Chapter 204: Shen Family’s Horse: This is a different price

The sixteenth was Shen Yuan’s birthday. After she woke up, she stared blankly for a while with her eyes closed before she slowly sat up, “Qingdai, I’m up.”

Shen Yuan called out and waited for Qingdai to come in and bring her clothes to change.

But today, Qing Dai was not the only one who came in. Shen Yuan suspected that he was still asleep, so he blinked hard and asked dazedly, "Sister-in-law, why are you here?"

"Today is your birthday. Sister-in-law made a skirt for you. Come and try it on to see if it fits you. If it doesn't fit anywhere, I'll make some changes."

Shen Yuan stood up quickly, "Sister-in-law, when did you come? Why didn't you wake me up?"

"I just got here too."

He Ying put the clothes on the bed. This skirt was made by her herself, without any help from others.

"I've left your clothes here. I'll wait for you outside. Come out and let me see you when you're done."

Shen Yuan nodded obediently. After her sister-in-law went out, she took a look and found that her sister-in-law had made not only outer clothes, but also inner clothes and small clothes and pants. It was complete from inside to outside. It was obvious that a lot of effort had been put into it.

"Qingdai, when did sister-in-law come over?"

While Qing Dai was changing Shen Yuan's clothes, she replied, "The young lady has been here for about a cup of tea. I wanted to call you, but the young lady didn't let me."

What He Ying made for Shen Yuan was a goose yellow round flowered brocade chest-length skirt, with delicate and beautiful bell orchid flowers embroidered on the skirt.

Qing Dai couldn't help but sigh: "Young Madam's craftsmanship is really good. This skirt is really beautiful. And I also think that the young lady looks best in goose yellow."

The goose yellow color makes her look cute and charming when she wears it, which is especially suitable for Shen Yuan.

"Let's get out quickly and don't let my sister-in-law wait anxiously."

As soon as he changed his clothes, Shen Yuan couldn't wait to run out to show his sister-in-law.

"Sister-in-law, look, what you did is so beautiful, and it's just right."

As Shen Yuan spoke, she turned around while holding up her skirt.

He Ying stood up with a smile on her face and looked Shen Yuan up and down, then asked her, "Does the dress fit you?"

"It fits me well. Thank you, sister-in-law. You are so nice."

However, He Ying still felt quite regretful. She said to Shen Yuan, "It's a pity that I don't know how to make shoes, so I didn't make one for you."

"I have shoes. I made them not long ago."

During this year, Shen Yuan grew a lot taller and his feet also grew longer, so a lot of shoes were made.

"Go wash up and have breakfast first, and your sister-in-law will do your makeup for you later."

Shen Yuan went there obediently. For breakfast today, a small bowl of chicken noodle soup, four small soup dumplings, and a few side dishes were served. The chicken noodle soup was specially made by the kitchen for their daughter, and it was a longevity noodle.

Shen Yuan was very considerate and ate it all, not even leaving any soup. Luckily she was wearing a chest-length skirt, so it wasn't noticeable even if she ate too much.

The skirt she wore today was lively and playful, so He Ying personally combed Shen Yuan's hair into a lily bun. Shen Yuan sat obediently in front of the dressing table and let her "play with it". "Sister-in-law, how come you can do everything? You are so amazing."

He Ying joked, "Qingdai, pour your daughter a cup of tea. She hasn't stopped talking all morning."

"Hey, sister-in-law, I'm just complimenting you. I really mean it."

He's mother was alone at home with nothing to do today, so she came to Shen's house early. When Shen Yuan heard that her aunt was coming, she couldn't wait to run over to show her the skirt and hair that her sister-in-law made for her.

Mrs. He was also very considerate. When she saw Shen Yuan, she smiled and asked, "Whose family is this pretty girl from? How did you get here?"

"It's from my aunt's house. Aunt, look at my skirt. It's made for me by my sister-in-law."

"You are so beautiful. There is no one prettier than you."

Shen Yuan ran fast, and the two talked for a while before He Ying came over.

"Mom, why didn't grandpa come with you? Isn't he home today?"

"Your grandfather had an old friend, Lord Xu, who was also a Hanlin scholar. Do you still remember him? After retiring, he returned to his hometown, Yangzhou, to live out his days. A few days ago, he heard that your grandfather was going to open a college, so he couldn't sit still and wanted to go to the capital to work together. He received a letter as soon as he arrived in the capital last night. Your grandfather left early this morning."

"I wonder how many people come here to visit Weng Weng's academy."

Old Mrs. He came over in the afternoon, carrying a bucket of fish. The old man didn't ask anyone to help him, but came over with the bucket himself. When he saw Shen Yuan coming, he greeted her, "Manman, come and see the fish that Weng Weng caught for you. We'll grill them tonight."

The old man was in good spirits. Half a barrel of water plus the fish was not light, but he actually carried it in with one hand.

"Grandfather, Mom said you were meeting a friend, why did you go fishing?"

The fish in the bucket were not particularly big, but they were very lively and kept moving in the water.

"It doesn't take too long to meet friends and go fishing at the same time. It's just right. Isn't Manman a big fan of eating fish?"

"Thank you, Weng Weng!"

"Grandfather, have you been planning to open a school for a long time? How come Mr. Xu knows about it?"

Old Master He chuckled, revealing a cunningness that was not in line with his age. He said to the others, "Even if you forget someone, you can't forget him. Old Xu is a wealthy man in Yangzhou. With him here, we don't have to worry about any number of children coming to our academy."

He Jianzhi did not intend to teach only the children of the rich and powerful. If that were the case, there would be no point in running this academy. He was thinking of those children from poor families who could not afford tuition. He would not accept tuition from these children.

…

Shen Yun and Xie Hui were on duty together today. As soon as the bell rang, they left and hurried home to celebrate their birthday with their family. Even Shen Su, who had been coming home late in recent days, left duty early today.

The carriage first went to the Hanlin Academy to pick up Xie Yuan, then turned to the Ministry of Personnel to pick up Shen Su.

Princess Kangle had told the father and son yesterday that they should go to the Shen's house by themselves after finishing their shift. She would go there early in the afternoon and would not wait for them.

The Shen family's carriage was not very spacious, and with four grown men sitting in it, the carriage suddenly seemed crowded.

Especially Shen Xu, when he opened the car curtain, he was shocked to see six eyes staring at him. And the seat next to his father was occupied by Lord Xie, so he had to sit with Xie Hui.

After Shen Su got in the car, he greeted Xie Yuan, then sat down next to Xie Hui with a little embarrassment.

"Brother Shen." Xie Hui greeted Shen Su first. When he saw Shen Su open his mouth, he took the initiative to speak, "Brother Shen, just call me for a date."

Shen Yun smiled and said, "You don't have to be so distant in private. Su'er is a few months older than you, so just call him Big Brother."

Xie Hui readily followed suit and called Shen Su "big brother".

With Shen Yun staring at him, Shen Su had no choice but to accept the call "big brother".

Xie Yuan was smiling the whole time. He said that we didn't need to take a carriage this morning. It was so nice to be here now!