Yi Hao’s words were enough to bring Ji Xing Mi’s intelligence back. That’s right, wasn’t that how she had thought about it in the first place? She could just stay at home and draw blueprints. Now that she had a computer, drawing was even more convenient. If that wasn’t enough, she could learn programming and model directly.
Elder Hua saw Ji Xing Mi as if she had been enlightened. He shook his head and smiled, then said, “Alright, get some good rest first! We’ve eaten your watermelon, and that piece of land is still empty. Have you thought about what you want to plant? Also, your engagement is in a few days. Don’t let Jing Yi not find you then!”
Ji Xing Mi didn’t argue. She nodded. She should listen to the elders. Next time, she wouldn’t make decisions impulsively.
Ji Xing Mi had lunch at Yi Hao’s place before returning. On the way back, she encountered many people, but they only watched from a distance and didn’t come to bother her. When she was almost there, she ran into someone she wouldn’t have expected.
“Old Hua, where are you going?”
“Old Feng ah~ I was just heading to Yi Hao’s! Do you need something from me?”
“You brought so many people to Yi Hao’s?” Feng Xiang’s gaze shifted to Ji Xing Mi, who was following Elder Hua. This was the Ji family girl? The one who rejected the Feng family’s alliance. I heard she’s getting married into the Gu family. His gaze then shifted to Gu Jing Yi, who was following Secretary Sun. Humph!
Ji Xing Mi and Gu Jing Yi naturally felt his scrutiny, but neither of them flinched. They both looked at him. Ji Xing Mi became even more audacious. If someone delivered themselves to her doorstep, how could she be satisfied without a good lesson?
Ji Xing Mi moved her hand and then crushed a small ball. Ji Xing Mi seemed to smell something unpleasant and waved her hand in front of her.
Elder Hua didn’t chat much with the man. He simply made an excuse about having business and took his people back. After entering the courtyard, Ji Xing Mi distributed pills to everyone, telling them to take them. After Elder Hua took his, he immediately asked Ji Xing Mi, “What did you do?”
Ji Xing Mi chuckled and replied, “It was a rare opportunity, I added some medicine!”
“Won’t you be discovered?”
“No, he’ll think he ate something bad! And this medicine isn’t harmful, it can even help expel toxins!”
“A laxative?”
“At first, eating meat would cause diarrhea. Later, seeing meat or fish would make them want to vomit. Then, their stomachs would slowly swell. When they go for a check-up, people will say it’s a pregnancy reaction. After that, it will be fine after passing gas.”
Seeing her schadenfreude, Elder Hua smiled and asked, “When did you make such a wicked medicine?”
“Just last night. I slept too much and couldn’t fall asleep, so I made some medicine.”
“Who were you originally planning to use it on?”
“I wasn’t planning on anyone. I was just making it for fun! I happened to have extra medicinal herbs. Oh, right, I also made new medicine for you. I’ll go get it for you!”
Ji Xing Mi walked towards her room. After giving the items to Elder Hua, she went to the small garden behind the house. As expected, the place where she planted watermelons was already cleared. She didn’t know what else to plant, so she asked Auntie and found out there were some radish seeds. She decided to plant them. They could be eaten in hot pot in winter. Radish and beef brisket stew also tasted good.
Seeing her emerge looking a little dejected, Gu Jing Yi asked the reason. After hearing her explanation, he also laughed. So it was all about food. Gu Jing Yi rubbed her head and went back to his work.
Ji Xing Mi didn’t want to do anything else recently, so she went back to tinker with her vegetable garden. Some of the vegetables were old. Since she planned to have hot pot in winter, she planted more vegetables suitable for it. Xiao Ji and Mo Gu saw her tidying the garden and came to help. Xiao Ji had more strength and directly turned the soil. Ji Xing Mi and Mo Gu then cleared the roots left by Xiao Ji’s tilling.
The three of them worked for an afternoon and finally planted the vegetables. Ji Xing Mi didn’t know where she saw that there were lotuses in the small park nearby, so she directly took them there to pick some lotus leaves. She had seen that the auntie brought back a whole chicken in today’s groceries. With these lotus leaves, they could make beggar’s chicken. They could also cook lotus leaf congee. And maybe some spare ribs too!
Thinking about delicious food, Ji Xing Mi started to miss summer barbecue. How about making some barbecue tomorrow? Ji Xing Mi asked Xiao Ji to dig a small hole in the backyard, then brought water to mix with the soil. After wrapping the chicken, she had Xiao Ji build a kiln on the spot. After a period of burning, she placed the chicken inside and sealed it. All that was left was to wait for the time.
When Ji Xing Mi felt it was almost time, she prepared to dig it up herself. However, the dirt mound was still very hot. Ji Xing Mi touched it with her hand and got burned. Gu Jing Yi, who had just come out, saw this, ran over, pulled her up, and took her to soak her hand in cold water.
“What are you doing? Are you burned? Do you have any medicine? Apply some!”
“I just wanted to test the temperature. I’m not injured! Don’t worry!”
Seeing that she was indeed fine, he put his mind at ease and asked, “What were you trying to do? I’ll do it.”
“I just need to open that and let it air out.”
“Then I’ll do it! You just direct from the side. Next time you want to do something like this, call me. Don’t do it yourself.”
“Okay~” Ji Xing Mi agreed obediently. Gu Jing Yi then smiled and went to handle the matter. Xiao Ji had wanted to help, but Mo Gu pulled him aside and whispered something in his ear, and Xiao Ji didn’t go up anymore.
Elder Hua also saw their interaction and was very happy, but he didn’t show it obviously. He just whispered a few words to Secretary Sun. The attention of everyone in the courtyard was on Ji Xing Mi and Gu Jing Yi, so no one noticed them.
After dinner, Ji Xing Mi went out for a walk with Gu Jing Yi. They strolled hand in hand in the small park, chatting. Xiao Ji and Mo Gu followed far behind. As they were passing a small rockery, they heard someone talking near the rockery. Driven by curiosity, Ji Xing Mi pulled Gu Jing Yi closer and hid behind to eavesdrop. Gu Jing Yi couldn’t do anything about her curiosity, so he indulged her and held her in his arms.
“Where did you hear that?”
“I just saw it. I was passing by the Feng family just now. I saw a guard hurriedly carrying Old Feng into a car and heading to the hospital. I asked someone from the Feng family, and they said he started having diarrhea while eating. Everyone ate almost the same things, but only Old Feng was so weak from diarrhea. His old lady suspects someone is trying to harm him and is making a scene in the courtyard!”
“With that stingy old lady of his, Old Feng might have gotten sick because of her. And she has the nerve to say it’s someone else’s doing?”
“Who’s saying it isn’t?”
“When Old Feng comes back this time, he’ll have to have a good talk with his wife. Being thrifty in life doesn’t mean this. They’ve even made themselves sick!”