji Fangfang raised her head high, "The person I want to marry is the blacksmith in the town, and he's so handsome! Why do I hate you!"

　　As she said this, she turned her head away and stopped looking at Ye Anyian. She only focused on picking her own hawthorns.

　　When Jiang Zhu saw that the bamboo baskets of the two of them were already filled with half a basket of hawthorns, he didn't want to stay here any longer, so he pulled Ye Anian away.

　　When passing by Ji Fangfang, he caught a glimpse of Ji Fangfang secretly looking at him from the corner of his eye, her eyes clearly still eager to leave.

　　Jiang Zhu sighed, thinking that she would stop thinking once they got engaged, but she didn't expect that she would still be like this.

　　Ye Annian also saw the scene just now. He frowned when he saw Ji Fangfang staring at Jiang Zhu.

　　"Ji Fangfang, I'm a little worried, so it's best to rest as soon as possible."

Ji Fangfang's face turned red when her thoughts were exposed, but she still said stubbornly: "What nonsense are you talking about? What can I think about?!"

　　"I'm going to get married in the town next year, and I'm not even happy about it! But you're still living a hard life in this small village. You can be envious!"

　　Although she was full of derogatory words about Ye Anyian, she never mentioned or said anything bad about Jiang Zhu.

　　Seeing her like this, Ye Anyian stopped trying to persuade her and took Jiang Zhu away.

　　The chestnut tree was in another place, and Jiang Zhu took Ye Annian along the dirt road on the mountain.

　　Ji Fangfang's episode just now did not affect the mood of the two of them. Ye Anyian only felt that she was a little pathetic.

　　Although Aunt Tianhua has a bad character and a bad mouth, she is a typical selfish and gossipy rural woman, but the couple treats their daughter Ji Fangfang well.

　　Ji Fangfang's native family is not a little bit better than Ye Xiaomei's.

　　Moreover, Xiao Erniang is also reliable. If Ji Fangfang is willing, she may not be unable to find a good husband.

　　But right now, it all depends on whether she is willing to wake up and look back.

　　The two soon arrived at a relatively flat open space halfway up the mountain, where a dozen chestnut trees grew.

　　Looking around, the leaves are green and lush, and the middle of the leaves is dotted with chestnut shells with burrs.

　　The outer thorn shell of a ripe chestnut will crack and fall from the tree, but only part of it will.

　　Some that are mature but have not yet fallen can only be beaten down with a stick.

　　Jiang Zhu took out a long-handled iron clamp from his bamboo basket and handed it to Ye Anyian, asking him to pick up the fallen chestnuts on the ground. He himself found a long branch and beat the ripe ones from the tree.

　　Ye Annian poured half of the basket of hawthorns he picked into Jiang Zhu's basket, and then used the empty bamboo basket to hold chestnuts.

　　The two divided the labor and cooperated, and soon the basket was filled.

　　Jiang Zhu looked at the rising sun, carried the chestnut basket on his back, and pulled Ye Annian down the mountain with him.

　　When he passed by the stream on his way back, Jiang Zhu picked up a few eels and stuffed them into a bamboo basket, carrying them heavily in his hand.

　　At noon, the two of them arrived home, and they returned home with a full load.

　　Pushing open the courtyard door, the courtyard was quiet, with only Ding Qiu sitting at the round table picking herbs.

　　Ye Xiaomei was really not used to leaving.

　　Ye Anyian looked around, but Fu Zai was not there, and neither was the copper coin.

　　He suddenly felt uneasy and asked Ding Qiu: "Have Fu Zai and Shitou not come back since morning?"

　　Ding Qiu nodded: "They have never come back."

　　Jiang Zhu raised his head and glanced at the sun in the sky, and his heart sank. It was already late (around one to three o'clock in the afternoon). The two children had been gone for so long?

　　"Go out and look for it, see if it's at Ye's house."

Ye Anyian nodded, also afraid that the two children would conflict with Wu Xianglian and the others.

　　Afraid of something happening to Fuzai and Shitou, the two put down their baskets and backpacks and hurried out. However, they happened to meet Shitou and Fuzai running back all the way at the door.