continuation [farming]

Ever since Aunt Lin went crazy that day and was comforted by Xia He, she treated Xia He differently.

There is no longer a picky nose, a bit more intimacy, and from time to time, behind Mrs. Li's back, she chats with Xia He. But I can't tell, Aunt Lin doesn't look like a person who likes to go out, but she knows these things better than anyone else.

The two of them usually sit on the threshold of the kitchen, each holding a steamed bun, chewing and chatting.When it came to excitement, Aunt Lin would slap her thigh, making a loud thud, which made Xia He feel that the slap like a cattail leaf fan seemed to be slapping her leg, causing bursts of pain.But what Aunt Lin talked about most was about the Li family. When talking about Li Mu, this woman was full of admiration for this young man who was a generation younger than her.

"When Master is admitted as a scholar, I will definitely prepare a large table and show off my housekeeping skills!" Aunt Lin said, and even began to count what to do, as if the scholar was just a What Li Mu has in his pocket, as long as he takes the exam, he can get it immediately.

When the two of them were thinking about this, it was only a few days before the Limu County Examination.

The academy sent the students who were going to take the provincial examination to their homes a few days in advance, so that they could clean up their clothes.When Li Mu got home, Xia He and Aunt Lin had already taken care of it, which made Li Mu feel good.

It wasn't long before Li Mu felt that his family was too sweet. During the few days at home, Aunt Lin didn't want Li Mu to move too much. She worried about everything for him and only hoped that he would just sit and sit. He just worked hard at the desk, making Li Mu dumbfounded.I wanted to find Mrs. Li to persuade Aunt Lin, but I didn't expect Mrs. Li to think that Aunt Lin was doing the right thing.Turning to look at Xia He, Xia He hurriedly said that he could not speak, and winked as he spoke, signaling Li Mu to look at the expectations in the eyes of Mrs. Li and Aunt Lin.

What's more, one morning when Aunt Lin came to deliver food, Li Mu just looked up at her, thanked her, and asked her to put down the things, but Aunt Lin suddenly had a sinful expression on her face, and hurriedly walked out of the door. I went to find Xia He, and asked if my footsteps were too heavy, which disturbed Li Mu.

Xia He was caught by Aunt Lin, seeing Aunt Lin's full face of fear, she could only press her forehead and said, "Okay, Aunt Lin, let me deliver the lunch at noon, I'm light on my feet."

As soon as noon arrived, Xia He was stuffed with bowls and chopsticks by Aunt Lin and asked him to deliver them.

Aunt Lin was watching eagerly behind her, so Xia He had no choice but to keep her footsteps as light as possible, and when she turned a corner into Li Mu's yard, the feeling of being on her back was gone, and she breathed a sigh of relief.

Li Mu still saw him.

Xia He said strangely: "I'm already light enough."

"You don't have to be like this, I'm not a porcelain doll that can't be disturbed. Besides, this scientific examination mainly depends on your daily skills, so there's no use in holding Buddha's feet temporarily." Li Mu raised the corner of his mouth, shook his head and said yes.

Xia He was actually attracted, and couldn't hold back, reached out and hooked the corner of Li Mu's mouth, and quickly withdrew his hand back.Seeing that Li Mu was looking at him, he shrunk his neck and said, "Actually, you look good when you smile, sir."

Li Mu's face turned red when he heard this, Xia He was even more curious.

Xia He found it interesting, so she simply sat down beside Li Mu, resting her chin, watching him read.Being stared at like this, Li Mu felt quite helpless, so he took out a book and threw it to him, saying: "Take it and read it yourself."

Xia He flipped through it, and found that Zhang Shiyi had told him about this book.

Ever since she married into the Li family, Xia He didn't study much.Although every time he went back to Zhang's house, he would be ordered by Zhang Xi'er, but he just agreed, and when he came back, he was lazy again, preferring to cultivate a large area of ​​land to plant corn, and he was not willing to practice more. words.

He always felt hopeless that he was just a farm boy and not suitable for studying.

Xia He casually flipped through the book Li Mu gave him and put it down, still looking at Li Mu.After sitting for a while, he became restless and asked urgently, "Aren't you going to eat? You'll be hungry."

"You can have dinner with me today." Li Mu said yes, and asked Xia He to fetch another bowl of rice.

It is rare for two people to sit at the same table, face to face, and eat together with no one else.Xia He ate fast, while Li Mu chewed slowly. When Li Mu put down half of the rice, Xia He had already finished eating. She lay down on the table and continued to look at Li Mu.

Li Mu couldn't hold back anymore and asked, "Why do you always look at me?"

"I'm waiting for you to finish eating. I have to go and see my corn seedlings later." Xia He said.

Li Mu had no choice but to put down his chopsticks, and said, "I'm almost done eating."

"Don't, you're eating cat food. You have to gather up enough strength. I heard that the exam is very tiring. Every year, candidates have to be carried out sideways." Xia He threatened Li Mu.

However, Li Mu knew this kind of thing much better than Xia He. He patted Xia He's head helplessly, and said, "Don't worry, it won't be your husband-in-law or me who will be carried out."

Xia He frowned, and wanted to add another bowl of rice to Li Mu - he didn't eat as much as he did.

In the end, Li Mu, who was full of food, couldn't sit on the chair anymore, and went to the yard for a few laps.Passing by Xia He's gate, he saw Miao Miao whom he was thinking of.The seedlings are growing fast, and the ones planted in the yard are stronger than the ones in the corner outside, and are now as high as the top of the feet.

Xia He put Jin Bao behind her back, bent over and looked after those Miao Miao carefully, as if she was taking care of her own children.

It's a pity that Xia He doesn't have the blessing to have a child of her own.

Li Mu secretly sighed because of this, but Xia He didn't realize it.After working for a long while, he stretched himself, untied Jinbao and carried him back to his arms. When he saw Li Mu, he hurriedly chased him away: "Mr. The point is, Aunt Lin and Li Mu just conveyed their dissatisfaction with their expressions, but for Xia He, they would grab his arm and chatter all day long!

Xia He drove Li Mu back, and closed the door very considerately.

On the second day, I borrowed the car from my fourth uncle's house to take Li Mu to the exam.The county examination is held once a year, and the county magistrate is the chief examiner.This test lasted for three full days, during which time one had to eat, drink and sleep between the small squares.Xia He stuffed the prepared quilts into the hood of the car, and then stacked the parcels she made on top of them, which were filled with food, and properly placed the money given by Mrs. Li in the corner. After thinking about it, she called Fourth Uncle Li don't leave yet, he ran to ask Aunt Lin, the two searched for a while, and brought out half a pack of charcoal.

Xia He also specially opened the package and showed it to Li Mu: "There is only a little charcoal at home. Aunt Lin said that most of the firewood is burned in our house in winter. There are not many of these things in stock, so I will bring them to you first."

Li Mu shook his head and asked strangely, "What am I doing with the charcoal fire?"

"Didn't you say that you can make a fire and cook in it? Although I brought you a lot of steamed buns, but you always eat cold steamed buns. If you eat too much, you will become more and more hungry." Xia He said seriously.Regarding this matter, he thought he had a deep understanding. Although steamed buns taste good when chewed, they can only be used to fill the stomach, and they must be eaten with vegetables to taste delicious and really fill the stomach.Thinking of this, Xia He said with some regret, "If my lord knows how to cook, I see that there is a small pot at home, which is just right for me to use."

Li Mu hurriedly shied away: "No need, I've brought enough of these, you go back, I'll be back in five days."

It would take a day to drive to the county seat, and once back and forth, plus the time for the exam, it would take a full five days.The old lady of the Li family, Xia He and Aunt Lin watched Li Mu leave with Jin Bao in their arms. At this moment, the three of them all had the same expectation in their hearts, and they only had to wait for the man to return home five days later.

Li Mu raised the curtain and looked back until his family disappeared, then sat back.Fourth Uncle Li has been quite familiar with him for taking Li Mu to the academy all these years, now he said with a smile: "I see the attitude of my niece and daughter-in-law, I wish I could take half of my family with you."

"I made Fourth Uncle laugh." Li Mu curled his lips imperceptibly, and said politely.

"Haha, ever since that girl Xia He came into your house, you have been brought up by him, and you have become more lively." Fourth Uncle Li said, "Smile more, since your father passed away, I haven't seen you for a long time Laughed."

Li Mu had heard such words several times in recent days. At this time, he didn't answer Uncle Li's words, but just looked back at Anle Village that disappeared behind him, and immediately remembered Xia He's appearance.

It's a pity that Xia He packed so many things for himself, and he could only bring one box into the arena, and he couldn't carry any more.He had nothing to do in the donkey cart, so he started to collect, packed some pens and ink, brought some food, and tied up a quilt, which was enough for this exam.Li Mu thinks that he is not a person who can't bear hardships, let alone only three days, so there is no such thing as hardship.

After moving into the county town, I booked two rooms. Firstly, Uncle Li was invited to live there, and then I went to visit some friends who were taking the exam together. This day passed in the blink of an eye, and the next day, Li Mu carried his suitcase and moved in. .

At the same time, in Anle Village, Xia He was at Zhang's house, listening to Zhang Shiyi's long and short sighs.

Xia He and Liu Lanniang endured it for a long time, but in the end they couldn't.Xia He couldn't speak harshly to her father, so Lan Niang slapped the table unceremoniously: "Can't you be more stable?"

"What if..." Zhang Shiyi was about to say something, he glanced at Xia He, and shook his head quickly, "Forget it, nothing, this is also a fatal disaster, the master said it, you have to bear it."

Xia He was at a loss, turned to look at her father and then at her mother, and asked, "Master? Who is Dad's master?"

Zhang Shiyi froze there.

While sewing the bellyband for Xia He, Lan Niang said casually: "Your father's master, he was also folded in the severe drought 15 years ago, you haven't seen it before."

The author has something to say: I seem to vaguely remember that I didn't mention the sequence of scientific examinations...?Because it was simplified by my own design, let me explain. The county examination - after passing the examination, you will be a scholar; Well, the academy plans to kick him to the end, and this year it will bring out the scholar, that's it.