"Where did this come from?" An Jingxin’s heart was sweet as honey; she smiled as she took the candied hawthorn stick and asked.
Xiao Changyi pointed to an old man selling the candied hawthorn not far away, "Bought it there."
"You’re spending money recklessly again." Although her words were accusing, Ke Anjing spoke them with a smile, not angry at all.
Xiao Changyi simply gave her two words in response, "Worth it."
An Jingxin smiled until her eyes disappeared.
Then, Xiao Changyi drove the ox cart back home, while An Jingxin sat on the ox cart eating her candied hawthorn.
Of course, An Jingxin didn’t forget Xiao Changyi; she passed a candied hawthorn to Xiao Changyi’s lips. He pretended to bite a piece, and then Xiao Changyi slightly furrowed his brows, almost imperceptibly.
Noticing his frown, An Jingxin was so amused she couldn’t help but ask deliberately, "Is it sweet?"
Xiao Changyi responded, "Sweet."
"Then..." An Jingxin drew out her voice on purpose, "Is it sour?"
Xiao Changyi was quite honest, "Sour."
Sweet and sour, that’s what candied hawthorn is all about. An Jingxin was even happier and her smile grew even more radiant. Seeing that nobody was around, she boldly turned his face towards her and kissed him on the lips.
After kissing him, she asked with a smile, "Is it still sour now?"
Xiao Changyi shook his head, "Not sour, it’s sweet."
Her man was so supportive, An Jingxin was over the moon with joy.
On the way home, An Jingxin and Xiao Changyi encountered Shi Xiaolan, An Fu, and An Quangui.
The three of them had gone to West Market in the town early in the morning to sell tofu or vegetables. After selling their goods, they were already on their way back; unfortunately, they had walked for about an hour and had covered only half of the distance.
As soon as An Jingxin saw them, she invited them onto the ox cart to give them a lift.
Seeing that An Jingxin and Xiao Changyi had actually bought an ox, and a water buffalo at that, the three of them were so surprised they were speechless. They thought An Jingxin and Xiao Changyi were incredibly impressive and wealthy to be able to afford a water buffalo; in An Village, not even a common ox was to be had.
"Don’t just stand there like fools, come on up," An Jingxin said with amusement when she saw that the three of them were just staring at her newly-bought water buffalo without boarding the cart.
An Quangui was the quickest to snap out of it, but still didn’t board the ox cart, instead, he hastily waved his hands and said, "No need, no need, we can walk back. It’s not that much farther."
"Why wouldn’t you take a ride if there’s a car? I’ve got plenty of space here for the three of you to sit, get on up." The next second, she teased, "What, do you need me to get off the cart and invite you personally?"
Only then did the three agree to board the ox cart.
Once on the ox cart, they remained silent, continuing to stare at the water buffalo leading the way.
It took quite a while before An Quangui, while looking at the water buffalo, exclaimed, "What a magnificent beast."
If An Jingxin were not so patient, she would have burst out laughing by now.
Shi Xiaolan was very nervous, yet excited, "An Jingxin, this is my first time riding on an ox cart."
An Jingxin thought to herself that it was also her first time on an ox cart. In the past, the most she would ride was a military off-road vehicle.
An Fu, on the other hand, was much calmer as he had ridden an ox cart twice before. He had no particular feelings about riding in the cart itself, but he was quite impressed with the large water buffalo up front.
While staring at the leading water buffalo, An Fu swallowed several times involuntarily. It took him a while before he said, "An Jingxin, that ox must be expensive, right? I heard that a water buffalo costs at least five taels of silver, and this one looks so robust, clearly top quality..."
An Jingxin smiled and said, "It was quite expensive, nearly all of my family’s savings were spent on it."