Grandma Xiao presented her gift, and Lu Zheng also took out his own gift.
His gifts were quite proper and not at all excessive: two jars of wine, a box of tea, and a set of books, almost all of which were for Gu Shouxin.
Gu Shouxin was quite satisfied with this. This kid had been living in the village for so long, and he hadn't deliberately tried to get close to him like before. He couldn't find any fault with what he had done.
Cai Xiaolian and Gu Nian were more than happy for him to get close to Gu Shouxin. Anyway, they had a lot of confidence in the Ninth Prince, and that this brat couldn't outmaneuver him.
Grandma Gu and Grandma Xiao went to stroll around the courtyard and chat.
The men were all warming themselves by the fire in the main room.
Gu Nian started cooking. The main dish for lunch was Laba porridge, corresponding to today's date.
A little while later, more people came in from outside.
When Gu Shouxin opened the door, he saw that it was Madam Cheng with her children.
Since Lord Cheng didn't come, Gu Shouxin had to ask Cai Xiaolian to greet Madam Cheng and bring Cheng Rui to the main room.
The Gu family did not invite the Cheng family, but they did not know how Madam Cheng found out. Since the people came, they naturally had to be treated well.
Lunch was served on two tables, and Gu Nian's cooking skills were naturally excellent.
Gu Nian also prepared new dishes for the Lunar New Year. She teaches the chefs at Zuijianglou to cook at the end of each month, and she already taught them the previous month's dishes for the twelfth lunar month.
After the meal, since Madam Cheng and her three children were there, the people from the old house and Grandma Xiao and her grandson went back.
"Miss Niannian, may I visit your small workshop? I heard Jin'er mention it last time and was very interested." Cheng Rui approached Gu Nian when she had some free time and asked.
“Sure, let’s go!” Gu Nian wasn’t afraid of people visiting the lab.
"I'll go with you!" Gu Hui frowned and glanced at Cheng Rui, then looked at her younger siblings and the magistrate's son and daughter who were playing happily in the corridor, and followed them.
The three of them went to the laboratory together. Cheng Rui was much more obedient than Cheng Huaijin. He only asked questions about those he didn't know or was curious about, without reaching out to touch them.
Gu Hui walked beside Gu Nian with her arms crossed, her expression indifferent, much like Grandma Gu.
After seeing the Cheng family off in the afternoon, Gu Hui called Gu Nian aside and said, "The eldest son of the county magistrate seems to have feelings for you."
"Huh? Sister Huihui, you're so perceptive?" Gu Nian said in surprise.
"My gut feeling is that he might genuinely be interested in you, but he also has ulterior motives. You shouldn't have introduced yourself to him in such detail," Gu Hui said.
"Do you think he wants to learn how to make all the things in my lab?" Gu Nian asked.
"I don't know, but I feel like the way he looks at you isn't entirely innocent. It's good to be careful; this is your livelihood, and you don't want others to learn it! Especially not those men with impure motives!" Gu Hui shook her head.
"Sister Huihui, thank you for your concern! But I'm not afraid, really. He can't learn it. But you don't need to worry about him liking me, because I don't like him, hehe, he's too young." Gu Nianzhen treated Gu Hui like a sister, so she didn't hide anything from her.
"He's three years older than you, right? Still young?" Gu Hui asked in surprise.
“I’m not talking about his physical age, but his mental age. You, a sixteen-year-old girl, can see through his little schemes. Isn’t that a bit too much?” Gu Nian explained.
Gu Hui: "...I don't know if you're belittling me or someone else. But you'd better watch yourself!"
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