Chapter 143: Surprised 2/2

When submitting an article, good handwriting could leave a good impression, so he wrote very seriously and made some adjustments to make the article look more perfect.

As Li Qingzhi was writing, someone rushed in from outside and said, “Brother Li, why didn’t you go to school this afternoon?”

The person rushing in was Gou Ying. He rolled up his sleeves and entered without seeing Li Qingzhi, then went to the children and used Chang Cui’s small wooden bucket to fetch water for washing his face and hands. “It’s so hot! It’s getting hotter and hotter these days!”

“We have green bean soup at home. Why don’t you go have a bowl?” Li Qingzhi heard the voice and came out.

“I don’t want it. Your green bean soup doesn’t have sugar!” Gou Ying said.

“You have high demands.” Li Qingzhi was speechless.

These days, salt was not cheap, and sugar was even more expensive… His family didn’t have much sugar in total.

“Brother Li, you’re not short of money, are you? Why are you being so stingy?” Gou Ying asked.

Li Qingzhi said, “Who said I’m not short of money?”

“Okay, okay, you’re short of money!” Gou Ying said.

After that, Gou Ying saw Zhang, the governor, and was a little curious. “Old man, are you Brother Li’s elder?”

“Sort of,” Zhang, the governor, smiled.

Li Qingzhi said, “This is Zhang, the governor.”

Gou Ying looked at Zhang, the governor, who was smiling, thinking he might be Jin Xiaoye’s father or some other elder of Li Qingzhi’s, but he didn’t expect… “Zhang, the governor?!”

“Yes,” Li Qingzhi said, “You know now, but don’t tell others.”

Gou Ying nodded blankly, then wiped his face with his sleeve. Halfway through, he realized something and immediately ran into the house.

After a while, Gou Ying, with his face dried, came out of the house and saluted Zhang, the governor.

The young man looked dignified, with a noble demeanor.

Li Qingzhi smiled and said, “Zhang, Grandpa, this is the son of the magistrate of Gou County.”

The governor had a good impression of the magistrate of Gou, and although Gou Ying was a bit reckless, wasn’t that how young people were?

Zhang, the governor, smiled and chatted with Gou Ying. In just a few words, Gou Ying opened up to him, even calling him “Grandpa Zhang” as he requested. “Grandpa Zhang, you’re completely different from my dad. My dad just knows how to scold me…”

As they were chatting, Li Laogen came back with the chicken and duck.

Only now did he see Zhang, the governor, and he was a little curious and uncomfortable.

They all had gray hair and wrinkles all over their faces, but the feeling Governor Zhang gave was completely different from his.

For a moment, Li Laogen suddenly remembered something Li Qingzhi had said to him—if he gambled again, he would have to find a new father. Would Li Qingzhi really want to change to a father like this?

Li Laogen didn’t know how to entertain guests. For a moment, he just wanted to perform well. “I’ll go kill the chicken!” he said and went to kill the chicken.

Governor Zhang had talked to Li Qingzhi before and knew this was Li Qingzhi’s father. He immediately sent his guards to help kill the chicken.

Li Laogen suddenly felt at a loss.

Fortunately, Chang Zhan rescued him. “Brother Li, can you help me light the fire?”

Upon hearing this, Li Laogen quickly hurried into the kitchen and asked Chang Zhan, “Ah, Chang Zhan, who is that old man?”

Chang Zhan replied, “He’s Governor Zhang.”

“What?” Li Laogen was frightened.

Oh my, that old man turned out to be Governor Zhang. Could he just eat in the kitchen today and not go out?

Of course, that was not possible. Li Laogen was the head of the family; how could he not go out to entertain guests? Chang Zhan glanced at Li Laogen hiding behind the stove but didn’t say anything.

Just as Li Laogen returned, Jin Xiaoye, who had been busy outside, also came in.

Jin Xiaoye had never seen Governor Zhang before and didn’t know who he was. She thought he was a teacher from Chongwen Academy.

She smiled at Governor Zhang and looked at Li Qingzhi. “Ah Qing, who is this old gentleman?”

Li Qingzhi said, “This is Governor Zhang.”

Jin Xiaoye: “…”

Jin Xiaoye, who had been uncomfortable with the idea of going to the county magistrate’s house for dinner not long ago, was a little confused.

Li Qingzhi had once said that she might have the chance to have dinner at Governor Zhang’s house, and then… Governor Zhang came to her house!

Jin Xiaoye was originally a little uneasy, but Governor Zhang looked very gentle, and Li Qingzhi’s expression was calm. Jin Xiaoye quickly put her mind at ease.

“Mrs. Li, your business is doing very well,” Governor Zhang said with a smile.

“I just want to make some money,” Jin Xiaoye replied as she chatted with Governor Zhang.

Li Qingzhi didn’t deliberately conceal Governor Zhang’s identity, but he didn’t tell those female workers when they came to cook, to avoid scaring them.

Lately, Jin Xiaoshu didn’t come to the Li family for dinner, and Wang Jie and the others went home for dinner at night. There weren’t many people in Li Qingzhi’s family.

However, the table still couldn’t accommodate everyone, so Chang Zhan divided some of each dish, and Jin Xiaoye took the four children upstairs to eat.

Li Laogen also wanted to leave, but as the elder in the family, how could he avoid it? In the end, he could only sit uncomfortably and eat.

Governor Zhang sat facing south, with Li Qingzhi and Gou Ying on one side, Li Laogen and Chang Zhan on the other, and two guards opposite them.

As they chatted and ate, everyone seemed to be getting along well.

The dishes prepared by Chang Zhan were very rich, with chicken stir-fried with chili, old duck and bamboo shoots soup, braised pork, and several kinds of vegetables.

Governor Zhang especially liked the chicken stir-fried with chili.

“Grandpa Zhang, don’t you think this is delicious? I think it’s so delicious!” Gou Ying kept talking to Governor Zhang.

Governor Zhang smiled and nodded.

As for Governor Zhang’s two guards… These two big men couldn’t eat spicy food, so they simply didn’t eat the chicken and only had duck and braised pork.

What they liked the most was the bowl of braised pork. The fatty meat of the braised pork melted in the mouth and tasted especially delicious.

After dinner, they all went to the lantern festival together.

Of course, Jin Xiaoye wasn’t there to play; she was there to set up a stall.

She wasn’t very interested in going to the lantern festival, but she was very interested in making money there.

As they walked outside the city, people around them greeted them, “Captain Li, are you taking the kids to the lantern festival again?”

Li Qingzhi smiled and nodded, chatting with them from time to time.

Gou Ying said, “Brother Li, you know so many people!”

All the people they met along the way, Li Qingzhi could call out their names!

Li Qingzhi smiled and asked Gou Ying, “Did your sister eat the snacks you brought?”

Gou Ying said, “Of course she did!”

After that, Gou Ying began to talk about how he had managed to avoid his mother and brought snacks for his two sisters.

His two sisters were still young and lived in the same room. There used to be a maid guarding the room, but the morning after Gou Ying asked Gou Shuyun for snacks, Gou Shuyun insisted that the maid sleep outside…

The two sisters were the only ones in the room, and after Gou Ying returned home, he would wash up and return to his room, then go out through the window of his room, and then go to the back of the room where his two sisters lived, open the windows that his two sisters hadn’t closed tightly, and hand the snacks to them.

When they finished eating, he would take the bowls away.

That’s how he delivered the snacks, but he gave those little trinkets in front of his parents. After all, if he gave them in private, the servants might find them when they cleaned up his sister’s things, and his sister might get scolded.

Unfortunately, those things were all thrown away by his mother in the end.

Later, he simply didn’t give them, leaving them in his room, and his sisters would come to his side to play when they wanted to play.

“I didn’t think much of my mother before, but now I see that she’s just like my father, wanting to control everything,” Gou Ying said.

Li Qingzhi reminded him, “Don’t say such things in the future.” Criticizing parents… If this kind of thing were spread, Gou Ying’s reputation would be very bad.

These days, scholars value filial piety very much.

Of course, there are all kinds of things in the countryside… It’s not uncommon for children to ignore their parents’ affairs.

“I’m just telling you; I won’t tell anyone else,” Gou Ying said.

Governor Zhang, who had heard everything, remained silent.