Free Web NovelChapter 669: Chapter 669: Sending Out Invitations
"What’s the matter?"
Qin Yao and the others asked curiously when they saw Yin Le coming back sullenly with a table and chairs, busy sorting out luggage in the hall.
She couldn’t stand being asked when she felt wronged. It would be better if no one asked, but when someone showed concern, the grievance doubled.
"It’s just the steward from the Qi Family next door." Yin Le put the table and chairs into the storage room on the east side, waved at the concerned people, "Actually, it’s nothing, just like a warm face met a cold shoulder."
For more than half a month, she and Ah Wang would often come over with Qin Yao to tidy up the new house, so they knew roughly about the neighbors.
The Qiu Family often climbed the wall to peek, with a gossipy and curious nature, but harmless.
The Qi Family basically never showed up, only occasionally seeing their master’s carriage when he returned from court, having only glimpsed them a couple of times.
The first time, Yin Le was at the door supervising the hired bricklayers to build two flower beds for planting flowers. The two bricklayers spoke a bit loudly, and a person emerged from the side door of the Qi Family and scolded them.
But since the bricklayers spoke loudly first, Yin Le hurriedly apologized.
The second time, as the Qi Family’s master was returning from court, the bricks and tiles at the doorstep hadn’t been moved into the yard yet, blocking the way, and that steward came over with a lot of attitude.
At that time, Qin Yao and Ah Wang had gone out to select materials, leaving only Yin Le at home. Fortunately, she had some strength, so she quickly cleared the road in front of the door.
The Qiu Family’s daughter-in-law saw her sweating profusely and brought her a bowl of mung bean soup.
Actually, those bricks and tiles only extended less than half a meter out from the door, and the rest of the avenue was still passable by carriage.
Yin Le wasn’t foolish and could see that the Qi Family was targeting them intentionally.
But they had just moved here and hadn’t had the chance to offend the Qi Family.
Yin Le couldn’t figure out why the Qi Family was displeased with them in the first place.
This was the first time Qin Yao heard Yin Le mention it, and her face immediately darkened, "Why didn’t you tell me then?"
Ah Wang also looked over with a blameful expression, thinking that the lady had instructed them to keep a low profile, but didn’t say they should endure bullying from irrelevant people.
Yin Le, seeing their expressions, felt a stinging sensation in her nose and quickly took two breaths to calm her excited emotions.
"It was actually my fault for not handling things neatly, letting them catch a small flaw."
Liu Ji didn’t like hearing this, immediately putting down the desk he was sorting and poked his head out the window to shout:
"What nonsense are you talking about? Don’t always blame yourself for no reason! Why didn’t the Qiu Family say we were noisy or that we blocked the road? And the opposite families didn’t say anything either. Only the Qi Family complains?"
No one needed to answer as he continued righteously on his own:
"It’s just because they have too much nonsense!"
"Dear, I think we’d better not invite the Qi Family to our housewarming banquet. Their arrogance would only feel slighted by our humble abode, why trouble them, right?"
The Qi Family alone would take at least one table of food, skipping this would save quite a bit of silver; isn’t it good to save it for ourselves?
He certainly didn’t want such people to take advantage of even a single coin.
Turning his head to the east wall, Liu Ji spat, "Pah! What an unlucky thing!"
The voice wasn’t quiet, making Yin Le jump in surprise, and she quickly gestured "shh" with her finger, "Master, lower your voice, what if they hear us?"
"After all, he’s the Lord Imperial Censor..."
Before Yin Le finished her reminder, Liu Ji pointed at her, "Shut up! Don’t let others’ glory extinguish your own ambition."
"What about the Imperial Censor? Does being an Imperial Censor give him the right to bully an innocent young girl like you?"
Inside the house, Da Lang, Second Lang, Sanlang, and Si Niang, who were drafted by their father to tidy up the study, all nodded in rare agreement, "Exactly."
No one was allowed to bully their Senior Sister Yin.
"We just won’t invite them, let them crave!" Sanlang declared, hands on hips, huffing.
Mother said they’d have Uncle Ah Wang make lots and lots of cakes to entertain the neighbors and even reminded them that making cakes is tiring, even Uncle Ah Wang couldn’t make too many, so he should avoid sneaking bites.
Now with one less family, he could eat a bit more. Sanlang drooled a little, feeling thrilled.
Looking at Master, the father, and sons, all five of them inside, Yin Le couldn’t help but feel touched, but her rational mind told her this wasn’t good.
"Master." Yin Le had no choice but to look at Qin Yao, "After all, we’ve just arrived here, this..."
Qin Yao raised her hand to make a stopping gesture, looked up at the tall east wall, "Let them hear if they want, what’s there to fear!"
Then she walked to the study door, speaking to the smug Liu Ji: "Have you written all the invitation cards I asked for?"
Of course!
Liu Ji immediately went to find his book box, took out a stack of written invitations, and a fresh fruit basket which he then handed to Yin Le,
"Go find Old Mrs. Qiu next door to ask the full names of the surrounding families, and fill out the invitations to send out."
Specifically instructed: "Still write one for the Qi Family, it’s up to them if they come or not."
Venting verbally was one thing, but the necessary actions couldn’t be omitted to avoid giving others leverage.
Qin Yao indeed wasn’t afraid of trouble but preferred to avoid it when possible.
"Let Ah Wang deliver the invitation to the Qi Family, you needn’t go."
She then instructed Ah Wang, "You go out too, there’s nothing much left to tidy up in the house, deliver the invitation personally to the Ding Family."
Yin Le and Ah Wang nodded, each taking their leave.
Liu Ji was still disgruntled, murmuring softly, "I wouldn’t deliver an invitation to the Qi Family."
There wasn’t much to tidy up at home, as the larger items had already been sorted earlier, now they just needed to organize the personal belongings moved over from Qin Feng’s place.
Having ordered vegetables in the morning, the vegetable farmer delivered them now, Qin Yao paid the silver and had him help move the vegetables into the kitchen.
She had remodeled the kitchen into an open space, with one side for Chinese cooking and the other for baking, creating designated areas for making snacks and tea, clean and convenient.
The vegetable farmer, after delivering the vegetables, left through a small door by the kitchen. Qin Yao saw him off, closed the door, and looked at the neatly arranged plots in the vegetable field, thinking about the lush greenery that would flourish in three months, feeling extremely pleased.
Tomorrow would be the Dragon Boat Festival, and though everything was happening at once, Qin Yao insisted on celebrating the festival.
Liu Ji handed the task of eliminating the five poisons to the four younger ones and ran to the back garden looking for Qin Yao with a ledger.
With no trace of her in the kitchen or the vegetable field, he searched around and caught her in the newly built bathroom.
"Have the windows all been cleaned?" Qin Yao interrogated.
Liu Ji gave some vague grunts of acknowledgment, saying he had something to discuss.
Qin Yao motioned him to wait outside.
The newly built shower room was much more spacious and bright than the old one, and since they had money in hand, they didn’t skimp on materials, covering the floor with engraved bluestone slabs, which were non-slip and beautiful.
All four walls were built with blue bricks, with many wooden shelves mounted on them for storage.
The floor was equipped with drainage, leading water directly to the house’s drainage system, ultimately flowing into the street sewer.
The bathing method remained unchanged, though, requiring fetching hot water inside for a bath.
Qin Yao wanted to install a showerhead system, but upon inquiring at the blacksmith’s, found that using copper for such a setup would take long and be quite costly, so she abandoned the idea.
