The family of three happily ate their meal, enjoying a long-awaited moment of family reunion. Lili silently thought of Shen Jialuo and said, "Fifth Brother, don't be afraid, Lili ate your portion!"
After lunch, it should have been the time for the academy's lunch break.
When Shen Laosan got tired of reading, he would do some writing or copying to relax.
After a month, I had saved up a little money.
Just now, Mrs. Yang jokingly said that it was time to buy new clothes for Lili. It just so happened that Mr. Shen used his lunch break to accompany Mrs. Yang and Lili to a clothing store.
"I'll buy some more fabric for Jialuo and make him a new undergarment." Madam Yang asked Lili, "What color new clothes does Lili want this time?"
Old Shen, carrying Lili, walked side by side with Madam Yang: "Our daughter is fair-skinned and looks good in any color. Last time I bought her a pale yellow one, this time I'll buy her a smoky blue one, and next time I'll buy her a light blue one. Let's collect a whole rainbow of colors for our Lili!"
Children should act like children. With new clothes to wear, Lili was naturally happy: "Wow, thank you, Daddy! Daddy is so good to Lili!"
Madam Yang said unhappily, "Is my mother not good to you?"
Lili quickly smeared a mouthful of poop on Yang's face: "Whether it's Mother or Father or Mother, they all love Lili the most, and Lili loves Father and Mother the most too!"
Shen Laosan and Yang Shi both smiled broadly.
The three of them went to the clothing store in a cheerful atmosphere. The clothing store in the city was much larger and more crowded than the one in the town.
There were several shops selling children's clothes, and Yang randomly picked one to go into.
The store offers a wide variety of styles. Since young children are not as well-behaved as adults, the store thoughtfully provides fitting rooms for parents to try on clothes for their children.
Yang was dazzled by the choices, looking at this wavy-patterned cloud-sleeved dress one moment and that butterfly-patterned ruqun the next.
Finally, Madam Yang settled on a light blue ruqun (a type of traditional Chinese dress) and pushed Lili inside to try it on.
Yang wanted to go in and help her change, but she thought that since Lili could do it herself, she might as well take this time to help Shen Jialuo choose some fabric.
So he asked Shen Laosan to take Lili to the door of the fitting room, and then Shen Laosan stood guard at the door until Lili came out after changing her clothes.
"Go, Lili, Daddy is waiting for you here."
Shen Laosan opened the door to the girl's room for Lili, and Lili said, "Okay, Lili will be quick!"
Lili carried the clothes inside. The small room had two separate cubicles, both of which were empty. Lili randomly entered the one on the right.
Lili took off her outer garment and put on the ruqun (a type of traditional Chinese dress), awkwardly tying the sashes around her neck.
These period costumes are beautiful, but they're not very convenient to wear, and the process of putting them on is too complicated. She tried to learn them for a long time but still couldn't master them.
I learned a one-piece lacing method before, and then I learned a two-piece lacing method.
Even when Lili looks at the leaves under a microscope, her head isn't that big.
Lili struggled to wrap the ribbon around her body and was tying a knot when she suddenly heard a woman's voice from next door.
"My dear Zheng'er is so handsome! This color suits your calm and refined demeanor perfectly!"
Huh?
This is the girls' fitting room, and isn't the boys' fitting room right next door?
Is it because she was worried about her son trying on clothes alone that she came in with him?
Lili didn't think much of it and continued with her important work.
"Zheng'er, have you remembered what your mother said? When you meet Mr. Liu, the headmaster of Moxiang Academy, you must be respectful and courteous, do you hear me?"
Lili paused.
A moment later, a hoarse voice rang out: "I understand, Mother."
The woman seemed displeased with the boy's lack of enthusiasm, and clicked her tongue impatiently: "What kind of attitude is that? I'm only doing this for your own good! You're my only son, and your father, that philanderer, has given you several half-brothers. If you don't make me proud, how am I supposed to live in this family!"
Pear got excited.
He stopped wearing clothes, pressed his ear against the wall, and listened intently.
Lili didn't hear the boy speak again. Then a sound came from behind, which seemed to be a woman helping the boy straighten his clothes.
After a while, Lili heard the woman sigh, seemingly realizing she had been too harsh, and softened her tone: "Zheng'er, I'm doing this for your own good. Our Qi family is a merchant family, following the traditional social hierarchy of scholars, farmers, artisans, and merchants. Merchants are last, scholars are first. If the Qi family produces a scholar, your father will be overjoyed!"
The woman spoke with some emotion, adding, "Fortunately, those few wretches' sons are all worthless. What good is it if they were born earlier than me? I am the matriarch of the Qi family, and you are the legitimate son! Zheng'er, Moxiang Academy only accepts students with a foundation who are over fifteen years old. If you can impress Mr. Liu and make an exception to accept you, a seven-year-old, as his disciple, then you've already won half the battle!"
The woman spoke passionately, but the boy remained silent.
After a long while, Lili listened intently until she could hear the boy whisper, "Mom, Mr. Liu is an upright man. If we try to curry favor with him this way, he definitely won't have a good impression of us..."
The woman was furious: "What can I do! You like reading, don't you? What good is it if you like it? I even hoped you were a literary genius descended to earth, but it turns out you're only slightly better than those little bastards! If I don't give you this five thousand taels, how can you expect Mr. Liu to look at you with any respect!"
The boy fell silent again.
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