The little boy's eyes lit up, his heart filled with joy.
He loved these peculiar things.
Perhaps it was his playful nature, but he took the bone sticks and couldn't put them down.
"How, how do you play with this?" he asked.
The two bone sticks were small, brushed to a gleaming white, smooth and delicate to the touch, with an excellent feel.
Xiao Xi Tian suppressed her devilish smile and gestured with her small hands, "Swing... swing them around!~"
The little boy: "???"
There was a rope connecting them!
If he didn't swing them steadily, wouldn't they hit his own head?
Granny Jin stepped forward, intending to take away the bone sticks, "Little master, this thing is dangerous, best not to play with it..."
"No! Don't!" The little boy glared at her.
He was determined to play.
Just then, two maids brought over the pastries.
Xiao Xi Tian seized the opportunity, climbed onto the back of the big black dog, ate pastries, and swung her little feet.
This Tibetan Mastiff, perhaps old, was dozing under the rockery.
Xiao Xi Tian offered pastries to its mouth, but the big black dog didn't eat.
Yun Jin Shan's mouth was full of pastry crumbs, and he even forgot to drink his tea.
These chestnut cakes were made better than those at the Wang Ji Bakery in the county town.
And the pastries there were outrageously expensive; his family had only bought them once.
It was the time when Kong Xing Zhuo gifted them fifty taels of silver.
The little boy stretched his limbs in a proper manner.
Then, in front of Xiao Xi Tian, he swung the nunchucks, shouting, "Ha! Fly!"
Then came a dull thud.
A large lump appeared on his little head.
Xiao Xi Tian burst into laughter, "Hehehe... Gahaha!~"
This little brother was too funny!
Granny Jin was greatly alarmed and hurried over, "L-little master, are you alright?"
The little boy pouted, looking unconvinced, "Hmph, what kind of rubbish is this, swinging everywhere!"
After speaking, he swung it twice more.
As expected, another large lump appeared on his forehead.
"Ahhh!" The little boy was going mad.
He threw the nunchucks aside, and the bone sticks shattered.
The boy glared angrily at Xiao Xi Tian, "Little village girl, you did it on purpose!"
You did it on purpose to laugh at me!
Xiao Xi Tian blinked her big eyes, how innocent she was!
"Stupid, stupid!" Xiao Xi Tian rolled her eyes.
"You..." The little boy stomped his feet in anger and ordered Granny Jin, "Go, kick them out!"
Xiao Xi Tian clapped the pastry crumbs from her hands and climbed down from the big black dog's back.
You brat, you don't need to chase me, I'll leave myself!
Hmph!
Granny Jin was in a difficult position, but she couldn't disobey the little master's orders.
So, she instructed the kitchen to prepare more pastries and asked Xiao Xi Tian to take them all with her.
"Don't, don't want!" Her little face was flushed, her short legs stepping over the threshold.
Granny Jin's expression froze, her heart almost breaking.
Especially Xiao Xi Tian's angry little face, how could it be so adorable?
Helplessly, she packed the pastries into a cloth bag and handed it to Yun Jin Shan, "Take it back, let your family try it too!"
"Thank you, Granny!~" Yun Jin Shan said with a smile.
He decided he would follow his little aunt from now on.
Not only did he eat delicious pastries in the morning, but he also got a bagful when leaving.
Moreover, his little aunt seemed reluctant to part with them.
The reason Xiao Xi Tian was upset was that those two bone sticks were broken.
She herself was reluctant to swing them even a few times.
And that brat had broken them.
"Oh dear, who made my little Sweet Treasure angry?"
Old Man Yun had just gotten out of bed and saw his daughter sitting beside Xue Ling, sulking.
"Jin Shan, did you upset your aunt? Speak up!"
Old Man Yun's gaze swept towards Yun Jin Shan and the cloth bag in his hand.
Yun Jin Shan: "..."
Heaven and earth as witness, he hadn't done anything.
"Grandpa, it was the boy next door who broke Auntie's bone sticks!" Yun Jin Shan told the truth.
Old Man Yun narrowed his eyes upon hearing this, "The one who just moved in... the young master?"
Did he have the courage of a bear and the heart of a leopard?
He dared to bully his own little daughter.
Was he asking for a beating?
Old Man Yun rolled up his sleeves and strode out menacingly.
He was going to get justice for his little daughter.
Before he could cross the threshold, Madam Gu's shout stopped him.
"Children playing together, why are you, old man, getting involved?" Madam Gu glared at him.
Old Man Yun grinned sheepishly, "My little daughter was bullied, so I wanted to..."
Madam Gu sighed and looked at the package in Yun Jin Shan's hand, "What is that?"
"Grandma, these are pastries from Granny next door."
A little later, the whole family gathered in the main hall, eagerly looking at the few pastries on the table.
Liu Cui Rong's mouth watered, and she said covetously, "Mother, quickly divide the pastries, don't you see Jin Shan and Jin He are drooling?"
The whole family: "..."
It seems like the one drooling was you!
Yun Er Man tugged her and scolded, "Don't embarrass yourself, these pastries were brought back by sister, what are you babbling about?"
Actually, the family wasn't so poor that they couldn't afford pastries.
It was just that the price was too high, and ordinary farming families rarely bought them.
And the ones they made themselves weren't as delicious as those sold in shops.
Xiao Xi Tian sat on her mother's lap and divided the dozen or so pastries evenly.
Jin Shan and Jin He ate them with relish, but when it came to the adults, no one dared to eat them.
Except Liu Cui Rong.
Yun Da Man pushed the pastries towards Xiao Xi Tian, smiling, "Sister, keep them for yourself. Big brother is a man, he doesn't eat these things!"
Yun Er Man also returned the pastries to Xiao Xi Tian, with the same excuse.
Their father, mother, and elder sister-in-law also didn't eat.
They all saved them for little Sweet Treasure.
"Oh my, how old is little sister-in-law, how can she eat so many pastries?" Liu Cui Rong's eyes gleamed green.
She reached out and took a chestnut cake, popping it into her mouth, and said, "These things don't keep, they'll get moldy easily!"
The sooner they're eaten, the better.
Why be so polite?
Xiao Xi Tian: "..."
Second sister-in-law, you think you're so capable again!
Madam Gu glared at Liu Cui Rong, "You're already the mother of two children, yet you're not as good as your own son!"
Liu Cui Rong smacked her lips, "Mother, aren't they saying that food is the most important thing for the people? Who wouldn't be tempted by delicious food?"
"Alas! Hic... hic... I'm choking, Jin Shan, quickly... quickly go get mother a glass of water!"
The Yun family was almost driven to death.
Xiao Xi Tian hugged all the pastries to her chest, not letting her second sister-in-law eat them.
Yun Jin Shan felt very tired.
His mother was truly infuriating.
Madam Gu looked at Yun Da Man and asked, "Have you inquired about the schooling?"
If his mother hadn't asked, Yun Da Man wouldn't have wanted to mention it.
When he inquired at Jin Xiang Academy today, he was told that to have a child educated, they would need at least one and a half taels of silver per month.
This included tuition, accommodation, and food expenses.
Calculated this way, it would be eighteen taels of silver a year.
This amount completely stunned Yun Da Man.