The day after his father returned from visiting Master Jiang, the cook was sent out to learn. Could it be that she had gone to Master Jiang’s house? If so, Li Yifei was especially looking forward to lunch.
“Not stupid at all, it was indeed at your Uncle Jiang’s house. Speaking of your Uncle Jiang’s daughter, she truly has unparalleled skills in the kitchen. No matter the ingredient, she makes it extraordinarily delicious.”
Li Yifei could no longer pay attention to anything else; he was just thinking about the delicious meal to come at noon.
When Jiang Chan and Zhou Xing arrived home, it was just in time for the meal, and they ran into Li Ruisi and his son Li Yifei. Jiang Chan knew Li Ruisi and after exchanging brief greetings, she went to find Lin Shi.
Li Yifei, however, was not paying attention to Jiang Chan, all his thoughts was on lunch. He had never realized how delicious the meals at Jiang Sen’s house were; just a slight sniff was enough to smell all sorts of fragrances.
As for Jiang Chan, he didn’t care at all, which could only be said to be because the young man was still clueless. This made Li Ruisi, who was quietly watching him, very frustrated. “Boy, you think you’re smart, but why are you so foolish now?”
Looking up to see Jiang Sen in the hall, who seemed to understand everything, Li Ruisi cleared his throat, “Jinzhi, long time no see. I specifically came to visit before the New Year.”
Jiang Sen’s lips quirked up: “I see your intentions are not good.”
He was thinking of keeping Jiang Chan for a few more years, but who knew that the fox-like man would suddenly take things seriously and pull such a stunt. Fortunately, the young Li Yifei was still clueless, otherwise Jiang Sen would be utterly frustrated to death.
Luckily, Jiang Chan did not eat lunch with them, which Jiang Sen was very pleased about. Seeing that his thoughts were seen through by Jiang Sen, the fox-like man was not annoyed. It was true he had such intentions, what was there to hide?
If Jiang Chan became his daughter-in-law, it would be his turn to show off in front of Jiang Sen. But alas, his son was clueless. Li Ruisi sighed, letting go of that sliver of hope.
Jiang Sen reviewed Li Yifei’s article very seriously. Although he was a bit upset with Li Ruisi, Jiang Sen was able to distinguish between the two and did not let his slight dissatisfaction with Li Ruisi affect Li Yifei.
And since the boy was still clueless, Li Ruisi, with all his schemes, could only keep them to himself and not rashly bring them up.
“Do you want Yifei to participate in next year’s autumn examinations?”
After assigning homework to Li Yifei, Jiang Sen left the study quietly and chatted with Li Ruisi in the corridor.
“That’s right, it’s a difficult opportunity. Although Yifei topped the scholars’ exam this time, I don’t think he’ll pass the autumn exams, but it’s worth letting him try.”
Li Ruisi tapped his fingers on the railing, “Even if it doesn’t happen next year, at most we’ll just wait another three years, by then he can also settle down a bit.”
Jiang Sen nodded: “Indeed, it’s worth a try, if you don’t try, you’ll never know your level.”
Li Yifei, who was still diligently working on his answers in the study, was unaware that his father had already planned his future path. He was still pondering how to answer the questions assigned by Jiang Sen.
After he barely finished the article, it was dinner time when Jiang Sen finished explaining, and Li Ruisi and his son naturally stayed for a meal. When leaving, despite Jiang Sen’s displeasure, Li Ruisi took the opportunity to take a lot of sausages and cured meat back with him.
If not for their good relationship, Li Ruisi would not have done this, after all, scholars still value their reputation.
Jiang Sen entered the study with a flick of his sleeve, where Jiang Chan was nestled reading, with Lin Shi doing needlework by her side. With nothing else to do in the evening, she simply read in the study as both a learning and relaxing activity.
Lin Shi would also usually accompany her, and sometimes when Jiang Chan didn’t understand something, Lin Shi would explain it to her. Jiang Chan was holding the “Shuowen Jiezi1,” apparently having read through most of it already, showing her fast reading speed.
The New Year meant having a reunion dinner together, and this New Year, Jiang Sen’s home was especially lively with the addition of Jiang Chan, Zhou Shan’s family, and two little puppies, adding much joy.
The dim sum shop also closed on the twenty-ninth day and would not reopen until the fifth day of the first lunar month. Zhou Shan and his family were suddenly free, and the allowance Jiang Chan gave was very generous.
The youngest, Zhou Wen, usually stayed at Jiang Sen’s house, and he now had a glorious task, which was to play with the two puppies, Taxue and Naihuang Bao, and his crisp voice could be heard every day.
To say who was closest to the puppies, it was still Jiang Chan.
On the first day of the new year, it was essential to return to the village to pay homage to the ancestors, an annual event for Jiang Sen, who always took Lin Shi back. This time, because of Jiang Chan, it’s even more important to go back, and also to let Jiang Mu and others see the changes in Jiang Chan.
In the past, just a carriage carrying Jiang Sen, Lin Shi, Wang Ma, and Uncle Zhong was enough. Now with Jiang Chan and Zhou Xing, the family was impressive.
As the most prestigious member of the Jiang family, Jiang Sen naturally took the lead, following the elders’ commands to offer incense and bow during the rituals. Behind him stood Jiang Lin, Jiang Mu, and the young members of the Jiang family, such as Jiang Hai, Jiang He, and Jiang Miao, all lined up.
Although Jiang Chan was now Jiang Miao’s daughter, she could not enter the ancestral hall and stood outside with Zhou Xing and Lin Shi. The weather today was not warm, and Jiang Chan consciously shielded Lin Shi from the cold wind.
Lin Shi touched Jiang Chan’s hair, well cared for under her meticulous attention, no longer dry and yellow. “It’s alright, I have a hand warmer with me, it’s not cold. Are you cold?”
Jiang Chan shook her head: “Not cold, I’m young and strong, doesn’t my hand feel like a little stove?”
As Jiang Sen’s wife, Lin Shi naturally held a prominent position within the Jiang family, a glory bestowed by Jiang Sen. Seeing the good relationship between Lin Shi and Jiang Chan, someone spoke up.
“Xiao Chan has gained some weight this month; it’s really the sister-in-law who takes care of people well.”
This is Jiang Chan’s second aunt, Zhang Shi. She learned from Jiang Hai and Jiang He that Jiang Chan usually has dealings with them, so naturally she came over at this time to speak well of her.
She has a round face and looks amiable when she smiles. Although she speaks pleasantly, it makes people feel comfortable listening to her.
Lin Shi held Jiang Chan’s hand and showed a slight smile: “Not at all, it’s mostly Xiao Chan who takes care of me. She is sincere and very sensible and obedient. Both her father and I like her very much.”
Zhang Shi laughed: “That’s also because you were meant to have such a relationship, otherwise why not choose someone else but feel particularly drawn to Xiao Chan?”
Lin Shi loved hearing this and immediately saw it as an opportunity to have a good conversation with Zhang Shi.
- A Chinese dictionary compiled by Xu Shen c. 100 CE, during the Eastern Han dynasty (25–206 CE). ↩︎
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