Afternoon.
Another nice nap.
At first, Jiang Mianmian resisted her brother stroking her head.
But later, as he stroked and stroked, it felt quite soothing and enjoyable.
She fell asleep instantly.
Even forgetting that she was teasing the ants just now.
After nearly being kidnapped, little Mianmian formed a deeper bond with her ant friends, no longer as afraid of the little ants.
She even felt that having a pocket as a rescue pouch was super convenient.
But the little ants were also very busy, going in and out, with more friends than her.
She was woken up by her sister Jiang Yu's "gaga" laughter.
Opening her eyes, she found two unfamiliar people in their home.
The two young masters had come to visit without prior notice, so it was already rude. Hence, they brought gifts.
They sent writing tools and tea to the Jiang residence, which was an appropriate gift.
For Jiang Feng, they prepared four pastries, a tea gift, a cloth, and some money (silver ingots) for hair styling.
Of course, these were prepared by their subordinates, based on who they were meeting.
Since Jiang Feng was a poor scholar, sending writing tools might have been seen as mocking his poverty.
But pastries and tea could be consumed.
Cloth and silver were practical and useful, as cloth could also be used as currency.
This was also to reciprocate the jerky Jiang Feng had gifted them earlier.
They thought that jerky was from a wild boar, poor people's meat, so they hadn't planned to eat it.
But the gesture was appreciated, so they wished to return the favor.
Jiang Yu's "gaga" laughter was because she smelled the pastries.
She looked at the two young masters in an extremely friendly way.
Smiling with her whole face.
She was as busy as the little ant, going in and out of the house to fetch a bamboo tube, then to draw water, extremely diligent.
She also generously contributed Red crow fruit medicine made by her father, which she ate as dried fruit, filling a small plate.
Castor roots, a finger's length, chewed into a sweet taste, spitting out the residue.
Python jerky, in small strips, could stave off hunger, getting more fragrant the more you chewed.
In an instant, Jiang Yu was like a busy little bee, setting out three small plates of strange pastries on the stone stool and pouring tea for the guests.
Meng Shaoxia watched the busy little girl's movements and thought, if he had such a hardworking figure at home, he might not want to travel the world.
He Chen felt that Jiang Feng's sister was very diligent and lively, bouncing and jumping as she walked, yet not at all rude, but rather making one happy just by watching her.
They felt very relaxed here.
A completely different feeling from their visit to the Jiang residence this morning.
Jiang Mianmian woke up, and despite having guests, she still went "Wee-ah wee-ah" (wanting to pee).
Fortunately, her family understood her very well.
Her brother excused himself and took her to pee.
As Jiang Mianmian had her legs spread to pee freely, she felt relieved that her brother would let her save face.
Sometimes she just peed under a tree.
She felt those two trees grew better and more lush.
Today, her brother carried her to the side of the wall to a small patch of land that her mother had cultivated, where some wild onions grew, which was Jiang Mianmian's personal plot, as the onions were all watered by her pee.
Extremely lush...
After peeing, Jiang Mianmian became lively again.
Her brother went to wash his hands, and Jiang Mianmian fell into her sister's embrace.
Jiang Yu stared intensely at the two young men.
Jiang Mianmian also looked at them curiously.
Their clothes were really beautiful, with pretty patterns and silky smooth, glittering golden in the sunlight, looking so expensive.
They wore headdresses too, she couldn't make out what they were, but they seemed able to tie a beautiful high ponytail, very nice, able to save a drooping hairstyle.
They rode horses here, so their hair wouldn't be messy, did they use hair gel?
They had swords at their waists, but when seated they didn't poke themselves.
Their shoes were also nice, with pointed toes, a bit like boots, yet a hip-hop version.
Jiang Mianmian observed very intently.
Last night at the dinner table, she had heard her brother mention encountering two extremely wealthy and powerful young masters, so Jiang Mianmian was very curious about what rich second-generation folks of this era were like.
After looking them over, they were just dressed very nicely, exceptionally well, with great demeanor, sitting properly, speaking politely. But, Jiang Mianmian felt that in terms of looks and air, they couldn't match her father.
Incomparable to her father.
Oh dear.
Jiang Mianmian didn't know if she had too strong a filter, or if it was an infant's skewed aesthetics.
That she actually felt her scruffy herb-picking father had more grace and better looks than these capital city young masters.
A bit too narcissistic.
She even felt that with her brother sitting there, he wasn't inferior either, just his clothes and shoes were plainer, but his face was even better looking than those small faces.
Jiang Mianmian's eyes rolled around observing them.
Jiang Yu stared intensely.
Meng Shaoxia's face slowly reddened, seeing Jiang Feng's sister staring at him, her eyes full of frank adoration (#dense fog), he felt flustered.
How could she be so direct?
Although he was handsome and dashing, such directness made him unable to handle it.
His family had only passed the lineage to sons for generations, so his marriage would likely be complicated, with his parents, grandparents, seven uncles and seven aunts, four aunts-in-law and four uncles-in-law, and paternal grandparents all having a say.
The reason his father could marry his mother was because his paternal grandparents were quite capable.
But in the end, his mother only bore him.
Although his martial family did not have high requirements for the family status of their marriage partners, his grandfather had told him that due to the aged Emperor's growing suspicions, his wife's family status could not be too lofty.
But her background still needed to be examined, if he just brought a woman home from wandering, he would definitely get his legs broken.
The more Meng Shaoxia thought, the more solemn his expression became.
As for He Chen, he was not bothered by Jiang Yu's stares, as his family were scholar-officials, taking the civil service path - in other words, physical looks were important.
He had no particular feelings towards the chubby little round-faced girl in rough clothing.
She just seemed like a plump little girl.
He was drawn to elegance and refinement.
So he was not affected by Jiang Yu's gaze, but rather curiously observed the infant in Jiang Feng's sister's arms.
Was this the kidnapped child they had rescued last time? He hadn't paid attention then either.
Nor when he first arrived.
But now, seeing the infant staring at him with big eyes.
He Chen was startled.
This morning at the Jiang residence, he felt he had seen the most beautiful girl in the world in Miss Jiang Wan, like an uncovered gem, her radiant beauty just beginning to emerge.
Yet now he found himself feeling that this infant, when grown, would be a thousand times more beautiful than Jiang Wan...
Because this infant looked like an unpolished gem, not veiled in dust, a whole, truly sculptured jade beauty.
So beautiful, it was indescribable.
He even felt the patched, ragged swaddling clothes soiled her.
She should lie in the most luxurious room, on the most lavishly adorned bed, with a golden chamber pot (#wtf), instead of this mud-brick wall, dirt floor, tiled roof, wooden tub.
He Chen felt his mind was broken.
That he would have such a strange feeling towards this tiny infant.
But this infant was too beautiful.
Not as beautiful as Jiang Feng and his sister.
Could this infant be the one that was kidnapped...?
Jiang Yu stared intensely at the two, thinking they must have eaten well at noon, at least sixteen dishes, really, she could smell it, just imagining made tears want to flow from the corners of her mouth.
How could anyone be so extravagant, sixteen dishes in one meal?
One dish would be enough for her.
Jiang Mianmian thought these two capital city playboys looked a bit dazed.
Their horses looked quite nice too, now her attention had shifted to the horses.
This horse looks so fine, with firm muscles and a beautiful tail. Even its back is covered in hair, pressed down by the saddle.
If Mother caught sight of this horse, she might cut its hair off in chunks, sorting the lengths, and bundle them up as little brooms - the small brushes on our table are made from wild boar bristles she collected.
As she watched, she noticed her little black ant moving up along one of the horses' legs with great effort.
Jiang Mianmian couldn't help but cheer it on: "Go, go, go!"
"Brother Meng, Brother He, if you don't mind our humble abode, please stay for dinner tonight," said Jiang Feng after washing his hands.
He had checked the kitchen and saw they had some dried meat, wild vegetables, and coarse grains - already quite a feast by his family's standards.
He noticed the two young masters had brought many gifts.
It would be disrespectful not to offer a meal to guests, so the practical Jiang Feng sincerely invited them to stay for dinner, caring less about appearances today.
Mother should be back soon.
Meng Shaoxia and He Chen exchanged a glance, then inexplicably agreed to Jiang Feng's sincere invitation.
Jiang Yu was surprised they actually agreed to stay for the meal, but she was happy - with guests, dinner would certainly be more plentiful.
Meng Shaoxia and He Chen themselves were surprised at their own acceptance.
But since they had come, they would stay.
Then they saw Jiang Feng call his sister inside.
The mud walls provided little soundproofing, especially with Jiang Feng's sister's rather loud voice.
"I'll go borrow some fine grains from Landlord Liu. Do you think he'll lend them?"
"Alright, I'll be right back. I'll make sure to get some."
They watched as the round-faced young lady greeted them and scampered down the mountain path.
Meng Shaoxia and He Chen felt a little awkward.
Being invited for a meal, yet having to borrow grains.
Meng Shaoxia picked up a pastry from the plate in front of him and took a bite. The sour, bitter taste of the red crow fruit made his cheeks pucker, almost rounding his angular face.
Seeing Meng's expression, He Chen learned his lesson and took a small piece of dried meat, putting it in his mouth. It made a loud crunch, and he froze - had he broken a tooth...?
...
