Blind Liu laughed heartily. Ma Fuquan and he were roughly on par when it came to drinking, but how easy was it to beat him? So far, apart from his master, no one had ever beaten him in drinking.
Ma Fuquan was no good either. He just yelled loudly every time, and in the end he was always the one who got drunk, but he never admitted defeat.
Seeing that Ma Fuquan was clamoring to challenge his master again, Ding Youtian asked Sanniu to tell Jian Ning that his master and Uncle Ma wanted to drink, and asked Jian Ning to prepare some more snacks.
Sanniu responded and ran to the kitchen.
In the kitchen, Jian Ning was washing rice. Although she had made nearly two hundred more dumplings, enough to eat, Ding Youtian had muttered this morning that while dumplings were delicious, she still felt like she needed a few mouthfuls of rice to calm her nerves. Plus, with Mr. Ding Sanye and his son also present, she was already preparing to cook and stir-fry a few dishes even though Ding Youtian hadn't sent Sanniu to talk.
"Tell your father that mother is preparing it. Also, ask Uncle Ma to move his dining table over to use."
"They've already gone." Tian came over with a smile. "They want to play Liubo. I sent Xiaomai home to get Liubo. I sent him and his son together and brought the dining table over."
"It has to be my sister. She thinks of everything for me first." Jian Ning said with a smile.
"How can we not think about the master? Chang has also sent her husband home to pick some vegetables. Whenever my mother sees someone from our village, she always sends someone to send me a message to make me more active and not wait for the master's orders before doing anything. She's afraid that I'll lose my good job here."
"It is my blessing to have you two sisters helping me with my work. As long as you don't abandon me, I will never abandon you and hire someone else."
"I'll remember what you said today." Chang came over and said half-jokingly, half-seriously, "Don't forget what you said today and chase us away when you have something good happen to you someday."
Ever since Jian Ning held a meeting with them and made their respective wages public, Tian and Chang all had the same thought in their minds: Sister Jian was a ruthless person. If it were someone else, they would just hide the high and low wages and would never say it clearly in public.
Both of them knew that Jian Ning was not afraid of offending the village head and dared to pay Cui Gu the lowest wage. If they did not work hard, she would show no mercy and would fire them without hesitation.
In the courtyard, Mr. Ding and his son were working on the bellows and brewing wine, while Blind Liu was guiding them from the side. Finally, Mrs. Tian and Mrs. Chang found some time to help Jian Ning prepare dinner. Mrs. Chang recalled Ma Fuquan's happy look as he held Sanniu in his arms, and teased Mrs. Tian with a smile, "Is your husband thinking of having another daughter? Keep an eye on him later, don't let him get drunk, or he won't be able to do anything at night."
"Just chew maggots, aren't you afraid of rotting your tongue?" Tian blushed and spat at her in pretended anger.
Jian Ning saw that she was cursing Chang, but her eyes were lively and shy, showing that she was very pleased with Chang's words. Jian Ning had actually convinced herself to accept the reality. There was no Wu Dui in this world, only Ma Fuquan, and Ma Fuquan was a family man.
If Ma Fuquan abandoned his wife and children, he would be the worst scumbag ever!
Although I understand the truth, I still feel sad. If everyone can control their own heart, I believe no one would want to live in sadness all day long.
Jane Ning couldn't pretend to be calm and joke with them. She could only pretend to be uninterested in what they said. She took a piece of bacon and threw it into the pot. She picked up the iron kettle on the stove and poured some hot water into the pot. Then she took a bamboo whisk from the wall and brushed the bacon vigorously, trying her best to make herself look busy.
"By the way, Miss Jian." Chang suddenly raised an eyebrow and lowered her voice, "That girl Meixiang said earlier that you and Ding Laosi slept in separate rooms. Is that true?"
"Listen to her nonsense, it's not true."
For the sake of the reputation of the four little ones, Jian Ning could not admit that she and Ding Youtian were only nominally married. She felt that Meixiang was going too far. She lived here as a maid, and she did not bully her or order her around. She even treated her well with food and drink, and only asked her to serve A'man well.
It seemed that she was too good to her, so much so that she acted like the eldest daughter of the family and started to make trouble for her and Ding Youtian.
If a tiger doesn't show its power, she will think it is a sick cat.
Jian Ning decided to talk to Mei Xiang. She didn't care that she loved Ding Youtian. After all, in this era, men were allowed to have three wives and concubines. Unmarried women had the right to like married men. That was her freedom. She had no right to interfere and would not interfere.
Of course, if Ding Youtian wanted to take a concubine or a second wife, she would not agree. She would not let him have a bunch of illegitimate children who would compete with the four little ones for property in the future.
If Ding Youtian finds someone she loves in the future, as long as the other person is a good person and treats the four little ones well, she can help them get together and leave.
But that person couldn't be Meixiang. She planned to warn Meixiang that if she wanted to stay with her until the day A'man left, she should keep her mouth shut.
When Jian Ning emerged from the kitchen, she saw Ding Youtian and Blind Liu gathered around the three stoves, chatting and laughing. The children were playing in the yard, but Meixiang was nowhere to be seen. She turned to the west room and saw Meixiang dressing in front of the mirror outside the window. She really did think she was a young lady.
"Meixiang..." Jian Ning didn't beat around the bush and gave her a direct verbal warning. Finally, he said, "I don't mean to embarrass you. In this family, you can still just take care of your young lady's affairs. But if you keep talking nonsense, I don't mind finding something for you to do, and you have to do it, unless you go to Puren Hall now, or go to the county to find your young master. Think it over carefully."
After she said that, she stared at Meixiang coldly. Meixiang didn't dare to look at her. She said "I know" but muttered in her heart, she didn't lie, you two have been sleeping in separate rooms to begin with.
Ma Fuquan and Ma Xiaomai went home and brought a table and played Liubo, which is Chinese chess, but without elephants, generals, knights, or cannons. Instead, there were only generals, horses, chariots, and pawns. Moreover, the generals could move around and did not have to stay in their old nests.
Ding Youtian knew how to play Liubo earlier, but he was a terrible chess player. Ma Fuquan originally refused to play with him. But after he became Liu Xiazi's disciple, Liu Xiazi taught him chess every day. Ding Youtian's chess skills had improved by leaps and bounds. At this moment, he couldn't help but feel itchy and kept calling Ma Fuquan to play a game with him.
Ma Fuquan is now a chess expert himself. He originally thought that he could easily defeat Ding Youtian. However, half an hour later, Jian Ning and the others were about to set up dinner. Seeing that the two sides were in a stalemate on the chessboard and neither had the upper hand, Ma Fuquan declared a draw.
"A good teacher produces a good student. Today is different from the past. Not bad, not bad." He praised Ding Youtian with a smile, but Ding Youtian just bowed and said, "Thank you."
Ma Fuquan was stunned. "What do you mean by concession? You won?"
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