Chapter 447 sets the stage.
It wasn't convenient to talk at the teahouse entrance, so Ding Anbo turned sideways, bowed, and reached out his hand, making a gesture to lead Xing Yu and Chang Siyuan into the fellow villager's building, while he himself remained waiting at the entrance.
"Hey, Lao Chang, you're something else."
Now that you're in the system, you can't possibly remain completely silent.
What's wrong?
Are you really afraid I'll try to curry favor with you?
Chang Siyuan felt somewhat helpless at Xing Yu's teasing dissatisfaction, but still shook his head without explaining. Instead, he took two quick steps forward and went upstairs, pushing open the door and entering.
Xing Yu knew that walls have ears, but she genuinely felt that Chang Siyuan was being dishonest by not telling her such big news.
The worst part is that I found out about this through Ding Amber!
Although Ding Anbo's attempt to sow discord was quite obvious, Xing Yu had considered herself a friend who had shared secrets with Chang Siyuan over the past few days. Yet, he hadn't told her about such a big matter. So, it seemed that Xing Yu's definition of a friend was just wishful thinking on her part.
In addition, Xing Yu also felt that as a businessman, his information channels were not as good as these people's!
"It seems that after leaving this building today, I'll have to think carefully about how to build my own secure messaging network."
Xing Yu followed behind Chang Siyuan. After Chang Siyuan opened the door, she casually glanced inside and saw a handsome man in white sitting at the head of the table.
Then came Li San Niang, who sat three seats away from the man.
Li San Niang turned around and looked at the door. When she saw Xing Yu and Chang Siyuan, she breathed a slight sigh of relief.
Just after Li San Niang and the white-clad man who introduced himself as Ding Mingxuan exchanged greetings, an awkward atmosphere ensued.
Li San Niang felt somewhat uneasy when facing this person who was clearly the one in charge behind Ding Anbo.
So, after Ding Mingxuan introduced himself as Ding Anbo's cousin, he didn't know what else to say to Ding Mingxuan.
However, Ding Mingxuan had clearly gathered the extraordinary people together today because he had something to say, so he didn't deliberately talk to Li Sanniang who had arrived earlier.
Ding Mingxuan simply got up, poured Li San Niang a cup of tea, pushed the plate of snacks towards her, and then said nothing more.
Just as Li San Niang was feeling embarrassed, Chang Siyuan and Xing Yu entered.
"Oh, Miss Li is here early?"
As soon as Xing Yu uttered those lively and cheerful words, Li San Niang felt as if the awkward, icy atmosphere between herself and Ding Mingxuan had been broken.
"He just arrived, and hasn't even finished a cup of tea yet."
Li San Niang picked up the teacup she was holding and gestured to Xing Yu who was walking over.
When Chang Siyuan and Xing Yu walked to the round table, Ding Mingxuan also spoke, and the four of them exchanged greetings and bows.
Then, Xing Yu sat to Li San Niang's left, and Chang Siyuan sat to Li San Niang's right, so that there were two seats between Chang Siyuan and Ding Mingxuan.
Li San Niang lowered her head to hide her eyes, and in her heart she had some guesses about Chang Siyuan's behavior.
Just as Ding Mingxuan got up to pour tea for Xing Yu and Chang Siyuan, the door to the room was pushed open again.
The woman who entered was short, somewhat hunched over, with obvious wrinkles on her face and a deep tan.
Of those present, only Ding Mingxuan was completely unsurprised; Li Sanniang, Xing Yu, and Ding Anbo were all quite astonished.
"I was prejudiced. The moment I transmigrated and realized that there were others like me, I knew that it was the Martial Emperor who had already become the supreme ruler."
Then, one after another, the other transmigrators he came into contact with were all from wealthy families, and it was even obvious that they came from local powerful clans. For example, Ding Anbo and Ding Mingxuan were such people.
So, I never imagined that being reborn as a beggar was actually possible, let alone just as a poor commoner.
As the old woman approached, Li San Niang judged from her complexion that she must be over forty years old, which was not a young age at the time, and she was also the oldest person present.
"My name is Bi Qionglan. I greet you all."
Ding Anbo was originally standing to pour tea for Xing Yu and Chang Siyuan, but after greeting Bi Qionglan, he took the teapot and went to Bi Qionglan's seat, pouring tea for her first.
Although Ding Mingxuan could use such a seemingly respectful and caring manner, as if he were simply offering tea to the older people first, the other three people present—Li Sanniang, Xing Yu, and Chang Siyuan—exchanged glances and all understood that this woman named Bi Qionglan probably had some tricks up her sleeve.
At least, in Ding Mingxuan's eyes, none of the three of them could be more valuable than Bi Qionglan.
However, after pouring tea for Bi Qionglan, Ding Mingxuan naturally turned back to pour tea for Xing Yu and Chang Siyuan, and then sat back down in his seat.
By the way, Bi Qionglan sat one seat away from Xing Yu.
The current situation has somewhat resembled a three-way power struggle.
Ding Anbo and Ding Mingxuan, who are still outside, are on one side; Li Sanniang, Xing Yu, and Chang Siyuan are on another side; and Bi Qionglan is on her own. It's getting more and more interesting.
When Ding Mingxuan returned to his seat, the entire room fell silent.
Judging from Ding Mingxuan's expression, Li Sanniang knew that more people would be coming, so this was not a good time to speak.
Furthermore, Li San Niang also used her X-ray vision this time, pretending to casually scan the house while actually using X-ray vision to see through it.
"That's strange, this time they really didn't plant anyone in the shadows!"
Although she knew no one else was watching, Li San Niang felt she should be more careful, because this situation didn't seem like a good thing.
However, just as Li San Niang was wondering what kind of people might come, Bi Qionglan spoke up: "I won't say where they come from; that's our personal privacy."
However, there's something I need to tell you upfront.
When I died in my previous life, I was already seventy-eight years old. I came into this life at only thirty-nine, so I've gained several decades.
When Xiao Ding contacted me before, I guessed that none of you would live as long as I did. From now on, you can just call me Grandma Bi.
Just as Bi Qionglan seemed about to say something more, the door to the room was pushed open again.
Besides Ding Anbo, who had been greeting people outside the teahouse, another person who came was a young woman who looked to be about the same age as Li San Niang.
Jiang Yiyun first looked at Ding Mingxuan, who was sitting in the honored seat, and then looked at each of the people sitting at the round table in a clockwise direction.
Li San Niang clearly sensed that when Jiang Yijun looked at her, he lingered for about two seconds longer than when he looked at Chang Siyuan.
"Did they find out about me beforehand? Are they curious about me? Or perhaps..."
"I am Jiang Yijun, greetings to all of you."
Without hesitation, Jiang Yijun walked to the seat between Xing Yu and Bi Qionglan and sat down. After Ding Mingxuan got up and poured tea for Jiang Yijun, Bi Qionglan spoke up again: "I thought it was just the few of us. I didn't expect there to be a young lady here."
Bi Qionglan then mentioned her age again, and Jiang Yijun adapted quickly, immediately exclaiming, "Grandma Bi is amazing! I heard that Grandma Bi has been specially approved to enter the Ministry of Agriculture. Congratulations, Grandma Bi!"
Only then did Bi Qionglan show a surprised expression. Li Sanniang's look at Bi Qionglan was as if to say, "How did this young girl know I had entered the Ministry of Agriculture?"
However, Bi Qionglan didn't actually say anything, she just nodded.
Meanwhile, Xing Yu was thinking to herself, "Good grief, am I the only nobody here?"
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