Her Cultivation Diary
Chapter 1034 - 1014. Mr. Song, the imperial examinee

Chapter 1034: 1014. Mr. Song, the imperial examinee

Tch, who’s interested in checking out your shoes!

Zhang Yanping stared at this brat, listening to his tone just moments ago!

He inadvertently glanced over and was stunned: "Wow, Qiaoqiao. Your sister Song Tan actually shelled out to buy you these shoes, huh!"

"What do you mean by Song Tan the stipend student?" Qiaoqiao asked curiously.

"Uh, this..." Zhang Yanping suddenly faltered. Observing Song Tan’s subtly smirking expression, he mumbled, then quickly deflected: "I forgot. You know me—I’ve read fewer books than Teacher Xin has; let him explain it to you."

Xin Jun: ...

What’s wrong with you? If you explained, you might’ve smoothed things over, but now you want me to clean up your mess...

Fine, seeing as you’re about to buy a house, I won’t argue with this fool.

Xin Jun smiled faintly, his expression peculiar:

"Your Brother Yanping was making an analogy. In ’The Scholars,’ there’s a stipend student named Yan, who was wealthy but extremely stingy. On his deathbed, he pointed at the oil lamp using two fingers, refusing to pass away because the lamp had two wicks, and burning both would waste oil."

Qiaoqiao’s eyes widened gradually—

This is outrageous!

He immediately grew irritated, thinking, "Sister was absolutely right; both my cousins have issues."

"Brother Yanping, nonsense!"

"My sister is obviously so generous and works so hard... She even gave you a raise and bought you clothes!"

Zhang Yanping thought to himself, "Those clothes cost over a hundred per piece, but your shoes cost over three thousand... Who’s to blame? Clearly, it’s because I’m not as adorable as Qiaoqiao!"

Still, Xin Jun is morally bankrupt! Couldn’t he have sugarcoated it just a little?

"No worries." Song Tan grinned: "Qiaoqiao, don’t be mad. Your Brother Yanping is probably just jealous. Look at his shoes—how could they compare to yours?"

Qiaoqiao lowered his head and saw his white shoes were still pristine and stylish, while the gray sneakers on Brother Yanping’s feet looked ordinary and worn-out!

Instantly smug, Qiaoqiao declared: "Fine—in that case, Brother Yanping, don’t be jealous. These shoes weren’t bought by my sister but gifted by the handsome guy from Imperial City."

Zhang Yanping froze. His mind, always quick to turn at the mention of gossip, piqued with curiosity: "Which handsome guy? Is it your sister’s life-saving benefactor? Wow, even you call him that—is he really so good-looking?"

After all, Qiaoqiao himself had a very handsome appearance! To put it bluntly, his journey as a social media influencer wasn’t just reliant on Daxiong’s comedic antics, but also his good looks.

"He really is, he really is! And his cooking is amazing!"

As if reminded of something, Qiaoqiao scrambled to the back seat, rummaged around energetically, and successfully pulled out an insulated bag:

"Brother Yanping, Teacher Xin, do you want some popsicles? The handsome brother made them himself."

It was barely six in the morning, in the dead of winter—who would be insane enough to eat popsicles?

Zhang Yanping politely declined.

Nonetheless, he unzipped the bag for a peek, finding them exquisitely crafted and adorable, comparable to the creations of numerous online food bloggers.

"Wait a minute!" He suddenly realized: "How do you know his cooking is great? Did you visit his house?"

Xin Jun frowned as well: "Was anyone else at his place? Qiaoqiao, I’ve taught you this before—when away from home, you need to stay vigilant. Best not to visit other people’s homes alone, whether they’re strangers or acquaintances."

"We didn’t go!" Qiaoqiao shook his head: "Handsome Brother said his house only has him, so it’s not convenient... But, I wasn’t alone, and my sister wasn’t alone either... Isn’t it okay for just the two of us together?"

Xin Jun and Zhang Yanping simultaneously let out a sigh of relief.

What can you say—they’re still single, yet they’ve already experienced the challenges of parenthood.

"Ideally not," Xin Jun advised: "When you’re out with your sister, just listen to her."

Qiaoqiao truly wasn’t alone, but Song Tan was a beautiful young woman, and Qiaoqiao was naive... Precautions were still necessary.

"Alright then." Qiaoqiao sighed: The things a kid has to remember are just too much!

He hurriedly went to store those popsicles in the freezer. Meanwhile, Seventh Uncle had already ignited the stove and was looking over at Song Tan:

"Perfect timing with Tan Tan’s return. Later, Yanping, Xin Jun, and I will put together some sort of agreement. Could you invite Director Zhu to oversee the details and ensure everything is aboveboard while serving as a witness?"

"Sure!" Buying a house was such a significant matter that Song Tan naturally treated it seriously, and now she asked: "Is there anything else we need to prepare? For the pig feast, we’ll probably need fifteen tables."

Then she added: "Just to be safe, let’s prepare sixteen tables."

Seventh Uncle waved her off: "You’ve been driving all night—don’t worry about this. Just go and rest.

"The pig feast has been arranged; Xiaojian and I are handling it. We’ll put together a list of missing items when the time comes, and you can sort them the day before."

"By the way, I’ve already hired the pork butchers. Since we’ll be slaughtering five pigs at once, we’ve called in two butchers, plus some helpers from the ten miles and eight villages to lend a hand."

There were still several days until the pig feast anyway, and Song Tan wasn’t overly concerned. She agreed and went upstairs.

...

Meanwhile, Secretary Xiaozu, still groggy, hadn’t even made it over to Lao Song’s family to scavenge for a hot breakfast before receiving a call from Grandpa:

"Xiaojun! Everything’s ready on our end. Are we setting off today?"

Secretary Xiaozu jolted awake: "Five days are still left! Why are you coming so early?"

Lao Zhu’s voice was even louder than hers: "Traffic jams! We need to leave early. Besides, for this one trip, I’m aiming to only bring Xiaodu. As for the others, fewer is better—we’ve gone to great lengths to organize this, so leaving sooner is better."

Secretary Xiaozu, hair like a bird’s nest, sat up and sighed helplessly: "Let me remind you—I haven’t informed anyone about your ranking or occupation. When you arrive, there won’t be any special treatment; you’ll be staying in the dorms and eating in the cafeteria."

After saying that, she continued to persuade: "Grandpa, please be considerate of them. Slaughtering five pigs at once and hosting guests—there’s so much preparation to handle here. All of us crowding into the house for meals wouldn’t be appropriate."

Lao Zhu was indignant: "Cafeteria food is fine! What do you take me for—a clueless old man? With the New Year around the corner, the return to Imperial City has stirred plenty of hustle—a constant string of mingling! If it’s not one relative, it’s an old mate bringing junior relatives over to mingle... We’d rather avoid the chaos and head directly to the countryside!"

"And besides, we aren’t freeloading; I’ve packed plenty of things to bring along."

With that, Secretary Xiaozu, distant from the bustling courtyard life for so long, suddenly realized the atmosphere. With the new year approaching, indeed, it was inevitable for the mountains to become rowdy as well.

She exhaled slowly: "Alright, then come on over. What time do you estimate you’ll arrive?"

Speaking of this, Lao Zhu became bashful: "Everything’s packed, and the car is already waiting at the door. If we set off now, we should reach by four or five this afternoon."

Secretary Xiaozu: ...