The Eldest Daughter of a Rural Family
Chapter 317: What the Heck is Dark Cuisine (9)_1

Chapter 317: Chapter 317: What the Heck is Dark Cuisine (9)_1

Mo Heng knocked on the door.

Pei Wendong ran out to ask who it was, opened the door, and wondered what brought him here.

Pei Qin saw him and rolled her eyes, "Is it necessary to come so early for New Year’s greetings!?"

Mo Heng felt an odd sense of calm gradually settle in his heart and stood silently in the courtyard without speaking.

It was bitterly cold outside, and he had come over by himself, so Pei Yuan whispered to Pei Qin to let him in for some hot soup before having Lu Hao send him back.

"Still standing in the yard, pretending to be a Narcissus!?" Pei Qin said irritably.

Only then did Mo Heng move toward the source of warmth and enter the house.

Pei Yuan scooped some hot soup for him. Watching him finish, she genuinely felt pity for him. At least she and her brother had their grandmother’s home, a family, the ability to earn money, and good health. This blind man had no family, couldn’t see, and although he had two servants with him, he was bound to feel lonely on a day like New Year’s.

After finishing a bowl of soup, Mo Heng sat on the side, not speaking, as if intending to join them in staying up late to welcome the new year.

Pei Qin ignored him as if he were invisible, continuing to play with her siblings.

It wasn’t until midnight, when the new year’s watch was sounded, that the new year had arrived.

Then, Mo Heng stood up, ready to leave.

Pei Wendong asked Lu Hao to help send him back to the workshop.

Feng Wei was waiting outside; he knew that the young master had a habit of occasionally finding his way to their home. He took Mo Heng back to the workshop with him.

After giving it some thought, and realizing Pei Qin and her brothers did not even know his name or surname, only that he was an extremely good-looking blind man temporarily staying at their workshop, Lu Hao hesitated for two days before writing to Shen Songming to tell him about Mo Heng hiding out at the workshop of Pei Qin’s house.

When Shen Songming received the letter, it was already the Lantern Festival on the fifteenth day of the new year. He immediately instructed Shuang Xi to pack his bags for him, planning to leave for Yuanyang County after the festival.

Fang Hui was crying at Pei Qin’s house.

When she visited the Fang family over the New Year, Fang Liuyang mentioned rare bamboo rats and wild hares, gifts he said were from Pei Qin, and asked whether Feng Chun had sent any to their family.

Fang Hui then realized that Pei Qin had become estranged from their family. Although she visited during the New Year, the visit was merely polite, with a meal eaten without much conversation. There were no dumplings for them during the Lantern Festival; the New Year visit had only been for appearances.

Right after the Lantern Festival, Fang Hui came over, clutching Pei Qin and crying, expressing her worries about Pei Qin marrying into another family and possibly encountering someone like Pei Zongli, evil mothers-in-law like Lady Zhu and Lady Chen, and having no good days ahead. She insisted that Feng Bo must treat her well, take her into his home to raise as his daughter. She hadn’t expected that listening to other people’s mischief had led to such a misunderstanding, now even their closest relatives had become estranged.

Pei Qin rubbed her ears, then dug in them, listened to Fang Hui crying for a while, and completely tuned her out.

When Pei Qian returned to the outhouse to look for someone later, Pei Qin had already climbed the wall and left, strolling down the street.

A few kids were smashing the ice on Bear River. She joined in, throwing stones and tile shards onto the ice, boasting to the Little Radishes that with the tile shards she could create four ripples on the water.

The kids, having seen her skateboarding, were familiar with her and sure she would be great at making ripples, admiring her skill.

"Young man! Come here!" Zhang Shiqian emerged from the alley and called out loudly.

One of the boys turned his head, called out "little uncle," and ran toward him.

Pei Qin looked back and, after thinking for a moment, remembered who he was. It was really hard for anyone to miss him, given the way his gaze seemed to harbor a grudge against her. Pei Qin’s lips curled up in a playful smile, "Oh! Hero of the Bear River! Fancy trying out the ice here? Should be quite thick - the stones don’t even break it. A person might just about do it though!"

"Hmph! Don’t get smug!" Zhang Shiqian huffed angrily and walked away, leading his little nephew.

Pei Qin shrugged her shoulders and after loitering outside for most of the day, finally saw Fang Hui muster the will to leave their house.

Seething with anger and frustration, Fang Hui had spoken so much, yet Pei Qin remained indifferent throughout and had even disappeared just to avoid seeing her. With a heart full of fury, she returned home and quarreled with Feng Shouxing, who had been advising her to give up on the marriage and work on mending their relationship.

As Pei Qin was about to deliver soy sauce to a restaurant in the county, she saw Shuang Xi driving a cart over.

And indeed, getting down from the carriage was Shen Songming, "I’ve finished making the clock and musical box, but there are some issues. Come quick and take a look!"

Pei Qin looked at it and saw indeed there were quite a few problems. After discussing them with him for the better part of the day and having dinner, she sent him off to the inn.

Shen Songming glanced at Lu Hao, and seeing him nod, settled into the inn and took advantage of the twilight to head to the workshop outside town.

Mo Heng was sniffing around the sauce jars, feeling the labels on them, because some of the characters didn’t seem like they had a missing stroke but rather like entirely different characters.

Seeing that it was really him, Shen Songming narrowed his eyes slightly, "I truly didn’t expect that the young scholar, known throughout Bei Zhili, would be hiding out in my family’s workshop!?"

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