Gu Yanci snapped out of his reverie and said, "Okay."
A knock sounded at the door. "Hello, this is your food. Sorry to keep you waiting." After that, the dishes were served one after another. The childhood friends who hadn't gotten together recently drank peach blossom wine brewed by the owner of the courtyard house, catching up on their recent experiences and reminiscing about their friendship.
Inside the main room, Ye Qiuli pulled the boy and girl beside her over, "Ye Sheng, Ye Xue, come and greet our elders." The two children knelt on the ground and solemnly kowtowed three times. "Ye Sheng and Ye Xue greet Grandpa, Grandma, Auntie, and brothers and sisters." Chu Xingyue was relieved to see this, but Chu Jiaojiao widened her eyes and nudged Chu Xingyue with her elbow, "An'an, what era is this? Why are these two still giving us such a grand gesture?" Chu Xingyue patted her helplessly, "Stop being naughty."
Grandma Chu Bing scolded Ye Liqiu, "Good children, get up, get up quickly, all of you get up. We don't need to do this now. Xiao Li, you still can't change after all these years. The children are all grown up now, don't let them do this." "Auntie, it's okay. The children haven't met Uncle and the others before. It's good that you all come together. It's not a loss for the younger generation to kowtow to the elders." Ye Qiuli smiled at Chu Bing.
The main door opened, and a short man walked in, but it didn't stop him from walking briskly. You could tell how urgent the old man's steps were. He quickly walked up to Chu Qian, hugged him, and whispered, "Brother, you're back." Su Jin stepped forward and patted the old man's shoulder, "Xiao Ye," "Sister."
Chu Jiaojiao was truly amazed to see a man in his fifties acting so affectionately towards his grandparents. "Come on, everyone, sit down. Today I'll cook my specialty for you all. My brother and sister haven't had this in years," the old man said happily, pulling Chu Qian and Su Jin along while urging the others to sit. "Today we're all fortunate to have your little brother's family here. Normally, Xiao Ye can't get a reservation, and even if he did, he wouldn't cook himself," Chu Yi teased.
"Oh dear, brother, you're making fun of me. I can't even get you to come here normally." That's true; people their age are too lazy to go out, and most families can't afford to invite them. They ate and chatted.
It turned out that the old man's name was Ye Huai. During the war, Ye Huai grew up in the capital city and was a legitimate member of the royal family. When the capital city was breached, Ye Huai escaped by crawling out through a dog hole at the back gate of the Cold Palace by the eunuch who served him. At that time, everyone in the capital city was in danger, so who would pay attention to a eunuch who was not visible in appearance carrying a child, hiding and fearing all the way? Yet, the eunuch still managed to take Ye Huai out of the city. The eunuch took Ye Huai and begged all the way. Although they never had a full meal, they did not starve to death.
The destruction of the country and the loss of the family seemed insignificant compared to a eunuch who only knew how to serve others and a little child with no legs.
They fled and begged their way through life, and miraculously survived for two or three years. By then, the domestic war was nearing its end, and the two wandered back to the outskirts of the capital. The entire country was in dire need of reconstruction, and the people donated their ironware and cookware to support the country's industrial development. Without development, the West would hold them by the throat and make it hard to breathe. The people, who had just recovered, did not want to return to the days of oppression they had endured. People all over the country, whether they were peddlers or scholars, contributed all their family's money to support industry. As the saying goes, those with money contributed money, those with strength contributed strength, and those who could not contribute all their ironware.
The aristocratic families that have stood for centuries beneath the imperial city also contributed their full strength.
A century ago, the Chu family were high-ranking officials guarding the frontier. Each son learned how to fight on the battlefield and defend the country. Fearing the extinction of their lineage, the patriarch at the time dispersed all the collateral branches of the family to various places to learn different survival skills. Over the years, most of the direct descendants had died in battle, leaving only the line of Chu Yi's father. At its peak, no matter how busy they were, the collateral branches would put aside their work and go to the capital to pay their respects to the direct descendants on the last festival before winter. The direct descendants had been guarding the frontier for many years, and every year at this time, the ruler would summon them back to the capital to report on their duties. In reality, this was also a way to let the soldiers guarding the frontier return home to see their elderly wives, and for fathers to return home to see their young children whom they had not seen for many years.
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