Gu handed her little granddaughter Xu Man to Xu Dashi and went to the kitchen.
Xu Lanyin also went to the kitchen to help diligently. When she arrived at the door, she saw Gu taking a piece of meat that Li had cut, cutting off a small piece, smearing salt on the small piece of meat and putting it aside.
Li blushed when she saw Xu Lanyin come in.
Gu didn't take it seriously and said with a smile, "There are many people here today, so we need to fry more meat."
After the meal was ready, Old Lady Xu asked Xu Lanzhou to take a mooncake and a bowl of meat and vegetables back to Qin. Old Lady Xu and his wife were good to Qin. Although they were not as good to their grandson, they still cared about her.
Today's dishes are very rich, with three meat dishes and four vegetable dishes, two plates for each serving, and Li's cooking skills are also very good.
The old couple took Xu Qingming, Xu Dashi, Xu Ershi, and Xu Lanzhou to one table, and the others sat at another. As the "pillar" of the second house, Xu Lanzhou was given half a cup of wine, which made him very happy.
Even though they were sitting across the table, Old Mrs. Xu repeatedly told Xu Lanyin to take good care of Ting Xiaozi and let him eat more and eat food that is easy to digest.
Xu Yuan felt a little jealous, "Since Uncle Ting came, Grandma looks down on me."
Xu Yuan looked more like Gu than his parents. His little red mouth pouting and his sarcastic remarks were so endearing that they made everyone laugh. Xu Lanting laughed the most, his thin face flushed with joy.
Old Mrs. Xu said with a smile, "Little monkey, you're always jealous. You have grandparents to take care of you, and you're as fat as a pig, but your second grandfather...ah."
Her words made Xu Lanyin, her two siblings, and Old Man Xu feel heavy-hearted.
Xu Qingming quickly smiled and said, "Eat, eat. Today is Mid-Autumn Festival, and mother wants to talk about happy things."
Xu Dashi smiled again and said, "Tell me when you will marry Ershi off."
Xu Ershi was embarrassed. Xu Ershi also looked like Gu, a handsome young man. His family had land, and he was an apprentice in a shop, so he was very popular with several young ladies.
Everyone laughed and ate happily again.
After dinner, Old Man Xu called Xu Lanyin over and asked, "Have you really thought it through? Even if the young man from the Gu family passes the imperial examination and is willing to marry you, you will not marry into the Gu family?"
Xu Lanyin said firmly, "I've made up my mind. Even if I have to become a nun, I would rather not marry him."
Fortunately, this era was relatively open-minded, and there was no law that required a woman to marry off by the age of 20 if she didn't marry. If a woman didn't want to marry, but also didn't want to become a nun, she could either comb her hair or establish a household.
Xu Lanyin had dated so many men in her past life without success, and now she has a scumbag fiancé in this life. She really feels that she is not destined to have a good man. At worst, she can just not marry. It is better than marrying a scumbag and living a miserable life.
Xu Lanzhou also quickly said, "My mother doesn't want my sister to marry into the Gu family. She said that Gu Wangchen and his mother are too wicked. My sister would rather be an old maid than marry into the family and be tortured to death. Don't worry, my brother and I are willing to support her."
Old Man Xu cursed angrily, "She died of stupidity. She ruined her family and didn't want to get married anymore."
Xu Lanting, who was standing by, had red eyes and begged, "My sister has admitted her mistake and said she will never ruin the family again. Master, calm down and stop scolding her."
Old Lady Xu gritted her teeth and said, "That brat Gu Wangchen is utterly evil. He looks like a decent human being, but he's deceived so many people. How can Yin Ya be compared to him? That old woman Gu is even worse. She made Yin Ya do so many stupid things and even ordered her to steal pears from Xu Lizheng's house."
Old Man Xu glared at Xu Lanyin again in anger. He deeply regretted that his granddaughter hadn't become a successful candidate in the imperial examinations. If they had a successful candidate in the imperial examinations, their family would have been much more prestigious. But he thought of his second son, who had ventured out at a young age, made great contributions to the family, and yet died inexplicably, his body nowhere to be found. His second son had loved this daughter the most, and since everyone was saying that Gu Wangchen and his mother weren't a good match, he couldn't force his granddaughter to marry him.
He scolded her, "You unlucky fool! You've spent all your money on your mother's family, but you still can't win the boy's heart. If I had known, I wouldn't have supported him in his studies. He wouldn't have had the money to pass the examinations for the title of scholar or juren, let alone the title of tongsheng."
After the old couple had scolded enough, the three siblings returned home carrying half a piece of meat. Qin had not yet rested.
Her eyes were red, and her siblings knew she was thinking about her deceased father again. They chatted and laughed with Qin for a while before going to rest.
Xu Lanyin lay awake on the kang. She had always been intrigued by Xu Qingyan's profession. While she didn't think it was the thief, bandit, or assassin the villagers had speculated about, it was certainly a dangerous profession, one that couldn't be publicly disclosed. So, he was most likely a covert agent, a secret guard, or a death squad—three shady yet involuntary professions. Perhaps there were other, even more secretive ones, but Xu Lanyin couldn't guess.
The kind of "Mule San" that many people don't know about is not something that ordinary people can possess. The master that Xu Qingyan worked for must be no simple person.
Others might not know, but Qin Shi probably knew. Her background might also be related to her husband's unique profession. Considering her own name, Xu Qingyan and Qin Shi's union must have had a beautiful history. Xu Lanyin didn't have the energy to pry into these matters right now. She would wait until everything was on track and find a way to get Qin Shi to tell her. Qin Shi wouldn't say it, but she was thinking it.
She began to think about how to make more money. When she first arrived, she had imagined a quiet life, away from the male and female protagonists. But ever since she learned that Gu Wangchen had exploited the Xu family, tricking the original owner into a pitiful fate, leading her step by step to her own death, she felt a deep sense of guilt. It was truly unjust that such a wicked man should be allowed to rise to power and become wealthy. She could ignore all the other good and bad people in the book, but Gu Wangchen had to pay the price. He couldn't be allowed to rise to the top of the officialdom like in the book, to be Su Qing's beloved lover, and to be crowned as a loving and kind man.
Xu Lanyin was a psychologist in her previous life. Her father was a civil servant and her mother was a teacher. No one in her family had ever done business and they were the type to earn a salary honestly.
I had previously thought of selling snack recipes and patterns, but I couldn't make a lot of money, and it was just something I could use to tide over the difficulties when my family was struggling.
So far, she has racked her brains but has not figured out what to do to make money quickly. Is it true that without the halo of the heroine, the female supporting role is really useless?
Xu Lanyin was very depressed.
After breakfast the next day, Qin gave her a few dozen coins and asked her to go to the town to buy more rock sugar to make osmanthus jam.
She also said, "Osmanthus jam made with honey tastes better, but it costs more money. Mom always uses rock sugar."
Xu Lanyin smiled and said, "When we have more money in the future, we will make honey osmanthus jam." She added, "I want to go to the county town to buy rock sugar. I have saved some medicine and will sell it. I will also ask a doctor to see my younger brother and buy some medicine for my mother."
Xu Lanting, who was standing by, had his eyes sparkling when he heard that his sister was going to take him to the county town.
Qin's illness was caused by her husband's death and her daughter's wasteful spending. Ever since her daughter became more sensible, she's felt more at ease and in a much better mood. She said, "Mother feels much better now. No more money for medicine. Just some rest and you'll be fine. With that money, I'll buy your little brother some good medicine to help him recover."
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