Chapter 156: Chapter 141, Boring_1
“Are you all right?”
As soon as Daohua had just returned to the residence, Zhou Jingwan came to find her.
“What could be wrong with me?” Daohua gave Zhou Jingwan a peculiar look.
Zhou Jingwan examined Daohua’s complexion carefully and, seeing her rosy cheeks and sparkling eyes, full of energy, she immediately felt relieved, “You scared me to death, I’m glad you’re okay!”
When Yan Wenkai sent a letter to the Yan Family, Zhou Chengye also wrote one to the Zhou Family.
In the letter, he mentioned that Uncle Yan almost hit Daohua.
She became so anxious at that time that she wanted to see Daohua right away; unfortunately, the servants reported that Daohua and Madam Yan had gone to the estate.
She waited for several days and, knowing that Daohua was returning today, she couldn’t wait to come over.
Thinking about how it was because of her elder brother that Daohua was reprimanded by her family’s elder, Zhou Jingwan felt even more embarrassed and quickly asked the maid to bring in two sunflowers.
“Didn’t you say you wanted this the other day? I’ve brought it for you!” After saying this, she pushed the sunflowers in Daohua’s direction, trying to please.
Seeing her like this, Daohua felt a bit amused, “Thank you!”
After having Wang Manman take the sunflowers away, Daohua, seeing Zhou Jingwan still smiling eagerly at her, said somewhat helplessly, “You don’t need to do this; me being punished actually has nothing to do with Brother Zhou!”
Her reprimand was mainly because the Yan Family was too worried about Xiao Yeyang.
Even without Zhou Chengye’s mistake in choosing the opera, as long as she and Xiao Yeyang made a fuss, the situation she would face would be exactly the same as last time.
Zhou Jingwan shook her head, “How can it have nothing to do with him? If it was not for my brother, the Prince’s birthday banquet would have been very successful, and you wouldn’t have been scolded by Uncle Yan.”
Daohua looked at Zhou Jingwan and asked, “What exactly happened with that last play? Why did Xiao Yeyang get so angry?”
Zhou Jingwan shook her head, “I don’t know. Anyway, my grandfather said that it was a taboo for the Little Prince and forbade our family to mention it again.”
“Taboo…” Daohua’s eyes swirled, her face reflecting deep thought.
Zhou Jingwan waved her hand in front of Daohua’s eyes, “Alright, stop thinking about this matter, let’s talk about something fun. Laba is coming up, has your family started preparing Laba porridge?”
Upon hearing this, Daohua felt somewhat disinterested, “I don’t know.”
Anyway, she would not take out the ingredients from her space again. At most, she would make a small pot of Laba porridge on Laba day, enough for her grandmother, mother, and herself; as for everyone else, let them be.
Zhou Jingwan smiled, “Every year, our family makes very tasty Laba porridge. When the time comes, I’ll have someone send you some!”
Daohua’s expression stirred slightly, “Would your mother agree?” Madam Zhou did not look too pleased with her that day at Old Master Zhou’s birthday.
Zhou Jingwan, “Why wouldn’t she agree?”
Daohua smiled and said nothing.
Afterward, the two chatted about other things until the evening, when Zhou Jingwan took the two baskets of vegetables Daohua had given her and went home.
Zhou Family.
When Madam Zhou saw her daughter returning, she asked, “Is that girl Daohua all right?”
“She’s fine!” Zhou Jingwan nodded smilingly and showed the vegetables she had received to Madam Zhou.
Madam Zhou examined her daughter’s demeanor carefully, seeing her relaxed eyebrows and smiling face, she knew that this visit with Daohua had gone very well, indicating that Daohua hadn’t taken the previous incident to heart.
Therefore, she felt relieved and looked at the vegetables brought back with a smile.
“Oh, green vegetables like these are hard to find in winter; your grandfather and father should eat an extra bowl of rice tonight.
“I’ll have an extra bowl myself,”
“Yes, yes, yes, you’re always there, you glutton!”
…
In the blink of an eye, La Ba had arrived.
On this day, Yan Zhigao was off work, and the whole family sat in the old lady’s room, chatting and laughing with her.
When it was almost noon, the maids brought up the freshly made La Ba congee.
“Eh, why doesn’t this year’s La Ba congee taste as good as last year’s?” Yan Zhigao took a sip of the La Ba congee and felt that the flavor was off, immediately raising his head to look at Madam Li.
There was no helping it, last year’s La Ba congee was fragrant and sticky without being cloying; he still remembered its taste.
Madam Li bowed her head, sipping her congee as if she hadn’t heard Yan Zhigao’s question.
Seeing this, the Sun Family matriarch immediately laughed and said, “What else could it be? Last year’s La Ba congee was personally made by Daohua, naturally, its taste is unmatched by others.”
Yan Zhigao glanced at his eldest daughter, who was sitting beside the old lady and whispering something that made the old lady laugh heartily. His lips moved, wanting to ask why his eldest daughter hadn’t made it this year, but the question lingered on his lips, then was swallowed back.
Seeing that Yan Zhigao had said nothing, the Sun Family matriarch didn’t press the matter further and drank her somewhat bland La Ba congee, puzzled in her heart.
The ingredients were nearly the same, so why did the congee taste better when Daohua made it?
She refrained from speaking, but Yan Zhiyuan couldn’t help but speak up. He set down his bowl of La Ba congee, which he had barely tasted, and looked at Daohua: “Daohua, why didn’t you make the La Ba congee this year? I told you, your second uncle loves this very much. Since you didn’t make it, I don’t even feel like drinking it.”
Daohua, who had been whispering jokes to the old madam, looked up indifferently at her second uncle, whose skin was even thicker than the city walls.
Wasn’t this the man who had been clamoring to spank her not too long ago? How did he have the nerve to ask this question?
“Second Uncle, I am not a kitchen maid. Normally, I cook out of interest. How could you be depending on me for what you want to eat or drink?”
“If the La Ba congee doesn’t suit your taste, you can ask the second aunt to make it again. If her cooking doesn’t suit you either, there are still two younger sisters.”
“Whether it’s from a sentimental point of view or a consideration of closeness, you shouldn’t be asking me. It’s as if it’s my fault that you haven’t enjoyed the congee.”
Yan Zhiyuan: “…”
He had always known that his eldest niece was articulate. He also knew that because of the last incident, this girl harbored some resentment towards him.
But he was an elder, after all. What was wrong with being chastised by one?
Just one retort from her could choke someone to death.
Madam Li glanced at Daohua, a warning in her eyes telling her not to say any more.
After all, he was an elder; if a serious fuss ensued, everyone would only blame the daughter for her misconduct.
Daohua pursed her lips, picked up the teacup in front of her as a pretense, and as for the La Ba congee, sorry, she was just nibbling on it and hadn’t even touched it.
Just then, the butler from the Sun Family rushed in: “Old Madam, Master, Madam, the three young masters have returned with the Little Prince and the Dong Family’s young master.”
Upon hearing this, Yan Zhigao stood up immediately: “Hurry, hurry and invite them in!”
Sun Family butler: “Master has already led the Little Prince and the others this way; I am here to inform the Master and Madam ahead of time.”
“Well, what are you waiting for? Follow me to welcome them,” said Yan Zhigao as he led the way out of the room.
In the room, Madam Li also quickly recovered her composure, and hastily ordered the maids to tidy up.
Meanwhile, Daohua, with pursed lips, sat unmoved, seeing that everyone was either busy cleaning up or going out to welcome the guests, felt it was pointless and stood up, leaving the room.