Four people eating eggs without peeling the shells

  Normally, Bai Xingyan would lazily sleep in the house, letting the little yellow dog 'Wangcai' guard the yard. If someone came, the little yellow dog's barking could remind her to put on a silly expression and greet the arriving person.

  Now, 'Wangcai' was killed by the man with a palm wind and entered her belly. The gatekeeper's position is empty, and there is a man hiding in the house. White Heart Stain can only guard the courtyard herself.

  The wooden bed in her house was propped up with two large stones, about three feet off the ground. For Bai Xintian, on rainy days, under the bed was the best place to take shelter. On sunny days, she also made men sleep under the bed, no matter how dark their faces were or how fierce they looked, she had to have them sleep under the bed in order to feel at ease.

  Today, Bai Xinyan was picking mint she had planted in a corner of the yard, something the village head's wife had taught her to do.

  A year ago, the village head's wife found her a job like this. When she had nothing to do, she would plant mint in the yard and collect the mint leaves that grew out, wash them clean and send them to a large mansion at the foot of the mountain. The mansion was home to a handsome man with a leg disability who couldn't walk. He was said to be the son of a wealthy family from the capital city, but because of his crippled legs, he felt inferior and didn't want to be ridiculed by people in the capital city, so he came to Maoshan Village to calm down and recover.

  These things, of course no one told her, a deaf and dumb girl, all were what she overheard when others spoke.

  It is said that the young master was extremely fond of mint, and even his tea had to be infused with it. The village head and his wife wanted to curry favor with this noble son from the capital, so they let many villagers plant mint in their own courtyards and then gave it away for free to the noble son. Although it was free, every time a villager delivered mint to that mansion, he would receive many rewards.

  The village head's wife saw that Bai Xindian was pitiful and lonely, so she let her participate in planting mint. Since Bai Xindian couldn't hear, the village head's wife personally found someone to come over and teach her how to plant mint in the courtyard. When the mint grew leaves, she had someone come over again to teach her how to pick mint leaves, then took her to the large mansion at the foot of the mountain.

  That time, Bai Xinzhi received a big package of dry food wrapped in oil paper, which was sent by the old steward of the mansion. The person who brought him had mentioned to the old steward about her deafness and dumbness, and later every time Bai Xinzhi went, she got more things than others.

  In this remote and impoverished village of Cao Shan, Bai Xinzhi's greatest hobby besides sleeping is planting mint. The village of Cao Shan has a climate like spring all year round, with plenty of sunshine, making it an ideal place for mint to grow, and allowing her to eat some things that can't be found in the village every now and then.

  Hearing footsteps outside the yard, Bai Xincheng was stunned for a moment, and then continued to pick mint leaves as if nothing had happened.

  Knowing she couldn't hear, the people of Maoshan Village, who had long been accustomed to it, wouldn't shout out a greeting from afar like they would with ordinary people.

  It wasn't until someone patted her on the back that she turned around, revealing a pure and happy smile of surprise.

  It's the village headman's wife!

  Looking at this middle-aged woman with a kind face, Bai Xintian quickly put down the mint leaves in his hand and wiped his muddy hands on his clothes with countless patches, then pointed to the main room, indicating that the village head's wife was sitting inside.

  The village head's wife just smiled and waved her hand, then handed her a basket. Bai Xintie took a look and found that besides the big white vegetables, there were also four eggs in the basket. She was delighted and didn't refuse, as usual, she accepted all these offerings and carried them into the main room.

  After picking up the things in the basket and putting them away, she picked up several large sweet potatoes and some radishes from the bamboo basket at the door and put them in the basket. Only then did she walk to the front of the village head's wife and hand over the basket.

  Looking at the things in the basket, the village head's wife smiled and nodded. It was considered that she had accepted her thank-you gift, and when leaving, she also patted her head with her hand.

  After the village head's wife left, two more village women came to her yard with some things, one of whom also brought a bag of coarse rice flour. Bai Xintai picked up some sweet potatoes and radishes and returned them to the women one by one.

  Evening

  The man sat on the bed, looking at the hot white boiled egg in his hand that still had water droplets on it, and furrowed his brow to ask: "Where did this come from?"

  Bai Xin didn't know what he meant, but judging from his appearance, it didn't seem like he was disgusted. So she replied, "Someone else gave it to me, so don't worry and just eat it. To prove I'm not poisoning you, I haven't even peeled the eggshell."

  The man looked at her carefree and serene appearance, then glanced again at the coarse bowl in front of her. In a bowl of water floated some cabbage leaves, while she held a red radish in her hand, crunching away with relish.

  This was his first time looking straight at the woman in front of him.

  Putting aside the woman's tattered clothes and her overly frail body, if one were to just look at her face, the woman in front of him still had delicate features, especially those eyes, which would occasionally reveal a bright luster that seemed exceptionally clear and sparkling, with an inexplicable cunning hidden within, making them pleasant to look at and ponder. However, her dirty and tattered attire covered up her beautiful looks, and if one didn't take a closer look, they wouldn't have noticed that she had such captivating facial features.

  His bright eyes sparkled, he put the egg aside, picked up the bowl of boiled white vegetables and took a sip, only to find that it was salty, so he couldn't help but glance at the woman again.

  "What are you staring at? If you want to eat, then eat! Otherwise, I'd rather not bother digging a hole to bury you!" Bai Xinzhi said with a scowl on her face, thinking he was looking down on her.

  "Why don't you ask me about myself?" The man's low voice suddenly sounded.

  Bai Xin turned her head to look at him, gazing into his deep and complex black eyes. Suddenly, she burst out laughing: "I say you're really funny. I just wanted someone to get me out of this thatched cottage village, not marry out of the village. What's the point of investigating your background?"

  Can't help but say, this man is quite a sight to behold. His eyebrows are like flying swords, his eyes are deep like a pool, high nose and thin lips, every feature is chiseled out like it was carved with an axe. Plus, he always has an inexplicable aura of coolness about him, if placed in modern times, he'd be the epitome of a "cool guy". Most importantly, this man's physique is quite enchanting, not only tall and robust, but also... *cough*... that thing is quite impressive.

  But then again, she's not a flower idiot, the handsome cool guy has seen too many in modern times and has already been immunized, how would she have thoughts about a mysterious man?

  The man pursed his lips and fell silent, withdrawing his gaze, and suddenly he didn't make a sound.

  The white porcelain bowl was empty, and the man had also finished drinking the bai cai soup. She silently carried the two coarse bowls to the small kitchen.

  When washing dishes, she always felt that something was wrong. After finishing washing the bowls, she suddenly thought - why didn't I see any eggshells?

  Does that man eat egg without peeling?

  。。。。。。

  Seven or eight days have passed

  As the man was able to get out of bed, Bai Xinzhen carefully noticed that the man's internal strength seemed to have recovered a lot, and his speech was more energetic than before. Sometimes he would inexplicably become angry, and his voice would be even lower and colder, and even the aura around him had undergone a significant change, becoming even more mysterious and unfathomable.

  That night, she was sleeping soundly on the kang in the main room when she suddenly felt a strange movement beside her.

  After the strange movement disappeared, she opened her eyes and stared deeply at the door. Without thinking much, she jumped up, opened the old wooden door, and disappeared from a corner of her own courtyard wall.

  All along hiding his breath and following closely, it wasn't until the black shadow in front of him disappeared at a corner of a wall that Bai Xinzhi discovered he had actually arrived at the village chief's doorway.

  "Wu Guanjia, please trouble yourself to put in a good word for me with the master, my whole family's lives depend on you." The anxious voice of the village head came from inside.

  "Feng Ming, it's not that I won't help you, but this time the master is especially furious. You clearly know that the imperial court took action recently, yet you still smuggled goods out. Now the goods have been seized and the people who were transporting them have also been caught. What do you think will happen to these people and goods now that they are in the hands of the imperial court?"

  Bai Xin crouched under the window, his brow furrowed in suspicion. Wasn't this the kindly old steward from the mansion? What was he doing at the village chief's house in the middle of the night?

  Inside the house, the village head was so anxious that he turned around in circles, walked back and forth for two rounds, and suddenly knelt down in front of Wu Guan Jia: "Wu Guan Jia, you must believe me, I didn't mean to betray our master. I just wanted to sell more goods, but unexpectedly the imperial court's inspection was so strict... I am guilty, please help me beg for mercy from our master, ask him to spare my family on account of my hard work and dedication over these years..."

  "Alas..." The old steward let out a deep sigh, helping him up. "Get up first and then talk. To be honest, the master left Mashan Village last night, as for where he went, I'm not clear either. Let's wait until the master returns to discuss everything."

  "The people in Wushan..."

  "For now, let's call it a day and hide those people away safely. We'll talk about this again when our master returns."

  "But I've already promised the Prince of Dian Nan that all goods must be delivered within three months. Now, less than half of them have been shipped out... what about the rest? Wu Guan Jia, how can this be resolved?"

  "What else can we do? We can only drag it out." The old steward frowned and sighed again, "We still have to wait for the master to return before making a decision. Given the relationship between the master and the Prince of Dian Nan, I'm sure he won't make things too difficult for us."

  "Then I'll thank Butler Wu first! This time it's all thanks to your help!"

  。。。。。。

  Bai Xin couldn't find the man's figure and had no choice but to return home.

  All along the way, she couldn't figure out what the village heads were doing that could shock the imperial court.

  What secrets is this backward and isolated village hiding?

  If it were in modern times, she might suspect that these people were manufacturing and selling drugs. However, this was a feudal and backward ancient era, so even if the mountains were full of poppies, no one would have thought of the words "drugs". Therefore, it's impossible for her to think that way.

  But what exactly is this 'cargo' they're talking about?

  Every half month, there is a rumbling sound of wheels passing by one's own house. Is this what the village head meant by "shipping out"?

  The man raised in his own home is clearly coming for the village chief and others to discuss, presumably a court official.

  She walked into her own house with a worried heart and furrowed brow, just about to go inside to see if the man had returned, when she saw a tall black figure standing in the dark hall. The man's low, sinister voice came through:

  "Are you following me?"

  He didn't expect this woman to have such deep inner strength, almost to the point where he couldn't even detect it.

  Digression

  Starting tomorrow, Liangzi will update in the afternoon. Group hug~ Today's word count is a lot, right?