Chapter 8

After closing the courtyard door, Ye Jinxiu took out a bamboo basket from the house and placed it on the ground. She opened the lid and released the chickens, ducks, and geese inside.

After being cooped up for more than an hour, the chickens, ducks, and geese huddled together motionlessly.

She bought two hens, a pair of ducks, a male duck, a female duck, and two geese.

After a while, the two geese slowly moved. Perhaps they sensed a dangerous aura. The two geese stepped back a few steps and faced Ye Jinxiu. Their small black eyes were full of vigilance.

Ye Jinxiu seemed to be able to see human emotions in their eyes. He couldn't help but reach out and poke the two geese's tails.

This angered the two geese. They flapped their wings and trotted over to peck Ye Jinxiu.

Ye Jinxiu stretched out his hand and let them peck. The two geese were only the size of a fist. Even if they used all their strength, they couldn't do anything to Ye Jinxiu.

One of the dark gray geese tilted its neck and seemed to be sizing up Ye Jinxiu.

Ye Jinxiu was amused by its human-like expression and flipped it over.

The geese were stunned. Its black eyes stared unblinkingly at Ye Jinxiu.

"What's wrong? You don't want to admit defeat?"

Ye Jinxiu teased it. The geese rolled a few times before standing up and chirping a few times.

The other light gray goose heard the chirping and turned a few times in a daze. It followed the chirping and walked to the dark gray goose. It stretched out its neck and pecked the dark gray goose's neck.

These two geese were too funny. Ye Jinxiu squatted down and said with a smile, "Can you listen to me? If you acknowledge me as your boss, I'll take care of you in the future."

The two geese chirped together and looked up at Ye Jinxiu. It was unknown if they understood Ye Jinxiu's words or if it was a coincidence.

Ye Jinxiu tapped their foreheads playfully. "I'll give you guys a name. You're grayish in color, so you'll be called Big Gray from now on. You'll be in charge of guarding the door.

Your color is lighter gray, so you'll be called Xiao Hui in the future. You'll be responsible for taking care of those chickens and ducks. "

Da Hui and Xiao Hui circled around Ye Jinxiu's hand and chirped, as if responding to Ye Jinxiu's words.

Ye Jinxiu went to the kitchen and took out a cabbage. He broke off some leaves and fed them to Big Hui and Xiao Hui.

Perhaps Big Hui and Xiao Hui were hungry, they squeaked as they ate the vegetables.

Seeing Big Hui and Xiao Hui eating so happily, Ye Jinxiu's stomach rumbled. It was almost noon, and it was time to prepare lunch.

She bought some pig offal in town, which could be used to cook porridge.

Ye Jinxiu fetched two buckets of water. After washing the rice and cooking porridge, he squatted by the well to wash the pig offal.

"Is Miss Xiuxiu here?"

A voice came from outside the door. The voice sounded familiar, as if it was someone familiar to the original Ye Jinxiu.

Ye Jinxiu put down the things and walked out. When he opened the door and saw who it was, the memory of the original Ye Jinxiu was triggered.

The person who came was the original Ye Jinxiu's mother's wet nurse. She married into the Yeh family together with Mama Ye and became the housekeeper.

After the Yeh family was beaten to become poor farmers, Old Madam Ye's family followed the Yeh family to live in the Yeh family village.

Old Madam Ye's family lived next door to the Yeh family. Out of gratitude to the Yeh family, Old Madam Ye would send some things to the Yeh family every few days. Old Madam Ye's family also helped the Yeh family grow the crops in the fields.

A few days ago, the Yeh family brought Old Madam Ye's family to visit their relatives. Logically speaking, they would only return home after the Mid-Autumn Festival. Now that Old Madam Ye had returned early, she might have met with an accident.

"Grandma Ye, why are you back?"

As Old Madam Ye was Mama Ye's wet nurse, Ye Jinxiu called her Grandma Ye.

Old Madam Ye had been a maid for decades and did not dare to accept Ye Jinxiu's greeting. She retreated to the side and bowed to Ye Jinxiu.

"I heard from Miss that you were not feeling well, so I came back to take care of you."

Ye Jinxiu turned sideways to let her into the house. Old Madam Ye said as she walked, "Miss Xiuxiu, I picked up a grapefruit on the way here. Please have a taste."

The Mid-Autumn Festival was approaching and the grapefruit trees in the village were full of grapefruits.

"Thank you for your hard work."

Ye Jinxiu took the grapefruit.

Old Madam Ye walked past Ye Jinxiu and into the kitchen. She rolled up her sleeves and quickly got to work.

She washed the pig offal that Ye Jinxiu didn't wash well, and cleaned the yard and the stove quickly.

Ye Jinxiu wanted to help her several times but was pushed away by Old Madam Ye. "Miss Xiuxiu, I'm here to help you. Please take a seat."

Ye Jinxiu could not help, so he took out a small knife to cut open the grapefruit.

The entire body of a grapefruit was a treasure. The green outer layer of the grapefruit could be dried and used for bathing or made into an air freshener. The white layer of the grapefruit could be boiled and used for cooking. The flesh of the grapefruit could be eaten directly.

Ye Jinxiu peeled the grapefruit and put it aside. He broke off a piece of the grapefruit flesh and ate it.

Old Madam Ye had brought a red grapefruit. The flesh of the grapefruit was tender red. After peeling off the skin, the grapefruit flesh was plump and full. Each piece was the size of a cooked rice grain.

Ye Jinxiu picked up a piece and put it into his mouth. He bit down lightly. The flesh was springy and the gravy splashed onto Ye Jinxiu's face.

Three words flashed through Ye Jinxiu's mind: sour, sweet, and refreshing.

Ye Jinxiu would eat grapefruit every Mid-Autumn Festival at home. However, this was the first time he had eaten such a delicious grapefruit.

As he ate the grapefruit, Ye Jinxiu's mind drifted to money.

Such delicious grapefruit could be sold for at least 30 RMB each. The Yeh family planted a grapefruit tree. Assuming that each tree bore 500 grapefruits and sold them for 30 RMB each, 100 grapefruits would be 15,000 RMB each.

Ye Jinxiu smiled and squinted her eyes as she calculated in her heart. This was a profit without any cost!

The aroma of meat wafted out of the kitchen. Ye Jinxiu sniffed and his stomach growled.

"Cousin."

"Comrade Ye."

Ye Daniu and Gao Xuejun's voices rang out at the same time. Ye Jinxiu turned around and shouted, "Wait, I'll go over now."

She went over to Gao Xuejun first. "Comrade Gao, why did you call me?"

Gao Xuejun rubbed his nose and looked a little embarrassed.

He had only eaten a few bowls of porridge in the morning. The porridge was filled with water and was gone after a few rounds of urine.

He was so hungry that his chest was sticking to his back. As soon as he smelled the aroma of meat, he couldn't help but call out to Ye Jinxiu.

He regretted it as soon as he called out, but it was too late because Ye Jinxiu had already entered the house.

He gave up and asked in a low voice, "Is lunch ready? I'm hungry."

"Wait, I'll send it over to you in a while."

Seeing that Gao Xuejun didn't have anything else to say, Ye Jinxiu turned around and went to Ye Daniu's house. When he opened the door, he saw Ye Daniu's eager eyes.

Ye Jinxiu smiled and walked into the house. "Daniu, are you hungry?"

Ye Daniu had just woken up. When she opened her eyes and saw the unfamiliar environment, she was so shocked that she subconsciously called out, "Cousin."

Although the two of them had only known each other for three days, Ye Jinxiu's considerate care for Ye Daniu was enough to make Ye Daniu rely on Ye Jinxiu.

Other than Ye Jinxiu, no one else had ever treated her so well.

Ye Daniu shook her head. "Cousin, is this your house?"

Ye Jinxiu sat down and touched Ye Daniu's face. "Yes, this is my house."

Ye Daniu rubbed Ye Jinxiu's palm. "Cousin, can I stay at your house in the future?"

"Of course, you can stay wherever you want in the future."

Hearing Ye Jinxiu's words, Ye Daniu's heart trembled. She grabbed the corner of Ye Jinxiu's shirt, unwilling to let go.

Ye Jinxiu stroked Ye Daniu's back, thinking about how to persuade Ye Daniu to change her name. Although the name Ye Daniu was a bit vulgar, it sounded quite down-to-earth. It wasn't any worse than the name Hong Feng.

But since the system asked her to change her name, she would try to persuade Ye Daniu to change her name.

It would be best if it worked, but if it didn't, she wouldn't force it.

"Daniu, do you think your name sounds good?"

Ye Daniu looked up at Ye Jinxiu. "It doesn't sound good. Cousin, do you want to help me change my name?"

Ye Daniu had always disliked her name. When she was in the Huang family village, she always wanted to change her name.

There were a few girls in the Huang family village who were the same age as her. Their names were Lijuan, Lixiu, Lihong, and so on. They all sounded good, so she also wanted to change her name.

"Hong Feng. What do you think of the name Hong Feng?"

Ye Daniu blinked and muttered the two words Hong Feng. After a few seconds, she said shyly, "It sounds good. Cousin, can I change my name to Hong Feng?"

Ye Jinxiu sighed in relief. "Sure. Then I'll call you Hong Feng later, okay?"

Ye Daniu nodded heavily, the corners of her mouth turning up slightly.

"Miss Xiuxiu, it's time to eat."

Old Madam Ye brought the porridge into the house. After not seeing Ye Jinxiu for a long time, she couldn't help but shout at the top of her lungs.

Ye Jinxiu touched the back of Hong Feng's head. "Let's go and have lunch."

Ye Jinxiu helped Hong Feng out of bed and held her hand as they walked towards the Yeh family's house.

"Miss Xiuxiu, who is this?"

Old Madam Ye had never seen Hong Feng before. When she suddenly saw Ye Jinxiu holding the hand of an unfamiliar girl and entering the house, she subconsciously frowned. She was worried that Ye Jinxiu had been deceived.

"Grandma Ye, she's Fifth Uncle's daughter. You can call her Hong Feng."

"So it's Miss Hong Feng. Please take a seat. I'll get a bowl for you."

Old Madam Ye hurriedly walked out and quickly returned with a large bowl.

She picked up a spoon and scooped two bowls of porridge. One bowl was in front of Ye Jinxiu, and the other bowl was in front of Hong Feng.

Hong Feng felt uneasy. She clenched her fists and didn't know where to put them.

Ye Jinxiu handed Hong Feng a pair of chopsticks. "Grandma Ye is my mother's nanny. She's a member of the Yeh family. Don't be afraid. Hurry up and eat."

After coaxing Hong Feng, Ye Jinxiu smiled at Old Madam Ye and said, "Grandma Ye, there's a guest staying in Ye Zhao's house. I'll go and bring him some food first."

Old Madam Ye's eyes widened. "A guest?"

Ye Jinxiu didn't know how to explain Gao Xuejun's identity to Old Madam Ye. He nodded and said, "Yes, he'll be staying at our house for three months."

As he spoke, Ye Jinxiu took out a large bowl and filled it with porridge. He carried the porridge and walked out.

Old Madam Ye was worried about the 'guest' that Ye Jinxiu mentioned. She hurriedly chased after him.

"Is this a guest?"

Old Madam Ye opened the door. The moment she saw Gao Xuejun, she narrowed her eyes.

It was said that people were shrewd with age. Old Madam Ye could tell at a glance that Gao Xuejun wasn't an ordinary person. A person like this was either a good person or a bad person.

The people of the Yeh family were all innocent. Whether this man was a good person or a bad person, Old Madam Ye didn't want him to stay with the Yeh family.

"Miss Xiuxiu, men and women shouldn't touch each other. Don't worry and go eat. I'll take good care of the guest."