Looking at the serious expression on the girl’s face, an inexplicable sour feeling arose spontaneously. Xun Zhou moved his lips and said, “Sister Mingtang…”

Did she understand what she had lost when the Wen family was in trouble? Perhaps she was so calm because she didn’t know…

But seeing the girl lowering her head to organize the notebook at hand, Xun Zhou couldn’t help but say, “If nothing had happened to the teacher, you would be the daughter of the Wen family! You… wouldn’t have to hang around the stove, you could wear beautiful dresses, wear pretty jewelry, have food and clothes whenever you want. When you grow up to this age, there will be countless talented people who want to marry Sister Mingtang, they can line up from the Wen family mansion all the way to Mingdefang…”

Unlike now…

As Xun Zhou spoke, his voice became increasingly choked up, until he could no longer speak…

Wen Mingtang, who had sorted out the storybook in her hand, looked up at Xun Zhou, whose eyes were red, and said, “I like to hang around the stove, but Senior Brother Xun… Senior Brother Xun doesn’t have to do this!”

Xun Zhou felt even more bitter after hearing this comfort. He suppressed the bitterness and asked Wen Mingtang: “Sister Mingtang, do you call me your senior brother? But did the teacher also teach Sister Mingtang to read?”

Otherwise, why would he call him Senior Brother?

Wen Mingtang nodded without thinking and said, “He had taught me!”

Xun Zhou was delighted when he heard this and asked Wen Mingtang hurriedly: “What are you learning? If Sister Mingtang doesn’t mind, I can continue to teach…”

Before he finished speaking, Wen Mingtang shook his head and said, “No need, he had already taught me.” Then she said, “He taught me the Three Character Classic.”

Xun Zhou: “…”

That was something that children learned when they were young! Seeing the girl’s serious expression, Xun Zhou twitched his lips, but still praised her and found a way out: “I think the teacher has already taught the Three Character Classic, so I won’t show off my skills in front of you!”

Facing the junior sister who had just learned the Three Character Classic, Xun Zhou regained his spirits, coughed, and said, “Then let’s go! Let’s go to the bookstore and take a look!”

There were quite a few books in the study. He would pick out a few more books for Sister Mingtang when the time came. Maybe, besides that storybook, Sister Mingtang would become interested in other books.

It was necessary to guide children to study slowly. If he did it too quickly, it may cause Sister Mingtang to be disgusted! Xun Zhou thought.

…

…

Although it was a holiday, there were quite a few people in the bookstore. There were students gathered around the bookshelves of their homework books such as “The Great Learning” and “The Doctrine of the Mean”; there were also literati gathered around poems such as “Chu Ci” and “The Book of Songs”; there were also craftsmen gathered around industry guide books such as “Yuan Ren Yu” and “On Pottery”… However, none of them were as numerous as the people gathered around the bookshelf with various storybooks.

At a glance, the bookshelf was crowded with people, some were servants and maids who came to grab the latest volume of the storybook under the instruction of their masters, and more were people who came to grab the storybook on their own. At a glance: scholars, clerks, accountants, women, etc., of different identities and wealth, but they all came to grab the latest volume of the storybook without any prior agreement.

As soon as the store assistant showed up with a stack of the latest volume of storybooks, everyone rushed over before he could even shout! Xun Zhou was shocked by the “overzealous” scene, as he rarely read such “time-killing” storybooks.

This… this was too…

In the blink of an eye, Wen Mingtang, who was just in front of him, had disappeared. Looking at the crowded crowd, Xun Zhou took a breath and hurriedly called out, “Sister Mingtang?”

There was no response to this call. Xun Zhou’s heart skipped a beat and he quickly raised his voice: “Sister Mingtang?”

Many newcomers like him were frightened by the scene before them, and they all raised their voices to call out to their companions.

It was not until the third voice of “Sister Mingtang” was heard that Xun Zhou realized someone was pulling the hem of his robe. He quickly looked down and saw a head with messy hair.

Wen Mingtang raised her head while holding the book in her hand, waved the book in her hand toward him, and said proudly: “I got it! There is another batch of new books to arrive. I will take a break and go again later!”

Xun Zhou: “…”

Seeing the girl brush off the dust on her body and stand up in a mess, he couldn’t help but say, “Forget it! If Sister Mingtang insists on having the book, I’ll grab it for her!”

Wen Mingtang heard this and nodded immediately, “Okay!”

He was indeed a person of outstanding talent, and he really understood the meaning of her words!

After saying that, without waiting for Xun Zhou, whose expression was frozen, to react, Wen Mingtang immediately said, “Thank you, Senior Brother Xun!”

Looking at the happy expression of the girl in front of him, Xun Zhou inexplicably felt as if he had fallen into a pit without realizing it.

But she thanked him so quickly that it was too late to regret.

Xun Zhou had no choice but to roll up his sleeves, and when the store assistant appeared again with a stack of storybooks, he immediately rushed forward!

At first, people might not understand or even agree with the idea of ​​snatching notebooks, but after doing it a few times, it became addictive for no reason.

After an entire afternoon of snatching storybooks, the results were quite fruitful! When he came out of the study, Xun Zhou patted his chest happily and said to Wen Mingtang, “Sister Mingtang, you can come find me next time you need to snatch books!”

After robbing several times, he gained some experience.

Wen Mingtang was also very satisfied with Xun Zhou’s victory, and nodded immediately, “Definitely…”

Before she could finish his words, she heard a voice behind her.

“Master Wen?”

This voice… Wen Mingtang turned around and saw Zhao You holding a few oil-paper bags in his hand, and behind Zhao You was Lin Fei in a green robe.

Although this outfit was not as eye-catching as the scarlet official robe he usually wore, it looked quite poetic and picturesque when compared with his appearance and demeanor. It had the elegance of a scholar and the authority of a powerful official.

Zhao You, who spoke, saw the pile of storybooks in her hand and suddenly realized, “I thought Master Wen said something like ‘certainly’! It turns out you want to snatch the storybooks! These storybooks are really hard to grab. Without some strength and experience, it’s hard to grab the new booklets that have just been released…”

Before he could finish his words, he was interrupted by Lin Fei behind him.

He stared at the disheveled Wen Mingtang and Xun Zhou in front of him, and his originally smooth eyebrows wrinkled like wrinkles, and the wrinkles became tighter and tighter. After a while, he coughed and said, “If you want to snatch the script, just go and find Zhao You later!”

Zhao You, who was still showing off a moment ago: “…”

Facing the gazes of the crowd, especially Lin Fei’s unquestionable gaze, Zhao You was startled and immediately nodded in response: “Okay!”

This response made Xun Zhou, who had gained experience in snatching the job, a little disappointed. However, looking at the tall and strong Zhao You in front of him, and glancing at his hands that were rubbed red when he snatched the script, he did not ask for the job rashly.

Night came when it was supposed to come! It was still some light when they came out of the bookstore, but it was completely dark in the time it took to talk. Seeing the lanterns gradually hanging up all over the street, Lin Fei should go back to have a twilight dinner and enjoy the moon with his family. Before leaving, he reminded Wen Mingtang: “Remember to vote for our own lanterns at the Lantern Festival!”

Seeing such a caring look… Wen Mingtang twitched her lips but still nodded.

Seeing Wen Mingtang nod, Lin Fei left with peace of mind.

The night was coming.

(End of this chapter)

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