"Hello, Master Huo." Jian Ning stepped forward gracefully and greeted him. Since Huo Jincheng said that his father was a teacher in a private school, she pretended not to know.
Ding Youtian also came out after hearing the news. After greeting the old man, the village head and the clan leader, he invited them to sit in the main house.
Jian Ning called out to Ah Man a few times but no one answered. Tian said, "He was here just now. It seems he went to the utility room with Brother Qiu. Go and see if he's there."
This little girl, Jian Ning thought that it was probably she who called Brother Qiu to the utility room. It seemed that the little girl was afraid that Brother Qiu would scare Mr. Huo, so why was she hiding from the old man?
She walked toward the utility room and bumped into Meixiang on the porch. Meixiang had her sleeves rolled up, her hands damp and stained with soapberry residue. She was washing her and Ah Man's clothes in the backyard when she heard the villagers digging the cellar say that Master Huo's father had arrived, so she hurried to see the old tutor.
She was really scheming. Jane Ning didn't believe that she didn't even have the time to wipe the handle. However, she was too lazy to tell Meixiang and went to the utility room to find Ah Man.
"A'man, your grandfather is here. Why are you hiding here instead of going to see him?" Jian Ning walked to the utility room and saw A'man sitting on a pile of straw with his arms around Brother Qiu. His mouth was moving, obviously as if he was talking to Brother Qiu.
"I don't want to go. My grandpa doesn't like me and he doesn't want to see me." Little friend A'man said with a pout.
"Ah Man, listen to mother, grandpa is a guest from afar, and also an elder. Our Ah Man is so well-behaved and smart, how could grandpa not like Ah Man? Be obedient, go with mother to see grandpa first, and the big girl and the others will go too."
"Really? Can the older girls call him grandpa, too?"
"He's your grandpa. Can you let the girls call him Grandpa Huo?"
Ah Man shook his head: "No, I want them all to call me grandpa."
"Okay then, let's go call them."
Jian Ning called over the three of them, including Da Niu, and looked over at Ah Man and the others, who were all clean. He then told Da Niu and the others to call the old master "Grandpa" when they met him, and then led them to see him. From the corridor, they could hear the old master's hearty laughter. It seemed that he was chatting animatedly with the village head, clan leader, and Ding Youtian, and they seemed to be getting along very well.
"Hello, Grandpa."
The first girl to shout was the eldest girl, followed by the second girl, the third girl, and finally A'man.
"Grandpa." Her voice was very soft, and she didn't even look at the old tutor. She was totally unlike the Ah Man that Jian Ning knew. Seeing this, her heart ached, and she couldn't help but look at the old tutor.
The old tutor had a smile on his face, his complexion was rosy, and he was still cheerful when Da Niu and the other three called him. But when he heard Ah Man calling him, his voice was as soft as a mosquito's, and his face suddenly fell.
He blew his beard and glared, "Why did you turn around and run away after seeing Grandpa? Are you so reluctant to call me Grandpa?"
Ah Man turned her head to look at Jian Ning, but before Jian Ning could react, she turned and ran away.
The old tutor's eyes widened even more. Jian Ning didn't know what was going on between the grandfather and granddaughter, and it was inconvenient for her to say anything. She bowed slightly to the old tutor and turned to look for Ah Man.
The three big girls also followed out.
Ah Man ran back to the west room, lay on the bed, buried her little face in the back of her hands, and ignored Ren Jianning no matter how he called her.
"Sister Ah Man." Sanniu stepped forward and tugged at her sleeve. "Does your grandfather dislike you? It doesn't matter. My grandfather doesn't like us either. No, we don't have a grandfather anymore, and we don't have a grandmother, but you have us, and we have you. We are lifelong friends, right?"
Erniu said, "No, we are sisters for life. Mother said we are all good sisters and should love each other and not fight or quarrel. Mother, is that right?"
She looked up and asked Jane Ning.
The big girl hugged A'man silently, and many times she looked more like a little sister than A'man.
"Yes, you and Ah Man are lifelong sisters." Jian Ning touched the three of them on the head, and then rubbed Ah Man's little head, "Okay, wait until you are willing to go see your grandfather, then go see him. Mom won't force you to go now. You and your three sisters play here, Mom will go and get busy."
Jian Ning came out and saw Meixiang actually pulling the bellows to help make wine. This girl is quite good at showing off and has a lot of tricks up her sleeve.
If she wants to show off, let her show off.
Jian Ning thought about it. The old master was a guest from afar, and she had a good impression of him. He didn't look like a stuffy old scholar. He could get along with the peasants, so at least his thinking wasn't too rigid. She didn't know what was going on between him and Ah Man, so she decided to go to the mountains, retrieve the game, and hunt some more to treat the old master to lunch.
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