Proposal (VI)
The men prepared dinner in less than an hour.
As was the Ruan family's custom, they would eat dinner outside every summer. Inside the courtyard, there was a log-style pergola, covered with grass leaves. Hanging around it were various shell wind chimes, which Ruan Qi had made as a child. When the wind blew, the chimes jingled and swayed, creating a pleasant, soothing sound.
Under the pergola stood a long table made of huanghuali wood. The table was nearly two meters long, easily enough to accommodate ten people for a meal.
The Ruan family brought the prepared meals out of the house and placed them one by one on the long table under the awning.
It was almost six o'clock in the evening, and the golden crow gradually set into the western mountains, leaving only half a piece of warm orange sunset.
Without the scorching sun, the air became cooler. A gentle breeze blew through the forest, caressing the skin and carrying the fragrance of grass and trees.
Mr. Xi, who hadn't experienced the countryside for many years, couldn't help but sigh.
"After living in concrete for so many years, I finally realized that the original ecology is the best. There are mountains and water, the atmosphere of fireworks and the human touch. I don't want to leave now."
"Then don't leave." Grandpa Ruan, who was sitting next to him, smiled. "We are all family. You can stay as long as you want. Although this place is not as prosperous as the imperial capital, it is still a good place to cultivate your character. If Brother Xi likes it, I will give you a key to my house so you can come anytime you want."
Old Master Xi felt a little moved.
After living a lifetime, experiencing both hardships and happiness, now that his descendants have finally made it through, Mr. Xi is also planning to retire completely.
But he didn't accept Grandpa Ruan's key. Instead, he said, "Brother Ruan, when you come back next time, remember to take me with you. It's boring for me to live here alone. It's really comfortable to have you two old people accompany me."
Grandpa Ruan smiled and agreed to Grandpa Xi's request.
While the two old men were talking, the food was served.
Everyone took their seats, and more than a dozen people filled the huge long table.
"Alright, everyone, stop busying yourself and let's eat. Mr. Xi and Mr. Jiu, please be polite and enjoy your meal!"
Since they were all family, Ruan Fengmian didn't say any high-sounding words. He just picked up the serving chopsticks and served food to Mr. Xi and the others.
Ruan Qi, who was sitting next to Grandpa Ruan, also stood up. With a few whooshes of her little hands, the delicious stir-fried pork fell into the bowls of Xi Jiu and Cheng Jinyan.
"Brother, Jiujiu, eat more."
The dishes the little girl personally picked for them were simply delicious. Accustomed to the finer things in life, Xi Jiu and Cheng Jinyan found the rural communal meals so delicious for the first time, comparable to any top-notch cuisine in the world.
After Ruan Qi finished serving food to her fiancé and brother, she focused on eating. Dinner tonight included her favorite spicy crayfish, a large bowl full of them, enough for Ruan Qi to indulge in.
Xi Jiu, Ruan Munan, and Cheng Jinyan were also busy. They ate and talked, and even peeled some crayfish and passed them to Ruan Qi.
Ruan Qi was so busy eating that she couldn't even lift her head. She was busy putting the lobster meat into her mouth, while her right hand, which was stained with red oil, secretly reached for the wine glass beside her.
Just as she was about to touch the wine glass.
Bang!
A big hand came down and gave her a loud slap on the back of her hand.
Ruan Qi's hand immediately retracted with a whoosh.
"What are you doing?" Nie Beilou, who was sitting on her right, glanced at her. "You just feel better and want to drink. Have you forgotten all the things you did when you were drunk before?"
Everyone at the table looked over when they heard the sound.
Ruan Qi blushed slightly at being looked at. She shrank her neck and whispered back, "Didn't you say my mental health issues have improved? Maybe I won't act crazy this time after drinking?"
Ruan Qi has been intolerant to alcohol since childhood.
But before she met Jiang Chunian, the most she would do when she was drunk was to go crazy, climbing onto the roof to duel with Nie Beilou. But after meeting Jiang Chunian, her spirit was stimulated, and she would lose control of her emotions after drinking, and become crazy and not recognize anyone.
Now that Jiang Chunian was dead, Ruan Qi's heart knot was untied, and her precarious mental state was completely restored. Theoretically, Ruan Qi would no longer go crazy and ignore people after drinking. At most, he would just act crazy.
Therefore, Ruan Xiaoqi, who had hardly sung about alcohol in his twenty years, was ready to make a move.
However, this impulse was nipped in the bud by Nie Beilou before it could be implemented.
"Ruan Xiaoqi, have you forgotten the glorious history of overturning the table after drinking when you were seven years old?" Nie Beilou said in a cold tone, ruthlessly exposing his apprentice's shortcomings. "Or can you not remember the time when you were five years old, climbed onto the roof after drinking and wanted to fight me on the top of the Forbidden City?"
Ruan Qi: “…”
Memories of the dead suddenly attacked me.
Caught off guard by her master's revelation, Ruan Qi's face flushed red. She scraped her toes against the ground, trying to create a crack to squeeze herself into.
However, Xi Jiucheng, Jinyan and others who heard these things were particularly interested.
Old Master Xi asked Nie Beilou curiously, "Did Xiaoqi have such a wonderful childhood? Climbing up the roof to duel with you?"
"That's not all. Xiaoqi has done so many things while drunk." Grandma Ruan glanced at her granddaughter with a smile, recounting her dark history like a treasure. "When Xiaoqi was three years old, she accidentally licked a wine glass. That afternoon, she squatted at the gate with an umbrella, insisting that she was a mushroom, and shouted to the neighbors to come pick her."
"And during the Mid-Autumn Festival when she was five, Xiaoqi accidentally drank a sip of her grandfather's treasured wine, and then ate a whole box of mooncakes. I remember how many mooncakes were in that box?"
"Nine," Yang Liu continued, "nine huge mooncakes, and she ate them all. She was so young at the time, and her belly was so swollen that it looked like a frog that had been drowned. Luckily, Master Beilou induced vomiting right away, saving her life."
This was the first time Xi Jiu and Old Man Xi Cheng Jinyan heard about these things, and their eyes widened when they heard them.
Old Master Xi couldn't help but burst out laughing: "Xiao Qi was so interesting when he was little? How did you manage to eat nine big mooncakes? Aren't you tired of it?"
Ruan Qi: “…”
Ruan Qi felt like even her crotch pants were about to be taken off.
She frantically dug her toes into the ground in embarrassment, trying to save face: "I don't remember what happened at that time. When I was drunk, I lost my mind..."
"You insist on sleeping with pigs because you're irrational?" Yang Liu ruthlessly exposed her. "When you were eight years old, you were drinking with Xiaodouzi outside. When your father found you, you insisted on going to the pig farm to sleep with the pigs. When your father refused, you started crying and yelling that you weren't his biological child. It's a good thing you and your daughter look alike, otherwise your father would have been cuckolded for a hundred years."
Ruan Qi: “…”
Stop talking.
The child is about to dig out the Forbidden City.
Although he did do these things, but when people said it out loud, Ruan Qi felt that his idol image was about to be shattered.
In order to hide her embarrassment, she scratched her head and clasped her hands. After making countless fake movements, Ruan Qi picked up the cup in front of her with a guilty conscience and drank it all without even looking at it.
Then.
Puff——!!!
Why does this drink smell like liquor?!
Tomorrow please enjoy the famous play "Drunken Xiaoqi"
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