The Gu family liked Xue Qianyu quite a bit, not because of the expensive gifts he gave, but because they thought he was a polite and reliable person, even though he didn't talk much.
Xue Qianyu chose the finest tea, an inkstone, and a packet of flower seeds for Grandpa Gu. He gave Uncle Gu a hunting set and Uncle Gu a woodworking set, which he obtained from the Vice Minister of the Ministry of Works. Although the Vice Minister was the same age as his father, he owed Xue Qianyu a favor. Xue Qianyu also gave Gu Shouxin an inkstone and a rare book. He gave Gu En a set of writing brushes, ink, paper, and books, and Gu Ren a set of toys typical of children in the capital.
As for the women of the Gu family, they were all made of cloth. He didn't give Gu Nian any special treatment, since Gu Nian would get a share of the clothes made from the cloth anyway.
Even Gu Sangu's family of three received gifts.
Gu Shouxin took the gifts he had received home and muttered to Cai Xiaolian, "This Xue family boy is always out and about and understands human relationships better than Li Muyan. He's steady and reserved. If he were with Niannian, Li Muyan would probably be left crying."
Cai Xiaolian laughed and said, "That's right! Mu Yan is a year older than him, but he hasn't gone out much since he was a child, so he's definitely not as mature as Xue Xiao Er. But it's okay, his bad luck won't last much longer. He's so smart, he probably won't be any worse than Xue Xiao Er in the future."
The couple didn't say much. Judging from how Gu Nian had been acting lately, they knew that their eldest daughter must have taken a liking to Li Muyan. Saying anything more would only cause her trouble.
Both of them are shrewd and intelligent; how could they not see Xue Qianyu's feelings for Gu Nian?
What the two of them didn't expect was that Xue Xiaoer had also arranged for a nobody undercover agent, Gu En, who was unknown to everyone except Lu Zheng and Huo Junhao. No one could have imagined that the aloof Xue Qianyu would make Gu En willingly become his undercover agent.
The Li family gave quite a lot of gifts, and they were very valuable. Uncle Gu even joked that the most expensive thing he had ever seen since he was born was thanks to Gu Nian.
Grandma Gu glared at him, and without a word, he obediently got out.
...
During the first month of the lunar calendar, everyone was relaxed and had a very pleasant time.
On the fourteenth day of the first lunar month, the Huo family came to pick them up. After the Lantern Festival, the brother and sister would return to Nan County together. Huo Junhao would prepare for the exam, while Huo Yanyu would accompany her brother to study.
This might be the last time they go out to play before returning to the capital. Huo Yanyu and Huo Junhao discussed that this Lantern Festival, the siblings would try to guess all the lanterns in Qingzhou Prefecture.
This time, the entire Gu family was mobilized, leaving the household affairs to Meng Erniangzi and Meng Siniangzi, as they still had to feed the pigs and chickens.
"Sister Xin, why are you so downcast? Were you unhappy going to see the lanterns in the capital?" The carriage had already traveled quite a distance when Huo Yanyu noticed that Gu Xin, who was usually the most cheerful, was not saying a word.
"No!" Gu Xin shook her head.
"You've been bored for most of the way, and still nothing? Do you think we're all blind?" Gu Nian said irritably.
Gu Xin glanced outside and saw that Lu Zheng was chatting with Huo Junhao.
But she was worried that if she spoke now, people outside would hear.
She was actually thinking about what gift to give her Yuanyuan.
This morning, her parents mentioned that it was her birthday tomorrow, and then she remembered that it was also Yuanyuan's birthday.
She's been so happy lately that she forgot about Yuanyuan's birthday, and of course, she forgot about her own.
I'm so worried!
Tomorrow's the deadline!
What if Brother Yuanyuan prepared something for me, but I didn't?
Several girls on the bus looked at Gu Xin, wondering what she meant by glancing outside.
"What are we going to do when we get to the prefectural city?" Gu Xin asked, trying to find a topic to talk about since everyone was looking at her.
"Mother said that after tidying up the yard, we'll go to Aunt Luo's house to deliver the gifts first, and then go back to Third Aunt's for dinner." Gu Nian said, glancing at Gu Xin with a puzzled look, "Is something wrong?"
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