The Feng family arrived quickly. Besides Granny Chen from before, there was a person who looked like a manager and a maid who looked about seventeen or eighteen years old.
Granny Lu and Zhang Zhaoci greeted them at the door, with Xu Di and a group of younger siblings following behind. After exchanging pleasantries, they got straight to the point, with Xu Di leading Feng Zijie, the ten-year-old great-grandson of the Feng family, to join the barbecue party.
With the help of the maid who had brought him along, Feng Zijie took off his fox fur coat and hat, looking quite clean and fair. However, compared to the Zhang family children and Xu Bai, who were used to exercising, he looked somewhat weak.
The two older brothers of the Zhang family took care of Feng Zijie, doing this and that. Zhang Yukang and Zhang Yuyuan took Xu Bai outside to grill this and that. After grilling, they put the grilled meat on a plate and brought it into the room. Feng Zijie's maid looked at the dark, charred meat. Although it smelled very tempting, it didn't look very appetizing. She was afraid that her young master would get an upset stomach after eating it. However, the young master had just cried, made a fuss, and acted spoiled in front of the old lady because of this grilled meat. The old lady was so bothered that she sent Chen Mama to inquire.
Zhang Zhaoci and Granny Lu sat with Granny Chen on the kang (heated brick bed) in the room, drinking tea and watching the children make a fuss.
With a smile, Granny Chen said, "The young masters in this household are all outstanding individuals. It's rare to find someone who can do so many things. They are sure to have a bright future."
Zhang Zhaoci smiled and said, "You flatter me, Granny. They're all mischievous little monkeys, and they're hard to manage. So we just let them cause trouble. Once they've had their fill, they'll stop."
Granny Chen said, "That's good. Children raised this way will be more lively."
Xu Bai came over with a bunch of grilled meat skewers and said, "Granny, Mother, these are grilled by Bai'er himself. They taste very good. Please try them."
Granny Lu said with delight, "Oh my, our Seventh Young Master can actually do chores now! Thank you so much, Granny Lu."
Bai Kou, the maidservant of Granny Lu, quickly took a clean plate, put the meat skewers on the plate, and then placed the plate on the kang table.
Xu Bai, seeing that the meat skewers were ready, urged, "Granny, Mother, you eat first, I'll go grill some more. My brothers are eating while grilling, I have to snatch them from their mouths to get these skewers."
After Xu Bai finished speaking, he hurriedly ran outside to the grill. The people who were skewering meat inside had all gone out. Zhang Zhaoci looked at the skewers on the plate. They were all skewered with bamboo sticks that Xu Di had made himself. The meat was good quality and tender and delicious after grilling. Zhang Zhaoci picked up a skewer, put it on a handkerchief, and handed it to Granny Chen, saying, "Granny, please try it."
After thanking her, Granny Chen took the bag and took a small bite. Then, she noticeably quickened her pace and asked with a smile, "Sister Chen, is the taste alright?"
Granny Chen said, "No wonder our young master cried and insisted on coming here. The taste is really indescribable. I never expected your meat to be so delicious. This is the best meat skewers I have ever eaten."
Xu Di had just come in from outside when he heard what Granny Chen said. He was thinking to himself that it was worth it to ask someone from the south to find some lemons for him just for this meal. He added some lemon juice when marinating the meat, which made it taste better than ordinary roasted meat. With his own secret roasting seasoning, it would be strange if it didn't taste good.
Xu Di has always felt that when taking children out for a barbecue, the process of barbecuing is something that children should enjoy more than the taste of the meat.
The small courtyard was noisy until quite late. Xu Di saw that it was getting late, so he chased his cousins to the back room to wash up and go to bed.
The young master of the Feng family had already been taken back to rest by Granny Chen. After settling his younger brothers, Xu Di returned to the front yard. He thought that his mother would definitely ask Granny Lu about the Feng family.
As expected, when Xu Di arrived, Zhang Zhaoci and Granny Lu were already sitting around the kang table, talking about the Feng family.
This is actually a story about a noblewoman's daughter who, after falling on hard times, persevered and became self-reliant.
The old lady of the Feng family was once famous throughout the capital. She was someone that many sons of noble families wanted to get close to. However, the old lady of the Feng family was aloof and indifferent to everyone.
Madam Feng was born into the Jiang family of the Marquis of Anping's mansion. Madam Feng's mother was the Marquis of Anping's second wife, while the Marquis of Anping's first wife was the second wife's elder sister. The Marquis of Anping's first wife died not long after giving birth to her child. In order to save the two children she left with the Marquis of Anping, she forced the Marquis of Anping to marry her half-sister before she died. At that time, the Marquis of Anping's elder sister thought that this half-sister was gentle and easy to manipulate, and that even if she had bad intentions towards the children, her own family would not stand idly by.
After Madam Feng's mother married into the Marquis of Anping's household, she gave birth to Madam Feng three years later. Madam Feng's mother was not good at raising children, but fortunately, Madam Feng did have a talent for studying. After studying with the tutor hired by the household for a few years, she became a famous talented woman in the capital.
Madam Feng's father had several concubines and several illegitimate sons and daughters in the household. Madam Feng's mother was gentle and weak, and the power to manage the household was controlled by one of Marquis Anping's favored concubines. Because of this, Madam Feng's life in the household was not very good.
Although there was a few years difference in age between Madam Feng and the late Empress Dowager, they were taught by the same teacher and shared some friendship as classmates. In addition, they had similar interests and got along well. The late Empress Dowager helped to arrange a marriage between Madam Feng and a prince who was a cousin of hers who loved poetry. Madam Feng and the prince had met several times and, because of their shared interests, they were attracted to each other.
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