20demayo Chapter 414 Liu Peng's overtures
Chapter 414 Liu Peng's overtures
Chapter 414 Liu Peng's overtures
That day, it was Jiang Xiaoqi's turn to be in charge of lunch again. Xiao Ming would usually come early to wait with her, but he was late today.
Jiang Xiaoqi had already gone out and brought in the food box that Li Mo had brought. Four dishes, a soup, and a staple food were all laid out, but Xiao Ming was still nowhere to be seen.
The food won't taste good if it gets cold. Just as I was about to go out to look for someone, Xiao Ming walked in.
However, an unexpected person followed behind: Liu Peng, the grandson of the prime minister and the second-place scholar in the imperial examination.
"Hey, Brother Jiang, Editor Liu forgot to send lunch today. He said he'd have to make do with what we have."
Liu Peng: Is that what I said exactly?
"Oh? I see. No wonder you're so late. Brother Liu, please have a seat. The preparations at home are rather simple; please forgive me."
"Uh, no, no, I've always heard Lord Xiao say that the food at Compiler Jiang's residence is extremely delicious. Today I am truly fortunate to have such a meal."
Huh? This grandson of the prime minister can say nice things too~ Jiang Xiaoqi placed the bowls and chopsticks in front of the other person, and then directly distributed one of the dishes with little soup to everyone.
He used the empty plate as a rice bowl and ate with a spoon, giving his own set of tableware to Liu Peng, who came to freeload.
This made Liu Peng a little embarrassed, but he still couldn't beat Jiang Xiaoqi to it.
Jiang Xiaoqi's space certainly had no shortage of bowls and chopsticks, but the two of them arrived suddenly, and with everyone watching, it was really not easy to sneak in.
Fortunately, the Jiang family had generous portions, so everyone took more than they needed; otherwise, with an extra person added, no one would have had enough to eat.
Of course, while the two were drinking tea, Jiang Xiaoqi still managed to sneak out three plates of snacks, one for each of them.
The other two had their food taken back to their offices so they could eat whenever they got hungry in the afternoon.
Liu Peng expressed his gratitude politely once again, perfectly illustrating the saying, "He who takes a man's money is bound to him."
The next day, it was Xiao Ming's turn to deliver the meal. Xiao Ming carried the food box into Jiang Xiaoqi's office, and a short while later, there was another knock on the door.
Xiao Ming put down the food box and went to open the door. Sure enough, it was Liu Peng, standing outside the door with a food box in his hand.
Xiao Ming let the person in, and Liu Peng placed the food box next to Xiao Ming.
Jiang Xiaoqi was taken aback. What was going on?
Why would someone who already has food come over?
"Brother Jiang, Brother Xiao, I sent some food to my home today. I was just about to repay your kindness yesterday and express my gratitude."
Without waiting for the two to speak, he opened his food box, which was filled with rare delicacies from land and sea, making people's mouths water.
Jiang Xiaoqi and Xiao Ming exchanged a glance. This person had even changed how he addressed them. Hmm... that was a bit unexpected.
"Brother Liu, you're too kind. Yesterday was just a simple meal, why did you have to go to such lengths?"
Jiang Xiaoqi felt that Liu Peng's meal was equivalent to ten or eight of her own meals.
"Brother Jiang, what are you saying? It's just some food, there's no need to be so formal."
Unable to refuse, and not wanting to offend the prime minister's grandson, Jiang Xiaoqi and Xiao Ming had no choice but to accept the offer.
The three of them rearranged the food and sat down together.
There are enough bowls and chopsticks today, so Jiang Xiaoqi doesn't need to hold a plate to eat anymore.
With the meals from yesterday and today as a foundation, the relationship between the three seemed to have become a bit closer.
Liu Peng then casually mentioned why his family had forgotten to bring him food yesterday. It turned out that something had happened at home, and all the family's carriages had been requisitioned.
Liu Peng's cousin went out to buy things the day before yesterday and didn't return all night. The family only discovered this yesterday morning. They went to the shops where the cousin often buys things and asked, but he hadn't been there at all.
The household staff then became anxious and ordered their servants and guards to go out and search.
The servant responsible for delivering meals to Liu Peng discovered at noon that there wasn't a single carriage in the mansion, so he hurriedly ran out to rent one, which caused the delay.
Yesterday, the three of them had finished eating some time ago when Liu's servant finally arrived late in the rented carriage.
"Did your cousin find the person?"
"The person has been found, but he is somewhat confused. We don't know what kind of drug he was given, and he is still not very lucid today."
A check revealed no external injuries, but all valuables and money were missing; it looked like a robbery.
Xiao Ming shook his head. "They're not ordinary robbers. The drug your cousin was given could be a minor or major one. I've heard that many thieves use drugs that, while not killing people, can make them stupid."
"Brother Liu, you should probably get your cousin checked out by a doctor again. The robbers have potent sedatives; they could easily damage his brain."
After Xiao Ming said that, Liu Peng really started to have some doubts.
Although his relationship with his cousin was not very good, living in the same household and having a mentally challenged cousin was quite embarrassing.
"Alright, thank you for the reminder, Brother Xiao. After I finish my shift today, I will invite a few more doctors back to the mansion to take a look."
It must be said that eating is truly a bridge that brings people closer together.
During meals, people don't act too formally.
After the three of them had another "meal together" at noon that day, Xiao Ming and Liu Peng turned Jiang Xiaoqi's office into a canteen in the days that followed.
The three of them also rearranged the meal delivery schedule, and now it's every other day.
The practice of having three people each responsible for lunch for the day was quickly discovered by other officials in the Hanlin Academy. Some still scoffed at it, while others began to have their own ideas about it.
There's no way around it; the food provided by the government is really awful. Even the simplest home-cooked meals taste better than this.
The scholars gathered in twos and threes. Some of them immediately agreed to take turns bringing meals, while others felt that they would be taken advantage of and others would benefit from them, so they gave up on the idea.
In short, the number of carriages parked at the entrance of Hanlin Academy began to increase every noon, while the carriages of Jiang Xiaoqi, Xiao Ming, and Liu Peng became less conspicuous.
Among the top three finishers in previous years, there have been many who have such a good relationship, but it's rare for them to get together for meals and drinks every day.
Before October even arrived, Jiang Xiaoqi received another invitation, which Liu Peng brought to the Hanlin Academy.
Xiao Ming was also invited; both of them were among those invited.
"This is?"
"Oh, it was a small banquet hosted by my grandfather. It wasn't a big event, and the guests were all close relatives and friends from the capital."
Jiang Xiaoqi knew about the Liu family's annual banquet, since his great-uncle Jiang Changqing had attended it once, but only once.
Other members of the Chiang family were never invited, and even the Chiang landlord, who had been in Beijing for more than three years, had only heard of it once or twice.
It is clear that this small banquet was limited to a small group and not everyone could attend.
Normally, these low-ranking officials of the sixth or seventh grade wouldn't have had the chance to participate, since there were countless people eager to curry favor with the Prime Minister.
But now Liu Peng is so radiant, handing them two precious invitations?
Yeah, it feels so good to be associated with a second-generation official!
"This is too precious. It's all thanks to Brother Liu that we, with our lowly official positions, were invited."
"If we're brothers, don't stand on ceremony! When the time comes, the three of us can sit together, which will be closer to my grandfather. I'll introduce you to him then!"