Several people came to the dining room and sat down one by one. An Yongcai said, "Dad, I heard from the commander that you and your sister have researched winter wheat and high-yield wheat, and invented a method to refine rock salt. You have been conferred the titles of Earl of Rongchang and Princess of Yongjia County. Is this true? Why didn't I hear you mention it in the letter?"
An Dashan laughed and said, "I wanted to give you a surprise, but I didn't expect you to know everything. To be honest, I have no credit for this matter. It was all your sister's idea. I was able to be named the Earl of Rongchang because of your sister."
An Ning smiled and said, "Dad, you can't say that. Without your support, how could I have done it?"
An Yong said, "You are really amazing, little sister. I thought that after this promotion, I would be able to help the family, but I didn't expect that one of you became a fourth-rank earl and the other a second-rank county lady, and both of you have surpassed me."
An Ning grasped the point and asked in surprise, "Brother, have you been promoted again?"
An Yong said: "I have made some achievements in this battle, and the emperor has promoted me to the rank of General Zhongwu, fourth rank."
An Dashan and his men were very happy to hear this. An Ning said, "Brother, you are really amazing. This was fought with real swords and guns. It's different from what we did."
An Yong said, "Little sister, don't underestimate yourself. Your wheat can feed half of the people in Dayong. Your contribution is much greater than mine."
Gao said from the side: "You two should stop flattering each other, you are both very capable."
An Ning said with a smile: "If you ask me, the most amazing people are still my parents. They are so amazing that they gave birth to me and my elder brother."
An Yong also laughed and said, "My sister is right. My younger sister and I have achieved different things. Now it's up to little An Rui. If he passes the imperial examination and comes back with top scorer, everything will be perfect."
Poor little An Rui didn't know what was going on. Seeing everyone laughing, he grinned and started laughing too.
After everyone finished laughing, they continued to eat dinner. For a moment, the atmosphere in the dining room was very warm.
After dinner, An Dashan said to An Yong, "Dayong, give your future father-in-law a visiting card tomorrow and tell him that your mother and I are coming to visit."
An Yong nodded and said, "I know, Dad."
An Dashan added: "What does your future father-in-law like? We will prepare some gifts tomorrow."
An Yong then slapped his head and said, "Dad, Mom, little sister, come with me."
An Dashan and his companions were confused and followed An Yong to the warehouse. When An Yong opened the door, he saw several large boxes neatly placed inside.
An Dashan said, "What are these?"
When An Yong opened the box, he saw all kinds of gold, silver and jewelry. An Dashan and his friends had also seen the world, so An Dashan asked, "Where did all this come from?"
An Yong said, "The emperor rewarded me with a thousand taels of silver and a hundred taels of gold. The rest are spoils of war, which the commander-in-chief distributed to us according to our contributions." He took out a red gold Ruyi hairpin from the box, handed it to Gao, and said, "Mother, this is what the Queen of the Northern Barbarians wore on her head. I thought it must be very valuable, so I brought it for you."
Gao pushed the hairpin back and said, "The queen has been captured. This thing is unlucky. I don't want it."
An Ning smiled and said, "Mom, don't waste such a big piece of gold. You can sell it or melt it down and make it into other jewelry."
When Gao heard this, she said, "Yes, my daughter is smart."
An Ning looked at the spoils and said, "Brother, it's not appropriate for us to give these things as gifts!"
An Yong nodded and said, "I'm just showing you. You can do whatever you want with these things. Just take the money for the gifts here."
An Dashan nodded and said, "Okay, don't worry about these problems."
After looking at the things in the warehouse, An Ning said, "Brother, I think you will have to stay here for a few more years. It would be better to buy some property instead of living off your savings."
An Yong nodded and said, "I don't understand these either. Thank you for your help, sister."
An Ning waved her hand and said, "Leave this little thing to me. Don't worry, I will make sure I do it clearly for you."
An Yong and the others laughed, then went back to the main room to talk for a while, and then went back to their rooms to rest.
Nothing happened that night. The next day, An Yong went to the military camp, while An Dashan and his friends went to the street to buy things after breakfast.
They first went to the largest pastry shop and bought six kinds of pastries and six kinds of candies, two portions of each. After buying pastries, they went to the tea shop and bought four pounds of Biluochun. After leaving the tea shop, they went to the wine shop and bought four jars of Zhuyeqing. Because he was considering visiting Zheng Rong's house, An Dashan bought two portions of each item.
Since this was just a simple visit, these gifts were enough. It was almost noon when they finished shopping. An Ning wanted to eat the roasted lamb leg that she had eaten the first time she came here, so she suggested: "Dad, Mom, let's go to the restaurant to eat. I want to eat the roasted lamb leg from that restaurant."
When An Dashan heard that his daughter wanted to eat roasted lamb legs, he quickly said to Wang'er's father who was driving the car, "Let's go to the biggest restaurant."
When Wang'er's father heard An Dashan's instructions, he agreed and rushed to the largest restaurant.
A few people entered the restaurant and, led by the waiter, went up to the private room on the second floor. They ordered four dishes and a soup, including the roasted lamb leg that An Ning had been craving for.
The Duke of England in the private room next to him said to his guards, "Go and find out if the private room next to him is the Rongchang Earl's family."
Just now, when An Dashan and his companions passed by the private room where Duke Ying was, the door of the room happened to flash a crack, and Duke Ying just happened to see An Ning's face flash by.
After a while, the guard came back and reported to Duke Ying, "My Lord, the people in the box next to us are indeed the family of Earl Rongchang."
The Duke of England nodded, pondered for a moment, stood up and said, "Come on, since we've met, let's go over to the side and offer a glass of wine." Then he went to the box next to him with the glass of wine.
The guard went forward and knocked on the door. An Dashan thought it was the waiter, so he stood up and opened the door. What came into view was a familiar handsome and tough face. Because An Ning was facing the door, the Duke of England saw An Ning eating roasted lamb leg with puffed cheeks at a glance. It was quite cute.
An Dashan looked at the Duke of England and couldn't remember who he was, so he asked, "Excuse me, who are you?"
The Duke of England retracted his gaze from An Ning and said, "Lord Rongchang, I am Duke of England Gu Qingxuan. I met you last time. Just now I saw you having dinner here too, so I thought of coming over to offer you a glass of wine. Please forgive me if I have offended you."
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