Chapter 22 Who are your father and mother?

Chapter 22 Your father and mother are

Pei Wu's gaze was so obvious that even Jiang Ru, who was immersed in joy, noticed it. She followed Pei Wu's gaze and looked down at the hand she was holding Pei Wu's.

Pei Wu's gaze was as if he had been groped by a lecherous man; she couldn't stand it even though she hadn't touched him at all.

Jiang Ru let go of her hand and patted the spot she had touched, creating the illusion that she hadn't touched it at all: "Okay, I just grabbed it, don't look at me like that, okay?"

To show that she didn't mean it, she spread her hands and silently took two steps back.

Pei Wu hesitated, but ultimately said nothing to her. He walked stiffly to the edge of Jiang Ru's vegetable garden and indeed saw tender shoots breaking through the soil.

Jiang Ru leaned closer again, unable to hide her smile, and said, "After a while, we'll be able to eat fresh vegetables."

She squatted down, admired her seedlings one last time, and exclaimed, "This is wonderful."

Now that the seedlings have sprouted, they grow very quickly, growing taller day by day, and their emerald green leaves gradually grow larger, forming clusters that begin to clump together.

Not only the vegetables in the yard, but also the millet planted in the mountains, after a complete process of watering, compacting, weeding and fertilizing, have sprouted and started to head.

The two chicks that used to run wild in the yard have also molted. Their original light yellow feathers have turned reddish-brown, and their tails are black. They were quite cute when they were little, but now they are just chicks.

These two chickens go out every day to catch insects and eat. They are very familiar with the area and will come back on their own when it's time to eat. They are very well-behaved.

The only thing he couldn't stand was their messy pooping. Pei Wu would suffer every time, and he had a long-standing grudge against them.

They also knew that Pei Wu didn't like it, so they ran away when they saw him, showing a strong sense of crisis.

These days, Jiang Ru, with the mindset that Pei Wu might not even pass the exam, tacitly allowed him to study.

She has also learned some commonly used characters in the past few months and knows several thousand characters. At least she doesn't have much trouble with daily life, and she is very satisfied.

When Jiang Ru first arrived in Muxi Village, it was the height of summer; now, two months later, autumn has gradually arrived.

The weather has turned cool these past few days. Every morning when I wake up, the sky is a hazy white, and the vegetables in the garden are always covered with glistening dewdrops. The water in the well is also much colder than usual.

Autumn is in the air, the wind stirs up yellow sand, and the slightly yellow leaves flutter in the autumn wind. Autumn insects chirp, and a rain has just fallen, which has washed the crops in the fields and made them lush and green.

In the afternoon, Jiang Ru was tricked by Zhang Xingjun and others into going out, who said that it had rained the day before and that they would take her to the river to collect fish.

There is a stream at the entrance of Muxi Village. In the past, when it rained heavily, the water in the stream would rise, which was the best time to catch fish.

If you're lucky, you can catch several.

In the past, Pei Wu didn't usually let Jiang Ru play with them, since Zhang Xingjun and the other kids were never good and would always end up getting beaten up.

Jiang Ru was flattered that Pei Wu actually agreed today, and tentatively followed him. Pei Wu really didn't stop her.

The group walked along the ridges of the fields and came to the stream. The water was a bit murky, and they couldn't see very clearly. Jiang Ru didn't think there were any fish in it.

She stepped on the stones and listened to Zhang Xingjun and the others say that fish like to stay in places with aquatic plants, so she bent down and used her hands to scoop them up.

After searching for a long time without finding a single fish, Jiang Ru suspected she had been cheated. Hands on her hips, she looked at the group catching fish and asked suspiciously, "You guys aren't trying to trick me, are you?"

Just then, Zhang Xingjun suddenly thrust his spear into the water and caught a fish.

Holding the fish in his hand, he didn't hear what Jiang Ru said, so he asked, "What did you say?"

Jiang Ru: "...It's nothing."

In the following time, she did see a fish in the water, but unfortunately she couldn't catch it and it got away.

After a long time, Jiang Ru could only barely touch the fish scales.

She sighed and sat down casually on the pebbly path: "I'm not going to catch them anymore, I can't."

At this moment, Zhang Xingjun had already caught three fish.

Jiang Ru looked at him enviously. Zhang Xingjun casually tossed a fish in front of her and said domineeringly, "This is for you."

This was the biggest fish Zhang Xingjun had caught, and he so generously gave it to Jiang Ru. Jiang Ru felt embarrassed to accept it, so she silently pushed it back. Just as she was about to say something to refuse, Zhang Xingjun had already run far away.

He simply waved to Jiang Ru and said, "I'll give it to you, don't come back."

Zhang Xingjun went to catch fish again. Jiang Ru watched for a while, then put the fish away.

Before long, Aunt Zhang's voice traveled through the fields to their ears, and Zhang Xingjun responded with a reply.

He caught several fish, shared them with his friends, and carried one fish for himself, calling to his friends to go home together.

A chorus of shouts rose and fell across the fields. Zhang Xingjun, with a cheeky grin, asked Jiang Ru, "Why didn't Brother Pei call you?"

Jiang Ru imagined Pei Wu standing by the edge of the field calling her and shuddered: "Forget it."

If Pei Wu really calls him that, his aloof and unattainable persona will crumble, which is terrifying.

Their trouser legs were wet, leaving water stains on the ground where they had walked. Jiang Ru wrung out her trouser legs and said goodbye to them.

Before even approaching the courtyard gate, Jiang Ru could smell the aroma. Stepping into the courtyard, she saw Pei Wu standing by the stove, steam rising from the pot, while he cracked an egg into it.

Jiang Ru found it strange: "What day is it today?"

She tried to walk over, but Pei Wu turned back and said, "Sit down first, the food will be ready soon."

Jiang Ru was curious and wanted to go over, but she stopped in her tracks when she heard this. Pei Wu was acting mysteriously, so she cooperated by putting the fish down first and sitting down at the table.

Before long, Pei Wu brought over two bowls of noodles, each topped with an egg and shredded meat, which smelled so good it made your mouth water.

Jiang Ru was even more surprised: "What day is it today?"

Pei Wu handed her the chopsticks and said softly, "It's your birthday."

Jiang Ru was stunned. She had gotten confused about time and had even forgotten her own birthday. When they first met, Jiang Ru casually mentioned it, and Pei Wu remembered it.

Jiang Ru stared blankly at the noodles on the table. These noodles must have been made by Pei Wu himself. The noodles were of varying thickness and did not look particularly good, but they were the best he could make.

Seeing Jiang Ru staring intently at the noodles, Pei Wu said nervously, "I've never made this before, it doesn't look very good."

No wonder he's been acting suspiciously these past few days, and even let Zhang Xingjun send her away today; it turns out he was preparing for this.

Pei Wu said, "It's not very tasty, please don't mind, cousin."

It tasted good, looked good, and smelled delicious. Jiang Ru picked up her chopsticks and took a bite.

The noodles were very chewy and still hot from the pot. Jiang Ru ate several bites in a row, then gave Pei Wu a thumbs up. The steam made it hard for her to see clearly, but Jiang Ru smiled and said, "Thank you, cousin."

Pei Wu smiled and said, "You're welcome."

When Jiang Ru had almost finished eating her noodles, Pei Wu stood up and took out a cloth bag from somewhere. He opened the bag and found two sets of clothes inside, which were much thicker than what Jiang Ru was wearing.

Pei Wu held up the clothes: "Since winter is coming soon, I asked someone to make two sets of clothes for you. See if you like them."

These two outfits are much thicker, one is pink and the other is cyan, and the material is also very good. Pei Wu must have spent a lot of money on them.

Jiang Ru reached out and touched it. Since she transmigrated, she had not established a similar kinship relationship with anyone. In her previous life, many of her relatives were kind to her. Several uncles and aunts missed her and would always send her things during the New Year and other holidays. She would also visit them often.

However, the conditions weren't much better; after all, they could barely take care of their own families, let alone hers.

Even if Pei Wu earned enough money to buy two sets of clothes at once, he would still have to grit his teeth.

She stared blankly at the clothes, momentarily choked up, unsure of what to say.

She looked up at Pei Wu. Pei Wu didn't smile much on a normal day, and he had a cold demeanor, but when he noticed Jiang Ru looking at him, he would try his best to respond with a gentle expression.

Jiang Ru blinked, wanting to speak, but couldn't utter a word.

Pei Wu reached out and gently touched her head. The movement of his palm was light, not intimate, and without any romantic intentions; it was like an older brother stroking his younger sister.

Pei Wu was much taller than her, and he could reach out and touch her head. Usually, Pei Wu was very resistant to being touched, but this time he took the initiative.

He touched her lightly and then withdrew his hand. Afterward, he looked at Jiang Ru earnestly and said, "I wish my cousin a happy birthday, and may you have joy and happiness year after year, and may the celebration be as wonderful as the times."

He read slowly, each word striking Jiang Ru's heart. It would be a lie to say she wasn't moved. She still had many things she was hiding from Pei Wu, yet Pei Wu still treated her like a close cousin.

If it weren't for their past lives' entanglements, they would practically be strangers.

Just as Jiang Ru was getting into the mood, Pei Wu suddenly pulled something out of the corner of the bag. It was a box of face cream. Pei Wu held the face cream in front of Jiang Ru and said gently, "It's getting a bit cold. Use this to prevent your hands from getting chapped."

"Once you're over fifteen, you're a grown woman. You should climb fewer trees from now on, otherwise, what would it look like if you were to be betrothed?"

As they talked, the conversation drifted to that area, and Jiang Ru realized that Pei Wu really wanted to marry her off.

Perhaps it was Pei Wu's relentless advances today that caught her off guard, and she subconsciously wanted to resist, or perhaps she wanted to get out of this mood as soon as possible. Jiang Ru muttered, "You keep telling me to get married, do you dislike me?"

Her voice was soft, but Pei Wu still heard it clearly. He paused for a moment, but instead of saying anything negative about Jiang Ru, he smiled, like he was looking at a naive child: "Speaking of which, I haven't asked my cousin yet whether your parents ever promised you a marriage when they were alive."

"If you've already been betrothed, you'll soon have your coming-of-age ceremony, and then it's not like you can just say you don't want to get married anymore."

Jiang Ru had never considered this question. After all, she had always been alone in her previous life. It wasn't that no matchmakers came to propose to her, but she thought that her life was already so miserable, and that marriage would only make it more miserable. So she never agreed, which caused her a lot of gossip.

Jiang Ru didn't know anything about the past, and no one had ever said they were going to get married, so it probably wasn't true.

Jiang Ru hesitated and said, "No, I don't think so."

"No?" Her hesitant look made Pei Wu suspicious as well, and he subconsciously asked again.

Jiang Ru replied decisively, "No!"

"Really?" Pei Wu was skeptical. After all, Jiang Ru had just said she didn't want to get married, and she hesitated when Pei Wu asked her. It didn't seem like she didn't want to.

Pei Wu pondered. He wasn't in a hurry to marry Jiang Ru off; she was still young, and marriage was too early. But he at least needed to know that Jiang Ru was his cousin, and he should consider her future.

Besides, he also needs to see if the other party is a good person. If he is of bad character, he should cancel the engagement as soon as possible.

Jiang Ru refused to tell the truth, so Pei Wu had to find out as well. If it was true, he could make plans early.

He pondered for a moment, then casually asked Jiang Ru, "Speaking of which, I haven't asked my cousin yet what your parents' names are, and where your family moved to."

Jiang Ru: "..."

Why ask this out of the blue? It's her birthday, isn't it presumptuous of you to ask?

She remained silent for a long time, and Pei Wu looked at her with suspicion: "Cousin?"

A note from the author:

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Year after year, we rejoice together, celebrating the new era with joy and celebration. (From Yan Shu)

Pre-order: "Transmigrating and Marrying into the Qian Family"

Yao Zhi transmigrated to the first day she married into the Marquis's mansion.

The key point is: her cheap husband is stationed on the border.

She doesn't have a husband, but she still has endless money to spend.

Isn't this the life I've always dreamed of?

Yao Zhi went out to listen to folk songs and look at handsome men.

I wrote a letter to my husband when I got home: My dear husband, I'm also waiting for you to come home today.

Yao Zhi took the initiative to go to the border to find her husband, pretending to be considerate and caring, but cried her eyes out when they parted.

She turned around and told the maid that there were many, many, many handsome men in the military camp, and that she wanted to come.

From then on, Yao Zhi shuttled between the Marquis's residence and the military camp, occasionally bringing warmth to her husband and taking the opportunity to admire handsome men.

One day, her husband, who was not her husband, told her with tender eyes: "In two months, I will be able to return home and be with you forever."

Yao Zhi: ?

Didn't they say he wouldn't be back for eight or ten years?

Also, can we still see handsome guys in the military camp?

-

Xiao Heng loathed his newlywed wife, who was extremely spoiled.

Not long after their marriage, he volunteered to go to the frontier.

When he received his wife's letter, Xiao Heng threw it away in disgust.

Xiao Heng scoffed at the sachet his wife made for him.

When his subordinates asked him when he would return home, he sneered, "When she leaves the Marquis's residence."

Later, when he heard that his wife was coming to see him, he even mocked her, saying, "All you do is cause trouble."

But in just a few days, he remembered his wife's smiling face, her gentle words, and her tender affection, and Xiao Heng fell for her.

From then on, he carried his wife's handkerchief in his hand every day, looking forward to going home.

However, he discovered that his wife's eyes were always on other men.