Chapter 1362: The Second
According to the rules, the Zhou family had to invite guests to dinner, and the two families and the matchmaker had a meal together as a gesture of engagement.
But Madam Liu and the others arrived too early, and when Old Zhou met Mr. Zhuang, he agreed too quickly in a fit of excitement. By the time he finished talking, the meal had not yet been prepared.
We can't just sit and wait, right?
Fortunately, the two families lived not far from each other. When Mrs. Liu talked about food and drink, she said that they had some fresh ingredients at home, which they could bring to share with the Zhou family.
He also mentioned that although a small engagement was not a big gift, it was a big event for the two children, and the elders in the village had always been kind to Manbao, so such an event should also be witnessed by the elders in the village.
After she said that, Old Zhou remembered about registering Manbao in the family tree.
He rolled his eyes to show his agreement, and then asked Zhou Sanlang to go to the village to invite the village chief and the village elders to dinner.
Old Madam Liu also went back to invite Old Madam Bai and brought some of the fresh ingredients she mentioned.
Mr. Zhuang wanted to revisit the old place and take a look at the school.
As Mr. Zhuang's disciples, Bai Shan and Bai Erlang naturally had to follow.
Manbao also wanted to follow, but was stopped by Old Zhoutou.
Bai Shan could only be reluctantly dragged out by Bai Erlang.
After seeing off Old Madam Liu, Old Zhou immediately turned back to the house and opened the box with his wife to look at the jade ruyi together.
Manbao also squatted aside and watched.
The father and daughter exclaimed in unison, "It's really beautiful."
Qian closed the box and said, "Mother will keep it for you. When you get married, send it to the Bai family along with your dowry."
Manbao had no objection. She still had to go to the capital. Although she had Koko and would not lose it, her parents would definitely not dare to let her carry such a valuable thing with her.
Old Zhou watched Qian hide the things at the bottom of the box, then he grabbed Manbao and said, "You are not allowed to go to the Bai family today."
Manbao said, "I still want to ask the teacher for advice on my homework."
"Oh, how shameless! You're getting engaged today, and you're going to their house on the first day. What's wrong with that?" Old Zhou said, "You're a girl, you should be more reserved, okay?"
Just as she finished speaking, San Ya called out from outside the house, "Aunt, Master Bai Shan is here. He wants to talk to you and says Mr. Zhuang is waiting for you at the academy."
Old Zhou immediately changed his tone and said, "Okay, you can go now."
He whispered, "Be more reserved, okay? Let Bai Shan come to you from now on."
Manbao nodded in agreement, turned around and ran out to find Baishan.
Old Zhou felt something was amiss, and after a while he realized, "If she's asking for help with her homework, why doesn't she bring her books?"
Qian glanced at him and then realized that it was too late.
Bai Shan was waiting for Man Bao outside the door. When he saw her running out, he grinned at her. The two of them couldn't help but smile. After looking at each other and laughing for a while, they restrained themselves a little. Bai Shan stood about ten feet away from her and said with a smile: "The teacher is in the school."
"Then let's go."
The two of them turned around and ran towards the school. The fourth day of the New Year was still a good day for visiting relatives, so there were not many people on the road in the village. Bai Shan ran closer to Man Bao, grabbed her hand and ran ahead...
The two of them ran to the school. Bai Shan stopped, panting slightly, held her hand, and let go with some regret.
So the school is so close to Manbao’s house?
The two walked into the school.
The small courtyard of the school is now occupied by Mr. Xin. He has gone home for the New Year, and the door is locked, so of course they cannot go in.
But the school door was open. Mr. Zhuang came here to sit. Seeing Bai Shan and Man Bao coming in, he asked with a smile: "Didn't you say you were going back to get the books? Why did you bring Man Bao here?"
Bai Shan's ears turned red, but his face was serious. "Teacher, it's too cold in the school. Let's go home. I asked someone to light a brazier in the study. We can talk while warming ourselves by the fire."
Bai Erlang also felt that the school was too cold and there was drafts leaking through the windows. They didn't feel anything now that they were standing, but it would be uncomfortable if they sat here and talked.
Mr. Zhuang looked at Bai Shan and Man Bao, smiled, and nodded in agreement.
The four masters and apprentices went to Bai Shan's study and sat around the brazier. The servants brought up two plates of snacks and tea.
Bai Shan sat next to Manbao and very obediently asked the teacher for advice on the questions that had accumulated during this period.
After answering his questions, Manbao quickly removed many questions and raised his remaining questions.
Bai Erlang was the last one in line, but Mr. Zhuang did not answer them one by one as he explained to Bai Shan and Manbao. Instead, after asking the questions, he pointed at Bai Shan and Manbao and asked them to answer while he made the final supplement.
Bai Erlang was used to it. No matter who he was answering, he would take a pen and write down some key sentences.
He glanced at the two people sitting nearby eating snacks, feeling somewhat indignant. Why did he need to write down his questions in a notebook to remember them, while Bai Shan and Zhou Man could write down all the questions with nothing in their hands?
The worst thing is that they don’t even remember the answers.
As Bai Erlang took notes, he thought to himself that he hoped they wouldn't remember all the answers later.
Mr. Zhuang looked at the three children sitting below him and said with great emotion, "You have all grown up."
Bai Shan and Man Bao were embarrassed, but Bai Erlang said, "Sir, we are still young."
Mr. Zhuang reached out and patted his head, smiling slightly. "Well, now that you're engaged, you'll be an adult. Erlang, although you're their junior brother, you're older than them, so you should be more mature."
"We will set off after the seventh day of the Lunar New Year. You should also prepare your luggage. This time we go to the capital, I'm afraid we won't be back until the Chinese New Year."
So, just take whatever you want with you, so that you don’t have to ask someone to help you deliver it later, which is too troublesome.
Because there are so many people going with them, and they are all close friends, the three of them don’t feel homesick at the moment, even though they know that this time they are away from home is probably the longest time since they grew up.
Bai Erlang suddenly thought of something and gloated, "Then my eldest brother will have to stay in the capital for a year too? Damn it! He's already this old and still hasn't gotten engaged. When will he get engaged?"
Mr. Zhuang: ...
Bai Shan and Man Bao: "...What is there to be happy about?"
Mr. Zhuang also patted him on the head and scolded him with a smile: "You naughty boy, be careful or your father will beat you up when you get back."
Mr. Bai is not at home at the moment, so the only people who came to Old Zhou's house for dinner today were Old Mrs. Bai and Mrs. Bai.
Old Mrs. Bai seldom went to other people's houses in the village for dinner, but this time she was invited by Old Mrs. Liu herself, and she went because Bai Shan was engaged.
But she went back soon, but the village elders and village leaders stayed and ate from lunch to dinner.
Old Zhou held their hands and talked a lot, emphasizing that Manbao's child would have the surname Xia in the future, so could they be flexible about Manbao being included in the family tree? Don't think about recording Xia, just record Zhou.
After all, the Zhou family is a small clan, and there are not so many rules in the clan. Since Old Zhou has sincerely acknowledged and guaranteed that Manbao will have a descendant with the surname Xia, then Zhou Yin is not considered to have broken his promise, and the Zhou family is not considered to have broken their promise to others, so the elders turned a blind eye and agreed.
Manbao did not change his surname and was still registered under Zhou Yin's name as Zhou Man.
See you at 6pm
(End of this chapter)
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