The next day, after Ji Mingtao came back from work, he quietly found Gu Shichu and helped her make mud bricks.
He took the shovel from Gu Shichu and said, "I'll stir the mud, and you add water and mud." He was tall and strong, and his work was efficient and quick. He stirred the mud under the shovel as if it were cotton, and it seemed effortless.
Gu Shichu suddenly became alert, and all the fatigue in her body disappeared. She listened to Ji Mingtao's instructions obediently. When he said to add water, she added water; when he said to add mud, she added mud. She cooperated very well.
Ji Mingtao is very strong and can mix the mud quickly. He shovels the mixed mud into the mud brick mold in just a few strokes, irons it flat, moves it to the sun to dry, and then waits to make bricks.
Seeing that he was sweating profusely, Gu Shichu quickly picked up her towel to wipe his sweat. Ji Mingtao was touched by her sudden action, and immediately all the muscles in his body stiffened, and he dared not move.
"Your hands are busy, so I'll help you wipe the sweat off your face." Gu Shichu said quickly. She would never admit that she was secretly taking advantage of him.
Seeing that he was still uncomfortable, Gu Shichu could only glance at his smooth arm muscles with regret, put the towel in his hand on his shoulders, and said, "Then wipe it yourself."
More haste, less speed. Gu Shichu secretly warned himself in his heart that he must not be too impatient and scare people away.
Ji Mingtao then freed one hand to wipe the sweat off his face and breathed a sigh of relief. Gu Shichu was so clumsy that if she wasn't a woman, he would have suspected that she did it on purpose.
If one trick doesn't work, there is another trick. Gu Shichu took out a kettle, poured out a bowl of dark water, handed it to Ji Mingtao, and said, "Brother Ji, you have sweated so much, you must be thirsty, have a bowl of sour plum soup."
Ji Mingtao looked at the bowl of black soup that looked like poison or medicine with suspicion, and he didn't want to drink it. Gu Shichu saw his suspicion and said, "Don't worry, this is really sour plum soup, it won't harm you. I just drank several bowls and nothing happened."
Seeing her frank expression, Ji Mingtao had no choice but to take the bowl and drink it in one gulp.
As soon as he took a sip, the cool, sweet and sour soup slid down his mouth and throat, instantly relieving the summer heat in his body and making him feel refreshed. He drank much faster and finished the bowl of sour plum soup very quickly.
Seeing this, Gu Shichu immediately poured him another bowl and said, "Do you like this sour plum soup? I have more at home. I'll pour you another pot later to take back to drink in the evening."
"Thank you very much." Ji Mingtao did not refuse.
Because Ji Mingtao came to help after work, Gu Shichu didn't let him work for too long to avoid tiring him out.
"Brother Ji, you have to go to work again today, and you have helped me for so long, you must be exhausted. Why don't you not cook tonight? I can just make some extra and send it to you, saving you the effort." Gu Shichu's eyes turned, and he immediately had an idea, and said tentatively to Ji Mingtao.
"No, I'll do it myself." Ji Mingtao refused.
"Yes, yes. When villagers go to help out at other people's homes, the hosts have to provide meals. It's no big deal if I cook an extra meal for you. You're so tired, so just stop working and take a rest! It's settled. I'll send the meal to you when it's ready, so you don't have to cook it." After Gu Shichu finished speaking to himself, he ran away without giving Ji Mingtao a chance to speak.
Ji Mingtao stood there, staring at Gu Shichu's back for a long time before leaving.
Although he didn't know why Gu Shichu was trying to please him in an uncharacteristic way, he could still deal with it. He was alone, so what else could she plot against him? Could it be that she wanted to keep him working for her
Ji Mingtao's eyes turned cold. Thinking of this possibility, the sour plum soup he had drunk earlier didn't seem so delicious anymore. Humph, dare to plot against him? He is not a good person. Gu Shichu's calculations were wrong.
Gu Shichu had no idea that the man she had her eyes on had guessed her plan completely wrong. No, it wasn’t that she had guessed wrong. After all, she really wanted him to work hard for her. However, this work would not be done in the fields, but in bed...
Gu Shichu, with a head full of yellow garbage, hummed a song as she began to cook. She steamed white rice, fried bacon and garlic sprouts, heated up the spicy rabbit meat left over from lunch, and stir-fried some vegetables. The table was considered very sumptuous. Many people could not even eat so well during the Chinese New Year.
Gu Shichu was not too worried that Ji Mingtao would get suspicious. Although the white rice was precious, she could say that it was what she had exchanged for when her father was seriously ill and had not finished eating it. The bacon could be said to be made during the Chinese New Year, and the rabbit meat was something she had been lucky enough to catch when she went up the mountain...
This could barely fool people, but in order to continue eating meat in the future, she had to gradually show her hunting skills. Otherwise, she would get suffocated if she couldn't eat meat openly every day.
Moreover, she can hunt, so Ji Mingtao will be more easily impressed by her. After all, there will be meat to eat if he follows her!
Gu Shichu happily thought of everything. After she prepared the meal, she wanted to take out an empty plate to separate half of the dish and send it to Ji Mingtao.
Suddenly, her eyes rolled and a plan came to her mind. She thought, why bother sharing the dishes? She could just take all the food to Ji Mingtao and eat with him! She would be stupid not to seize this opportunity!
So Gu Shichu, smiling like a fox who had stolen a chicken, packed all the food, poured a pot of sour plum soup, and walked towards Ji Mingtao's house with a smile on his face.
"Brother Ji, please open the door. I'm here to bring you food!" Gu Shichu knocked on the door and shouted.
After a while, Ji Mingtao came out, having changed his clothes and with his hair still wet. Gu Shichu's eyes lit up when he saw the handsome man who looked particularly refreshed after taking a shower. This man was indeed a rare gem. Look at his eyes moist with water, his thin diamond-shaped lips, and his deep and beautiful eyebrows...
"Have you seen enough?" Ji Mingtao looked at the woman who was staring at him unabashedly, and couldn't help but asked in a deep voice with a gloomy face.
"Haha, I've seen enough... I've prepared the meal, come and eat together!" Gu Shichu quickly walked past him and walked to his living room as if he knew the way there. He took the food out of the basket, served two bowls of rice, and then called out to Ji Mingtao, "Come and eat. The food won't taste good if it gets cold."
She looked so familiar, as if she was the master of the house. Ji Mingtao sat down at the table with an expressionless face. Seeing two bowls of rice on the table, he asked coldly, "Why are you eating here too?"
Gu Shichu was not embarrassed at all, and said with a smile: "It's more lively if two people eat together. Anyway, I am alone at home, and you are alone too, so I thought we should just eat together. With someone to accompany you, your appetite will be better."
Ji Mingtao looked at Gu Shichu, whose face was as thick as a wall, and inexplicably felt like he was letting a wolf into the house.