Rong Zhaonan remained silent, pretending not to understand that Old Tang was being sarcastic, and went in to sit at the dining table.
Ning Yuan didn't notice that Tang Lao was mocking Rong Zhaonan; she only felt that Tang Lao's ideas were very advanced and had the style of a Shanghai intellectual.
She nodded vigorously: "That's right, mountains crumble and people run away, you still have to rely on yourself."
Rong Zhaonan glanced at her. He didn't feel anything no matter what Old Tang said, but Ning Yuan's agreement sounded inexplicably jarring to him.
Old Master Tang ignored him, pushed up his glasses, and sat down: "My wife and I have discussed it. We can't keep relying on your hard-earned money. We still have a few old items here. We'll exchange them for what we can. This will be a lot of work for you."
Ning Yuan kept buying medicine from the black market in the county town, and with his own acupuncture treatment, combining traditional Chinese and Western medicine, his health had improved a lot. He didn't want to keep causing them trouble.
Rong Zhaonan had no intention of continuing his relationship with Ning Yuan. If he left, Ning Yuan would have no prey to sell for money.
He read the newspaper at the time, and besides pondering the situation, he also pondered this matter, which is why he pulled Rong Zhaonan out to ask him today.
He couldn't let his last disciple be left alone and helpless; he had to find a way for the boy to make a living.
After saying that, he glared at Rong Zhaonan again.
If it weren't for the fact that this kid works during the day, goes hunting in the mountains at night, and also helps the two of them push the manure cart and tidy up the yard.
He has to kick him out.
Rong Zhaonan: "..."
Old Master Tang's favoritism is outrageous.
Ning Yuan glanced at the bowl, tilted her head and thought for a moment, then agreed: "Okay."
Intellectuals have their pride, and besides, she knew that Grandpa Tang and Grandma Xia actually felt sorry for them being tired.
“But Grandma Xia can’t keep stealing chicken bowls, chicken feed troughs, cow water tanks from other people…” Ning Yuan looked at Grandma Xia seriously.
Even if the items originally belonged to Grandma Xia's ancestral home, since they were distributed as collective property, stealing them back would easily offend people.
It also makes it easy for people to label her as a landlord's wife retaliating against the landlord.
Grandma Xia lowered her eyelids, looking somewhat depressed, and said sullenly, "Do you think I'm that stupid? It's only because Old Sixth Granny always talks so meanly about me that I took her pig-feeding bowl."
Ning Yuan also understood that given Xia Apo's status, being spoken ill of was the least of her worries; in the past, she had executed many wealthy and unscrupulous landlords.
"Don't worry, your grandmother still has a few things left, all of which she hid herself," Grandpa Tang said.
Grandma Xia was unreliable, but Grandpa Tang's words put Ning Yuan at ease.
She thought for a moment, then took a cloth and washed the bowl clean, revealing its snow-white base and the exquisite floral and bird enamel patterns on it.
"She really is quite beautiful," Ning Yuan couldn't help but say.
"That's right, this is a masterpiece from the Yongzheng imperial kiln!" Old Mrs. Xia gestured for her to turn the bowl over.
Sure enough, several characters were visible on the bottom of the bowl: "Made in the Yongzheng Reign".
Ning Yuan was stunned for a moment, then remembered that she had seen a couple of such bowls in her family, but she never thought they were antiques. They all ended up in her third sister's hands.
Grandma Xia began instructing Ning Yuan: "Watch closely, this old woman is teaching you how to distinguish real antiques from fakes. You'll have to learn more from me in the future—"
Ning Yuan nodded: "Okay!"
She knew that Grandma Xia was trying to give her some pointers, and she didn't feel that studying was a chore at all.
In her past life, she only had a junior high school education. If she didn't endure the hardship of studying, she would have to endure the hardship of life.
Seeing that Ning Yuan was learning from her, Grandma Xia continued in a good mood—
"Let's start with this bowl. First, examine whether the glaze is rich and lustrous, and the color of the enamel pigments from the Yongzheng period. Then, carefully examine the finishing technique of the foot rim, the font of the mark on the foot rim, and the effect produced by the blue pigments used during the Yongzheng era—all of these are unique..."
Ning Yuan listened intently to Grandma Xia's explanation and didn't even touch her food.
She loved history and culture in her past life, and antiques can indeed fetch more money than ordinary mountain goods.
Old Tang waited for a while, and seeing that the food was getting cold, he could only helplessly urge them to eat: "Eat first, people are made of iron, and food is steel."
Ning Yuan and Grandma Xia then put down their bowls and ate together.
At the dinner table, Rong Zhaonan remained silent. He was always a man of few words, so Ning Yuan didn't think much of it.
Old Tang looked somewhat unhappy, as if he was targeting Rong Zhaonan.
Ning Yuan found it a bit strange, but she didn't feel comfortable asking about the grandfather and grandson.
After finishing her meal, she helped Grandma Xia clear the dishes before preparing for her lesson and homework.
Rong Zhaonan silently began tidying up the yard as usual, but as soon as he picked up the broom, someone grabbed his hand.
Old Tang said coldly
He turned his head and saw Old Tang unceremoniously take the broom: "I'm just a night soil collector, I dare not trouble Young Master Rong to sweep the yard for me here."
Rong Zhaonan: "..."
How could he not have noticed that the old man had a terrible temper, and that old intellectuals were prone to falling in love with every woman they met?
He used to be affectionately called Xiao Nan, but now that Ning Yuan is here, he's been given the bourgeois title of "Young Master Rong."
Watching Old Tang sweep the yard by himself with his back hunched over, Rong Zhaonan closed his eyes and rubbed his temples.
He walked over in a few steps and took the broom from Old Tang's hand: "Can you stop being so stubborn, old man? Anyone who doesn't know better would think Ning Yuan is your own granddaughter, that you're so protective of her."
Old Tang glared at her, annoyed. "I'm too old for this, and I won't have any more disciples. So what if I treat her, my youngest disciple, like my granddaughter?"
Rong Zhaonan looked at the stubborn old man in front of him, his brows furrowing slightly. Finally, he turned expressionlessly to Ning Yuan not far away.
"As you know, she got the marriage certificate to help me. I don't know if she really wants to be with me for life. You can tell that she has her own ideas."
Ning Yuan had said that she would file for divorce with him once she returned to the city, and she said it with absolute certainty.
Lying on the same bed, if it weren't for the fright she had suffered yesterday, she would have snuggled into his arms while still half asleep.
She usually sleeps on the outer edge of the bed, like a frightened bird, because getting the marriage certificate with him was out of necessity.
Old Tang was taken aback. So... young man Nan is worried that Ning Yuan doesn't actually like him, or that she has someone else she likes, which is why he said he wouldn't take her back to the capital?
The old man hesitated for a moment: "When I was collecting manure, I heard someone from the educated youth settlement say that someone had introduced Xiaoyuan to a potential partner, namely Li Yan, the deputy secretary of the brigade. Could it be... that Xiaoyuan had someone she liked?"
If that's the case, then Xiaoyuan's sacrifice of giving up her beloved to protect Rong Zhaonan is truly immense.
Rong Zhaonan suddenly found the food he had just eaten bland and tasteless. He adjusted his glasses and remained silent.
He wouldn't take Ning Yuan back to the capital, not only for that reason, but also because he hadn't yet figured out Ning Yuan's background.
Furthermore, the situation in the capital was murky and unclear.
But after what Old Tang said, I don't know why I felt a little uncomfortable.
Yes, maybe that little spy was lurking in the village and ended up taking a liking to Li Yan.
Otherwise, if she was trying to extract information from him, why would she have any romantic entanglement with Li Yan?
Even if she wasn't a spy, it's obvious that she and Li Yan had feelings for each other.
Otherwise, she wouldn't know Li Yan so well, and Li Yan wouldn't have acted as if he had stolen her woman and snatched her away to warn her.
Is this cunning long-haired rabbit waiting for him to return to the capital so she can divorce him and then go find Li Yan?
Heh... So what is he then?
As soon as Rong Zhaonan thought of this, his face involuntarily darkened.
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