Chapter 1130 - 1132: Jealous of My Own Son_1
In the small courtyard of the Bai Residence, Bai Ruozhu handed over a silver banknote of one thousand taels to Bai Lu. Bai Lu and Bai Yixiao were planning to start their journey back to Fengye Village, thinking about having a family reunion for the New Year with their relatives.
Bai Lu hastily pushed the silver banknote away and said, "Ruozhu, we can’t accept this money."
An exasperated smile graced Bai Ruozhu’s face, as she spoke, "Does our clan leader Grandpa truly not acknowledge us anymore? Doesn’t he see us as part of the Bai Family? Didn’t you agree to support the education or trade learning of the young ones in the clan?"
"How could we not acknowledge you? It’s just that it’s not easy for you to earn money, and we feel sorry for your father," Bai Lu said, sighing deeply. Although Bai Yihong wasn’t held back by him, the Bai Family still owed Bai Yihong.
"Please don’t think like that, clan leader Grandpa. Each matter is separate; we were raised by the Bai Family, so naturally, we haven’t forgotten our roots. Take this silver and discuss with Uncle in the main hall. Use part of it to buy some land as public property for the clan. In the future, the output can support the education of the clan’s children or other developments. The rest should be used to send the older children to school, like cousin Zeji who must not be delayed any further," Bai Ruozhu continued.
Bai Lu, his eyes reddening, accepted the silver banknote and Bai Yixiao also repeatedly thanked Bai Ruozhu. Both said that if the Bai Family developed well for a few more years, it might become the leading family within ten villages.
Since Bai Lu and his son were leaving, and with Bai Zhi still in the Capital, the Bai Residence specially chose a day Bai Zepei had off for rest to invite Bai Zhi and the Ding Family over as guests, to allow the relatives to gather and enjoy a lively meal together.
Bai Zhi also tried to persuade Bai Lu to stay in the Capital for the New Year, then return in the spring to avoid the harsh cold on the road. However, Bai Lu and his son were eager to return home and decided not to change their plans.
At the banquet, Ding Feiyu’s older brother Ding Feisheng and his mother Madame Ding made an appearance. Ding Feisheng’s current post had not yet been decided, and throughout the meal, he cozied up to Jiang Yichun with great enthusiasm. Bai Ruozhu noticed and listened in attentively.
"Ah, my talented nephew Jiang, truly youthful yet accomplished. My sister-in-law often says that it would be her good fortune if Ruozhu could marry you," Ding Feisheng said with a chuckle.
Jiang Yichun, apart from playfully joking with Bai Ruozhu, being respectfully polite to Lin Ping’er and Bai Yihong, bore a cold face towards everyone else, appearing extremely stern and icy.
"No, it’s my luck." He responded curtly.
Taken aback, Ding Feisheng realized that Jiang Yichun meant that marrying Bai Ruozhu would be his good fortune.
"Right, right, Ruozhu is also very capable," Ding Feisheng hastily added.
Bai Ruozhu inwardly scoffed, wondering since when had she been so familiar with the Ding Family uncle to be called "Ruozhu" by him. And was there a need for such lukewarm praise, as if her marrying Jiang Yichun was an act of reaching far above her station?
"My sister-in-law always praises you all too; our two families should interact more in the future. It would be great if I could secure a position in the Capital," Ding Feisheng said with great subtlety.
Jiang Yichun had been silent the whole time, just listening quietly until Ding Feisheng, lowering his voice, suddenly made a turn in the conversation, "I wonder if my esteemed nephew could help pave the way for me a little. Ding would be eternally grateful."
Bai Ruozhu felt her heart tighten upon hearing this; Ding Family’s uncle was now resorting to using backdoor maneuvers with Jiang Yichun, without any prior indication. This put her dear Yichun in a difficult position. Anxious and somewhat uncomfortable with the Ding Family’s approach, she covertly glanced at her younger sister Bai Zhi and her brother-in-law Ding Feiyu, who seemed to be unaware of Ding Feisheng’s intentions.
While Bai Ruozhu was preoccupied with worry, Jiang Yichun abruptly nodded, saying, "You make a fair point, I’ll make some inquiries for you."
Bai Ruozhu looked at Jiang Yichun in surprise; he had agreed just like that? This was not in keeping with his character, was it?
Ding Feisheng was exceptionally happy and thanked Jiang Yichun profusely, which caught the attention of Bai Zhi and her husband. Bai Zhi’s face turned slightly awkward.
Because the next day was the opening of Hua Xiangrong Beauty Salon, Lin Ping’er enthusiastically invited Bai Zhi and Old Madame Ding to come over. Bai Zhi immediately agreed, smiling, "I must come to support you, I’ll come over early to help out."
Lin Ping’er quickly expressed her thanks. In fact, many tasks had already been arranged for the servants, and Bai Zhi didn’t really need to help, but it was the thought that counted. Old Madame Ding pondered for a moment and said, "I am just an old bag of bones and will not go, so as not to cause any trouble for you."
Lin Ping’er politely exchanged a few words but didn’t persist any further.
The Bai Lu father and son also decided to leave after the Beauty Pavilion opened. They had a lively dinner and soon after, the Ding Family said their goodbyes, Bai Zhi took Bai Ruozhu’s hand apologetically and said, "Ruozhu, sorry for the trouble."
Bai Ruozhu smiled back at her, "Sister-in-law is too polite."
After everyone left, Bai Ruozhu and Jiang Yichun took Little Dengdeng back to the Yard. Bai Ruozhu brought up the subject and Jiang Yichun nonchalantly replied, "It was just a small effort and didn’t really affect me, plus having more connections can open up more opportunities in the future. This is how officialdom works, besides, Ding Feisheng really does have some skills; otherwise, I wouldn’t have agreed."
Bai Ruozhu was somewhat surprised, "You’ve even checked out how capable Ding Feisheng is?"
He gave her a sidelong glance and said, "When have I ever not taken matters concerning you seriously?"
Bai Ruozhu couldn’t help but laugh and before she could speak, Little Dengdeng ran over, stretching out his little arms and saying, "I care! I care!"
His actions clearly indicated that he was vying for attention, seeking his mom’s embrace.
Just as Bai Ruozhu reached out to pick up her son, he was swiftly scooped up into his father’s arms. Jiang Yichun gently patted Little Dengdeng’s bottom, teasing, "What do you care about? You still wet the bed at your age, and last night you even purposefully peed on your dad."
Little Dengdeng quickly pouted at his mother, sporting a face full of grievance. Bai Ruozhu, seeing this, felt pained and couldn’t help but hit Jiang Yichun, "Dengdeng is not even one and a half years old, aren’t your expectations a bit high? What child over a year old doesn’t wet the bed?"
Jiang Yichun grunted, "The problem is he wets my bed, and he insists on squeezing in to sleep between us. No, I’ll assign him his own Yard tomorrow and let Nanny Zhang be his upbringing Nanny!"
Upon hearing this, Little Dengdeng burst into tears, crying while mumbling unclearly, "Daddy... bad... bad..."
Bai Ruozhu felt so heartbroken for her pitiful little son that she kicked Jiang Yichun in the leg, "You used to dote on your son so much; why are you just picking on him now? He is just over a year old, shouldn’t we wait until he is a bit older before we separate him from me?"
Jiang Yichun looked sullenly at the wailing Little Dengdeng, "Sneaky little guy, pretending to be pitiful!"
"You’re a grown man, why are you picking on a child?" Bai Ruozhu glanced at him again then suddenly, suppressing her laughter, she looked at him sideways and asked, "Aren’t you just jealous of your son?"
He turned his head away and didn’t answer, but Bai Ruozhu had already burst into laughter, holding her stomach.