When lunchtime arrived, there were still quite a few people. The steward and the servants sat down at a table in the west courtyard for lunch. What made them happy today was that the madam had cooked and prepared so many delicious dishes for them as well.
Inside the main courtyard, a large table was set up, and a small table was also placed for Zhuzhu, Li Dong, and Zhou Lei to eat.
Li Dong didn't want to eat at the big table with them; he always felt he should be a servant. Zhu Zhu also didn't want to go to the table because the adults were drinking. Zhou Lei also felt he had to study in the afternoon, so he didn't want to join their drinking party.
So Li Mai prepared a small table for the three little ones in another room, enough for the three of them to eat.
Li Mai and Nan Ling would occasionally go over to check if the three of them were enough.
Although Zhuzhu doesn't eat much, Qilin is greedy, and Li Dong and Zhou Lei are both growing and have large appetites.
After Li Mai and Nan Ling returned from seeing Zhu Zhu, Chu Yan and Zhong Hui stood up and silently toasted their master.
Before they could even speak, their eyes reddened.
Li Mai smiled helplessly, picked up her wine glass, and stood up. "What, are you two young masters planning to have a good cry here?"
The sadness that had been lingering in their hearts vanished instantly after their master's words, and they burst into laughter together.
“Master, you can’t drink too much. Let’s toast you together. We don’t know when we’ll be able to see you again after we leave. We hope you can get plenty of rest and be happy every day,” Chu Yan said on behalf of the quiet Zhong Hui.
Li Mai nodded and chuckled, "In your hearts, do you really think your master was that unhappy?"
Upon hearing this, everyone burst into laughter.
"No, that's definitely not it. We just hope that Master can always be happy," Chu Yan quickly tried to salvage the situation.
"Hehe, okay, thank you both, I appreciate your kindness. Don't get drunk, your master will take you out this afternoon and teach you some new things," Li Mai said with a smile.
Upon hearing this, the two men's eyes lit up. "Yes, thank you, Master. We'll drink this cup with you."
Li Mai smiled, clinked glasses with the two of them, and drank it down.
The others asked curiously, "Wheat, what are you going to teach them? Can we go and see?"
Li Mai shook her head. "Of course not."
Zhou Quan glanced at her silently; he couldn't quite guess what new things Li Mai was going to teach these two boys.
But he was too embarrassed to ask Li Mai at that moment.
Yun Chang was a little envious and jealous, but he didn't say anything. He just drank with Zhou Quan, clinking glasses with him.
Zhou Quan glanced at him, but didn't say anything, and they drank together.
Looking at these young people, Dr. Niu was filled with envy. He was really getting old. He remembered that when he was young, he was nothing like the young people of today who loved to run around and have fun. He spent his days either pounding herbs or memorizing their properties.
Even his wife was introduced to him by someone else; otherwise, he doubted he would have been able to find a wife given his dull personality.
Look at young people today, how rich are their emotions? They can be so emotional towards a master or apprentice of the same age as themselves. They really live life to the fullest!
Lu Qian, who was sitting and watching them silently, opened his mouth several times. He was curious and wanted to go and see, but he didn't dare to say it.
Li Mai glanced at the expressions of the others, smiled, and didn't say what she was going to teach her two apprentices.
The dishes Li Mai prepared were all very large, and they ate and drank for a full hour.
Nanling, Yuze, Chuyan, and Zhong Hui were the ones leaving. They were reluctant to part with the people here. Because they were carrying emotions with them, they talked a lot, drank a lot, and ate little.
However, Yun Chang, Zhou Lin, Zhou Heng, and Doctor Niu were not the ones who were leaving, so the four of them tacitly kept their heads down and ate their food.
Because Lu Qian had something on his mind, he also kept Chu Yan and Zhong Hui company, talking and drinking.
But the two apprentices remembered their master's words, so after drinking a few cups, they switched to tea, while Lu Qian drank alone in silence.
By the time the meal was finished, he had drunk too much.
But he drank too much, and this time he didn't just fall down on anyone, but grabbed Zhou Quan and called him "big brother," and grabbed Li Mai and called her "sister-in-law," saying that he was their brother-in-law.
When Zhou Quan saw that the boy had drunk too much, he speechlessly ordered the kitchen to make some hangover soup, then picked him up and took him to Zhou Lin's room in the east courtyard, where Zhou Lin was to watch over him and let him rest.
Lu Qian then pulled Zhou Lin aside and called him Second Brother, saying that he was his brother-in-law.
Zhou Lin was so annoyed he wanted to punch him unconscious, but Zhou Heng went out to talk with his older brother, and his sister-in-law had disappeared with two apprentices. They had all entrusted him with the important task of keeping an eye on Lu Qian.
"Young Master Lu, if you can't sleep, do you need my help?" Zhou Lin asked Lu Qian with narrowed eyes. Although he was good-looking and the son of the richest man, the daughters of the Zhou family didn't necessarily have to marry into wealthy families.
Now that his family is not short of money, he only hopes that his younger sister can marry someone who truly treats her well, like his older sister's husband, someone who keeps his wife in his heart.
Therefore, no matter how you look at it, Zhou Lin didn't really like Lu Qian.
But he still had to stay by his side, at least to prevent him from getting drunk at home and causing trouble.
Zhou Quan arranged for Li Dong to drive the carriage to take Doctor Niu back, and Yu Ze and Nan Ling also rode back in the carriage.
In the pavilion in the courtyard, Zhou Quan and Zhou Heng sat at the table drinking tea. Zhou Quan asked, "You came to see me, is there something you need? Just say it."
Zhou Heng nodded, his expression somewhat grim. He sighed softly and said, "The family I'm engaged to is asking for a dowry of twenty taels of silver. But our village suffered a disaster last year. How could we possibly afford that?"
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