Qin Li stood up and walked towards the house.
Leaving Liu Yumei behind her holding her head and sighing.
Qin Li approached Li Zhiyuan on the second floor, her eyes looking at him.
"I came back late last night and overslept."
After explaining, Li Zhiyuan began to wash up, then took Qin Li’s hand, went downstairs as it was almost mealtime and he was hungry.
Downstairs was lively; Li Sanjiang, Mr. Shan, and Liu Jinxia were already drinking in front of a plate of peanuts and a bowl of fish aspic.
Liu Jinxia and Mr. Shan had their wounds bandaged, and ointments applied to their faces.
They didn’t go to the clinic as people in their line of work don’t easily go to clinics, especially Liu Jinxia, as many people still come to her for "treatment."
However, Liu Jinxia always handles things with measure, knowing her own limits; each time after giving someone her talisman water made from boiling water, sugar, and black sesame paste, she would ask the family to take the patient to continue treatment at the health center or continue taking medicine, clarifying that her method was just an adjunct to the doctors.
Li Zhiyuan knew that the one who applied their medicines must have been Aunt Liu, who had skillfully treated Grandmaster last time.
"Where’s Brother Runsheng?"
"Ah, Runsheng," Mr. Shan burped from alcohol, just about to speak when he saw Runsheng and Uncle Qin coming back from the field outside.
Runsheng had been out farming.
Watching him carrying a hoe, barefoot, and sweaty, Li Zhiyuan suddenly felt like he was loafing around, although he indeed was.
"Time to eat, time to eat!"
Aunt Liu called everyone to eat.
Liu Yumei’s group at one table, Li Sanjiang’s group at another, and Li Zhiyuan sat at a small table with Qin Li, and... Runsheng sat alone.
His table was in the loneliest corner, with a large food basin in front of him filled with vegetables poured from the main table, and a huge incense stick thick as an arm was stuck on top.
Runsheng looked very satisfied, whether it was with the food or the incense, or perhaps, in his eyes, there was no difference.
So, it wasn’t that everyone was isolating him, but rather that the thick incense could irritate the eyes even from a slight proximity, making it impossible to eat.
Li Sanjiang even joked with Mr. Shan:
"Hey, look, Marquis Runsheng’s appetite is getting bigger; soon for meals, we might need to directly burn a pagoda incense!"
Mr. Shan grunted twice, burying his head in slurping his porridge.
He currently couldn’t eat solid food because he’d lost his teeth.
After the meal, Li Zhiyuan took Qin Li back to the second floor to the usual place to read.
Right then, a tricycle came up the dam, ridden by Li Juxiang, with Cui Cui sitting behind.
As soon as the mother and daughter entered, they immediately ran to Liu Jinxia, each anxiously concerned upon seeing Liu Jinxia in that condition.
It seemed that Liu Jinxia had treated her injuries and then taken a nap as soon as she got back here in the morning, opting not to go home first to avoid worrying her family.
"I’m fine now, it’s okay. Grandma is fine too, no need to cry."
Liu Jinxia comforted her daughter and granddaughter nicely.
Cui Cui wiped away her tears and stopped crying though her gaze still wandered around.
"Go find your Brother Yuanhou to play, he’s upstairs," Liu Jinxia pointed upwards.
"Don’t play too long, we’ll bring your grandma home with us soon, you can come and specifically visit Little Yuanhou again in a couple of days."
Cui Cui went up the stairs to the second-floor balcony and saw Brother Xiao Yuan and a very beautifully dressed girl sitting together reading.
She rarely went out to play in the village on usual days, and Li Sanjiang’s house was also a place where villagers seldom went unless there was nothing else to do, and Qin Li essentially never left the house, so she had only ever heard briefly from her grandma that there lived a long-term worker in Grandmaster Sanjiang’s house, with his own mother and daughter.
Today was the first time Cui Cui had seen Qin Li.
"Cui Cui, you’re here."
Li Zhiyuan stood up and greeted Cui Cui.
Qin Li also turned her body but did not look at Cui Cui; instead, she continued to watch Li Zhiyuan.
Cui Cui saw the girl’s face, covered her mouth, but still exclaimed loudly:
Previously she just thought the clothes were nice, the kind only seen on television, now seeing the person, she was indeed very pretty.
Even after hearing such admiration from Cui Cui, Qin Li still didn’t look her way, because Cui Cui was just unfortunate, not unclean.
Li Zhiyuan walked over to Cui Cui and introduced, "Cui Cui, this is Qin Li, Grandma Liu’s granddaughter."
"Hello, I’m Cui Cui, Li Cui Cui."
Qin Li followed Li Zhiyuan and saw Cui Cui approaching her, her eyelashes began to twitch.
Li Zhiyuan held her hand, and she calmed down but still didn’t respond to Cui Cui’s enthusiasm.
Cui Cui felt a bit awkward.
"Cui Cui, Alii is shy by nature; it’s not about you, she’s with everyone else."
Cui Cui’s face lit up with a smile again, relieved to hear that Alii didn’t dislike her specifically, but disliked everyone equally. She felt very happy.
After all, everyone else in the village only disliked her, but Alii treated her the same as everyone else!
Li Zhiyuan temporarily put aside the books and brought out some snacks, and they started chatting.
In reality, it was just Li Zhiyuan and Cui Cui talking, Qin Li didn’t speak.
And because Cui Cui was there, Li Zhiyuan had to keep holding Qin Li’s hand, otherwise, she might erupt.
While eating snacks, Cui Cui’s gaze occasionally flitted between Brother Xiao Yuan and Sister Qin Li, mainly looking at Sister Qin Li because she really was very beautiful.
As for other thoughts, she didn’t have any, she didn’t even possess a possessive jealousy that normal children have, the kind that demands, "You must play with me and not with her," those feelings were simply not in Cui Cui’s heart.