As everyone ate and talked, their wine bowls were filled to the brim, and after a few bites, the atmosphere became even more lively.
Young Master Ye is a qualified "feeder". After Jiayin finished eating the ribs and then the meatballs, her little teeth were sore from exhaustion.
Young Master Ye picked a bowl of meat for her and ladled out a few spoonfuls of soup, feeding Jiayin until her little belly was round and full.
It has to be said that Tao Hongying's skills are superb.
Whether they were distinguished guests or ordinary villagers, everyone praised the food highly.
Everyone was already quite full before they frequently picked up their wine bowls.
Grandpa Liu thanked the village chief and the Li family sincerely and asked them to take good care of his niece in the future.
Although they were not related by blood, he was as close as brothers to the deceased Grand Scholar Cui. Grand Scholar Cui only left behind this one daughter, and he was determined to protect her no matter what.
Otherwise, he wouldn't be able to face his brothers in the afterlife.
Everyone naturally agreed, and Li Lao Er even said, "My Jiaren has become a disciple of Mr. Wen and inherited the mantle of Grand Scholar Cui. Madam Cui is the only daughter of the Grand Scholar, and Jiaren will naturally take care of Madam Cui until she grows old."
"Similarly, we brothers also treat Madam Cui as our own sister. Even though our family is just an ordinary farming household with no power or influence, we will never let Madam Cui suffer any injustice."
Madam Cui and Old Lady Li had both eaten, and now they were sitting on the side listening to everyone talk.
Madam Cui couldn't help but tear up, and Old Mrs. Li patted her hand and scolded her, "Why are you crying? You should do this."
Even Jiayin climbed off Young Master Ye's lap, ran to hug Madam Cui's leg, and cried out in a clear voice, "I'll grow up and take care of my master's sister!"
Madam Cui bent down and hugged her, smiling as she kissed her. "Alright, your aunt will be waiting for you to take care of her in your old age."
Everyone laughed, and Old Master Liu and his son raised their wine bowls to toast the Li family and all the villagers, young and old.
The villagers were flattered and drank their wine bowls in one gulp.
When one side is willing to get close and the other feels honored, it's a win-win situation, making the atmosphere in the courtyard even more harmonious.
Two more wine jars were opened, and everyone drank more and more happily.
When someone asked about the barbarians of Jiangbei, Young Master Ye picked out what he could say and said a few words.
Everyone was terrified. Fortunately, they had risked their lives to get out of the mountains and come to Jiangnan, otherwise they would have been killed by the barbarians by now.
Young Master Ye said, "For now, we can only live in a corner of the country. When our national strength is strong, we will eventually drive back the barbarians and reclaim our land."
Everyone nodded, raised their bowls, and shouted, "Kill the barbarians, seize our land!"
Mr. Guo also picked up his wine bowl and drank it all in one gulp.
Old Master Liu, worried that his health might not be able to handle it, whispered to him, "Brother Guo, even if you're happy, try not to drink too much. There will be other opportunities in the future."
Mr. Guo nodded with a wry smile, but the wine bowl in front of him was still being picked up frequently.
Old Master Liu assumed that he was upset to see the Li family with so many children and grandchildren, so he simply stopped trying to persuade him.
Guo Qing, on the other hand, didn't drink a drop of wine. His eyes darted around, as if he were calculating.
The banquet finally ended as the sun began to set, and everyone was slightly tipsy.
The two village heads took their leave first, and their young men drove the oxcart, so there was no need to worry about them.
Immediately afterwards, Lord Zhou and his subordinates took their leave, and Mr. Wen and Li Lao Er saw them off at the door.
Li Lao Er specially brought out a small bag of silver. "Lord Zhou, this is Young Master Yan's wages. We should have given it to him personally, but we can't find him, so we can only ask Lord Zhou to do it for us."
Lord Zhou hesitated for a moment, but still accepted the silver and said with a smile, "My wife will be very happy to see that my brother earned the silver through his own abilities."
Every family has its own troubles, and Mr. Wen and Mr. Li were reluctant to offer advice. They simply said, "Sir, you must bring your family to visit in the future."
Lord Zhou readily agreed and then left.
The villagers busied themselves clearing away the bowls and chopsticks, removing the tables and chairs, and in the blink of an eye, the courtyard was back to normal.
Since there were still guests, everyone sat against the wall, chatting and sobering up.
Inside the house, Old Master Liu also wanted to go back, but Old Master Guo didn't get up, so he could only stay with him.
Mr. Guo was so drunk that he could barely hold the teacup in his mouth.
Seeing that he was in such a bad state, Old Master Liu advised, "Brother Guo, shall we go back? Age catches up with you. You're so drunk, it will take you a couple of days to recover."
Before Mr. Guo could speak, Guo Qing spoke first.
“Old Master Liu, please don’t get involved. We still have things to say and things to sort out, so of course we can’t leave. If you help us get rid of them, you’re just going to become complicit.”
To collude with the corrupt?
Old Master Liu's face immediately turned cold, and he rebuked, "What kind of talk is this? Did you come here today not to offer congratulations, but to cause trouble?"
Guo Qing raised his chin smugly, "We're not looking for trouble, we're seeking justice!"
These words made everyone frown. The village chief immediately gripped his pipe tightly. "Fine, we'd like to hear what kind of justice you're seeking after eating our food and wine, standing on our turf, and then suddenly turning your back on us!"
Guo Qing glanced at his uncle and saw that he didn't say anything, which meant that he was tacitly approved of him being the vanguard, so he shouted even louder.
"Of course, I'll tell you how my brothers, sisters-in-law, and nephews died. You say they were killed by bandits, but why are the books they brought with them here? And you bunch of peasants, you couldn't even afford food and fled here, so where did you get the money to build this hot spring resort? You probably killed my eldest brother and the others because you were greedy!"
"You're talking nonsense!" The village chief jumped up in anger, waving his pipe wildly. "It was clearly bandits who committed murder, and we helped with the burial! We were kind enough to be met with no reward, and now you're turning around and blaming us! I should have just left your family alone and let the wolves eat your corpse!"
Li Lao Er, Li Lao Si, Liu Biao Tou, and the others all had dark faces. They originally thought that the Guo family's matter had been resolved satisfactorily, but they did not expect that their good intentions would backfire and they would become murderers!
Mr. Wen remained silent, while Mrs. Cui trembled with anger.
Jiayin stopped eating the osmanthus candy in her hand, looked at Guo Qing, and felt extremely disgusted.
She thought she was just overthinking things after this period of quiet.
Unexpectedly, this father and son actually considered their entire village as their enemies!
Hearing the commotion, the people outside gathered at the door, all of them furious.
Guo Qing was taken aback by the unexpected unity of the crowd, but the words had already been spoken, and it was too late to regret it, especially since he had ulterior motives.
So he raised his voice even louder and kept shouting.
"What, you've been exposed for your bad deeds and you want to kill me to cover it up? Let me tell you, I have many friends in the government office. I've made arrangements in advance. If they don't see me when the sun sets, they'll come to arrest you and interrogate you."
Li Laosi glared at him coldly, "Do you think we're easily intimidated? I'm asking you, you say we killed the Guo family, what evidence do you have? If you can't give me some convincing proof, I'll rip your head off, it's a life for a life!"
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