Chapter 306 Chapter 306 The Legendary Brother-in-Law

The man was stunned for a moment, and it took him a long time to recover from the father and son's beauty. Looking at the huge bag of meat next to him, he was completely dumbfounded. "This... is all for us? There's so much meat, we can't take it."

"Young Master, it's not that I dislike them, but these things are too valuable."

This sack is not small, and it contains most of the meat. How much meat is there in it?

Perhaps in the eyes of others, these leftovers are just to feed dogs, but to the people in the orphanage, they are precious things that they want to eat but cannot afford to buy.

"Yes, Father said that all this meat is for my brothers, sisters, and younger sisters." Xiaobao reached out, grabbed the man's clothes, and glanced toward the yard. "Grandpa, just take it."

"But..." The man was very embarrassed. On the one hand, he felt embarrassed, but on the other hand, he wanted to accept it. Even he felt that he was hypocritical and said one thing and meant another.

The children in the courtyard haven't had a full meal for a long time, let alone meat. The adults can still tolerate it, but the children are in the growing stage, and they feel distressed when they see them all looking pale and thin.

Xu Yunfan: "Take it. These are specially packed and brought here. They can't finish them, and we can't eat much if we take them back."

"In that case, thank you two young masters." The man wiped his tears and bowed to Xu Yunfan. He wanted to call him Master, but Xu Yunfan was too young.

Xu Yunfan held Xiaobao in one hand and helped him up with the other. "Hurry up and get up. Don't be so polite. Take your things inside. We have something else to do, so we'll leave first."

Xu Yunfan didn't want to go to the orphanage because he was afraid that he would feel uncomfortable if he went in.

Children in the orphanage are generally not allowed to be held casually. Xu Yunfan didn't want to hold them or look at them, so he just went to the gate of the orphanage.

He heard that these women actually had poor backgrounds. Some of them were abused by their husbands, had their children aborted, and eventually lost their fertility, so they fled to the capital. In short, none of these people had an easy life.

Xu Yunfan earned a lot, but before there was any law to protect them and the orphanage was protected by troops sent by the imperial court, he was not someone who could not come up with a few hundred taels of silver.

Giving them money would certainly solve their food and clothing problems, but what would happen after giving them the money? If someone with ulterior motives targeted them, how would these young and weak people protect themselves?

Never underestimate the dark side of human nature.

These are dozens of lives and dozens of children, and no one can afford to gamble with it.

After personally escorting Xu Yunfan to the carriage and leaving, the man was weak and could not carry so much meat by himself. He tried to lift it up, but he could not lift it at all. It was obvious that the things inside were indeed real stuff.

He untied the rope at the mouth of the sack, and a smell of meat filled his nose.

In the sack, there were two bags of shiny white flour buns on top, and underneath the buns were bags of packaged meat.

"Li Yun, what are you looking at? Why don't you come in? Did someone abandon the child at the gate again?" Sun Xiaoguo didn't see Li Yun coming back for a long time, so he came out to take a look.

Li Yun waved Sun Xiaoguo over and said, "Xiaoguo, come and see, a kind-hearted person brought us some meat."

"Send meat?" Sun Xiaoguo was a little confused. "What did you say?"

During his long time in the orphanage, he had seen people sending vegetables, steamed buns, rice and some money, but he had rarely seen anyone sending meat, and at that, a sack of it.

Li Yun told Sun Xiaoguo about Xu Yunfan sending him meat. Sun Xiaoguo half believed it and hurried forward to take a look. Wow, it really was meat.

Sun Xiaoguo and Li Yun worked together to move all the meat to the kitchen. They could not hide their excitement and smiled as they took out the meat from the sacks one bag at a time and put them on the stove.

"This... Li Yun, have you thanked that young master properly?" Sun Xiaoguo's eyes turned red when he looked at the cleanly packed meat, opened the two bags of steamed buns, and found a few pieces of silver inside.

Li Yun wiped away his tears and said, "Brother Xiaoguo, don't worry. I thank you. There is so much meat, enough for the children to eat for several days."

Sun Xiaoguo nodded. "Yes, give this money to my eldest brother when he gets home from work tonight. Use it to buy brown rice and salt. Let's stir-fry the fat pork over a fire to make the oil come out, and then fry the other ingredients. This way they can keep longer. Pick out a few bags of chicken, and when the children come back from the village with straw, we'll have a good meal for the whole family tonight."

Hearing this, Li Yun was worried. "Let's take out last year's sheets and wash them in a few days. They will be warmer after washing. I don't know if it will be cold this year."

"How can it not be cold?" Sun Xiaoguo smiled bitterly. "It snows every year in the capital. We've been here for over ten years, you know that. These two days, urge the children to prepare more straw, and we should also prepare more firewood."

Last year, their orphanage received 200 kilograms of coal from a kind-hearted person, and the firewood they prepared was barely enough. This year, they must prepare more and cannot always expect others to help them.

Back in the carriage, Xu Yunfan saw Xiaobao constantly touching his purse, his eyes a little red, his lips tightly pursed, and he smiled and said, "What's wrong, do you regret it? Father asked you, and you insisted on giving it to him. If you drop some gold beans now, be careful, I will punish you."

On the way here, Xiaobao learned that Xu Yunfan packed so much meat not to take it home, but to send it to an orphanage. Xiaobao was curious and asked him what an orphanage was.

Xu Yunfan said that the child was very generous and put all his belongings, which was six taels of silver, into it.

Qin Run and Fang Zixi love their children, but Xu Yunfan said that children can be loved and spoiled, but not without any bottom line.

The family was rich, so Qin Run only gave Xiaobao and the other three children two copper coins every day. Any more would be gone. After all, the food at home was richer than what was sold outside, so they had enough to eat, drink, and wear. The reason why he gave them two copper coins was what Xu Yunfan said: as a man, no matter how old you are, if you don't have some money on you, you will feel insecure when you go out.

On weekdays, Xiaobao's three children would do different things, for example, during the autumn harvest, the three children would catch fish and pick rice in the farm. Although they didn't do much, Qin Run still gave them some wages as a token of his appreciation.

Xiaobao also worked part-time at Yunrun Restaurant, where he earned even more money, and he saved up six taels of silver in total.

Knowing that making money is not easy, Xiaobao carries money with him every day for fear that it will be stolen.

"Father, Xiaobao is the only one who doesn't regret it." Xiaobao pouted.

Xu Yunfan: "If you don't regret it, why are you acting like this? It's like you've been bullied by your father."

Xiaobao didn't say anything, but just rubbed against Xu Yunfan's arms for a while before saying, "Father, Xiaobao also wants to study."

"What?" Xu Yunfan was shocked.

No, this child, maybe he feels that the homework he assigns is too little?

It seems that he is too soft-hearted after all.

There are so many children crying and making a fuss, not wanting to go to school, but he is different.

"Father, I don't want to just learn arithmetic. Xiaobao wants to learn a lot more. I want to be like you and your two fathers, become a high-ranking official, do business, and make a lot of money."

Xu Yunfan pulled Xiaobao out of his arms, looked him in the eye, and asked seriously, "Why do you suddenly have these thoughts?"

"Because Xiaobao also wants to be like his father and daddy, with strength and money, so that he can help more children. Xiaobao is warmly dressed and eats well, but other children have no meat to eat. Xiaobao feels pain here," Xiaobao pointed to his right chest, pouting his aggrieved little mouth.

Xu Yunfan: “…”

Xu Yunfan was quite touched at first, but when he saw the silly look of the child, he suddenly stopped being moved.

He corrected Xiaobao, "You're pointing at the wrong place, you idiot! The heart is right here. You're such an idiot! Feel here and see if that's where the beating is strongest."

"Yeah? It seems so, Father, Xinxin is really here."

"I told you you're stupid, but you still refuse to admit it. If you want to learn, I'll teach you. When you're older, when I become a high-ranking official, I'll open the backdoor and send you to the Imperial College."

Private schools and academies are nothing. Once he reforms the Imperial College, it will be no problem for his son to study in a top institution of higher learning.

With Xiaobao's brain, ordinary private schools or academies probably can't teach him much. After much thought, the Imperial College is the most suitable.

And Xiaobao is right. Optics and arithmetic are not enough. Other subjects must also be focused on. This child is too smart and cannot be treated as an ordinary child.

He started learning a lot when he was three years old. Since Xiaobao is willing to learn, don't blame him for being ruthless.

Xiaobao didn't know what Xu Yunfan was thinking, so he said in a condescending manner, "Father, this isn't good."

"What's wrong with that? Are you not happy about being a second-generation official?"

"It's not that being a second-generation official is bad, but isn't Dad abusing his power for personal gain? Grandpa and the others have said this is bad, and Dad knowingly committed it. You're corrupting the kids."

Being lectured by his son, Xu Yunfan slapped Xiaobao on the butt and said, "Shut up, your father has good intentions. If you don't understand, just say less."

The servant driving the coach outside listened to the father and son talking back and forth, and couldn't help but laugh twice.

Uncle Fang’s house.

Fang Zixi went to Uncle Fang's house with her mother, and Aunt Fang was waiting there early.

After the nephew and his sister-in-law came in, Aunt Fang looked back and asked, "Where's Bao'er? Where's our little darling?"

Xiaobao is favored in the Fang family and is also very favored in Uncle Fang's family. Aunt Fang's grandsons are all like old men, and they can't even fart for a long time. They are not as cute as the delicate, soft and shy Xiaobao.

Fang Zixi smiled and said, "Xiaobao went to a drinking party with his uncle. I didn't bring him with me. It's not convenient for me to hold him."

Xiaobao was well taken care of, and Qin Run and Xu Yunfan had no difficulty holding him. However, that didn't mean Fang Zixi could do the same as them, not to mention that he was already four months pregnant, and Fang's mother was old, so how could she hold so many babies?

Aunt Fang was stunned for a moment, apparently not reacting. Fang Ziqing asked, "Sixth brother, who is this uncle you're talking about? Also, are you feeling unwell? Is it serious?"

In the Fang family, Fang Zixi is the sixth child. She has two older brothers and four children from her second uncle's family. Fang Ziqing is the youngest girl of the two families.

Uncle Fang is not as successful as his father, and his abilities are limited. Now he is only the prefect of Liping Prefecture. Apart from his daughter Fang Ziqing, who is by his side, his two sons are serving as county magistrates in various counties, and the family rarely gets together.

Although the two families were not together, their relationship was very close and they often exchanged letters. If Fang Zixi married someone else or was about to get married, they would not be unaware of it.

Aunt Fang frowned immediately, "Zi Xi, do you... have a crush on someone? Or..." Otherwise, where would this uncle come from?

Fang Ziqing frowned. She was well aware of Fang Zixi's predicament, and precisely because she knew it, she was so worried. "Second Aunt, which young master is this person from?"

Mother Fang chuckled. Before she could even explain herself, the mother and son had already figured it out in their minds. "No, Zixi doesn't have a crush on anyone. That's not true. He's only had one crush from the beginning to the end."

"What? That's Bao'er's father?" Aunt Fang blinked a few times. "Oh, then why don't you bring him here for us to meet?"

Fang Zixi smiled and told the story of Xu Yunfan. Fang Ziqing and her daughter were shocked. What? The legendary Little Fourth Prize, the top scholar, was actually their Fang family's brother-in-law?

Xu Yunfan's reputation spread far and wide, but outside, everyone only knew that the first place in this year's teacher competition was won by an eighteen-year-old young teacher, and so on. No one cared about the affairs of Fang Zixi and Xu Yunfan.

Elsewhere, Uncle Fang and Father Fang also discussed Xu Yunfan. Uncle Fang pondered for a while, "If you say so, this kid is definitely a rare talent. Sooner or later, he will soar to the sky."

"Yes." Father Fang took a sip of tea to moisten his throat. "Xu Yunfan is only a small fourth-rank official now. Prince Xiao requested a position for him. On the surface, it seems that the emperor is succumbing to the joint 'pressure' of Prince Xiao, Prince Xu and other ministers. But I can see that the emperor is not easy to control. If the emperor does not agree, Xu Yunfan will not be able to enter the Imperial Academy."

Fu Qingyu's throne came too easily. The royal family had few descendants, and his two older brothers... let's not talk about them. Therefore, Fu Qingyu's ascension to the throne was easy. It was not like the other three major countries, where the princes were fighting each other. The emperors of all dynasties emerged from the fighting among brothers. Those who finally ascended to the throne were all outstanding in scheming and the means of winning people's hearts.

However, Fu Qingyu came to power too easily, and some ministers thought that Fu Qingyu was easy to control.

But they don't know that the royal family is the royal family, and the education received by each prince since childhood is different from that of ordinary people. This bunch of idiots actually want to try to interfere in the royal affairs.

They want to intervene when Fu Qingyu is in power, and they also want to interfere in the affairs of Fu Qingyu's harem. If it were other emperors, they would have had three thousand beauties in their harem for many reasons such as balancing power, but Fu Qingyu's harem now only has a few people.

From this we can see that Fu Qingyu is not someone who can be manipulated by anyone.

Uncle Fang couldn't help but sigh, "From what I hear, Xu Yunfan is someone who shouldn't be underestimated. Even before he even started his official career, he's already started winning people over. The Xie and Lin families aren't ordinary families, but they stood up for Xu Yunfan. I guess all that Silver Frost Charcoal he gave away wasn't in vain!"

The problem is that Xu Yunfan gave gifts to several companies in a legitimate way, and no one could find fault with it.

Do you dare to say that he is bribing?

Could it be that he had figured out last year that Xiao Hengzhi would ask for a job for him this year?

So what if I knew?

He is good friends with Xie Baizhou and the other three. What's wrong with him giving his brothers some gifts? How can this be considered a bribe?

Father Fang laughed, "That's not true. Those families accepted so much Silver Frost Charcoal from him, they couldn't have taken it for free. But Lord Xie and his men are quite optimistic about Xu Yunfan, otherwise, they wouldn't have allowed Xie Baizhou and his men to associate with Xu Yunfan."

Hearing this, Uncle Fang sighed. If he had had the ability to make connections like Xu Yunfan, he wouldn't be a prefect now.