Chen Xiaobei entered the house, and as soon as he did, Lidong followed him in. "Brother Xiaobei, let's start the work tomorrow."
This surprised Chen Xiaobei. "Tomorrow, can you manage it?"
Lidong nodded. "This is also what the others want."
"Alright, I'll have to trouble you. By the way, why don't you stay for dinner tonight?" Chen Xiaobei politely invited, but Lidong repeatedly waved his hand and turned to leave.
Watching him hurry away, Chen Xiaobei suddenly understood. Lidong and the others were trying to curry favor with him in this way.
Indeed, the next day, early in the morning, Lidong arrived with the craftsmen.
There was no need for Chen Xiaobei to do any chores at home. He took Cui Hongyu and Chen Qiaoer to water the vegetable patch outside the village first, and then brought a fishing net to catch some small fish fry. The fish pond had been built, and it was necessary to replenish the fish fry as soon as possible.
Chen Xiaobei, as usual, cast the net into the water and tied the thin rope to a nearby reed.
Then, the three of them sat in the shade on the bank and waited quietly. Chen Xiaobei looked at Cui Hongyu beside him, a sudden impulse striking him. He put an arm around her waist.
Cui Hongyu's face instantly turned red. Clearly, in this era, such an intimate gesture in public was considered indecent.
Fortunately, Chen Qiaoer's attention was entirely focused on the reed, and she didn't notice.
Suddenly, the reed trembled violently.
"Brother, there's a fish!" Chen Qiaoer almost shouted at the same time.
Chen Xiaobei didn't have time to think and quickly stood up and rushed over.
This time, they were lucky. It was a fish more than a foot long.
Chen Qiaoer clapped her hands and cheered with delight.
Cui Hongyu also smiled brightly beside him.
Seeing this scene, Chen Xiaobei's heart felt warm. What a touching picture.
However, it was a little regrettable that if Chen Qiaoer were his daughter instead of his sister, it would be perfect.
Since he didn't have a daughter, then he would have one...
Seeing Chen Xiaobei lost in thought, Chen Qiaoer curiously asked, "Brother, what's wrong?"
After calling out twice, Chen Xiaobei finally came back to his senses.
"Oh, it's nothing. I was just wondering if we should put this fish in the pond or eat it."
Chen Qiaoer didn't answer but turned to look at Cui Hongyu.
Cui Hongyu's face flushed slightly. "Everything is up to my husband's decision."
Chen Xiaobei thought for a moment and decided to eat it. After all, big fish eat small fish. If such a large fish were released into the pond, the fry he had worked so hard to introduce would not be enough for it to nibble on.
"Okay, if you ask me, let's eat it. We'll have stewed fish for lunch."
"Right, and let's add some dishes for the craftsmen and laborers to eat too."
Hearing this, Cui Hongyu hesitated. "Husband, we agreed not to provide meals."
Chen Xiaobei smiled. "It's alright, we can afford one meal. Eating together might make them work better."
Cui Hongyu nodded. "Okay, I'll go back and prepare then."
"No rush, let's catch a few more fish."
As Chen Xiaobei spoke, he placed the fish in a shallow pit nearby and cast the fishing net into the river again.
Just then, laughter drifted from a distance. "Brother Xiaobei, hiding here enjoying leisure."
Upon hearing this, Chen Xiaobei inwardly groaned. It was Sun Jian's voice.
He suddenly realized that he had made an agreement with them for three days, and the time had come.
Cui Hongyu next to him immediately became vigilant, held Chen Qiaoer in her arms, and agilely stood behind Chen Xiaobei.
Sun Jian tried his best to smile harmlessly, but his appearance was indeed rather chilling when he smiled.
"Brother Xiaobei, three days are up!"
Chen Xiaobei returned his smile. "Yes, three days are up."
"Brother, didn't we agree to meet at the mountain god temple? We waited for you and you didn't show up, so we had to come find you. I didn't expect Brother Xiaobei to be enjoying himself here." Sun Jian's words were quite tactful.
Chen Xiaobei knew he couldn't avoid it today.
"Brother Sun, could you allow me to make some arrangements? I'll come to the mountain god temple to find you shortly."
Sun Jian laughed heartily. "No need for such trouble, I'll wait for you here."
Chen Xiaobei understood that Sun Jian was afraid he would stand him up again.
He waded into the river, retrieved the fishing net, and turned to leave with Cui Hongyu and Chen Qiaoer.
After walking quite a distance, he said in a low voice, "I have to go into the mountains soon. I'm afraid I won't be able to make it for lunch."
"You two eat this fish for lunch."
"If anyone asks for me, tell them I've gone to the city."
"If I'm not back by dark, you two sleep in the west room at Da Chun's house, and remember to lock the door."
Because their courtyard was being repaired, they had moved their bedding to the west room at Chen Dachun's house. There was a bed there, and Cui Hongyu and others had slept there when they visited before.
Cui Hongyu tentatively asked, "Can't husband not go?"
Chen Xiaobei smiled. "It's nothing. I promised a long time ago to accompany them for a walk in the mountains."
After escorting Cui Hongyu home, Chen Xiaobei immediately went to find the village elder.
The elder had been a hunter in his youth and was familiar with the mountain conditions.
Upon hearing that Chen Xiaobei wanted to go further up from the mountain god temple, the elder coughed in surprise.
"Cough, cough, Xiaobei, the road further up is difficult. There are many forks, and many are dead ends. It's easy to get in, but difficult to get out."
"Elder, what can I do to reach the summit?"
"I've never been to the summit either. My grandfather told me when I was young that to reach the summit, you first have to see the summit."
"What does the elder mean by that?"
"It means that when you encounter many forks, you should take the path from which you can see the summit."
This is acceptable. Isn't this a bit too casual?
As he spoke, the elder stood up, went into the house, rummaged around, and finally came out with a piece of ox hide. Many curved lines were drawn on the hide.
"This is a map drawn by my grandfather. Take a look first."
Chen Xiaobei was a little surprised by the elder's sudden generosity.
However, due to the age, many lines on the map were unclear, so Chen Xiaobei could only get a general idea. Judging by the proportions, the distance from the foot of the mountain to the mountain god temple was about ten li, and the distance from the mountain god temple to the summit was four to five times that. This meant that the summit was at least forty to fifty li away.
Could he make a round trip in a day? Obviously impossible.
As he climbed the mountain with Sun Jian, Chen Xiaobei was already contemplating how to make the other party retreat.
Yes, he would deliberately take the wrong path. As long as they wandered around the mountain for half a day and returned to the starting point, they would naturally stop asking him to be their guide.
With the plan set, Chen Xiaobei said, "Brother Sun, we agreed beforehand. I haven't walked the path further up either. Please don't blame me if I make a mistake."
Sun Jian laughed heartily. "Don't worry, I won't blame you."