"Auntie's here? What brings you over today? And what are you carrying?" Shen Xiaoyan said, quickly ushering them in.
Seeing that each cloth bag was very full, Shen Xiaoyan stepped forward and picked up one in each hand.
Pan Shi and Wu Dagang knew Shen Xiaoyan had considerable strength, and upon seeing this, said nothing more, following Shen Xiaoyan into the main door.
Shen Xiaoyan placed the two cloth bags by the door first, then turned back to close the main door and secure it with the bolt.
The three went to the back, where Shen Xiaoyan set the two cloth bags on the veranda and then asked Pan Shi, "Auntie, what is this?"
Pan Shi bent down and untied one of the cloth bags, saying to Shen Xiaoyan, "This is the grain harvested this year. My family has a lot of land, and the weather was good this year, so the harvest was bountiful. You don't grow grain yourselves, so I brought some over for you to taste fresh. Newly harvested grain is very fragrant."
After hearing Pan Shi's words, Shen Xiaoyan was filled with gratitude.
Everyone in the village knew they didn't grow grain, and many had come for the housewarming feast, but only Pan Shi had thought of them when there was good news.
"Auntie..."
"You don't need to say anything. I haven't brought much, just enough for you to have a taste. You are not allowed to refuse," Pan Shi interrupted Shen Xiaoyan before she could finish.
With that, Shen Xiaoyan found it difficult to refuse, but she would reciprocate the kindness shown to her.
As it happened, they had picked many nuts and wild fruits from the mountains a few days ago. She would give Pan Shi some to take back later.
Pan Shi then took out more cloth bags from the larger ones. They were full, packed with grain.
"This is various coarse grains, and this one bag is flour ground from new wheat," Pan Shi explained to Shen Xiaoyan.
Shen Xiaoyan smiled and nodded, accepted them, praised them profusely, and then took them all to the kitchen.
It wasn't just Shen Xiaoyan being polite; the newly harvested grain was indeed very fragrant.
As Shen Xiaoyan walked to the kitchen, she was still thinking of inviting Pan Shi and her son to stay for a meal. However, fate intervened. On her way back to the main courtyard, the sky began to darken.
The sun was obscured by clouds, and the wind picked up. Shen Xiaoyan suddenly felt a chill.
By the time she returned to the door of the main house, Pan Shi and Wu Dagang were already standing up.
"Xiaoyan, it looks like it's going to rain, so we'll be heading back. Otherwise, it will be difficult to walk if it starts pouring," Pan Shi said.
Shen Xiaoyan nodded upon hearing this. They should indeed go back; looking at the sky, it seemed like a heavy downpour was imminent.
"Auntie, wait a moment. I'll go get you something. I'll be quick," Shen Xiaoyan said and ran into the east wing room.
A short while later, Shen Xiaoyan emerged with two large cloth bags and said to Pan Shi, "Let's go, Auntie. I'll escort you back."
"No, no, you don't need to. What are you carrying now? There's no one at home, so you don't need to see us off," Pan Shi quickly waved her hand.
Shen Xiaoyan, however, did not allow her to refuse. Carrying the two large cloth bags, she walked ahead.
Seeing this, Pan Shi quickly grabbed Wu Dagang and followed.
As the three of them stepped out of the main gate, they saw Zheng Wei and Shen Xiaoming just arriving at the gate.
Zheng Wei paused when he saw Shen Xiaoyan coming out, then looked at Pan Shi and her son following behind, a knowing expression on his face.
"You're back? I'll escort Aunt Wu and the others back; it's about to rain," Shen Xiaoyan smiled at the two of them and explained.
"I'll go," Zheng Wei said, placing his bow and crossbow on the ground. Without further ado, he took the two cloth bags from Shen Xiaoyan's hands.
Shen Xiaoyan didn't mind; it made no difference who went.
"Hello, Auntie. Big Brother Dagang, you're here! It's a shame I'm not home today, or I could have played with you," Shen Xiaoming said happily upon seeing Wu Dagang.
"There'll be plenty of time to play. Now, tell your Big Brother Dagang to hurry home; it's about to rain," Shen Xiaoyan said, patting Shen Xiaoming's head.
Shen Xiaoming nodded and said to Pan Shi, "Auntie, you should go back quickly. This is a pheasant that my brother-in-law hunted. Take two back."
Shen Xiaoyan was deeply touched by Shen Xiaoming's actions. Shen Xiaoming was truly growing up.
Pan Shi no longer refused. Smiling, she accepted the pheasants, said goodbye to Shen Xiaoyan and Shen Xiaoming, and hurried away with Wu Dagang, following Zheng Wei.
Shen Xiaoyan took the bamboo basket off Shen Xiaoming's back and put it on her own. The two walked towards the main gate together.
"Big Sister, I can carry it," Shen Xiaoming pouted.
He had grown up now and was strong, but his sister always treated him like a child, which was frustrating.
"Big Sister knows. Sister just pities you," Shen Xiaoyan coaxed Shen Xiaoming softly.
Shen Xiaoming was speechless. Sister, with that tone, you're clearly treating me like a child!
Shen Xiaoyan closed the main door but did not bolt it. One reason was that Zheng Wei would be back soon, and the other was that with the weather, it was likely everyone would be rushing home and not coming to their place.
Shen Xiaoming went back to his room after entering the back courtyard to wash his face and hands and change his clothes.
When going up the mountain, both Zheng Wei, Shen Xiaoming, and Shen Xiaoyan would wear old clothes.
After all, there were many branches and dry grass on the mountain, and clothes could easily get torn, so wearing old ones was better.
Shen Xiaoyan placed the bamboo basket on the veranda and casually sat on the chair by the veranda.
"Big Sister, what did Aunt Wu and Brother Dagang come for just now?" Shen Xiaoming asked, coming over to sit beside Shen Xiaoyan after changing his clothes.
Shen Xiaoyan looked at him and smiled, saying, "Aunt Wu brought us some of the grain her family just harvested, and a bag of flour ground from new wheat."
"Really?" Shen Xiaoming was very happy to hear Shen Xiaoyan's answer.
He was happy that people were kind to them and even happier that they could eat new grain.
"I gave them some of the fruits we picked from the mountains a few days ago to take back," Shen Xiaoyan continued.
She knew Shen Xiaoming liked these wild fruits and nuts very much, so she wanted to see his reaction.
Shen Xiaoming, however, was indifferent. Instead, he nodded and said earnestly, "It's only right. Aunt Wu is good to us, so we should reciprocate."
Shen Xiaoyan was relieved. Shen Xiaoming was still young, and she didn't want his heart to become arrogant just because their conditions had improved, making him look down on those who had been kind to them in the past and present.
"That's right. Thinking like this is correct," Shen Xiaoyan praised.
As soon as she finished speaking, she heard a sound and looked over. It turned out that it had already started raining.
The raindrops were huge, like beans falling from the sky, kicking up dust on the dry ground.
Such heavy rain, looking like a downpour, made Shen Xiaoyan worry about Zheng Wei, as he hadn't brought an umbrella.
"Brother-in-law hasn't returned yet. Should I take him an umbrella?" Shen Xiaoming asked.
Shen Xiaoyan was thinking the same thing, but before she could answer, Zheng Wei's figure appeared in her sight.
"What, did you get wet?" Shen Xiaoyan stood up and asked.