Her words, however, were interpreted by Qi Chengyan as: She really thinks I ate too much!
"No need, I'm full," Qi Chengyan said lightly.
Since arriving in Wujing Village, he hadn't eaten such a satisfying meal.
Not bad, her cooking skills were quite good.
Uncle Li, having eaten his fill, helped Old Mother Li inside and then came out, saying, "Come on, I'll give you acupuncture."
"Acupuncture?" Cheng You walked over curiously.
Uncle Li led Qi Chengyan inside, glancing at Cheng You, "If you're curious, come and watch."
Cheng You was certainly curious. It was her first time watching Uncle Li perform acupuncture.
It was the kind where sharp silver needles were inserted into the flesh; it must have been painful, right?
Uncle Li had Qi Chengyan sit down and rolled up his trouser leg.
Cheng You asked, "Is educated youth Qi's leg injured?"
"Mm," Uncle Li replied.
He took out a cloth bundle and opened it, revealing silver needles of varying lengths.
He first sterilized them with fire before beginning the acupuncture.
With each insertion of a needle, he would ask Qi Chengyan how he felt.
Cheng You watched Qi Chengyan's jaw tighten and fine beads of sweat appear on his forehead, mistaking it for the heat.
Only when Uncle Li withdrew the needles did he let out a hum and say, "You can endure quite well."
He put away the needle pack and sighed.
"Can't find the feeling from last time?"
Qi Chengyan shook his head, his eyes deep.
What had his leg felt like last time when he ate wild chicken on the mountain?
It was like dead wood meeting spring, making his previously necrotic meridians come back to life.
That was the only time he had felt that way since leaving the army.
Cheng You felt inexplicably guilty. That time was most likely due to the condensed dew.
But she only had a little of it, and she really couldn't just give it away.
Even if she gave it away, it probably wouldn't be enough to heal his leg.
Uncle Li waved his hand, "Never mind, we'll just do the acupuncture for now and I'll research more."
Qi Chengyan was a rare difficult case he had encountered in many years.
He himself didn't hold out much hope, so he calmly got up and pointed to the pigeons nearby.
"This is for the consultation fee."
Two plump, large pigeons. They would make a delicious stew.
But no matter how delicious the food, it couldn't become a delicacy in Uncle Li's hands.
He looked at Cheng You and asked, "Think about how you want to make it, and Chengyan, you're also invited for dinner tonight."
Qi Chengyan glanced at her as if unintentionally, "It's inconvenient."
Uncle Li: "My old mother and I are here, what's inconvenient? It's settled then!"
Cheng You was actually a bit unhappy. She hadn't broken off her engagement with Zhao Yunlin yet, and Qi Chengyan was certainly considering that.
It made sense, but Cheng You was still unhappy.
After lunch, she couldn't very well take a nap at their house.
After thinking for a moment, she got up, "Uncle Li, I'll go home first. Leave these herbs here, and I'll come back this afternoon to wash them."
"Alright, go ahead."
And so, Cheng You followed behind Qi Chengyan as he walked out. httpδ:/m.kuAisugg.nět
She bit her lip, looking at the man's tall back, wanting to strike up a conversation.
But before she could even speak, she saw Qi Chengyan quicken his pace and stride away.
It was as if she were a terrifying monster.
Cheng You: "..."
She touched her face. She was considered quite attractive in the surrounding villages, she shouldn't be that detestable, should she?
Besides anger, she felt a little hurt.
Was she that bad? He ran at the sight of her.
Cheng You returned home feeling dejected and saw Cheng Tao washing her face in the yard.
She was still holding a mirror, looking at her sunburnt face.
"It's all that brat San Leng's fault, he didn't even wait for me!"
San Leng didn't just not wait for her; he also clearly divided the work, giving each person half the pig feed.
When he was with Cheng You, he would rush to do the work, but with Cheng Tao, he seemed to want to draw a clear line.
Seeing Cheng You walk in, Cheng Tao immediately composed herself.
Cheng You's face was still fair, with no trace of sunburn.
"Did you work in the fields today?"
If she had gone to harvest rice, she wouldn't look like this at all.
Just gathering pig feed had made her quite sunburnt.
Cheng You pouted and huffed, "What's it to you?"
"What's it to me? Cheng You, don't forget, Dad said if you don't earn work points, you won't get food."
Cheng You asked, "So, did you save me any food for lunch today?"
"Of course not, who told you to come back so late!"
Cheng Tao wished she would starve to death.
Moreover, not saving her food was tacitly approved by Cheng Tianhua.
"Then that settles it. The fact is, whether I work or not, you don't give me food."
Cheng You couldn't be bothered with her and walked into the house.
Before closing the door, she looked at Cheng Tao's face and chuckled.
"How is it? Sunburnt quite badly, aren't you? A few more days of this sun, and your face will peel and become rough and dark. And your hands, they were already like chicken claws, and after gathering pig feed, they'll get calluses."
Then Zhao Yunlin would like you even less.
But she didn't say this last part aloud.
Cheng Tao looked at the closed door, tightly clenching the mirror in her hand, her face strained.
Song Yulian came out of the house, "Cheng You is back?"
"She's back."
"Then why do you have that expression?"
Seeing Cheng You's disheveled state after working, shouldn't she be happy?
Cheng Tao bit her lip, "Mom, I suspect she didn't go to work at all. She doesn't look sunburnt at all. If she really went to work, with such strong sun, her face would surely be worse than mine."
Cheng Tao pointed to the redness on her face, which still stung even after applying snow cream.
Song Yulian patted her shoulder and said, "Don't worry, I'll go check the fields today."
If Cheng You hadn't gone, she would definitely complain.
Cheng Tao touched her face, a mournful look on her face, "Mom, I don't want to gather pig feed anymore."
It wasn't easy at all.
Song Yulian flatly refused, "That won't do! I've already told your father that you voluntarily offered to gather pig feed to share the burden with him. If you back out now, what will your father think of you?"
"But look at my face! Will Zhao Yunlin like me more if I'm like this?"
"Alright, alright, Mom will draw some water from the well for you to apply. It will be fine later."
Song Yulian thought, Cheng Tao still didn't understand; sometimes appearance wasn't that important.
Serving with beauty, a man would eventually change his mind.
Cheng You, inside the house, had no intention of listening to their conversation. Her mind was filled with thoughts of how to make the condensed dew regenerate.
There must be a reason.
Just now, it must have touched some crucial point.
But she hadn't found it yet.
"It couldn't have been making dumplings, could it?" Cheng You muttered to herself.
As she thought, she drifted off to sleep.
In this weather, after sleeping for a while, her body would be covered in sweat.
Cheng You sat up, her eyes hazy, and heard voices outside the house.
"Wen Yu, why don't you go see Uncle Li? Your injury can't be left untreated."
Cheng Wen Yu grumbled, "I'm not going. It's too embarrassing to be seen."
Cheng Tao asked, "Who did you fight with to get this injured?"
Cheng Wen Yu impatiently replied, "If you're going to be as nagging as everyone else, then don't talk to me."
"I'm not nagging, I'm just asking. You're a child with a sense of justice, so there must be a reason. Were you saving a friend?"
"Of course, we were fighting over territory. I couldn't just watch my brother get bullied."
Cheng Wen Yu was quite proud.
Although he was injured, they had at least won the fight.
Cheng Tao looked at him with admiration, "Wen Yu, you're so amazing! If this continues, they'll all call you Brother Yu in the future."
"Naturally!"