"This is too much." Bai Banxia remembered what she had said to Xiaocao before, Zhou Yang was quite attentive this time.
"Not too much, not too much, just a little bit of thought." Zhou Yang said with a smile.
"Young Master Zhou is so polite. It was just a misunderstanding, so there is no need to worry about it." After Bai Banxia finished speaking, he took a candied haws to Xiaocao and handed another one to Ma Xiaoyu.
Ma Xiaoyu's face turned red. It was her first time in such a big mansion and meeting such a big official. She was very nervous the whole time.
She wants to say that she doesn’t want to eat candied haws at her age, but she’s reluctant to push it back. It’s so sweet and fragrant that she wants to eat it. What should she do?
"Let's eat together." Bai Banxia laughed, took one and ate it, then turned around and handed one to Qi Zhen.
Qi Zhen held it in his hand and was a little stunned for a moment. He was a grown man and really didn't like eating such sweet and greasy things. But he refused, and he was a little reluctant to give it up. It was given by Banxia.
A small figure appeared at the door of the hall, looking at them curiously with wide eyes.
Xiaocao walked over and handed the candied haws to her, "Can you eat it?"
"You eat, you are a guest." Zhou Mei refused like a little adult, but her eyes almost dropped from the candied haws.
Although the daughter of the magistrate's family has no worries about food and clothing, the little child cannot resist it.
Bai Banxia laughed, "If Xiaocao gives it to you, just accept it and you two will be good friends. Then sister will give another piece of grass and you all have it, okay?"
This time Zhou Mei nodded, took the candied haws, and took the initiative to hold Xiaocao's hand, "Let's play together."
Xiaocao looked at Bai Banxia and asked for her consent. Bai Banxia nodded with a smile. Xiaocao was becoming more and more cheerful these days.
After a while, Zhou Hai entered the front hall. His hair had been arranged, he put on his official hat again, and regained his majesty as a county magistrate.
"I have sent someone to prepare meals, but the Yamen has official business and I cannot accompany you, so I will let Madam and Zhou Yang entertain you. I'm sorry." Zhou Hai said politely.
"Official matters are important, sir, please go ahead and do your work first." Bai Banxia returned the greeting.
Watching Zhou Hai leave in a hurry, Bai Banxia wondered what happened to the Yamen.
Afterwards, Mrs. Zhou came to entertain everyone. Two large tables were set up for the banquet, and the dishes were particularly rich. Bai Banxia looked at the sky outside and thought that her plan to eat hot pot at her grandma's house today was going to be ruined.
At first, everyone was very reserved, but Mrs. Zhou was gentle and approachable, and soon all the female family members were chatting together.
Although Zhou Yang looked like a scholar, he had a cheerful temperament and practiced martial arts every day. He soon started chatting with his third cousin and became familiar with the man.
Xiaocao and Zhou Mei were full after eating a little, and the maid watched them play outside the hall.
On the surface, Bai Banxia was talking to Mrs. Zhou, explaining some of Mr. Zhou's dietary taboos, but he also distracted his attention by looking at Xiaocao, fearing that she would be accidentally injured again.
"Your haircut looks like mine, and it looks good too." Zhou Mei reached out and touched Xiaocao's hairdresser and praised.
"The one on your head was sold by my sister, and your grandfather even marked it on my head." Xiaocao said with some pride, she helped her sister sell it.
Zhou Mei was a little envious, "Your sister is really amazing, and you have many brothers. I don't have any brothers or sisters."
Xiaocao tilted her head and thought for a while, "Then I will be your sister and I will protect you from now on."
Zhou Mei chuckled, "But you are younger than me, so I can be your sister."
"Then I can be your sister when I grow up." Xiaocao said innocently.
Zhou Mei smiled even happier, "You are so cute. When you grow up, I will grow up too, sister Xiaocao."
The two of them giggled.
Listening to the two children's childlike words and their silver bell-like laughter, Bai Banxia couldn't help but raise the corners of her mouth. Her grass would grow up happily like Zhou Mei in the future.
"Your hair flower looks great, can we wear it differently?" Zhou Mei said suddenly.
Xiaocao was a little hesitant. Bai Banxia wanted to speak for her, but in the end he couldn't help it.
She cannot over-protect Xiaocao, as that would be bad for Xiaocao, especially when getting along with her peers. Xiaocao should be allowed to deal with problems on her own.
"Then let's change it now and change it back when I leave, okay?" Xiaocao thought for a while and said, "My hairpin was given to me by my sister, and yours was given by my grandpa. It's very important to us.
It’s important, keep it well.”
She tilted her head and thought for a moment, "What's the name of hiding? Yes, treasure."
"You're right, let's cherish it a little bit and exchange it back later." Zhou Mei nodded in agreement.
Bai Banxia breathed a sigh of relief. Xiaocao said it well, much better than she thought. Who said that Xiaocao could not handle the relationship with her friends well without contacting others before?
Her world is vast and her future has just begun.
After the maid helped them change their hair, Xiaocao turned around and saw her sister smiling at her. She also grinned, revealing a set of small baby teeth and two small dimples at the corners of her mouth.
After finishing the meal, the third cousin burped exaggeratedly.
He ate a large bowl of noodles with soybean paste, and a bowl of white pinellia, and then ate a lot more at Zhou's house. It would be strange if he couldn't hold himself back.
"Ayang, we agreed that we would make gestures." The third cousin and Zhou Yang were already close to calling each other brothers.
"We've just finished eating, so let's take it slow." Zhou Yang laughed.
Bai Banxia glanced at him with disgust, "Fortunately you didn't compete with others, otherwise I would have been really afraid that you would have vomited."
"Aren't you bullying others when you compete in running? Am I like that kind of person?" the third cousin said, holding his belly.
Afterwards, Mrs. Zhou led everyone around the house, and Bai Banxia said goodbye and left.
Zhou Mei reluctantly took Xiaocao's hand and said, "Xiaocao, will you come to play with me again?"
Xiaocao looked at Bai Banxia, and Bai Banxia went over and took one by the other, saying, "Sister, I'll have a follow-up visit with grandpa in three days. Then I'll bring Xiaocao to play with Xiaomei, okay?"
"Okay!" Zhou Mei shouted happily.
"Okay." Xiaocao also laughed.
The two of them changed their hair flowers back and waved their little hands to say goodbye, feeling particularly reluctant to leave.
The group of people left Zhou's house and were going back to the market to get the cart. They didn't want to see Li Jinniu holding his back and gasping for breath on the roadside from a distance.
"Brother Li, what's going on?" Bai Banxia stepped forward and asked.
"It's okay, it's okay, I got a little distracted." Li Jinniu shook the thing in his hand, "I need thick rice paper urgently. Your Majesty ordered me to buy it quickly, so I ran away in a hurry."
Third cousin Zhang Tonglin stepped forward and said, "I will help you deliver it. I will definitely run fast."
Li Jinniu remembered how fast he rushed into the Yamen last time. It was so fast that they almost thought he was here to assassinate the Lord.
"Then please leave it to Brother Zhang. I'll take a breather and go back." Li Jinniu handed the rice paper to Zhang Tonglin.
"Okay, mom, you go first, I will catch up with you later." His voice became more and more distant, and he ran away before finishing his words.
Looking at the back of his third cousin Juechen all the way, Bai Banxia suddenly felt that he was quite suitable for doing errands. Anyway, he would feel uncomfortable if he didn't run for a day.
