"You are a martial artist, but your arms are not like a man's."
"Arms..."
Xu Hengyan had always thought she was underdeveloped. Whether her arms and legs were slender or not, Xu Hengyan never considered her gender.
However, she detected a hint of sourness in Yi Yanteng's words.
"I haven't shown my arms to Xu Hengyan either." This person just wants to hear this, doesn't he? She didn't remember if she had shown them or not. Who would care about such trivial details?
"Oh."
Yi Yanteng, having heard what he wanted, felt a little more at ease and rolled up his pant legs to go fishing in the river.
Unexpectedly, Yi Yanteng was a skilled fisherman. Not long after entering the water, he caught a two-jin fish with his bare hands. "Is this enough to eat?"
"Give me another one," Xie Jiang said, stunning the lively crucian carp that was still trying to survive.
After that, they didn't catch any more big fish. Yi Yanteng and Wen Feng each caught two half-jin fish. Xie Jiang, no matter how much she ate, would have enough.
Yi Yanteng put on his shoes and socks by the river. While tidying his clothes, he asked Xie Jiang, "Are we going to roast the fish here, or go back to the fields?"
"Of course, we're going back to the fields. Did you bring any seasonings?"
Xie Jiang pulled out a dagger from her waist and threw it in front of Wen Feng.
Wen Feng felt it was a waste to ruin such a good item. A dagger crafted by the Cuishan Sect used to gut a fish? If those old dukes and marquises in the fields knew, they would probably smash his head on the spot.
Wen Feng held the dagger with both hands and returned it to Xie Jiang. "Your subordinate also brought a dagger. For small tasks like gutting fish, it's better to use your subordinate's."
If Miss Xie really didn't care for this dagger, she could give it to him.
He cared for it immensely.
Yi Yanteng said, "Who brought the seasonings?"
Xie Jiang said, "Nie Tong and Luo Tie, one of them must have brought it."
Yi Yanteng said, "You left in a hurry but didn't forget to bring seasonings. It's evident that Young Master Xie lived a carefree life in Ninghe. Does he often go out to eat and drink in the wilderness?"
With whom?
Xu Hengyan?
What kind of corrupt official!
Seeking undeserved fame!
Does the Duke of Wei know that his good son is almost becoming a dandy, indulging in eating and drinking all day?
Xie Jiang looked at Wen Feng, who was clumsily gutting the fish, and said, "Your master has been in the capital recently, living in a vinegar jar every day, hasn't he? Your mouth is full of sourness."
Wen Feng, focused on gutting the fish, dared not speak.
Miss Xie's description was accurate. Wasn't his master pickled in a vinegar jar for several months?
He was thoroughly marinated.
She could smell it, couldn't she?
Hadn't Miss Xie noticed that his master's neck had grown longer?
He kept stretching his neck to look at the sky every day, waiting for letters from pigeons and eagles.
Miss Xie was truly heartless and unfeeling. Whenever his master received a letter from Miss Xie, he would reply immediately.
But Miss Xie made his master wait and wait...
You can't fish like this!
To get the fish to bite, don't you need to cast enough bait?
Yet his master, this foolish fish, was still waiting for her to throw the bait.
Wen Feng, with his back to the two, didn't dare to raise his head. He could only mutter his thoughts inwardly, never daring to show any of them on his face.
Yi Yanteng shot a cold glance. "Young Master Xie left me in the capital for several months without any contact, and now you complain that I'm sour?"
Xie Jiang said, "I even packed up our Yi An and sent her to you. Is that what you call no contact?"
"Young Master Xie's conscience probably has only a little left," Yi Yanteng said, gesturing with his thumb and pinky finger.
"If Young Master Yi is willing, I can also take Young Master Yi out to eat and drink. When I return to the capital this time, I will arrange everything perfectly for Young Master Yi. If Young Master Yi can get out of bed the next morning, then I will consider my hospitality insufficient."
"..."
Wen Feng almost cut off his own finger.
Yi Yanteng wanted to find a ruler to measure her thick skin!
Wen Feng was still here!
He treated Wen Feng as if he were invisible!
Even if Wen Feng were invisible, he still had ears!
She took advantage of his reservations and...
"You're busy, and I'm busy too. Who doesn't have a career to pursue? Look, as soon as I have an opportunity, I think of you!"
Xie Jiang leaned closer to Yi Yanteng, hooking his collar with her finger and sniffing. "Let me smell if you're still sour?"
Yi Yanteng directly pinned her against a tree and covered her mouth.
Wen Feng quickly cut off the hem of his clothes, rolled them into two balls, and stuffed them into his ears.
He, he, he, he was gutting fish, he knew nothing.
Wen Feng slowly gutted the fish. The river water in front of him didn't bloom with stares, but a swimming fish was attracted.
That fish swam very leisurely, unlike Wen Feng who didn't dare to move, let alone look back.
When the fish swam to the stone at Wen Feng's feet, Wen Feng swiftly struck with his dagger, impaling the nearly two-jin fish.
Wen Feng hadn't expected his fishing skills to improve so rapidly in such a short time.
Miss Xie's lunch had an extra fish. With Miss Xie's small appetite, he wondered if she could finish it?
If his master and Miss Xie were to continue, perhaps even more fish could be finished.
After all, they needed to replenish their energy, didn't they?
A pebble hit the back of Wen Feng's head. Wen Feng quickly removed the earplugs.
"I told you to gut the fish, not to carve flowers on it. Are you done?"
"Done, done, it's all cleaned."
Wen Feng strung the cleaned fish with a grass rope and carried it. When he turned around, he saw Miss Xie looking refreshed, kicking pebbles, while his master was leisurely tidying his clothes under the tree.
Wen Feng didn't quite understand why his master always ended up tidying his clothes.
Didn't his master make the first move?
~
The sweet potato digging site was paused for lunch.
During the sweet potato digging, the county office provided meals. The county office paid nearby villages to prepare meals and deliver them. The old farmers each ate one sweet potato as a post-meal snack, and no one was willing to eat more.
"These sweet potatoes are truly good food. Delicious and filling, with surprisingly high yields. They don't even require specific soil, and such land can produce four to five thousand jin per mu..."
"They can even be grown in the county office's backyard. So, can we plant them in front of our houses and behind our homes? Will we still have to worry about not having enough to eat in the future?"
The old farmers all had smiles on their faces. Every deep furrow on their faces revealed their hope for the future.
"I said Young Master Xie must be a celestial being from heaven. Heaven felt that our common people's lives were too bitter, so it sent Young Master Xie to bring this grain down..."
"Huh? Did I hear someone praising me?" Xie Jiang walked over with a smile. "Who is it? You can praise me even louder."
The old farmers burst into laughter. "We all say, Young Master Xie is a celestial being sent by heaven to bring us good grain!"
Duke Qin laughed heartily. "Although this kid has made a great contribution, he's not humble at all!"
Xie Jiang said, "Who wouldn't be happy when they're praised to the skies? If you're happy, you should show it. I can't just keep it to myself and be happy secretly."
Saying that, she called out to Nie Tong and pointed to the fish Wen Feng was carrying behind him. "Roast all the fish for me."