Lu Yan waited and waited, but Pei Fengtang did not order for her to leave. In addition… Pei Fengtang’s eyes seemed to be filled with mirth at the sight of Qi Qingyao’s casual actions.
The two of them started to chat while sitting there, as if they were old friends that had known each other for a hundred years.
Heir Pei ordered his servants to serve some more cakes and desserts.
Coupled with freshly brewed hot tea, Qi Qingyao and Heir Pei got more engrossed in their conversation…
Lu Yan: …
What a strange sight this was!
Was this still the Heir Pei who had a strange temper and spent money like it was dust?
How was he chatting so comfortably with this woman?
She was only a village lady.
Oh, no, a village woman!
Lu Yan really did not understand what topics they could even have in common. He was about to have Si Jin call Qi Qingyao over, but when he turned back to look, Horse-face had taken off his mask and was playing with the cat.
Sometimes he even talked to himself a little.
He looked like he was not right in the head.
Lu Yan felt like he was not needed here, but he did not want to leave nevertheless, so he got himself a plate of sunflower seeds and sat to the side, feasting on them happily. Meanwhile, he eavesdropped on Qi Qingyao and Heir Pei’s conversation.
It was more or less about:
The situation of Heir Pei’s health!
The weather!
Their favorite food!
The scenery in Qingzhou City!
The scenery in the Capital!
The tales about the Koi Fish Temple!
…
Lu Yan felt sleepy listening to them, but he also felt like those were indeed topics that friends would talk about.
It seemed that Heir Pei had a high opinion of this village woman.
…
In the side hall, Li Qing hauled two braziers over so that the kids would feel warmer. He also carried over some cakes and biscuits, and had an older female servant play with the kids. Jiang Yeqian sat over to the side. He did not drink the tea, but took a small, wooden horse in his hands and played with Dabao. The room was peaceful.
However, Jiang Yeqian had long since spaced out.
He could only think about what was happening next door.
It had already been two hours.
Were that woman and the Heir still chatting?
‘You don’t know each other that well. What’s there to talk about? Si Jin too… he should’ve reminded her that the three kids and I are still here! It’s fine if you’ve forgotten about me, but what about the three kids?’
…
Qi Qingyao and Heir Pei talked till they became hungry. Qi Qingyao was direct. “What do you want to eat for lunch?”
Heir Pei said, “What do you want to eat? Do you have any good suggestions?”
Qi Qingyao looked at the people in the hall, and she also thought of her kids. “We have many people here. Let’s eat hotpot!”
“Hotpot? What’s that?” Heir Pei asked curiously.
“Hotpot? There’s a pot, and below it there’s fire… The pot is divided into several spaces, and inside them is soup, like spicy soup, seafood soup, or water. You cook vegetables and meat in the soup!” Qi Qingyao thought for awhile before explaning.
“That’s Gudong Soup. Why do you call it hotpot?” Heir Pei looked curious.
“Why do you call it Gudong Soup?” Qi Qingyao asked.
“Because “gudong” is the sound the food makes when it’s thrown inside the boiling water… But the pot is hot, so the way you call it makes sense too.”
Heir Pei slammed his hand on the table. “We’ll call it hotpot!”
Lu Yan: “…” Who the heck would eat hotpot during the New Year?
Pei Fengtang had lain in bed for years. At this moment, he really wanted everyone to crowd around the table and eat hotpot together!
He immediately ordered the servants to prepare pots and the ingredients.
Jiang Yeqian was dumbfounded when Si Jin told him about what they would eat for lunch.
“What, we’re having hotpot with Heir Pei?”
Si Jin: ???
Did he not like that?