Chapter 178 2/3

Zhao Laosan felt particularly hopeful about life. Even though his son had grown tall, he couldn’t resist picking him up.

Zhao Xiaodou hugged his father’s neck with a smile.

Back at Zhao’s place, he had always been unlikable, but now the situation had completely changed. Every time he went back, the relatives in Zhao’s family treated him exceptionally well.

After Zhao Laosan left, Jin Dajiang and his wife arrived, bringing some homemade preserved meat and vegetables.

Mrs. Jin said, “I didn’t have much to do at the shop, so I took the opportunity to marinate some meat and vegetables. I marinated the meat according to the recipe given by the shopkeeper. It’s very fragrant!”

Chang Zhan’s method of marinating meat involved using Sichuan peppercorns. He dry-roasted salt and Sichuan peppercorns in a pan before using them to marinate the meat, resulting in a more delicious flavor.

Although Li Qingzhi and the others didn’t lack preserved meat to eat, he still happily accepted the meat Mrs. Jin brought. They couldn’t finish all of it, so they could give some to the students at the school.

The Jins looked quite healthy now. Their business selling braised food in town had been doing well, earning them a good amount of money every day. They ate well on regular days, and both of them had gained some weight. However, because they didn’t eat high-sugar or high-fat foods, they didn’t become too overweight.

Li Qingzhi checked their pulses and found that their physical condition was even better than before. He also helped them adjust their bodies a bit before letting them have lunch.

“There’s still a lot to do at home; we need to go back,” Mr. Jin and Mrs. Jin smiled and left quickly.

Both Zhao Laosan and the Jins arrived early. When they came, Li Qingzhi had just finished breakfast.

After they left, Jin Xiaoye, Chang Zhan, and Li Laogen began to get busy.

The night before, Chang Zhan had already cooked the pig’s head. They were going to stew a chicken, then offer sacrifices to their ancestors and pray to the New Year’s Bodhisattva.

As for Li Qingzhi… Jin Xiaoye asked him to watch the two children.

Li Qingzhi took Li Damao and Li Ermao to the school and gave some money to the children there, giving each of them ten coins. “It’s quite lively in the city this morning, and it’s also lively by the new pier. You guys can go and have a look around, but remember to come back early.”

“Mr. Li, we can’t take your money,” Zhang Zao refused to accept Li Qingzhi’s money, holding his hands behind his back.

His father had never given him so much money before!

“Just take it. It’s the New Year; go buy some delicious food,” Li Qingzhi said.

Li Qingzhi insisted on giving the money to these people and letting them go out to play.

On New Year’s Eve in the north, there were hardly any people in the city. However, in Chongcheng County, some families wouldn’t go to buy chickens and meat until this morning. They might have been busy with work before and didn’t have time to prepare for the New Year.

But starting from the first day of the Lunar New Year, there would be fewer people in the city.

Speaking of which, for the next three days, Juewei Restaurant would be closed. However, starting from the third day of the Lunar New Year, it would reopen. During the New Year, wealthy families in the city were happy to buy some braised food from Juewei Restaurant to treat their guests. This business had to be done.

After sending off those students, Li Qingzhi took the two children to Juewei Restaurant. He had been busy with school matters recently and hadn’t been there for a long time, so now he could go and take a look.

After Li Qingzhi left, the students at the school held their copper coins, feeling a bit at a loss.

Zhang Zao asked, “Do you guys want to go to the city to play?”

Liu Er’ya said, “I want to go see my mother.”

Although Liu Danai wanted to play, after hearing his sister’s words, he said, “We want to go see our mother too.”

The girl with a birthmark on her face, who used to be a beggar, said, “I want to go see my grandfather.”

Among the others, some wanted to visit their old friends or relatives, while others wanted to play.

A Yue just wanted to go back and see her mother.

In the end, they decided to split up and go their separate ways. Some said they might not come back for lunch.

Some of them indeed didn’t come back for lunch, but Li Qingzhi left food for them to prevent them from returning to no food.

At lunchtime, Li Qingzhi and the others had a simple meal of steamed salted meat, stir-fried vegetables, and garlic stir-fried thousand-layer tofu. But their dinner would be very sumptuous—Chang Zhan had already prepared a lot!

When they finished their dinner, Qian Fugui arrived at the new pier in Chongcheng County with his men.

He had brought quite a few people with him to Jiang’an Province this time, including many sailors. He had specially bought a small boat and had his men row it for him when they came to Chongcheng County.

He had arranged for his trusted men to come a day earlier and had booked rooms at the inn near the new pier.

Qian Fugui hadn’t slept well for the past two days, but thinking that he could see Li Qingzhi, he was in good spirits, with bright eyes.

After arriving at the new pier, Qian Fugui and his men went to the inn to settle in.

The inn’s waiters hadn’t gone home to celebrate the New Year because they were coming. They had already prepared lunch for them. Among them was braised food from Juewei Restaurant.

Although Juewei Restaurant wasn’t open today, it had opened yesterday, so the waiter had followed Qian Fugui’s orders and bought some braised food to prepare.

Qian Fugui felt somewhat complicated when he saw the braised food. According to the information he had received, Juewei Restaurant was also opened by Li Qingzhi’s wife.

Was his nephew really Li Qingzhi?

During the meal, Qian Fugui inquired about Li Qingzhi from the waiter. He heard the waiter praise Li Qingzhi endlessly and also mention Li Qingzhi’s establishment of a school. In the end, the waiter said, “Are you businessmen from out of town? If you’re here in Chongcheng County, you must buy a few books written by Li Qingzhi to absorb some of his talent.”

“I remember, I’ll definitely buy them,” Qian Fugui said.

If he was really his nephew… he would definitely buy the books written by his nephew!

After the meal, Qian Fugui, with his two bodyguards, walked towards Li Qingzhi’s residence, imitating Li Qingzhi by covering his face with a

scarf.

When they arrived at the gate of Li’s house, the gate was open.

Li Qingzhi’s new house had a front yard and a back yard. The front yard was quite spacious. At the moment, Li Damao and Li Ermao were sitting in the yard, gnawing on the meat from the pig’s head they had just dismantled.

Chang Zhan found the salted meat too salty to eat, as the pig’s head had only been marinated for four or five days, so it was just right to eat now.

At the same time, Li Laogen was asking for the pig’s nose: “Give me the pig’s nose so I can take it back to the village!”

Li Qingzhi refused, “No, Xiaoye likes to eat pig’s nose.”

“Then what else can I take? There’s no good food for lunch today,” Li Laogen grumbled.

Li Laogen was really drifting away; he even thought that the salted meat for lunch today wasn’t good…

Li Qingzhi said, “Many families have pig heads; it’s not that special. I’ll give you some pastries.”

It was almost New Year’s, so they had bought some pastries.

For the people in front of the temple village, Li Laogen eating pastries was definitely more enviable than eating pig’s head.

Li Qingzhi gave Li Laogen several packets of pastries. After Li Laogen took them, he immediately ran out.

He saw three people with hats and scarves covering their faces at the door, and subconsciously felt a little scared. He quickly straightened up and ran away.

He knew that they should be looking for Li Qingzhi or Jin Xiaoye, and he didn’t dare to deal with these people.

It was only at this time that Li Qingzhi noticed Qian Fugui.

But Qian Fugui didn’t look at him, he kept staring at Li Damao and Li Ermao. Seeing the two healthy and lively boys who looked exactly alike, Qian Fugui’s joy almost overflowed.

These two children looked exactly like his nephew when he was young!