Song Anxin thought for a moment and realized it must be Uncle Zhao. Uncle Zhao was really a nice guy.
But why would Song Anbang come to her house?
The younger children happened to be home and politely greeted everyone.
Hello, Grandma.
Hello, Uncle.
Song Anbang finally met all four of his nephews and their wives.
He still maintained his gentle and refined demeanor.
"Sister, since this is my first visit, I don't have any expensive gifts to bring, so I just brought a few packets of light snacks for you."
As he spoke, Song Anbang handed the pastry to his older sister.
Song Anxin immediately recognized these as pastries from Suxinzhai in the county. Her younger brother was so thoughtful; even the cheapest package of pastries cost nearly six or seven coins, yet he still brought a package for everyone in the family.
Lin Fengyao's eyes nearly popped out of his head when he saw the pastries, and his mouth was practically watering.
Song Anxin: "......."
She replied, "You've come all this way, why did you bring anything? Come in and sit down with your mother."
Upon arriving at the main room, Song Anxin asked the younger children to pour tea for the two of them; it was a refreshing tea to cool them down.
Seeing that the weather was too hot, Song Anxin thought that the rice would be harvested in a few days and she was afraid of getting heatstroke, so she went up the mountain to pick some rice. She also added some sugar, so it tasted similar to modern herbal tea.
Song Anbang had never tasted this before. He took a sip, his expression shifting slightly, and asked, "Sister, what is this?"
Lin Fengyao quickly replied to his uncle, "My mother said this is called a heat-relieving tea. It's made from herbs that she picked on the mountain. She said it can be boiled and drunk to cool down. She even added sugar. Isn't it delicious, Uncle?"
Lin Fengyao blinked, his eyes now showing that he had gone from calling Lin Fengyao "uncle" to "little uncle."
"Sister, did you see this in a book?"
Song Anxin nodded in agreement.
Grandma Song smiled and said, "This cooling tea is really delicious. Your father used to say that you couldn't read many words and liked to read some strange books, but I think you read this book quite well."
Song Anxin smiled awkwardly and said, "Anbang, Mother said you were coming to my place. Is there something you need?"
Song Anbang said, "I heard in the county that a woman in a village made two agricultural tools for the county government: a threshing machine and a blower. I wonder if it is you, sister?"
"Song Anbang is too smart! How did he guess it was her so quickly?" Song Anxin didn't deny it either.
"It's me, sister. I also saw it by chance when I was flipping through a book."
Song Anbang knew it was his older sister, but she was far more surprising than he had imagined.
He asked, "Sister, what you said last time about what you said at the academy gate was something you saw in Father's book. Now you've also seen 'threshing machine' and 'blower' in books."
I've searched through all of Father's books these past few days, but I haven't found it. Could you please think carefully about the book's title?
So that's what this kid was after. He's really persistent.
Song Anxin pretended to think for a moment and said, "It's been so long, I really can't remember the title of the book. We've moved many times, so maybe we left those books behind during the moves."
Song Anxin lied without even blinking.
Song Anbang thought it made sense, so he slowly said, "Yes, we've moved many times."
He personally packed all the books in the house, and he was very careful and meticulous with them. Could it be that he had really forgotten a book?
Since my sister doesn't remember, there's nothing we can do about it.
"Sister, may I go and take a look at those blowers and threshing machines? The students at the academy are all discussing these two things."
The debate mostly revolved around whether these two things were as miraculous as they were said to be. He was also very curious, but he trusted his older sister.
Oh, this has attracted the attention of these scholars and literati, which is understandable, as it is a matter of great importance to the people, and students preparing for the imperial examinations would certainly pay attention to it.
Song Anxin then had several of the younger children keep Old Mrs. Song company while she talked. Old Mrs. Song had been living alone at home for a long time, and this was the first time she had so many grandchildren and granddaughters-in-law surrounding her.
The old man was overjoyed, and the wrinkles on his face never disappeared.
Song Anxin took Song Anbang to the village ancestral hall. It was midday and very hot, so everyone was resting indoors. They didn't encounter a single person on the way.
The four threshing machines and five blowers were all placed in the Lin family ancestral hall. These things were large and heavy, so it was best to put them in the spacious ancestral hall.
The ancestral hall is located next to a large ginkgo tree in the middle of the village. Upon entering, there is a large open space paved with stones, which is perfect for threshing and drying rice.
Seeing these things that scholars and intellectuals talked about, Song Anbang felt that the real objects had a greater impact than their descriptions. She imitated her older sister, stepping on and shaking these objects, and a strange feeling welled up inside her. Was this the "people's livelihood" that scholars talked about every day?
He calmed himself down, had an idea in mind, and then went back with Song Anxin.
When Song Anxin and Song Anbang returned, the house was bustling with activity. Sister-in-law Lin, along with Erxi and Dongzi, were all there, and Sister-in-law Lin was chatting enthusiastically with Old Mrs. Song.
The younger children were sharing their snacks with Lin Erxi and Lin Dongzi. Lin Dongzi was savoring the small piece of pastry, taking tiny bites as he did so.
Lin Erxi and the others were chattering away when they saw Song Anxin and Song Anbang come in.
Lin Erxi stared intently at Song Anbang as he walked in. The pastry in her hand froze in mid-air, and she forgot to finish her sentence, looking completely stunned.
Lin Fengyao leaned closer to her and whispered, "I told you my uncle is very handsome, didn't I? I told you my uncle..."
Lin Erxi could no longer hear what Lin Fengyao was saying; all she could hear was her own heart pounding faster and faster.
Oh no! Her heart was pounding, what should she do?!
Before anyone could react, Lin Erxi dashed out.
As she passed by Song Anxin, she nearly bumped into her. Sister-in-law Lin immediately stood up and shouted:
"What are you doing, Lin Erxi? You're getting worse and worse. You don't even know how to greet people."
Then, turning to Song Anxin and her brother at the door, she said, "Sister-in-law is back. This must be Anbang. Look at him, he's grown into such a handsome young man; he's completely unrecognizable from his childhood self..."
Song Anxin introduced Song Anbang to Feng Nian's aunt, saying that the one who had just run out was her son, Lin Erxi, and the one sitting next to him was Lin Dongzi.
Song Anbang bowed politely and said, "Greetings, Aunt Lin."
This was the first time Sister-in-law Lin had been treated so politely by such a refined and cultured person. Not only was he beautiful, but his voice was also pleasant. She quickly quieted her loud voice and smiled, saying:
"Okay, okay, you're okay too."
Song Anbang entered the main room and said to his mother:
"Mother, I'm not going back. You go back first. I want to help my sister with the autumn harvest here before I go back."
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