Chapter 121 Chapter 121 Sadness
Within two days, Kang He and Fan Jing hosted a banquet and invited Yao Yuan to have a meal.
People helped them and they thanked them. Regardless of whether the marriage is successful or not in the future, they will still be friendly when they meet in this city.
When Yao Yuan heard that he was going to be invited by the Fan family, he was happy but also a little nervous. He had heard that the eldest brother of the Fan family and his husband were both capable people. If he went there, he would say he was thanking them on the surface, but wouldn't he be testing him secretly?
Yao Yuan jumped up and down as he rummaged through the drawers and cabinets to get some face. He then sat in front of the bronze mirror with his butt sticking out for a long time, finally looking refreshed. Then he took the gifts and went to the Fan family.
When the Fan family saw Yao Yuan coming, they welcomed him in politely.
"I originally wanted to go to a restaurant outside and order some good food and wine, but since Brother Yao was born and raised in this county, he must have tried all the food in every street and alley."
"After much thought, I decided to just make a table of home-cooked dishes as a reward. Coincidentally, the village just sent over a truckload of fresh vegetables yesterday."
Qiao'er said, "My brother-in-law's cooking skills are very good, so he won't be allowed to cook easily."
Yao Yuan was flattered when he heard this. "Brother Kang is so thoughtful and considerate. It's such a treat to be able to taste your cooking today."
Kang He smiled and invited Yao Yuan to sit down. He and Fan Jing stayed with the guests for a while. The dishes were ready on the stove, and he went to cook.
I made a few of my signature meat dishes that I used to make at home, and let Hua's mother make the side dishes.
At noon, Kang He, Fan Jing and Yao Yuan ate in the living room. Qiao'er was not suitable to eat at the same table, so she took Xiaofu to the yard to eat.
Yao Yuan saw a table full of dishes that were not arranged in any particular order. The roast duck and rabbit meat were indeed home-cooked and smelled delicious.
His father died when he was young, and his mother was a supportive person who took care of the family business alone. However, he was not a supernatural being, and it was difficult for him to take care of the inside while taking care of the outside. When it was dinner time when he was a child, he would smell the aroma of food coming from other houses in the alley, which made him very greedy.
But if you talk about delicious food, the food cooked by the chef he hired at home is not bad either. It's just that he has rarely had the opportunity to have a family reunion to eat meat and vegetables, so he is envious.
After that, I traveled all over the country, ate a lot of delicious food, and tried foreign dishes. I seldom went home to eat here often.
Yao Yuan thought to himself, this Kang Gefu is really a considerate person. No wonder he is so good at business and everyone praises him.
But then again, aren't the sons-in-law of the Fan family too amazing? He knows the second son-in-law, the scholar husband of the Luo family, who is both talented and knowledgeable; the eldest son-in-law who came into the family is not only good at business, but also taught his son to pass the imperial examination, and he can even cook soup!
Even before being questioned, he couldn't help but sweating.
He glanced at the two jars of wine brought by the person below and scratched his face: Here they come, it seems they are waiting for him here!
Yao Yuan rolled his eyes, fortunately he could hold his liquor quite well. After he had drunk enough, he would pretend to be drunk. Then when people asked him questions, he would still be sober and could answer them more appropriately.
He was really drunk. Although he didn't do anything sneaky and didn't keep prostitutes outside to compete for the top girls, he was full of gangster spirit. It would be strange if he didn't restrain himself. He was not as good as the previous two, and now he was showing some rough and violent behavior, which was even worse.
"Brother Yao, it's just a simple meal, please don't be dissatisfied with the automatic chopsticks."
"Brother Kang's cooking skills are really good. I'm just eating the food and I don't even have time to talk. I look so rough, I hope you don't mind."
"That's not true. Brother Yao is so generous and magnanimous that it makes people feel that we get along well and openly."
Fan Jing let the two of them chatter back and forth, opened the lid of the wine bottle, poured wine for Yao Yuan, and called him to drink.
Yao Yuanlian responded with a smile, looking quite polite.
To be honest, he was not afraid of Kang He, but rather a little bit jealous of Brother Fan. He didn't talk much and always had a calm expression. It was hard to tell whether he was happy or unhappy, and it was difficult to tell.
Qiao'er hid in the darkness of the garden and watched Yao Yuan eat. She saw him drink up the bowl of wine poured by his elder brother and him. No one urged him to drink more, so he just poured himself a bowl and drank it honestly, looking like a real fool.
"If you want to eat the meat that Daddy cooked, just go inside and eat it. Why are you still secretly watching us eat it here?"
"Let me see if you're drooling."
Qiao'er was suddenly frightened when she saw a little guy coming towards her from the cricket pupa. She grabbed Xiaofu and covered his mouth.
"My little ancestor, you are frightening me to death. I am watching them eating happily here. Do you think everyone is as greedy as you?"
Xiaofu pouted: "Then I want to see it too."
"You can watch it, but don't make any noise or they'll find out and make a fool of themselves."
Xiaofu nodded with a smile, squatting behind the rockery and watching quietly.
Kang He and Fan Jing ate a few dishes together, but that was enough. They shared the dishes with others and taught Yao Yuan to enjoy them.
Instead of urging Yao Yuan to drink and getting him drunk, he coaxed him into praising him and told him some interesting stories about his escort missions... The meal lasted almost an hour before they were done.
Yao Yuan played at Fan's house for a while before saying goodbye.
Zheng Xiaolan knew that his son was going to visit the Fan family today, and he had been waiting anxiously for a long time. When he saw his son coming to the shop, he dropped his work and pulled him away for questioning.
"How is it? Tell me quickly!"
Yao Yuan said: "Although the eldest brother of the Fan family is a man of few words, he is also a polite person. Brother Kang is very considerate. Most of the people in the room are easy to get along with."
"It's strange. I knew they would try to persuade me to drink so I could ask them some questions, but they didn't persuade me, and they didn't ask any more personal questions."
Yao Yuan felt a little uneasy. "Is it because he doesn't like me that he doesn't even ask about these things? Mother doesn't know how good the Fan family's eldest and second sons-in-law are. Compared to them, I really am much inferior."
Zheng Xiaolan found her son's naive and suspicious look amusing. She couldn't help but teasing him, "Haven't you always thought you were very capable? Now that you're at marriageable age, you compare yourself to other people's sons-in-law and feel inferior?"
"Don't make fun of me at this time. I'm talking about serious matters!"
Seeing his son's anxious expression, Zheng Xiaolan stopped joking and became serious, "What does this mean? It only means that the Fan family is a polite and good family.
I've already said thank you, but I wouldn't want to get the guest drunk to the point of stumbling over the edge. Since everyone is being polite and there's no hint of a marriage going wrong, it's fine."
"I wish it was my mother who said it."
At Fan's house, Qiao'er also went to ask Kang He and Fan Jing, "Why didn't Big Brother and Brother-in-law take advantage of this opportunity to get him drunk and ask him some questions?"
"Silly girl, drinking too much alcohol is bad for your health. Would you be willing to get him drunk?"
Kang He smiled and said, "Your elder brother and I invited him here because we wanted to thank him. Of course, we wanted to see what this guy is like.
Just getting him drunk and questioning him is too low-class. He can drink a lot, and your brother and I may not be able to get him really drunk. Besides, if he is only half drunk, it will be even easier for him to fake it and trick him into tears."
"Let your elder brother and I listen to his conversation and we'll be able to make a judgement about him. I'm not going to rely on someone's honest words after drinking."
Kang He said, "He talks a lot, so he makes a lot of mistakes. But from what I've heard from your elder brother today, although he has some minor flaws, they're not serious. He's actually an upright young man."
Fan Jing also responded.
After hearing this, Qiao'er felt that it made a lot of sense. Seeing that her elder brother and her husband didn't think that the fool was a bad guy, she felt more at ease and couldn't help feeling a little happy.
After the day passed, he invited Yao Yuan to dinner twice more and also sent people to inquire privately, and there was nothing wrong with it.
Only then did Chen Sanfang and Fan Dad know about it. The two elders were overjoyed to hear that Qiao'er had found a place to stay.
After listening to Kang He's detailed explanation, Chen Sanfang was satisfied with the Yao family's financial situation. However, she was too happy and couldn't help but feel worried again.
"This young man from the Yao family has a good family background and is also a capable person. I like him. But he is an escort and will have to work outside. I am afraid it will be difficult for him to take care of his family."
Kang He said, "You have to look at both sides of the story. Yao Xiaolang is capable, so he can't avoid going out. If he has to stay at home all year round, he will inevitably be mediocre. There is no perfect person in the world, there are always some pros and cons."
Chen Sanfang nodded in agreement. She knew that it was very rare to find a family like the Yao family.
At night, she slept in Qiao'er's yard. The mother and daughter talked for half the night. Chen Sanfang understood Qiao'er's thoughts and the matter was settled.
A marriage that satisfies both families will go smoothly once it is clear that the two families are happy.
July was a busy month with the sound of cicadas chirping. The Yao family hired a matchmaker, who came with several large boxes of gifts to propose marriage. It was a lively and harmonious occasion, and the wedding date was set in the winter month.
Since both of them were of marriageable age, they didn't set the wedding date too far in the future.
Qiao'er's marriage is settled, and her family is in a hurry to prepare her dowry. Although they have been selecting and buying some large items in advance, there are still many small things to be done.
There are two girls in the family. Zhen'er got married first, and Qiao'er must be treated like her elder sister. We cannot favor one over the other.
The betrothal gifts sent by the Yao family were also added to Qiao'er's private property.
There are many happy events in the family, making everyone look very happy.
Ever since Qiao'er's marriage was settled, she has gone out less often and spends most of her time doing needlework.
Her family said that she could go to the cloth shop to make it, but she had no patience and wanted to make her own wedding dress. Even Zhen'er came over and laughed at her, saying that she had found a man of her dreams and had started to like needlework, which she had not liked before.
Qiao'er felt that it was more reassuring to do it stitch by stitch. It was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, so she cherished it even more.
Xiaofu dislikes the hot weather and doesn't like to run as much as he does in spring, autumn and summer. He gets all sweaty after just a short exercise, and then he has to be held to wash his hair and take a bath, which is very troublesome.
He simply stayed in the yard with Qiao'er, spread two mats on the floor, and lay on them to play with some toys. It was quite cool.
"My aunt doesn't live at home anymore after she gets married?"
"When a girl gets married, she naturally lives in her husband's house. How can a girl always live at home?"
Xiaofu said, "Little Daddy is the eldest brother. Doesn't he always live at home with the grandparents?"
Qiao'er smiled and said, "Do you think everyone would be willing to live with Big Brother like your father? It's hard to find someone like him. If your uncle-in-law is willing to live with us, I wouldn't want to leave home."
"Why doesn't he want to come? If my aunt goes to my uncle's house, I will miss you."
Qiao'er patted Xiaofu's head and said, "My aunt will miss you too, but you don't have to worry. My uncle's house is not far from ours, so it will be easy for you to go there and play in the future. Just think of it as another place to play."
"That's fine too. I like my uncle-in-law. He even said he would teach me how to ride a horse. Now I dare to ride a horse by myself. It would be great if I could ride a horse every day."
Qiao'er pinched Xiaofu's cheek and said, "You're just thinking about riding a horse."
"No, I didn't. My brother won't eat the cold melon these days, won't drink the iced bean water, and won't say a word. When he comes home, he goes into the yard to read and doesn't even respond when I call him."
Xiaofu pouted and said, "Look, he's become a big idiot. If he gets a heat stroke, he'll be as big an idiot as Yanyan'er."
He was not only thinking about riding a horse, but also worried that his brother would not become stupid from studying. He thought about asking his fifteenth brother to come and play with him one day, so that his brother would not study all the time.
Kang He and Fan Jing went to the countryside this morning. They heard that there was land for sale in Hui Miao Village, so they went to take a look.
There is indeed land, but crops are still being planted there. They said they would sell it after the autumn harvest, and they had leaked the news in advance.
Seeing that there was a piece of land of about five or six acres, Kang He and Fan Jing took a look and thought it was good. They negotiated the price and paid a deposit, which was already settled.
In recent years, Kang He and Fan Jing have been looking for harvest land, and the land in their hands has increased. In addition to the more than 30 acres in their own village, there are more than 20 acres scattered outside.
Kang Heqie was also thinking about the time when he could own a hundred acres of land, so that he could live a stable life.
When they returned, they were all drenched in sweat. Kang He touched Fan Jing's back, which was also covered in sweat. He said, "This summer is hotter than last year. Ice is even more expensive outside."
Fan Jing said, "I don't feel that hot at all. It's just that Dafu is so buried in his studies all day long that I'm worried he might get a heat stroke."
Speaking of Dafu, Kanghe couldn't help but feel a little worried. This child is hardworking, reads a lot of books, and improves quickly.
The other day I went to the Luo family for dinner. Luo Chuanyi and Kang Hedao, both of whom were very intelligent, went to ask him some questions about academic matters. He could hardly give thorough answers, but he couldn't talk nonsense with the child, as this would only mislead others. He almost made his uncle, an elder, lose his composure.
Kang He knew that Luo Chuanyi was joking with him, but what he said about Dafu was true.
Recently, I have seen Dafu reading and meditating in the yard, with his brows often furrowed. I guess he has difficulty solving the doubts he has about reading.
Awang also said that Dafu had not eaten much at lunch recently, saying that it was because of the hot summer. However, he thought that Dafu had difficulties in his studies, which was why he had no appetite.
In the summer months, the body is hot and you can take well water to cool down. However, if you feel depressed, you are most likely to get sick. Summer diseases are difficult to cure, so you should pay more attention to your health than in winter.
Seeing this, Kang He figured out that he should find a more knowledgeable teacher with Dafu, who could answer his questions and resolve his doubts.
He was helpless. He had not read many books, and Fan Jing was the same as him. There were relatives and friends in his family who were well-educated, but unfortunately, it was not enough. He was both happy and sad.
My husband and I can't help at all with the science exams. We can't teach or give any advice. It's so annoying.
Otherwise, why do people say that scholarly families are more likely to produce talented children? They are influenced by their surroundings and have a family tradition of learning. On the contrary, it is very difficult for a farming family to produce a good scholar.
The couple was thinking about something as the car drove into the alley.
Kang Hele stopped the mule cart and saw a horse-drawn carriage moving ahead. It slowly stopped and pulled into the house. He looked up at the Wu family mansion next door, and his brows moved slightly.
In fact, not long after he and Fan Jing moved into Chaoxi Lane, they learned a little about the Wu family's background.
On a snowy day that year, he and Dajing went to the village to slaughter a pig and accidentally caught a kidnapper. Later, the government followed the clues and arrested the entire group of kidnappers and rescued several kidnapped children.
One of the families even gave some silver as a reward; it happened that this family's surname was Wu.
At that time, he heard Brother Bao San say that as a reward, the Wu family lived in Xicheng and was a well-known figure in this area. The current head of the family was a nobleman.
When Kang He first arrived, he saw that his neighbor's surname was Wu, and he remembered the old incident and became curious.
After a little inquiry, I heard that the head of this family was a scholar who was now an official and worked as a teacher in the county school.
After Kang He knew about it, he just kept the matter in his heart and did not try to build a relationship with the old friend. He just gave a small housewarming gift like an ordinary neighbor.
The Wu family was originally a high-class family, and now they were even government-owned. When their youngest son was lost, although they had helped inadvertently, if they were to bring this up to others to seek help, they would probably cause displeasure.
The Wu family has lost their son. Now that the child is growing up, it is not a good thing to bring up the old matter and affect the son's reputation. If they bring this up, aren't they being rude and unwise?
Another thing is, I had already thanked you at the beginning.
For this reason, Kang He and Fan Jing never bothered the Wu family.
However, seeing Dafu's current situation, Kanghe selfishly thought that if he could get some guidance from Instructor Wu, he would surely be enlightened and would not be in such a predicament.
But he was a little at a loss and didn't know where to start.
"Just keep an eye on it for now. If that doesn't work, I'll just have to go and visit him."
Fan Jing said, "Just don't bring up the past when asking for someone's approval. If that doesn't work, look elsewhere."
Kang He responded. Sometimes he thought too much and didn't know when to advance or retreat. Sometimes it would be better to be as clear-headed and simple as Fan Jing.
"As you wish."
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