Song Anbang and Sun Lixi left after the Mid-Autumn Festival.
At the end of August, several counties joined forces to hold the second Liuzhou County Specialty Products Exhibition, which was larger in scale and attracted many merchants from all over the country.
After another busy period, both the products from Dafeng Factory and the products from Linjia Village's collective industry were sold to more places.
With more and more merchants coming and going, the Linjia Village tourist area is becoming more and more lively every day.
Time flies, and it's almost the end of September. Xiao Yu'er and Xiao Xuan'er will be in November soon.
The two of them can now stand up with the help of things, but they still prefer to crawl around. Right now, they are crawling on the tatami mat to Song Anxin's side, bringing their little faces close and calling out sweetly.
"Grandma, Grandma..."
Song Anxin's heart was almost melted by their calls. She happily hugged them, one in each arm, and gave them a kiss on their little faces.
The two of them immediately burst into laughter.
"Oh my, my two little darlings, come here to Grandma quickly," Grandma Song said hurriedly from the other side.
The two of them then happily climbed over to Old Mrs. Song's side.
"Grandma, Grandma..."
Xiao Xuan'er and Xiao Yu'er helped Grandma Song stand up and called out sweetly.
"Hahaha, so good girl, let Grandma give you a hug..." Grandma Song smiled so happily that her eyes disappeared from her teeth.
Seeing how adorable the two were, Yu Lin'er couldn't help but say, "Come here to your second aunt, I have some snacks for you."
As soon as Xiao Yu'er and Xiao Xuan'er saw the snacks, their eyes lit up, and they immediately scurried over to Yu Lin'er.
Yu Lin'er teased them, "Come on, call her Second Aunt, and I'll give you something to eat."
The two of them couldn't pronounce such difficult words yet, and could only vaguely utter the word "auntie." Their eyes were fixed on the snacks in Yu Lin'er's hands, but they couldn't eat them, which made them very anxious.
The room erupted in laughter again at the sight of the two men's comical antics.
Yu Lin'er stopped teasing them, gave the snacks in her hand to the two little ones, and then picked them up one in each arm so they could eat in her lap, her eyes full of affection.
Seeing this, Song Mei laughed and said, "Lin'er likes children so much, why don't you hurry up and have one with your second brother, so that Xiao Xuan'er and Xiao Yu'er can have a little sister or brother too?"
Yu Lin'er blushed slightly, and was about to say something when An Fu, who had rushed over, interrupted her.
"Madam, Lady Gong, First Madam, Second Madam, the provincial officials have arrived!" Anfu said, slightly out of breath.
Song Anxin immediately stood up. People from the provincial capital had come; didn't that mean they were bringing good news?
The group hurried outside. Old Mrs. Song was trembling slightly, and Song Anxin kept supporting her mother, afraid that she would trip.
When they arrived at the gate of the house, she was led by officials who were beating gongs and drums towards her house, followed by a large group of villagers.
As soon as Lin Lizheng saw Song Anxin and her group come out, he excitedly shouted, "Aunt Song, Song has passed the exam! She's passed!"
Grandma Song was overjoyed, almost fainting from happiness. Song Anxin quickly grabbed her mother's hand and said:
"Mother, calm down, calm down!"
Grandma Song breathed a sigh of relief and calmed down.
Several officials quickly arrived at the gate of Song Anxin's residence. They stopped the gongs and drums, bowed to Old Madam Song, and said, "This must be the mother of Scholar Song. Congratulations! Your son, Song Anbang, has achieved first place in this year's provincial examination and has become the top scholar. We have come to deliver this good news!"
"What?! First place again? My goodness! Aunt Song, Anbang is amazing!"
Sister-in-law Lin darted out from the crowd. The duck egg shop happened to be closed today, and she rushed over as soon as she heard the gongs and drums.
Grandma Song was so happy she was almost at a loss for what to do.
"Oh my, oh my, this is wonderful news! Thank you, thank you, officers! You, you wait here, I'll go and give you a generous gift of money..."
Song Anxin quickly stopped the old lady who was about to go inside to get the money, and said with a smile, "Mother, I've already prepared everything."
Granny Wei came out and gave Song Anxin a bulging bag of money.
"Oh, no, Xin'er, how can you pay for Bang'er's wedding?" Old Mrs. Song stopped her.
“Why not? Anbang is my own brother. I am very happy that he has won the top scholar title. I am happy to give him this reward money.”
Song Anxin smiled and handed the money bag to the leading officer: "Thank you for coming to deliver the good news. You've worked hard."
Upon seeing the bulging money bag, the official immediately smiled broadly, thanked them quickly, and took his leave.
Grandma Song had no choice but to give up. Her daughter and son were both so good; she was truly blessed in her past life.
As soon as the officials left, the villagers immediately came to congratulate them.
"Aunt Song, congratulations! Your son is truly remarkable!"
"Congratulations, Aunt Song! This is truly a joyous occasion! Scholar Song has become a Juren (a successful candidate in the highest imperial examinations), and a Juren can become an official."
"Indeed, Aunt Song, you are so lucky! Your son, daughter, and grandson are all officials. It's truly enviable..."
"....."
Grandma Song happily accepted the congratulations from the villagers.
Such a joyous occasion naturally deserves a proper celebration. Song Anxin and the old lady first went to the grave of the old scholar Song to burn paper money and then told her father the good news.
They set up several tables at home and invited their eldest brother and sister-in-law, Lin Daxi, Qingshan, Uncle Bai, Asi, Master Fengyao, Old Wu, and the Sun Xiucai couple to come and join in the festivities.
"Master, Master, you're eating sweet and sour pork ribs! It's so delicious! Master, Master, please try this dish, it's a new creation..."
Lin Fengyao was a complete sycophant at the table, busy serving his master food.
Old Wu was very pleased, his face crinkling with smiles, his eyes filled with loving affection for Feng Yao.
Having been alone for so many years, this was the first time he had ever felt the warmth of a master and disciple. He wished he had taken on a disciple sooner; he had been so wrong before!
"Hehe, Old Wu, Feng Yao's apprentice is really good. I'm envious of you." Uncle Bai started teasing the two of them. "Feng Yao, following this old man must be boring. Why don't you become my apprentice? Following me is much more interesting than following this old man."
Old Wu's old eyes widened immediately: "Hey, Old Bai, I finally got a disciple in my old age and you want to steal him away? Go away, that's not fair of you."
Ah Si got a little angry when he heard this: "Master, you are too greedy. You have such a good disciple like me and you are still not satisfied. I will never queue up for you at Da Feng Wei Xuan again."
Ah Si and Uncle Bai now hire a woman from the village to cook for them, and they also often go to Da Feng Wei Xuan for a treat. Although they don't have to pay for their meals anymore, they still have to queue when there are many people.
Uncle Bai immediately said, "Hey, you little rascal, I know, I know. You're great too. If you could find me a wife here so I could experience the joy of having grandchildren, you'd be even better."
Bo Bo never married, and his youngest apprentice, A Si, always treated him like his own son.
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