Chapter 1825 Polite
Manbao was puzzled. Bai Erlang couldn't wait for Bai Shan to create a mysterious atmosphere and told Manbao excitedly, "My great-aunt said that it's not good for our two families to get too estranged with our main family, but our main family's manipulation is very unpleasant. My family is fine. After all, we have branched out and are far away. We can be less sentimental and interact with them as we please."
"But Bai Shan can't," Bai Erlang glanced at Bai Shan, "Their family tree is still in the hands of our family. If things get too awkward, it will damage Bai Shan's reputation. So it's better for our great-aunt to be more ruthless and let Zhou Sige mediate. We can also vent our anger and won't feel so bad."
Manbao was stunned and said "Ah", "They are just pretending, but what can we get from them?"
"Then you'll get a lot," Bai Shan glanced at Bai Erlang and said to Man Bao, "Brother Zhou Si, don't you want to do business on the grasslands? The medicinal herbs, furs, cattle and sheep on the grasslands are not so easy to collect. Most of them have fixed merchants. And there are also places to sell them. When there is little goods, it's not a big deal. But when there are a lot of goods, not only the places to sell them, but also the places you pass by may cause trouble."
He said, "My family hardly deals in medicinal herbs or furs, but my cousins are different. They have a wide range of interests and are well connected in this area."
In fact, to put it bluntly, the family wanted to restore the relationship with Bai Shan's branch, but Mrs. Liu was unhappy about it, but she couldn't refuse it firmly.
After all, Bai Shan is not like Master Bai's branch, which has a separate family tree. He is still under the control of the family.
But he has not yet grown to the point where he can compete with the family or leave the family directly.
People attach great importance to family. If he has a bad reputation in his family, it will also affect his future career.
Therefore, Mrs. Liu was very cold to people from her own family, and she would always give in once after refusing three times.
But this is not a long-term solution, especially if they come to visit so frequently, outsiders will think they are very close.
The resentment that was suppressed by her family and clan in the past was still accumulating in her heart. Old Lady Liu didn't want to let it go, so after much thought, she simply instructed Zhou Silang to contact them.
If her attitude were any worse, the other party would naturally go to Zhou Silang of last week to negotiate. After a few rounds, the two sides would become familiar with each other and some things would be easier to discuss.
Bai Shan said, "Grandmother said that we can't stop them from taking advantage of us anyway. So why not let Zhou Si go? My family and they are of the same clan, so some benefits are hard to negotiate. Zhou Si is an outsider, so if we can cooperate, we can naturally put the stage on the table and compete with each other."
Manbao understood immediately after hearing this, "So they're planning a spy scheme."
Bai Erlang clapped his hands happily and said, "Well, I said this was a conspiracy, but you said it wasn't. I overheard this morning that our fifth uncle was quietly saying bad things about you. If this isn't a conspiracy to sow discord, what is it?"
Bai Shan said, "We had planned this whole thing, how could this be a plot to sow discord?"
He turned around and asked Manbao, "Are you going to get the red envelope or not?"
"Of course I went," Manbao turned and ran towards the West Courtyard, calling out, "Wait a moment."
Soon Manbao brought Batou over and she taught him, "What will you call your father when you see him later?"
"father!"
Manbao nodded in satisfaction. Feeling that he was a little heavy, he simply put him on the ground and held his little hand. "Let's go, let's walk there. Remember to tell your dad that you miss him and cry to find him, okay?"
It was not known whether Batou, who was only a little over one year old, understood or not, but he nodded his little head in agreement, then took his aunt's hand and walked towards the front yard with his short legs.
Seeing that he was walking unsteadily, Bai Shan said, "He looks so excited. He doesn't look like someone crying for his father at all."
Manbao said nonchalantly: "Children cry for a while, then get better. It's just an excuse anyway. Otherwise, I'm so old now, and I still have to go and ask for red envelopes from others. How embarrassing."
Bai Heng was toasting with Zhou Silang, Xiang Mingxue and a few others when he looked up and saw Bai Shan, Bai Cheng and a little girl coming in with a child.
Because he came for the red envelope, Manbao smiled sheepishly at first, then pushed Batou to Zhou Silang's feet and said, "Fourth brother, Batou is crying and looking for you."
Batou immediately hugged his father's thigh, raised his head and looked at his father happily, and shouted happily, "Dad——"
Zhou Silang sighed, picked up his son and put him on his lap, and asked, "Where is your fourth sister-in-law?"
"Fourth sister-in-law is busy."
Bai Heng came to his senses with a start. Who else in the Zhou family would call Zhou Silang "Fourth Brother"?
Bai Heng immediately looked at Zhou Man with a sharp gaze. After a brief thought, he stood up and saluted, saying with a smile, "This must be Mr. Zhou, right?"
Zhou Silang then remembered that Bai Heng and his nephew seemed to have never met Manbao, so he immediately introduced her to Bai Heng with a smile, "Yes, this is my little sister, Manbao, and this is Bai Shan's uncle, the fifth child. You can call him Uncle Bai Wu."
Manbao quickly stepped back, bowed, and called out, "Happy New Year, Uncle Bai."
Bai Heng quickly extended his hand to support him, saying with a smile, "I don't deserve it, I don't deserve it. How can a commoner like me dare to accept Master Zhou's gift?"
Manbao said seriously, "Uncle Bai Wu is too polite."
Zhou Silang's heart moved slightly, and he remembered something, and smiled: "Isn't it true? You are Bai Shan's fifth uncle, which means you are Manbao's elder. An official is an official, and an elder is an elder. You must accept the courtesy when it is due."
Bai Heng couldn't help but secretly praise them in his heart after listening to them. Although the Zhou family came from a poor family, they had a very good upbringing. This alone made them better than many other families.
Seeing his happy expression, Manbao smiled and bowed again. This time, Bai Heng did not stop him. He touched her body...
Because we are coming to Zhou's house to pay New Year's greetings, there are three families living here, and there are many children, especially the children of the Zhou family, which have two generations of children.
So he prepared a lot of red envelopes.
But it's thicker...
Bai Heng felt around and took out a purse and gave it to Zhou Man. He then took off a jade pendant from his waist and gave it to her. He said with a smile, "This is your first time meeting your niece-in-law. The gift is a little small. I'll make it up to you later."
Manbao was stunned for a moment and turned his head to look at Bai Shan and Zhou Silang.
Bai Shan nodded slightly at her, and Zhou Silang also said happily: "Why are you shy? You two are engaged, so it's not much different from being one family. Just accept what Uncle Bai Wu gave you."
However, Zhou Silang thought about it and felt that he could no longer call Bai Heng "Brother Bai" when they were drinking later, which was a pity.
Manbao then took it with both hands, smiled and said blessing to Bai Heng, and then left with Bai Shan and Bai Cheng.
Bai Heng tried to persuade them to stay, saying, "Shanbao, Erlang, and Miss Zhou, won't you stay and have a drink with us?"
Manbao paused, glanced at Bai Shanhou, and smiled assent, then sat down below Xiang Mingxue. A servant immediately came forward to refill their bowls and chopsticks.
Manbao asked, "Didn't you say there were two more brothers? Are they not here?"
Bai Heng smiled and said, "Erlang and Sanlang are discussing their lessons with Dalang. I'll ask Shanbao to introduce them to Miss Zhou later."
Manbao agreed with a smile.
The next update will be around 4:00 PM
(End of this chapter)
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
