Chapter 282 The Chen family wants to celebrate the New Year together.
As dawn breaks, the sky turns a faint red.
The Chen family was very surprised that Wan Ziyan was not at all uncomfortable living here.
If anyone is truly struggling to adapt, it's the Chen family.
The sudden addition of a scholar to their household left them unsure how to interact with him.
I always feel that my current life is not in line with Wan Ziyan's identity.
No matter what Wan Ziyan was prepared to do, someone would always be there to take care of everything before him.
Wan Qiqi looked helpless.
Their actions made them seem distant, as if Wan Ziyan were a wealthy young master of a higher status, rather than a family member.
As a result, whenever Wan Qiqi needed help, she would call on Wan Ziyan for assistance, which made Wang Zhi's eyes look strange!
But Wan Qiqi also explained very clearly that Wan Ziyan is her brother and family member, and there is no need to treat him differently. Treating him like one of her own people is the best way to take care of him.
After a night of getting used to each other, everyone settled in.
Wan Ziyan sat in the courtyard early in the morning with a book for beginners, spread out the paper, ground the ink, and prepared his task for this trip.
Chen Yongnian frowned and kept scratching his head.
Learning to read is much more difficult than learning martial arts.
He felt overwhelmed and tormented by the sight of the neat, square characters.
Pingping, An'an, and the little monkey, on the other hand, sat on stools to the side, listening intently.
Chen Yongliang would occasionally peek over and say with a smile that he knew the person.
He not only pronounced the word correctly, but also explained its meaning.
Wan Ziyan's gaze toward Chen Yongliang was noticeably better than his gaze toward Chen Yongnian.
After all, a positive and motivated student is more pleasing to the eye than a student who can't concentrate on their studies.
Chen Yongxing was busy, but he would occasionally glance in the direction where Wan Ziyan was teaching, his eyes revealing longing.
Li Chongniang, heavily pregnant, came out and happened to see this scene. She walked to Wan Qiqi's side and whispered, "Sister-in-law, you see, whether Master Wan teaches one or two, it's still the same. Why not let Yongxing learn with my brother..."
Wan Qiqi glanced at Chen Yongxing and noticed that he was staring intently at that spot.
It's not easy for a scholar to come to the house, so those who haven't studied naturally want to take this opportunity to learn more characters so they can brag to the villagers in the future.
In modern times, literacy is a basic skill, but in ancient times it was a luxury for poor families.
“Go ahead! Tomorrow is Lunar New Year’s Eve, and I don’t have anything else to do,” Wan Qiqi replied.
Li Chongniang was delighted to hear this.
As if he had heard this, Chen Yongxing immediately put down the axe in his hand, wiped his hands vigorously, and moved a small stool over to sit down.
Wan Qiqi was quite happy to see this.
She could tell that Wan Ziyan took reading very seriously, so seriously that he could ignore all distractions and immerse himself in the classics.
The book in Wan Ziyan's hand looked quite old, but it was neatly arranged without a single crease.
It is clear that he was an extremely avid reader.
Wan Qiqi thought to herself, if such a person were in modern times, he would be an outstanding student with excellent grades, and he should be able to become a pillar of the country.
It's a pity I was born in such a feudal and hierarchical era.
Just then, people appeared at the courtyard gate, breaking the existing tranquility.
"Oh my, Qiqi is back!"
Grandma Chen appeared at the gate of the courtyard, leaning on her cane.
Wan Qiqi looked over and met that smile. Without the other person saying anything, she already understood what he wanted to do.
But as an elder who had helped Wang Zhi before, Old Mrs. Chen still showed some courtesy and greeted her with a smile, saying, "Grandma, what brings you here?"
Grandma Chen glanced around the yard, her gaze settling on Wan Ziyan.
The smile in her eyes vanished completely, replaced by a hint of disgust.
But as Wan Ziyan looked over, she hid everything.
She smiled faintly and said, "This must be Master Wan from Hefeng Academy?"
Wan Ziyan stood up and bowed to her, saying, "Wan Ziyan greets Grandma Chen."
Although Old Mrs. Chen responded with a smile, she didn't say much to him and instead went to the kitchen to find Wang Zhi.
Wan Qiqi's smile froze the moment the other person left. She turned to Wan Ziyan and said, "Brother, you can do whatever you want with the Chen family, but you are a scholar, so you don't need to lower yourself for my sake."
Some people give him face, but then they take advantage of him.
She could sense that Old Mrs. Chen's trip was not well-intentioned.
Regardless of whether the Wan family exists or not, Wan Ziyan is still a Juren (a successful candidate in the provincial civil service examination), someone who can directly become an official in the imperial court, and there is no need for him to bow to any commoner.
She knew that Wan Ziyan was respectful to everyone, but he didn't want to make things difficult for her in front of the villagers because of him.
Before Wan Ziyan could speak, Wan Qiqi had already turned and gone to the kitchen.
Chen Yongxing stood beside Wan Ziyan and whispered, "Second Brother Wan, what Sister-in-law said is right. There aren't that many rules in the village. You don't need to bow. Just greet people when you see them."
Wan Ziyan lowered his head and sighed, "The etiquette of a gentleman should not be abandoned."
He didn't say anything more, and sat down to continue teaching the children to read.
In the kitchen, Old Mrs. Chen chatted with Wang Zhi for quite a while.
"Tomorrow is New Year's Eve, and everyone talks about family reunion dinner. How about you take everyone back to the Chen family home for dinner tomorrow? Although the Chen family is poor and not as wealthy as the Chen family is now, it's still their old house. The men of the Chen family will feel at ease seeing everyone sitting together for New Year's Eve dinner..."
Grandma Chen held Wang Zhi's hand and spoke earnestly.
Wang Zhi frowned, unable to find a reason to refuse, but she felt that if they went to the old house, Old Madam Chen would definitely not want to bring Wan Ziyan along.
Grandma Chen glanced at the kitchen, which was piled high with ingredients, and said, "If you're worried about these vegetables going to waste, why don't you take them with you? The Chen family doesn't have many vegetables..."
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