Perhaps sensing Ye Zhinan's unease, the man quickly waved his hands to explain.
"I used to be from out of town. My business wasn't going well, so I thought I'd come out to look for opportunities, and ended up here."
The man looked sincere, and didn't seem to be lying.
However, his excuse was a bit far - fetched.
"The Northern Border is sparsely populated. Judging from your accent, you seem to be from the South. Why did you come here?"
Ye Zhinan stared into the man's eyes, not wanting to miss any reaction.
The man scratched his head, as if he found it hard to talk about.
"I'm indeed from the South. But something went wrong, and I was sold here as a servant. I just redeemed myself not long ago. If you don't believe me, you can go and ask the Jiang family in the city. See if a servant just left their family?"
Ye Zhinan looked at Qin Yihuai. The two exchanged glances and immediately understood each other.
Qin Yihuai quietly withdrew from the crowd and instructed Chen Zhenhai.
This man was indeed suspicious, but it was hard to say exactly what was wrong with him.
In any case, it was better to be careful.
Qin Yihuai returned to the crowd, leaned over and whispered something in Ye Zhinan's ear.
Then he looked up at the man in front of him.
"So what's your purpose?"
The man showed a simple and honest smile on his face and rubbed the hem of his clothes.
"I want to stay in the village."
Ye Zhinan wasn't very surprised by his answer. After going through so much trouble, he most likely just wanted to stay.
Before the two of them could say anything, Li Feilong got unhappy first.
"I think you're very capable. We're all rough people, and this place is too small. I'm afraid it can't accommodate a big shot like you."
He let out a cold snort, and then let out a miserable cry.
"Ouch! Let go of me!"
Li Feilong's ear was twisted by Lu Yanlai, and he stomped his feet in pain on the spot.
"Are you stupid? We're just short of people. He's capable, so of course we should keep him."
Lu Yanlai took a fancy to his quick - wittedness and thought he could help with the village's construction in the future.
Moreover, he looked gentle and quite learned.
Maybe he could even teach the children to read in the future.
Calculated like this, keeping him was simply like keeping a versatile treasure.
"I think he's just a good - looking but useless pretty boy. He might have some ulterior motives."
As soon as he finished speaking, he got another solid hit.
Everyone gasped.
They had heard before that the mistress was good at running the household. Seeing it with their own eyes for the first time, they found that the reputation was well - deserved.
Ye Zhinan couldn't bear to watch anymore and coaxed Lu Yanlai to let go.
"I think Sister Lu is right. Why don't we let him stay for now? We can make further plans after checking his background."
She was afraid that Li Feilong would cause trouble again, so she quickly explained quietly.
"Moreover, it's more reassuring to keep an eye on him."
Li Feilong's cleverness was all used in fighting. He managed the mountain stronghold well, but when it came to human relationships, he was as dull as a wooden block.
He didn't react in time and agreed.
But the more he thought about it, the more something seemed wrong.
It was just that by the time he figured it out, the man had already settled down in the village.
Hearing what Ye Zhinan said, the man was overjoyed. He grabbed her hand and thanked her repeatedly.
"My name is Wu Yangping. You can call me Xiao Wu."
Ye Zhinan nodded and struggled to pull her hand out.
She glanced at Qin Yihuai nervously. Seeing that he didn't show any reaction, she felt a nameless fire welling up.
But then she thought that he had no relationship with her, so why should he care about her?
"We all live in the neighboring village. I'll ask the village head to arrange a house for you later. It might be a bit shabby. You'll have to bear with it."
Wu Yangping waved his hands repeatedly and smiled quite simply.
"It's okay. I'm a person who has suffered. I can make do with anything."
This matter was settled, and everyone dispersed, going about their own business.
Only Wu Yangping stood there, looking at Ye Zhinan's back with a deep look in his eyes.
In the evening, Qin Yihuai returned to the yard. His fingers behind his back kept fumbling, as if he was thinking about something.
When Ye Zhinan saw him, she instinctively wanted to hide, but then thought it was too affected, so she stepped forward.
"Did Xiaohai find anything?"
Qin Yihuai shook his head.
"I inquired at that family. There really was a servant who left. The household registration documents all match. He doesn't seem to be lying."
Qin Yihuai said the last sentence very softly. He wasn't sure either.
Everything was too reasonable and airtight, leaving no room for any flaws, which also inexplicably revealed a sense of strangeness.
It was as if it had been deliberately arranged.
Ye Zhinan sat at the table and brewed a pot of tea for herself.
"Then let's observe him for a while. Maybe we're just being over - cautious."
The lights in the yard were turned off. Ye Zhinan lay in bed, tossing and turning, unable to fall asleep.
She entered the space and rummaged around to find a book about how to build houses.
The language was obscure and difficult to understand. It took her a long time to barely understand a small part of it.
She simply gave up and decided to give it to someone who liked to delve deeper.
Early the next morning, Ye Zhinan got up very early and sat in the yard waiting for someone.
Seeing Qin Yihuai walking out of the room, she showed a mischievous smile.
Qin Yihuai immediately became vigilant.
"What do you want to do?"
Ye Zhinan laughed dryly a few times, took out a book from her bosom, and pushed it in front of him.
"What can I do? I just have a treasure and want to share it with you."
She opened the book, which also had some pictures on it. It was obvious that they were about architecture.
Qin Yihuai immediately perked up. He rubbed his face hard, opened his eyes wide, and delved into the words on it.
"What kind of book is this? Why can't I understand it?"
Ye Zhinan secretly thought it was bad. She had forgotten that this was a modern book.
There was a wide variety of things in the space, with ancient and modern things mixed together.
She didn't notice that it was in simplified characters when she was reading it. It was probably too late to regret it now.
"It was passed down from a neighboring country. The master who taught me medicine picked it up from a street stall. He thought it was useless, so he gave it to me. I didn't expect it to come in handy by accident."
Ye Zhinan let out a long sigh of relief after she finished speaking. Lying really wasn't a pleasant feeling.
Seeing Qin Yihuai's inquiring look, she felt even more uncertain and added a few more sentences.
"Their writing is very simple. It's just a deformation and simplification of our characters. My master taught me. If you study it carefully, you can also learn it."
She quickly changed the subject, opened the book, and taught him to recognize simplified characters word by word.
Qin Yihuai stared at her serious side profile and couldn't help but be in a daze.
Ye Zhinan's face turned slightly red. Her expression was quite serious, but it didn't make her seem dull. Instead, it added a bit of innocence and cuteness.
Her voice came into his ears. Qin Yihuai didn't really listen to what she was saying, but still thought it was extremely pleasant.
He didn't have the self - control to remain unmoved. At the moment, his heart was in a complete mess.
He suddenly stood up and put the book into his bosom.
"I probably understand. I'll read it carefully when I get back. I'll come and ask you if I don't understand anything."
Qin Yihuai walked away in a hurry, striding out of the yard.
Ye Zhinan shook her head helplessly behind him. He looked like he was running away in a hurry.