Chapter 1483 Banquet
Feng Zongping suppressed his laughter and turned his head to look at Bai Shan, who was sitting beside him. Seeing that Bai Shan still didn't speak, he knew that he had calculated that Bai Erlang would be able to fight back. He smiled and shook his head, and asked, "What kind of strange novels are you reading?"
Bai Shan then spoke, and the books he mentioned were all ones he had read in the bookstore and thought were quite good.
Bai Erlang turned his head and looked at him without saying anything.
Mr. Zhuang, who was sitting not far away, withdrew his gaze. Mr. Jiang, who was sitting opposite him, smiled and said, "Your little disciple is becoming more and more intelligent."
Mr. Jiang could not hide his envy. He also taught and educated people, and had apprentices. Many of his friends were also masters.
But Mr. Zhuang is the only one who can do what he did, and have three such outstanding disciples serving him.
Mr. Zhuang smiled and shook his head, saying, "He's still very naughty, and there's still a lot to learn."
After the banquet started, Zhou Silang raised his glass and toasted all the tables. Now everyone knew each other, at least they could match faces and names.
After toasting once, he sat back in his seat. After all, he was not familiar with many people, and he felt uncomfortable, and so did the guests.
He sat between Manager Zheng and Old Man Qiu and spoke directly to Manager Zheng, "Manager Zheng, this time when I came to the capital, I brought two sacks of sun-dried yam slices. We also prepared a small bag at home. Manbao said you usually stir-fry it with earth flour, but stir-frying it with wheat bran is also good. We tried it at home. Would you like to see this new preparation method?"
Shopkeeper Zheng's eyes lit up slightly, and he asked, "Did Doctor Zhou tell you this recipe?"
Zhou Silang nodded and smiled, "It's said to be written in a medical book. During the Chinese New Year, my fifth brother's wife and eldest sister-in-law figured it out after a while. They spent a lot of yam, but they finally succeeded. Manbao tried it and said the medicinal properties are quite good."
The shopkeeper Zheng said with a smile, "Then give me a bag to try."
Zhou Silang smiled and agreed, "Sure, I'll pack a bag for you later."
Turning around, he said to Old Man Qiu, "Uncle Qiu, my mother specifically asked me to bring a wife with me when I come to the capital this time. She's here to arrange a marriage for the sixth son. I've brought all the documents with me, and I'll ask a matchmaker to come to our house tomorrow. You must agree to it."
His words were soft and gave Old Man Qiu enough face, so Old Man Qiu also laughed heartily and said happily, "You should ask someone to come over first."
When Zheng Da, the shopkeeper, and the others heard this, they knew that the two families were discussing marriage, and immediately joined in the fun, saying, "You are so insincere. Since he asked so much, you should just agree to it."
"That's right, that's right," Doctor Ding said with a smile, "Let's also take this opportunity to have a glass of wedding wine."
Zhou Liulang on the side blushed slightly, while Zhou Wulang looked at his fourth brother with admiration, thinking that his fourth brother was really becoming more and more smooth.
Lord Yang and his companions, who were at a certain distance from them, were discussing the recruitment of talents for Chongwenguan.
Originally they didn't want to talk about official business, but Sanlang from the Zhang family happened to be on the recruitment list, so they talked about this matter.
Of course, as they chatted, they couldn't help but talk about Lord Tang. Erlang, who came to join in the fun, poured a glass of wine to toast Lord Tang and said with a smile: "Zhihe, now that you are the magistrate of Chang'an County, you must take good care of us in the future."
Lord Tang: ...
Yang Heshu couldn't help but chuckle.
Lord Tang glared at him before he raised his glass and clinked it against Sun Erlang's. After finishing his drink, he said, "I'm the one who needs you to take care of me. When you have nothing to do, read more and go out less to race horses and fight. It's not easy for me to be a county magistrate. Please don't make things difficult for me."
Bai Dalang's classmate drank two glasses of wine and, after getting a little tipsy, asked, "Who's going to take the exam this year?"
Everyone shook their heads. Bai Dalang said, "It's only been two years since I started school, and it's still early."
He sighed and said, "I'm not any better than you. I'm two years older than you. You haven't married yet and have children yet, so you naturally have time to take your time. But I can't do that. I won't achieve anything by studying any more. Not only my Yue family, but I myself will feel that I'm letting my wife and children down."
Bai Dalang said, "Your family is not short of money, so what's wrong with studying for two more years?"
He was a little confused. Although his father also wanted him to take the imperial examination and become an official, he never forced him to succeed immediately. As long as he was still a student, his family was happy.
My classmates’ families are not bad either. At least they don’t have to worry about food and drink, and they don’t have to work to earn money. Unlike Zhou Lixue and others, if they don’t study hard and earn money, they may not have money to continue their studies. So why not study?
He drank a glass of wine and comforted him, "It's okay, study slowly, you can study for another two years before taking the college entrance examination."
The classmates who were sitting with him started laughing and comforted him, "Don't worry about it. Mr. Bai hasn't even gotten married yet, and he's so relaxed. You already have a son and a daughter, so why worry?"
Bai Dalang: ...
There was a lively conversation going on in the front, and Manbao and the others also sat down in the back.
Zheng came out to accompany them, while Old Lady Liu only came out to greet everyone and then went back to her room to play by herself.
The people who came today were all young girls and young wives. If she, an old lady, went, everyone would definitely feel uncomfortable, so she only asked Zheng to accompany them.
Zheng was simple-minded and acted like a child, so she could get along well with them.
After eating and drinking, many people rested for a while and then said goodbye and left.
Manbao first sent away the Sun, Zhang and Du families, and then sent Liu Lirong and the others out. They made an appointment to go to the palace together to play with Princess Mingda and the others next time.
Then it was Miss Fu Er. Manbao packed some food Zhou Silang brought from home for her and said, "These are local specialties from Luojiang County. Perhaps you would like to try some?"
Fu Wenyun took it with a smile and said, "Then I'll go back first. I'll come and play with you when I have time."
"good."
When they returned to the backyard, Mrs. Tang and Mrs. Yang were still there. Zhou Lijun took them to Manbao's room. At this time, the two of them were leaning on the wooden couch by the window with their eyes closed.
The people in front had almost all dispersed, and only a few people who got along well with Manbao and the others were still there. Even Ji Hao had said goodbye and left.
Since they were all acquaintances, Bai Shan simply took them to the garden, where they drank and played chess in another open pavilion while resting and talking.
Manbao took some cold tea from the kitchen and put it on the coffee table, then took off his shoes and sat on the couch.
Mrs. Tang opened her eyes and motioned her to look at Cui.
Manbao took a look and saw that her face looked a little bad, so he reached out and felt her pulse. She opened her eyes, but when she saw it was Manbao, she closed them again.
Her maid and nanny tiptoed forward, took a pillow and placed it under her, draped a blanket over her, and placed an incense burner aside. Then they bowed and retreated behind the screen.
Manbao was stunned and turned to ask Madam Tang, "Are the ladies of your family always so exquisite?"
Mrs. Tang leaned back on the couch and smiled, "We're just getting started. Since we're coming to your place, we deliberately brought fewer people. If we were going to someone else's house, we'd have to bring twice as many people and twice as many things."
She raised her chin and asked softly, "How is she?"
See you at 8pm
(End of this chapter)
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