Watching her two sons interact, Chen Zhaoci sighed deeply. She knew that her younger son, not only in childhood but also in the future, would never be able to escape the control of her older son. It was as if her younger son was born to be managed by her older son, but she had already gotten used to it.
Xu Di sat on the edge of the kang (a heated brick bed), looked at the paper, thought for a moment, picked up a pen, circled a few items, and said to Chen Zhaoci, "You should make a few more cotton clothes. Don't worry about the style, just make sure they're warm. Si Ya bought two big pieces of wolf skin on the street last time to make knee pads for me, so you don't need to prepare those."
Looking at the items Xu Di had marked out, Chen Zhaoci said with some concern, "I remember when your father was young, he didn't bring many things in. I heard that you're not allowed to bring too many things in. You're even planning to bring a clay stove. What if they don't allow it?"
Xu Di said confidently, "That's because I haven't taken the imperial examination yet. Don't worry, I guarantee I can lead the fashion and make everyone take me as their role model in the future."
Chen Zhaoci shook his head, indicating that he did not think highly of Xu Di. Xu Di just smiled and, seeing that it was getting late, told everyone to go and rest.
Xu Bai lived in the outer courtyard. He had to follow Xu Di to Xu Di's courtyard before continuing forward. Xu Di led Li Yuexi to his own door and said to Xu Bai, "I'll take you back to your courtyard."
Xu Bai's servants were not allowed to follow him into the inner courtyard; he stayed outside the courtyard the whole time, as there were no maids serving him there.
Xu Bai laughed and said, "Brother, I'm in my own backyard. Are you worried I'll get lost?"
Xu Di chuckled coldly twice and said, "Can you?"
Hearing Xu Di's cold laugh, Xu Bai fell silent and followed Xu Di slowly toward the front yard.
As Xu Di walked, he quietly asked Xu Bai about his time in Liaodong. He also asked a lot of questions about where Wu Muyue had taken him and Chen Yuyuan, what they had done, what books they had read, and what articles they had written. Xu Bai's mind was racing to keep up with Xu Di's questions.
Upon arriving at Xu Bai's courtyard, the two servants who attended to him were already waiting at the gate. Seeing Xu Bai return, they quickly stepped forward to serve him. Xu Bai waved his hand and said to Xu Di, "Brother, would you like to come inside and sit for a while?"
Xu Di shook his head and said, "Go back and get some sleep. You have a lot to do tomorrow."
After returning home, Xu Bai naturally didn't go to sleep immediately. He took the paper Xu Di had given him, looked at it carefully, and combined it with some equations from his memory. He had to admit that his older brother was truly a talent. He had heard that his brother had gone abroad to study on a full scholarship and had earned not just one degree, but several. As a mediocre student, Xu Bai couldn't help but feel humbled.
Nothing happened that night. The next day, Chen Zhaoci took the children to the Chen family home. After a long journey, his parents were very worried about him and he felt it was time to go home and pay his respects to them.
After Chen Yuyuan returned, he went to the Chen family.
After spending the day at the Chen family's house, the Xu family closed their doors to visitors upon returning home. There was someone in the house preparing for the imperial examination, and the environment was too noisy.
The knee pads that Xu Yao made for Xu Di were finally finished two days before the imperial examination.
The wolf skin was very soft after tanning. Xu Yao's needlework wasn't particularly outstanding, but she had put her heart into it, and the knee pads were quite well made.
Xu Di, holding the knee pads, said to Xu Yao, "Thank you, Fourth Sister. You're so kind."
Xu Yao said shyly, "Big brother, you know I'm not good at needlework. I did my best to make it like this. Fortunately, the leather is good, so it's still very warm."
Xu Di laughed and said, "When you wear knee pads inside, who cares if they look good or not? As long as they keep you warm, that's all that matters."
Xu Yao came out of Xu Di's courtyard and happened to meet Xu Zhi who came to deliver something to Xu Di. After exchanging a few words with Xu Zhi, Xu Yao thought for a moment and then went to Ning Shi's courtyard.
In the morning, Ning usually assigned household affairs in the passageway of her own courtyard. The head maids could come to Ning at this time if they had any matters to attend to, and Ning would also give instructions at this time.
When Xu Yao arrived, there were still a few head maids who hadn't left yet. When they saw Xu Yao, they quickly bowed to her.
Ning asked Xu Yao to wait in the inner room. After she had dismissed the head maid outside, a maidservant served Ning hot tea. Ning drank a large bowl in two gulps before asking, "Did you come here at this hour for something?"
Xu Yao smiled and poured Ning Shi another cup of tea, saying, "Mother, I remember you told me that you had prepared several dowry shops for me. Now you're giving me two, and I'll learn how to manage them. What do you think, Mother?"
Upon hearing this, Madam Ning looked at Xu Yao suspiciously and said, "What are you planning now? You don't even have a husband's family yet, and you're already thinking about preparing your dowry. How can that be reasonable?"
Xu Yao pulled on Ning Shi's arm and shook it gently, saying coquettishly, "Mother, now that I've mastered the skills, I won't have to learn them again when I get married with the shop in the future. That will save me from so many detours. Mother, please agree."
Ning Shi didn't believe that this was Xu Yao's idea. No one knows a daughter better than her mother. Ning Shi had raised Xu Yao to this age, so she naturally knew that her pampered daughter had always been impatient with such mundane affairs. She must have some other purpose in wanting to take two shops from her to learn how to manage them.
Seeing that her mother didn't believe her, Xu Yao moved closer to Ning Shi and sat down next to her, saying, "Mother, please just agree to my request this once. If you don't believe me, you can arrange two managers for me. I'll learn how to manage the shop properly from the managers. As for other things in the shop, I won't interfere, okay?"
Hearing this, Ning's heart softened a little. In fact, what Xu Yao said made a lot of sense. These were things that had to be learned sooner or later. Learning them early would save her from not knowing anything when she got the shop and having to take many detours. It was really beneficial.
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