Sun Xiaoyue turned to Ouyang Shuo with an apologetic smile, saying sweetly, âBig Brother Shuo, these are the two roommates I told you about from before.â
On her left side was the smaller of the two, wearing a black sweater and tight pants, a lovely girl called Pan Qiaoqiao. On the right side was Qinru, a temperamental beauty with a slender body, pale yellow face, and was wearing a lotus-colored chiffon skirt.
For those whom he just got to know, Ouyang Shuo wasnât very forthcoming, simply greeting them politely and then standing on the side to be a good listener.
Compared to Shouâs calm disposition, Qiaoqiao and Qinru were very curious about him. They looked at Ouyang Shuo, wanting to see who he was exactly. Qinru was more subtle, shooting light glances his way.
Qiaoqiao was more daring, with aggressive eyes, looking presumptuously at Ouyang Shuo. His heart was strong enough to bear with this judging, if not, his face would have definitely flushed red.
They knew Sun Xiaoyue had never had a boyfriend and yet now she had actually agreed to share a room with one? It was too strange. For this kind of situation, there were only two possibilities. Either the man was too innocent to cause any troubles, or he was attractive enough to drive her crazy.
Ouyang Shuo was about 1.8 meters tall, finely boned, and calmly tempered. Although he wasnât an extremely handsome man, he definitely couldnât be considered a harmless animal. Therefore, the only answer was that Sun Xiaoyueâs lovely springtime had come.
Qiaoqiao was relatively pure, with a straightforward personality. She directly pulled Xiaoyue aside, asking sneakily, âHey, Xiaoyueyue, tell the truth! Youâre calling him big brother, but isnât he your boyfriend?â
Xiaoyue put on an angry face, pinched her waist, smiled and said, âHe really is just a friend and my roommate! Keep speaking such nonsense, and see how I shut your mouth!â
âXiaoyueyue, you are trying to hide something, it is as obvious as a cat in heat, donât blame me.â Qiaoqiao wasnât going to be outdone, her sharp words caused Ouyang Shuo standing there to feel ashamed. He could not help feeling a little stumped and old, completely unable to keep up with them.
Qinru looked at the politely smiling Ouyang Shuo, saying, âI will also follow Xiaoyueyue in calling you big brother; do you mind it?â
Ouyang Shuo replied with a smile, âI am honored! I have heard Xiaoyue talking about you before, but seeing you in person, you really are true beauties.â
All women, no matter what kind, didnât have much resistance to words of praise. Qinru, of course, was no exception, teasingly saying, âComplimenting me so, are you really pursuing our Xiaoyueyue here? If you are looking for information about her, if I know I will tell!â
It seemed that women, no matter what kind, couldnât let go of the potential for gossip. Desperately, he tugged Bingâer forwards, saying. âYou are really misunderstanding things. This is my sister Ouyang Bing. Xiaoyue took into account Bingâer, and that was the reason she let us share. It is not so complicated.â
In front of strangers, Bingâer was instantly a good little girl, and said crisply, âBeautiful sister, hello!â
Bingâerâs sweet good looks could kill both males and females. Qinru bent over to take her little hands, saying, âWow, what a cute little sister! Come give sister a hug!â She did not care about whether Bingâer allowed and immediately embraced her. Not satisfied, she squeezed Bingâerâs cheeks and kissed them too.
Poor Bingâer struggled to turn her little head, giving Ouyang Shuo a look asking for help. Ouyang Shuo stood on the side, unable to do anything. Bingâer made a little bitter face, staring at the big brother who could not save her.
At this time, Sun Xiaoyue and Pan Qiaoqiao finished their conversation and walked back. When Pan Qiaoqiao saw Bingâer she couldnât resist too, just like that Bingâer had escaped the wolfâs jaws but had fallen into the tigerâs den.
What resulted was, of course, merely more suffering for Ouyang Shuo. Accompanying two girls shopping was more than enough for him, and now all of a sudden there were four of them!
He was like a free mule heaped up with stuff, following four girls, shuttling from one shop to the next with them.
Everyone watching him could only stare, so many men were envious of him, not knowing that he would have happily swapped spots with them. As they say, the one born with the blessing wouldn't know how to cherish that blessing is.
Later that night, Ouyang Shuo treated everyone to a sumptuous meal. Before leaving, Bingâer patted her belly in satisfaction.
Ouyang Shuo knew that his little sister had been walking for an entire day, and had to be tired. He squatted down, smiled and said, âCome, your brother will carry you back!â
Bingâer immediately grinned, laughing as she ran behind Ouyang Shuo, and jumped up into place on his back, her little arms wrapping skillfully around his neck.
Xiaoyue stood aside, watching Ouyang Shuo, each hand adorned with five or six bags, two more around his neck, and now carrying Bingâer, finding the sight secretly funny. However, she had no intentions of helping Ouyang Shuo carry things. He was a boy, and she was exercising a girlâs privilege!
After wandering all day, although he was a little tired, Ouyang Shuo was still happy in his heart. Seeing Xiaoyue had become more cheerful watching him carry Bingâer, this was a good thing. He also started a rare joke, turning back to Xiaoyue and saying, âIt time to go! What, are you waiting for me to carry you too?â
Xiaoyue kicked his foot and walked away. Ouyang Shuo smiled on seeing that and hurried to keep up.
Back home, he brought Bingâer back into her room. She had already fallen asleep after her busy day. He took off her coat and covered her with a quilt. This time, she mumbled, âBingâer still has to brush her teeth, she doesnât want bad teeth!â
Amused, Ouyang Shuo patted her little head and said softly, âLittle sister, you can brush your teeth in the morning, they will not be bad before then!â Her worries dealt with, the little girl wasted no time falling asleep.
Because it was already 9 PM, Ouyang Shuo wasnât going to stay and was ready to return to his room. Xiaoyue stopped him in the hall. âBrother Shuo, in a few days my school will be on winter vacation, and I will be going home for New Years.â
Ouyang Shuo was a little shocked, saying softly, âTime really flies, in a blink of an eye it is already New Years! Donât worry about anything. Anyway, Bingâer will also be on vacation soon. I will be around in the day to accompany her every day.â
Xiaoyue had specifically told him that she was leaving not because she was reluctant to leave Ouyang Shuo, but had been worried that Bingâer would have no one to play with her. Anyways, his territory was on the right track, so he didnât have to log in so early every day, he could take over her job.
They talked about some matters, and then he went back to his room. Ouyang Shuo could feel that during the day Pan Qiaoqiaoâs teasing had unsettled Xiaoyue. Between the two of them, it was less of a bond and more of an awkward atmosphere.
He was barely online when the system announcement filled his ears.
_âCongratulations to player Di Chen for becoming the second Lord in China to upgrade to Grade 3 Village! Special reward of 1000 merit points!â_
_âCongratulations to player Di Chen...â_
_âCongratulations...â_
They had moved so fast. In just one day Di Chen had overcome the damage and population loss from the battle and quickly upgraded to grade 3 village status.
After the Siege of Beasts, Di Chenâs Handan Village ranked fourth in the world, winning 450 gold coins. Several of the other Six Tyrants of Handan would also be getting financial rewards. It could be said that the financial burden of the village stage had, for them, ceased to exist.
If the system had not set a requirement on territory index points to upgrade to a township, Ouyang Shuo would believe that the Handan alliance might be able to get in front of him and be the first to upgrade to a township.
Ignoring the news and disturbance from the others, Ouyang Shuo called Cui Yingyu into his office with a friendly greeting, and handed his financial secretary the work he had written yesterday.
Yingyu took the document to look over, smiled and said, âBig Brother is so precise, this will help me a lot.â
They exchanged some ideas on what the Financial Secretary should be doing. Yingyu originally wanted her apprentice Du Xiaolan to be her Assistant Financial Secretary. Unfortunately, Ouyang Shuo had already promoted her to Assistant Secretary of the Material Reserves Division.
âHow has Qian Lifei been doing recently?â Ouyang Shuo asked about Yingyuâs other apprentice. Ouyang Shuo didnât have much contact with him, so he wanted to know what she thought of him.
Yingyu said cautiously, âQian Lifei is still good, and is very motivated to do and learn things. Only, for some reason, he seems to suffer from low self-esteem, and is too cautious.â
âThatâs good, nobody is perfect. As the Financial Secretary, it is necessary to be careful. As long as they can do their best, do not blame them much.â Ouyang Shuo said with a smile.
Cui Yingyu nodded in agreement.
âAs for the rest of the staff, it will be necessary to find them slowly. My strategy is, rather than overdoing it, itâs better to wait until the establishment of the Lianzhou College. After the first batch of students graduate, select appropriate staff from the graduates to add to the Financial Division and the Four Seas Bank.â
âThat seems to be the only way!â Yingyu agreed helplessly.
With Yingyu leaving, Gui Xiwen immediately came in.
Ouyang Shuo smiled and said, âXiuwen, what kept you waiting at my door?â
âI have good news to report to you.â
âOh, what good news?â
âJust as you said it would, todayâs quota of people was a large amount, a full 63 people. This group of displaced people not only had someone with territory needs, such as a beginner potter, but also an advanced blacksmith,â Gu Xiuwen answered with a smile.
âWhat are the names of the two people, and their origins?â
âThe potter is called Zhu Youzhi, nothing special about him. Advanced blacksmith Wang Gao had originally settled in the Qingshan village of a lord player, but it was destroyed in the Siege of Beasts, so he arrived here.â
Ouyang Shuo nodded. âAll of sudden, all 3 of those buildings can now be put up. Go down to the Construction Division and let them know to get them done as soon as possible.â
Gu Xiuwen nodded and clearly agreed.
*[Long Taos]: side characters in Chinese operas who perform acrobatics and fight scenes
*[12.47 to 13.07]: don't ask me about the tree sap
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