vstars Chapter 981 Distributing Gifts
Chapter 981 Distributing Gifts
"My second uncle and I went to collect bird eggs. We cooked them for lunch, so please have some."
Fang Nanzhi said in a generous manner.
Yu Zhenghai's displeasure vanished as soon as he heard about food.
"Are bird eggs tasty? I've only ever eaten chicken eggs, duck eggs, goose eggs, and ostrich eggs..."
Anyway, he's the young master of Taotie Tower, and every pound of flesh on his body is there for nothing.
Now it was Fang Nanzhi's turn to be curious: "Ostrich eggs? Where did you get them?"
“It was a gift from my dad’s good friend. We had a gluttonous feast this year and ate it at the banquet. But this stuff is so rare that it’s not suitable to be served as a dish in a restaurant.”
The Yu family's annual gourmet feast requires sourcing a lot of fresh ingredients.
Over time, people with similar interests started sending them gifts.
Fang Nanzhi asked with a hint of envy, "Is it delicious?"
"It's just so-so, I don't think it can compare to an egg." Yu Zhenghai thought for a moment and gave a very fair assessment.
Fang Nanzhi's longing in her heart dissipated a little as she stared at his chubby face: "How did you get so fat again? You used to be a little chubby, and you were cute when you were young. Now that you've gotten this fat, how are you going to find a spouse?"
Yu Zhenghai never expected that his long-lost friend would hurt him so deeply.
"So what if I'm fat? I'm not in a hurry to get engaged."
Actually, it wasn't that he wasn't in a hurry; it was his father who was pressuring him to pass the imperial examination and become a scholar before getting married.
Waaah, passing the imperial examinations is so hard!
Sometimes he thinks that being single isn't so bad.
"Being fat is unhealthy. Even if you're not engaged, you still have to think about your health. Are you out of breath after walking for a long time?"
Yu Zhenghai wanted to deny it, but when he met her eyes, he lowered his head.
He gets tired after walking for a long time, so he often takes a car.
Seeing this, Fang Nanzhi became even more enthusiastic.
"Look, this can't go on. As far as I know, in some places, the groom has to carry the bride on his back when they get married. Can you carry her?"
Don't get so tired after carrying it for just a couple of steps; that would be too embarrassing.
"Alright, even if you're not in a hurry to pay the deposit, you'll be more likely to faint during the imperial examinations. Being overweight makes it easier for you to move around in the examination hall. If you don't come out for several days, you'll be more likely to faint than others."
Fang Nanzhi genuinely cared about her good friend's health.
Even if you have the talent to manage the world, it's useless if you can't persevere through the exam.
Yu Zhenghai, who was originally in a depressed mood, lit up with excitement upon hearing this: "Nanzhi, do you really think I have the talent to govern the world?"
Fang Nanzhi, who was just casually praising him: ...
She patted her friend on the shoulder and mumbled, "As long as you have confidence and study hard, you will definitely achieve great things in the future."
Yu Zhenghai straightened his back instantly. It was the first time someone had said he had "a talent for governing the world" and "a promising future," and he regained his confidence.
"Okay, I'll lose weight. Zhizhi, is losing weight difficult?"
"Not difficult..."
As they talked, they went inside. Fang Yin handed the bird eggs to the guard and went to wash his hands before looking for his wife.
Meanwhile, in Qin Yan's room, Wei Qinglin was also there, busy copying... notes.
It was all recorded by Qin Yan at the Imperial Academy, making it exceptionally valuable to scholars.
He is very generous and doesn't mind sharing with his friends.
Yu Zhenghai had only copied half of it when he felt tired, so he went to look around the yard and happened to see Fang Nanzhi returning.
"Brother Qinglin, you've grown taller!" Fang Nanzhi said as soon as she entered, seeing her brother and Wei Qinglin sitting together, the contrast was too obvious.
The latter is a head taller.
Her brother is actually quite tall.
Wei Qinglin slightly curved his lips, remaining very reserved: "It's alright, it's alright."
He has grown taller in the past six months, surpassing his father by a large margin, and is now the tallest person in the academy.
This made him quite happy.
Fang Nanzhi then went to pat Yu Zhenghai on the shoulder again: "You should learn from him."
Why is one growing vertically and the other horizontally?
Yu Zhenghai was unconvinced; he had also grown taller, but he had gained so much weight that it wasn't very noticeable.
"Zhizhi, I heard you're in the capital studying under a great Confucian scholar?" Wei Qinglin changed the subject.
“Yes, Mr. Deng is very capable.” Fang Nanzhi thought for a moment, “I also brought the homework that Mr. Deng assigned to me before, would you like to take a look?”
It was supposed to be homework, but it included answers and even the teacher's annotations.
Wei Qinglin didn't stand on ceremony at all: "Okay, okay."
Fang Nanzhi went to the next room and pulled out a thick stack of notebooks.
She brought them all over and picked out five books: "You can borrow these to copy."
She hasn't finished the remaining three books of questions; they're all for her to do during her annual leave.
Wei Qinglin said happily, "Thank you."
Although he had never met a great Confucian scholar, he knew that there were very few people in the scholarly world who could be called great Confucian scholars.
Yu Zhenghai sighed and said, "You work just as hard in Beijing?"
Fang Nanzhi nodded: "The master said that I am just an average person. There are so many talented people in the world. If I don't rely on hard work, I will only fall further behind them."
Wei Qinglin and Yu Zhenghai were dumbfounded.
They knew Fang Nanzhi; although she was a woman, she was very clever and could memorize what she read after only one or two readings.
Unlike them, they have to go through it at least five or six times and review it frequently, otherwise they'll forget it.
"Your husband's standards have risen too," Wei Qinglin couldn't help but remark.
"Are all the scholars in the capital really that capable?" Yu Zhenghai asked curiously.
Fang Nanzhi thought about it and realized that they were very capable, especially Cui Shicheng and his group, each of whom had their own strengths.
Cui Shicheng's calligraphy already possesses a distinctive style, while Xiang Wencai excels at splashing ink...
She nodded: "Extremely impressive."
Wei Qinglin and Yu Zhenghai exchanged a glance, then lowered their heads. After a moment, they looked up at the notes on the table and began writing furiously.
They also need to work hard; they can't fall too far behind others.
The two copied for half a day, had lunch at the Qin family's house, and left, each taking two booklets with them.
They have school tomorrow, so they can't come.
Qin Yan and Fang Nanzhi's notes could only be borrowed temporarily. The two cleverly decided to copy them separately, each copying one person's notes, and then they could exchange them later.
Fang Nanzhi and Qin Yan watched them leave, then turned around, as if remembering something.
"Brother, did you hint to them about the academy's year-end exam questions?"
Qin Yan paused for a moment, then spoke with righteous indignation.
"How could we leak the exam questions in advance? I have faith in their abilities."
Fang Nanzhi glanced at him quietly. Well, as long as her brother wasn't afraid of being "settled" with later.
After taking a nap, Fang Nanzhi got up and looked at her homework, but she still didn't want to do it and kept looking into the yard.
Seeing that she was distracted, Anmei said, "Miss, would you like to go for a walk in the village?"
Fang Nanzhi turned her head: "Anmei, do you want to go outside? By the way, this is your first time in Mushan Village, I should show you around."
Dark Plum: ...
Miss, it's good that you can convince yourself.
The master and servant went out and first stood by the pond. Led by Fang Tong, this became the most popular spot for the children.
Many children were playing on the ice, and the old village chief was worried, so he sent his son to keep an eye on things.
Fang Nanzhi looked at it for a while, then looked down at the clothes she had only worn a couple of times, and obediently left.
She walked to the edge of her own land and spread her arms to show it: "See, Anmei, these are all my land."
Looking down into the ground, Anmei saw nothing but some snow and damp soil.
She went back to the tree where she had picked chestnuts before. Of course, the tree was now bare, and she even picked at the bark.
Later, I went to Aunt Liu's house and stared at the chickens in her chicken coop.
“When I was a child, whenever I craved meat, I would come to Aunt Liu’s house to look at the chickens, and sometimes I could even pick up a couple of chicken feathers to take home.”
"As soon as Dad saw the chicken feathers, he knew I was craving chickens, so he took me to steal one."
Fang Nanzhi misses him dearly.
Her father's reputation as a scoundrel wasn't for nothing; she had done petty theft and other shady things.
However, they mainly stole from their own homes, taking advantage of Grandpa Fang's inattention...
Then there are the families who don't get along with him and speak ill of his daughter.
Among them, the old clan chief Fang once lost three chickens in a month, and the culprit has not yet been found.
Perhaps sensing the keen gaze of humans, the chickens in the coop flapped their wings, walked away, and left a pile of chicken droppings behind them.
Fang Nanzhi sighed, thinking that the chicken was being stingy. She wasn't even watching it drool, so why was it being soaked?
Anmei whispered a reminder: "Miss, there are people ahead."
Fang Nanzhi straightened up and looked over. At the intersection ahead, an old man with a cane was looking in her direction.
This is like saying "Speak of the devil and he appears"—what is Elder Fang doing here?
In the blink of an eye, Fang Nanzhi had already bowed respectfully from afar: "Grandpa Fang, are you out for a stroll?"
His tone was both unfamiliar and polite.
Old Clan Chief Fang felt a tightness in her chest; the child used to call her Grandpa Clan Chief.
"Oh, it's Zhizhi. What are you doing here? It's so cold. Do you want to go to Grandpa Fang's house for some sweet soup to warm up?"
Elder Fang spoke in a kind and friendly tone.
Fang Nanzhi felt quite uncomfortable; in her memory, this clan chief seemed to have never given her a second glance.
She was a worthless girl and wouldn't catch the clan chief's eye.
"Thank you, Grandpa Fang, but I have to go back now."
Fang Nanzhi bowed, and the old clan chief Fang tried to stop her, but when he reached out his hand, he grabbed nothing.
From the shadows, Fang Lu watched this scene and curled his lip. Even at a time like this, they're still putting on airs?
Without even considering his own conduct, he shook his head and walked away, intending to go back and fetch a bundle of firewood to deliver to the Fang family.
Regardless of whether the other person uses it or not, he has to show them a friendly attitude.
After the master and servant walked away, Anmei glanced behind her and couldn't help but remind them.
"Miss, that old man seemed to have something to say."
Her young lady is always intelligent; she should have left a way out for others. Why did she just leave like that?
“No, he didn’t.” Fang Nanzhi said firmly, though a hint of indifference flickered in her eyes.
The old clan chief Fang has been pretending to be deaf and dumb his whole life; he doesn't care about what happened before.
After that, he continued to live as a blind and deaf man.
Fang Nanzhi took a walk around the village, but later returned home to read and do her homework.
While she was busy, more people came to her house. It was Qin Shucai and his father, who brought gift boxes.
Fang Tong and Qin Yan received them.
Qin Gaofei proudly boasted that this morning, he had officially taken over the reins of the Qin family and was now the clan leader.
To be honest, although Qin Gaofei doesn't seem to be very bright, the people in the clan are a little unhappy that he took over as the clan chief.
But once the old man made up his mind, no one objected.
Because Qin Gaofei has a remarkable son. His son is already a scholar, and the clan will all benefit from the scholar's success.
The tribespeople were quite sensible.
Qin Gaofei was very pleased. Although he had been secretly looking forward to this day, he did not expect it to come so soon.
Fang Tong raised an eyebrow, deliberately putting on airs: "Oh, congratulations, Brother Qin. However, as an official of the imperial court, I must remind you of a few things. Managing a family requires..."
That official air... Fang Tong was relying on his official position to try and put him in a superior position, trying to teach him how to manage a household.
Qin Gaofei's face grew greener and greener as he listened, thinking to himself, "Have you ever been a clan leader? Stop talking nonsense!"
But he dared not say that even if he became the clan chief, he would not be as powerful as Fang Tong, who was an official.
Originally, he was showing off, but Fang Tong completely crushed him, and Fang Tong smugly hummed to himself.
Little brat, when it comes to showing off, only he can do it, nobody else gets a chance.
Qin Gaofei was also annoyed, thinking to himself that there was a reason why he used to hate Fang Tong, because the other party was really annoying.
The children in the next room were much friendlier than the two of them.
The two brothers checked in on each other and learned that Qin Yan was doing well in the capital and had even made some friends, which put Qin Shu at ease.
Qin Yan inquired about Qin Shucai's recent study progress and also mentioned what books he was reading at the Imperial Academy.
It was nearly evening when the Qin father and son finally returned home.
Qin Shucai took two notebooks back with him; he wanted to copy them too.
No sooner had they left than Chen, Aunt Liu, Bai, and a few others, along with Tiezhu and his group, arrived.
They were specially invited by Fang Tong.
Everyone ate dinner at the Qin family's house, and then the Fang brothers began distributing gifts.
They were too busy the day before yesterday and yesterday to distribute the gifts they brought from the capital.
The one from the village chief's family, on the other hand, was delivered this morning.
First, the Chen family members each received a bolt of freshly patterned cotton cloth and a bolt of satin.
Touching the satin, Chen and the others' eyes lit up. It was so fine, even finer than their faces!
"Fengping, we'll shamelessly accept the cotton cloth, but we can't take this satin; it's too valuable."
Ms. Chen liked it very much, but still politely declined.
Others nodded.
Although cotton cloth is expensive, they always manage to repay favors eventually.
They couldn't pay off the satin debt even if they sold their houses and land.
Qian Fengping, unusually, put her hands on her hips and said in a cheerful voice, "Sister Chen, please don't refuse."
“Zhizhi once said, there’s a saying, ‘If you become rich and powerful, don’t forget your friends.’ Now that I’m successful, I’ll let my sisters enjoy the good life with me. And when my sisters become successful in the future, don’t forget to let me take advantage of you too.”
Her self-righteous attitude of wanting to "spoil" her sisters made Chen and the others laugh.
If they were to refuse, they wouldn't dare to say it again.
As for Tiezhu and the others, each of them received a bolt of satin, but the patterns and colors were clearly meant for their wives to make clothes for, and they didn't get any for themselves.
Each person received a woolen coat, scarf, and woolen cape.
Especially the cloak, which looked very luxurious. Tie Zhu insisted on trying it on immediately. The effect was like a black charcoal ball wrapped in white cotton, which made the brothers laugh non-stop.
However, Tie Zhu himself was quite pleased with himself.
They also received furs, a large fox pelt for each of them, mixed-colored, but it was very valuable to them.
Fur coats are only for wealthy gentlemen.
In addition, each person received three boxes of Beijing pastries, five catties of Beijing dried meat, and five catties of pine nut candy...