Chapter 483 - 184: Year’s End
Chapter 483: Chapter 184: Year’s End
"De’an isn’t grown up yet, and Xiang’er has no interest in that sort of thing. Otherwise, it would be nice to set them up together."
Chen Wanqing was by the stove, frying meatballs and pork ribs.
When she suddenly heard Mrs. Zhao’s words, her hand shook in surprise. The pork rib she had just fished out fell back into the hot oil with a SPLASH.
The oil spattered, nearly splashing onto Chen Wanqing’s face.
Quick-witted, she blocked it with her sleeve in the nick of time. The oil droplets landed on her sleeve, soiling her clothes, but at least her face was unharmed.
Mrs. Zhao and the cook were quite frightened when they saw this.
The two of them pushed her out. "The work in the kitchen isn’t heavy. We can handle it. You should go rest. Go blend your perfumes or read your books—go do your own thing. If you really got a scar on your face, you’d regret it forever."
The family’s cook was the same one they had bought back in Qingshui County.
She had previously worked as a cook for a wealthy family. But when her old master was promoted, another kitchen maid with connections—her sister was the madam’s personal nanny—was naturally taken along, and she was sold off.
After being bought by Chen Wanqing, she was in charge of cooking in Qingshui Village as well.
She was skilled in all kinds of cooking—frying, deep-frying, boiling, and stir-frying.
Since her cooking suited the tastes of Chen Wanqing and the others, they simply put her in charge of the kitchen after they moved to the Prefecture.
Pushed out of the kitchen, Chen Wanqing went back to her room, changed her clothes, and then went to the adjacent room to look for Zhao Jing.
Strangely, Zhao Jing wasn’t there.
She walked down the steps and asked an old woman who was decorating a tree with red flowers, "Have you seen the master?"
"The master went to the front courtyard to entertain guests. The young masters of the Wang Family came to deliver New Year’s gifts, and the master has kept them for tea."
Chen Wanqing hadn’t known about this, so she quickly got up and headed to the front courtyard.
In the front courtyard, the brothers Wang Jun and Wang Xiao had arrived together.
They had also intended to bring New Year’s gifts to Zhao Jing, but they were a step too late. Zhao Jing and Chen De’an’s gifts had already been delivered to their home first.
The two brothers were also very busy before the New Year, as they had to help their mother with the account books.
Tallying accounts was truly a chore. Staring at them for too long made their heads spin and their eyes blur.
The brothers used the excuse of delivering New Year’s gifts to Zhao Jing to escape from their house.
They were just talking to Zhao Jing about going to the temple fair at the City God Temple before the New Year when Chen Wanqing arrived.
"There’s a temple fair at the City God Temple? Is it a big one?"
Seeing Chen Wanqing approach, the brothers quickly greeted her. Chen Wanqing hurriedly returned the courtesy, and after they exchanged pleasantries, they resumed their earlier topic.
"The City God Temple itself isn’t large, but the temple fair is huge and very lively. Ever since Mr. Sheng took office, he has gone to pay his respects at the temple every year to pray for a bountiful harvest in the coming year. Word somehow got out, and more and more people started coming, so the fair just got bigger and bigger."
"The fair is on the twenty-ninth of the twelfth lunar month. By then, most of the New Year preparations will be complete. Why don’t we all go out and have some fun together?"
Zhao Jing looked at Chen Wanqing.
The two Wang brothers understood Zhao Jing’s meaning and said to Chen Wanqing, "You should come with us, Sister-in-law. Zhen’er has been worried that she hasn’t had a chance to spend time with you. Let’s take this opportunity for all of us to go and enjoy a carefree day."
Chen Wanqing didn’t hesitate for long before agreeing, "Alright."
Seeing this, the Wang brothers were delighted. "You’re very straightforward, Sister-in-law! In that case, we’ll see you at the city gate then."
Wang Jun then mentioned that he was going to pay a visit to Mr. Sun tomorrow and asked if Zhao Jing wanted to go with him.
Giving New Year’s gifts to one’s respected teacher was an old custom.
Mr. Sun had only taught Zhao Jing for two days, but whenever Zhao Jing saw Mr. Sun at the prefectural academy, he always showed him extra respect.
The one Zhao Jing should really be visiting was Mr. Yin.
Unfortunately, the master and student were still on awkward terms, unable to even speak properly when they met. So, it was best not to visit Mr. Yin and spare each other the unpleasantness during the New Year.
Since he wasn’t going to see Mr. Yin, he naturally couldn’t visit Mr. Sun either. Otherwise, it would look bad.
Wang Jun took one look at Zhao Jing’s expression, guessed what he was thinking, and couldn’t help but smile. "You two, master and student... I wonder how long you’re going to keep this up."
Chen Wanqing spoke up with a smile, "Jing isn’t going, but I’ve prepared a gift. Could I trouble you to take it with you when you go to Mr. Sun’s home?"
"Don’t worry about it, Sister-in-law. I’ll prepare something."
"We already have something at home. It’s no trouble at all."
In the end, Wang Jun and Wang Xiao couldn’t bear to let their old mother toil alone. The brothers stayed at the Zhao Family’s home for a little while longer, politely declined the couple’s invitation to stay for a meal, and then left.
「In the blink of an eye, it was the twenty-ninth of the twelfth lunar month.」
On this day, Xiang’er and De’an woke up early, as they were also going to the temple fair.
Chen Wanqing saw the two of them dressed in brand-new clothes with bulging purses hanging from their waists. She said with an amused smile, "The temple fair is sure to be full of skilled pickpockets. With your money showing like that, aren’t you just making yourselves easy marks?"