When Village Chief Ma and the Party Secretary heard Fu Qingping call out "Old Ye," their hearts sank. But the man immediately shut up. The two nodded to each other inwardly, thinking that the daughter-in-law of an educated family was indeed sensible.
Yan Xiaonan's consciousness had been focused on everything that was happening. When she learned that they were coming, she couldn't help but sigh. She told her grandmother that Ye Chenming's grandfather had arrived and that he was now an old man.
Grandma Yan understood: "My dear, you must be Ye Chenming's grandfather's teacher, otherwise why would he be called 'Old Master'?"
Yan Xiaonan thought for a moment. Since the Party Secretary and the others called Ye Chenming's grandfather "Old Gentleman," then his grandfather must have made some contributions, but the time for the award had not yet come. She hesitated and said, "Grandma, I'm not sure either. The time hasn't come yet, and many things haven't been settled."
Grandma Yan's heart raced, and even the little fairy hesitated. Could they be the kind of teachers who served the emperor in ancient times? Oh dear, what are they doing here? Close the door!
Seeing that Grandma Yan was about to close the door, Yan Xiaonan laughed: "Grandma, you are the head of the Yan family, how can you be so cowardly?"
"What? I'm a coward? Qiangzi, open the door! I want to see what the Imperial Tutor looks like!" Grandma Yan said, her head held high.
"What is the Imperial Tutor, Mother?" Yan Xiaoqiang was confused; he couldn't understand what his mother was saying.
"The emperor's teacher, you idiot." Grandma Yan rolled her eyes at Yan Xiaoqiang. He was incredibly stupid. How did he become the father of the little fairy?
Yan Xiaoqiang was confused. Wasn't the emperor's teacher the Imperial Tutor? How did it become the Imperial Tutor?
Grandma Yan stood at the door, with Yan Xiaoqiang and Cuihua on either side. Yan Xiaonan covered her mouth and laughed. No matter how you looked at it, her grandma's legs were still trembling a little, and her parents were supporting her on both sides.
Ye Ren had already spotted the three people at the Yan family's door. He quickly jogged forward and greeted them from afar: "Hello, Sister-in-law Yan. I am Ye Ren, Fu Qingping's husband."
Seeing Ye Ren's approachable manner, Grandma Yan's legs immediately straightened, and she stood up straight, determined not to embarrass the Yan family.
"You must be the man of my darling's mother's master, right?" Grandma Yan's words immediately confused everyone.
Ye Chenming and the others almost laughed themselves silly at Ye Ren's bewildered look. Fu Qingping pointed at Cuihua and said, "Old Ye, this is Yan Xiaonan's mother, Cuihua. She is now my apprentice, and Yan Xiaonan is this sister-in-law Yan's granddaughter."
"Oh, I see. Yes, I am Ye Ren, the man of your darling's mother's master." Ye Ren immediately took a liking to the old lady of the Yan family's humor. No wonder she could give birth to children like Yan Xiaonan and Yan Aidang.
"Come in, come in," Grandma Yan invited.
As soon as the group sat down, Xuemei made several cups of malted milk powder. Since they were all officials, she had to treat them well.
Ye Ren quickly stood up and took it: "I'm so sorry, I'm really sorry. You're pregnant, please don't overwork yourself."
With just this one gesture, he won the favor of the Yan family, especially Cuihua. If this master was really the imperial tutor that her mother had mentioned, what a high-ranking official he must be! Yet he was so humble; he truly had excellent family upbringing.
Taking advantage of this moment, Village Chief Ma took out the pre-prepared forms and had Fu Qingping and Ye Huixian sign them. There were three copies: one to be sent to their place of origin, one to be kept on his own file, and one to be left at the village committee.
Seeing Fu Qingping and Ye Huixian's beautiful signatures, Village Chief Ma thought that all the women in the village should go to school in the future. The village had previously run literacy classes, but they ended up becoming chat classes. They didn't learn many characters, but they were quite good at swearing. This angered several teachers who came from the town, who turned around and left, and refused to come to Mushroom Village to carry out literacy classes again.
Cuihua and Xuemei were in the kitchen discussing what dishes to prepare to entertain the Imperial Tutor. After all, this Imperial Tutor was their grandmaster, and it was only right to cook a meal for him, both in terms of etiquette and other aspects.
But Ye Ren didn't think that way. He had learned about the Yan family from all aspects. The Yan family was well-off, but they were usually very low-key. He was unwilling to put the Yan family in danger for the sake of his own appetite, especially since the market was not yet fully open.
He gave the driver a wink, and the driver understood. He immediately went into the kitchen and whispered a few words to Cuihua. Cuihua nodded. Since it was inconvenient for Master to stay for dinner, she would pack up more of the rice cakes she had made and give them to them to take away.
Ye Huixian was delighted to see the rice cake and quickly took it with both hands, holding it tightly. Ye Ren saw this and felt heartbroken. He had raised his little daughter like a princess, but when had she ever cared so much about a bag of pastries? It seemed that his little daughter had suffered a lot over the years.
Ye Ren bowed to Grandma Yan to express his gratitude for the Yan family's help and care over the years. He also expressed his full approval of the relationship between Yan Aidang and Ye Chen'er.
Before leaving, he walked up to Yan Xiaonan and said, "You must be Yan Xiaonan. I am very grateful to you for giving my grandchildren hope during these difficult years. I will make Chenming a useful person and will not let you down."
Yan Xiaonan~
Yan Xiaoqiang began to wonder to himself, "What does this imperial tutor mean? What hope does my daughter have for him? Is he here to kidnap my daughter? These two are shameless."
Grandma Yan understood Ye Ren's meaning and gave Yan Xiaonan a subtle look, as if to say, "Little girl, you have a secret. I'll ask you later."
Ye Ren, along with his wife and daughter, went to the village committee with the Party Secretary and the village head. They had extended a warm invitation, and it would be disrespectful not to go for a meal. There wasn't much good food in the village these days, though there was plenty of white rice, pork, and wild vegetables, but unfortunately, the villagers weren't very good at cooking.
After the meal, Ye Ren took out a large kraft paper envelope from his briefcase and handed it to the Party Secretary: "We will not take a single needle or thread from the masses. This is an ironclad discipline. This is our meal expenses for today, and also a small token of our appreciation to Mushroom Village and your town. Please accept it."
The Party Secretary took the thick, large envelope, somewhat confused. Wasn't Mr. Ye a professor? How did he become a soldier? Only soldiers have that iron discipline of not taking the masses' time or effort. Isn't there a song that goes like that?
Fu Qingping left, leaving Cuihua his home address and phone number before he left. He told Cuihua to come visit him in Shanghai whenever she had time, and not to forget him. He also told her to practice her embroidery regularly and not to neglect it.
Cuihua nodded repeatedly. How could she forget her master? That would be a sin against heaven! And embroidery, her favorite thing, she couldn't let it go to waste. But where was Shanghai? She didn't know the place. Maybe she could ask Nannan; the little girl might know.
Ye Chenming and Ye Chen'er did not go to eat; instead, they took the letter their grandfather had secretly given them and returned to the cowshed.
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