Ye Jian smiled slightly towards them. There was no sign of bashfulness on her face, but instead, she went up to Old Man Gen who was holding a number of plates in his hands and spoke softly, “You should rest and I’ll do the serving. Your legs aren’t well, and the pain worsens during spring.”
Those words which fell into the ears of the four men made them feel somewhat uncomfortable.
Because they all knew that Old Man Gen’s legs were not well.
The old man had been carrying his injury with him after leaving the battlefield, and once spring or winter came, the pain in his legs would increase several folds.
They returned this time around to give a special ointment obtained from within the military.
However, they had only just prepared their noodles and had not yet eaten when a sprite-like girl suddenly appeared within their sights.
Ai, they were now even misunderstood.
Old Man Gen was taken aback. How did the Jian lass know about his legs not being well? Among the villagers, not even a single one of them knew.
“It’s fine, it’s fine. Just take better care of yourself.” Of course Old Man Gen knew that Ye Jian had fainted yesterday. But because there were others present, he did not say of it to avoid humiliating the young girl.
Ye Jian pursed her lips and showed a slightly unnatural smile, “It was just an accident. I apologize for all the trouble I’ve caused.”
The plates, together with the refreshing smell of the old altar sauerkraut, were placed neatly on the table and they were seasoned skilfully with the sesame seed oil before a spoon full of spicy hot chili oil was added. Not only were the dishes aromatic, but they were also fresh in color.
The lid of the bottle of soy sauce by the side of a couch was not screwed tightly. Casually, Ye Jian went to screw the lid tight.
Few of the children in the village were pampered, but a child with no parents was even less likely to receive any pampering.
Old Man Gen looked at the girl who was half his size; thin and weak, yet her actions seemed as if she had already struggled through ten years or so in life. As he looked deeply at her, his heart ached slightly and he sighed, “Lass, no need to help them. When they’re done eating, they’ll clean up after themselves.”
“Little missy, go and rest, we’ll do it by ourselves, we’ll do it by ourselves.”
“Thanks, thanks, but we’ll do it ourselves.”
They would definitely be scolded if the commander were to catch wind of the news of them, several able-bodied men, being served by a little lass.
The four were a little embarrassed to let a little lass busy herself around them, so they tried to use their hands to block. However, because of their wide actions, a pair of chopsticks was accidentally knocked off from a bowl.
Instinctively, the man closest to the falling chopsticks reached out his hand. But a pair of slender hands were a step ahead of him, and they caught the chopsticks accurately.
Ye Jian placed the chopsticks back onto the bowl and revealed a refreshing smile, “They weren’t dirtied, so no need to wash them.”
“Thank you.” The young soldier was even more embarrassed, and he said his thanks repeatedly.
The soldier, who had a firm face and was around his early thirties, smiled and spoke heartily, “The little missy’s reaction truly is fast ah. Why don’t you sit and eat the noodles along with us? The noodles haven’t been touched, we can share some with you.”
“I’ve eaten already, but thank you.” Ye Jian’s smile was slightly shallow, but when she smiled, her smile could also be spotted from the corners of her eyes. Just looking at her face made the men feel particularly pleasant in their hearts.
This was their first time meeting, and they sensed that the lass was a polite little missy.
After generously refusing the invitation from an officer, Ye Jian turned towards Old Man Gen and spoke softly, “Grandpa Gen, I’m here to discuss with you about…”
Before the word “something” could exit her mouth, a black animal shot from from a distance. Its speed was exceptionally quick that the petals that fell onto the ground had begun fluttering in the air again.
Even though there were a few others there, the black animal had already rushed right in front of Ye Jian. Its speed was so fast that even Old Man Gen had no time to react.
Ye Jian did not move, because she could not.
