As soon as the carriage entered the courtyard, Min Yueqing and the others could smell the rich, enticing fragrance through the carriage curtain.
Shi Tou was the most excited. He immediately lifted the curtain at the car window and looked out curiously. What came into view was a huge courtyard. He felt that it was even more elaborate than the mansion of the richest landlord in their village. Moreover, it was clean, tidy, and extremely beautiful.
Unlike the Earl's mansion, this place is surrounded by high walls on all sides, with walls beyond walls. From this courtyard, you can see the continuous mountain peaks. Although the light is somewhat dim after sunset, the presence of the mountains in the distance is still strong.
Although Pei Ji didn't react as strongly as Shi Tou, Min Yueqing noticed his eyes were two shades brighter than usual, and knew that he was actually excited too, just a bit more reserved.
Even more excited than Shi Tou and Pei Ji were Mao Mao and the other children.
They watched with wide eyes as a spacious and luxurious carriage drove through the gate. Before they could even examine it closely or discuss it, two more equally large carriages followed and stopped a little behind the first one. The children watched with rapt attention.
But that wasn't all. After the carriage, someone rode a magnificent horse into the courtyard. What surprised them most was that there were two ponies following behind, trotting along behind the horse.
Mao Mao was simply overwhelmed by the sight. So many horses, which were rarely seen in normal times, had appeared today, and they were so close to him! He felt that he could spend the whole night just looking at these glossy horses.
Immediately afterwards, Mao Mao felt his hand being pulled hard twice. He looked at his sister next to him in confusion, but Xiu Xiu didn't pay any attention to him. After reminding him, she ran forward a bit.
Mao Mao then noticed that people had gotten off the first carriage that had entered. The first to step out were two beautiful young women, dressed in bright clothes that he had never seen before, with smiling faces. After getting off the carriage, they did not leave, but stood facing the carriage.
Just then, another older sister stepped out of the car. Mao Mao didn't know how to describe her, but he felt that she was the most beautiful person he had ever seen, just like a fairy in a story. He turned to look at the sister next to him and found that she was also staring at this fairy in a daze.
When Mao Mao came to her senses and looked again, she saw that the "fairy sister" jumped off the carriage in an extremely elegant manner, which was both beautiful and cool.
Then a young man dressed in equally fine clothes stepped out of the carriage. Although he was a boy, he was as pretty as a girl, no, even prettier than any girl he had ever seen.
The little prince had just reached out his hands to the "fairy sister" when he was suddenly picked up and scooped up. Mao Mao smiled slightly when she saw the little prince; his smile resembled that of the little golden boy under Guanyin in a New Year's painting.
Mao Mao couldn't help but exclaim, "How wonderful!"
Actually, his parents loved him very much. Sometimes his father would carry him on his shoulders, which made him both scared and amused. He was simply envious of this young master being held by the "fairy sister".
Actually, by this point, Mao Mao had already guessed that this young master was the legendary young master, and the "fairy sister" was naturally the madam.
Following behind the young master was a boy of about the same age. Before anyone could help him up, he nimbly jumped down and stood beside the lady.
Old Li had been waiting by the carriage. As soon as he saw Min Yueqing, he recognized her as Miss Min. Of course, he should now address her as Madam. He immediately stepped forward and greeted her with a smile: "Madam, you must be tired from your journey. Please come in and rest."
Min Yueqing smiled and said, "Alright, managing the estate must be tough for you. We hope we won't cause you too much trouble this time."
Old Li naturally refused, walking to the side to lead everyone into the house. "This is a good thing that so many people would beg for, why would we find it troublesome? Madam is really joking. Let's go inside first. There's nothing good in the countryside, so Madam and young masters can just try it out."
Min Yueqing walked into the main hall and found the table full of food. In the center were two large bowls filled with meat and vegetables, the portions were astonishing, and they were still steaming hot. Around the table were several plates of vegetables, and there was still a large empty space, presumably because there were still main dishes to be served.
Old Li invited Min Yueqing to sit in the chair in front, and Pei Ji sat down in the chair to Min Yueqing's left. Shi Tou sat down next to Pei Ji as usual.
Old Li didn't recognize Shi Tou, nor did he know the boy's identity. Seeing that he was very familiar with the lady, he treated him like a young master and was very polite to him.
Seeing that Amei and the other person were still standing, Min Yueqing said to them, "Since we're no longer in the Earl's residence, there's no need for so many formalities. Come and sit down with us."
Amei and her companion hesitated for a moment, seemingly feeling it was somewhat improper, but the young lady kept looking at them with a firm gaze, so they had no choice but to compromise and sit at the end of the table. However, the two of them only slightly touched the seats, ready to stand up at any moment to serve food to the madam and young master.
After everyone was seated, someone brought up two large plates of steaming dumplings. Old Li smiled and said, "These are pork and shepherd's purse dumplings made this afternoon with wild shepherd's purse freshly picked from the mountain. The wild shepherd's purse has just grown and is still quite tender. They were just cooked. Please don't mind, Madam and Young Master, just enjoy the freshness."
Upon hearing this, Min Yueqing said, "Thank you for your trouble. We have enough dumplings. These meat and vegetable dishes are too much for just a few of us. They'll just get cold sitting on the table. Why don't you put them back on the table in smaller plates? You can take the rest away and distribute them. Manager Liu and his men are outside carrying boxes and must be hungry. Please make the arrangements."
Upon hearing this, Old Li waved his hands repeatedly and said, "How can this be? Madam is being considerate of everyone, but this is unacceptable. Of course, you should eat well first. Madam, don't worry about us, there are still dishes in the kitchen."
Seeing that Old Li was determined not to agree, Min Yueqing did not press the old man, but instead gave Amei and the other woman a look.
Amei and Azhu understood and stood up. They said to Old Li, "Our lady isn't the kind of person who's just being polite on the surface. If she said that, she really means it. Otherwise, she wouldn't feel comfortable eating. How about this, we'll go with you to the kitchen to get some plates, so the food won't get cold."
When Old Li saw that the two of them had come up to him and were acting as if they couldn't refuse, he had no choice but to stop them and tell them to go back and sit down. He then instructed his grandson, who was standing next to him, to go to the kitchen and get a few large plates.
The young people ran very fast and soon came back carrying large plates and ladles. It seemed that the people in the kitchen knew about this and had prepared the ladles for them.
Old Aunt Li also came along; she thought she couldn't let the important people do it themselves, so she made the trip.
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