Chapter 33 Yuan Hongqu's Daily Teaching

"Granny." Daiyu naturally went to Yuan Hongqu's side, hugged her arm, and gently shook it.

"I'm very full. You've really gone to a lot of trouble to make sure I can have a nice meal at the old lady's."

"Silly child, nothing of the sort, don't overthink it. It's only right to offer something new to show respect to our elders. It's my fault for only doing it after you suggested it." Yuan Hongqu could tell from the child's eyes that she must have seen the lunch menu and felt that she had spent countless hours on it, and that she was just overthinking it again.

"Grandma, you're just trying to fool me. You've made tomato and shrimp before, but it wasn't like this."

Daiyu believed that Yuan Mama had gone to great lengths to gain her grandmother's approval, and that from then on, every meal at her grandmother's table would include dishes sent from Rongyue Courtyard, and those dishes would definitely be her favorites!

“Daiyu,” Yuan Hongqu said helplessly. This child is sensitive and precocious, but not physically strong. If she has too many thoughts, her intelligence may harm her health.

Yuan Hongqu only wished that Daiyu could grow up healthy, happy, and smoothly like any other child.

She crouched down to be at eye level with Lin Daiyu and said very casually:

“Look at what we eat at home. Although it’s the same food and tastes the same, that’s what we call home cooking. But when we go out to visit someone, we want to leave a good impression on the host, so we’ll change our clothes and jewelry to be more presentable, and we’ll also add some extra decorations to the dishes.”

Lin Daiyu bit her small handkerchief, lost in thought.

"You need to know that no matter how things change, even if we use gold cups, silver goblets, and jade spoons to serve this dish today, the essence remains the same: tomato and shrimp is still tomato and shrimp."

Daiyu nodded, and a smile returned to her face.

"Granny, is jade really that worthless? Used to make spoons?"

"Jade is a matter of opinion. In the hands of those who love it, it is a priceless treasure, but in the hands of those who do not know it, it is no different from an ordinary stone."

“Normally we can buy things directly with gold and silver, so why can’t we do the same with jade? It’s because the value of jade is too unstable. In order to raise the price of jade, merchants say things like ‘gold has a price but jade is priceless,’ making jade more expensive than gold. In reality, jade is just a pretty stone.”

"Yes, what you mean is that we can't just look at the appearance, we have to look at the substance. For example, gold is more practical than jade. I know that my current life is built on gold and silver. Jade doesn't have that ability."

Little Daiyu solemnly expressed her understanding.

Although it's not entirely clear, it's already quite good for a seven-year-old child to have this kind of understanding, even if it's somewhat flawed.

"That's true. Your ability to see the essence of things at a glance shows you have a talent for it. We've come to your maternal grandparents' house, and your father planned for you to stay for a few months. But no one can stay at a relative's house for months without paying. A few days is fine, but a few months..."

"I understand, Granny. If we stay here too long and rely on others for food and lodging, they will look down on us and despise us." Daiyu's brows furrowed slightly again.

"Therefore, to avoid such a situation, most of the expenses of Rongyue Courtyard are covered by our own money. Also, on our first day here, in front of everyone, I gave the steward, Sister Feng, the ten thousand taels of silver your father gave us. Girl, although we are here as guests, we are not here to eat and drink for free. We have paid for it. What you do at home is the same here. Don't worry about anything else."

The sun was a bit strong outside, so Yuan Hongqu got up, took Daiyu's hand, and led her into the house, saying as they walked:

“When we were at home, you learned about the general prices of things outside. Prices in the capital are about the same as in Yangzhou. This 10,000 taels of silver is more than enough for you, even if you stay here for a year, let alone a few months.”

"Yes, Granny, I understand." Daiyu's tone became noticeably lighter.

Using the water brought by the maid, Daiyu washed her face and applied a thin layer of face cream before preparing to take a nap.

Yuan Hongqu had settled her in and was about to lower the curtain when she heard Daiyu's voice again:

"Granny, the master said something today: 'To get too close to someone is to be humble, to keep your distance from them is to be disrespectful.'"

"Oh, so what's your understanding of that statement?"

"I think it's somewhat similar to our current situation."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, in the past, my relatives and I lived far apart and didn't know each other well. We only corresponded by letter, and all I heard were good things. Now that we live closer, we know both the good and the bad, so it's inevitable that we compare it to our previous impressions, and it doesn't feel so good..."

"You'll encounter similar situations again in the future, so don't worry too much about it. Once you see it often enough, you'll find it normal."

Yuan Hongqu explained it so casually, as if such things were commonplace and nothing out of the ordinary.

Lin Daiyu also began to wonder: was she making a fuss over something like this?

The little girl hummed in agreement and decided not to worry about such things anymore.

Seeing that Daiyu had turned over and fallen asleep, Yuan Hongqu put away the curtains, told Xueyan and the other maids to be on their guard, and then got up and left.

Yuan Hongqu knew that when they were in Yangzhou, Jia Min often read letters from the capital to Daiyu and talked to her about the people and things in the capital.

Jia Min would naturally not tell her young daughter about the ugly side of human nature.

The descriptions of Beijing and her maternal grandmother's home that she gave her daughter were idealized.

This leads to some discrepancies between her current experience and Daiyu's personal experience.

An ordinary child might not be able to perceive this change, but how could Lin Daiyu, who was "more perceptive than Bi Gan," not feel it?

Yuan Hongqu deliberately downplayed the matter in a casual tone, not wanting Daiyu to delve into these issues. If Daiyu were to investigate further, she feared that many dark and ugly things would be unearthed.

These are things she shouldn't be involved in.

Yuan Hongqu also returned to her room.

She entered the tent, then turned and went to the spatial dimension.

Although she told Jia Lian that she would give him the cherry tomato seedlings in ten days, she still wanted to prepare them in advance.

She could cultivate these tomato seedlings outside, but without the nourishment of the soil in the space, they would likely be very different from those grown in the space.

Yuan Hongqu found a box, shoveled the space soil into the box, then scattered tomato seeds in a dish and covered them with another layer of soil.

She placed the seedling trays indoors. If she had placed them in the yard, it would have been no different from simply scattering them on the soil in the yard; they would have sprouted, blossomed, and borne fruit just as quickly.

This will not happen if it is placed indoors.

However, the seeds have been nourished by the soil in the space, and they can be sown normally once they are taken out.

Plants grown using this method will grow faster and be more robust than those grown using conventional methods.

After processing the tomato seeds, Yuan Hongqu went to the yard and picked some fruits and vegetables.

She saw the coconut tree at the very edge, with huge coconuts teetering on the edge, but no matter what she tried, such as shaking the tree or throwing stones at it, she couldn't budge the coconuts.

Although there was a ladder inside the space, it wasn't tall enough for her to reach it.

Yuan Hongqu thought for a moment, then went to the basement to bring out the ladder, and then found the long bamboo pole she usually used to twist persimmons.

She held up a bamboo pole and climbed the ladder.

She could barely reach the coconut with her bamboo pole when she climbed the last step of the ladder.

Yuan Hongqu moved the bamboo pole around several times before finally managing to hook a large coconut securely onto the pole.

She tugged hard a few times, but the coconut was extremely sturdy. She only saw it sway slightly, but it showed no sign of falling.

Yuan Hongqu felt that her feet were quite stable. Originally, she was holding onto the coconut tree with one hand and holding the bamboo pole with the other, but now she changed to holding the bamboo pole with both hands, so that she could exert more strength.

Sure enough, she felt that the coconuts on the tree had become much looser. She gritted her teeth, pulled hard, and with a "thump," the whole bunch of coconuts on the tree fell down.

Yuan Hongqu was dumbfounded; this was not what she had imagined...