127, Gift Giving
127, Gift Giving
After loading the remaining rice dumplings into the car, Lu Mingfei prepared to go out with his father to deliver rice dumplings again. "Mom, Mom and I are going out."
"Okay, go ahead. After you're done, come back here for dinner." Liu Sanniang said to her eldest son and husband.
Today is a holiday, so they didn't go home to cook dinner, but stayed at the pancake shop to eat.
There was some unfinished work to do here, including cleaning the pots and bowls used to cook rice dumplings. They wanted to stay and finish their work before leaving. Xu Yueniang suggested they stay and have dinner before leaving, and she didn't refuse. Furthermore, the two families often cooked and ate together during festivals, so there wasn't much arguing between them.
If they had been too calculative, the relationship between their two families wouldn't be as good as it is now.
"Yes, come back here for dinner in the afternoon." Xu Yue Niang also reminded.
"You two go this time. I won't be going with you," Lu Qingfeng said. He had gone with them that morning to deliver rice dumplings to the soldiers defending the city. This time, his adopted son was delivering rice dumplings to his teacher and classmates' homes, so there was no need for him to go along.
"Okay, godfather, you take a rest at home. My father and I will go out." Lu Mingfei responded and went out with his father. This time, the two of them rode on a donkey cart.
The number of rice dumplings on the donkey cart was not as many as the batch they pulled out in the morning. There were only a few rice dumplings and other gifts, which would be delivered to the master and Ye Zhuoran's family later. There were not as many rice dumplings as the ones they had just pulled to the city gate to give to the soldiers guarding the city.
The second time they went out, they first went to the private school and then to Mr. Fu's house to give holiday gifts.
Today is a holiday, and the private school also gives students a day off, so when the father and son came to the teacher's house, only their teacher and his family were at home.
After delivering the gifts, the father and son were invited by their husband to his home for tea, and his eldest brother was also there.
While drinking tea, their teacher mentioned that the results of the provincial examination were about to be announced.
"I have looked over your papers for the provincial examination. If nothing unexpected happens, you should be able to pass this provincial examination." It is not that Mr. Fu is blindly confident in his students, but he has looked over the answer papers of several students and has some confidence in their answers.
Especially for students who won the first place in the county exam last time, it is even more impossible for them to fail this time.
"Thanks for your good wishes, sir. I hope all of us can pass." Lu Mingfei responded with a smile.
Afterwards, he spoke a few words to his master and his eldest senior brother, and then the father and son stood up and said goodbye.
After leaving their husband's house, the father and son went to Ye's house to present holiday gifts.
When the elders of the Ye family saw the father and son coming to deliver gifts, they entertained them warmly and did not look down on their family because of their different social status.
"You are so thoughtful that you specially sent rice dumplings to our house." Ye's father is a middle-aged man in his early forties, with a round face and a wealthy appearance. He is not tall and is a very kind person.
Ye's mother is a gentle and beautiful woman.
What's more rare is that the Ye family has no concubines and only one wife.
Ye Zhuoran is the eldest son in the family. He has a younger brother and sister, who are eight or nine years old. They are twins, a boy and a girl, but they don’t look much alike.
Today, when they visited the Ye family, they met Ye Zhuoran's twin brother and sister. The little girl had just called him brother. Their family only had a bunch of naughty boys, so when Lu Mingfei saw the pretty and cute little girl, he was very curious.
Of course, this kind of liking is not the liking between men and women, it is purely the liking of beautiful people and the envy of others having younger sisters.
"It just so happens that the stall over there is making some rice dumplings today. We sent some to the soldiers defending the city, and we'll also send some to you." Lu Youtian is a man who doesn't talk much. When facing Mr. and Mrs. Ye, he felt a little nervous and embarrassed.
Lu Mingfei also noticed his father's awkwardness, so he took over the topic and talked to Ye's father and mother. With Ye Zhuoran here, there was no awkwardness or coldness in the interaction between the father and son and the Ye family.
In fact, Lu Mingfei knew in his heart that the Ye family treated them so warmly, largely because he brought Ye Zhuoran to study with him, and perhaps also because they had high hopes for him. However, no matter what the reason was for the Ye family to treat them so well, it didn't matter. The most important thing was that during their interactions with the Ye family, their attitude towards them made them feel very comfortable and at ease.
In fact, from Ye Zhuoran's personality, he could probably tell what kind of family atmosphere the Ye family was like, and what kind of personalities Ye's father and mother had as parents.
It is difficult for a family with serious parents or a bad relationship to raise a child with a personality like Ye Zhuoran. Only a family with a happy family and harmonious relationship between parents can raise a child like Ye Zhuoran who has "happiness" written on his face.
Ye Zhuoran's younger brother seems to be a bit shy, but Ye Zhuoran's younger sister also seems to be more extroverted and cheerful.
This time, the father and son did not stay at the Ye family for long and got up to say goodbye.
The Ye family also gave them a large return gift, which they had a servant carry, and the housekeeper personally escorted them out.
Hearing that they were going to Zhang's house to deliver something, Ye Zhuoran went out with them.
As soon as he came out of Ye's house, Ye Zhuoran leaned close to his ear and whispered, "Let me tell you a funny story. It's about Cai Renjun."
"Huh? What's the matter?" In fact, when he heard the three words Cai Renjun, Lu Mingfei had already guessed what Ye Zhuoran was going to talk to him about.
Sure enough, Ye Zhuoran's next words confirmed his guess.
"Let me tell you, Cai Renjun has become a bald man! Hahahaha..." When Ye Zhuoran mentioned the word "bald", he laughed loudly.
Lu Mingfei hid the smile in his eyes and asked Cai Renjun: "Oh, how can you be sure that he has become bald? Did you see it with your own eyes?"
"I originally heard it from Fucai. I didn't believe it at first, but then I heard that Li Zijian, Zhang Qi and others went to find Cai Renjun. The people in the Cai family said that Cai Renjun was sick, so they didn't let Li Zijian, Zhang Qi and others go to see Cai Renjun. So I guessed that this thing is most likely true!" The Fucai that Ye Zhuoran mentioned is his servant.
Li Zijian, Zhang Qi and others were their classmates in the private school.
However, Lu Mingfei and Ye Zhuoran did not play together with Cai Renjun's group, so their relationship with Li Zijian and Zhang Qi was not very good.
After Cai Renjun stopped going to the private school, Li Zijian, Zhang Qi and others were still studying there, so Lu Mingfei guessed that Ye Zhuoran confirmed the news from Li Zijian, Zhang Qi and others.
"Maybe he is really sick?" Lu Mingfei said deliberately.
"Impossible, the news about Fucai must be true. Our Fucai knows a servant from the Cai family..." Ye Zhuoran gave Lu Mingfei a look that said "You understand, right?"
Lu Mingfei nodded and understood.
He knew that information was circulated among the servants and maids at the lower levels. Some news within the high-ranking families was passed on to the outside by the servants and maids. As the news spread from one to another, it spread quickly.
***
This time, with Ye Zhuoran leading the way, the three of them entered Zhang's mansion smoothly.
When they arrived at Zhang's house, Zhang's father was not at home. They were received by Zhang Lingxuan's brother Zhang Lingfeng and Zhang Lingxuan's two brothers.
"Please take a seat." Zhang Lingfeng made a gesture of invitation.
"Brothers, please take a seat too." Lu Mingfei nodded slightly to Zhang Lingfeng. After the host sat down, he and his father sat down in the seats for guests below.
The maid served tea and left.
After taking a sip of tea, Zhang Lingxuan talked about the provincial examination results that would be released in a few days. He asked Lu Mingfei and his two younger brothers, "Are you three confident about this provincial examination?"
"Don't worry, big brother. It's just a provincial exam. We will definitely pass it with our abilities." Ye Zhuoran promised, patting his chest.
Zhang Lingxuan looked at Ye Zhuoran who was patting his chest to make a promise, and rubbed his eyebrows with his hand.
Only Lu Mingfei continued, "We'll have to wait until the list is posted to know whether we passed or not." So there was no point in their confidence. Before the list was posted, none of them could be 100% sure that they would pass.
"How come you have no confidence in yourself? You topped the county exam last time. If you don't pass, then..."
"Zhuoran, don't say things that you shouldn't say."
Zhang Lingxuan interrupted Ye Zhuoran at the right time, preventing him from spreading nonsense in their home. Who knew if what they said at home would get out and what kind of rumors would spread about it?
"Yes, Zhuoran, don't say such things casually when you go out in the future." Zhang Lingfeng also reminded the younger brother of the Ye family.
If it weren't for the many years of interaction and affection between his family and the Ye family, he would have reminded his younger brother to have less contact with Zhuoranran because of Ye Zhuoran's outspoken character, lest one day Ye Zhuoran say something he shouldn't say and implicate their Zhang family.
"Oh, I understand." Ye Zhuoran also realized that he almost said the wrong thing, and lowered his head with an expression of "I was wrong".
But not long after, he regained his energy and started chattering.
This time, the father and son did not stay at the Zhang family for long. Lu Mingfei stood up and said goodbye to Zhang Lingfeng and Zhang Lingxuan, and left the Zhang family with his father and Ye Zhuoran.
When they left, Zhang Lingxuan personally escorted them outside and had a servant carry a lot of things onto their donkey cart. He also said to him, "Zhuoran and I will come to your house to find you tomorrow."
"Okay, come on, I'll be at home all day tomorrow." Lu Mingfei replied.
When he arrived outside Zhang's house, he waved to Zhang Lingxuan and Ye Zhuoran, and then he and his father got on the donkey cart and left.
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