Chapter 571: Reward

“It’s good if you understand!” Village Head Zheng said calmly. “We should go over and visit with our grandson more often. We might not have much to say to Fang Zhou and the others but there is always Third Aunt, right? If you go over more and get more familiar with them, our benefits will be indispensable! Fang Zhou, Ah Ze, and the others are steady people. As long as people treat them well, they will treat others well. You have seen this for yourself, right?”

“This, this is true!” Madam Niu shuddered, thinking about the Qiao family and Aunt Zhang’s family.

“Good!” Village Head Zheng nodded, satisfied. “Then I can rest assured.”

When a man was out working, what he feared most was the wife at home was holding him back.

Some women didn’t watch their words or thinking carefully before they spoke. They weren’t afraid of their dirty water coming back to splash them! If there was such a woman in your family, it would impact your outside relationships ten points!

While the two talked, they saw Lian Ze and Lian Che coming and greeted them with smiles.

Madam Niu’s smile was extremely cordially and enthusiastic as she led them into the room. “Ah Ze and Che’er are here! It’s so rare for you to visit, come in! Come in and sit down, I will pour you tea!”

Lian Ze and Lian Che quickly smiled and called: “Don’t dare!” As they entered the room, they were secretly puzzled. Madam Niu had always been polite to them but she hadn’t acted like this before.

Master Zhao and Steward Ding were still waiting and they wasn’t sure how much trouble it would be to prepare for the imperial edict or what needed to be prepared. Lian Ze and Lian Che didn’t dare to delay.

Village Head Zheng’s eyes lit up and his face flushed with excitement. He couldn’t believe it! “Are you, did you come specially to invite me? Oh, this is a big deal! Let’s go, we have to arrange everything quickly, we can’t miss this!”

Madam Niu was also delighted. Clapping her hands, she laughed and said: “You two nephews, you really are kind! This is an imperial decree! I don’t even know what they look like!”

These words were a little vulgar and Village Head Zheng hurriedly scolded her, warning her twice before quickly leaving with Lian Ze and Lian Che. The three of them separated to invite the several village elders, and then rushed back to the Lian house.

The crowd was full of excitement. Accepting a imperial decree, this was a big deal! How could anyone expect to receive this blessing in their lifetime? This was a real eye-opener! They could talk about this for the rest of their lives!

Speaking of which, the Lian siblings were really good people with sincere hearts! They were so humble and polite, not forgetting to treat their village elders with respect. It was the pride of Dafang village to have such a family as a role model.

When Lian Ze arrived with Village Head Zheng and the elders, Steward Qin and the others also arrived to help.

Village Head Zheng greeted Master Zhao and Steward Ding with a smile and exchanged a few pleasantries before they got to work. Under the arrangement of the two men, they were taught where to set up the incense table, how to kneel, how to kowtow, how to receive the edict, how to thank the deliverer, how to retreat, and many other rules, one by one.

Master Zhao also said that there must be a lot of people present to witness the event and asked Village Head Zheng and Lian Ze to arrange them, so not to cause trouble.

Village Head Zheng quickly agreed!

When everything had been properly arranged, the sun had already started to sink in the west and the rays of light coming from the horizon were dazzling.

Lian Fang Zhou had already asked Madam Li and the others to prepare dinner. As soon as Master Zhao and Steward Ding finished inspecting everything with satisfaction, Lian Ze pulled Lian Che forward and asked them to stay for dinner.

Master Zhao and Steward Ding looked at each other and then declined with a smile: “Let’s forget about it today! Tomorrow is very important and we still need to go back and report. Tomorrow we will definitely be bothering you!”

“Master Zhao, Steward Ding, don’t worry about this! We are only having a normal meal tonight, no alcohol. Besides, the food has already been prepared. You can eat quickly and go home afterward, it’s fine!” Lian Ze laughed.

Lian Fang Zhou also laughed, saying: “Yes, the two of you came to help in person. How can we send you off hungry?”

Master Zhao smiled at Steward Ding and nodded. “Alright! Second Young Master Lian, Miss Lian, and Third Young Master Lian are treating us so warmly! If we don’t eat, it would seem that we don’t know their good intentions! Steward Ding, you…”

“Then let’s eat!” Steward Ding laughed.

“You are making fun of us, how could you not know our good intentions? Hearing you, it looks like we are the ones who don’t know good intentions!” Lian Fang Zhou said with a smile, causing the group to laugh.

By the time everyone finished washing their hands, the food was already set up.

A large table was set up in the main room for Lian Ze, Lian Che, and Ah Jian to accompany Master Zhao, Steward Ding, Village Head Zheng, and the village elders. A smaller table was placed in the side room for the rest of the family. Steward Qin showed their guests to the table.

The time was still early and Lian Fang Zhou was in no hurry, so she sat in the garden and chatted with Third Aunt and the others. Thinking of tomorrow, everyone was happy and excited. The little girls were talking nonstop!

“I’ve only heard about imperial edicts in plays! Ah, I never thought I’d get to see one in real life, I wonder what it looks like?” Third Aunt smacked her lips, her eyes sparkling with excitement.

Old Madam Cai laughed, her smile stretching from ear to ear. “Yes! The emperor’s reward is a great honor. Let’s not talk about gold and silver, receiving this honor, I think Fang Zhou is the only one for miles! Fang Zhou, you and your siblings are all blessed!”

“This is true! Thinking about it, I’m so happy I won’t be able to sleep!”

“I don’t know how lively it will be tomorrow!”

Lian Fang Zhou’s heart was very happy as she sat and talked with Third Aunt, Old Madam Cai, Fang Qing, Chun Xing, and Bi Tao.

Though their benefits had been good, this was undoubtably the biggest return!

With the plaque bestowed by the emperor and the imperial decree, Lian Fang Zhou felt more at ease.

With these, she didn’t believe anyone would dare to provoke and scheme against the Lian family.

In the future, when she and Ah Jian had to leave, they could do so without worry.

Inside, Master Zhao and Steward Ding finished their meal. After a cup of tea, they got up to leave.

This time, Lian Fang Zhou and the others didn’t try to keep them. They sent them and the other guests out with big read envelopes.

Since Master Zhao had announced the good news, these red envelops could be accepted openly. The guests accepted them with smiles.

When they went back and opened them, Master Zhao and Steward Ding found they had a hundred taels each while each of their servants received ten taels each. They quickly praised the Lian family for being generous.

When everyone was gone, the Lian family closed their doors and had a moment of intimacy and excitement.