This Awkward Man

It was just nice. There were a pair of red palm prints on both sides of his face. It was a very symmetrical look.

At first, Xiaoguo didn’t know his age. Just by guessing, she thought that he was in his forties or fifties. When she slapped him at that time, she did feel a little guilty for her actions.

But when she found out that he was only 28 years old, she felt more at peace with herself.

Since they were all in their twenties, and about the same age, it would be fine even if they slapped him once, twice, many times or even beat him up.

After dinner, Xiaoguo and Jiang Danhe had to make a trip to the government office to verify if Shu Botong was telling the truth.

In order to save time, the two of them decided to ride a horse there.

After Jiang Danhe carried Xiaoguo onto the horse, he was about to get on when someone suddenly touched his shoulder.

He turned around and saw Shu Botong looking at him with his arms crossed. His eyes were shining, as if telling him that he was ready.

Xiaoguo lowered her head and stopped Jiang Danhe a second before he hit the man. She said to Shu Botong, “Didn’t I tell you to go back first?”

Shu Botong’s arms were still raised while he remained silent. He was being very persistent.

Seeing that she was about to lose her grip on Jiang Danhe, Xiaoguo quickly dismounted and went to the noodle shop to ask for a pot of sour plum soup. And that finally placated the man.

After Shu Botong left happily with the teapot, Xiaoguo pulled the unhappy Jiang Danhe onto the horse and they set off immediately.

“What’s wrong? Jiang Danhe? Danhe?”

After Jiang Danhe carried her onto the horse, he did not speak. No matter how Xiaoguo coaxed him, he did not make a sound.

In the end, seeing that there was no other way, Xiaoguo pretended to lose her patience and turned her head away to ignore him.

The two of them started playing a game of ignoring each other on the horseback.

Jiang Danhe was the first to lose his cool. He reached out and touched her with his hand that was not holding onto the horse.

Xiaoguo ignored him.

Jiang Danhe touched her again.

Xiaoguo still ignored him.

Just like that, after a few times, Xiaoguo burst out laughing. When he saw her laugh, Jiang Danhe started laughing too.

Seeing him smile, Xiaoguo turned to look at him. “Now can you tell me the reason?”

“What reason?”

Jiang Danhe looked at her like she was spouting nonsense. Feeling amused, Xiaoguo hit him with her elbow.

“Tell me quickly.”

“It’s not because of anything.” Jiang Danhe was rarely so hesitant. The matter that was bothering him was very trivial. Would she think that he was petty if he told her?

Hence, Jiang Danhe thought for a long time whether to tell her the reason. He didn’t say anything until they reached the entrance of the government office.

Just as Xiaoguo was about to walk in, Jiang Danhe took action and grabbed her arm. “Are you really going to take care of him for the rest of his life?”

“Who are you referring to?”

Xiaoguo didn’t get what he was saying initially. “Take care of who for the rest of their lives?”

“Sloppy.”

“Shu Botong?”

“Sloppy.”

When Jiang Danhe heard Xiaoguo call his name, his face darkened. And he deliberately repeated the word sloppy.

Xiaoguo suddenly smiled and asked gently, “Are you unhappy about that?”

“I can’t say that I’m happy or unhappy. It’s just that…”

Jiang Danhe was still feeling a little uncomfortable broaching the subject. He didn’t want to say it out loud, and was hoping that Xiaoguo could get what he was trying to say.

“Oh… so you are okay with it.”

Xiaoguo knew exactly what he was trying to say. Trying to tease him, she pretended not to understand.

Jiang Danhe blushed and followed behind Xiaoguo without saying a word.

Xiaoguo was walking in front of him. When she reached the steps, she deliberately pretended to miss her step and looked like she was about to fall. This was her way of giving in to him.

As expected, although Jiang Danhe was secretly upset with Xiaoguo, he was still observing her every move. Seeing that she was about to fall, he quickly grabbed her and pulled her into his arms.

“Are you okay?”

“I’m fine. You’re here with me.”

“Because you’re here, That’s why I’m fine.”

Jiang Danhe understood the underlying meaning behind her words. He was overjoyed. All his awkwardness was immediately replaced by joy.

Seeing that he was happy, Xiaoguo felt happy too. At this point, the two of them were smiling.

When they arrived at the entrance of the government office, while waiting for the guard to announce their arrival, Jiang Danhe said seriously, “Why don’t I buy you a piece of land nearby?”

“No need. Why would I fork out money when I could get a house for free? I’ll just take care of him for the rest of his life. At most, I’ll just take care of his daily meals. It’s simple.”

As Xiaoguo spoke, she looked inside. Why hadn’t the guard come out after so long?

“Moreover, I can get him to work for free in the future. When the shop is open for business, there will be a lot of things that need to be done. With an extra pair of hands, It will help me with a lot of things.”

Seeing that Xiaoguo had thought things through in detail, Jiang Danhe gave up trying to persuade her. After all, the man was sick, he shouldn’t worry too much about it.

With his thoughts ironed out, Jiang Danhe was now in a good mood. He took out a badge from his waist and showed it to the official guarding the door.

When the officer saw his badge, he immediately bowed and welcomed them in.

Xiaoguo followed behind and looked at Jiang Danhe helplessly. “This man!!”

—-

The guard who went in to announce their arrival was new and had little experience. When someone came looking for the county magistrate, he didn’t ask for the identity of the visitor or ask what the matter was. As soon as he heard that the person was looking for the county magistrate, he immediately ran in to make an announcement. When the magistrate asked him for more information about the visitors, he was unable to provide any answers.

Therefore, during the announcement, he could only briefly describe the couple’s appearances.

The county magistrate was not someone that anyone could meet. Based on the guard’s description, the magistrate deduced that the visitors were some unimportant people, so he was not in a hurry to meet them.

At this moment, Magistrate Liu was lying comfortably in a rocking chair. He was surrounded by a few beautiful ladies. Someone was feeding him grapes and another person was fanning him on the other side. He was totally enjoying himself.

Therefore, when he saw Jiang Danhe appear in front of him, he was utterly shocked.

In the next instant, he fell off the chair and the fats on his body trembled rhythmically along with his fall.

“Welcome, General. I apologize for not welcoming you earlier.” Magistrate Liu quickly got up and tidied his clothes. He was all smiles and did not forget to push away the women who were surrounding him. “Go, go, go, go!”

Xiaoguo silently averted her gaze. She was feeling quite envious of him…

Jiang Danhe did not have any thoughts about the magistrate’s actions. It was really none of his business. As long as he loved the people and was patriotic, he was a good official if he worked whole-heartedly for the people. The magistrate being lecherous was not an issue at all.

After Jiang Danhe explained his purpose for coming, Magistrate Liu was in a daze. After a while, he came to a realization and said, “So it’s about Shu Botong…”

The truth was exactly as Shu Botong had said. However, after hearing Magistrate Liu’s words, Xiaoguo suddenly had a thought. “Could Shu Botong be suffering from schizophrenia?!”

The two of them also saw the title deed that Shu Botong had left at the office.

“There was one day when Shu Botong suddenly came to the government office. Claiming that it was for safety reasons, he handed the title deed to me and entrusted me to keep it for him. Speaking of which, he’s really quite pitiful…”

Magistrate Liu recalled the scene that day and felt very sorry for him. If Shu Botong had not fallen from grace, he might be the one sitting in the magistrate’s position instead.

Xiaoguo suddenly remembered Shu Botong’s claims about the house being haunted. If he wanted someone to buy his house, why would he tell people about the rumor?

“Before Shu Botong went crazy, he could still guard the house, which was his only possession. Once he went crazy, everyone started harboring thoughts about the house. He had no choice but to pretend to be a ghost to scare away those people. And he did manage to scare off a few of them. All his tactics were only applied to specific groups of people. He has the final say on who gets to be the next owner of the house.”

Magistrate Liu knew everything about the county. He was a little lecherous, but he had relied on his merits to become an official. Although he did occasionally take shortcuts and was a little crafty, he really worked hard for the people.

Magistrate Liu was not going to give the deed to them directly. Instead, he asked the private advisor to make a trip and follow the couple back. No matter what, they would only hand over the deed after obtaining permission from Shu Botong.

“County Magistrate Liu is quite good at his job…”

Xiaoguo whispered to Jiang Danhe in case the private advisor following behind her overheard her.