Chapter 969 - 971 Insulting Even a Baby_1
Bai Ruozhu smiled at the Fengye Village Chief and said, "Village Chief, you flatter me too much. My second brother’s achievements far surpass mine; he’s the one who has truly brought glory to our Northwest people."
Seeing her composed and modest demeanor, the Village Chief laughed and said, "Both you siblings are commendable. Zehao is also steady and reliable, diligent and capable. The Bai Family really knows how to raise children."
Bai Yihong, listening, felt an immense pride in his heart. All three of his children were outstanding, and he believed that the years of hard work and struggle were justified.
Those who were listening nearby nodded in agreement and couldn’t help but give Bai Yihong another look, thinking to themselves how honest and amiable he was, and how well he must have raised his children to be such fine individuals.
Bai Lu raised his glass to stand up, offering some auspicious words to everyone, and then, as the head of the Bai Family, he toasted the fellow villagers. After his toast, he had Bai Yihong express their gratitude with a toast, followed by Bai Zepei standing to toast. After three rounds, Bai Lu announced the beginning of the feast.
Bai Ruozhu also drank a little wine and toasted Bai Lu, the Village Chief, and the other elders.
After three rounds of drinks, Bai Lu was overjoyed and said to the Village Chief, "The Bai Family has raised such good children. Ruozhu mentioned sending the Bai descendants to study or learn a trade, and as the clan leader, I couldn’t be happier today!"
The Village Chief, filled with envy, thought about how Mountain Village already had a School, while Fengye Village did not, and boldly slapped his thigh, saying, "Education indeed should start from a young age. Our Village should also establish a School, to give the village children a chance to read and write!"
Listneing to this, Bai Ruozhu nodded. It was indeed necessary. As long as someone was willing to take the lead and others could fundraise, a Village School could be established quickly.
"Village Chief, that’s a great suggestion. Our Bai Family is willing to contribute five taels of silver to the Village School," Bai Lu said after some thought.
The Bai Lu household was not wealthy; five taels of silver was already a significant gesture. The Village Chief was extremely delighted upon hearing this and kept praising the offer, lifting his glass to toast Bai Lu.
Bai Ruozhu quickly made eye signals to her father, and Bai Yihong understood, also speaking up, "Village Chief, establishing a Village School is a wonderful thing for the people. My family is also willing to contribute five taels of silver."
The Bai Family no longer cared whether it was five taels or fifty taels, but such contributions definitely had to take the clan leader’s contribution as a benchmark. If they exceeded the clan leader’s amount, wouldn’t it embarrass Bai Lu?
Bai Yihong, who had learned a fair bit about social niceties lately, quickly grasped this point.
The other elders also spoke up, one after another. Some said they would contribute two taels, others three taels, and still others five taels, but no one insisted on being the leading contributor.
"On behalf of my Grandpa, I will also contribute five taels of silver. Our Old Master places great importance on education," Bo Zheng suddenly said.
Tears glistened in the Village Chief’s eyes. His proposal to establish a Village School was somewhat impulsive, but he had not expected so many to be willing to contribute. Now, the funds collected were more than enough to construct the teacher’s quarters, prepare desks and chairs, and hire a teacher.
"Good, good, I thank everyone on behalf of the villagers!" The Village Chief’s voice boomed, and many people heard, immediately someone shouted, "Village Chief, my family will donate one tael!"
"My family will donate two hundred pennies and a set of desks and chairs!" Another person called out.
"My family will donate five hundred pennies!"
"My family will donate two sets of desks and chairs!"
"..."
The feast had turned into a fundraising event for the Village School, with the people of Fengye Village all extremely excited. With the establishment of the Village School, their children could gain an education. Even if they couldn’t all become scholars like Bai Zepei, being literate was already a significant step forward. Perhaps future generations would also produce a Scholar.
Dengdeng saw the excitement of the crowd and also raised his little hand, shouting "Ju..."
Bai Ruozhu was stunned for a moment before realizing, he had heard everyone talking about donating money, and he couldn’t pronounce the word "donate" correctly, so he shouted "ju" instead.
The whole table burst into laughter at Little Dengdeng’s antics, and the Village Chief even kindly patted his head and said, "This child will be incredible when he grows up, thinking about helping others at such a young age."
Bai Ruozhu snickered to herself, knowing Dengdeng had no idea what donating money meant.
While they were talking, Bai Ruozhu remembered that she needed to go to the kitchen to stir-fry, so she entrusted Dengdeng to her big brother, greeted the head table, and quickly headed for the kitchen.
When Li Family saw her come in, she smiled and said, "Ruozhu, you’ll have to make extra, so there’s some left for us."
"Sure thing, I’ll make extra portions for each dish," she replied with a smile.
Since the ingredients were already prepared, Bai Ruozhu worked quickly. She even added some fresh soup powder to the dishes she was cooking. She had given a jar of fresh soup powder to Bai Lu’s family before, but they deemed it too precious and didn’t use it for every dish today, only adding a little to the meat dishes.
It wasn’t long before Bai Ruozhu had finished stir-frying the dishes, and Li Family, having tasted them, declared them delicious. They immediately set some aside in the kitchen and served a plate of her cooking to each table outside.
Bai Ruozhu excused herself from Li Family and returned to her seat.
The Village Chief and others, knowing that Bai Ruozhu had gone to stir-fry, praised her for being competent in both the hall and the kitchen. Liu Family at the next table heard this and grimaced, mumbling, "What’s so great about a destroyer of the family fortune; they’ve all been fooled by her."
Bai Ruozhu, with her sharp ears, heard this but pretended not to, yet unexpectedly, Sanlang sitting next to Liu Family said, "They even praise her son for being smart. I’ve seen many one-year-old children who can call out to people. Her child can’t even do that. Isn’t he a fool then?"
This infuriated Bai Ruozhu. It was one thing to curse her, but another to insult her son!
She sprang to her feet in an instant, turned her head toward Sanlang and said, "My son is not even a year old, and how could you, as an elder and his cousin, insult a child who is not even one year old?"
Sanlang stiffened his neck and said, "I’m telling the truth, nearly one year old and can’t call out to people, what’s smart about that? He’s just like Xiaosi when he was a baby. I am reminding you kindly, you should get him checked early, don’t let him turn out to be a little fool too."
Bai Ruozhu had been practicing martial arts for a while now, had developed some inner strength, and knew a bit of light body technique. In a flash, she was in front of Sanlang, grabbed his collar with one hand, and started slapping his face with the other.
"That’s for your loose tongue. My son and Xiaosi are not for you to insult!" As she spoke, she struck him more than a dozen times, leaving all the guests at the Wine Feast stunned, with no one thinking to intervene.
Finally, Liu Family came to her senses, rushed over, grabbed Bai Ruozhu’s arm, and screamed, "What are you doing hitting people? How could you be so cruel to your own cousin? Your heart is too vicious!"
Bai Ruozhu shook off her arm and freed herself from the Old Master’s grasp, picked up Sanlang, and threw him out. "Get out, I don’t have a cousin like you, and don’t let me see you again!"
Sanlang cried out miserably as he was thrown out, followed by Liu Family’s screams. Liu Family fell to the ground, crying and shouting, "My God, there’s no justice! Bai Ruozhu even hit me, her grandmother. Everyone, please judge this for me!"
Bai Ruozhu had merely freed herself from Liu Family’s clutches, not strong enough to knock her over. She had clearly thrown herself to the ground on purpose.
Enraged, Bai Lu’s beard trembled as he pointed at Liu Family and said loudly, "We shouldn’t have invited you to our banquet. You always cause trouble at a good Wine Feast, and now you’re even insulting a baby. Who’s the one with the poisonous heart now?"