Reborn as a Landlord-Chapter 663 - 341 Rainstorm_1

Lian Manman couldn’t help but halt in her steps, the person barring her path was Xi Bao.

Today, Xi Bao was wearing a dark red padded jacket over his trousers, his thick black hair neatly combed. Standing before Lian Manman, he held a horsewhip in his hand, under his thick brows his pitch-black eyes seemed to stare unblinkingly at her.

Just by looking at his attire and the name Xi Bao, anyone could tell how much his family cherished him.

"Did you call me?" Lian Manman asked. The boy’s gaze was undisguised, somewhat brazenly direct.

"Yes," Xi Bao replied.

"What’s up?" inquired Lian Manman, immediately regretting it after asking.

"...Nothing much," Xi Bao responded, holding the whip in one hand, scratching the back of his head with the other.

"I’m going home then, you should head back too, it’s going to rain," said Lian Manman, trying to walk past Xi Bao.

Xi Bao stretched out his arms and stopped Lian Manman again. 𝘧𝘳𝘦ℯ𝓌𝘦𝒷𝘯𝑜𝑣𝘦𝓁.𝒸𝘰𝓂

Lian Manman narrowed her eyes.

"Well, Manman, are you going to the temple fair on Fulong Mountain tomorrow?" Xi Bao asked Lian Manman.

Lian Manman couldn’t help tilting her head; she hardly knew Xi Bao, it seemed like they had never spoken before. Why would it matter to Xi Bao whether she went to the temple fair on Fulong Mountain?

Fulong Mountain lay near Back Mountain Village, Lady Zhang’s parental home, and had a temple with bustling incense offerings. A temple fair was held there every year in June. It was said to be particularly auspicious to make prayers and wishes there on that day. The temple fair was also a grand market day, attracting people from a hundred miles around, and even further.

Lady Zhang had said that she used to attend the fair when she was a maiden, but after marrying into the Lian Family, she never went again. The Lians didn’t have the custom of visiting temple fairs. Lady Zhou herself disliked going out and also restricted her daughters-in-law and the girls in the family from going out much.

Lian Manman had never attended a temple fair either. She did want to go for the fun of it, but these days, there was a lot to do at home, and she couldn’t leave. Moreover, to go to Fulong Mountain, one must have a carriage. Although her family owned a small ox cart, it was slow moving.

"My family will have a carriage going; will you come? If you will, I’ll let the carriage pick you up tomorrow. We can go together," Xi Bao added, seeing that Lian Manman had not said anything.

Riding in someone else’s carriage to enjoy the day seemed like a great option. But that someone being Xi Bao’s family changed matters. Old Jin had brought his sons to help with the farming at her home before, their intentions painfully obvious. It was only after Lian Zhizhi got engaged to Wu Jiaxing, and Wu Yugui proved to be someone who could hold his own, that the Old Jin Family made no further moves, and the Lian Manman family could relax.

However, there had been that incident, and now any matter relating to the Old Jin Family required the Lian Manman family to be cautious.

"Going there would be fun, lots of people, everything’s there," Xi Bao looked at Lian Manman and added another line.

"I have things at home, I can’t go," Lian Manman replied.

"What’s so important you can’t take a day off?"

"I’m not going to the temple fair," Lian Manman stated firmly.

Xi Bao looked at Lian Manman with his dark eyes, a disappointed expression crossing his face.

Looking at Xi Bao, Lian Manman suddenly thought, in her memory, Old Jin’s face was fierce. Objectively speaking, if not for the beard, and her personal distaste for him due to the usury incident, Old Jin’s features were quite handsome. Xi Bao had inherited Old Jin’s thick brows and large eyes, but not the dark, ruddy complexion. Xi Bao’s complexion was naturally pale, but the sun had given him the healthy glow characteristic of a country boy.

It was said that Xi Bao’s mother was also tall, even taller than Old Jin, yet she was not burly, but extremely beautiful and exceedingly feisty.

Lian Manman looked up at the sky, which had almost completely darkened. A lightning bolt streaked across the horizon like a quick snake, the air thick with the scent of rain.

"We should head home, or we’ll get drenched. Xi Bao, you should hurry home too," Lian Manman told him.

This time, Xi Bao didn’t stop Lian Manman, for the raindrops had already begun to fall.

"I’ll take you home on horseback; it will take just a moment," Xi Bao quickly ran to the side and led a Snowflake Piebald horse out from behind a cluster of trees. The horse, though youthful, already displayed great vitality.

Xi Bao brought the horse over to Lian Manman.

Lian Manman blinked; it wasn’t a long way back to the old residence, and how would others view her if she rode this horse? It likely wouldn’t take long before people started saying this or that about Lian Manman and Xi Bao. She was only eleven, and had it been anyone else, no one would make much of it, but Xi Bao was different.