Chapter 626: Imperial Examination Family-Raising System (35)

"Junior Brother Song, shall we go to the Shantang together?"

"Alright."

Song Yanqing closed his book, put away the Four Treasures of the Study on his desk, stood up, and took his small bundle from the utility shelf in the corner where students stored their miscellaneous items. Inside was a jar of pickled vegetables he had brought from his Zhaishe that morning, and he went to the Shantang with his fellow students and friends to have lunch.

It had been over ten days since the last break, and the side dishes brought from home were down to just this jar of pickled vegetables.

It was not that he disliked eating pickled vegetables; on the contrary, the pickled vegetables his wife made were much more delicious than the salted vegetables he usually ate—sour, crunchy, refreshing, and appetizing, they suited his palate perfectly.

It was just that pickled vegetables lasted a long time; his wife said they wouldn't spoil for a month or so, so she told him to save them for last and eat the meat and egg dishes that spoiled quickly first. By the time he got to the pickled vegetables, it was usually not long before he would be going home for the break.

Seeing Song Yanqing holding a familiar-looking small brown jar as he headed to the Shantang, a group of fellow students smiled knowingly: "Junior Brother Song, is that pickled vegetables in the jar?"

The side dishes that Junior Brother Song brought from home every time always left them with an endless aftertaste.

Not to mention the braised meat and soy-sauce meat—that was, after all, the ancestral craft of his mother-in-law's family business—but how could even the pickled vegetables made from cabbage, radish, and young ginger be so delicious?

There were also the Salted Duck Eggs with oil oozing out, the fresh and chewy dried bamboo shoots and peanuts, the rich and milky goat milk cakes, the uniquely flavored drunken lake crabs, and the dried fish that was so fresh it made one's tongue fall off after steaming... They didn't know until they counted, but they discovered that in these past two months, they had tasted no fewer than ten novel delicacies from Junior Brother Song.

They were too embarrassed to ask for more of other things, but since the pickled vegetables were made of radish, cabbage, and young ginger, it wouldn't hurt to be thick-skinned and go over to trade a mouthful of pickled vegetables for a spoonful of the stir-fried cabbage or stewed radish from the Shantang.

"Junior Brother Song, I heard there's steamed egg in the Shantang today. How about trading a spoonful of egg for a mouthful of your pickled vegetables?"

"Oh, that's right! In three more days of study, we'll be on break. Our food allowance should still have some left, so we can finally eat some meat for the next few days."

"The steamed egg in the Shantang isn't even as good as the pickled vegetables from Junior Brother Song's home."

"Junior Brother Song, I'll trade two spoonfuls of egg for a mouthful of your pickled vegetables."

Song Yanqing shook his head with a laugh, just about to say it wasn't necessary and that they could just take some if they wanted to eat it. It was only three days left anyway, and he couldn't finish a whole jar by himself. Then, as if he were suffering from auditory hallucinations, he heard his wife's voice.

"Song Yanqing!"

This time he heard it clearly; it was indeed his wife's voice without a doubt.

He turned his head abruptly and saw Xie Yang standing gracefully under the century-old tree at the entrance of the County School, waving at him with a smile.

"Wife..."

Song Yanqing was stunned for a moment. Once he reacted, he handed the jar in his hand to a fellow student beside him, then took two steps in one to reach Xie Yang. He looked closely at her gentle brows and eyes and asked stammeringly, "Why are you here?"

"I've come to pick you up to go home for the New Year!" Xie Yang blinked at him, "Are you surprised?"

Hearing this, Song Yanqing chuckled happily: "Surprised, very surprised."

"I also brought a few buckets of Fish, and some Shrimp and Crab too. The Nongzhuang Hutang had a bumper harvest of New Year fish. How about we send a few to your teachers and send the rest to the Shantang to add a dish for you all?"

"Live fish?"

"Of course! I brought them in water buckets, and they are still jumping around! On the way here, I stopped by to send a bucket to Old Master Han in town to pay an early New Year's greeting on your behalf."

Song Yanqing couldn't help but hold her hand, stroking the back of her slightly cool hand: "It must have been hard for you, wife, to be so thoughtful for me. You haven't eaten yet, have you? Shall I go to the Shantang to get some food, and then we can eat in my Zhaishe?"

At this moment, the two instructors who had received the news hurried over.

It wasn't as if students' parents hadn't sent them New Year gifts before, but they were usually the popular pastries from the County or local specialties like New Year cakes or sticky rice cakes. It was truly the first time someone had sent buckets of live fish, shrimp, and crab like Xie Yang did.

Especially these fish—how were they so big!

One per bucket? Goodness! No wonder the carriage was packed full of basins and buckets.

The manager of the estate, receiving a look from his mistress, busily sent the portioned fish to the instructors—two fish, two jin of shrimp, and six large lake crabs for each instructor. There were four fish, two or three jin of shrimp, and over a dozen crabs left over, which were sent to the Shantang to add to the students' meal.

It was too late for lunch today, so they would eat them in the evening or in the next day or two.

The watching students cheered excitedly, then one after another bowed to thank Song Yanqing and Xie Yang.

Xie Yang waved her hand with a smile: "No need for formalities! You are all my husband's fellow students. Once fellow students, friends for life; it is a very rare fate to be able to gather together to study and take the imperial examinations!"

These words left the teachers and students present quite moved: Who would have thought that Scholar Song's wife was not only beautiful and kind-hearted, but also well-read and sensible! Once fellow students, friends for life! Isn't that exactly the truth!

Over here, Xie Yang had the estate manager drive the carriage to buy New Year goods; she had listed a shopping list for him to follow.

She then followed Song Yanqing to his Zhaishe.

Neither of them had eaten lunch, so they would just eat together.

Song Yanqing had originally intended to go to the Shantang to get food, but he didn't expect the food box Xie Yang brought to be filled to the brim with the dishes he loved.

Although it had gone cold after half a day, fortunately, he had charcoal and a stove in his Zhaishe, so he could eat after heating it up.

Soon, the two of them were eating hot food around the stove.

"When do you start your New Year holiday?"

"The day after the day after tomorrow."

"That's about what I thought," Xie Yang thought for a moment and said, "Then I'll stay at an inn for these two days. Can you come out to stay at night?"

"..."

Song Yanqing blushed suddenly, and his ears were even redder, as if they were burning.

Xie Yang: "..."

Heaven and earth be my witness! She really didn't mean to covet his body!

However, after not seeing him for ten days, how had his face become even fairer? And at such a close distance, she couldn't see any flaws at all, as if he were a piece of fine mutton-fat jade. Even without touching him, she knew it was very smooth.

Could this be a benefit of being an Air of Fortune?

Without needing to put any effort into maintenance, he possessed a skin texture that even women would envy and be jealous of.

Little did she know that her husband, who was a year younger than her, was not only putting in the effort but also spending points to maintain that face of his.

【Host, your plan has worked! Your wife is indeed unable to keep her hands off your face. If looks could do anything, she would have absolutely stripped your clothes off by now.】

Song Yanqing: "..."

His ears were even hotter.

【Host, wake up! I said that because I want you to seize every second and study hard to earn more points! Don't just spend without earning, hey!】

It would have been fine if it hadn't said that, but once it did, it reminded Song Yanqing that he had also used points to exchange for a pearl hairpin.

This pearl hairpin was made of pearls, agate, and red coral; its main effect was to boost one's vitality and improve one's mood. Long-term wear also had the effect of improving skin anti-oxidation.

In order to redeem this pearl hairpin, he had spent all the points he had earned from studying during this period.

【...】 The Sub-system was listless and despairing.