Chapter 88 Old Master Jiang's Scheme

"Marrying Lanqin is the greatest blessing of my life!"

During their conversation, Bai Ye brought out a bowl of wine, pulled up a small stool and sat down. His well-defined hands held a porcelain spoon, lifting and lowering it with elegant movements.

"Young man, taking things without asking is..."

"Grandpa Liu, you said you specially brewed some wine for me just a few days ago, so why can't I even have a bowl today?"

"Hmph, you gave that bowl to the little girl!"

Yunxia: Hey, I just arrived and I've already stolen someone's food!

"The wine is delicious, sweet and fragrant. Grandpa Liu, how did you make it?"

"Ha! You've come to the right person, little girl. It was this family recipe that won Lanqin's heart. Soak the glutinous rice in cooled boiled water, steam it, break it up, let it cool, add sweet wine yeast, seal it, and let it ferment for two or three days before it's ready to eat."

Yunxia secretly noted down the key points, planning to try them out herself after returning to the city.

"Grandpa, is dinner ready?"

Before seeing him, you hear his voice. A moment later, a skinny, dark-skinned boy walks in, his calves covered in wet mud, carrying two large fish with grass whips hanging over their gills.

"They wander all over the mountain early in the morning without eating, and only come back when they're hungry. Humph, there's rice left in the pot, go get some yourself."

Suddenly, his attitude changed, and he said kindly, "Girl, have you had breakfast yet? What would you like to eat? Grandpa will make it for you."

Upon hearing this, Liu Qing noticed that there were other people in the courtyard. Wow, their skin was even whiter than that of a pretty boy, and their smiles were like camellias. They were just too... beautiful!

"Oh, we have guests. Which family do you belong to? I've never seen you before," the boy asked while cleaning the fish.

"Grandpa Liu, I had some biscuits and fruit this morning, so I'm not very hungry yet. I'm Bai Ye's friend, and I'm here to stay in the countryside for a few days!"

"Are you staying at my place?"

"Um!"

"That's great! I'll show off my skills at noon with braised fish chunks." As he spoke, he used the back of a knife to remove the fish scales.

"You naughty child, now that a beautiful little girl has come to our house, you're working like crazy. You can't even be bothered to get out of bed to pour me a glass of water."

"Grandpa, I'm doing this for your own good. The teachers in town said that keeping your hands and mind active helps prevent Alzheimer's disease!"

Upon hearing this nonsense, Old Master Liu picked up a stalk of sorghum and threw it at the boy's leg, saying, "You brat, I wonder who you've been imitating?"

"Grandpa, I was raised by you, so naturally I'm just like you!"

"Hehe!" She pretended to be angry and ignored him, then lowered her head and continued making brooms.

Wow, the way the grandfather and grandson get along is quite unique!

Ah, the wine is so delicious, I want a second bowl. Bai Ye seemed to have guessed her thoughts, took the bowl from her hand, and ladled out another half bowl for her.

"Although the wine is sweet, we can't eat too much of it. Besides, we need to save some room for braised fish at noon!"

"Got it!" he said, picking up his spoon and happily eating the wine.

On the other hand, the atmosphere at the Jiang family home was not so good!

As soon as Jiang Chao got home, Jiang Yue'er, the "little white rabbit," started crying and complaining that Yun Xia had bullied her and hurt her. She begged the young man to stand up for her.

Liu Dahong added fuel to the fire, detailing Yunxia's shortcomings, such as being extravagant with money, disrespectful to elders, petty and malicious, and disobedient.

“The money belongs to the Yun family, so she can spend it however she wants. She came to my house before the New Year, and after all this time, I haven’t noticed a single one of the shortcomings that my aunt mentioned.”

“Brother Chao, that’s why Yue’er finds Xiaxia scary. She has two faces. She smiles and acts cute when she can use her, but when she has no use for them, she bares her teeth and bites, showing her ugly side.”

"Brother Chao, you must not be deceived by her hypocrisy. Look at my arm, it still hurts."

After saying that, she glared with her wet almond-shaped eyes and pretended to tug at the boy's clothes. Jiang Chao narrowed his eyes and took a few steps back to avoid physical contact with him.

"Jiang Yue, don't call me Brother Chao, it's disgusting."

Her clear eyes suddenly filled with tears, as if she had suffered a great injustice.

“Chao…Brother Jiang, you…you can’t do this to me. Have you forgotten? When we were little, we watched the stars and caught cicada nymphs together. I fell into the river, and you risked your life to save me.”

"Ha, you've been acting for so long that you've started to believe it yourself. Six or seven people were sitting under the big tree, talking about the stars in the sky, but in your mouth, there were only two people. Falling into the water! Humph, everyone in the village knows you're an excellent swimmer. Who are you trying to impress with those splashing around? I went into the water to catch fish, but you got me all tangled up with you, so I had no choice but to drag you ashore."

With just a few casual words, Jiang Yue's beautiful fantasy was shattered.

"No, Jiang Chao, you must be lying to me. It's that vixen Yun Xia who's stirring things up, isn't it? Where is she? I'm going to tear her face off!"

“Jiang Chao, Yue’er is even closer to you than to Jiang Wu. How can you say such things about her for the sake of an outsider?” Liu Dahong, holding his daughter, said with displeasure.

"Enough! What kind of behavior is this, crying and wailing? Anyone who didn't know better would think something terrible had happened to the Jiang family!" Old Master Jiang said angrily, sitting at the table.

"Grandpa, Auntie, Yunxia hasn't come home all night, you didn't know?"

"Hmph, city girls mature early. How old are they to have run away from home? Who knows who they spent the night with!"

"So you knew she left home in the middle of the night, yet you didn't go out to look for her. If something really happens, can you take responsibility?"

“Brother Chao, no one is forcing her to leave. If something really happens, it's just her bad luck.”

“Jiang Yue, shut your mouth, or else… don’t blame me for being impolite. Aunt, Grandpa, are you planning to let Xiaxia get lost so you can seize the property left by the former deputy factory director?”

Upon hearing this, Old Master Jiang was so angry that he smashed his teacup. "Nonsense! It's completely unrelated. It was left by the man's own father. Even if something happens to him, how could it fall into my hands?"

"Heh, whether it's your turn or not depends on your cunning. I'm going out to find Yunxia, ​​so don't save me lunch."

After saying that, he glared at Jiang Yue, then turned and left.

"What a tragedy! How could I have been deceived by someone, not knowing the difference between close and distant relatives? I gave him my heart, and I still got nothing in return."

Jiang Shuo left the mountains and, with his talent, settled down in the city. He was once the hope of the Jiang family, but unfortunately, he lost his life in a car accident.

Jiang Chao was born with an urban household registration, excelled academically, consistently ranked first, and was highly likely to be admitted to a prestigious university, thus becoming the new hope of the Jiang family.

Grandpa Jiang treated him very well in public, but he would often try to sow discord between the mother and son, attempting to distance him from Wu Lifang and make him closer to his own family. Unfortunately for him, the boy was very clever and had already seen through his scheme.

The shrewd Jiang Yue, like her grandfather, wanted to cultivate a good relationship with Jiang Chao and become his beloved younger sister, hoping to benefit from being a college student and leave Chestnut Village in the future. However, the young man was clearly not buying it.

"Dad, how about I go and call Jiang Zheng and ask him to talk to Jiang Chao?"

"Ha! He doesn't listen to me. Do you think his uncle's presence will make a difference? Ignore him. If he gets tired or hungry, he can come back on his own. Don't touch any of the things that girl brought. When she comes back, throw them all back to avoid giving anyone something to say that the Jiang family is bullying people."

The children had already opened and eaten some of the malted milk powder, biscuits, and milk candy, and now was not the time to bring it up. Liu Dahong's eyes flickered slightly, he nodded, and then pulled Jiang Yue away.