Chapter 51: We've come to eat

"What if we don't have money?"

"If you have money, buy more; if you don't have money, buy less. A gift is small but the sentiment is deep, understand?"

"Understood, Father."

The two returned to Tianshui Town from Xinghua Village after noon. Yuan Jiaqi wasn't hungry, so he bought a bag of pastries at the pastry shop and went straight to the Qiao family.

That house was now Qiao Mai's, so naturally, it was the Qiao family.

The courtyard gate was ajar, and he could tell someone was there by the sound, but he still knocked on the door.

Fengyun and Yunfeng came to receive them. "Uncle, who are you looking for?"

"Is Lady Qiao in? I have come by invitation."

It was their first time meeting, so naturally, they didn't know each other.

"My mother is busy in the kitchen. Please come in."

The two little ones enthusiastically and politely let the father and son in. Chuan'er was happy to see little brothers older than him.

He hurriedly got down from his father's side and followed Fengyun and Yunfeng asking this and that.

"Little brothers, my name is Chuan'er. What about you?"

"Fengyun, Yunfeng. My mother named us."

"Can I come find you to play when I'm bored in the future?"

"We don't play; we have to help Mother do things at home."

At this time, Qiao Mai poked her head out from the kitchen. "Brother Yuan, sit down. Everyone will be here in a while."

"Mm, you go ahead and get busy, don't worry about me."

Fengyun brought a stool for Yuan Jiaqi, and Yunfeng brought him a bowl of water.

"Uncle, we don't have tea leaves at home, just plain water. Is that okay?"

"Of course it is."

Chuan'er saw the fruit on the table and started drooling. The Fengyun brothers hurriedly moved a stool for him.

"Come, Brother Chuan, sit here and eat fruit. Eat whatever you want, but don't eat until you're stuffed. My mother is making delicious food, so you have to save room for the meal, understand?"

"Mm-hmm."

Thinking of what Lady Qiao had said to him in the morning, now that he saw the two children, he naturally took it to heart.

Seeing the two brothers, whether it was their speech or their way of treating others, it was all very appropriate. They had only been with Lady Qiao for half a month, yet they were so sensible. It seemed this Lady Qiao was really not simple.

So he found a tree branch in a corner and called Fengyun and Yunfeng over.

"Do you know how to calculate?"

"Yes, Mother has been teaching us the formulas lately."

"Then recite them for me to hear."

Fengyun and Yunfeng immediately recited them neatly in front of him.

"Not bad. Let me test you."

He used the branch to write math problems on the ground. They answered the simple ones, but they couldn't do the difficult ones yet.

But that didn't matter; after all, they had just started learning, and reaching this level was not bad.

He then had them take out the primer to test them. They could recite it and recognized the characters inside, but they couldn't write them. Even using the branch on the ground, they couldn't write them well.

With a bottom line in his heart, it would be easy to teach.

Just as he was teaching, the courtyard gate opened, and Chen Shi and her son arrived. Seeing a man in the courtyard, Chen Shi lowered her head slightly.

Yuan Jiaqi hurriedly stood up. "Greetings, Lady Chen."

"Brother Yuan is too polite."

The Fengyun brothers hurriedly ran over. "Auntie, hello. Little brother, hello. Welcome to our house as guests."

"So well-behaved."

She hurriedly grabbed a handful of big dates from the basket she was carrying.

"Come, eat some dates."

"Thank you, Auntie. Auntie, sit here."

Qiao Mai poked her head out from the kitchen and laughed. It's so good to have sons.

"Sister Chen, you sit down first."

In a little while, Chen Hao also joined in the math problems. Watching Yuan Jiaqi teach the children to recognize characters and calculate, Chen Shi quietly stood up and came to the kitchen door.

"Lady Qiao, are you planning to have him teach your sons?"

"Yes."

"I heard he isn't even a child scholar?"

"Those are just empty names. Having substance in your stomach is what's real. If you hadn't seen his good handwriting, you wouldn't say that."

"Why not send them to the town school?"

"They won't accept them."

Qiao Mai didn't want to say so much to Chen Shi. She always felt they hadn't reached that point; they were just neighbors.

"My Hao'er is eight years old, and I also want to send him to school to study."

"It just so happens that Brother Yuan comes to teach the children every morning, so let Hao follow along and learn together. There are only four children in total. Let's give them a primer first, and it won't be too late to send him to school later if you want."

"What about the tuition?"

"No need to pay. It's all on me."

"How can I be so embarrassed?"

"You can just send Brother Yuan some holiday gifts during festivals."

"Then wouldn't I be basking in your light again?"

"Bask if you want. I'm willing to let Sister Chen bask in this light. To tell you the truth, it's better to have more children. Children who have friends together and children who don't have different personalities."

"There's such a saying?"

"Of course. With more children, playing together, they know how to help each other, be united and friendly. A single child is too isolated in personality, not easy to fit in, and it affects how the child will treat others in the future."

Qiao Mai was busy with her work while talking to Chen Shi. At this time, another group of people entered the courtyard gate.

"Aha, we've come to eat!"

Chen Shi hurriedly stepped forward. "Sister Lu, hello."

"All good, all good. Yo, this must be Young Master Yuan."

"Shopkeeper Lu, hello."

"Good, good."

"It's lively with so many people today. I just like lively."

With so many women, Yuan Jiaqi's face felt a bit hot. He took the children and moved to a corner where they wouldn't be in the way.

Seeing that everyone had arrived, Fengyun went to bolt the courtyard gate.

In the kitchen, Qiao Mai didn't need any of them to help. She just let them set up the table in the courtyard and sit and wait.

Dish after dish was placed on the table. The children had no heart for math problems anymore and kept swallowing saliva around the table.

What kind of dishes were these? Why hadn't they seen them before? Everyone who came was muttering in their hearts.

The father and son, who hadn't eaten at noon, had their stomachs growling at this time. Fortunately, no one heard, otherwise it would have been embarrassing to death.

Chen Shi saw that there weren't enough stools and went home to move a few over. Yuan Jiaqi saw this and secretly noted it in his heart.

When he had time, he would make a few and send them to Lady Qiao.

The last dish was placed on the table, and Qiao Mai shouted to everyone.

"Come, come, come, sit down. Today is the Mid-Autumn Festival, and we must raise our glasses to celebrate."

The little ones all sat obediently around the table. Qiao Mai hugged a jar and poured a bowl of water wine for the adults. She had also prepared for the children.

She squeezed fruit juice from fresh fruit and filled a bowl in front of each of them.

"Come, raise your glasses. I wish everyone a happy and joyful Moon God Festival."

They clinked glasses, raised them, and finished the first bowl.

Whether they finished it or not, Qiao Mai didn't care; anyway, she finished hers.

Shopkeeper Lu looked at Yuan Jiaqi's bowl. "Yours doesn't seem to have moved?"

"Yuan cannot hold his liquor, so I generally don't touch alcohol. I just took a small sip earlier."

"Oh my, what a good man."

Yuan Jiaqi regretted coming a bit. There were unmarried girls at the table; him being a man here was a bit rash.

Ruxin and Ruyi didn't feel anything. They had seen all kinds of people, so having a man at the table didn't make them embarrassed. They just ate their own food.

Just at this time, Qiao Mai relieved the situation.

"I invited everyone here today, one is to celebrate the festival and be lively, two is that my household registration has been handled, let's celebrate, and three is that from now on, my two sons will follow Brother Yuan for enlightenment every day, and Chen Hao and Chuan'er will also be together, right here at my house."

"If it's inconvenient, it can be at my place too."

"There are too many people on your side, the children can't calm down to learn. Let it be here. It just so happens I'm not at home during the day. We are a small household and don't have so many rules. You don't have to take it to heart, fearing this one saying that one gossiping. A straight body doesn't fear a crooked shadow; just do your own thing well."

After speaking, Qiao Mai was stunned, because only she and Yuan Jiaqi were talking, and everyone else was burying their heads in the food.

Watching the dishes on the plate disappearing, "Well, Brother Yuan, eat the dishes first. Today, you must eat the dishes I made clean. No one is allowed to be pretentious. Eating and drinking to your fill is the real business."

Even Chen Shi, who usually spoke softly, was burying her head in eating at this time.

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 52 =====