readytorunbook Chapter 153 A boy who looks familiar yet unfamiliar
Chapter 153 A boy who looks familiar yet unfamiliar
Early the next morning—
When delivering the braised meat, Xia Mo took Brother Xia and Xiong Ying to the Zuimeng Restaurant in Anning Prefecture so that Xiong Ying could familiarize himself with the route.
When Lu Xun saw the eagle, he was extremely surprised. Little did he know that Xia Mo had tamed the entire falcon family. If he had known, he would have been even more astonished.
"This is what you said yesterday, no need for carrier pigeons! This is a thousand times, a hundred times better than carrier pigeons!" Lu Xun exclaimed sincerely, wanting to touch it, but the eagle wouldn't let Lu Xun get close.
Lu Xun hurriedly asked the restaurant staff to find the freshest meat to feed the eagle.
“It will circle and patrol the sky on both sides of us. If you need anything, you can call it with this whistle, but it will only respond to you in an open space, such as the center of the yard,” Xia Mo explained.
"Yes, yes, yes, good, good, good," Lu Xun nodded repeatedly, as happy as a child who had eaten candy. He never thought that he would be able to command an eagle!
"Did you call its name?" Lu Xun asked excitedly, seemingly looking at the eagle with enthusiasm, but in reality, his eyes kept sneaking glances at Xia Mo.
After learning that Xia Mo had reached marriageable age, Lu Xun's mind wandered. He couldn't help but glance at Xia Mo a few more times, and then he would want to look at her a third time, and so on, until he had looked at her countless times.
"We have other things to do, so we'll take our leave first," Brother Xia said, interrupting Lu Xun's attempt to approach Xia Mo.
"Ah, yes, okay, goodbye," Lu Xun waved to Xia Mo and her brother helplessly, feeling a deep sense of loss.
But clearly, Brother Xia didn't mean it that way.
* * *
It's a new day again—
Xia Mo had made up her mind; she wanted to witness Brother Xia successfully connect with the people at Zuimeng Restaurant before leaving.
After saddled the horse, Brother Xia put the baskets, each containing ten jin (about 5 kg) of braised meat (a total of twenty jin), onto the horse's back. Then, with a nimble flip, he mounted the horse and waved to his family.
At the end of summer, Xia and his father watched as Xia's eldest brother went to deliver goods.
Xia Mo was worried, so she separated a wisp of her divine consciousness and attached it to Xia's back.
"Daughter, why don't you stay home today and go out tomorrow, okay?" Xia's mother held Xia Mo's hand, trying to persuade her to stay.
Xia Mo had agreed to go out today, but her mother asked her to stay. Xia Mo obediently nodded and said, "Okay."
Xia's mother's eyes lit up.
She had it all planned out: if she could delay it one day today, and another day tomorrow, and keep delaying it day by day, wouldn't she be able to keep her daughter occupied indefinitely?
Like Xia's father and the others, Xia Mo saw through Xia's mother's little scheme.
"Daughter," Xia's father opened his mouth with mixed feelings, wanting to say: If you delay today, your mother will delay tomorrow too. You might as well set off quickly.
This is the truth, but Xia's father was also reluctant to part with his daughter. How could he possibly persuade her?
Along the official road outside Lejia Village, which stretches for nearly 100 kilometers—
The manager and guards from Zuimeng Restaurant who were supposed to pick up the braised food arrived earlier and even went to Le'an Village to ask for a drink of water.
When Brother Xia arrived, he loaded the braised meat from the basket onto the carriage the other party had brought.
After inspecting the goods, the manager nodded to Brother Xia, marked the delivery record of the braised meat with red clay, and then they each left.
After watching the steward, the horse handlers, and the shopkeepers drive the carriage away, Brother Xia nimbly mounted his horse.
He noticed someone from Le'an Village running towards the official road, shouting to him as they ran: "Wait, wait..."
Brother Xia glanced at them, then spurred his horse and rode away, not intending to say another word to the people of Le'an Village.
After watching Brother Xia ride away on his tall horse, the woman, standing on the official road, jumped up and down.
"Why did they just leave like that! I kept calling out 'Wait, wait, wait!' but they couldn't even stop for a second! Really..."
The woman stamped her feet, but she was helpless against Brother Xia, who had already disappeared without a trace.
The woman's behavior was clearly not a spur-of-the-moment thing, but rather had a purpose. Even though Brother Xia had shown that he was unwilling to have much contact with her, she still gave up on him.
Xia Mo's divine sense was attached to Brother Xia, so naturally, he also took in this situation.
However, the distance is too far, and it would be too taxing to investigate the woman's purpose. It would be better to wait until she arrives at Le'an Village.
After confirming that Brother Xia could handle the braised food delivery business independently, Xia Mo packed her things and prepared to leave.
* * *
Early the next morning—
The sky had just begun to brighten...
"Little girl, why don't you stay today?"
Xia's mother wanted to use yesterday's method to stall Xia Mo and get through today. As for tomorrow... well, we'll talk about that tomorrow!
Xia Mo also reluctantly held her mother's hands in return. If she could, she wouldn't want to leave home either!
"We'll talk about it tomorrow," Xia's mother said decisively when she saw that Xia Mo hadn't refused her.
"We can't stop our daughter," Xia's father said in a hoarse voice.
He now really wants to emulate Gao Lizheng, holding his pipe, taking a deep drag, and expressing his worries and reluctance.
Xia's mother glared at Xia's father and whispered, "Are you really willing to let your daughter go out?!"
"You've been living a warm and cozy life for so long that you've forgotten what your daughter said before," Xia's father said helplessly in a low voice, "Eighteen years old."
Xia's mother seemed to have all her energy drained away, and she became very depressed.
"Go, but be careful to protect yourself, understand? If any man gets close to you, use your abilities, don't hold back, and knock him away, okay?" Xia's mother choked up and stopped trying to keep Xia Mo.
Xia Mo swallowed hard, feeling a pang of unease in her heart.
“Father and Mother, I will protect myself,” Xia Mo said.
"Isn't it inconvenient for you to wear women's clothes? How about we wear men's clothes?" Xia's mother looked Xia Mo up and down, her heart filled with indescribable worry.
Xia Mo said, "I originally planned to change into men's clothes after I went out. How about I change into men's clothes now?"
“Okay, let’s change it now,” Xia’s mother said.
When Xia Mo returned to her room and came out again, she was dressed in a neat men's outfit.
Xia's mother looked at Xia Mo's eyebrows and said, "Your eyebrows are too thick, and your eyes are too hard and cold. That won't do. You need to blacken your pink lips and look at your father."
Xia Mo immediately took out a lipstick and, in front of Xia's mother, applied a dark color to the corners of her lips.
“You look even more like a boy now, but you’re still too handsome…” Xia’s mother was still worried and said, “There are many people outside who are eyeing pretty girls, and there are also many bad people who are eyeing pretty boys. You are… too handsome.”
Xia Mo nodded, then took out the tanning cream and applied it to her face.
"This is better, more ordinary, but still... her features are too outstanding," Xia's mother said frankly, expressing her worry and unease.
Xia Mo nodded, then applied the tanning cream to the area around her eyes, nose, cheeks, and temples.
"Yes, this is much safer..."
Xia's mother held Xia Mo's hand and slowly loosened her grip.
"I'm leaving," Xia Mo said, not planning to go through the main gate or let the villagers know that she wasn't home.
"Remember, don't let any men get close to you," Xia's father whispered again.
* * *
at the same time--
Anping County, in a resident's courtyard—
Lin Fengzhi sat in the courtyard with his eyes wide open, not understanding why Huangfu Qian was staying there without moving.
It's been three days since he left Anjia Village. Who are they waiting for?
Lin Fengzhi dared not ask, and his heart felt like it was being fried in oil, unbearable, until a familiar yet unfamiliar young man appeared...