Chapter 776: Chapter 776: The Old Man Still Has a Heart of Stone Chapter 776: Chapter 776: The Old Man Still Has a Heart of Stone Luo Qiao perked up at this, “Really? With whom?”
Lu Yichen said, “You know him, quite well actually.”
Luo Qiao muttered, “I know him, quite well.”
She thought to herself that it must be someone they all knew, and after a moment she looked at Lu Yichen, “It’s not Kong Xiangrui, is it?”
Lu Yichen burst into laughter, “My smart Qiaoqiao.”
Luo Qiao seasoned the sections of hairtail in the basin, “Kong Xiangrui is quite a decent person, and we know the Kong Family well enough. Yiting has good taste.”
Lu Yichen turned around, “And what about me?”
Luo Qiao put the basin aside, “You’re better than him. Happy now, childish one?”
After washing their hands, they left the living room and saw many neighbors sitting outside. Luo Qiao greeted them with a smile, “Happy New Year, Aunties and Grannies.”
One of the grannies chuckled, “Qiaoqiao, happy New Year, this is your beau, isn’t it?”
“Yes, his name is Lu Yichen.”
Lu Yichen nodded and politely said hello to everyone.
Luo Qiao then smiled, “Aunties, Grannies, please have a seat, he and I are going to step out for a bit.”
“Oh, go on, go on, no need to worry on New Year’s Day, go out and have fun.”
At this moment, the men of the household were chatting in Grandpa and Grandma’s room, while big Aunt and little Aunt were accompanying Grandma and visiting Grannies and Aunties. The sisters-in-law were upstairs playing with the kids.
After greeting the elders in the living room, Luo Qiao walked outside, took a basket from underneath the corridor eaves, and handed it to Lu Yichen, “Go pick some strawberries from Grandpa’s greenhouse, and we’ll head over to my master’s place.”
Lu Yichen took the basket and left the yard. Luo Qiao turned and entered the small storage room next to the main gate. It was a small room hidden behind the screen wall, mainly for storing tools.
When Lu Yichen returned, Luo Qiao directed him to carry the beef, lamb, dried fruits, sausages, and cured fish she’d taken out from her own space into the storeroom before they finally left the yard.
After storing everything away, Lu Yichen smiled, “Should I drive, or will you?”
Luo Qiao tightened her clothes, “You drive. It’s too cold, and I don’t want to move my hands.”
Carrying large and small packages into the yard, when they saw the people standing in the master’s courtyard, Luo Qiao’s smile immediately vanished.
The people in the yard were none other than the master’s two sons and their family members. Luo Qiao had only met them once, so she could barely recognize them.
Seeing Luo Qiao enter the court, Bai Sulì, the oldest daughter-in-law of the Yang Family, eagerly smiled, “Luo Qiao has arrived?”
Luo Qiao just nodded without speaking and approached the door, “Master, Mistress, I’m back.”
Upon hearing Luo Qiao’s phrase ‘I’m back,’ the Yang Family members in the courtyard felt a pang of discomfort; what used to be their home now seemed like a place they couldn’t even enter.
Feng Shumin opened the door and saw the people outside, “Old man, Qiaoqiao and Yichen are back.”
Lu Yichen handed the things he was carrying to Feng Shumin, “Mistress, there’s still some stuff in the car, I’ll go get them.”
The items now being brought were prepared by Luo Qiao. He had also prepared some things in the trunk in advance, two bottles of wine, two cans of milk powder, a bundle of hairtail, and a box of oranges.
Feng Shumin saw the items Lu Yichen brought in, “It’s just your master and I, we haven’t even finished the things you previously brought, why bring so much more?”
Lu Yichen replied, “It’s only right for Qiaoqiao and me to show our respect to you, and besides, it’s New Year’s.”
This made the faces of the more than a dozen people standing in the court look awkward. They too had brought things, but only a couple of packs of pastries and a bag of fruit for each family.
Yang Liwu, the eldest son of the Yang Family, actually wanted to turn around and leave, but he knew his wife wouldn’t give up. They had managed to enter the courtyard on such an occasion, and surely the elderly couple would take face into consideration on New Year’s.
After entering the room, Luo Qiao said, “Master, Mistress, it doesn’t seem right to have people standing in the courtyard during New Year’s.”
Yang Jiancheng got up and walked to the door, “You all should leave. What’s done is done; it’s impossible to return to the past. You know what you’re aiming for, and I’ll say it one last time, some things don’t change with time.”
The people in the courtyard hadn’t expected that after so long, the old man was still hard-hearted and unwilling to accept them.