Before Zheng Wei could answer, she spoke again, "Sweep away all the accumulated snow. Obviously, we people are not enough, so there's only one way..."
Shen Xiaoyan didn't finish her sentence, but looked at Zheng Wei.
Indeed, when she met Zheng Wei's gaze, Shen Xiaoyan saw the same light in his eyes.
It seemed Zheng Wei was thinking the same thing as her.
As the two were looking at each other, they heard a commotion of footsteps. Those who had gone for ginger tea must be back.
Shen Xiaoyan was thinking this when she heard a resounding shout.
"Master, Madam."
Shen Xiaoyan and Zheng Wei turned around at the same time to look back. They saw the group of people from before, now two by two, carrying a long table.
Since the corridor wasn't wide enough, only two people stood in each row. The rest lined up behind them, forming quite a long queue.
Huo Si stood in the first row. Seeing the confused look on Zheng Wei and Shen Xiaoyan's faces, he quickly explained, "Master Sima ordered this to be brought out. He said it's to be placed in front of the door."
"En, then go and place it properly," Shen Xiaoyan said, stepping aside with Zheng Wei to watch as everyone filed out, placing the tables side by side.
These tables weren't placed in a straight line. Instead, four were placed horizontally, and three were placed vertically.
Finally, they formed a rectangle. Looking at this rectangle, Shen Xiaoyan felt even more puzzled. What was it for?
She couldn't figure it out herself and didn't want to rack her brains over it. She turned to Zheng Wei and asked in a low voice, "What is this for?"
Zheng Wei shook his head. How would he know? He wasn't Sima Han.
Seeing Zheng Wei equally bewildered, Shen Xiaoyan, though still not knowing the purpose, felt a strange sense of balance.
After the servants finished placing the tables, they quickly re-entered the manor. Soon, they all returned.
This time, they weren't carrying tables, but sacks of grain.
They arranged the grain in order on the tables, but it didn't fill the entire rectangle, only half of the middle section.
When each stack of grain had four sacks, Shen Xiaoyan noticed that the servants started bringing cotton wadding and fabric scraps.
Shen Xiaoyan and Zheng Wei finally understood. Sima Han intended to use these to persuade the villagers who were coming to agree to their previously discussed proposal.
Shen Xiaoyan suddenly felt that her earlier thought was wrong.
This could be called seduction.
Looking at the piles of grain, cotton wadding, fabric scraps, and the firewood the servants were continuously bringing and stacking by the gate, what else could it be but seduction?
When the servants finally stopped their constant comings and goings, Sima Han and the others finally emerged.
Shen Xiaoyan gently turned her neck, cursing herself for being foolish.
She and Zheng Wei had actually stood there dumbfounded for a full fifteen minutes due to shock. Was that not foolish?
"What's wrong with you?"
As Yi Zhixie emerged, he saw the troubled expressions on Shen Xiaoyan and Zheng Wei's faces. Thinking something had happened again, he hurried over to inquire.
Shen Xiaoyan and Zheng Wei exchanged a look and simultaneously decided to ignore the question.
Would they be so foolish as to reveal what they had just done?
If they really told him, they would be utter fools.
"Is there this much stuff?" Shen Xiaoyan bypassed Yi Zhixie and asked Sima Han behind him.
Feeling ignored by both Shen Xiaoyan and Zheng Wei, Yi Zhixie was quite dejected. He rubbed his nose, trying to recall if he had offended them recently.
After much thought, he couldn't come up with anything, so he concluded he hadn't. But why were they both ignoring him?
Could it be because he had become even more handsome recently, and Zheng Wei felt envious?
Then why Shen Xiaoyan?
Perhaps to comfort Zheng Wei's fragile heart, she deliberately ignored his handsomeness? Yi Zhixie's thoughts kept leading him to this conclusion, and he nodded repeatedly.
"Little Brother Xie, what are you daydreaming about? You're smiling like a fool," Namuzhong appeared beside Yi Zhixie out of nowhere, tapping his forehead with a loud flick.
"Ah..."
Yi Zhixie clutched his head and yelped. After the pain subsided a little, he looked at Namuzhong and asked, helplessly and dejectedly, "Why did you hit me?"
Namuzhong smiled sweetly at Yi Zhixie, "You're so handsome, I always want to touch your head. This time, I got too excited and accidentally used too much force. You won't blame me, will you?"
Hearing Namuzhong's words, Yi Zhixie beamed, revealing his teeth, and waved his hands, saying, "No blame, no blame."
Namuzhong nodded with satisfaction and said, "That's good."
After speaking, Namuzhong quickly flicked his forehead again.
Yi Zhixie instinctively covered his head and cried out in pain, "Muzhong, why did you hit me again?"
"Didn't you just say you didn't blame me? Why are you scolding me now? You really don't love me anymore now that you've become handsome, do you? Mmm mmm mmm..."
At the end, Namuzhong covered his face and began to whimper.
Seeing this, Yi Zhixie forgot the pain in his head and walked up to embrace Namuzhong. He gently stroked Namuzhong's back and said softly, "You are my little Muzhong. Who else would I love if not you?"
Namuzhong buried his face in Yi Zhixie's chest, revealing a brilliant smile.
Shen Xiaoyan watched the two embracing, and a smile also appeared on her face. However, she still said, "I say, you two, we're discussing serious matters here. If you want to be sweet, can't it wait until tonight?"
"Exactly! You two lovebirds are always showing off your affection in front of me. Have you ever thought about how someone without a wife feels?" Lu Taobao also complained.
"If you're envious, then hurry up and find a wife. That way, you can go home. It's almost New Year, and you still can't go home. What will you do?" Shen Xiaoyan said to Lu Taobao with a sigh.
Lu Taobao had only intended to tease Yi Zhixie and Namuzhong casually. He never expected Shen Xiaoyan to immediately shift the topic to him.
Was this what the old saying meant, that what goes around comes around?
"Uh, let's talk about how to distribute things later," Lu Taobao quickly changed the subject.
Shen Xiaoyan and the others all understood Lu Taobao's attempt to change the subject and didn't bother to argue with him. After all, they all had some idea of what he was thinking.
Over there, Yi Zhixie released Namuzhong and walked over, holding Namuzhong's hand.
As the group gathered, the sharp-eyed Shen Xiaoming pointed towards the main road and said, "The village head and the others seem to be here."
Shen Xiaoyan and the others listened and also looked in that direction.
Although they were still some distance away, they could vaguely see a group of people walking towards them.
And the person leading the group appeared to be Bai Yonggui.
Shen Xiaoyan and the others fell silent and stood waiting for Bai Yonggui and his group to arrive.
After Bai Yonggui and his group descended from the main road, their steps paused in unison.
Earlier, due to the distance, they could only see that something seemed to be piled up there.
Now, up close, they could clearly see that the tall piles were all of the things they needed most.