Chapter 031: Fang's sadness: the little grandson was pushed by the pig
After learning about the dual-city structure of Yangzhou Prefecture, and visiting the Fengfu Military Envoy's Office, the Lianghuai Salt Transport Envoy's Office, and the Chaoguan Office, Qin Xue took Fang to Kaopeng Street, Guangling Inn and the perfume shop, bought a lot of small things, and then stopped at the Fuchun Tea House on Dongmen Street.
Qin Xue was a regular customer here. As soon as she entered, she was greeted by a familiar tea master who led them inside with a smile on his face. "I was wondering why there were magpies chirping on the branches so early this morning. It turns out we have a distinguished guest today."
"It is indeed a distinguished guest." Qin Xue lingered on Fang's hand and replied with a smile, "I have brought my most important elder here for tea today. Please prepare Yangxian Snow Bud, Cloud Cake, and Mint Cake for me."
Qin Xue usually ordered fermented teas like Pu'er and Lu'an, paired with pastries like walnut cookies and salt and pepper crackers. But today, she ordered clear tea and light pastries. Considering the important elders she mentioned, Dr. Tea immediately knew that this was a special order for the elders around her. "Clear tea and these two easy-to-digest pastries are most suitable for older people. Miss Qin really knows her stuff."
"If I don't even know this, how can I be called your regular customer?"
Dr. Tea led them to her usual spot, then bowed and said, "Please wait a moment. I'll go get ready."
Qin Xue nodded in agreement. After the tea doctor left, Qin Xue told Fang, "This teahouse has a quiet environment, a complete selection of teas, and seasonal snacks that blend the flavors of the north and south. It combines the sophistication of the palace with the flavor of the city. It's both elegant and vulgar, so I really like coming here."
From the moment she disembarked from the carriage, Fang began to survey the teahouse. Its dark-tiled roof, nanmu beams, and hollow-walled blue brick walls gave it a natural, unadorned appearance. The entrance featured a woven bamboo door, flanked by osmanthus vines climbing the walls. A zigzag corridor gave the feeling of being detached from the hustle and bustle of the world. The tea rooms were separated by nanmu lattice doors covered with mulberry paper. Their tea room faced the back garden.
In the back garden, bamboos, banana trees and old plum trees are arranged in an orderly manner, and there is also the rhythm of running water from bamboo dams collecting spring water into stone bowls.
The entire environment is a true reflection of the saying "one thing less would make it seem empty, and one thing more would make it seem clichéd."
This environment reminded her of her own grandson and the simple yard.
Thinking of that brat who asked her to decorate his yard, Fang suddenly had an idea. "So, do you like coming here more? Do you prefer the environment here? Or do you prefer the tea and snacks here?"
"I like both. I think the best environment and the right things to do will produce the best results."
"How do you arrange your own yard?"
Thinking of her yard, which was littered with small things, Qin Xue slowly said, "You know, there are only my father and I in my family. I've never moved out of the yard since I was a child, so my yard is full of things I played with as a child. My father moved to the outer courtyard a long time ago, and I had the entire main courtyard to myself. There was no shortage of space for things, so all my toys from childhood have always been kept in my yard."
"Nowadays, when I feel like it, I will occasionally take out the two- or three-year-old dolls to play with."
It can be said that her yard bears the marks of her growth from childhood to adulthood.
It was a very ordinary sentence, but Fang could hear a full sense of happiness from her words.
This is a girl who is loved wholeheartedly by her father. This is a girl who never feels that there is anything wrong with her life without her mother.
Because she has a girl who loves her wholeheartedly, and because she has never moved, this girl exudes a special sense of security.
She thought that this was probably one of the reasons why this girl invisibly attracted her grandson.
Compared to this motherless girl, his grandson, who has both parents, seems to receive less love than her.
Firstly, when this little grandson was born, both his son and daughter-in-law were at a critical juncture in their official careers. In particular, the daughter-in-law was sent on a diplomatic mission abroad when the child was only a few months old. She was gone for three years and when she returned, the child didn't recognize her. The son was still there, but he was so busy with government affairs at the time that it was difficult for him to find time to pay attention to his eldest grandson's enlightenment, and he really had no time to take care of this youngest son.
This little grandson could be said to have been raised by her, but she cared not only about this grandson, but also about her eldest grandson and two granddaughters. No matter how much she loved him, she could not do what Qin Laicai did to Qin Xue.
Thinking about it this way, Fang seemed to understand better why her grandson had been reluctant to talk about marriage all these years, but soon after meeting the girl in front of him, he developed feelings for her.
She thought that her grandson must have seen in this girl the confidence that he had never had, the kind of confidence that came from growing up being loved wholeheartedly and unconsciously.
"Child, how much do you know about Minxing's life since he was a child?"
Qin Xue didn't know why she suddenly jumped to this topic, but she answered her question seriously. "He just said that you took care of him most of the time when he was little. He also said that when he was twelve or thirteen, many people were busy trying to find him a marriage partner, but he was impatient to deal with them and ran off to Qiongzhou Prefecture. I also know that he had a talent for studying, but because he didn't want to become an official, he didn't continue to take the exam after passing it."
It was obvious that the brat would not complain, but Fang wanted to tell her about his energy since childhood.
Just then, Dr. Tea came to serve tea, so she didn't speak in a hurry.
Instead, I really appreciated the Tea Doctor's superb tea-making skills.
He lifted the copper kettle high and poured the tea into the teacups that had been placed there long ago. He did this three times in a row without a drop of water leaking out, perfectly demonstrating the "Three Nods of the Phoenix" to them.
Qin Xue realized that Fang still had something to say, so she let Dr. Tea leave after he finished his performance.
After Dr. Tea left, the old man and the young man first ate some pastries and tasted some tea before continuing the previous topic.
So, Qin Xue learned about Liu Zhiyan's life from childhood to adulthood from Fang's slow tone.
Putting aside her appearance, Liu Zhiyan initially gave her the impression of being quiet and impatient to be interrupted. As she got to know him better, she realized he was quite easy to talk to, as long as she could keep up with the pace of his teachings.
Later, this man expressed his feelings to her, and every time he spoke seriously, he gave her a full sense of security.
She was just wondering if Fang Shi would tell her about Liu Zhiyan's childhood for no reason when she heard her say, "This child is actually quite cold. He seems to have little interest in anything and is always indifferent to everything. I was afraid that if I didn't find him something to do, he would run away to the temple to become a monk, so I used health issues as an excuse to hand over Fang's Dessert Shop to him."
"I just think he doesn't talk much and is impatient to be disturbed."
"I guess there's something about you that makes him different from everyone else, so he treats you differently."
"The characteristics of a idiot?" Qin Xue said uncertainly.
“…” Aside from this girl, no one else could brazenly call herself a fool in front of her future husband’s elders. “Calling yourself a fool? Aren’t you afraid I’ll despise you?”
"As long as you stay in Yangzhou for a while longer, you will sooner or later know my reputation as a fool. Instead of letting you hear it from others, I might as well expose my shortcomings myself." Qin Xue said indifferently.
Fang had already seen how straightforward this girl was. She never thought too much about what she wanted to say.
This should be the confidence given to her by her family, allowing her to not fear any consequences.
"I'm telling you this because I want to tell you that although he seems to have everything he needs, he actually lacks someone who treats him wholeheartedly. I hope you're the one who can treat him wholeheartedly."
"I'll definitely agree to it, but I don't know how to be completely devoted to him." Qin Xue scratched her head. "I'm pretty stubborn. I used to think eating and drinking every day was fun, so I did that for over a decade. He made a lot of promises to me, and I took them all seriously. I wrote them down, and I won't let him go back on his word."
After hearing Qin Xue's words, Fang felt that what she had just said was probably in vain.
She was actually worried that her boy, who had never been interested in girls since childhood, didn't know how to get along with girls, didn't do well, and was disliked by others. So she deliberately said good things for him and asked the girls to be more tolerant.
But the brat had made so many promises to the girl, and the girl wouldn't let him go back on his word.
"So he agreed to your request?"
"I agreed. I also told him that next time he comes to the Qin family, he must sign and seal it for me."
"..." After listening to Qin Xue's words, Fang felt that the little grandson she was talking about was completely different from the little grandson she had in her mind.
Her little grandson has little patience, not only with other girls, but also with his own mother and two sisters.
It was not like what Qin Xue said, that she would promise her and agree to sign her name.
She felt that she should not worry about him not knowing how to get along with other girls, but should worry about her grandson selling himself to please other girls and happily counting money for them.
No, if you're already eager to become someone's son-in-law, aren't you already selling yourself to them?!
Fang suddenly felt very depressed.
Seeing Fang remain silent for a long time, Qin Xue suddenly realized that it was not a good idea to say such things in front of her grandmother. "Well, what he promised me were all trivial matters. Signing them wouldn't have much impact on him."
Feeling that this was not right, Qin Xue added, "This is a matter between us. I won't let anyone see those things."
Fang was too tired to complain. She waved her hand and said, "As long as you are happy, I am an old woman and I don't care about so much."
"I was worried that you wouldn't be satisfied with his courtyard, which even monks wouldn't want to live in, and I even wanted to decorate it for him. Now it seems that you two are getting along well, so I won't bother with my old bones anymore. You two can discuss it among yourselves."
Others are raising daughters, but only I feel like my own little cabbage is being eaten by a pig?!
If it were her, no matter how she raised a grandson, she would feel like the grandson she had raised with great difficulty was being pushed around by a pig?!
She is so difficult!!!
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