Chapter 128: Eight Years Later
Eight years later.
Qiao Mianmian had just finished washing up and entered the main hall when she saw her son, who had finished eating, preparing to go to the academy. The child was six years old this year and had started attending the academy last year. He only had three days off a month, and sometimes Qiao Mianmian would try to persuade him to rest for a few more days, but he would refuse.
"Mommy, hug me." Qiao Mianmian opened her arms, and seeing that her son was hesitant to move, she pulled him into her arms. "Just do your best in your studies. Your health is the most important thing, you know?"
Lu Yanli was upright and honest. His name was given to him by Lu Zhao, and he was just like Lu Zhao. "Yes, Mother, I know. If you don't let go, I'll be late for school."
"Alright, alright, then go ahead." Qiao Mianmian handed her son to Qingjiu. "When you get to the academy, tell my fourth brother-in-law to come over for dinner in a couple of days."
Mid-Autumn Festival is just around the corner, and Qiao Mianmian is thinking about how it's been a long time since everyone has gotten together for a meal. She misses her sisters.
Qingjiu was still the same as before, smiling and saying "okay" before taking the young master out.
Just as Qiao Mianmian sat down and picked up her bowl and chopsticks, Cuizhi came over carrying Lu Xingran, who had just woken up. The little girl was four years old and exquisitely beautiful. Every time Qiao Mianmian saw her daughter, she wanted to pluck the stars from the sky and give them to her.
“Our Xingran is awake! Let Mommy hold her. How was your sleep last night?” She hugged her sweet and soft daughter, who was still yawning, and gave her a quick kiss on the cheek. “Alright, sweetie, it’s time for breakfast.”
Lu Xingran rubbed her eyes. Her eyes were big, dark and bright like her mother's, and she loved to act spoiled. She whined and clung to her mother's hand, refusing to let go. "May I sit next to you, Mother?"
The four-year-old girl can be naughty at times, but when she acts cute, Qiao Mianmian's heart melts, let alone Lu Zhao's.
Qiao Mianmian immediately agreed, "Then you have to eat it yourself."
Qiao Mianmian gave Cuizhi a wink, signaling her not to feed the child. She said that the child needed to be trained gradually. Although she loved the child, Qiao Mianmian would not spoil her too much.
Seeing that her young master hadn't eaten well several times, Cuizhi leaned over to help, but remembering her master's instructions, she could only watch helplessly.
Although some food was spilled, the young master still finished her porridge. She went over to help untie the bib and carefully wiped her hands.
After having breakfast, Qiao Mianmian drank tea. She now goes to a food stall, or rather a restaurant, every two days.
Seven years ago, the Qiao family bought a rented shop, and five years ago they bought a restaurant. Now the restaurant is thriving, and Qiao Mianmian and her siblings all receive wages and dividends at the end of the year.
The dividends in recent years have been quite substantial, but Qiao Mianmian has other businesses, so for her, the dividends are just icing on the cake.
But for the Qiao family, the restaurant was their only hope, so everyone was running it with dedication. Two years ago, the Qiao family bought a four-courtyard house with a garden, and the whole family moved into the new house, leaving the original house empty. The Meng family bought one-third of it, and the Zheng family bought the rest.
Seeing that her daughter had wiped her hands clean, Qiao Mianmian waved to her. The little girl was gradually becoming sensible. She didn't expect her son and daughter to be very capable, but the most basic things she needed were to be sensible and polite.
"Mother, do we really have to learn to read?" Lu Xingran wanted to go play, but her cousin Wang said that the Mid-Autumn Festival was coming soon, and the streets were very lively, with people selling lanterns.
“Reading and recognizing characters is the most basic thing. Look at your brother, he gets up early this morning to go to the academy. Shouldn’t you learn from him?” Qiao Mianmian said softly. “Besides, we don’t need to learn many characters. We’ll just learn one character today. After we finish, Mother will take you to make mooncakes, okay?”
Upon hearing that it could be used to make mooncakes, the little girl immediately nodded with a smile.
The mother and daughter were learning to read inside the house and didn't even notice when Lu Zhao came back. It wasn't until Lu Zhao approached that Lu Xingran noticed a shadow, looked up and saw that it was her father. She immediately rushed over and said, "Father, you're finally back! I missed you so much!"
Seeing Lu Zhao, Qiao Mianmian helplessly shrugged. She couldn't learn it now. Lu Zhao doted on his daughter so much that she had no choice but to tell Cuizhi to put away the brush, ink, paper, and inkstone.
"Why are you back so early today?" Qiao Mianmian asked.
"Nothing much, just came back to check on things." Lu Zhao took out some warm glutinous rice cakes from behind her back. "I just happened to buy these, so I'm giving them to you."
The glutinous rice cake is coated with sesame powder and sugar granules, and one bite is full of the aroma of rice.
Lu Xingran had just taken a bite when she praised her father, "Father, are you tired? Please sit down, I'll pour you some tea."
She was so small that she couldn't reach the teapot on the table even when she stood on tiptoe. She stretched out her chubby little hands and reached for it, and then she was picked up.
Lu Zhao didn't need his daughter to help pour tea; he was just happy that she had the thought. "You're still young, you don't need to do these things."
As he said this, Cuizhi had already poured the tea.
Cuizhi also liked the young mistress. "The girl is very well-behaved. She ate by herself this morning and didn't need anyone to feed her."
"My daughter is so wonderful." Lu Zhao coaxed his daughter, asking, "Is there anything you want? Daddy will buy it for you."
"A lantern! A rabbit one, is that okay?" Lu Xingran's eyes lit up immediately.
"Sure, of course you can have anything you want." Lu Zhao has become much more talkative since having a daughter.
Qiao Mianmian watched the father and daughter being affectionate, and took small sips of tea from her own teacup. It was just a lantern, so she didn't stop them.
At this moment, Lu Zhao looked up again and asked, "My wife, what do you want?"
Qiao Mianmian thought for a moment, "Then buy me a lantern too, you can choose any design, and get one for Yanli as well. I don't know who this kid takes after, he's so upright at such a young age, I wonder if he'll be spouting high-sounding platitudes all the time when he grows up?"
Lu Zhao said no, but Cui Zhi laughed.
"Cuizhi, what are you laughing at?" Qiao Mianmian asked.
“I think the young master is just like his father. When he was a child, he loved reading just as much. Even when the old lady tried to persuade him to rest, it was no use. Actually, studying is good. Who knows, he might become the top scholar in the imperial examinations someday,” Cuizhi said.
Qiao Mianmian said she dared not think about it, "I'll just let things take their course. As long as I have a degree, things will be much easier in the future. As for becoming an official, that's up to fate. I've spent my whole life in Lin'an."
Seeing that her daughter had almost finished the glutinous rice cake, she quickly put the rest away, saying, "You just ate breakfast not long ago, you'll get too full if you eat any more." She gave Lu Zhao a wink, and then told him to go about his business.
Lu Xingran pouted, knowing that whining to her mother was useless at this point, and looked pitifully at her father.
Lu Zhao: ...
"Don't look at me." Qiao Mianmian said as Lu Zhaowang approached.
"The child needs to eat more to grow up, it should be fine, right?" Lu Zhao still tried to say.
"Have you forgotten the other day when you took her out, giving her wontons, sugar figurines, and ice cream? She came back with a stomachache!" Qiao Mianmian glared at him. "Lu Zhao, aren't you spoiling your child too much?"
Upon hearing his wife call his name, Lu Zhao instinctively trembled and quickly put his daughter down. His daughter, well, there was nothing he could do to help her.
"Xingran, be good. Father has to go to work now. I'll bring you a lantern when I come back." Lu Zhao coaxed his daughter, reluctantly leaving her behind as he went to work, turning back every few steps.
Seeing her father leave, Lu Xingran immediately wiped away her tears. Knowing that staying any longer would mean learning to read, she pulled Cuizhi aside and said she wanted to go to the garden to pick osmanthus flowers.
Qiao Mianmian saw through her daughter's little scheme at a glance, but didn't expose her. She also got up to pick osmanthus flowers.
Fresh osmanthus flowers need to be washed carefully after being picked, otherwise there may be insects inside.
Qiao Mianmian saved some to dry, intending to make sachets for her family.
Lu Zhao and Lu Yanli weren't coming back for lunch, and Qiao Mianmian was too lazy to cook, so she just had Cuizhi make two dishes.
In the late afternoon, Qingjiu picked up Lu Yanli and brought him back. As soon as Lu Xingran saw her brother, she ran over to him and asked, "Big brother, look at the rouge that Mother put on me, isn't it pretty?"
Lu Yanli carefully examined his younger sister, and finally squatted down to wipe her face. "She'll look even prettier when it's clean."
"Hmph, Mother is right, my eldest brother is just as dull and boring as Father. You don't understand us girls... Hey... Why are you pulling me like that?" Before Lu Xingran could finish speaking, her brother grabbed her hand and, realizing they were heading towards the study, she immediately panicked and shouted, "I learned to read with Mother this morning, I'm not going to study anymore, I really won't!"
"Your mother is never strict with you. You can't even remember a single word a day. Be good, just go to the study and listen to me read. Today, your fourth aunt's husband brought me some sesame candy. If you sit here for half an hour, I'll give you some." Lu Yanli coaxed his younger sister, tempting her with sesame candy.
Lu Xingran's eyes were glued to the sesame candy as soon as she saw it. Moreover, her brother had said that she only needed to listen to him read and didn't need to read herself, so she obediently followed him into the study.
Watching this scene, Qiao Mianmian sighed to Cuizhi beside her, "Yan Li really has Xingran completely under his control. Does she really think that listening to him is enough?"
Cuizhi smiled and said, "Young master is diligent, which is good. With young master taking care of the young lady, you can save yourself a lot of trouble."
"That's right, it's too lonely to be alone. It's good to have brothers and sisters. You and Songmu have been married for many years, when are you going to have another child?" Qiao Mianmian asked gossipy.
Cuizhi married Songmu six years ago and had a son. When her master mentioned having children, she said it was up to fate. "But when will you and my husband have a few more? The old lady said the more the better."
"I'm not having any more children. Too many kids are exhausting. With just the two of them, the house is lively enough." Qiao Mianmian paused. "But don't tell Grandma this. I always tell her it's up to fate."
The two smiled at each other and went to prepare dinner together.
Lu Yanli is not a picky eater and is a very easy child to raise. Lu Xingran loves sweets, and Qiao Mianmian noticed her cavities a few days ago, so she has been controlling the amount of sugar Lu Xingran eats these days.
In the evening, she planned to make sweet and sour fish, braised chicken with chestnuts, and finally, winter melon soup.
Cooking for her family and watching them finish their meals gives Qiao Mianmian a great sense of satisfaction.
After she finished cooking, Lu Zhao returned carrying a lantern.
"Why are you buying so many rabbits?" Qiao Mianmian looked over. "Big rabbits, little rabbits, they're all rabbits."
"Don't you think these lanterns look like a family when they're put together?" When Lu Zhao saw them, he immediately thought of his own family and decided to buy all four.
Qiao Mianmian took a look, and it actually did have some merit.
Lu Xingran ran over eagerly, picked up the smallest lantern, and said, "Father is the best! I love it so much! Shall we go out tonight?"
All she could think about was having fun. "Oh right, let's pick up my cousins too. It'll be more lively and fun with more people."
Lu Yanli said no first, "It's not Mid-Autumn Festival yet, there aren't many people around the City God Temple. Besides, Father and Mother can't take so many children. We'll go out together after Fourth Aunt and the others arrive."
Hearing this, Lu Xingran pursed her lips in disappointment.
Lu Zhao couldn't bear to see his daughter like this, so he quickly said, "Let's play in the yard first today, and Father will fold paper boats for you, okay?"
"Okay, okay." Lu Xingran smiled instantly. Her father was the best; her brother was so strict.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
