Hong Xiaoduo lay there for half an hour, but still couldn't fall asleep. She got up, washed up, and went outside. The sun was about to set.
In the courtyard, the barbecue grill was already set up, and several square tables were put together to form a long table, which was also covered with a blue floral tablecloth.
Tian Shu lit a charcoal fire, while Fei Yan and Yu Heng arranged cups and dipping sauce dishes.
On the table next to them, there were several trays piled high with skewers: meat, dried tofu, fish chunks, cabbage, shrimp skewers, steamed bun slices, potato slices, silkworm pupae, plump white caterpillars, and even the sausages that Tianxuan had made before, which were also sliced and skewered.
Hong Xiaoduo walked over, looked at the wide variety of skewers, and then glanced at Tianxuan, who was busy at the open-air stove in the yard.
"Is this boiled mutton?" Hong Xiaoduo asked as she walked over, drawn by the aroma.
"Don't you love boiled mutton and lamb trotters?" Tianxuan replied.
"Mmm, I'll eat more later," Hong Xiaoduo said, thinking to herself, "Kid, I haven't had many meals cooked by you lately."
Upon hearing this, Tianxuan glanced at her, seemingly guessing what she was thinking, and pursed her lips without saying anything.
At this moment, the voice of the Pavilion Master Lan came over. Hong Xiaoduo looked over and saw that he was instructing A Xian to put a jar of wine on this side of the long table.
"Tianxuan, the fresh milk you ordered has arrived. See if it's enough. If not, I'll have them go buy more," Lan Zechen said to Tianxuan.
Tianxuan glanced at the large wooden bucket that Guard Liu was carrying and nodded, saying, "Thank you, Uncle Pavilion Master. This is enough for today."
After saying that, he instructed Tianji to watch the fire under the stove, making sure it didn't go out or get too hot. Then he called for Tianshu to carry the bucket of milk into the kitchen with him.
He's going to make milk tea while we have barbecue tonight.
"Yaoguang, do you often eat like this?" Lan Zechen, who had just returned from buying wine, circled the table where the skewers were displayed and then grabbed Yaoguang, who was passing by.
“It’s not something we eat often,” Yao Guang replied.
Lan Zechen nodded in agreement. "That's right. It's so troublesome. How could we eat it often?"
"I only eat it two or three times a month," Yao Guang added.
Lan Zechen's expression froze instantly. Eating it two or three times a month isn't considered eating it often?
Ignoring his reaction, Yao Guang ran to Hong Xiaoduo's side and whispered to her, "Mother, Second Brother's brother is peeking at us from the wall. He's the one who looks a lot like Second Brother."
Hong Xiaoduo smiled when she heard this. She had seen it just now, and Quan Jinghuai and Tian Shu had also noticed it, but everyone pretended not to see it.
She went into the kitchen and saw tapioca flour dumplings being cooked.
“Tianxuan, your brother is peeking at you from over the wall. Do you want to call him over to eat some barbecue? If you don’t want to, then just pretend we didn’t see him?” Hong Xiaoduo asked the person in question directly.
Tianxuan was so focused on preparing the ingredients that he didn't notice anything. Even though Tianshu and the others saw it, they didn't dare tell him.
After hearing what Hong Xiaoduo said, he thought for a moment. Just when Hong Xiaoduo thought he would refuse, she heard him say, "Then let's go together. Anyway, we have enough ingredients prepared for tonight."
Wow, they actually agreed?
Hong Xiaoduo looked at Tianxuan with some surprise. This kid was acting too calmly. She wondered if she was overthinking it. Why did it seem a bit abnormal?
After leaving the kitchen, Hong Xiaoduo leaned down and spoke to Yao Guang, then the little girl ran towards the wall.
On the other side of the wall, Ye Liangwen watched as his second brother, not long after his third brother climbed the ladder, also moved an old square table from the yard and climbed up as well. His third brother, who had said he would just take a look, showed no intention of leaving, and his second brother watched intently as well.
After thinking for a moment, Ye Liangwen whispered something to Ah Zhong, who then walked over to him and said something to him while squatting at the door. Ah Zhong then took out a piece of silver and stuffed it into his hand.
The villager immediately went inside, brought over two chairs, and helped place them against the wall.
Noticing the commotion around them, the second and third sons of the Ye family turned around and saw that their eldest brother had also come up to see them.
"Where is Fourth Brother?" Ye Liangwen quickly looked around the courtyard but didn't see Fourth Brother, who looked like Third Brother and Father. He asked in a low voice.
That fourth brother, who had just turned one year old, with eyes like two big grapes, rarely cried, and would giggle whenever he saw him, reaching out for a hug, had gone through such a tragic childhood. I wonder what he looks like now!
"Go into that room, you'll be out in a bit," the third brother, Ye Liangxian, whispered.
The second brother, Ye Liangcheng, was a little late climbing the wall and didn't see his fourth brother either.
Just then, the three brothers saw a little girl running towards them, and they quickly squatted down.
"Hey, guys over there on the other side of the wall, my mom's calling you guys over to have some barbecue skewers!" Yao Guang stood on this side of the wall, looking up and calling out loudly.
The three brothers on the other side of the wall were hunched over, looking at each other in embarrassment. They had been discovered!
"Go and respond," Ye Liangwen said to the third brother.
He's the youngest, so he's the most suitable person to handle this, since they're trying to undermine us.
If my father finds out, I'm sure I'll get a good beating.
"They're the ones who called us over, not the ones who wanted to go. It should be fine, right? Besides, it wouldn't be good if we didn't go, would it?" Ye Liangxian said softly.
"Then you go by yourself," Ye Liangwen said after thinking for a moment.
Now that it has been discovered, it is indeed not good to go there, and it would be even worse if people misunderstood us.
It would be good to send the third brother over so he can try to meet the fourth brother face-to-face.
Ye Liangxian wasn't stupid; he understood what his elder brother meant. He slowly straightened up, leaning against the wall, and looked at Yaoguang on the other side of the wall, saying, "Little sister, please thank your mother for her invitation. I also want to go, but I'm afraid your second brother won't want to see me. I'm afraid he'll be unhappy."
Hearing him say that, Yao Guang immediately exclaimed, "Little brother, you don't need to think too much. My second brother knows. He also said that you should come and eat with us. My second brother's kebabs are delicious. Come on over."
Oh Hao? Fourth brother knows? He's willing to see me? Ye Liangxian was overjoyed. He turned to his two older brothers, who were still hunched over, winking and making faces at them, looking very smug.
Seeing the envy on his two older brothers' faces, Ye Liangxian raised an eyebrow and turned to Yaoguang, saying, "Little sister, would you please ask your second brother and your mother if it's alright if I come over with two more brothers?"
"It's okay if we don't eat anything, is that alright?" Never mind, let's just do it first and ask questions later. We'll take the beating together when we get back!
From childhood to adulthood, I was the only one who had ever been spanked by my father, and my second brother had only been scolded. But in my memory, my eldest brother was the only one who had never been scolded or spanked. Now that this opportunity was rare, I wanted him to experience what it was like to be scolded and spanked...
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