When they left, Cheng Ruyi invited them to visit her at Lishan Villa when they had time.
"I usually stay in the villa now. Although the furnishings are simple, it has the advantage of being spacious and having a nice view, so it's quite comfortable to stay there."
Guo Qinglan nodded in agreement, "That's right, your Cheng family's house is indeed too small, and with the shops attached, it's not very convenient to live there. You should have moved out a long time ago."
"Yes, the villa is almost ready now. You are welcome to visit anytime!"
Ruyi turned to Guo Xiaoyu and said, "Didn't you say last time that the rabbit meat at Zhiwei Restaurant was delicious? Actually, their rabbit meat is from my family's farm. Our rabbits are delicious whether you braise them, stew them, boil them, or roast them!"
Only after seeing Guo Xiaoyu swallow hard with gleam in his eyes did Cheng Ruyi finally leave, satisfied.
Guo Qinglan and her companions had actually traveled the official road outside the south gate of Huaishan County several times, but they had never known that there was a place called Lishan Village there.
The mule cart slowly turned onto a neat and clean path, and soon a large house with blue bricks and gray tiles could be seen at the foot of the mountain, where Cheng Ruyi was already standing in front of the door waiting.
“You’re right, the scenery here is really nice!” Guo Qinglan clearly loves nature, and couldn’t help but praise it as soon as she got out of the car. “Living in the city for too long, it’s nice to stay in a place like this for a few days. It makes me feel better.”
“Yes, living in the city is very convenient, but it can feel a bit cramped if the place is small.” As Ruyi led them into the house for a tour, she asked with concern, “You’ve come a long way, haven’t you? Was your journey smooth?”
"It's not far, less than half an hour, and the official road is quite comfortable. You've chosen a great place!" Guo Xiaoyu seemed to be in high spirits, her voice several octaves louder than usual, perhaps because she was in a good mood due to the rare opportunity to travel.
Seeing their enthusiasm, Cheng Ruyi led them on a tour of the house she had designed herself. Then they went through the back door to the breeding farm, walked through the breeding farm and woodland to the stream at the end of the paddy field, and finally climbed to the top of Lishan Mountain for a walk before coming down.
It was probably the season of spring warmth and blooming flowers, with all sorts of unnamed wildflowers blooming freely along the way, and the afternoon sun was warm and comfortable. Even Cheng Ruyi herself felt like she was on a spring outing with friends.
During this time, she threw herself back into the busy life of reclaiming wasteland and didn't have time to appreciate the scenery along the way. She was surprised to find out how beautiful spring was in Lishan Village!
The villa area is neither too big nor too small. Walking around the entire area requires a bit of physical exertion. After riding in a mule cart for almost an hour, we definitely needed to find a place to rest.
At this moment, the group was sitting in the main room of Ruyi Room in the inner courtyard, chatting and eating snacks, creating an atmosphere reminiscent of a sisters' tea party.
"This is the first time I've ever seen a toilet like this, and that shower or something, it looks so novel!"
Seeing Guo Xiaoyu eat small snacks one by one while still speaking so clearly, Cheng Ruyi was genuinely impressed. "It's not only novel, but also very useful. Everyone who's used it raves about it. My family got so used to staying here during the New Year that they didn't feel comfortable going back to our old house in the city!"
"I think the covered walkway connecting the inner courtyard is very ingenious. It's both practical and beautiful, making the entire inner courtyard look very simple and elegant. It will definitely look even better once all the plants in the courtyard have grown!"
Perhaps it was the change of environment, or perhaps she was genuinely interested in the villa, but in any case, Guo Qinglan seemed much more cheerful and kept chatting with them.
That evening, other members of the Cheng family also came from the county town to the villa to help Cheng Ruyi entertain the guests. They had been looking for an opportunity to thank them, so they brought many gifts to give to them.
Since these were all small gifts and snacks made by the Cheng family themselves, and not anything of great value, Guo Qinglan and the others accepted them happily without hesitation.
Dinner was a whole rabbit feast that Ruyi had made once before. This time, the ingredients and cooking methods were even more abundant, and unsurprisingly, it received unanimous praise from everyone. In particular, the few people who were trying her cooking for the first time couldn't stop eating it!
"I never imagined that Sister Cheng's cooking skills were so good! You can cook such a delicious and beautifully presented dinner all by yourself, especially this stew. It's so refreshing and nourishing, with a sweet aftertaste. I haven't felt this full in a long time!"
In fact, Guo Qinglan was originally a very cheerful and lively person, but after marrying into the Luo family, she was criticized for not being virtuous, gentle, chaste, or quiet enough. She was disliked for walking with big strides, for practicing martial arts, and for eating and drinking. Over time, her original personality was suppressed, and she was forced to wear the clothes of a "county magistrate's wife" and play the role of a qualified wife.
If it weren't for the fact that her daughter's safety was involved, causing her to finally explode with pent-up frustration, she might not know how much longer she would have continued living like this.
"This is actually a medicinal dish, very suitable for women. It's not complicated to cook. I'll write down the recipe for you later. Once your cook learns it, you can enjoy it anytime."
These recipes can be easily found online, and everyone is happy to share them, so Cheng Ruyi didn't think it was a big deal.
Before Guo Qinglan could refuse, Guo Xiaoyu had already nodded in agreement, "Okay, okay, then write down the recipes for braised rabbit and roasted rabbit as well, I like to eat both of them!"
"Little fish! Don't be rude!"
"It's alright, Qinglan, these are just some home-cooked dishes. It's good that you like them~" Cheng Ruyi really didn't care. Besides, she had gone to great lengths to invite them over, entertaining them and cooking for them, all for the sake of this effect!
Cheng Ruyi turned to Guo Xiaoyu with an innocent smile, "Miss Xiaoyu, I've prepared some desserts here. Would you like to try some?"
"Okay...ah..." For some reason, Guo Xiaoyu felt that there was something strange about Cheng Ruyi's smile...
Half an hour later, Guo Xiaoyu stood in the front yard, holding a plate of exquisite pastries, looking at the entire Cheng family, young and old, with a complex mix of emotions in her heart.
"He who eats another's food is bound to be grateful"—that's probably the best way to describe her right now.
"Miss Xiaoyu, it's an honor to have you grace our humble abode with your presence. I wonder if you could spare just a little time to test whether our whole family has the aptitude for martial arts?"
With her mouth full of snacks, Guo Xiaoyu looked at Cheng Ruyi with a mournful expression. After a long while, she could only nod heavily. She was indeed still too young!
Not everyone in the Cheng family actually wanted to learn martial arts. Apart from Cheng Yunping, none of the others had ever considered it. However, after the Lantern Festival incident, their mindset changed, and the idea of learning martial arts suddenly became more acceptable.
Although they didn't know if learning martial arts would be useful, they still wanted to do their best to protect their families.
However, no one could have imagined that such an ordinary night would change the fate of many people.
Guo Xiaoyu stood there motionless, her mind churning with turbulent emotions.
The little fish didn't understand, but it was deeply shocked!
What was happening before her eyes was beyond her comprehension and even overturned her life of the past twenty years. What exactly was going on?
She knew perfectly well that the Changfeng Escort Agency spent enormous amounts of manpower and resources every year searching for talented children, but the results were always unsatisfactory. Every time they couldn't find a suitable child, her master would be full of worry and train her even more strictly. This childhood trauma was deeply etched in her mind.
For more than a decade, the total number of her fellow students has never exceeded ten!
It's not that the escort agency has only found fewer than ten people with martial arts aptitude over the past ten years, but rather that those with average physical strength and talent generally have a hard time breaking through the "initial understanding" stage and can only become ordinary guards in the end. Therefore, the escort agency will not invest too many resources in them, let alone find a master to teach them individually.
Her master was the second-best fighter in the Changfeng Escort Agency, second only to the chief escort, so he was naturally stricter in accepting disciples.
Only those with excellent physical attributes or some special talent can catch his eye.
The person with the highest aptitude she had ever met was Guo Qinglan's elder brother. Not only was he exceptionally strong, but his comprehension was also astonishing. In addition, he was a martial arts fanatic who practiced martial arts all day long except for eating and sleeping. Before he was thirty, he had already reached the "mastery" level. It was said that he was one of the more promising young people in the martial arts world.
Of course, such people are extremely rare, and it is almost impossible for ordinary people to have offspring with such qualities.
That's why she was so shocked by the aptitude of the Cheng family members!
Apart from Cheng Mande, who is only one year old, four of the other seven people have the aptitude to learn martial arts, which is simply unbelievable.
What's even more amazing is the youngest chubby girl. Not only is she physically gifted, but she also has an unexpected natural knack for martial arts. Although Guo Xiaoyu wasn't sure about the effect of this talent, she had a feeling that the chubby girl was definitely an excellent martial arts prospect, and might not be any worse than Guo Qinggan!
For the first time in her life, she had an urge to take on apprentices!
"Little Fish Girl? How are you? What are the qualities of my family members? Are there any who can learn martial arts?"
Cheng Ruyi still had some confidence in her family, after all, they had been taking the elixir for more than a year, just like her, so their bones and muscles were definitely better than those of ordinary people.
However, after seeing Guo Xiaoyu remain silent with a furrowed brow after the test, she, who was originally full of confidence, couldn't help but feel a little uncertain.
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