Sheng Tang: What is Liu Jianjun going to do today?

Chapter 10 Drinking Water
Li Xian eventually entered the courtyard.

The woman was clearly more restrained because Li Xian was there. She gave Liu Laosan a warning gesture before smiling and welcoming Li Xian into the courtyard.

The woman led Li Xian into the large house on the east side, explaining with a smile, "Gou'er's family is the eldest son's. The old man left a lot of things. Those two houses were left to you by the old man, and the half-mountain that the guests just visited also belongs to you."

"Now that my brother is gone, these things will belong to Gou'er."

After saying this, the woman glared at Liu Laosan again. Liu Laosan didn't dare to speak, and just smiled awkwardly.

But to cover up his embarrassment, he leaned closer to Li Xian and whispered, "Old man means grandfather!"

"It's a small place, please make yourself at home!" the woman said, gesturing for Li Xian to sit down. She then walked into the inner room, saying, "I'll get you a glass of water!"

Li Xian quickly declined, saying it wasn't necessary, but the woman had already gone into the inner room.

Liu Laosan also came over at this moment and lowered his voice: "I see you are younger than me, so I'll take the liberty of calling you 'brother' haha. Brother, don't follow my example when you look for a wife in the future. When I was young, I was unlucky and married a tigress!"

Li Xian smiled awkwardly: "I'm already married..."

Liu Laosan slapped his forehead: "Oh! Oh! I forgot, your kid is already as big as Gou'er! Sigh... Gou'er is different from you, he absolutely refuses to get married. You're closer to him, so you should try to persuade him! As his uncle, how can I bear to see his family line die out!"

Li Xian thought to himself, it's not that Liu Jianjun is unwilling to get a wife, he just simply doesn't like the girl from the village head's family.

He had previously told himself that he wanted to sleep with the most beautiful woman from the Five Families.

For a moment, Li Xian also became curious about that tiger girl. Could it be that Liu Jianjun didn't like her because that tiger girl also had the personality of a tigress?

For some reason, the thought that Liu Jianjun would also be disciplined by a shrewish woman in the future made Li Xian feel inexplicably more at ease, so much so that he suddenly chuckled softly.

Realizing his mistake, he smiled apologetically at Liu Laosan and said, "I... just thought of something funny."

Liu Laosan asked curiously, "What's so funny?"

Li Xian: "..."

Li Xian probably knew from whom Liu Jianjun got his relentless, inquisitive nature.

Fortunately, the woman came out again, holding a ceramic bowl and handing it to Li Xian: "The house is simple, please don't mind, guest!"

To cover up his embarrassment, Li Xian took the earthenware bowl, picked it up and drank from it without even glancing at it. But as soon as the "water" entered his mouth, Li Xian almost spat it out.

A pungent, spicy, and even irritating smell filled his mouth, almost reaching the top of Li Xian's head.

Li Xian wanted to vomit, but reason prevailed in his head, and he forced himself to swallow it down. Then, looking at the woman with a panicked expression, he asked, "What... what is this? How can it be so spicy?"

"Water plug! Water boiled with ginger and chili peppers①. In Gou'er's words, our area is very humid, so eating more spicy food helps to expel dampness!"

Li Xian didn't know what the woman's chili peppers were, but judging from the name, he knew that they were probably spicy like ginger, just called by a different name in Bazhou.

but……

Li Xian didn't like this stuff.

Who in their family drinks spicy water?
So they really live a life of luxury?
Li Xian was a little embarrassed; he didn't know whether to put the ceramic bowl down or put it in his mouth.

He wanted to talk to the woman, but when he opened his mouth, the name "Liu Lao Er" got stuck in his throat. He felt that such a teasing nickname was not appropriate for someone he had just met, but he didn't know what the woman's name was.

So, the current situation is a bit strange.

The woman looked at Li Xian and the bowl of spicy water with an encouraging expression, expecting Li Xian to comment on her cooking skills. Liu Laosan, on the other hand, was afraid of his wife and became invisible. Only Li Xian was left, not knowing whether to sit or stand, feeling as if he was covered in something thorny.

Finally, Li Xian hardened his heart, put the ceramic bowl aside, and awkwardly changed the subject: "Wasn't Liu Jianjun home this morning?"

Mentioning Liu Jianjun finally broke the deadlock temporarily. The woman said with a hint of disdain, her face showing the same disdain, "That kid! He's always running around. He's so old, and he doesn't even know to get married and have children. He's just a worry for the family!" But her words were full of concern.

Li Xian breathed a sigh of relief: "Then... if Liu Jianjun gets to me, I will definitely tell him that you two are looking for him!"

With that, Li Xian stood up and prepared to leave.

The woman sensed that Li Xian was about to leave and stood up to stop him, saying, "You're leaving already? Finish your water!"

Upon hearing this, Li Xian fled towards the door as if fleeing: "No...no, I'm not thirsty!"

All he wanted to do was get home as soon as possible and gulp down some water to soothe his throat, which felt like it was on fire.

Ignoring the woman and Liu Laosan's attempts to stop him, Li Xian ran straight out of the courtyard.

But then, a hurried shout came from behind: "Axe! Your axe!"

Li Xian paused, then turned back helplessly.

This axe is the only tool in the house that can chop firewood. If it's lost, we won't even have firewood to burn this winter.

Fortunately, this time, the woman and Liu Laosan did not try to stop him. They just smiled and said, "Take care."

After bidding farewell to the Liu couple, Li Xian returned home.

The journey back was relatively smooth. Li Xian first found the two large Chinese toon trees, and then followed the trees to his home.

When the embroiderer saw Li Xian return empty-handed, she asked in surprise, "Husband, didn't you find the tree?"

Li Xian didn't have time to answer, and urged hurriedly, "Quick! Water! Water! Drink water!"

The eldest son, Li Guangshun, was the first to react. He rushed into the inner room, scooped up a large ladle of water, and brought it to Li Xian. Li Xian took the ladle, glanced at the water in it subconsciously, and found that the color was normal and he could not smell any spiciness. Only then did he tilt his head back and drink it mouthful after mouthful.

After drinking a ladle of water, the spicy feeling in my mouth was much better.

At this point, Li Xiancai had time to explain, saying, "My husband just cut down a very large fir tree, but later when we went to Liu Jianjun's house, he saw something else and decided not to make peach wood charms, but to make Spring Festival couplets instead!"

Li Xian remembered that Liu Laosan called that tree a fir tree.

"Spring Festival couplets?" Several people in the courtyard looked at Li Xian with curiosity.

"Okay, bring me paper and pen!"

Although his family was poor, they always had writing brushes, ink, paper and inkstones on hand. Perhaps deep down, Li Xian had thought about sending messages to Chang'an by writing letters or petitions.

Before long, Li Guangshun brought over a brush, ink, paper, and inkstone. Li Xian rolled up his sleeves and said, "Embroidery girl, grind the ink for your husband."

While the embroiderer was grinding ink, Li Xian also briefly recounted what he had just witnessed. When he mentioned that Liu Laosan was reciting the Spring Festival couplets backwards, everyone in the courtyard couldn't help but laugh. However, when he mentioned that Liu Laosan was afraid of his wife, everyone looked at him with strange expressions.

As Li Xian spoke, he picked up his brush and wrote: "Peace and happiness are a thousand times better, harmony among people and families brings prosperity in all things."

Then he read aloud to himself, "My handwriting is much better than Liu Jianjun's. His handwriting looks like a dog's paddle."

The embroiderer watched Li Xian, who had become much more cheerful, and a smile unconsciously crept onto her lips.

……

　①: Cornus officinalis

　　
　
(End of this chapter)