Hongji’s father had given her this wallet, not one that his old wife had embroidered for him, but specially made by a maid for this purpose.
The younger maid’s stitching was not great, but it was passable enough to give as a gift.
“Thank you, grandfather!”
Ye Shiqi smiled as she received the red envelope, having heard her elder sisters had never received a red envelope from their grandfather during their birthdays.
It was also her first time receiving one, which meant that her grandfather had become more generous, implying he had more disposable income at hand.
Mrs. Lai was known for holding onto the coins tightly, and everyone in the family knew that once money went into her pocket, it was not coming out.
Today was Ye Shiqi’s birthday, but she could not forget about her studies; today was also the day when Mr. Mo and his wife were scheduled to teach musical instruments.
The arrival of Mr. Mo and his wife was escorted by the usual guards, with the addition of the Young Master Tang.
Young Master Tang’s presence was not on his own behalf; he was holding a box in his hand.
A group of people arrived together—besides Hongji who had gone to the factory with his father at the village entrance.
Mrs. Li stayed home looking after the children, with her five daughters at home, and the workers were also at home; Mrs. Lai was present merely as an observer when the guests arrived.
Mrs. Lai’s gaze was sharp; she eyed everyone who entered and her focus was especially fixed on the box in Young Master Tang’s hands.
“Young Master Tang, is the box in your hands a gift for our family? Let me take it for you.”
Young Master Tang shook his head and dodged Mrs. Lai who was attempting to snatch the box, saying,
“Madam, this isn’t mine, nor is it for you; this is a gift from our young Master to Little Miss Ye.”
“A gift for my granddaughter? I’ll keep it for her! She’s young and doesn’t know any better, and if she loses it, it would be a pity to miss Young Master Tang’s sentiment.”
Having stated that reasoning, Mrs. Lai tried to grab it again. Everyone was watching their conversation unfold, knowing well from her words that what she termed ‘keeping’ technically meant taking the gifts.
Whether it was Mr. Mo and his wife, who had been teaching there for a couple of months, or the Ye family’s workers, everyone was fully aware of Mrs. Lai’s character. Previously, one or two of her daughters had even aided her in such deeds.
Now fighting alone, this did not prevent her from attempting to snatch belongings under the guise of being a grandmother, using such reasons to take her granddaughter’s gifts. Not for the first or second time had Young Master Tang heard such rhetoric, yet in the end, it did not go as Mrs. Lai wished.
“Madam, doing this is inappropriate. If we return home in that way, we’d fail to deliver, which would be disrespectful!”
Having been trained in martial arts and being tall, Young Master Tang raised his hand—Mrs. Lai, daring not to collide with the young man’s body, couldn’t claim the item and was left agitated.
In the end, she could only watch helplessly as the gift reached Ye Shiqi’s hands, and watched as she hugged the box, her chubby legs running quickly to try and snatch it. Yet unexpectedly, her granddaughter ran quickly and locked herself in the room immediately.
Unable to do anything in front of the guests, she planned to search her granddaughter’s room once the guests had left.
This thought crossed Mrs. Lai’s mind countless times; whenever her granddaughter received a gift, she proceeded with this action.
Unfortunately, each time she had never managed to find anything, which made her wonder if her granddaughter’s room had a secret hollow or tunnel.
In their previous smaller house, the father and daughter had been able to hide things, and now in this larger house, they were even more capable of doing so.
Mrs. Lai suspected a clandestine hollow but never knew of its actual existence. The reason she was unaware was that Hongji had facilitated a way for his daughter to hide things, providing a safe space for the family members.
Their family had become wealthy, unlike their previous house. Many mountain bandits, under the guise of robbing the rich to aid the poor, targeted wealthy villages and the homes of affluent families.
The government, facing such issues, found it impossible to guard against and when they did attempt to suppress the bandits, by the time they arrived, the bandits had already fled.
Later, Young Master Tang also explained to Ye Shiqi why Tang Shunyan had sent the gift on his behalf.
Actually, Tang Shunyan had wanted to deliver the gift himself but had not expected that today was a class day at Xinghe Academy. By evening when classes ended, his family did not permit him to travel at that time.
He could have sent the gift earlier in the few days prior, but was unable to deliver it personally, a reason Young Master Tang did not
Not mentioned to either Ye Shiqi or the Ye family, he was well aware that the young Master always encountered the young Lady from the Mengs when he went out.
Being entangled by the girl from the Mengs, he could have brought her along to the Ye’s to deliver the gift. However, young Master chose not to, reportedly because the young Lady from the Mengs had an unfavorable attitude towards the young ladies of the Ye family.
Hearing Young Master Tang’s explanation, Ye Shiqi respectfully said, “Thank my young Master Tang for his gift, and please extend my thanks to Uncle Tang on his behalf. I really appreciate his gift and like it very much.”
“Oh, our young Master spent all his private savings.”
The housekeeper was right—the gift chosen by the young Master was quite expensive, and even for Young Master Tang of the Tang family, it cost a substantial amount of his private savings.
Hearing this, Ye Shiqi did not return the jewelry; it represented a young boy’s sentiment toward her.
The gift given was quite valuable, perhaps something a young girl like her should not speak of as extravagant.