Needless to say, Dean Zhou was overjoyed. He definitely invited Li Lao Er to stay for lunch, and also invited Mr. Peng and Mr. Tang over.

The four of them gathered together, eating, drinking, chatting and laughing. Li Lao Er took the opportunity to invite them to support the opening of Baihuayuan.

Dean Zhou and the others readily agreed, especially Dean Zhou, who had visited a few times last time and had been thinking about it ever since.

In return, Li Lao Er offered to send some famous flowers to the academy on a chosen day each month for the students and teachers to enjoy.

Dean Zhou's eyes lit up, and he suggested that Mr. Tang teach another tasting course.

He doesn't need to put in much effort; he just needs to tell the students about the origins of the famous flowers, and draw some allusions and poems to broaden their knowledge.

Mr. Tang readily agreed, but requested to personally go to the Hundred Flowers Garden to select the flowers.

That's rather impolite, after all, the Li family didn't receive a single penny from the academy; it was purely a voluntary act of helping out and a friendly exchange.

If Mr. Tang selects a particularly precious flower, delaying the sale of the Hundred Flowers Garden, wouldn't that ruin their business?

But Li Lao Er understood the stubbornness of scholars and was grateful for Mr. Tang's earnest guidance on Jia Ren's left-handed writing, so he agreed without the slightest hesitation.

This made Dean Zhou even more grateful, and his goodwill towards the Li family reached a new level.

Even Mr. Tang looked at Li Lao Er with new respect, after all, he knew that his request was somewhat unreasonable, but the Li family actually agreed.

This tolerance and magnanimity are truly rare...

In the Li family's courtyard behind the commercial street, Wenjuan was looking at the two jade melons and eight golden fruits in the room with a troubled expression.

My second uncle just said that the food they were eating had already been sent to the cafeteria.

She kept the two jade melons and golden fruits for herself to use as favors, and she also planned to send them to the academy to make connections with the two ladies of good fortune.

But the jade melon is too heavy; we can't just carry it across like that.

In the end, Xiaoyue had a solution; she found a carrying pole and carried two small baskets.

He carried a jade melon and four golden fruits in a basket, easily walking ahead.

Wenjuan locked the door, held up an oil-paper umbrella to shield herself from the sun, and followed behind with a smile.

Whenever the two ladies of good fortune received fine fabric or cooked delicious food at home, they would send a portion to Wenjuan.

Frequent visits lead to closer relationships.

Now, when they received the Jade Melon and Golden Fruit, they accepted them with beaming smiles.

Finally, the three of them sat down to chat, eat snacks and drink tea, and had a lively time before letting Wenjuan go to the cafeteria.

Just then, the cafeteria had just finished serving lunch. The students had finished eating and were now taking iced fruit drinks back to their dormitories. Niu Heng and Lin Er were extremely busy, so Xiao Yue quickly ran over to help them out.

When Zhao Yuru saw her daughter-in-law coming from afar, she stood at the door and waved.

As soon as Wenjuan stepped onto the stairs, her mother-in-law pulled her inside and shoved a cool, jade-green melon into her hand.

It turned out that the two jade melons that Li Lao Er brought had been cut open.

Right now, everyone in the cafeteria, including Jiaren, Lige, and Maoge, is watching the drama unfold.

"The villagers really did their job of carrying water to irrigate the fields; these melons are so sweet!"

"Yes, when the Earl comes, we'll ask what the price is in the village. It really should be raised; even at ten taels each, I'm sure the wealthy families in the city would be willing to buy them."

"I guess the price won't go up. The village chief probably doesn't want outsiders to accuse our village of being greedy."

"I guessed so, but even if we sell it at the same price as last year, everyone still made a good profit this year."

Dazhu and Uncle Wu chatted as they ate, their smiles almost reaching their ears.

Although they work in the canteen, they also receive a share of the village's profits.

Who wouldn't be happy if they thought about the money they'd get at the end of the year?

Li Ge'er and Mao Ge'er had eaten a lot for lunch, and now they were munching on four or five pieces of jade melon in one go. Jia Ren stopped them, saying, "You can't eat anymore, or you'll have to ask for leave to go to the toilet during class."

Both Li Ge'er and Mao Ge'er were still somewhat unsatisfied, but they obediently stopped.

Jiaren helped them wash their hands and faces, then bid farewell to everyone and headed to the schoolhouse.

Wenjuan ate a piece of jade melon and then talked to her mother-in-law about giving gifts.

Zhao Yuru laughed and said, "That's how human relationships are. You should keep in touch with people regularly so that you can ask them for help when you need it. You can't just try to find a way to do things at the last minute!"

After saying that, she brought out a set meal and asked her daughter-in-law, "Didn't you eat lunch? Hurry up and eat a bite, then go back to look after the house."

Wenjuan smiled and took it, then found a quiet corner to eat it slowly.

Sometimes, she thought that it must have been her deceased mother who, worried that she was unloved, blessed her by marrying into the Li family and finding such a good husband, in-laws, and a large family...

Feeling grateful, she didn't notice and picked up a piece of mutton with her chopsticks.

Normally, she doesn't like the gamey smell of mutton, but she can still eat it. However, today something seemed wrong. The mutton tasted like poison when she swallowed it, and she turned her head and vomited violently.

Zhao Yuru was discussing with Aunt Wu about making dough, planning to bake some leavened flatbread and cook a pot of mutton offal soup for the students that evening, to give them a change of pace.

Hearing the noise, they turned around and were terrified. They rushed forward.

The others were also startled and crowded around.

Wenjuan blushed as her clothes became stained, and she tried her best to suppress her nausea, saying, "Mother, I'm fine. It's just that the mutton was too gamey, and I couldn't help it for a moment. I'll feel better soon..."

Zhao Yuru was still worried and said, "No, could it be that you've been eating too much cold food in the summer and it's upset your stomach? We should see a doctor!"

Suddenly, Aunt Wu exclaimed, "Oh dear, is Wenjuan pregnant?"

Got it?

Everyone was bewildered, not understanding what was going on.

Zhao Yuru, however, had a sudden inspiration and immediately became excited.

She and Aunt Wu quickly helped Wenjuan to the side room and quietly asked her a few questions.

Wenjuan blushed and agreed. Aunt Wu rushed out the door and quickly found the academy's attending physician.

After taking everyone's pulse, the old doctor smiled and gave them some great news.

"It is indeed a pregnancy test; it's been two months!"

The entire cafeteria was in an uproar; everyone was overjoyed.

Everyone says that Old Li's family is very large, but this is just too large.

The fourth generation is about to be born!

Zhao Yuru and Li Laosan, in particular, were grinning from ear to ear.

They're going to be grandparents!

Just then, Li Lao Er, slightly drunk, came over from Dean Zhou's house. Hearing that he was going to be a great-grandfather, he was pleasantly surprised and said with a smile, "Jia Huan, this child, is usually so quiet, but he is actually the most promising one in the family."

"Not only is he the first to get married, but now he's going to have a great-grandchild! And look at Jiaren, he's a year older than Jiahuan, I wonder how long he'll have to study before he can get married and have children! And Jiayi, we can't even find him anywhere!"

Everyone laughed. Aunt Wu, with her silver tongue, advised, "Why are you in such a hurry, sir? The boy will come to his senses very quickly. Besides, it's not that our young master doesn't want to get married, it's just that he hasn't met the right one yet."

"When they hear they're already uncles and aunts, they might start to get anxious. There will be good news next year at this time!"

Li Lao Er laughed heartily upon hearing this, hurriedly bid farewell to everyone, and rushed home to tell his mother the good news.

Grandma Li had no idea that another great-grandchild was on the way; she was staring at the mess on the floor!

Served at midnight~~