Chapter 80: Harmonious and Loving

"Haha, not bad. If this is truly the content recorded in the Yongle Encyclopedia, then the value of these medical books of yours is immeasurable. Although they are not the original copies, the knowledge recorded within them is priceless."

"No, there are still sixty books left. I must hurry and finish reading them. As for these forty books, take them back and keep them well; they can be passed down as family heirlooms."

"Very well, Master. Whenever you wish to read them, just come to me."

"Good."

Wang Lao nodded with satisfaction. He had witnessed Zhang Ping'an's growth; in just two years, he had already surpassed what an ordinary practitioner of Traditional Chinese Medicine would achieve in twenty, such as his own two disciples.

A month later, the full-month banquet for Zhang Ping'an's younger brother was held in their hometown. There was no shortage of chicken, duck, fish, or meat. The head chef was still He Daqing, and naturally, Zhuzi was also roped in by He Daqing to serve as a kitchen helper.

He Yuzhu had made significant progress over these past two years. At the restaurant, he was being specially trained by his master, Chen Jianye, and back home, he had He Daqing cooking special meals for him. His culinary skills now were far beyond those of the Level Nine Chef seen in the drama.

Those in Zhang Family Village who had tasted He Daqing's cooking before wore expressions of nostalgic delight, while those who hadn't were utterly astonished. Ignoring all decorum, they soon swept the tables clean.

Shazhu looked at the way the people at the tables were eating and at the emptied plates, his face filled with pride. This was undoubtedly the greatest affirmation for them as chefs.

"Brother He, that's authentic!"

"Hahaha!"

He Daqing was currently in an upward phase in both his career and love life, having gained another son. On his usual days off, he mostly went out to take on extra jobs. He planned to use the main room in the Siheyuan for his own retirement and for Zhuzi's marriage later on, but he needed to prepare two rooms for his younger son as well, for his future marriage.

Although He Daqing really wanted to find a place for his second son within the Siheyuan, unfortunately, the Deaf Old Lady had already turned hers over, and given his current situation, he certainly did not meet the criteria for applying for housing.

Therefore, he had been looking for a house near Nanluoguxiang for some time, but unfortunately, there were none suitable; they were either too dilapidated or too large, so the matter was shelved.

"Zhuzi, is your dad exhausted?"

Zhang Ping'an, seeing that the cooking was mostly done, came over to check on the father and son, only to find He Daqing lying on a recliner with his eyes closed, resting, and taking a puff of a cigarette from time to time.

"Maybe... I guess?"

Shazhu did not know his father's worries. He Daqing had let him handle the final soup, which had already left him incredibly excited; he had no energy left to pay attention to anything else and was currently meticulously controlling the heat and seasoning.

Zhang Ping'an nodded, not minding. After He Daqing married Qin Pandi, especially after having a child, his eye bags had grown larger and his complexion was clearly not as good as before. It was normal to be tired and rest a while after working hard at night.

"Ping'an."

"Huh?" Zhang Ping'an was just about to leave when he was called back by He Daqing.

"Ping'an, what do you think if I buy a two-courtyard compound?"

"Brother He, why the sudden thought of buying a house?"

"It's just that..." He Daqing explained his plan without avoiding Shazhu.

"Brother He, my personal suggestion is to buy a more dilapidated one-courtyard compound, or perhaps some side rooms near our courtyard, and renovate them yourself."

"Our country is currently in a state of reconstruction, so they will certainly support you in rebuilding a house. If you had bought a two-courtyard compound two years ago, it would have been fine, but it's a bit late now."

He Daqing was not stupid; he understood the principle that a tall tree catches the wind, especially now that he had another son and was currently the sole pillar of the family.

"The key is that Yuliang is still young, and marriage is a matter for ten or twenty years from now. Your current house will be enough to live in for a while, and in twenty years, Yushui will surely be married off too."

"That's true."

After being analyzed by Zhang Ping'an, He Daqing suddenly saw the light. He stopped fretting over it; once he had saved up enough of a family fortune, when couldn't he buy one?

In high spirits, He Daqing patted Zhang Ping'an on the shoulder and then went to instruct Shazhu on simmering the soup.

As for Shazhu, He Daqing was not worried in the slightest. His temperament followed his mother's—he was a soft-hearted pushover. That was fine, too; at least there wouldn't be any conflict with his younger brother.

He Daqing was mainly afraid that Qin Pandi would feel uncomfortable, and buying a house was also to provide a guarantee for the child.

In fact, He Daqing was overthinking it completely. He Daqing treated Qin Pandi so well, and Yushui also treated her like her own mother. Although Shazhu wasn't as close to her as Yushui was, he didn't reject her either. Qin Pandi would never do those things to vie for favor.

After settling the accounts in the afternoon and sending off He Daqing and his son, Zhang Ping'an stayed at home for another two days to bond with his brother before returning to the city.

Upon returning to the courtyard, Zhang Ping'an gave a large sack of this year's corn harvest to San Jie's family, and stored the rest in the Ear Room. In any case, dried corn cobs could be stored for a long time.

Bang Geng was now nearly a year old and could be left alone. Jia Dongxu had developed more than half of the area around Jia Village, Qin Family Village, and the surrounding villages. He basically went out to procure goods once a month and could always acquire quite a lot.

He would also set traps on the mountain in his spare time, and each time he had a good harvest. Now, Jia Dongxu's performance had even surpassed Zhang Ping'an's. Of course, the excess would be registered by Lou Zhenyu under his son's name.

The families in the Siheyuan could now be said to be happy and fulfilled, except for the Deaf Old Lady, who was unhappy.

Yi Zhonghai would also try his best to look after the Deaf Old Lady's moods. On his days off, he no longer sent food and meals as high-profile as before, but instead invited the Deaf Old Lady to their home for small gatherings, hoping she could also feel this sense of family affection.

Unfortunately, the Deaf Old Lady didn't seem to care much for this. She was fine with Jiabao, but her attitude toward Jiabei was clearly a degree worse.

Yi Zhonghai saw it all and felt very helpless. He knew his godmother wanted to favor boys over girls, and he was the same, but since he had already adopted them and the children were so sensible, he naturally would treat them with sincerity.

Yi Zhonghai didn't intend to change the Deaf Old Lady's thinking; he just hoped everyone could live in harmony. He had previously experienced the Deaf Old Lady's methods because his obsession with retirement security was too deep.

The ideas the Deaf Old Lady came up with were all thoroughly selfish and harmful to others; she would stop at nothing to achieve her goals. Fortunately, no substantial harm had been done, and he had turned back in time.

However, Yi Zhonghai remained vigilant toward the Deaf Old Lady in his heart. Who knew if she might harbor evil intentions because of Tan Cuicui's "inadequate care"? Moreover, Yi Zhonghai knew that the Deaf Old Lady had very wild connections, so he tried his best to go along with her, otherwise, only his family would be the ones hurt.

Of course, Yi Zhonghai also knew that the Deaf Old Lady wouldn't harm him and truly treated him like a son. It was precisely because of this that Yi Zhonghai would spare no effort to try to make the Deaf Old Lady integrate into his new family, but unfortunately, the effect was minimal.

Fortunately, Tan Cuicui still took care of her as she had for years, just with less time for chatting and relieving boredom. After all, she had to look after the children, do housework, and go to work at the shop; her time was already very tight.

Yi Zhonghai had wanted to let Tan Cuicui stop making clothes so she would have more time to rest, little knowing that Tan Cuicui insisted on taking the children to the Clothing Shop precisely to avoid the Deaf Old Lady.

It could be said that the ignorant Tan Cuicui of the past was completely dead; now she was a positive, upward-striving woman who was determined to raise her children well.

The people around her also saw Tan Cuicui's changes. She used to be depressed, but ever since she had children, she seemed to have endless energy every day and was always smiling.

The Yan family's third child, Yan Jiekuang, was also born in March. During the days of the birth, it was thanks to Tan Cuicui running around helping out.

This also made Yan Bugui pay more attention to Yi Jiabao and Jiabei. When teaching at the shop, he would provide two extra simple test papers, which could be considered laying a foundation for them.