Chapter 278: What Are You Standing There for? Go On!
Because Old Madam Luo was anxious about the household back home, she insisted on pressing forward without making them deliberately slow their pace on the return journey. As a result, they made it back in less time than it had taken to travel there.
Old Man Wen had originally been staying at the brewery watching Uncle Qin brew alcohol, but the moment he heard that Old Madam Luo and the others were back, he stopped watching the brewing entirely. Grabbing his smoking pipe, he made his way home as fast as his legs could carry him.
The instant he stepped through the door, he spotted Old Madam Luo tidying up the items they had purchased.
“Yo, so you finally deigned to return?” Old Man Wen spoke in a tone so thoroughly soaked in sour jealousy that Wen Yao could catch the whiff of sourness from a distance. As he spoke, he even cast aggrieved, resentful glares at his son and granddaughter.
Wen Xiuyi stared up at the sky.
Wen Yao held back her laughter.
Old Madam Luo shot him a warning glare and spoke in a resounding, forceful tone: “What are you acting like this for? We asked you back then if you were coming, and you were the one who refused to go! What are you blabbering nonsense about right now, huh?”
The arrogant momentum Old Man Wen had just displayed instantly vanished into thin air, his lips twitching slightly: “Who knew you’d be gone for so long…”
Old Madam Luo rolled her eyes dramatically at him and slapped her hand on the table: “I bought things for you, so hurry up and come over to try them on!”
The moment he heard that a gift had been bought for him too, Old Man Wen’s gloom was swept clean away. Trotting over eagerly, he asked, “What is it?”
Holding the outfit, Old Madam Luo measured it against his body for a long while, remarking with emotion, “Tsk, tsk, tsk. The prefectural city really is different after all—the cut of this clothing sure is handsome!” Compared to this, the style of the clothes Old Man Wen was currently wearing looked somewhat outdated.
His heart bursting with joy, Old Man Wen said, “I’m going to go try it on!” Holding the outfit, he departed happily.
Old Madam Luo handed the other two sets of clothes to Xun Feng: “Deliver these to Mu Li and Wang Zhao.” Only after saying this did she realize she hadn’t seen the two men since returning, so she asked Nanny Shi, “Where are those two?”
As the head housekeeper of this household, although her masters didn’t care for strict rules, two newcomers had suddenly arrived, so Nanny Shi naturally had to inquire clearly. She already knew who had sent the two men and what they were here to do.
Hearing Old Madam Luo’s question, she replied, “Eldest Young Master had Wang Zhao take over Xun Feng’s duties to be responsible for escorting the young master and the others to and from the academy. At this hour, he’s still at the academy. Mu Li followed the eldest young master to the medical clinic.”
As if recalling something, Nanny Shi suddenly broke into a chuckle. Old Madam Luo asked, “What are you laughing at? What good news is there?”
Nanny Shi said with a smile, “Not quite good news, but on the second day after they arrived, Mu Li made a blunder and got picked on by Old Master, who told him to follow Eldest Young Master to the medical clinic instead of staying at home.”
“Ah?” A look of utter surprise crossed Old Madam Luo’s face. Even Wen Yao, Wen Xiuyi, plus Xun Feng gathered around in a hurry, wanting to hear what kind of blunder it was so they could join in on the fun.
Just as Nanny Shi was about to speak, Old Man Wen emerged from the room having changed into his new clothes. Cherishing the outfit, he stroked it here and smoothed it there, grunting as he spoke:
“What else could he do? He couldn’t sit still and asked me to arrange some work for him. Seeing as he was a big young fellow, I figured he must have plenty of strength, so I had him follow Second Son and Third Son up the mountain to tend to the fruit trees and clear away the weeds. And what happened? He pulled up my sweet potato vines, mistaking them for weeds! Luckily, Second Son was nearby—otherwise, that little patch of sweet potatoes halfway up the mountain would have been completely ruined by him!”
The group fell silent.
Just as they were about to defend Mu Li, Old Madam Luo beat them to the punch.
“Those hands of his are meant for holding knives and swords! You sent him to swing a hoe and pull weeds, and did you even tell Mu Li which were weeds and which were vines on the mountain? Besides, the mountain is full of fruit trees—why on earth did you go and plant sweet potatoes halfway up the mountain anyway? You didn’t tell him it was a sweet potato patch that couldn’t be touched either. He just arrived from the capital, so how would he know what a sweet potato vine looks like?”
Old Madam Luo unleashed a barrage of arguments.
Old Man Wen looked utterly dazed: “Ah? Didn’t I just see that little plot of land empty and think we might as well plant a bit more if we could?”
Resting her hands on her hips, Old Madam Luo added, “Forget about whether it should be planted or not—just tell me if what I said is right or wrong!”
Old Man Wen fell silent for a long moment: “…It seems that’s right, huh. Ah my, I even gave the lad a scolding! I’ll apologize to him when he comes back tonight.”
Wen Yao, Wen Xiuyi, and Xun Feng: “…”
Grandma is truly Grandma—what she said makes so much sense.
Wen Yao whispered softly to Wen Xiuyi, “It still takes my grandma.”
Wen Xiuyi had long seen through everything, offering a mysterious grin: “That’s because you don’t understand your grandpa.”
By evening, everyone had returned and received their respective gifts.
Seeing that both Lu Bing and little Hua’er had received gifts—one with new clothes and the other with beautiful hair flowers—Uncle Lu’s family was deeply moved. The masters kept their two children in their thoughts; otherwise, as servants, how could they dare hope for such things? They pulled the two children along, preparing to kowtow and offer thanks to Old Madam Luo.
Old Madam Luo didn’t let them, merely saying, “They’re just children. Lu Bing acts as a study page for Datou and attends the academy every day; if he doesn’t dress presentably, people will pick on him. Hua’er is still young, and a little girl ought to be dressed up prettily. Don’t go doing all this formal nonsense and scaring the two children.”
The eyes of the Lu family turned red with emotion, repeatedly declaring that they had met wonderful masters in this lifetime.
Unable to take such emotional scenes, Old Madam Luo shifted the topic, turning her gaze toward the two burly men who were holding their clothes and looking completely at a loss.
“What are you two standing there for? Go back to your room and try them on!”
The two: “…Yes.”
Everyone else also retreated to their own rooms to try on their new clothes. By the time everyone had changed, the courtyard was filled with a festive atmosphere of delight.
Honestly, who didn’t like wearing new clothes?
Datou led his two little companions, running with pitter-patter steps right up to Xun Feng, Mu Li, and Wang Zhao.
Standing beside his master, Datou tilted his head up and asked, “Master, can Brother Wang and Brother Mu fly just like you?”
Having not seen his little disciple for several days, Xun Feng was exceptionally fond of him, using his mischievous hand to ruffle his hair: “Naturally! We were all taught by the same master!”
Datou’s eyes lit up instantly, and Jin Xiuyi’s and Xie Anyi’s eyes lit up as well.
“Master, let’s race against them!” As soon as Datou finished speaking, he began bouncing up toward Xun Feng’s back.
Xun Feng was made to laugh heartily by his antics, fussing around for quite a while before finally hoisting Datou onto his back.
Xie Anyi and Jin Xiuyi looked eagerly at Mu Li and Wang Zhao. Both boys felt a bit intimidated, not daring to step forward. After all, compared to Xun Feng, these two were stoic and serious all day long—they didn’t even dare to speak to them.
Mu Li and Wang Zhao looked back at them, not knowing what to do either. During their training, no one had taught them this! Nor had anyone told them that coming to the Wen family required babysitting children!
“What are you standing there for? Go on!” Xun Feng jutted his chin toward the two young boys.
Xie Anyi and Jin Xiuyi exchanged a glance, offered each other a bit of encouragement, took a deep breath, and ran right up in front of the two men, gazing up at them with eager eyes.
Mu Li and Wang Zhao admitted defeat. Reaching out simultaneously, each man scooped up one boy with a single hand and hoisted him straight onto his back.
“The mountain peak is the limit! Whoever loses buys dinner tomorrow!” As soon as Xun Feng’s words fell, he tapped his toes on the ground, carrying Datou on his back as he darted straight onto the roof.
Mu Li and Wang Zhao exchanged a glance and followed right behind him.
The roof tiles clattered loudly under their footsteps, causing Old Madam Luo to yell at the top of her lungs: “If you break the roof tiles, don’t any of you expect a good time later!”
Yet the men who had already flown far away couldn’t possibly hear her words; only the faint, excited screams of the three young children could be heard echoing in the distance.
