Chapter 180: Chapter 179: The Pastry Boxes
This was Li Jain’s grandfather and the ancestor of the Li family.
The old man did not bring a large group of attendants. He only had several servants following behind him. But every servant carried huge gift boxes.
By the time all the servants came in, more than thirty huge gift boxes had been placed in the courtyard.
Li Zhang’s eyes grew wider and wider. He and Li Cheng looked at each other in surprise.
Even Li Jain froze for a moment. He had not expected his grandfather to come. After all, it was only a small celebration for the children.
The ancestor looked at Li Jain first. Then his gaze moved to Li Cheng and Li Zhang.
Then he said: "Happy birthday."
Li Cheng and Li Zhang immediately bowed: "Thank you, Ancestor."
The ancestor nodded, his expression remained stern, but his eyes softened slightly when he looked at the twins. Then he raised one hand: "Bring the gifts forward."
The servants carried the boxes to the gift table one by one. The table almost could not hold them all. Several servants had to bring another table.
The guests watched with strange expressions. Over thirty large boxes. This was not a birthday gift, it looked like someone was moving half a treasury.
Li Xinyue stepped forward, still trying to maintain the gift-exchange rules politely: "Ancestor Li, these gifts are too many. You do not need to give so much. The twins will understand your blessings even with a few boxes."
The ancestor looked at her: "Xinyue, don’t try to persuade this old man, it won’t work. They are my great-grandchildren, I’m just doing what I should."
Li Xinyue’s smile cracked. She knew her grandfather was being sneaky, but she can’t think of anything important that he’ll use pastries for: "Of course. But even so—"
"They are my great-grandchildren," the ancestor repeated.
Li Xinyue paused and didn’t continue pushing the matter.
The old man pointed toward the rows of large gift boxes: "I brought thirty-two. "Record them properly."
The servants around the table became quiet.
Li Xinyue did not know whether to laugh or sigh: "Ancestor Li..."
The old man’s eyes narrowed slightly: "Where are my dessert boxes?"
The courtyard went silent. For a moment, everyone thought they had heard wrong.
The Li family ancestor had brought more than thirty huge gift boxes. Not because he wanted to show off his love for the twins, but because he wanted the returned pastries.
Li Xinyue was speechless: "Ancestor Li, surely you do not need thirty-two large dessert boxes. We can prepare several larger boxes for you instead."
"No." His answer was immediate: "The rules were announced. One large gift box receives one large dessert box."
Li Xinyue was speechless.
The ancestor looked toward the servants: "Thirty-two. Hurry up, don’t delay this old man from his important matters."
The servants looked at Li Xinyue, Li Xinyue looked at Li Jain. Li Jain looked at his grandfather, then he finally understood.
His grandfather had likely seen what was put in the boxes and wanted the best for himself.
Li Jain sighs helplessly, as expected of the old ancestor, he was very sharp. Li Jain said to the servants: "Give Grandfather the dessert boxes."
The ancestor’s expression eased slightly.
Li Xinyue had no choice but to wave her hand: "Prepare thirty-two large dessert boxes."
The servants immediately moved. Soon, box after box was brought out. Thirty-two large dessert boxes. The servants stacked them neatly.
The guests watched in confusion as the ancestor of the Li family calmly inspected every box. Then he nodded with satisfaction: "Good."
He waved his sleeve. The boxes were collected into his storage space one after another. After collecting all the dessert boxes, the ancestor looked at Li Jain again: "Take care of the children."
Li Jain nodded: "I will."
The ancestor looked at the twins once more:"Train well."
The twins answered: "Yes, ancestor."
The ancestor nodded. Then, just as suddenly as he had arrived, he turned and left.
He did not remain to speak with the other alliance families, and just left with his desserts.
The courtyard stayed quiet for a few seconds after he disappeared through the gate, before whispers began.
"Did the Li ancestor really come for pastries?"
"Thirty-two boxes..."
"Does he have that many younger descendants at home?"
"Even if he does, that is still too much."
"Perhaps the desserts are more valuable than we thought."
Old Man Ling hugged his own boxes closer.
Meanwhile, several guests looked down at the dessert boxes they had treated casually.
For the first time, their expressions changed.
Perhaps they should not give them away so quickly, they should try one first.
At the main table, Li Zhang looked toward Li Jain.
"Father, why did the ancestor want so many pastries?"
Li Jain thought about it seriously. Then he answered honestly: "Maybe he likes sweets."
Li Zhang nodded immediately: "So he’s just like me."
Li Cheng looked at the direction the ancestor had left.
Then he looked at the large number of gifts still waiting to be opened and sighed.
....
After the banquet finally ended, the guests returned home one after another.
The Zhao family’s carriage had barely passed the second street before Zhao Mingyuan, the head of the Zhao family, was still muttering about the Qian family.
"That old Qian fool," he said with a dark expression: "He thinks bringing four large boxes makes him impressive."
His wife sat across from him and sighed: "You argued with him over gift boxes at a child’s birthday banquet."
"He started it."
"You called his gifts oversized storage crates."
"They were oversized."
His wife did not bother replying.
By the time they reached the Zhao residence, Zhao Mingyuan was still annoyed. He stepped out of the carriage, handed several attendants instructions, and entered the main hall with the return-gift boxes from the Li residence.
There were five boxes in total. Three medium dessert boxes and Two small dessert boxes.
Zhao Mingyuan did not look at them carefully, he waved his hand: "Give the two small ones to the children. They were only pastries anyway."
A servant bowed: "Yes, Master."
The two small boxes were carried toward the children’s courtyard.
Zhao Mingyuan sat down in the main hall and accepted a cup of tea. His anger had not completely faded.
He was still thinking about Qian’s smug face. Carrying four large boxes as if the Qian family was the only family with resources.
A while later, hurried footsteps sounded from outside.
One of Zhao Mingyuan’s great-grandsons ran into the hall with a small seal package held carefully in both hands.
"Great-Grandfather!"
Zhao Mingyuan looked over.
The child was around seven years old and had pastry crumbs near the corner of his mouth. His eyes were bright with excitement.
"What is it?" Zhao Mingyuan asked.
The child held the small package out: "This was inside the pastry box. What is it?"
Zhao Mingyuan frowned. ’Inside the dessert box?’
He took the package. It was made from pale spirit paper and sealed with a thin gold thread. At first glance, it looked like a small gift pouch. But when Zhao Mingyuan touched it, he immediately felt a faint medicinal aura.
His expression changed and he opened the package carefully.
Inside were six small jade bottles. Each bottle was labeled with clean handwriting. Grade Four Spirit Breathing Pill.
Zhao Mingyuan froze.
For a moment, he thought his eyes had seen wrongly.
Then he opened one bottle. A fresh medicinal scent drifted out at once.
The pill inside was smooth, round, and carried a faint silver glow. Its spiritual energy was stable and pure. There was no impurity, no rough medicinal smell, and no sign that it had been refined carelessly.
It was truly a Grade Four Spirit Breathing Pill. And there were six of them.
Zhao Mingyuan stood up so quickly that the tea beside him almost spilled.
"Bring the other dessert boxes!" The servants were startled.
They rushed to bring the medium boxes and the remaining small dessert box.
At the same time, Zhao Mingyuan sent someone to stop the children from finishing the pastries too quickly.
The adults gathered in the hall. No one understood what had happened.
Zhao Mingyuan opened the second small dessert box himself.
Inside were several delicate pastries arranged neatly, each one tied with a small ribbon. Beneath the pastries was another sealed package.
He opened it. This time, there were six Grade Four Meridian Nourishing Pills.
Zhao Mingyuan’s breathing became heavier.
His wife stepped closer: "Are they real?"
Zhao Mingyuan did not answer immediately.
He picked up one pill, inspected it with his spiritual sense, then looked at the faint pill pattern around its surface.
Finally, he said slowly: "They are real."
The entire hall went quiet.
Grade Four pills were not impossible to buy.
But high-quality Grade Four pills were already expensive. More importantly, they were not something that could be casually placed inside a child’s birthday return gift.
Zhao Mingyuan looked at the medium-sized dessert box.
His fingers tightened.
Comments