Tang Dynasty: The seventh rank of official residence, and you will be given the Ten Thousand People

"Xiao Shi? What a pretty name."

As the door closed, the light in the thatched cottage suddenly dimmed, and Fan Xin smiled and closed his eyes.

Early the next morning, when the sun was shining on her cheeks, Xiaoshi came back from outside carrying an old hen.

There was a hint of exhaustion on her pretty face, and she snorted angrily when she saw Fan Xin looking at her.

"You're lucky. The landlord gave me an extra ten coppers today, and I'll stew the hens later."

"It seems that the landlord treats you well." Fan Xin said with a smile.

Hearing this, Xiaoshi curled her lips in disbelief.

"He's just an old man with a human face and an animal heart. It would be unlucky not to mention him."

Throwing the hen into the boiling water pot, Xiao Shi stretched tiredly.

He turned his eyes to Fan Xin.

"By the way, why are you lying by the river? Did you commit a murder and escaped?"

Fan Xin was startled and said amusedly.

"Strictly speaking, I was fighting with someone, and I jumped off the cliff when I ran out of moves."

Xiao Shi showed an expression that was indeed true, rolled up her sleeves and plucked the chicken feathers while saying.

"Looking at how miserable you are, you probably killed someone. Aren't you afraid that I will hand you over to the government in exchange for a reward?"

"Don't be afraid, I believe the girl is not that kind of person."

"Your mouth is quite sweet." Xiao Shi chuckled, threw the prepared hen into the pot, sprinkled a handful of salt on it, and closed the lid.

After stewing for about two hours, a pot of fragrant chicken was brought to the table.

Fan Xin endured the pain and sat up from the bed, holding the wooden pole to the table and sat down.

He sniffed it eagerly.

"This old hen is so delicious when stewed."

"Wait a moment, my brother will be back from the academy soon."

Xiaoshi sat on the chair, smoothed her hair on her forehead and said with a smile.

Fan Xin was startled, put down his chopsticks and said in surprise.

"You have a younger brother?" During the past two days, he thought the woman was alone.

When mentioning her younger brother, Xiao Shi rarely smiled.

"Yes, my brother has studied in the Imperial College for ten years and will take the official examination in a few days."

Fan Xin could tell that the woman was really happy.

In fact, it is not difficult to understand that under the system of selecting talents through the imperial examination, once you become an official, your family will be through it all.

It's understandable that women feel proud.

While the two were talking, a young man wearing a Confucian shirt walked in from the door.

Seeing a man appear at home, his face sank slightly and he said displeasedly.

"Sister, didn't you tell me to stew a chicken for me? Why is there an extra man in the house?"

Xiaoshi seemed to be particularly concerned about her brother's thoughts and explained quickly.

"Don't get me wrong, Xiao Ci. I picked this young man up halfway and kept him at home for a while to recover from his injuries."

"Really?"

The young man glanced at Fan Xin and saw that he looked like he was still seriously injured, and his expression softened slightly.

"Hmph, I'll write you this once!"

Xiao Ci snorted, sat at the table and began to eat happily.

Fan Xin frowned, but he was an outsider after all and didn't say anything. He scooped two pieces of chicken with a spoon and put them into Xiao Shi's bowl.

This girl is good at everything, but she has wronged herself too much. She has been hungry for two days and can only drink soup.

Seeing this scene, Xiao Ci's eyes flashed with disgust.

Put down his chopsticks and said.

"Sister, the gentleman from the Imperial College has said that the exam will be held in half a month, and all the graduates who pass it will be able to get at least a ninth-grade official."

"Hurry up and take out two copper coins. I will go back and give them to the sir in a moment and ask him to help me with the examiner."

"What did you say, two copper coins?" Xiaoshi was startled and said anxiously.

"Xiao Ci, you know the situation of our family. We have lost our land since our parents left. Where can my sister get two copper coins for you..."

Before Xiao Ci could finish speaking, Xiao Ci interrupted impatiently.

"Okay, don't complain about poverty to me here. Don't you have a good way of making money?"

"Don't think that I don't know what you are thinking. I just want to see how good-looking this guy is."

"Let me tell you Li Xiaoshi, the reason why I am looked down upon by others in the Imperial College is all because of you!"

After saying that, Xiao Ci opened the door and ran out, leaving the pale-faced Xiao Shi standing alone.

Cold tears flowed silently down her cheeks.

"So I'm so miserable in your eyes, haha, okay, I'll help you raise tuition."

Xiao Shi wiped her tears, looked at Fan Xin with empty eyes, and left the thatched cottage.

Looking at her helpless back, Fan Xin couldn't bear it. He wanted to follow her out for a look, but his body couldn't move.

In the end, I could only sit on a wooden bench and wait for Xiaoshi to come back.

Although he was a little tired of cleaning the dung bucket, Fan Xin felt that he relied on his hands to earn money and had nothing to be ashamed of.

That young man named Xiao Ci went a little too far.

It wasn't until the moon was high in the sky and a touch of fish belly white appeared on the horizon that footsteps could be heard outside the thatched cottage.

Then the door opened, and a beautiful figure staggered in.

Seeing Fan Xin sitting on the stool, he was slightly stunned, as if he didn't expect that someone was waiting here.

"It's almost dawn, why aren't you sleeping yet?"

"I saw that you looked wrong when you went out, and you were a little worried, so I waited for a while."

Xiaoshi was silent for a moment in the darkness and sighed.

"Go to sleep, I'm fine, I just cleaned a few more dung buckets."

After saying that, he crossed Fan Xin and walked to the bed and lay down with him on his back.

There is a faint smell of alcohol in the air...

It was already noon when Xiaoshi woke up from her sleep, and a plate of hot egg sauce was placed in front of her.

"Did you do this?" There was a hint of disbelief in his tone.

"When I was a kid, my family couldn't afford meat during the festival, so we used egg sauce instead. How about you try it?"

Fan Xin handed Xiao Shi a pair of chopsticks, and the latter whispered thank you, picked up a pair of eggs, put them into his mouth and chewed them.

Her beautiful eyes lit up slightly in approval.

“Great craftsmanship and delicious!”

"If it's delicious, just eat it all. There are two eggs left in the basket."

An hour later, Xiaoshi patted her belly with satisfaction and glanced at the sun.

"You recuperate at home first. I'll go do some work in advance and come back with some medicine for you in the evening."

After a few days of getting along, the relationship between the two became much warmer.

Seeing that Xiao Shi was about to go out again, Fan Xin hesitated and took out a copper fish charm engraved with the word "Yan" from his arms.

"You wait a moment. You can take this sign to a pawn shop later. The copper coins you get in exchange should be enough for your brother's schooling tuition."

"Sir, you..."

Meeting Fan Xin's deep eyes, Xiao Shi's pretty face turned slightly red, she lowered her head and took the copper fish charm and said with a twist.

"Thank you for that. I will redeem it for you when I make enough money."