Chapter 39

When Jiang Xingchen rushed back home, it was just past noon. As soon as he pushed open the courtyard gate, he smelled a burnt odor.

"Huh?" Jiang Xingchen was slightly taken aback but quickly figured it out and strode towards the kitchen. No need to ask, the little girl was cooking again.

Pushing open the kitchen door, Jiang Xingchen saw Meier clumsily kneading dough, a fine layer of sweat on her forehead. On the stove beside her, there were three irregularly shaped large pancakes, all charred and obviously burnt.

Hearing the door open, Meier turned her head. Seeing Jiang Xingchen, she asked in surprise, "Brother, why are you back so early today?"

"Finished my business, of course I came back!" He closed the door behind him, walked up to Meier, and gently wiped the sweat from her forehead, saying, "Didn't I leave you money and food? Why are you cooking! It's so cold, you should be careful. You're sweating, what if you catch a cold?"

"Brother, my illness is already better, my body is fine... In the future, you can earn money outside, and when you come back, you don't need to be busy. I can handle all the housework!" Meier smiled a bit guiltily and said softly.

"Who said your body is better? Don't be careless just because you feel fine. Uncle Xiang said your body needs long-term care... And you can handle all the housework? Can you even cook?"

Jiang Xingchen scolded her, but his hand gently stroked Meier's head, and his eyes showed concern. He knew very well what the little girl was thinking. Whether it was joking around with him or doing housework, it was all to increase her sense of presence. She was afraid of losing her significance in this family.

And the root of all this was her sensitive heart. Years of loneliness made her always try to show herself in front of Jiang Xingchen, even forming a habit...

Hearing her brother mention cooking, Meier glanced at the burnt pancakes on the stove, her face turning slightly red. She lowered her head and mumbled, "I'm just learning... For the past three years, it was always me cooking..."

Jiang Xingchen squatted down, pinched Meier's increasingly pale face, and said softly, "For the past three years, it has always been Meier taking care of brother! When brother was injured by fake medicine, you gave up your bed and slept on the floor, and even went out to do hard labor to earn money. Your illness was caused by the cold and overwork... Now that Meier is sick, it's brother's turn to take care of you! If you really want to take care of the family, get well first, and then whatever you want to do, brother will support you!"

Listening to Jiang Xingchen's words, Meier's eyes grew redder, and tears fell involuntarily.

"Why are you crying? Is it because the food you made isn't good... Let me taste it!" Jiang Xingchen gently wiped away the little girl's tears with his thumb, picked up a pancake, tore off a piece, and put it in his mouth.

"Hmm~ It doesn't look good, but it tastes nice! It's much better than the uncooked one you gave me last time!" Jiang Xingchen showed a satisfied expression, chewed hard, and then tore off another piece and put it in his mouth.

Meier stopped crying, blinked her eyes, looked at the blackened pancakes, and then at Jiang Xingchen who was chewing hard, showing a puzzled expression. She slowly reached out, gently tore off a small piece, and put it in her mouth!

"Spit, spit, spit..." Meier grabbed the pancake from Jiang Xingchen's hand and shouted, "Brother, don't eat it!"

"Hehe, little girl, don't cry!" Jiang Xingchen said with a smile.

"Annoying!" Meier playfully tapped Jiang Xingchen's arm and then pounced forward, tightly hugging his neck, her chin resting on his shoulder.

Brother ate the bitter pancake to comfort her, which really moved her. Her emotions surged, and she expressed them in this way.

Jiang Xingchen stiffened for a moment, then wrapped his arms around Meier's small body...

After a while, Jiang Xingchen patted Meier and said softly, "Brother has something to show you!"

"What?" Meier seemed not to hear clearly, left Jiang Xingchen's embrace, and looked at him with a puzzled expression.

Then, a light yellow badge appeared before her eyes, clearly inscribed with four characters: Third-Class Baron.

"This is..." Meier's pupils suddenly contracted, her eyes widening, and her joyous expression growing more and more.

"Brother, does this mean... we..." Meier's thoughts were a bit slow, slowly reaching out to take the badge, staring at the four characters, gently touching them, as if afraid it was a dream.

"Exactly! We are about to get our land back, just one step away!" Jiang Xingchen confirmed.

"Great!" A cheer, Meier was enveloped in joy. Only then did she fully confirm that this was not a dream, and brother had really obtained the title.

Thinking of the promise brother made to her when she was seriously ill, the little girl couldn't help but hug Jiang Xingchen again, tears of joy streaming down her face. She still tightly clutched the temporary badge, as if it were the most precious thing, afraid of losing it if she let go.

"Hey!" Jiang Xingchen blinked, a bit puzzled: "Why didn't the little girl have a fit this time!"

After a long time, Meier slowly calmed down, realizing she was lying in brother's arms. Her face turned red, and she smiled awkwardly, quickly standing up, then happily examined the badge.

But when she turned the badge to the front, her face suddenly stiffened, and she asked in panic, "Brother, is this badge not yours?"

"Who said it's not? Brother just changed his name!" Jiang Xingchen said very calmly.

"Changed your name!" Meier was a bit puzzled and asked again, "Why?"

"Because I like the stars in the sky, so I changed my name to Jiang Xingchen!"

"Liar! When I asked you to watch the stars with me before, you said you hated stars the most!"

Jiang Xingchen was instantly at a loss. How was he supposed to know there was such a thing before.

"Didn't like it before, but I like it now! You said I'm different from before... Little girl, remember, brother is now called Jiang Xingchen!" Finding no excuse, Jiang Xingchen gave a weak reason and used a very strong tone.

"Is that so!" Strangely, Meier didn't ask further but instead showed a sweet smile, her eyes curving: "Does brother know that Meier likes watching stars, so you changed your name..."

"Well... kind of!" Jiang Xingchen stammered.

"Hehe, brother is so nice!" Meier smiled sweetly, her eyes shining again.

Seeing the little girl's expression, Jiang Xingchen quickly took a step back and said, "Alright, brother will cook. After we eat, I'll take you to watch the dance performance!"

"Oh!" Meier seemed not to hear Jiang Xingchen's words, still holding the badge and laughing. At least a minute passed before she reacted: "Ah! Watch the dance performance, really?"

"Fake!" Jiang Xingchen pretended to be angry, lightly tapping her head, and then got up to cook at the stove.

Meier puffed out her cheeks, stuck out her tongue at Jiang Xingchen's back, and then happily walked to his side, watching him cook carefully.

"By the way, where are Qian Feng and Zhou Xiong?" Jiang Xingchen suddenly remembered he didn't see them at the door.

"It's so cold, I saw the two uncles standing at the door and thought they would be too cold, so I invited them inside!"

"This little girl..." Jiang Xingchen couldn't help but reach out and ruffle her hair.

"Ah! Brother, your hands are full of dough..." The little girl exclaimed, quickly dodging and patting her head. Jiang Xingchen laughed out loud...

A while later, the pancakes were done, and Jiang Xingchen and Meier left the kitchen and returned to the room.

As soon as they entered, Jiang Xingchen was taken aback. Qian Feng and Zhou Xiong were playing a game of Go, so engrossed that they didn't hear the commotion from the kitchen.

"Cough!" Jiang Xingchen coughed loudly, finally waking them up.

"Master Jiang, you're back so early!" The two quickly stood up, looking flustered. Sun Sanqiang had sent them to follow orders, but they had been playing. If Master Jiang was dissatisfied, they would be in trouble.

"It's fine!" Jiang Xingchen waved his hand and called to the two, "Just baked pancakes, let's eat together. After we finish, we'll go out for a bit!"

"Ah!" Seeing that Jiang Xingchen wasn't angry, the two quickly responded. Actually, a large part of their boldness was because they knew Jiang Xingchen had a good temper.

After eating, Qian Feng and Zhou Xiong drove the carriage, taking Jiang Xingchen and Meier straight to the dance performance venue.

The dance performance venue was the largest building in Hongyuan City, capable of holding a thousand people. It took the most famous architectural family in the empire two years to build it, located between the noble district and the mercenary area in the north. Jiang Xingchen had seen it from a distance before.

Arriving at the venue, the performance had just started. It was two dance troupes formed by students from the Imperial Academy, not very famous, and the ticket price was not high, one yellow crystal coin.

Buying tickets and entering, Jiang Xingchen was surprised to find that there were quite a few people watching the dance performance, with at least eighty percent of the seats occupied.

At the front, there was a stage-like area, about two meters above the ground, with several women dancing and singing on it.

Finding a seat, the little girl was very excited, her eyes fixed on the stage.

Jiang Xingchen frowned. They had arrived late, and their seats were quite far back. In a venue that could hold nearly a thousand people, it was hard to hear what was being sung from the back.

After watching for a while, Jiang Xingchen started to feel drowsy. The performances of the few women were similar to what Wan Rou had rehearsed, with different dance moves but similar basic postures. The songs and melodies were different, but they didn't evoke much feeling, especially from the back, where it sounded like moaning.

For two whole months, the two dance troupes took turns performing. After each act, there was a round of applause. The little girl excitedly clapped along and then watched attentively.

Although Jiang Xingchen found it boring, as long as Meier was happy, that was fine. He had come to make the little girl happy.

After the performance, they returned home in the carriage. The little girl was still excited, her face flushed, chattering to Jiang Xingchen about which dance act was the best and which dance move was the most beautiful.

Jiang Xingchen pursed his lips and said, "What's so good about it? I'll perform for you later, and it will be much better than theirs!"

Meier's eyes widened in surprise, "Brother, dance performances are done by girls!"

"Uh!" Jiang Xingchen was taken aback, stammering, "No men perform?"

"No!" Meier nodded, "All dance troupes are made up of women. Think about it, can men dance beautifully?"

Hearing this, Jiang Xingchen's heart suddenly stirred.