As He walked along the road, the village's open spaces were all filled with grain being dried in the sun. Many people were still busy turning over the new crop. The entire Shuiqiao Village was filled with a faint smell of rice and grain. Zhao Ce looked up at the scorching sun and thought to himself that if the weather remained good for a few more days, everyone would be able to finish drying their newly harvested grain.
When he arrived at Zhao Youcai's house, he found his yard also filled with drying grain. Everyone had gone to different areas to prepare to bring their grain back. It was Li Shi who opened the door for him, but upon seeing her he noticed that her expression is a bit strange, she had a hesitant and ambiguous expression. Zhao Ce handed her some sugar, but she only pushed it away a few times before reluctantly accepting it.
Li Shi then looked at the people collecting grain next to her and said to Zhao Ce, "Come inside with me." Zhao Ce could tell from her serious expression that she wanted to talk to him about something important, so he nodded and followed her inside.
Once inside, Li Shi gave Zhao Ce a bowl of water before sitting down herself. She hesitated for a moment before asking, "Have you noticed anything strange at home recently? Have you felt any discomfort?" Zhao Ce replied naturally, "Everything is normal, and I feel fine." He added that he had walked a long way with Zhao Wenhao today and had not rested at all. Li Shi breathed a sigh of relief and said, "If you feel uncomfortable, be sure to tell us." Zhao Ce nodded, not understanding why she was so concerned.
At that moment, Zhao Youcai returned with the harvested grain, wiping sweat from his forehead with a kindly smile on his dark face. "Did you come to see me for something, nephew?" he asked. Zhao Ce stood up and said, "Uncle, I came to ask you the name of the restaurant where Wenhua is working. I want to ask him if he would be interested in buying the sugar I made."
Zhao Youcai replied enthusiastically, "That's great news! Your cousin had mentioned before that he wanted to buy your sugar, but we didn't want to bother you since you were busy." Zhao Ce smiled, thinking that his new product was in demand not only at the grocery store but also at the restaurant.
Meanwhile, Zhao Wenshang was returning from the fields, with his cheeks sunburned red from the scorching sun. Zhao Wenshang held his farm tools, and when he saw Zhao Ce. Zhao Wenshang shouted, "Brother Zhao Ce!" Zhao Ce nodded in response. Zhao Wenshang was the third son of Zhao Youcai. Zhao Youcai planned to send him to school next year to start his education. He was only 10 years old but already helped with the farm work at home.
Seeing everyone in Zhao Youcai's family busy with their work, Zhao Ce felt a bit guilty and said, "Uncle, have you finished harvesting your crops? I have some free time, so perhaps I can help you." Zhao Youcai, wiping his sweat with a handkerchief, waved his hand and said, "You go and do your own thing. We don't need your help with our work. Wait until we finish this season, and then I'll ask for your help in finding a school for Wenshang."
Seeing Zhao Youcai's busy schedule, Zhao Ce didn't want to waste any more of his time accompanying him to the city. Zhao Youcai suggested, "You can go to the restaurant and find your cousin yourself. With him there, no one will dare to bully you." Zhao Ce agreed with a smile.
After speaking, he let Zhao Ce go. Li Shi looked at Zhao Ce's departing figure and sighed softly. Zhao Youcai looked at her in confusion and asked, "What's wrong? Why are you sighing?" Li Shi said, "Zhao Ce has changed so much, but I'm still a little worried. We didn't know anything about the girl he married into the family at first. Today, I sent Wenhao to Xiahe village to inquire about her and found out that there are some bad rumors about her." She repeated to Zhao Youcai what Wenhao had heard.
After listening to Li Shi's words, Zhao Youcai frowned. There was only Zhao Ce left in his brother's family. If anything happened to Zhao Ce, his brother's family would be without an heir. That was why Zhao Youcai had to pay attention to Zhao Ce all these years. After all, as the eldest brother, he could not just stand by and watch his own brother's family become extinct. Otherwise, his parents would scold him if they found out. Zhao Youcai thought for a moment and said, "Find a time when Zhao Ce is not around and ask the girl herself if there is anything hidden. If there is no hidden agenda, we'll talk to Zhao Ce and send the girl away. We can't let her harm Zhao Ce."
Li Shi quickly interjected and said, "Don't say such ominous words. Let's just wish for the best." Zhao Youcai felt a little frustrated and said, "Okay, let's do it this way for now." Li Shi agreed and said, "We can only do this for now." Previously, Zhao Ce had mentioned that the girl's eyes were sick, and she was not a bad omen. Naturally, they can't just drive her away without asking clearly. If they go to their house again because of this matter and start a conflict with Zhao Ce, the relationship between the two families will deteriorate again. Zhao Ce has always been stubborn and once he decides on something, no one can change his mind. Now, he seems even more opinionated and won't be easily swayed by them. We should ask clearly first. As a family, we can discuss things privately without outsiders hearing. Even if there is really a problem, it won't have too much impact on Zhao Ce's family...
Zhao Youcai and his wife's conversation was naturally unheard by Zhao Ce. After finishing his business, he went straight back home. By this time, the sun had already set. When they finished dinner and were preparing to wash up, the little girl performed a magic trick and took out two pairs of grass shoes, one large and one small. Zhao Ce took them and praised, "You made them so quickly?" Su Cai'er said, "I started making them when my husband went out in the morning."
"But the soles of these woven grass shoes are a bit hard. I don't know if my husband is used to wearing them." After the grass shoes were woven, Su Cai'er had already done her best to handle the shoe surface. However, they still felt quite hard when touched. Zhao Ce took a look and found them similar to the slippers he had in mind. He immediately took off his shoes and socks and put his feet into the grass shoes. He tried them on and found them to be the right size. However, because of the material, the shoes did scratch his feet a bit. Zhao Ce laughed and said, "It's not a big deal. We can wear them when we bathe, and we won't wear them for long. They won't hurt our feet much." Su Cai'er was happy to hear that he didn't mind and even boasted, "I've already remembered my husband's shoe size!"
