Chapter 186: The Guy Who Went Swoosh-Swoosh-Swoosh
“Eat your food. If you keep spouting nonsense, I’m calling Mother,” Wen Nong warned. That single threat instantly shut Wen Fa up, leaving him so disgruntled that he wished he could grind the duck meat in his mouth to absolute dust.
On the other side, the few adults and Old Man Wen were also drinking with rising spirits. It was either Manager Qiu reciting poetry and matching couplets, or Old Man Wen teaching Li Fu, Manager Qiu, and Divine Doctor Jin how to play finger-guessing drinking games. The back-and-forth was incredibly lively.
Wen Yao had long since eaten her fill, so she sat nearby accompanying Old Madam Luo to chat, while also keeping her eyes on her grandfather and father to ensure they didn’t drink too much and do something outrageous.
Fortunately, by the end of the meal, aside from a few who had drunk too much and were calling each other brothers regardless of generational status, everything else was fine.
The lads’ table had dispersed long ago, and they had led Li Yi to the study to hang out.
It wasn’t until the night grew dark and the wind blew cold that the members of the Wen family, along with Li Yi and Hong Hai, escorted the heavily intoxicated Manager Qiu, Li Fu, and Divine Doctor Jin into the carriage. They even had the sober Wen Xiuzhu drive the ox cart to escort them a long distance away before returning.
Wen Yao had already prepared the hangover soup in the kitchen, pouring a bowl down the throats of Old Man Wen and Wen Xiuyi each. Old Man Wen was directly led back home by Old Madam Luo, while Lady Li and Lady Cai finished tidying up the remains of the feast and led their own two men back as well.
Having finished his hangover soup, Wen Xiuyi sat on the porch steps to clear his head, his brain buzzing.
“Dad? Dad?” Wen Yao sat down right next to him and asked, “Do you still remember what you all talked about just now?”
Wen Xiuyi shook his head to clear it a bit. Hearing her words, his heart tightened, and he asked, “What? I didn’t say anything I shouldn’t have, right?”
Drinking ruins things, drinking truly ruins things!
Wen Yao shook her head: “Not really. But that Li Fu, I distinctly heard him pulling at you and saying that it’s a tremendous pity a talent like yours hasn’t entered officialdom. He said as long as you’re willing, there’s at least a place for you in the Ministry of Public Works. Dad, what exactly do you think this guy’s background is, that he can even interfere with the affairs of the Ministry of Public Works?”
Wen Xiuyi froze for a moment: “The Ministry of Public Works? What does the Ministry of Public Works do?”
Wen Yao gave him another educational breakdown of the Six Ministries. Only then did Wen Xiuyi massage his head and say, “Say no more. He already brought it up once this afternoon, and even mentioned it to your grandfather. Who knows what he actually does, and why he loves dragging people into becoming officials so much.”
Wen Yao propped up her head, unable to figure it out either.
“Whatever his background, as long as he isn’t a bad person, it’s fine. Being on good terms with Datou’s godfather means he probably isn’t a bad person either. Alright, alright, my head hurts terribly, I need to go to sleep. You should rest early too. Don’t call me up tomorrow morning, let me sleep in a bit.” Having spoken, Wen Xiuyi stumbled unsteadily back to his room. The moment the door shut, he hit the bed and fell fast asleep.
The night was far gone, so Wen Yao could only wave her hands to tell Auntie Lu and the others who were wrapping things up to rest early, before rolling back into her own room to sleep.
The next day, Wen Xiuyi indeed failed to wake up early. On the other hand, over at the old residence, the sound of Old Madam Luo scolding people drifted over first thing in the morning.
No one dared to head over there. Even Lady Li and Lady Cai packed up their things early to go work at the duck pens. As for Old Madam Luo’s fury, let Old Man Wen bear it all by himself.
In the end, it was the arrival of the younger Old Madam Luo and Jiang Yueniang that rescued Old Man Wen.
His head splitting with a fierce ache, Old Man Wen hurriedly slipped away with his pipe. The moment he arrived at the new residence, he had Wen Yao fetch him some breakfast to line his stomach, while continuously nagging that he would never drink this much alcohol ever again.
Wasn’t it just that he drank too much and vomited in the room? He had been nagged by the old woman by the ears until now—scolded before falling asleep, and scolded again right after waking up.
Wen Yao held back her laughter as she scooped porridge for the old master and poached an egg for him. After a bowl went down, the old master finally felt his stomach grow much more comfortable.
“That winery of yours…” Old Man Wen thought about simply telling Wen Yao not to do it, otherwise with alcohol in the house every day, they wouldn’t be able to hold back. But meeting his granddaughter’s rolling, bright eyes, Old Man Wen swallowed the rest of his words back down.
“Forget it, I’m going to watch them work.” Having spoken, Old Man Wen picked up his pipe and left.
One by one, they just loved to cause a fuss. Let them fuss to their hearts’ content.
Wen Xiuyi slept all the way until noon. The moment he got up, he was dragged out the door again by Wen Yao. This time, they were going to get fertilizer for Qiu Rongrong. The father and daughter went to Broker Deng to rent a carriage again and headed straight for the prefectural city.
Broker Deng even poked fun at the two of them.
“The two of you run back and forth like this so frequently, wouldn’t it be great to just buy a carriage for your own family? It would be convenient too.”
The two thought about it, and realized it was true. Moreover, both Lu Jiang and Lu He knew how to drive a carriage. Whoever was free when they needed to head out could just be called along.
Right then and there, without a second word, they produced the money. Twenty taels for a complete set including the horse and the carriage cabin—in Broker Deng’s words, it was practically half-sold and half-gifted.
However, the father and daughter merely listened to such words. A brokerage house never did business at a loss; it was simply a matter of earning more or earning less.
So when the father and daughter returned after being out for two or three days, a tall, brown horse had been added to Da Huang the ox’s exclusive shed. It made Da Huang pace back and forth in a rage, snorting loudly. That big brown horse refused to back down either, snorting right back at Da Huang, lacking only fists and feet to start a full-blown fight.
Old Madam Luo was already too tired to say anything more. She fiercely glared at the father-daughter duo who had shrunk themselves down like quails, and actually didn’t speak a single word to Wen Yao for the entire day. In the end, it was only when Wen Yao said they would have Lu He drive the carriage today to escort Great-Auntie back home, taking two laps around Cui Family Village, that the old lady was coaxed back into good humor.
She knew exactly what the old lady cared about.
“You two just love to show off.” Though Old Madam Luo said this with her mouth, she was at least acknowledging people again.
Anyway, the carriage had already been bought back, and it couldn’t be returned.
Almost the moment Wen Yao and Wen Xiuyi returned from the prefectural city, Qiu Rongrong’s side dispatched people to the ruined residence to haul the items back. This had already become a tacit secret between the two sisters.
Wen Xiuyi was also invited to Qiu Rongrong’s manor to serve as a technical consultant for half a month, pointing out all the issues on the manor. Whether it was the tenant farmers there or the manor head, going from initial skepticism to complete submission and absolute admiration took them a mere half a month’s time.
During this half month, Li Fu had actually come two more times with Li Yi.
It was also quite a coincidence. That day when Li Fu brought Li Yi to the Wen family to look for Wen Xiuyi, it wasn’t Hong Hai who escorted them, but rather the guards Li Fu and Li Yi brought themselves who drove the carriage.
As it turned out, Wen Xiuyi wasn’t home that day, nor was Wen Jun, nor was Wen Yao—they said she had gone to check on the shops at the docks.
It wasn’t proper for Li Fu to say he had come just to score a meal, so he could only pay a visit to Old Man Wen and Old Madam Luo with his son before preparing to head back.
Consequently, just as they offered their farewells, they heard Wen Ying’s voice drifting in from outside the main gate.
“Grandma, Grandma…”
Old Madam Luo panicked. Ignoring everything else, she hurriedly ran out, deeply terrified that something had happened to her granddaughter.
As a result, when she reached the entrance, she saw the basket Wen Ying used for gathering duck eggs dropped by her feet. Several eggs were shattered, and the unbroken ones were rolling all over the ground, while she was pointing at the person sitting on Li Fu and the others’ carriage, hopping up and down continuously.
“Wen Ying, what’s wrong?” Old Madam Luo hurried forward to shield her granddaughter behind her, casting a glance at the person sitting on the carriage who was currently looking thoroughly bewildered.
Li Fu and the others followed closely behind. Seeing that his guard had frightened the little girl, he hurried to apologize: “Old Madam Wen, I am truly terribly sorry. This is my family’s guard, he must have frightened your family’s child.”
For a moment, Old Madam Luo didn’t know what to say. Wen Ying, however, poked her body out from behind Old Madam Luo, pointing at that guard: “Grandma, Grandma, it’s him! The guy who went swoosh-swoosh-swoosh flying back and forth, it’s him!”
Old Madam Luo froze for a moment, and the rest of the Wen family froze as well.
What guy who went swoosh-swoosh-swoosh flying back and forth? What was Wen Ying talking about?
