Chapter 35: You are so beautiful

“Stop sleeping, get up quickly.”

Early in the morning, Xu Duoyan felt as if someone was pressing down on her chest.

This was supposed to be the best time to sleep, yet not a single breeze blew into the room.

Her whole body was hot and sweaty, but the heat couldn’t escape, making her feel unbearably stifling.

She opened her eyes and immediately saw an arm draped over her body and a leg pressing down on her.

Xu Duoyan endured it patiently, trying to push the person off and turn over for some air, but the arm seemed glued to her.

No matter how much she tried, it wouldn’t budge.

After struggling in vain and growing even hotter, she finally kicked out with her foot.

Cao Wen let out a muffled grunt but didn’t move his limbs away.

Instead, he instinctively hugged Xu Duoyan’s waist.

“Don’t kick, I’m going to fall.”

Hearing this, Xu Duoyan lifted her head and saw Cao Wen’s half body hanging off the edge of the bed.

No wonder he had been holding her tightly in his half-dream state last night.

She had thought this guy was hopelessly fond of her.

“Who told you to squeeze over here?”

“I’m going to take down the wooden wall and move the platform closer, so it won’t be cramped to sleep anymore.”

Xu Duoyan took a breath.

“The bed and the platform have different heights. Sleeping on opposite sides is cooler anyway.”

Cao Wen lay on the bed, displeased.

“What couple doesn’t sleep together?”

Xu Duoyan lowered her eyes.

“What difference does it make whether we sleep together or not?”

“……”

Before he could answer, Lu Lingbi’s voice came from outside, calling them to eat.

Cao Wen quickly held his breath and covered his mouth.

Xu Duoyan saw his startled expression and couldn’t help but shove him.

“What are you pretending for? It’s not like we’re sneaking around.”

With that, she swung her leg off the bed and called out, “Mother, I’m coming.”

She grabbed her clothes and was about to put them on when she noticed the undergarments she wore last night were all rumpled.

Her chest rose and fell as she loosened her belt and glanced at Cao Wen, still sitting on the bed, complaining, “You crumpled all my clothes. You always pick on my clothes to sleep on, don’t you?”

“Huh?”

Cao Wen’s gaze fixed blankly on Xu Duoyan’s slender fingers as she undressed without a care, even facing him.

His eyes widened, and he could no longer catch what she was saying.

Seeing this, Xu Duoyan sighed, tore off her clothes, and flung them at his face.

“Had enough? If you’re done staring, get up.”

Cao Wen pulled the clothes off his face and watched her turn away.

He called softly, “Ayan.”

“Hmm?”

“You’re really beautiful.”

Xu Duoyan paused mid-motion, finished tying her belt, and turned back.

Looking into those sincere eyes and the exposed canines, she couldn’t help but smile as well.

“Is that so? Then why don’t you take a bath with me tonight? You can look all you want.”

Cao Wen blinked and put down the clothes, stepping forward.

“Really?”

Xu Duoyan pinched his chin.

“Of course.”

Cao Wen’s heart bloomed with joy, his smile widening.

After breakfast, the two went to the market together.

“Aren’t we going to buy a pot?”

Once at the market, Xu Duoyan watched Cao Wen lead him to a blacksmith’s shop.

“What are we doing here?”

The shirtless blacksmith was busily hammering glowing hot iron, shaping it under his vigorous strikes.

“Clay pots break easily. Iron pots won’t crack no matter how you cook with them and last much longer.”

Xu Duoyan frowned at this and grabbed Cao Wen’s arm.

“Using iron pots? Have you seen the prices? Clay pots are cheap; iron is expensive.”

“I know, but trust me.”

Seeing Cao Wen so enthusiastic, Xu Duoyan thought of objecting but swallowed his words, patiently following him to inquire about the price.

“Making an iron pot?”

The shirtless man wiped his face with a towel hanging around his neck when customers arrived and asked what they wanted made.

Usually, people came for blades or farming tools, and the shop kept some ready-made items to save time.

The blacksmith had heard many strange requests, but an iron pot was a first.

He looked at Cao Wen with some amusement.

“Are you sure you want an iron pot?”

Seeing Cao Wen nod earnestly, not joking, the blacksmith took it seriously.

“We don’t have any ready, but if you’re sure, you can place an order and pay a deposit. We’ll make it and you can pick it up in a few days.”

“Are you sure you can make it?”

“Making a pot is no big deal.”

Cao Wen agreed and discussed the thickness and size.

A pot too big wouldn’t be practical. Usually, a ten-inch pot weighing six or seven jin would do.

In past years, iron was mostly used on battlefields during wartime, controlled by the court, making iron prices sky-high and nearly unaffordable for ordinary people.

In recent years, iron production has loosened up, and prices dropped, but now it still costs one to two wen per jin.

This shop asked for one hundred eighty wen for the iron, plus labor fees, totaling two hundred wen.

That means an iron pot would cost about thirteen to fourteen hundred wen, depending on its weight, but not by much.

Cao Wen readily paid half the deposit and agreed to pick it up in a few days.

Leaving the blacksmith shop, Xu Duoyan couldn’t help but sigh.

“A clay pot costs less than a hundred wen, and an iron pot is over a thousand. Why are you so afraid I’ll get mad at the pot?”

Cao Wen didn’t get annoyed at Xu Duoyan’s complaints. Instead, he smiled.

“Iron pots really are useful. I can cook many dishes with it. When the pot is ready, I’ll cook for you.”

Xu Duoyan felt a twinge of regret, realizing he hadn’t meant any harm.

Maybe it was his own fault for not being interested in cooking.

“Fine, but we’ll still need to buy a clay pot to use in the meantime.”

They bought a clay pot and hurried back.

The weather was still good, so they decided to go back up the mountain again.

“Awen!”

As soon as they returned to the village, Cao Yongquan hurried over.

Seeing this, Cao Wen carefully set down the clay pot.

“Uncle, what’s going on?”

“You two finally came back. Zhao Guanshi has called all the tenant farmers from the Ao to a meeting! They’re waiting for everyone to arrive before starting.”

“We’ve been waiting a while, but you two haven’t shown up. Most folks are already here.”

Cao Wen frowned.

“Why the sudden meeting? Did something happen?”

“I don’t know either. They just suddenly gathered everyone.”

Cao Wen and Xu Duoyan exchanged a glance.

Judging by this, something serious must have happened.

Though Cao Wen had long since decided not to rent land from the Qian Family anymore, begrudgingly wearing the tenant farmer identity and taking orders like a lowly servant, he had no intention of getting involved with the Qian Family’s affairs.

He wondered if this sudden meeting had anything to do with him.

Cao Wen turned to Xu Duoyan.

“You take the pots home first. I’ll go find out what’s going on.”

Xu Duoyan nodded.

“Alright. If anything happens, come back quickly and tell me.”

Cao Wen nodded and pulled Cao Yongquan along.

“Let’s go, Uncle.”

“Alright, alright, let’s go.”

After a few steps, Cao Yongquan suddenly stopped, stunned, pointing at Xu Duoyan and staring at Cao Wen with disbelief, mouth agape, speechless.

After a moment, he finally recovered.

“She, she…your wife spoke!”

Cao Wen hummed.

“What?!”

Seeing Cao Wen’s calm response, Cao Yongquan was even more shocked.

He turned his head to look at Xu Duoyan.

“She wasn’t mute? And why does she look a little strange today?”

He slapped his thigh in realization.

Xu Duoyan even looked somewhat like a man now.

He wanted to stop and ask but remembered the matter at hand, so he kept walking, glancing back at her carrying the clay pot.

“How did this suddenly happen?”

Cao Wen casually made up a story, “We met a traveling doctor earlier who prescribed some folk remedies. That’s why she can speak now.”

Cao Yongquan’s eyes went wide.

“So effective!”

Cao Wen suddenly recalled what Liu Qingteng had said and realized it really was effective.

He chuckled.

“Yeah, if it weren’t for that traveling doctor, I’d have gone back to thank him.”

Still stunned by Xu Duoyan’s ability to speak, the two arrived at the Qian Family Estate in Yuanxi Village.

The courtyard was already filled with dozens of tenant farmers. Cao Yongquan kept his head low and led Cao Wen into the section reserved for the tenant farmers from Caojia’ao.

The Qian Family’s tenant farmers weren’t just from Caojia’ao; there were others from nearby villages.

But the tenant farmers’ estate was built in Yuanxi Village, so all gatherings were held here.

Cao Wen saw about twenty tenant farmers from their Ao, and the others gathered in groups elsewhere, totaling around fifty people.

It was the first time Cao Wen had seen so many farmers gathered together, showing just how wealthy the Qian Family was.

The tenant farmers whispered anxiously, fearing the landowner was up to something big.

They waited anxiously for more than a quarter hour until Zhao Guangzong hurried in.

The courtyard suddenly fell silent as everyone turned their eyes to him.

“This gathering is for an important matter. Many of you have served the Qian Family for years. The Family Master, remembering your hard work, now allows anyone wishing to buy land to bring money to register here at the estate. The Master will sell the land to you.”

Zhao Guangzong didn’t beat around the bush and directly stated the reason for the meeting.

After all, they had been treating the tenant farmers like beasts of burden for a long time and didn’t care to sugarcoat it.

Upon hearing this, the crowd erupted with chatter and speculation about what the Qian Family meant.

Owning two mu of land was the dream of almost every tenant farmer.

Suddenly hearing that the land they had been renting for years was for sale was a cause for celebration, but they also knew it probably wouldn’t be so simple.

After a long pause, one tenant farmer finally spoke up, “Caretaker, if the autumn harvest fails, we’re tight on money and won’t be able to buy land anytime soon. If we don’t buy, then…”

Zhao Guangzong seemed to expect this question.

He swept his sleeve and said, “The Master is kind-hearted and wants to sell the land to you. If you don’t want it, the Master will sell to others.”

Cao Wen immediately understood the Qian Family’s plan.

He had heard Zheng Kui shout that the Qian Family’s business was going bad and they needed to sell land to cover debts.

At first, he thought it was nonsense, but it turned out to be true.

The Qian Family hoped to sell the land to the tenant farmers to keep business flowing.

If the tenant farmers could afford it, great; if not, the Qian Family would cut ties, and the new landowner wouldn’t tolerate trouble from the tenant farmers.

With autumn approaching and harvest season coming, selling land now was a huge risk.

But this no longer concerned Cao Wen.

What he hesitated over was whether to buy the two mu of land they were currently farming.