As soon as Tang Guiniang saw March, she took quite a fancy to her. Smiling, she invited them into the house to take a rest.
The Pei family welcomed Lin Niangzi and the others warmly and didn't treat them as outsiders.
Tang Guiniang even went into the kitchen herself to cook her specialty rice cakes, fresh fish noodles, and deluxe spring rolls.
She cooked the dough skins one by one, then filled them with stir - fried and well - mixed mushrooms, oysters, three - layer pork, dried tofu, parsley, scrambled eggs, and oily rice, and wrapped them up to eat.
Aunt Zheng and Tang Guiniang were busy in the kitchen.
Lin Niangzi and Hua Sanniang were not idle either. They rolled up their sleeves and went into the kitchen to help.
Qi Jiao told Shuangshuang to steam the zongzi.
She paced towards the east wing but didn't see Pei Xia anywhere inside or outside.
It was a festival today. This wasn't right.
Pei Li came over with a pot of tea. Seeing Qi Jiao looking so absent - minded, he joked with a smile, "Sister - in - law, who are you looking for? There's no one hiding in the house."
Qi Jiao asked him, "Where's your big brother? I've come back, but he doesn't even show his face."
Qi Jiao felt an indescribable restlessness.
During the days they had been apart, both she and Pei Xia had been very busy.
She was too busy to miss him.
She didn't miss him often, but Pei Xia should have been thinking about her all the time.
Pei Li didn't dare to joke anymore. He explained to Qi Jiao, "Today is the day when Brother Qu's family is putting up the beams of their new house. Big brother went to help early this morning."
So he had gone to help someone. It wasn't something else that had held him back.
Qi Jiao's mood cleared up instantly, and she regained her smiling face.
"Alright, go and call him back quickly. It's time for dinner."
Pei Li put down the tea and rushed out of the door to look for his brother.
Big brother was really something!
He didn't even check the time and come home earlier.
Didn't he know that sister - in - law was coming back? And it was a festival today!
Pei Li ran all the way to the Qu family's house. From afar, he saw a crowd gathered in the yard.
But he didn't see his big brother.
Pei Li suddenly felt a bit panicked.
He grabbed a man and asked, "Have you seen my big brother?"
The man came to his senses and pointed to the center of the crowd, looking anxious. "Oh, A Li, you're here. Go and see your brother quickly. He... he's not doing well..."
"What?!"
Pei Li opened his eyes in disbelief and rushed into the crowd like a whirlwind.
He saw Pei Xia lying on the ground on his back. His eyes were still relatively clear, but his expression was extremely painful.
He kept reaching out to scratch the blisters and red sores on his arms and neck. His handsome face looked extremely ferocious at this moment, with red marks covering half of it.
Pei Li was scared silly. He threw himself on Pei Xia crying and called out to his big brother.
He turned his head and roared, "Who did this to him?"
Qu Si was holding Pei Xia's hands on one side. Beads of sweat were dropping from his forehead to the ground one by one.
He said with difficulty, "A Li, quickly help me hold him down. Your big brother is having an allergic reaction!"
Qu Si almost shouted into A Li's ear.
Seeing the murderous look in Pei Li's eyes, he quickly explained, "No one did it on purpose. There was just an accident. A Xia accidentally knocked over a bucket of raw lacquer and had an allergic reaction right away."
"There have been many people in the village who were allergic to lacquer before, but no one was as serious as him. My elder brother has gone to fetch Dr. Gong. Don't be in a hurry. Hold his hands down and don't let him scratch."
Pei Xia felt extremely itchy all over, as if countless ants were gnawing at his skin.
He heard Pei Li's voice and endured the pain to ask him, "Has Jiao Niang come? Don't let her see me like this."
Pei Li frowned tightly. How could he not know his big brother's thoughts? He sighed and said, "No, I'm the only one. Sister - in - law sent me to call you home for dinner."
Hearing this, Pei Xia let out a sigh of relief.
But in an instant, the swelling and itching came back, making him wish he were dead.
If it weren't for his great self - control, he would have been rolling on the ground.
Veins popped out on Pei Xia's forehead, and his lower lip was bitten so hard that there were blood marks. He had never come into contact with raw lacquer before. He didn't expect to have such a strong reaction after just one touch.
Pei Xia closed his eyes. The hands held down by Pei Li scratched two deep white marks on the ground, which were shocking.
Pei Li felt sorry for him and anxiously asked Brother Qu Si, "Fourth brother, what should we do? Is there any way to save my big brother?"
Brother Qu Si had no experience in this area. He was so anxious that he was pacing back and forth. Suddenly, his eyes lit up. "Hey, use cold water to ice it!"
Cold water could relieve the itching, but only for a short while.
After the cold towel was removed, the burning and itching on Pei Xia's body not only didn't decrease but increased. He almost hit his head on the ground.
Pei Li was completely panicked and was about to send someone back to tell his mother and Jiao Niang the news.
At this moment, a tender voice floated in from the door.
"Brother Pei, I'm here."
The person who came was none other than Xuan Niang in a moon - white dress.
Sweat on his forehead dripped onto his eyelashes. Pei Xia opened his eyes forcefully and finally saw who it was.
Xuan Niang was alone.
The people in the Qu family didn't recognize her. They all whispered, "Whose daughter - in - law is this young lady? She looks both strange and familiar..."
Xuan Niang walked straight up to Pei Xia, squatted down, took out a handkerchief, and gently wiped the sweat off his face. Her eyes were filled with pity. "I heard that Brother Pei, you're allergic to lacquer. Coincidentally, my late husband left me some ointment. Come on, apply it quickly."
Pei Xia smelled the fragrance on Xuan Niang's wrist. Although he was in great pain, he still turned his head coldly and said, "Madam Qi, please behave yourself."
Xuan Niang wasn't surprised by Pei Xia's reaction. There wasn't even a trace of embarrassment on her face. She just gracefully retracted her handkerchief and stood up.
Pei Li had never seen Xuan Niang before.
He saw that Xuan Niang didn't avoid the taboos between men and women at all. She behaved so naturally, as if she were very familiar with his big brother.
She also mentioned something about her "late husband".
Was this woman a widow?!
When did his big brother get involved with a widow?
Pei Li was shocked and worried about Pei Xia.
Big brother was so foolish!
Pei Li's mind was in a whirl, but he knew that this wasn't the time to worry about his big brother's loyalty.
He heard Xuan Niang say that she had the ointment, and for a moment, he regarded her as the Bodhisattva who could save the suffering. "Good sister, please save my big brother quickly! May I ask your name? We will surely reward you handsomely afterwards."
Xuan Niang smiled slightly. Her elegant eyebrows and eyes made people trust her. She told Pei Li and Qu Si, "Help me lift Brother Pei up."
Xuan Niang took out the ointment from her sleeve, scooped out some light - green ointment with a spatula, and was about to apply it on Pei Xia's side face.
Pei Xia quickly turned his head and avoided Xuan Niang's hand. He glared at Pei Li and gasped, "What are you standing there for? Do I have to trouble Madam Qi to apply the medicine?"
Pei Li wasn't angry at all though he was scolded.
He also cursed himself for being so oblivious.
His big brother was a married man! How could he be so close to a widow?
If Sister - in - law Jiao Niang knew about this, she would surely tear his big brother apart!
Although this Xuan Niang had helped his big brother.
But Pei Li believed in separating one thing from another.
He smiled and invited Xuan Niang to take a rest on one side. "My big brother is a rough man with thick skin. I'll take care of applying the medicine."
Pei Li winked frantically at Qu Si. Qu Si understood and quickly came up to invite Xuan Niang to drink tea in the shade.
Xuan Niang glanced at Pei Xia with a smile and then gave the ointment and spatula to Pei Li.
Pei Li felt the ointment burning his hand. He just wanted to finish applying it on Pei Xia quickly.
He scooped out big globs of the ointment and covered the swollen and red areas on Pei Xia's body.
It was really amazing.
Xuan Niang's medicine was truly effective. After waiting for a quarter of an hour, the red spots on Pei Xia's face and hands gradually disappeared, leaving only a faint red mark and the scratches he had made.
Pei Xia also felt that the itching on his body had stopped.
Seeing that Pei Xia was okay again, the villagers were about to disperse.
Pei Xia glanced at Xuan Niang sitting by the window, holding a teacup with her fair hand. He just sneered in his heart.
He stood up and told everyone to wait.
"I had an unexpected allergic reaction today and caused trouble for everyone. Maybe you don't know yet. The young lady who saved me is Madam Qi, named Xuan Niang. Her family is also from Baiyun Village. We played together when we were kids. I regarded her as my own younger sister. But when Xuan Niang was ten, her family moved away..."
The villagers understood.
So this young lady and Pei Xia weren't in the relationship they had thought.
An aunt looked at Xuan Niang and smiled. "So you're the daughter of the Qi family. A girl changes a lot as she grows up. I even held you when you were a kid. In a blink of an eye, you've grown up so much."
"Yes, the Qi family used to live near the Pei family in the early years. I remember the two families had a good relationship..."
"No wonder Xuan Niang rushed over with the medicine as soon as she heard that Pei Xia was allergic..."
After Pei Xia said this, Xuan Niang's actions just now didn't seem out of line.
The two of them were innocent.
The villagers stopped gossiping. Only two rascally bachelors kept looking at Xuan Niang's face and figure.