He didn't feel there was anything wrong with enjoying food, though he liked to eat.
But why was he such a glutton?
Setting aside Lu Taobao's inner turmoil, when Namujin heard Shen Xiaoyan ask what she wanted to eat, she eagerly ran to Shen Xiaoyan's side, counting on her fingers, and constantly chattered to Shen Xiaoyan about which dishes she liked and which she liked even more.
Shen Xiaoyan quite liked Namujin’s enthusiastic nature.
She had always felt that the world of foodies was very simple.
Their minds were focused on eating, and they had no time to think about other things, thus, there would be no scheming and plotting.
Of course, while she felt this way, she didn't think everyone who wasn't a foodie was full of scheming.
It was just that foodies, relatively speaking, had fewer schemes.
By the time Namujin finally stopped talking, a quarter of an hour had passed.
Shen Xiaoyan thought that since Namujin had been talking for so long, she must be thirsty and offered to pour her a glass of water.
Unexpectedly, in the next second, a porcelain cup appeared in mid-air in front of Namujin.
This porcelain cup had naturally not appeared out of thin air, nor could it hover in mid-air by itself.
Holding it in mid-air was a tall, fair, and slender hand.
Each finger of this hand was distinctly jointed, not too thin, but definitely not fat.
In the trendy words of Shen Xiaoyan's previous life, these hands would be enough to play with for two years.
Shen Xiaoyan looked up along the hand and saw Yizixie, with a smile on his lips and tenderness in his eyes, looking at Namujin, who was looking at him, and said, "Mujin, have a sip of tea to moisten your throat, and then continue talking."
"Yes, Brother Xiao Xie, you're so kind. You knew I was thirsty before I even said anything."
Namujin said, took the porcelain cup, and drank the tea in one gulp.
"Mmm, this tea is delicious. What kind of tea is it?"
After drinking, Namujin's eyes lit up, and she looked at Shen Xiaoyan in surprise.
"It's just ordinary Junshan Silver Needle. With our circumstances, we can't afford any expensive tea. We can only ask you to bear with it," Shen Xiaoyan said with a smile.
"How could that be? Ordinary Junshan Silver Needle would never..."
"It's not bearing with it at all. As the saying goes, 'When in Rome, do as the Romans do.' Besides, before you and Mujin, we also lived a simple life with plain food and humble tea, so there's no question of bearing with anything," Yizixie said.
Namujin felt a little unhappy in her heart that Yizixie kept interrupting her today, but she finally pouted and didn't say anything more.
Seeing her like this, Shen Xiaoyan said, "I'm going to the kitchen. Do you want to come with me?"
"Okay," Namujin readily agreed.
Yizixie opened his mouth, but in the end, nothing came out. He could only watch Shen Xiaoyan and Namujin leave together.
Shen Xiaoyan naturally saw the expression on Yizixie's face and understood why he was like this.
The reason was very simple: he was afraid that Namujin would accidentally say something she shouldn't.
As for why he didn't stop it despite his worry, the reason was also very simple.
They were going to stay here, and they would have more contact in the future. If he were to be constantly vigilant and prevent Namujin from being alone with Shen Xiaoyan and Yue Qingxin, that would only create friction between them.
If that were to happen, it would go against the purpose of his coming here.
When Yue Qingxin saw Shen Xiaoyan and the other leave, she said, "The children should be sleeping. I'll take them to the west side room to sleep."
"Then we'll have to trouble you, sister-in-law," Zheng Wei said quickly.
Yue Qingxin smiled and said it was nothing, then called for a nanny, carried the four children, and returned to the west side room together.
Shen Xiaoming had intended to leave. He thought Zheng Wei would have something to say to the Grand Tutor.
But as soon as he stood up, before he could speak, Ifu Xie had already stopped him.
"Xiaoming, is it? Please don't leave yet."
"Ah?" Shen Xiaoming was surprised. He wasn't allowed to leave? Why?
"I heard that you started studying late, but you've been at the academy for two years now, and your knowledge is quite good. Let me test you, shall I?"
As Yizixie spoke, his face was full of a gentle smile. Combined with his appearance, it made people feel as if they were bathed in a spring breeze.
When Shen Xiaoming heard that he was to be tested on his knowledge, he did not refuse. He bowed and said, "Shen Xiaoming greets you again. Please, Grand Tutor, set the topic."
Yizixie looked at Shen Xiaoming's response and nodded with satisfaction in his heart.
Indeed, a very good child.
Meanwhile, Shen Xiaoyan and Namujin walked all the way to the west courtyard. Shen Xiaoyan didn't stop for a moment and directly pulled her into the kitchen.
Indeed, all the way here, Namujin was curious about everything, like a curious baby.
Shen Xiaoyan really wanted to ask what kind of house she lived in before.
It was just that, judging by Yizixie's words earlier, their lives were probably not as carefree and happy as immortals.
"Aunt Qu, Aunt Zhou, guests have come today, so you'll have to work hard again," Shen Xiaoyan said to the two women with a smile.
The two women were sorting vegetables. When they saw Shen Xiaoyan arrive, they quickly stood up and said to her, "We understand."
"Today, in addition to what you had planned, we'll add a few more dishes that you know how to make. I'll just tell you the names."
Shen Xiaoyan said, and then listed the names of the dishes Namujin had mentioned as her favorites.
Madam Qu and Madam Zhu listened with their heads bowed. After listening, the two women said, "Madam, please rest assured, we will definitely finish them on time. Madam, please go back and wait. It's smoky and fiery in the kitchen."
Shen Xiaoyan agreed and led Namujin out of the kitchen.
As soon as they were outside the kitchen, Namujin stopped.
Shen Xiaoyan looked at her strangely, "What's wrong?"
"I..." Namujin seemed embarrassed, and for a moment, she didn't know how to start.
"Hmm?"
"I..." Namujin paused, then simply closed her eyes and said, "I'm hungry. I didn't eat breakfast..."
As she spoke, Namujin's voice became softer.
Shen Xiaoyan felt like laughing, but she was afraid that if she laughed, Namujin would feel embarrassed. The laughter had already reached her lips, and holding it back was truly agonizing.
Seeing the strange expression on Shen Xiaoyan's face, Namujin knew that Shen Xiaoyan wanted to laugh at her. She said with a blush, "You can't blame me. It's Brother Xiao Xie. He ran out of money. He said we could eat when we got here. I've been holding back, but you brought me to the kitchen... Humph, it's all Brother Xiao Xie's fault. He promised me everything, saying he would have people make delicious food for me as soon as we arrived. But after we came in, he didn't say anything."
Shen Xiaoyan finally couldn't hold back and burst into laughter.
It was really not her fault; it was just too funny.
It wasn't just Namujin who was funny; even Yizixie was hilariously amusing.
Shen Xiaoyan remembered that when Zheng Wei and the others returned earlier, they had each brought back 3,000 taels of silver.
But now, Ifu Xie was so poor that he didn't even have money for a meal. How poor could that be?
"You, don't you have this much?"
Shen Xiaoyan said, lifting her hand and showing Namujin the rings on her fingers.
Namujin nodded, "Yes, but neither of us carries food."
Shen Xiaoyan: ...
"Not carrying food is understandable, but why not carry money? Is it because you think it's too heavy?"
Shen Xiaoyan asked teasingly, then started laughing herself.
Namujin felt a wave of embarrassment. She had never managed money; she had always only managed food.
"Yes, why didn't Brother Xiao Xie bring more money? I'll definitely have a good talk with him later and take all his money. Then I won't be hungry anymore."
Namujin said, clenching her little fists, looking very imposing.
"But I'm so hungry right now, what should I do?"
It was just a pity that good times didn't last.