Chapter 568: Chapter 568: Term Nearing Its End

On the riverbank, Da Lang, who was catching fish with his younger siblings and guests, suddenly caught a whiff of a strong barbecue aroma.

In that moment of distraction, a fish swam past his feet.

Qi Xian shouted, "Da Lang, fish! Fish!"

He looked so anxious, as if he couldn’t wait to jump into the river himself to help spear the rare big fish.

Unfortunately, Shi Tou and Ah Gu just instructed him not to go into the river, fearing he’d catch a cold.

This time of year, even with the sun in the sky, the river water is still cold. Not only did Qi Xian want to go in but couldn’t, the two gentlemen of the Song Family were also begged by the servants not to go into the river.

But the Da Lang brothers and sisters had no such restrictions, grabbing their homemade fish spears and rolling up their cotton pants before heading into the river.

The water wasn’t too cold, nor too deep—half as shallow as in the summer. This part of the river barely reached Si Niang’s thigh.

However, she and Sanlang were just there to make up the numbers, standing on a big rock and directing with wooden spears while the older brothers caught fish.

Second Lang wasn’t very skilled at catching fish, carrying a fish basket and following behind his brother. Whenever Da Lang caught a fish, he’d put it in the basket, more for participation than anything else. 𝕗𝗿𝕖𝐞𝐰𝗲𝕓𝐧𝕠𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝐨𝚖

So when Da Lang got distracted, the children’s concerned eyes all turned to him.

The second gentleman of the Song Family regretfully said, "Da Lang, you just missed a big fat fish."

Qi Xian was more straightforward, directly asking, "Da Lang, why did you space out just now?"

Da Lang shrugged his nose, "It smells so good," he said, looking toward his companions on the shore, astonished, "Didn’t you smell a really strong meaty aroma? It’s making my mouth water."

On hearing this, everyone else sniffed and, indeed, it seemed like there was a smell.

Si Niang’s eyes brightened, daring to guess, "Could it be Mother and the others have already finished preparing?"

No sooner had she spoken than Sanlang jumped off the rock, waded back to shore, quickly put on his shoes, and ran toward the Lotus Courtyard.

As he ran, he shouted, "I’ll go check for you guys first! If it’s ready, I’ll come call you!"

But Da Lang and the others couldn’t wait for him to come back and inform them; after exchanging a glance, they tacitly started packing up, putting on their shoes, carrying the half-filled basket of fish, and rushed to the Lotus Courtyard.

They hadn’t even reached the place when the aroma of grilled meat, enticing enough to awaken anyone’s appetite, wafted in.

The adults, seeing them, quickly waved them over to try the freshly made grilled lamb skewers.

There were not only meaty skewers but also vegetarian ones. After eating meat, taking a couple of veggie skewers served to cleanse the palate.

Sanlang let out a cry of dismay, seeing the adults already seated and eating with oil dripping from their mouths, looking quite regretful.

Qin Yao, seeing the fish basket in Second Lang’s hand, handed the freshly grilled meat skewers to the siblings with a laugh and asked:

"Did you catch any fish?"

"We did, we did!" Si Niang replied for her brother, with her hands full, as she raised a meat skewer to her mouth, bouncing with delight, "Mother, it’s so good. Can we have a barbecue again next time?"

"Sure," Qin Yao nodded, taking the fish basket handed by Second Lang, inside which five or six small fish, two fingers wide, were struggling slowly due to lack of water.

"Ah Wang, kill and grill them!" Qin Yao instructed.

Ah Wang agreed, and the children cheered, gathering to watch the fish being killed, pushing and shoving each other to be the first to taste the grilled fish.

Miss Song and the two gentlemen, being a bit older, felt embarrassed to jostle but still followed behind eagerly.

Qi Xian had barely eaten a couple of bites of grilled meat before being roped in by Liu Ji to help, being assigned a barbecue grill and a plate of skewers, "The teacher’s skewers are entrusted to the little senior brother."

"What about you?" Qi Xian hurriedly grabbed him.

Liu Ji, with an earnest expression, pointed to Song Zhang, "The junior brother has to attend to the guests, you know. Mr. Song has been busy since he arrived, and I haven’t had a chance to sit down and enjoy a cup of tea with him yet. You understand, right, little senior brother?"

Qi Xian replied, "Alright then."

He picked up the meat and placed it on the iron mesh, mimicking the way Qin Yao was flipping and grilling, happily shaking his head—this barbecue was quite fun.

"Mr. Song!" Liu Ji laughed heartily as he approached Song Zhang, who was threading skewers, nonchalantly moving the skewers from his hand aside, pulling him to the mountainside to wash hands with spring water.

Liu Ji handed him an ’Ah Wang brand’ soap, "It’s really hard on you, Sir. No reason for guests to start working as soon as they arrive. My wife’s manners were lacking, please be forgiving."

Song Zhang awkwardly withdrew his hand from Liu Ji’s, smiling slightly, "Liu Junren, you’re too kind. Truth be told, it was us who were a bother at the start. Besides, interacting with the barbecue is half the fun, wouldn’t you agree?"

"Yes, yes, indeed, self-reliance brings greater satisfaction," Liu Ji chuckled, washing the suds from his hands, shook off the water, and took out a handkerchief from his bosom to hand to Song Zhang, "Sir, please dry your hands."

Song Zhang glanced at the handkerchief, noticing it was quite clean and thoughtfully prepared.

He accepted the handkerchief, dried his hands, and returned it to Liu Ji, "Thank you."

Liu Ji quickly waved his hand, "You’re welcome, after a busy morning, shall we go relax with the teacher?"

Song Zhang could not refuse; he originally wanted to meet Gongliang Liao. Unfortunately, the elder seemed to be in a bad mood. Since they met, he had only greeted him from afar with a bow.

Now the opportunity had come. Even if he found Liu Ji a bit ingratiating, he still followed along.

As long as Liu Ji was around, the atmosphere never dulled. With his mediation, Song Zhang and Gongliang Liao finally got a chance to converse.

Laughter erupted behind them occasionally, so much so that Qin Yao found it hard to focus on eating her grilled meat, repeatedly glancing back.

Whatever Liu Ji said, it made Gongliang Liao laugh so much his face turned red, Song Zhang meanwhile wore a look of barely suppressing laughter, their camaraderie evident in their friendly gestures.

"It’s been a while since I’ve seen my little brother laugh so heartily,"

Mrs. Song said softly, smiling gently, "Ever since I followed him to Kaiyang County, he’s been busy with duties, always promising that once he’s done, our family would go on a little outing. But it never happened—finishing one task always led to another...

"In the blink of an eye, his three-year term is nearing its end, and only now before leaving did we find a few days of leisure to come here."

Qin Yao paused her meat-grilling, slightly surprised, "The term is ending?"

Indeed, time flies—three years have gone by.

Qin Yao cautiously asked, "From your words, it seems Mr. Song is soon to leave Kaiyang County?"

Mrs. Song nodded, somewhat reluctantly, "Yes, the transfer news has arrived. After the New Year, we’ll be leaving Kaiyang County to take up a new post in Qingzhou Prefecture."

Mrs. Song didn’t specify the position, as it wasn’t yet confirmed, only that they were to be transferred.

But Qin Yao noted more joy than sadness in Mrs. Song’s expression, guessing Song Zhang was likely to be promoted.

After a brief hesitation, Qin Yao let go of her initial melancholy, and smiled, "Then let me extend my congratulations to you in advance."

Mrs. Song smiled and nodded, inviting Qin Yao to visit them in Qingzhou Prefecture if she had time.

Qin Yao agreed readily, but both knew that Zijing Mansion and Qingzhou Prefecture were far apart, making future reunions unlikely.