Chapter 975: Song the Licentiate

"Pah, who wants to look at your shoes!"

Zhang Yanping stared at this stinky kid, listening to the tone he had just used!

Unexpectedly, his eyes flickered, and he couldn't help but be stunned for a moment: "Not bad, Qiaoqiao, your Sister Song the Licentiate is actually willing to buy you these shoes!"

"What 'Song the Licentiate'?" Qiaoqiao asked curiously.

"Ah, this..." Now it was Zhang Yanping's turn to be stuck. He looked at Song Tan's half-smiling expression, stammered, and then quickly shifted the blame: "I forgot too. You know, I haven't read as many books as your Teacher Xin. You should ask him to explain it to you."

Xin Jun:...

Are you stupid? You could have smoothed it over if you explained it yourself, but you're asking me to explain it for you...

Fine, considering the house I'm about to buy, I won't bicker with this idiot in front of me.

Xin Jun smiled slightly, his expression strange:

"Your Brother Yanping is using a metaphor. In *The Scholars*, there is a licentiate surnamed Yan who is rich but extremely stingy. When he was dying, he wouldn't pass away because he saw two wicks in the oil lamp and didn't want to waste the oil."

Qiaoqiao slowly widened his eyes—

This is outrageous?!

He instantly became angry, thinking that what his sister said was indeed correct; both of his cousins had problems.

"Brother Yanping is talking nonsense!"

"Sister is clearly so generous, and she works so hard... She even gave you a raise, Brother Yanping, and bought you clothes!"

Zhang Yanping thought to himself, those clothes cost over a hundred, while your shoes cost over three thousand... Who's to blame? Blame yourself for not being as cute as Qiaoqiao!

But Xin Jun is really unkind! How could he not soften the blow at all?

"It's okay." Song Tan smiled: "Qiaoqiao, don't be angry. Brother Yanping is probably just jealous. After all, look at his shoes; how could they be as good-looking as yours?"

Qiaoqiao looked down, only to see that his own shoes were still snow-white and brand new, so good-looking, while the grey sneakers on Brother Yanping's feet looked very ordinary and old!

He instantly became proud: "Alright then—but Brother Yanping, don't be jealous. These shoes weren't bought by Sister; they were a gift from the handsome brother in the Imperial Capital."

Zhang Yanping was stunned. When it came to gossip, his brain turned fast. He asked with great interest: "Which handsome brother? Is it that life-saving benefactor of your sister's? Good heavens, even you call him that; is he really that handsome?"

After all, Qiaoqiao himself was quite handsome! To put it bluntly, his path to becoming an influencer relied not only on the big bear's butt but also on his face.

"It's true, it's true! Brother's cooking is also especially delicious!"

Qiaoqiao remembered something, hurriedly scrambled to the back seat, rummaged around, and successfully pulled out an insulated bag:

"Brother Yanping, Teacher Xin, do you want to eat popsicles? The handsome brother made them himself."

It's the middle of winter, and it's not even 6 o'clock in the morning! Who would want to eat popsicles in such a deranged way?

Zhang Yanping politely declined.

However, he peeked into the bag and saw that they were indeed made exquisitely and cutely, just like what many food bloggers made online.

"Wait!" He realized: "How do you know his cooking is delicious? Did you go to his house?"

Xin Jun also frowned: "Is there anyone else at his house? Qiaoqiao, I've taught you to be vigilant when you're out. It's best not to go to someone else's house alone, whether they are a stranger or someone you know."

"We didn't go!" Qiaoqiao shook his head: "The handsome brother said he was the only one at home, so it wasn't convenient... But I wasn't alone, and Sister wasn't alone... Can't Sister and I go together?"

Xin Jun and Zhang Yanping breathed a sigh of relief at the same time.

How should I put it? They were still single, yet they had already experienced the difficulties of parenting.

"It's best not to." Xin Jun said: "When you go out with Sister, just listen to your sister."

Qiaoqiao was indeed not alone, but Song Tan was a beautiful young woman, and Qiaoqiao didn't understand anything... The necessary vigilance was still needed.

"Alright." Qiaoqiao sighed: There is really too much for a child to remember!

He was anxious to put those popsicles into the freezer, and Seventh Cousin had already lit the stove, looking at Song Tan:

"Perfect, Tan Tan is back. Later, I'll draw up some kind of agreement with Yanping and Xin Jun. Could you please ask Secretary Zhu to come over and take a look to see how to make it compliant, and also serve as a witness?"

"Sure!" Song Tan took major matters like buying a house to heart. She asked: "Is there anything else that needs to be prepared? We'll need about 15 tables for the pig-slaughtering feast."

She thought for a moment and added: "To be safe, let's prepare 16 tables."

Seventh Cousin waved his hand to shoo her away: "You've been driving all night, don't worry about this. Go get some rest."

"Little Jiang and I are following up on the pig-slaughtering feast. If anything is missing, just make a list, and you can arrange it a day in advance."

"By the way, the butcher has also been hired. Since we are slaughtering five pigs at once, we've hired two helpers, and we'll just invite some people from the surrounding villages to help."

There were still several days left until the pig-slaughtering feast, and Song Tan was indeed not in a hurry, so she agreed and went upstairs.

At this moment, the sleepy Secretary Xiao Zhu hadn't even had a chance to mooch a hot breakfast at the Song family's house before she received a call from her grandfather while still in bed:

"Little Jun! We're ready on our end. Is it okay if we set off today?"

Secretary Xiao Zhu was startled: "There are still five days left! Why are you coming so early?"

Old Zhu's voice was even louder than hers: "There's a traffic jam, we have to go early. Besides, I'm trying to bring only Little Du with me on this trip, and I'm trying to bring as few of the others as possible. It took a lot of effort, so let's go as early as we can."

Secretary Xiao Zhu sat up with messy hair and sighed helplessly: "Let's get this straight first. People don't know what you do. There's no special treatment when you get here; you'll just stay in the dormitory and eat in the cafeteria."

After she finished speaking, she advised: "Grandpa, you should also be considerate of others. Slaughtering five pigs at once and hosting guests, there's so much preparation to do. It's not appropriate for so many of us to crowd into their house to eat."

Old Zhu was unconvinced: "Eating in the cafeteria is fine! Do you think your grandfather knows nothing? It's almost the New Year, and there are many people returning to the Imperial Capital; there's never a quiet moment. It's either this relative or that old colleague bringing their juniors over to visit... We're just looking for some peace and quiet, which is why we thought of going to the countryside early."

"Besides, I'm not eating and drinking for free; I've brought a lot of things."

Hearing this, Secretary Xiao Zhu, who had been away from the atmosphere of the compound for a long time, also realized that as the end of the year approached, the mountains were indeed becoming noisy.

She exhaled slowly: "Alright then, come over. About what time will you arrive?"

Speaking of this, Old Zhu became a bit bashful: "The luggage is already packed, and the car is waiting at the door. If we set off now, we should arrive around four or five in the afternoon."

Secretary Xiao Zhu:...