59 Eating
“Good boy!”
Xiao Lang sat happily on the horse’s back and giggled. He was so happy that he revealed a row of small and neat teeth. His two small hands excitedly patted the horse’s back. “Hyah! Hyah!”
When Xiao Hu and Xiao Ye saw their younger brother sitting on the horse’s back in a majestic manner, envy overcame their timidity. The two brothers looked at each other and went forward one after another. They awkwardly performed the gentleman’s etiquette that a teacher taught them, they said nervously, “Sir, sir, I also want to ride!”
Ming Zhiyan patted Xiao Ye’s head and carried them both to the horse, he asked gently, “Have you both studied?”
Xiao Ye answered shyly, his voice as soft as a mosquito, “Yes.”
Xiao Hu was the oldest and braver. He answered loudly, “We have been in school for more than ten days. We are at the Detian Academy in the county. Sir, do you know the Detian Academy?”
“Of course I do. The gentleman from the Detian Academy is very powerful.” There were three academies in the county besides the county school. These academies were all to train talents for the Imperial Court, so Ming Zhiyan was very concerned about them.
He patted the shoulders of the two people. “Study hard and you will serve the Imperial Court in the future.”
“Yes!” The two children who had only been in school for more than ten days were very excited after receiving the encouragement from the County Magistrate.
When it was time to eat, the children in the village had already taken turns to sit on the big horses. At this moment, the group of children were all extremely excited. They surrounded Ming Zhiyan and called him Big Brother non-stop, they completely lost their initial fear.
Jian Qingqing stood at the door and shouted, “It’s time to eat!”
In an instant, a group of children ran over like the wind. Ming Zhiyan was pulled by Xiao Hu and ran in the middle.
“Let’s go, brother, eat with us. My sister’s food is so delicious!”
Old Man Jian originally wanted to arrange for him to sit at the master table, but seeing that he was enjoying sitting among the children, he thought about it and decided to give up. Even though Ming Zhiyan was an official, he did not look that old. He was still young, so he should sit at the same table as the children.
Jian Qingqing looked at the people surrounded by a group of children. She could not help but Sigh at Ming Zhiyan’s popularity. Both adults and children liked him.
When the dishes were served, everyone was like a wolf seeing meat. They dug out the rice ferociously.
Mmm, how fragrant!
The villagers lamented that Jian Qingqing’s family was about to get up. The dishes for a new family banquet were so good. The rice was pure white rice. They had not even seen the dishes on the table. Not only were there stewed meat and roast duck, there were also sweet and sour ribs, red braised meat, and mutton soup. All of them were meat!
The green and tender vegetables were placed on the porcelain-white plate. When they were filled with oil and salt, they were so delicious that they wanted to swallow their tongues!
Moreover, the Jian Family’s prestige was so great that even the County Magistrate and adults came to congratulate them!
After eating this meal, it was enough for them to brag about for the rest of their lives!
As soon as the dishes on the child’s table were served, the children rushed over. No matter how elegant Ming Zhiyan ate, the food was so good that he had no choice but eat more than usual. However, he chose his favorite dishes and did not touch the vegetables or mutton soup.
The mutton soup did not have the smell of mutton at all. Instead, it reflected the freshness of mutton. The vegetables had a light sweetness to it. Ming Zhiyan felt that Jian Qingqing’s cooking skills were enough to be the head chef of a big restaurant.
When Xiao Ye saw that Ming Zhiyan only ate vegetables, he picked up a piece of rib that he thought was the best and gave it to him. Then, he buried his face in the bowl shyly.
Ming Zhiyan smiled and also gave him a piece. “You eat too.”
Xiao Ye happily squinted his eyes and ate.