Among the classmates that Jiaren invited, two were nephews and nieces of the companions that Mr. Wen had taken to the valley that day. They were of good character and not arrogant at all.
The other three came from families with similar circumstances to the Li family, but they were generous in their actions and diligent in their studies.
The student celebrating his birthday today is a chubby boy who loves to eat but is very optimistic and amiable. He'll sneak a handful of dried meat with him when he sneaks a bite in the middle of the night, and the two get along extremely well.
Therefore, Jiaren thought of asking his younger brother to cook and throw him a birthday banquet.
The chubby boy was overjoyed. He loved this dish and found that dish delicious. In the end, he kept asking the honest Jia Huan where he learned his cooking skills, wishing he could send his family's chef over to learn from him.
Everyone had eaten their fill, and they joked and teased Fatty, urging Jiaren to be on guard, as Fatty wanted to learn some tricks at lunchtime.
At this moment, Li Laosan brought over a cold melon and laughed.
"Jiaren, these are winter melons from our field. Three of them were delivered this afternoon. Cut one and share it with the young teachers. Take the remaining two to the teachers in the courtyard tomorrow."
"Oh my, our winter melon is ripe?" Jiaren was overjoyed. He quickly thanked his third uncle and then called his classmates to cut the winter melon together.
The students, curious, crowded around to examine the large object. Suddenly, the chubby boy exclaimed, "Oh, I know! My dad came over the other day saying he wanted to buy me some kind of jade melon as a birthday gift, but he couldn't find it. Could this be it?"
Li Laosan proudly puffed out his chest and laughed, "This is it. When I presented it to the Emperor before, he named it Jade Melon."
The students were in an uproar, exclaiming, "Is this the 'Cold Melon' named by the Emperor?"
"It's so precious, wouldn't it be a waste for us to eat it?"
"I heard that this thing costs ten taels of silver each."
"No way! One bite like that will cost tens of dollars, that's too extravagant!"
Jiaren, holding the kitchen knife, didn't know where to start, so he asked his younger brother for help.
Jia Huan was quick and efficient, cutting it up in just a few strokes.
Jiaren first took two pieces and offered them to his uncle and aunt, and then invited his classmates to eat.
The students bowed and thanked them, and then began to eat.
"Waaah, this is so delicious!" The chubby boy hugged the biggest piece of winter melon, so moved he was almost crying. "Jiaren, does your family need another son? I want to be your brother, I want to lie in the field and eat winter melon every day!"
Everyone couldn't help but burst into laughter. "Be careful your dad hears you, he'll spank you!"
"Then let my dad plant a few acres too, and I can lie in my family's field and eat." The chubby boy remembered his father's big palm-leaf slaps and quickly changed his mind, which made everyone laugh.
Jia Huan rarely chimed in, saying, "Someone from my family came and said that anyone who wants to grow winter melon will be taught how. Next year, many people in the nearby villages will follow suit."
The chubby boy was joking, but he didn't expect the Li family to actually spread the word. He was so surprised that he forgot to spit out the melon seeds.
"Your family is so generous! You're even willing to give away such a treasure bowl!"
The other classmates nodded in agreement. A cold melon that costs ten taels of silver each, you don't need to plant many. Planting a few acres a year would yield tens of thousands of taels of silver, which is easier than robbing money. And yet, they've managed to teach it out like that.
Jia Huan smiled and nodded, "That's what my family says, so it must be true."
The chubby boy quickly gathered all the melon seeds and held them protectively in front of him, saying, "Don't try to take them from me, these melon seeds are all mine."
"No, it's mine, it's mine!"
"Me too! I want some too!"
The students pretended to fight over it, causing a commotion, but in the end, it was given to the chubby boy. They made a promise to go to his house next year to eat cold melon, and that was the end of it.
The backyard of the small shop was so lively with these students visiting that it almost lifted the roof off.
Li Laosan and his wife sat under the eaves, fanning themselves with palm-leaf fans, watching them play with smiles, thinking that they would definitely tell their mother about it when they went home, so that their mother could also be happy.
My nephew has now firmly established himself at the academy, so the family doesn't need to worry too much.
The next day after lunch, Jiaren took Jiahuan and each of them carried a cold melon into the academy.
Gou Sheng'er wanted to help, but he was too small and weak. A cucumber weighed twenty pounds, and he couldn't lift it at all.
Jiaren went to the dean's courtyard first, but unfortunately he had never met the dean before and could not go in. He only gave the cold melon to the old servant guarding the courtyard.
The old servant stared in surprise, scrutinizing Jiaren closely.
A few days ago, one of the dean's disciples specially sent one over; I heard it's very precious.
But to his astonishment, an ordinary student brought a cold melon as a gift.
He specifically asked for Jiaren's name before accepting the item.
Jiaren didn't think much of it and took his younger brother to the teacher's courtyard.
The teacher in charge of Jiaren's class was surnamed Peng. He was a learned and humorous middle-aged man who took good care of Jiaren because he knew Mr. Wen.
Mr. Peng was naturally pleased to have caught the cold melon and pulled Jiaren aside to chat for a while.
Jia Huan felt uncomfortable inside the house, so she waited in the yard.
In the corner of the yard, there was a pond of koi fish swimming around happily. He couldn't resist going over to take a look, gesturing with his hands.
A young woman watched from a distance for a while, then walked up and asked, "What are you doing? Practicing martial arts?"
Jia Huan was startled. He turned around and saw a pretty young girl. He blushed and quickly said, "I don't know martial arts. I'm a cook. When I see these fish, I can't help but think about how to cut them so that they'll marinate more easily..."
The girl paused for a moment, then burst into laughter, making Jia Huan's face turn even redder.
Jiaren bid farewell to his teacher and came out. Not seeing his younger brother, he called out a few times.
Jia Huan quickly turned out from the corner of the yard, "Brother, I'm here."
"Why is your face so red? Did you get sunburned?" Jiaren touched his younger brother's head and pulled him outside. "Go home, wash your face, and get some rest."
"Okay, brother," Jia Huan replied, following her older brother out of the courtyard gate, but couldn't help but steal a glance at the corner of the yard...
Although the mountains and forests in summer are much more dangerous than in winter, they are extremely cool and shaded by trees and free from the scorching sun.
Li Laosi and Ye Shan, along with Jia Yi, Liu Yang, and twenty personal guards assigned by Young Master Ye, have been in the mountains for eight or nine days.
With no elderly or weak, and no excess baggage, they moved very quickly.
Li Laosi roasted a rabbit in one hand and used the other to swat away mosquitoes as he addressed the crowd.
"We should reach that valley around noon tomorrow. It's only two hills away from the main road. We can rest and recuperate there, and then scout out what's going on outside. If we can capture a couple of barbarians and find out more about them, that would be even better."
Ye Shan and his guards all nodded. They had originally thought that Li Laosi and the two young boys would be a burden.
Little did they expect that once the three entered the mountains and forests, they would feel right at home, as if they were fish in water.
Indeed, no one should be underestimated.
Everyone took turns keeping watch that night, and as soon as dawn broke, they set off immediately.
The valley where the Li family and villagers spent the winter was not on the central line of the north-south mountain forest, but slightly to the east, so it should not have been easy to find.
Moreover, it's very close to the official road, and people who usually go into the mountains and forests are trying to escape the pursuit of barbarians, so they would definitely stay away from this place.
Therefore, Li Laosi was not too worried about the valley being discovered.
But when they finally arrived, they were stunned by what they saw.
Six thousand words at midnight, presented here!
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