Xu Lan had no choice but to get up and walk to the window, where she saw Zhao Wu smiling at her from the window of the north room in the west wing.
The starlight was bright, his face flushed, his features much softer than during the day, and his smile was brilliant... no, it was sweet, sweet to her heart. This sweet smile, from beginning to end, seemed to be given only to her, the sister who saved his life.
Xu Lanyin, who had been depressed for a long time, finally felt relieved. She smiled at him and waved.
It was good that this big boy could always be her younger brother. She fully believed that he must be more caring than her biological brother Xu Lanzhou, and even Xu Lanting, whom she had personally trained, could not compare to him. Even if she really met the right person and married him one day, he might not be able to treat her better than this brother...
The next morning after breakfast, Zhao Wu went to the county government office to handle not only his own official business but also the documents and travel permits for him and Xu Lanyin.
Looking at Zhao Wu's back, Qin Shi couldn't help sighing. She just felt that Zhao Wu liked her daughter, and his eyes were smiling when he looked at her. But how could her daughter say that Zhao Wu treated her as his mother? The daughter was not that old, she was only half a year older than him...
Qin was used to obeying her daughter. Even if her daughter didn't let her say anything, she wouldn't dare to make the decision on her own even if she wanted a good son-in-law.
Xu Lanyin took Zhangqi to the dim sum shop to take a look. When she returned home, she bought some ingredients for making dim sum and asked someone to go to the Hu family to invite Hu Yi.
Hu Yi acted coquettishly with Xu Lanyin for a long time and had two meals at Xu's house before leaving. Her family would move to the provincial capital in a few days.
After seeing Hu Yi off, Xu Lanyin, along with Lu Shi and Zhangqi, busied herself in the kitchen. Zhao Wu was going to Daxiang Temple to see Jie Chi tomorrow, so she had to bring him some snacks with added ingredients. That night, she made some cookies, sweet-scented osmanthus glutinous rice dates, and prepared the ingredients for snowballs and golden silk cakes for tomorrow morning.
A few months ago, Xu Lan was away from Nanping County, so she asked Xu Dashi to regularly go to Daxiang Temple to deliver vegetarian snacks to Monk Jie Chi. Even when Zhao Wu was away, he did his best for him.
Zhao Wuhai returned home at the end of the day. He opened the small window and looked at the carved window lattice not far away, which had a small crack. There was no light inside, so his sister must have gone to bed.
He wanted to see her again, to see her smile, so he picked up a peanut from the bowl and wanted to throw it to her. But then he remembered that Xu Lanyin had to get up early to make snacks tomorrow, and he didn't want to wake her from her dream. So he put the peanut down again, stared out the small window for a long time, and then went to rest.
The next day, Xu Lanyin got up at daybreak to make some snacks. Zhangqi and Lu Shi went to help her, but were both sent away by Zhao Wu.
Zhao Wu was busy with his hands, and said, "Sister, do you know what the two things I miss most in the west are?"
Xu Lanyin smiled and said, "Of course I'm thinking about how to save people and how to deliver intelligence."
Zhao Wu shook his head and said seriously, "No, I miss my sister the most, and I also want to make snacks with her."
Xu Lanyin didn't stop working. She glanced up at him and said, "I don't believe you."
After preparing the snacks, Zhao Wu also finished his breakfast and rode to Daxiang Temple with four food boxes.
After Zhao Lanyin and Qin finished their meal, they took a carriage to Xiaozao Village to visit the old couple, bringing gifts. Passing by the market, they bought two pounds of meat, two pig's trotters, and a piece of pig's liver.
It was spring, and from afar, the vibrant colors of Oat Mountain could be seen, clusters of vibrant azaleas interspersed among the emerald green. Xu Lanyin recalled the difficult years of the past, including those of the original owner. She had no mood to appreciate the scenery, only to figure out how to collect herbs and earn money. She was the one who supported the family, while the young original owner was the one who provided for Gu Wangchen...
It had been half a year since they last saw Xu Lanyin. The old couple was very happy and kept asking Gu to kill a chicken and cook.
Thinking that Gu was too busy to handle it all by herself, the old lady took a small piece of meat to ask the daughter-in-law from Sanhe to help cook. She also took twenty cents and asked the two half-grown boys to go to the neighboring village and town to invite Xu Zhiniang's family and Xu Daya's family to come for dinner.
Xu Yuan and Xu Man took Xu Lanyin's hand and asked, "Aunt Yin, where is my mother? Why doesn't she come back?"
Xu Man's eyes were red.
Xu Lanyin gave them the gifts and said with a smile, "She is waiting for you in the provincial capital. Your father will take you to reunite with her next month."
Hearing that their son and grandson would soon be living in the provincial capital, Xu Qingming and Gu's faces were filled with smiles. They also had a plan in mind: when the old couple passed away, they would go to the provincial capital to live with their eldest son.
Old Mrs. Xu came back and asked, "Didn't you say that the young man from the Zhao family is back? Why didn't he come? I missed him so much."
Xu Lanyin smiled and said, "He's very busy. He will come to see you later. Here, this is the gift he bought for you two elders."
Zhao Wu bought them two jars of wine and four pieces of cloth.
The old lady thanked him, pulled Xu Lanyin and Qin aside, and began to praise Zhao Wu.
Xu Lanyin knew what she meant, and winked at Qin, asking her to help her convince the old lady. She was going to Xu Lizheng and Fifth Grandpa's house to give gifts.
Xu Lizheng's daughter Xu Yulan is one year younger than Xu Lanyin. She got married at the beginning of this year. Xu Lanyin also asked Li, who returned to her hometown at the end of last year, to bring back some dowry.
Xu Zhiniang's home was closer, so the whole family arrived an hour later.
Xu Daya's family lived far away, so the couple didn't arrive until late in the afternoon. Everyone waited until they arrived before starting to eat lunch.
Now Xu Daya's husband's family, the Fang family, are much more polite to Xu Daya, and the man Fang Sanfa is also very humble towards Qin and Xu Lanyin.
At the dinner table, Xu Daya lowered her voice and said to Xu Lanyin, "Sister Yin, your family and my eldest brother are going to the provincial capital, and my second brother is working in the government, so he can't take care of the pastry shop in the county town. It's better to use your own people than outsiders. Your brother-in-law is capable and has a plan for success. Our family has also been running a shop. Letting him run the pastry shop is the perfect choice."
Gu also lowered her voice and pleaded, "Girl, it's better to benefit your family than to benefit outsiders, so please help your sister."
Xu Lanyin was stunned. She hadn't expected that after dealing with Xu Ershi, Xu Daya would appear. Compared to Xu Ershi, Xu Lanyin disliked Xu Daya and her husband even more.
Qin was also stunned. She didn't know that Gu's mother and daughter had such thoughts.
Xu Zhiniang looked at the Gu mother and daughter without saying a word, but a hint of disapproval flashed in her eyes.
Xu Lanyin continued with the same old story, "That shop is called 'Xu's Pastry Shop'. As the name suggests, it belongs to the Xu family. How can a girl like me interfere? It's the master who has the final say. As long as the master agrees, I have no objection."
She was certain that the old man would make plans for Xu Ershi, but not for Xu Daya, and it was even more impossible for him to let the Fang family interfere in the Xu family's business.
As soon as she finished speaking, Xu Daya's face darkened.
Gu pleaded again, "Auntie knows that the girl is the most capable. As long as you are willing, there is a way to convince your grandfather to agree."
Xu Lanyin smiled and said, "Auntie thinks too highly of me, I..."
When they were talking in low voices, the old man at the next table noticed them and looked at Xu Daya coldly with a gloomy face.
Xu Qingming had asked the old man for help before. Since his two sons were promising, he wanted to help his son-in-law and let him become the manager of a shop in the county town.
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