The Eldest Daughter of a Rural Family
Chapter 341: Just a Concubine (6)_1

Chapter 341: Chapter 341: Just a Concubine (6)_1

Pei Wendong usually had martial arts lessons in the morning, and after school in the noon and afternoon, he would head straight home. Since Mu Xiu also didn’t come out to play often, it was up to them to seize the opportunity to visit him.

Pei Qin was supportive of their friendships, believing in the saying "At home, you rely on your parents; out of the house, you rely on friends."

So Pei Wendong went out to greet them.

Chang Yonglin hurriedly gathered his completed exercises, stored them in the desk cabinet, and cleared the writing table before placing two books on it.

A few of them joked and laughed as they entered the courtyard, with some calling out for Chang Yonglin.

Pei Qin asked Pei Yuan to bring over a few bowls of mung bean soup or crystal jelly, as she continued to flip through her book. The ancients in this feudal society sure intrigued her—scholars mouthed off about supernatural beings, yet they believed in them wholeheartedly. The common folks revered those beliefs even more. Not like in modern times, where ghost stories are often a source of humor.

Chang Yonglin came out and went with them to the side room in Pei Wendong’s house.

"It’s so hot today! Let’s go for a swim! Young Master Chang, are you coming?" they asked Chang Yonglin, their tone teasing as he was the son of Landlord Chang’s house, noble and not like the country boys they were.

"I’m not going," Chang Yonglin flatly refused. If he wanted to swim, he would do so in his own pond or in a section of the river on his estate. "It’s indecent to strip and get into the water on the main street." Besides, he wasn’t feeling hot.

The rest fell silent for a moment, "Who’d strip and jump into the water on the main street!? Come on, we’ve been enlightened through studying the Holy Book, of course, we cannot strip in public. Bear River is so long—we can find a secluded spot to cool off!"

Pei Qian and Pei Yuan came over with bowls of crystal jelly, "Just have a bowl to cool off. Swimming in the river might be dangerous; what if something happened?"

"The river isn’t deep, how could anything happen..." Before they could finish, they were all captivated by the transparent, glistening crystal jelly.

"What’s with your crystal jelly? It’s transparent!" exclaimed Sun Chao, the oldest and most lively of them all, upon seeing the bowls of jelly.

"That’s just how it is, and it helps one cool down!" Pei Yuan said with a smile as she placed the crystal jelly down.

Pei Qian specifically cautioned Pei Wendong, "Swimming in the river is too dangerous, don’t you guys sneak off to do it!" This was directed at Sun Chao and the others, in case they might coax Pei Wendong and Chang Yonglin to join them. They were all around ten years old, while her brother was not even seven, and Chang Yonglin was younger than them, too. If something went wrong, they wouldn’t be able to compensate for it.

Pei Wendong agreed and urged them to eat the crystal jelly.

The bowls felt cool to the touch, and the crystal jelly tasted sweet and sour with a hint of minty spice, prompting continuous exclamations from the group, "This really is cool jelly! So refreshing!"

Pei Wendong and Chang Yonglin exchanged smiles but didn’t explain. Their house had ice, so even hot jelly could be frozen to become cold crystal jelly. And the main ingredient of this jelly was mint juice, along with fake tart berries—after chilling, they were even more refreshing.

After finishing the crystal jelly, they suggested to her and her brothers that they should sell it, "If it were for sale, surely lots of people would line up to buy it!"

Pei Wendong replied, "It’s not easy to make, not enough for setting up a stall." Their family wasn’t in need of that small amount of money; it would be too hard on her sisters to run a stall in such hot weather. Besides, it wouldn’t look good if people found out that their family had ice.

Sun Chao and the others felt as though they had consumed something quite precious and wished for another bowl, but were too embarrassed to ask.

The friends clamored to go swimming nonetheless.

Pei Wendong went to the main hall to speak with Pei Qin, who gave her consent. He also informed his second and third sisters before he and Chang Yonglin followed the group out. However, they were accompanied by the two guards of Lu Hao and Chang Yonglin.

Though having three people supervising made them somewhat self-conscious, the bunch of half-grown lads soon got carried away with their fun.

Pei Wendong, who usually went straight home after school, and Mu Xiu, who didn’t come out to play and only worked in the fields, were both seen as unsociable. But during this joint swimming trip, they even caught fish and frogs to grill and eat outside, suddenly making Pei Wendong seem much more sociable. Chang Yonglin also lost much of his young lord’s airs, and their relationship seemed to grow much closer.