"Um, miss, look how nice the weather is outside. Would you like to go play on the swings for a while?"
Jiayin was holding several tea canisters, learning to distinguish tea varieties, origins, and flavors—it was quite complicated.
There are many intricacies to drinking tea in wealthy families, and one must understand some of them; otherwise, if one cannot distinguish the quality of tea when going out or going somewhere else, one will be ridiculed.
She was struggling to distinguish between pre-Qingming Longjing and pre-rain Longjing tea when she heard this, so she casually replied, "No need, Granny. Please tell me about these two teas again, I still can't tell them apart."
Granny He steeled herself and stepped forward, slowly beginning to speak.
In the front yard, Old Mrs. Li stood on tiptoe, looking towards the gate, hoping her second son would return soon.
Her granddaughter has been listless these past few days, and she's more worried than anyone else about her.
She gets anxious when her child is lazy, slacking off, or doesn't like to study.
But when her child suddenly became diligent, she became even more afraid!
What happened to this perfectly normal child? How did he suddenly change his personality?
Could it be that the previous blow was too great?
She got up early and sent her son into town, asking him to buy all the delicious snacks in town.
As it turned out, the second brother didn't return, but the third brother and Zhao Yuru did.
The couple peeked around as they entered the house, looking for their little niece, but couldn't find her, which puzzled them.
Grandma Li pointed to the backyard and replied, "She's learning manners in the backyard, and she's very serious about it. If you can coax her out, you'll be a great hero to our family."
Zhao Yuru was about to step over when Li Laosan stopped her and went into the backyard himself.
Jiayin occasionally looked up and saw that her third uncle had returned, and she was indeed very happy.
She ran out calling out and grabbed Li Laosan's arm, "Third Uncle, Third Uncle, when did you get back?"
Li Laosan smiled, squatted down, carried his little niece on his back, and slowly strolled under the grape trellis, afraid that the sun would shine on her.
Then he said, "I came to see you as soon as I came in. Your third uncle brought you sticky rice cakes and some delicious snacks."
"Third Uncle is the best!" Jiayin kicked her little feet, her big eyes crinkling with laughter.
Granny He wanted to step forward to pay her respects, but the third son waved her away and sent her back to the front yard.
For a moment, only the father and son remained in the backyard. Li Laosan sat on the swing, put his little niece on his lap, and asked softly, "Uncle heard that our Fu Niu'er was wronged and is unhappy?"
Jiayin felt ashamed that her third uncle had come all the way back just for her and was throwing a tantrum. She quickly said, "No, third uncle, I just don't want to go out!"
"After we left, no one dared to mention it, but they all had strange smiles on their faces. I clearly didn't fall into the latrine, I'm not happy! Besides, I'm a big kid now, it's time to learn some manners."
Li Laosan tugged at his little niece's braids; they were so thin and soft, she didn't look like a big child at all, and he couldn't help but laugh.
After looking around to make sure no one was there, he leaned close to his little niece's ear and said, "Actually, when I was little, I really did fall into a cesspool!"
Jiayin was so shocked that her eyes widened, and she quickly covered her mouth.
Li Laosan nodded vigorously, afraid that his little niece wouldn't believe him, and added, "When I was a child, I went to the outhouse and accidentally fell in because it was dark, and half of my body got dirty. Luckily it was summer, and I was afraid your grandma would scold me, so I ran to the ditch to wash myself clean."
“The kang (heated brick bed) in our house is very long, and your dad and I were sleeping at the end of it. Your grandma still smelled the stench and thought your dad had soiled his pants, so she gave him a good beating!”
Jiayin imagined her father half-asleep, getting a good beating, and looking completely bewildered, and she couldn't help but laugh.
"Hahaha, my poor dad! He's really suffering an innocent disaster!"
She stretched out her little hand and rubbed the freckles on her stomach, which ached from laughing...
Li Laosan chuckled, coughed twice, and secretly instructed his little niece, "Keep this a secret for your uncle, I haven't dared to tell your father. Your father still doesn't know why he was beaten that time!"
"Of course, I definitely won't tell my dad," Jiayin quickly promised, even extending her little hand to make a pinky promise with her third uncle. "Pinky promise, for a hundred years, whoever breaks it is a little dog!"
Old Li patted his little niece's head and said slowly, "Fu Niu'er, look, who doesn't make mistakes when they're young? Who doesn't get laughed at a few times? So, don't be afraid, we'll grow up eventually, right?"
"Mmm, mmm!" Jiayin felt incredibly warm inside, knowing that her third uncle had revealed his shameful secret just to comfort her and make her happy.
Outsiders all say that the third uncle is the most ordinary and least capable of the four Li brothers.
In fact, they didn't know that the third uncle was the most talented of the Li brothers.
He is meticulous, gentle, filial, and peaceful, but he never wants to compete with his brothers, not even for a word of praise.
He just works quietly, silently doing his part for this family...
In the front yard, Old Mrs. Li and Zhao Yuru were extremely worried. They were overjoyed to finally see Li Laosan carrying the little girl over.
"Fu Niu'er, come here quickly! Look what delicious treats your third aunt has bought for you!" Grandma Li beamed and hugged her granddaughter.
She generously gave all the snack boxes to her granddaughter, no longer worried that her granddaughter would get indigestion from eating too many snacks.
None of that matters now; all that matters is getting my granddaughter back to normal.
Jiayin smiled and hugged the snack box, running around the room until Grandma, Third Uncle, Third Aunt, and even Granny He, Shuiling, and Shuiyun had their snacks. Only then did she sit back in Grandma's lap and eat happily!
The old lady breathed a long sigh of relief, then looked at her third son with great curiosity and couldn't help but ask, "Third son, how did you manage to appease Fu Niu? This child is smart, but once she gets stuck on something, no one can persuade her. These past few days, the whole family has been worried sick."
Li Laosan scratched the back of his head, winked at his little niece, and laughed, "Mother, I can't tell you, it's a secret between me and Fu Niu'er!"
"Yes, it's a secret!" Jiayin quickly agreed, but ended up spitting out a mouthful of pastry crumbs. The old lady, worried that she might choke, quickly gave her some water and stopped asking questions.
Zhao Yuru pinched her little niece's cheek and said with heartache, "Our Fu Niu'er has lost weight these past few days, she needs to eat more! When things are less busy at home in a few days, she can come with Grandma to stay in Luo'an for a while."
After saying that, she turned to her mother-in-law and said, "Mother, we've come back because there's something we want to discuss with you."
"What's wrong?" the old lady asked. "Is it because you don't have enough money to buy a shop?"
Zhao Yuru quickly shook her head, "Mother, I'm afraid we don't need to buy the shop anymore, there's a new business."
Li Laosan also laughed and said, "Mother, yesterday Dean Zhou came to our shop, ate a set meal, and then asked me if we should open a canteen in the college."
He said that the college originally had a one-hour break at noon and in the evening, and then the students would rush out to eat, which wasted a lot of time and made it difficult to eat or play properly. Therefore, he wanted to reorganize the college canteen and stop opening the college gates at noon, so that students could eat in the canteen and then go to class.
"Then we'll move the hour saved at noon to the afternoon. That way, we'll be dismissed in the late afternoon, giving us two hours to rest. Whether we're going out of the academy or playing, we'll have plenty of time and won't be in such a rush."
Grandma Li was delighted to hear this and replied, "This is a good thing. Every time we go to Luo'an, Jiaren comes back for lunch and dinner, but he's always in a hurry and we don't have a chance to talk to him for long."
"From now on, the afternoon and evening will be combined for a two-hour break, giving the children time to go home, eat properly, and have a good chat!"
It's a pity I still have to live at school. If I could commute, it would be even better if I lived in our new courtyard.
Zhao Yuru also laughed and said, "That's right, Mother, that's what I think too. It's a pity that the academy is afraid that students will cause trouble if they live off-campus, so they have to live on campus."
The old lady smiled and said, "Take your time, maybe you'll change it later."
After saying that, she hesitated for a moment and then asked, "Did Dean Zhou say how the cost is calculated and how the profits are distributed?"
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