Han Mingyue put down her book, looked in the direction of Gu Lili's house, and then picked up her book again to read.
Seeing that his young master was ignoring him, Yuanbao had no choice but to give up.
"How about we go over and take a look?"
Yuanbao's eyes lit up when he heard what Han Mingyue said.
He had smelled the aroma of food across the street early in the morning, and wondered if he could still get a bite if he went over now.
Since the academy was full of men, it wasn't appropriate to have maids serve them, so the task of cooking fell to Laifu.
He can cook, but that's all he can do—cook the rice until it's cooked through.
Before Han Mingyue ate at Gu Lili's house, he thought Yuanbao's cooking was acceptable. But ever since he ate at Gu Lili's house, he always felt that no matter where he ate, it was always a little lacking.
So, just like Yuanbao, he couldn't concentrate on his studies once he smelled the delicious aroma from across the street.
Today is the day Gu Lili's family moves, so naturally they can't go empty-handed.
"Laifu, take out my piece of pine soot ink. I heard that Lili's younger brother is also coming to our family's academy to study, so take it and give it to him," Han Mingyue said.
Upon hearing his young master's words, Yuanbao hurriedly retrieved the pine soot ink.
Although this pine soot ink is valuable, it is nothing to a merchant family like the Han family.
The two, master and servant, carrying the gifts, headed towards Gu Lili's house.
As soon as I entered the courtyard, the unique aroma of meat that I had smelled earlier wafted over me.
Since Gu Lili and the others had already eaten lunch, Gu Lili didn't serve all of the braised pork intestines and blood curd she had just made; she left some for dinner.
"Brother Mingyue, you're here!" Gu Yanyu was the first to spot Han Mingyue approaching and ran over with a smile.
Gu Lili and the other two looked up towards the door and saw Han Mingyue and Laifu standing there.
Han Mingyue nodded to Gu Lili and smiled, "I heard that Yan Yu will also be going to the academy to study tomorrow, so I came here to give him a small gift."
As he spoke, he gestured for Laifu to hand the gift to Gu Yanyu.
Gu Huanhuan and Gu Yunchu both curiously leaned closer to see what it was.
"Beep, pine soot ink, sixty-six taels of silver."
Gu Lili also looked over, and the mechanical voice entered her mind, which truly startled her.
She wasn't very close to Han Mingyue, so it was hard for her to accept that she was being given such an expensive gift.
“Mingyue, I have already prepared Yanyu’s writing materials. Your pine soot ink is too valuable, so please take it back!” Gu Lili quickly refused.
Even if we become neighbors in the future, I would feel embarrassed to accept such an expensive gift.
Han Mingyue was rather curious. Before Gu Lili was made a village head, she was just a village girl. How could she know about pine soot ink?
Suppressing her doubts, Han Mingyue said, "It's alright, I have plenty of ink like this, no need to be polite! Besides, Yan Yu and I will be classmates from now on, it's normal for classmates to exchange gifts."
As he spoke, he had Yuanbao hand the pine soot ink to Gu Yanyu.
The pine soot ink in Gu Yanyu's hand suddenly became a hot potato. He hurriedly handed it to Yuanbao, but Yuanbao had already retreated behind Han Mingyue.
He looked helplessly at Gu Lili, who thought for a moment and then nodded, indicating that Gu Yanyu should accept the pine soot ink.
Seeing her sister nod, Gu Yanyu thanked Han Mingyue, saying, "Thank you, Brother Mingyue!"
“Since it’s a gift, there should be a return gift. I’ll give Mingyue a return gift on behalf of Yan Yu!” Gu Lili said with a smile.
This is also a way of teaching my younger siblings that no matter when or where, they should never try to take advantage of others.
A relationship, regardless of its nature, can only last if there is give and take.
As Gu Lili spoke, she turned and went into her room. When she came out again, she was holding a set of wolf-hair brushes.
Gu Lili smiled and handed over the wolf howl in her hand, saying, "I bought this in Donghai Town a few days ago. I don't know if Mingyue will be able to use it."
I bought this from the mall. Although it wasn't as expensive as Han Mingyue's, the craftsmanship was still quite exquisite.
Han Mingyue took the wolf-hair brush from Gu Lili and examined it closely.
The handle of that wolf-hair brush was made of sandalwood, and you could faintly smell the sandalwood fragrance. For a moment, I was quite fond of it.
If he weren't still at Gu Lili's house right now, he would really like to write a few words and try out this pen.
"Lili is too kind. I think this wolf hair brush is of the highest quality. Then I will thank you in return."
Suppressing her inner impulse, Han Mingyue bowed to thank Gu Lili and then asked Yuanbao to put the wolf-hair brush away.
Yuanbao put away his brush and asked with a smile, "Village head, what delicious food are you cooking today? It smells so good."
As he spoke, he took a deep breath, as if trying to inhale all the fragrance in the air into his nostrils.
Yuanbao encouraged his young master to come over, just so he could get a free meal.
But it wasn't mealtime, so Yuanbao had no choice but to ask directly.
Seeing Yuanbao's expression, Gu Huanhuan secretly covered her mouth and chuckled.
Seeing this, Han Mingyue said with a stern face, "Yuanbao, you little rascal, how come I didn't notice? When did you become so greedy? Is it because the Han family is starving you or something!"
Although Han Mingyue's appetite was whetted by the aroma in the air.
However, I still felt a little awkward.
"Brother Mingyue, what's the big deal? My sister's cooking is always delicious. Just like Brother Yuanbao, I get so hungry when I smell this!" Gu Yanyu said mischievously.
Gu Lili also understood the meaning behind Yuanbao's words. Moreover, while Han Mingyue was blaming Yuanbao, her eyes kept glancing at her own kitchen.
Han Mingyue was probably also curious about what delicious food her family had made today.
This fatty intestine isn't anything valuable, and besides, they even gave me such an expensive piece of pine soot ink.
Gu Lili immediately waved her hand and said, "Oh, it's just some simple food. Why don't Mingyue and Yuanbao try some?"
"That would be so embarrassing!" Han Mingyue immediately waved her hand and said.
Without saying a word, Gu Yanyu grabbed Han Mingyue's hand and led them towards the kitchen.
Once in the kitchen, Gu Huanhuan took out the pork intestines from the cupboard and added two more sets of bowls and chopsticks to the table.
The pork intestines were in the pot the whole time, and they were only recently scooped out, so there's no need to reheat them.
"We haven't touched this, you two come and have a taste!" Gu Lili said with a smile.
Han Mingyue had already been warmly persuaded by Gu Yanyu to sit at the table, and with the food already laid out, it would be inappropriate to refuse any longer.
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