Three days passed quickly and in the blink of an eye, Li Xiangping picked up Li Xiangkang from Xifeng Academy early in the morning.
Li Xiangping drove the oxcart directly into their new house. Li Xiangkang hadn't been home for several days; he had never been away from his mother for so long in his life.
So he wasn't even interested in visiting the newly renovated house, and went straight to the courtyard where Yan Qingqing lived.
Li Xiangkang ran while shouting, "Mother, Silang is back!"
The first person to come out of Yan Qingqing's room was Yuan Huiniang. She had come to Yan Qingqing for advice because she was unsure about something she had invited guests to do.
Yuan Huiniang looked at Li Xiangkang running over like a gust of wind and smiled, "Fourth brother is back?"
When Li Xiangkang saw Yuan Huiniang, he grunted in response, straightened his clothes, clasped his hands in a respectful bow to Yuan Huiniang, and said, "Greetings, sister-in-law."
Seeing Li Xiangkang's grown-up demeanor, Yuan Huiniang chuckled and said, "Fourth brother, you're too polite. We're all family, why are you being so courteous?"
Li Xiangkang said in a serious tone, "Sister-in-law, the Master said that a true scholar should begin with being gentle and polite, and should cultivate himself with integrity."
Yuan Huiniang was pleased to see such a noticeable change in Li Xiangkang.
After Yuan Huiniang left, Li Xiangkang cautiously entered Yan Qingqing's room, only to find Yan Qingqing smiling at him. Li Xiangkang blushed and stammered, "Mother~"
Yan Qingqing teased him with a smile, "Is this the gentle manners and upright self-cultivation that the teacher taught you?"
Li Xiangkang tugged at Yan Qingqing's sleeve and said coquettishly, "The teacher said that applies to other people, but Mother is not an outsider."
Yan Qingqing deliberately made things difficult for him, saying, "So you mean your sister-in-law is someone else? Sigh, I just handed over the power of managing the household to your sister-in-law, and from now on, the monthly allowance for the family will be distributed by your sister-in-law. What if your sister-in-law finds out?"
Upon hearing this, Li Xiangkang immediately said in a serious tone, "Mother, how could my sister-in-law be just anyone? Everyone says that the eldest sister-in-law is like a mother, and I have great respect for her."
I was merely going to demonstrate the etiquette that the Master taught me.
Yan Qingqing inwardly praised the boy, not expecting him to react so quickly.
Seeing that Yan Qingqing was no longer dwelling on the matter, Li Xiangkang breathed a sigh of relief. He then said many sweet things, making Yan Qingqing smile from ear to ear.
Just as the mother and son were chatting happily, Li Xiangping walked in and said, "As expected, Mother's favorite is still Fourth Brother. Look how happy Mother is to have him back."
Li Xiangkang was still a child after all. When he heard Li Xiangping say this, he proudly raised his head and said that his mother loved him the most, and even if his sister was born, his mother would still love her the most.
Thinking of his younger sister, Li Xiangkang immediately perked up and looked at Yan Qingqing, asking, "Mother, where's my sister? I haven't seen her."
Yan Qingqing replied, "My sister just fell asleep. Why don't you go into the bedroom and check on her?"
Upon hearing this, Li Xiangkang grinned, revealing his small teeth. He was about to skip and hop to Yan Qingqing's bedroom, but remembering that Li Xiangping was still there, he straightened his clothes and took small steps inside.
Li Xiangping also found Li Xiangkang somewhat amusing, but the path his fourth brother would take in the future was ultimately different from his own. Perhaps his fourth brother had already begun to work hard.
Yan Qingqing looked at Li Xiangping and asked gently, "Is everything ready?"
Li Xiangping quickly regained his composure and said, "Everything is ready. Sixth Master Chen is here. He was specially invited by Mother. He has some connections with my second and third brothers. I have already asked my third brother to receive him."
Yan Qingqing nodded and said, "Okay, I'll get ready and go see him later."
Li Xiangping nodded. He only knew that when Li Xiang'an and Li Xiangjian were working at the dock, they had received help from Chen Liu. When they were doing business at the dock, Chen Liu often ate braised offal at their stall and got along very well with his mother.
However, he didn't know that Yan Qingqing had invited him to the family's wedding, which showed that Chen Liu and his mother had quite a close relationship.
However, he knew that Yan Qingqing always did things in a methodical way, so he didn't need to ask any further questions.
Yan Qingqing then instructed Li Xiangping, "When relatives and friends arrive, all four of you brothers should go and greet the guests, especially the fourth brother. Don't exclude him from the role just because he's young."
You must not indulge his pedantic airs like those scholars. If he truly intends to pursue a career in government, he will need to be even more adept at navigating social situations.
Yan Qingqing had considered each of the seven siblings very carefully, and Li Xiangping understood this very well. So he called Li Xiangkang, who was focused on watching his sister, and they went to the front yard together.
Yan Qingqing changed her clothes and came to the front yard. By then, many of Li's relatives and friends had already arrived.
As soon as they saw Yan Qingqing, they rushed over to greet her, say a few auspicious words, and offer their blessings.
Yan Qingqing smiled and exchanged pleasantries with them.
Two unfamiliar men accompanied Chen Liu. They sat down next to him and whispered, "Sixth Master, do you really have such wealthy relatives in the countryside?"
Looking at the impressive courtyard around him, Chen Liu was surprised to find that Yan Qingqing's family lived in such a nice house.
At the same time, he was also a little proud. He hadn't misjudged her. Yan Qingqing was capable and loyal.
Just then, Yan Qingqing walked over and said with a smile, "I heard Dalang say you were here in the backyard, so I specially put down what I was doing to come and see you. I haven't had a chance to thank you for what you did last time."
Yan Qingqing was referring to the time when Chen Liu helped her promote her mooncakes during the Mid-Autumn Festival; otherwise, her mooncakes wouldn't have sold so well.
Upon seeing Yan Qingqing, Chen Liu quickly stood up and said, "It's all just a small matter, elder sister, you don't need to worry about it. By the way, congratulations elder sister on the birth of your beloved daughter and on moving to your new home, it's truly a double blessing."
Yan Qingqing smiled at him, then looked at the two people next to Chen Liu and said, "These must be Sixth Brother's friends. Please forgive us if we haven't been hospitable enough."
The two men quickly said, "We just came with Sixth Master to freeload a meal. Please forgive us if we have been too forward."
People from the martial arts world naturally speak in their own language. Yan Qingqing exchanged a few more polite words with them before going to entertain other guests.
After Yan Qingqing left, the two praised her a few more times, which made Chen Liu feel quite satisfied.
Just as Yan Qingqing finished her work, she heard Li Xiang'an's voice from the doorway: "Manager Xue, Manager Wu, what brings you two here together? Please come in."
Shopkeeper Xue smiled and said, "We met at the village entrance. Since this is my first time visiting your residence, I am not familiar with the way. I happened to run into Shopkeeper Wu, who was also here for a wedding, so I came with him."
Manager Wu said, "Then you'll have to make a few more trips whenever you have time. Let me tell you, the Li family has plenty of good stuff, especially when it comes to food."
"Since you run a restaurant, a long-term partnership with them would be extremely beneficial for you."
What was said casually was taken seriously by the listener. Although Manager Wu was just saying it casually, Manager Xue really took it to heart. Didn't Yan Qingqing say that their ancestors were imperial chefs of the previous dynasty? They must have a lot of recipes.
Manager Xue made up his mind to cultivate a better relationship with the Li family from now on.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com