Chapter 304 Chapter 304 Pack and take away
Xu Yunfan carried Xiaobao down from the carriage. All the guests in the Zheng family compound looked over. Some little girl couldn't help but exclaim, "Ah, Daddy, who are those father and son? Why have I never seen them before?"
"That's Master Xu from the Xiao Qin family. As for the one he's holding, well, that should be his nephew, the grandson of the Fang family."
Xu Yunfan entered the Hanlin Academy and took the position of bachelor as soon as he entered. Everyone in the official circle knew about it.
As the saying goes, a thief's heart is never dead. Whether Xu Yunfan has a son or not, outsiders probably know it better and care more about it than he does.
"Is that the grandson of the Fang family?" Lu Fengnian scratched his head. His family and the Fang family were relatives, and Xiaobao had to call him uncle. In his memory, Xiaobao was a fair, chubby, and beautiful child. The one in front of him was fair and chubby, but his facial features were surprisingly delicate.
Lu Fengzhi called out tentatively, "Xiaobao?"
Xiao Bao heard someone calling him, turned his head and saw Lu Fengzhi and his brother. He immediately laughed, patted the back of Xu Yunfan's hand, and pointed to Xu Yunfan, "Father, it's Uncle Lu and the others."
Xu Yunfan followed Xiaobao's short, fat index finger and saw that it was someone he knew. He walked over and said to Lu Fengnian, "It's you. Long time no see."
He remembered this man. He had seen him when he taught the Wu brothers and sisters a lesson at Yunrun Restaurant on the day he first arrived in Beijing. He hadn't seen Lu Fengnian for a long time, but Lu Fengnian had seen him many times.
He was always present at Xu Yunfan's wedding, the opening of the food city, Lord Qin's birthday party, etc.
Lu Fengnian gave a wry smile and bowed to Xu Yunfan, who had an extraordinary aura. "Greetings, Master Xu."
He had seen Xu Yunfan before, but people might not have noticed him. When Xu Yunfan first came to Beijing, he was just a commoner, but now he is a scholar, and he is an adult that even a student like him has to bow his head to greet him.
"You're welcome." Xu Yunfan looked at Lu Fengzhi, "Who is this?"
"This is my second brother, Lu Fengzhi." Lu Fengnian is a man and currently a student, while Lu Fengzhi is a brother.
Lu Fengzhi's eyes were fixed on Xiaobao, so Xu Yunfan simply put Xiaobao down and asked, "Have you gone in and said hello?"
Lu Fengnian: "Well, we have been here for a while, and now..." Just waiting to eat and then leave.
Xu Yunfan nodded. "My two grandfathers were taken away by other uncles and aunts as soon as they got off the carriage. They didn't have time to take care of us father and son. I'll take the children in to say hello first. Later," Xu Yunfan leaned close to Lu Fengnian's ear, "please find a seat for us father and son. We'll have dinner together later. It'll be easier for us to leave after we finish eating. I have to rush to the next meal."
"Okay." Lu Fengnian was happy and quickly agreed.
Father Lu has instructed that if one can make friends with this scholar Xu, then one should do his best. After all, this man has a promising future, and it never hurts to make friends with him.
Now Xu Yunfan took the initiative to make friends with them. Lu Fengnian was not a fool. He didn't see that others were eager to come over, but he was afraid of angering Xu Yunfan.
There was no way around it. Xu Yunfan was notoriously difficult to meet. Visitors, sorry, he was busy and had no time to meet them. At major banquets, if you wanted to strike up a conversation with him, sorry, he would just keep pushing his way into the group of men, or follow a few elders around, and wouldn't bother with his peers.
This was puzzling. How could Xu Yunfan, an eighteen-year-old boy, chat with all the elders? Could he listen to and follow their conversation? Did they have any common topics?
But Xu Yunfan could not only chat with the elders, but also talk freely about everything under the sun. No matter what the adults said, it seemed that there was nothing he didn't understand. When they returned home, they heard how their father and grandfather looked at them and how they disliked them.
Xu Yunfan carried Xiaobao inside. When the people inside saw the father and son, they were silent for a moment.
Xu Yunfan looked left and right, and Su Yan squeezed out from somewhere, "Yunfan, Xiaobao."
"Uncle Su." Xu Yunfan hurried over, holding Xiaobao in his arms, and said with emotion, "Uncle Su, you're here too. Who is this gift for? I didn't see anyone in charge."
"He's in the main hall. Go over there later. Go find Master Zheng first. Are you and your son the only ones here?" Su Yan's eyes lit up when he saw Xiaobao. Without saying a word, he took Xiaobao from Xu Yunfan's arms and said, "Come, let grandpa hold him. Master Zheng is over there. Go over there."
"I came here with Grandpa Qin and the others. They should have gone to the backyard." The backyard is where the husband and wife live, and outsiders are not allowed to enter.
Xu Yunfan went to see Zheng Ke. Su Xiangdong, Lin Qing and others were there. Even Qi Daren and others from the Ministry of Works were there. Once Xu Yunfan went in, he couldn't get out.
Su Yan happily took Xiaobao to find a group of his friends. He listened to his friends praising Xiaobao non-stop. They were so fond of him that they touched and kissed him. They wiped the lip prints on Xiaobao's face again and again.
He Jingjing, Lan Xin and others looked at Xu Yunfan from afar as he was surrounded by a group of adults. They couldn't help but feel a sense of distance between them and him. If someone didn't know Xu Yunfan, they would think he was some high-ranking official.
Xu Yunfan is not now, what about in the future?
They had heard from their elders at home that Xu Yunfan was now involved in the Ministry of Works, and that the Minister of Agriculture Jing was on good terms with him. It was he who proposed the study building and the academy library. It was also said that this man was so bold as to interfere in the royal business and started selling salt himself.
The salt sold in Yunrun shop is only sixteen cents per catty. In the past, salt cost twenty-six cents per catty. The salt sold in Yunrun shop is ten cents cheaper than the salt sold by the court.
Ten cents may not seem like much, but is it really not a lot?
There were so many people in the Dayan Dynasty who were so poor that they couldn't even afford salt. When Xu Yunfan first arrived at Xiao Qin's house, he was served a large plate of boiled vegetables, which was really almost like pig food. There was no oil and not enough salt. Xu Yunfan was so depressed that he even thought he had become a pig.
Xu Yunfan lowered the price of salt, and the price of salt in the court also dropped accordingly.
The well salt that He Gusheng sold to Xu Yunfan was very good. Previously, the output was low because the equipment had just started operating. As the output increased in the future, he would naturally sell more.
Xu Yunfan was really brave. When the Yunrun store put bags of packaged salt on the shelves for sale, countless people were waiting to see the fun. If anything happened to Xu Yunfan, both the Xiao and Qin families might be implicated.
But who would have thought that after waiting for a long time, the court not only lowered the price of salt to the same level as the salt sold at Yunrun Store, but when the gang traced the salt factory to its location, it was already heavily guarded by a group of troops.
In this case, if they still don’t know what the court means, they are fools.
This time, everyone sighed that Xu Yunfan was really amazing.
He was not satisfied with his huge business and even set his sights on the royal family. The most important thing was that no one knew how he got the emperor's consent. Since the emperor agreed, what did this prove?
There are so many things that can be explained, one of which is that they all understand what the current emperor means.
For this reason, these adults naturally have to warn their families when they return home, and it is best not to fall into Xu Yunfan's hands, otherwise, you won't even know how you got in.
Look, Xu Yunfan is now only a fifth-rank bachelor, and he has already made his way in officialdom and is very comfortable with it.
Xu Yunfan is not only on good terms with these adults, but it is said that young masters such as Xie Yun, Zhao Jingran, and Pei An are also on good terms with Xu Yunfan.
Lan Xin had thought to herself at first that Fang Zixi's brother-in-law was just a man who married into her family and lived off her, so there was nothing to be afraid of. But what about now?
Now this person is no longer someone they can talk about easily.
Lan Xin stared at Xu Yunfan for a long time, then looked at Xiaobao who was being hugged and kissed by a group of ladies. She felt very uncomfortable. Fang Zixi had an affair with a man without any matchmaker or engagement. She thought that just because of this, they could step on Fang Zixi, but she didn't know that she lost in the end.
Zheng Ke patted Xu Yunfan on the shoulder. Seeing him move freely among the crowd, being smooth and dignified, he knew at a glance that this man was destined for the officialdom.
Xu Yunfan finally managed to escape from the group of masters, and then he found Madam Zheng with the longevity lock. At Madam Zheng's request, he touched the young master of the Zheng family.
"Oh, thank you for trouble, Mr. Xu." Mrs. Zheng was very happy. Although Mr. Xu was not the top scholar, he might be the top scholar next year. Let's not talk about this for now. Just say that he was the top scholar, which means he was definitely the Wenquxing. Mrs. Zheng was naturally happy that her son could enjoy the blessing of Wenquxing today.
Xu Yunfan glanced at the baby in the cradle and said, "You're welcome."
After Xu Yunfan found Xiaobao, the father and son didn't need anyone to lead them and sat at the same table with Lu Fengnian and his brothers.
Generally, people who come to a banquet sit at the same table with people they know each other. But at this time, the elders are still greeting each other and chatting, and the younger ones can't sit still and take their seats first. Therefore, there are always a few strangers at the table. Anyway, as long as everyone gets together to form a table, they can start eating and no one cares who you are.
Xu Yunfan sat next to Xiaobao, picking up vegetables and meat for him from time to time. Compared with other young masters of the same age who needed to be served by the nanny and coaxed in a gentle manner before they would eat properly, Xiaobao was simply like the children of other families. He picked up the chopsticks and started eating. He ate whatever Xu Yunfan picked up and didn't make any noise at all. He was so well-behaved.
Lu Fengzhi eats slowly. He loves fish, and there are a lot of fish meat and fish bones on the table, so he eats slowly naturally. There are eight people at the table, and he is the only brother. Even when Xiaobao is full, he is still eating.
Realizing that the others had already eaten their fill and left, while he was still eating, Lu Fengzhi blushed. Just as he was about to put down his chopsticks, Xu Yunfan, who had already put down his bowl and chopsticks, suddenly waved and called the Zheng family's servant who was in charge of adding rice over, "Hello, could you please give me another bowl of rice? I'm not full yet."
"Okay, that's fine. Master Xu, you're too polite." The servant happily added more rice to Xu Yunfan's plate.
Lu Fengzhi glanced at Xu Yunfan, his heart warmed, and he clenched the chopsticks in his hand. Lu Fengnian, who was sitting on the side, seemed to realize something, "Second brother, eat slowly, I'll wait for you, don't rush, be careful of the fish bones."
Xu Yunfan picked up a piece of chicken, looking embarrassed. Qin Run was not there, so there was no one to eat the chicken skin for him. But even if her husband was not there, she still had her son.
"Xiaobao." Xu Yunfan called Xiaobao, peeled off the chicken skin and handed it to Xiaobao's mouth. Xiaobao ate the chicken skin in one bite as if he was used to it.
Others who were secretly following the father and son couldn't help but find it funny when they saw this.
Xu Yunfan really loves his son. He feeds his son the chicken skin that he himself doesn't like to eat because it's too fat.
Lu Fengnian saw it and touched Xiaobao, "Xiaobao, you really ate it?" Aren't you tired of it?
Xiaobao chewed the chicken skin in his mouth and said incoherently: "Why not eat it? Uncle, this is not fat, it's just skin. It can be eaten and it smells good. This is all meat and it smells good. Father said that every grain of rice on the plate is hard-earned. Other children can't eat meat every day, but we have it, so we can't waste it." Daddy can eat it on weekdays, so there is no reason why he can't.
Upon hearing Xiaobao's words, the guests at the nearby tables fell silent for a moment for some reason.
Xu Yunfan ate a few pieces of chicken and looked at the remaining dishes on the table. He knew that the leftovers of guests were usually either eaten by the servants in the mansion or thrown away.
The banquet that the Zheng family invited to today was very good, with many dishes. Most of the guests who came were dignitaries, and some of them just ate a few bites, so there were a lot of leftovers on the table.
In some areas, when you attend a wedding, you will get separate dishes and take them home.
Xu Yunfan went out today and brought a few white plastic bags with him. He took them from the study. At this time, Lu Fengzhi had also finished eating. There were two plates of chicken and two plates of duck on the table, as well as a lot of pork snacks left.
Looking at the other tables, there were also quite a lot left. In his twenty years of life, Xu Yunfan had never done this before. After all, the circle he lived in before did not require him to do this at all.
Xu Yunfan gritted his teeth and thought to himself, he gave me a longevity lock made of pure gold, so what's wrong with packing up his whole table of food?
Other people who come to weddings bring their families, but he only brings his little baby. He doesn't talk about making a profit from the food, he just can't stand waste.
It’s not shameful to pack up, and it’s better than throwing it away and wasting it.
Oh wow, thinking of this, Xu Yunfan felt relieved. He took out a stack of neatly folded bags from Xiaobao's messenger bag and opened them quickly. "Are you all full?"
Brother Lu Fengzhi looked at the white thing in Xu Yunfan's hand, not understanding what it meant, and said hesitantly, "I'm full."
Xu Yunfan smiled, "I'll pack up the remaining food, would you like some?"
"No need." Brother Lu Fengnian shook his head in confusion. He had lived for more than ten years and attended so many birthday parties, but this was the first time he saw someone do this.
Is this another kind of "you will have to pay for what you have done"?
Xiaobao jumped off the stool and said, "Dad, I'll get the bag and you pour the meat." He took the meat back and fried it for Daddy Qin. It smelled delicious.
"Well, you are worthy of being my son. You know how to work for your father. That's great." Xu Yunfan praised him. As for children, don't be stingy with praise when it is due. Only when they are praised, they will know that doing so is right and will be recognized.
Seeing the father and son happily packing up their food, everyone had a complicated look on their faces. Could it be that the Xiao Qin family, who made a fortune every day, was really that poor? Could it be that they couldn't afford meat or what?
The other guests were dumbfounded. No, what was Xu Xueshi doing? He had come to eat a meal, and now he was taking it away. Was he afraid he would lose money and not get his money back?
This thought is unavoidable...
Xu Yunfan emptied out all the leftovers on his table, filling up six bags. He felt it was still a little short, so he swept the other tables and waited quietly for a while. Just then, a waiter passed by, and he quickly grabbed him, "Little brother..."
He asked, there are quite a few servants in the Zheng Mansion, but not too many. Today, the Zheng Mansion has set up 37 tables, so how much meat will be left?
In this weather, leftovers can't be kept for long. Xu Yunfan pointed to a table of leftovers nearby and said, "Can I pack up some leftovers to take home?"
The servant: "..."
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