"Fourth brother, this is our eldest brother Ye Liangwen. This is our second brother Ye Liangcheng, and I am your third brother Ye Liangxian." Ye Liangxian stepped forward and introduced his fourth brother as he walked out of the courtyard gate.
Tianxuan clasped his hands in greeting and addressed the group, saying, "Tianxuan greets elder brother, second brother, and third brother."
Ye Liangwen stepped forward, took his fourth brother's fist, and suppressed his inner excitement as he said, "Fourth brother."
Tianxuan straightened up and smiled, gesturing for his three elder brothers to come in: "Please come in, my brothers."
Yao Guang, who had followed him out to greet the guests, stepped forward and took Ye Liangxian's hand: "Brother, brother, come in quickly, we're about to have some barbecue skewers."
Yao Guang wasn't naturally outgoing. The reason she acted this way towards Ye Liangxian was simply because she had seen him on the street the previous afternoon. Most importantly, he looked very similar to Tian Xuan, so Yao Guang didn't feel any awkwardness towards him.
The three brothers followed into the courtyard. Ye Liangwen originally wouldn't have come, but who would have thought that after learning there were three people on the other side of the wall, this little girl would actually run to tell her fourth brother.
Then the fourth brother walked to the wall and personally invited him, so even though he knew his actions were inappropriate, he couldn't refuse.
He agreed, wanting to see for himself whether these people were truly as good to his fourth brother as his father had said.
Upon entering the courtyard, Tianxuan led his three elder brothers and introduced them one by one.
"It's really impolite of us three brothers to come empty-handed, please forgive us." Ye Liangwen said apologetically, clasping his hands in a fist as he introduced Hong Xiaoduo.
I learned from my father that the person who rescued my fourth brother was a young woman. I had just seen her on the wall, but I didn’t expect that she was really a young woman. She looked to be about the same age as me.
But her fourth brother called her "mother"!
Even though he had already learned the whole story from his father, Ye Liangwen still felt a little awkward hearing his fourth brother address this person in that way.
Out of the corner of his eye, he glanced at the other children beside him and felt a deep admiration for this young woman who was about his age. How could she tolerate them calling him that?
When the second and third sons of the Ye family heard their fourth brother call this young lady "mother," they thought to themselves, "If that's the case, then she is of the same generation as our father and mother, and is our elder."
When Quan Jinghuai was introduced, the younger brother said that this was his master. The three brothers glanced at the man's aura and felt that he didn't seem like a chef at all, but rather like a knight-errant.
It wasn't appropriate to ask in detail in person, and considering that even if it was the chef who taught his younger brother to cook, he should still be treated with respect, he greeted him very respectfully.
After the introductions were finished, the three brothers were invited to take their seats.
In just a short while, seats for the three of them had been prepared.
"Xiao Duo, once you've confirmed the characters on the bamboo plaques of the other children, let me know and I'll immediately arrange for someone to search for the information in the pavilion. If they can't find it, I'll also order people to search everywhere."
"I, Duobao Pavilion, will take full responsibility for this matter." Lan Zechen, who already knew the details, said in a low voice to Hong Xiaoduo sitting beside him.
After hearing this, Hong Xiaoduo glanced at him and said, "The information from your Duobao Pavilion isn't cheap. What if I can't afford the fee? Can you give me a discount, or let me pay on credit?"
"Look at what you're saying! Can our relationship now compare to how it was in the beginning? Forget about rewards, you're being too polite."
"From now on, I, Duobao Pavilion, will not charge you a single penny for doing things for you. Besides, what you are doing now is all good deeds, and I naturally want to do my part to accumulate good karma for myself and my family." Lan Zechen patted his chest and promised.
He wasn't just being polite; he genuinely thought and planned to do so.
“Okay, then I won’t stand on ceremony with you. Don’t worry, I’ll also pack up the sugar pills you like, plenty.” Hong Xiaoduo replied with a smile.
"What kind of talk is that? It makes me sound like a greedy little child." Lan Zechen glared at Hong Xiaoduo, then looked around as if no one was paying attention to their conversation.
Hong Xiaoduo found it even more amusing and said, "No way, forget it then, just pretend I didn't say anything."
"Hey, no! Who said I don't want it? I want it!" Lan Zechen exclaimed anxiously.
Seeing the smile on Hong Xiaoduo's face, he immediately realized that this girl was teasing him, and he had fallen for it!
In fact, Lan Zechen couldn't understand it either. He was the owner and head of Duobao Pavilion, and the sellers called him an old fox behind his back, but in front of this little girl, he was like an old man with slow reactions.
Ye Liangwen, who had already taken his seat on the other side, watched as his fourth brother tied on an apron and walked to the iron rack with the charcoal fire burning. What was on his waist was—black jade?
He then looked at the other children who were busy working, whose waists were adorned with the same style of black jade.
This black jade is extremely rare, and I actually saw several pieces here, all worn by children. You should know that this is not something that ordinary people can afford.
Even within our own household, only my father possessed one. It was passed down from our ancestors, and my father, fearing damage or loss, never wore it and kept it in a box in his study.
The father said that these children were with his younger brother, and they had all been in the hands of that beast.
If he hadn't known all this, he would never have realized that these children had once lived such a miserable life.
Ye Liangwen saw the two servants dressed as servants and wanted to help grill the meat, but his fourth brother refused with a smile, saying that they couldn't control the heat and the meat skewers would affect the taste.
Yuheng then brought tall cups for the three new guests and placed them beside each of them.
"Don't move around, the milk tea is here." Tian Shu came over carrying a large teapot and poured it into each cup one by one.
The three Ye brothers smelled the aroma of tea and milk wafting over them. If they weren't guests, they would have immediately tasted it to see what it was like.
Quan Jinghuai had just poured a cup for Lan Zechen beside him when he heard Lan Zechen shout to Tian Shu, "Give me some too, just pour it into my bowl."
Quan Jinghuai found it hard to watch. At this age, isn't it enough to just have alcohol to drink?
But then I thought, I shouldn't laugh at this person. The milk tea is indeed quite delicious, especially since they added tapioca pearls later on. I usually get a cup myself.
Ye Liangcheng glanced at his eldest brother, who was carefully observing the others, and then at his third brother, who looked like a country bumpkin who had never seen the world, and whose attention was entirely focused on studying the dipping sauces on the oil paper in front of him. After thinking for a moment, he stood up and walked towards his fourth brother.
"Fourth brother, is there anything your second brother can help with?" he asked.
"If you want to help, Second Brother, you can just take the meat skewers that I've grilled and put them on the table later." Tianxuan knew that this older brother wanted to get closer to her, so she didn't object or refuse.
"Fourth brother, do you know? This year is a double celebration for our family. My eldest brother's marriage is settled! He'll be getting married on the 18th of August, which is the third day after the Mid-Autumn Festival." Ye Liangcheng stood to the side, wanting to talk to his younger brother about something, but not wanting to bring up anything inappropriate...
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