It wasn't until they put the meat in their mouths that the young men serving in the military realized they were actually eating a hot meal.
Instantly, a hint of gratitude appeared in his eyes as he looked at Jiang Nuan.
Even Lai Zi, whom he had always clashed with, seemed much more agreeable to him now.
"Fifth Aunt," Huang Qing said, sidling up with a steamed bun and a bowl, her face full of admiration, "You handled this matter with great generosity today."
A few days ago, he heard his father say that his fifth aunt wanted to use more than ten taels of silver to feed them, who were serving in the military. At the time, he thought it was a pipe dream.
Now, he really wants to slap his past self twice.
"It's not about being grand or grand," Jiang Nuan smiled kindly. "It's just a small token of my appreciation. I'm glad you don't mind."
As expected of a scholar, she speaks eloquently. Although Huang Qing found Jiang Nuan's politeness overly perfunctory, he admired her even more.
"You're too kind," he said, his attitude becoming even more respectful. "Today's meal is better than what I have at home. I don't want you to laugh at me, but I've been craving meat so much that I've been dreaming about biting my own arm."
“Then you won’t crave it anymore,” Huang Lao Er said after swallowing a mouthful of steamed bun. “My mother has come to visit me every day during my service.”
“This is great,” Huang Qing’s eyes shone with an amazing light. “Just for this food, I’m going to stay here and not leave.”
Huang Qing thought to himself, "I shouldn't change Fifth Brother tomorrow. I should be serving in the military myself, so why keep troubling Fifth Brother?"
He decided that he would never let anyone replace him unless he was so exhausted that he collapsed.
"Eat your food," Xie glared at Huang Lao Er, "Why do you talk so much? Even eating can't shut you up."
"What an idiot! Why are you saying this so early? What if you don't come one day? People will complain about it."
"Oh." Noticing his wife's displeasure, Huang Lao Er picked up his bowl and sullenly hid in a corner.
After taking a bite of food, glancing at his wife, he lost all interest in the meat.
"Don't mind them," Jiang Nuan noticed Huang Qing's discomfort. "They're used to making a fuss, you don't need to worry about them."
"I don't mind," Huang Qing said, having gotten the information she wanted. She didn't care about such a small matter at all. "Fifth Aunt, there are still people waiting for me over there. I'm leaving now."
"Go on, go on, bring the bowl back when you're done eating. There's porridge if you're still hungry."
When Huang Qing returned, a group of people surrounded him. "Brother Qing, how did it go? What happened?"
"Today's meal was prepared and brought over by Fifth Aunt. She paid for it herself," Huang Qing said with a straight face and a serious expression. "She was worried that we wouldn't be able to make it through the corvée labor, so she specially prepared good food to nourish us. You all know what to do, right?"
“I know,” someone in the crowd immediately echoed, “I’ll go thank Aunt Wu right away.”
"There's no rush. Just let them know when you deliver the bowls. The key is to know right from wrong. You all know what your family says about Fifth Aunt. In the future, please be more careful and don't let those gossipy women wrong an innocent person."
“Definitely,” someone in the crowd immediately chimed in, “From now on, anyone who speaks ill of Fifth Aunt is going to be my enemy.”
"Tch," a chorus of boos erupted. "Brother Hai, back then, people said that your mother was the fiercest of Fifth Aunts. You dare say you didn't know that?"
"How can they be the same?" Huang Hai's voice became much softer. "My fifth aunt used to be quite a scoundrel."
"Alright," Huang Qing said, "the past is the past, there's no point in bringing it up. Just be more careful in the future. Since you've received favors from Aunt Wu, you should live up to them. Don't end up raising a bunch of ungrateful wretches like Lai Zi said."
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