413 Mid-Autumn Festival

After saying that, Shu Botong actually felt a little shy.

When the room suddenly became quiet earlier on, he felt inexplicably lost. Unable to control himself, he ran out. By the time he realized what was going on, the words had already slipped out of his mouth.

“Uh, I mean… Anyway…”

“We won’t forget.” Xiaoguo was stunned at first when she heard that. Then, looking at him, she could roughly guess what was on his mind. “We’ll definitely come often.”

“I won’t leave the renovation to you and disappear for weeks or months, so there’s no need to worry.”

Shu Botong’s ears turned red, but he still insisted. “I wasn’t referring to that. In any case, remember to take care of me. We have signed the agreement, don’t go back on your word.”

“Yes, yes, yes.”

Xiaoguo nodded helplessly. What a stubborn man. He was just hoping for them to visit him more often. It was not a big deal.

At this moment, Jiang Danhe urged his horse and galloped away, quickly disappearing from the other person’s sight.

“Alright, alright, alright. There’s still a jealous man beside me…”

Xiaoguo didn’t say anything else. She just took Jiang Danhe’s arms and wrapped it around her waist. With her actions, she was telling him that he was the only person she needed.

Jiang Danhe gently tightened his grip and wrapped her in his arms. He wasn’t being jealous at all. He just wanted to feel her concern for him.

On the way home, the two of them did not forget to buy a few sugar figurines.

They bought three for the kids in their household, and they got another two—one each for Xiaohu and Xiaohua.

—-

The next morning, Xiaoguo and Jiang Danhe set off for the county again. It was the first day of renovation work for the shop, so it was necessary for them to make a trip there.

When the two of them arrived at the front of the building, the craftsmen had already started work. Some were painting and repairing, while others were dismantling and digging, each person was doing their own job. The whole place was bustling with activity.

There were also two figures interspersed among the busy workers.

“That’s our brother, right?”

Xiaoguo was a little unsure. She was standing quite far away from the man, so she couldn’t see clearly even though she was straining her eyes.

When Jiang Danhe heard her voice, he suppressed his joy and nodded. “It’s our brother.”

He really liked to hear Xiaoguo saying the word, “Our”. He loved her so much!

Xiaoguo was feeling touched as she looked at Qin Anming. She knew that he would come and help.

The horse stopped at the door. Jiang Danhe lifted his robe and got off the horse, looking very suave. Then, he reached out to help Xiaoguo down.

Xiaoguo wasn’t as flashy as him. She only made sure to land steadily on the ground.

Qin Anming had just finished pouring the last cup of tea on his side. When he saw the two of them appear, he walked over with two cups of cold tea.

Jiang Danhe greeted him obediently, “Brother.”

Qin Anming smiled and nodded. Then, he handed the tea to the two of them. “Drink some cold tea and rest for a while.”

“Thank you, Brother.” Jiang Danhe seemed more used to calling Qin Anming brother than Xiaoguo. He kept addressing him, telling him that it had been hard on him and reminding him to rest more…

Xiaoguo quickly took the tea from him, feeling a bit embarrassed. She had not done anything at all. If anyone deserved credit for their hard work, they would be the craftsmen, Qin Anming and Shu Botong.

Qin Anming felt that even though it may not be physically tiring to ride a horse, it was still tiring for his younger sister, who was so delicate and fragile. Even if they flew here, they would be exposed to the sun during their journey. Therefore, he felt that it was indeed exhausting for them.

Shu Botong also spotted the couple. He quickly stopped what he was doing, and walked over with some cold tea.

“How is it? Am I doing a good job as a supervisor?”

Seeing his expression, which looked like he was begging for praise, Xiaoguo commended him on his work. “Not bad, not bad. You’ve improved, but don’t get too smug.”

Shu Botong waved his hand and dismissed her words. “How old am I? Do I need praise? What a joke.”

A few laughs escaped from Xiaoguo’s mouth. She didn’t take his words seriously at all. It would be more convincing if he were to hide his flushed ears before saying those words.

“Brother, is the shop busy? Why don’t you…”

“It’s fine. I’m taking a day off today. Ruyi couldn’t leave the shop, so she asked me to bring a few pots of herbal tea over to quench the craftsmen’s thirst.”

“Oh…” Xiaoguo glanced at Shu Botong. “So the tea was not made by someone.”

Shu Botong’s hair immediately stood on end. He quickly said, “Who said that? It’s all thanks to me!”

“When eating at the shop yesterday, I thought of ordering a few pots of tea from Ruyi, and I was even planning to pay for them. But she refused to accept the money. The tea was brought over by me this morning.”

“So, it was my idea to prepare the drinks for the workers. Even though it was actually made by Ruyi, the idea originated from me.”

Shu Botong said a lot. He was just short of writing the word ‘competent’ on his face.

He didn’t want Xiaoguo to think of him as someone who got paid for doing nothing.

“Ah, I see. You are so thoughtful,” said Xiaoguo, surprised that he actually cared. She smiled and nodded in agreement.

After receiving Xiaoguo’s praise, the scholar felt as beautiful as a flower. However, due to his pride, he pretended to cough and said, “I’ll get back to work.”

With that, he left before Xiaoguo could answer.

Jiang Danhe snorted as he watched Shu Botong leave. He thought to himself how effeminate-looking the man was, and how much he liked to blush.

Actually he was the pot that was calling the kettle black. Talking about effeminate looks, his facial features were only slightly more masculine than Shu Botong.

As for the tendency to blush… if he didn’t come into contact with Xiaoguo, he could confidently say that he wouldn’t blush for at least 800 years.

Qin Anming and Shu Botong were helping with the work, so Jiang Danhe joined in.

Xiaoguo had nothing to do. She was keen to help, but the three of them unanimously refused to let her lift one finger. Left with no choice, she gave up on carrying the logs and poured tea for them instead.

With more people working, things got done rather quickly. Although there were only three additional headcount, the efficiency was pretty high.

Xiaoguo couldn’t just pour water for them all the time, so she tried to pick up litter or rearrange some small items from time to time. The three of them saw this and let her be. They wanted her to sit around and do nothing, but they knew that she wouldn’t listen. However, when they saw her trying to carry a heavy piece of wood, they immediately stopped her. Lifting small items was fine, but heavier items should be left alone.

Xiaoguo felt very helpless about this. It seemed like everyone had underestimated her strength, but there was nothing she could do. So be it. She shouldn’t let them worry while they are working.

—-

The Mid-Autumn Festival, is also known as the Moon Worship Festival, Moon Birthday, Autumn Festival, Mid-Autumn Festival, Moon Goddess Festival, Moon Festival, Reunion Festival, and the list goes on.

It was an annual traditional festival.

The Mid-Autumn Festival originated from the worship of astronomical phenomena and evolved from the Autumn Festival and Moon Sacrifice in ancient times.

The tradition of the Mid-Autumn Festival was to worship the moon, admire the moon, eat mooncakes, look at lanterns, admire osmanthus flowers, and drink osmanthus wine. It has been passed down to this day and has lasted for a long time.

Last year, Xiaoguo celebrated the festival with a large group of people including Qin Anming and Ruyi. Although they had a good time on that day, it didn’t feel like a true reunion with one person missing from the group.

Coincidentally, Jiang Danhe was around to celebrate this year’s Mid-Autumn Festival. His presence made the festive atmosphere even more joyous for Xiaoguo.

Everyone woke up early in the morning and made plans to spend their day in the county. They would spend the night there as well. After all, the real fun begins at night.

Watching flower lanterns and guessing riddles were all night activities. Xiaoguo had missed out on the fun in the previous year. She was not going to miss it again this year.

Before leaving the house, the group fed the animals in the house and set aside ample food for them. Having done that, they could leave the house without any worries.

This was the first time Xiao Zhu and Yu Ling were going out for such an important festival. They couldn’t get to sleep throughout the night and were still feeling energetic until dawn.

At this moment, all of them were dressed in new clothes from head to toe. The atmosphere of the Mid-Autumn Festival made them feel like they were celebrating the New Year.

The outfit Xiao Zhu was wearing was made entirely by Xiaoguo.

Although Xiaoguo had also made new clothes for Yu Ling, the latter eventually decided to wear the clothes that her mother had made for her.

It had been a long time since her mother had enjoyed any festivities. It was a good opportunity for her to bring her mother out.