Transmigrated as a Stepmother: Time to Bring the Family to Prosper!-Chapter 322 - 321: Very Spacious, Plenty of Room

The village chief and two others halted at a distance when they saw those guards.

Liu Dafu tentatively tried to speak, but the four guards immediately put their hands on their swords, scaring Liu Dafu back to the elderly couple’s side. He was startled and thought, these gate gods are truly terrifying!

Fortunately, Liu Ji noticed in time and quickly ran out to explain that the teacher didn’t like seeing strangers, asking them to leave, thereby avoiding a conflict.

If Liu Ji had been the one to say such words, Liu Dafu would have sneered at him.

But upon hearing that the honored guest disliked seeing strangers, they left immediately.

Before leaving, Liu Dafu remembered how Liu Ji addressed the honored guest, his eyes widened in disbelief as he scrutinized Liu Ji up and down, "San, you’re now a disciple of the honored guest?"

Liu Ji crossed his arms and raised his chin, "Not much of a talent, but I’ve just apprenticed under the teacher and met Junior Brother."

Because of this sentence, Liu Dafu remarkably felt that his previously irritating expression now appeared handsome and graceful. He quickly congratulated him and said that in the future, he would have Liu Li seek his guidance on scholarly matters.

Seeing Liu Ji display a smug look, Liu Dafu finally turned away and left.

Liu Dafu took a few steps, turning back repeatedly, filled with disbelief, thinking how different people’s fates could be.

In the courtyard came a call from Gongliang Liao: "Liu San!"

The old man, though aged and with crippled legs, had excellent hearing. As soon as he heard Liu Dafu call out San, he immediately assigned a name to the new disciple.

Liu Ji responded with an "Aye!" and hurried back into the courtyard.

The coachman and most of the guards stood outside the door, leaving only Shi Tou, two maids, and two attendant students to serve Qi Xian and Gongliang Liao. There weren’t many people, but combined with the four Da Lang siblings, the already small courtyard suddenly became cramped.

Gongliang Liao sat on his exclusive bench, as there was no space in the main room, he had to temporarily stay in the courtyard.

Luckily, the weather was fair and pleasant at this moment, so it wasn’t too much of an inconvenience.

Gongliang Liao knew that the countryside wouldn’t offer good conditions, so he maintained a positive attitude. There was a low table nearby with a plate of mooncakes and a pot of hot tea, from which he took a sip to suppress the alcohol.

The attendant student and maid knelt at his sides, ready to take orders at any time.

Liu Ji ran over and saw the old man at ease without any troubles, smiling wryly, "Teacher, you called for San, what is the matter?"

Fearing the old man might need help with a personal matter, he knelt down and whispered closely into his ear.

Only Liu Ji would dare to inquire this way; anyone else would surely face consequences.

Having drunk a bit too much along the way, Gongliang Liao did feel the urge and nodded in affirmation, looking around, realizing that this courtyard hardly seemed convenient.

By this time, Qi Xian, having toured the entire Qin Yao’s family property under the guidance of the four Da Lang siblings, returned.

The young boy had seen that with the empty rooms in front and behind the house, Qin Yao’s family simply didn’t have the space to accommodate them. Annoyed by the teacher’s inconvenience, he shot Liu Ji a look — How dare you take on porcelain work without the necessary skills!

But since they were already here, there was no point in dwelling on these matters anymore, it would only bring more trouble.

Noticing the teacher’s intention, Qi Xian immediately instructed Shi Tou to have the items unloaded from the horses and set up a tent in the backyard as a temporary restroom for the teacher.

He also had the teacher’s washing utensils prepared and instructed someone to coordinate with the servant called Ah Wang in the kitchen to cater to the teacher’s dietary preferences.

Watching Qi Xian’s mature handling of the situation, Liu Ji raised his eyebrows, finally seeing the difference between a prodigy and ordinary children.

Shi Tou and the other guards were also very professional; with just one command from their master, they filled in the rest without a hitch.

Soon, boxes were unloaded from the horses, and the backyard swiftly housed a tent equipped with essentials like a restroom. The maids even sprinkled lemongrass to cover up any odors.

Regarding Gongliang Liao, someone was there to carry him to the backyard for his needs.

The four Da Lang siblings stood under the veranda, dumbfounded at how their home no longer resembled itself, feeling an ominous premonition.

"Has Mother not returned yet?" Da Lang asked softly, looking at Ah Wang standing like a post two meters away.

Ah Wang’s ears twitched slightly. Without expression, he gazed at his beloved kitchen, now taken over by the maids, and replied, "Soon."

The four siblings inhaled deeply with tension. They feared Mother might come home to find the courtyard filled with wooden boxes and lose her temper, dragging their father away for a beating for merely currying favor with the scholars.

Even Si Niang knew that the first thing when letting guests in is to inform them of the host’s arrangements.

Liu Ji, returning from accompanying Gongliang Liao, glanced at the four siblings and immediately understood what was on their minds.

To this, Liu Ji rebutted internally: Do you think I forgot to mention it? I just didn’t dare to!

Old residence old residence, you can tell how old it is just by the name. Since Qin Yao hasn’t come back yet, he dared not casually lead people there.

It was still daylight, if Qi Xian was dissatisfied, they would have plenty of time to return to the city.

If they left, it was uncertain if they would come back.

Qi Xian had even taken a tour around the back mountain of Qin Yao’s house. He wasn’t as pretentious as everyone thought, returning with mud-caked shoes, shaking his head at Gongliang Liao, he said:

"Teacher, I’ve looked over, Liu Ji’s house is too small, should we head into the city to find an inn to rest after dinner?"

Liu Ji’s heart tightened, realizing he had to inform the owner’s arrangements first.

He quickly apologized: "Sorry for the inconvenience to Teacher and Senior Brother, but as for lodging, my wife already has arrangements; Teacher and Senior Brother need not worry."

He glanced at the apparently inexhaustibly energetic Qi Xian, "After the exhausting journey, why don’t you sit and rest for a bit, Senior Brother? After dinner, I will lead the guards and servants to the guest residence."

"A guest residence?" Qi Xian eyed Liu Ji, full of skepticism, not catching that Liu Ji mentioned leading guards and servants to the guest residence, instinctively assuming it was a farmhouse arranged for him and the teacher.

He had quickly glanced over the houses in this small mountain village; the current farmhouse courtyard was already the cleanest and neatest he had seen in Liu Family Village.

Passing some farmhouses on the way over, the entrances were covered in yellow mud and various filth, making him somewhat regret bringing the teacher to find Liu Ji.

Fortunately, Liu Ji’s home was better than he had imagined, at least clean and tidy with the yard neatly organized, and some tastefully arranged fresh flowers stuck in front and back of the house.

But compared to those suburban farms near the capital... never mind, no comparison; a guest residence suffices, as long as they could manage!

Liu Ji nodded seriously, affirming, "Rest assured, Senior Brother, there is a guest residence, very large, enough space."

Seeing no flaws in Liu Ji’s demeanor, Qi Xian lightly nodded, "Then let’s talk after dinner."

Liu Ji smiled and summoned the Dragon and Phoenix Twins to have them call their mother back for dinner.

Si Niang understood, knowing this was to have them gather information on the renovation progress. She nodded and ran off towards the southwest.