"Bring them here! Drag the disgraceful descendants: Chen Zhi, Chen Liang, and Chen Nianshao up here!"
With Old Chen’s loud shout, Yu Xueqing stuffed a phone into Ansheng’s hands, looking apologetic, and slightly raised her hand to indicate she was truly out of hands.
She was holding two phones, one in each hand, and couldn’t manage a third phone.
Ansheng sighed, took the Guozi phone handed over by Yu Xueqing, and then eagerly opened the 4K 120-frame video recording mode.
Wow... a 4K high-definition 120-frame embarrassing moment, something for you to brag about when you grow up!
Hurry up and say, thanks to Master Fox!
The little fox let out bursts of joyful cooing sounds, holding the phone with the camera settings adjusted, facing the courtyard.
In the courtyard, the parents of Chen Zhi, Chen Liang, and Chen Nianshao wore embarrassed expressions, dragging their troublemaking children to the center of the courtyard, facing the Chen family shrine.
Old Chen slightly softened his stern expression, looked at the three troublesome kids, and said.
"Yes, Village Chief..."
Chen Zhi, Chen Liang, and Chen Nianshao lined up under the cannibal-like gazes of their parents, opening their mouths to recite their recitation in front of the Chen family shrine.
"Unfilial descendants Chen Zhi, Chen Liang, Chen Nianshao."
"We apologize to the ancestors of the Chen family; we shouldn’t have used Grandfather’s ID number to bypass game addiction prevention. We shouldn’t have used Grandfather’s ID number to spew fragrant phrases in games like PUBG, Glory, Dark Zone, and Minecraft..."
"Hmm?" Old Chen raised an eyebrow.
The three troublemakers shuddered, mumbling promises to the ancestors:
"We are sorry for using Grandfather’s ID number to only reach Silver rank in Glory, Gold in PUBG, and Soldier in Dark Zone. We couldn’t win even after spending money, bringing shame to Grandfather..."
"Hmph!" Old Chen’s expression slightly softened.
"On July 23, 2024, plead guilty to the ancestors at the shrine and vow. I, Chen Zhi; he, Chen Liang; he, Chen Nianshao—one for Tsinghua, one for Peking University, one for National Defense University, military, political, commercial triad!"
"To glorify our ancestors and erase our shame..." Chen Zhi, Chen Liang, and Chen Nianshao looked troubled:
"Should something happen, we vow never to eat at the shrine’s banquet again. We will be the first to handle cleaning, and we will clear spider webs from the beams and stand guard overnight."
"We ask all present elders, kin, and friends to supervise our oath."
The three troublemakers, cheeks flushed with misery, almost began to cry by the end.
Tsinghua, Peking University, National Defense University, names they don’t quite understand, had been explicitly stated in the oath, and failing to get into these universities would mean no more banquet seats at the shrine and always being the first in line for chores.
The troublemakers left, escorted by their parents, preparing to eat at the banquet.
"Ah Qing, do you know how to extract audio from a video? I plan to play it in the village’s broadcast room over the next few afternoons,"
After the recitation, Old Chen looked at the video Yu Xueqing had sent with a contemplative expression and inquired.
"Video editing? Hmm... I’ll ask around." Yu Xueqing scratched her head, sending a message to Tang You, who claimed to be Cyber Celestial Khan, the computer whiz in her dorm group.
Tang You: [E-commerce link.]
Tang You: [Send the video over, twenty bucks, turnaround in three to twenty-four hours includes up to three edits.]
Yu Xueqing was slightly taken aback, forwarded the e-commerce link to Village Chief Chen.
Old Chen glanced at the link and suddenly felt a headache, sending a red envelope of two hundred to Yu Xueqing:
"No, no, no, seeing these gives me a headache nowadays. The internet is so advanced that even a thousand miles away, it can infuriate me to the point of pain."
"Ah Qing, help me out, and I’ll treat you all to tea at the teahouse next time."
Old Chen was familiar with e-commerce links and had spent a long time fiddling with them, jumping from one link to another, finding the shop assistants barely human in their responses.
Old Chen wanted to buy clothes for his grandson, asking the shop about sizing, only to get the same answer over and over.
Old Chen got a headache every time he saw a link.
Seeing Village Chief Chen run off like a fire, Yu Xueqing was bewildered, then turned to look at the little fox on the desk:
"Xiaolan... did I just earn a meal? Like, two bowls of rice at once?"
Ansheng shrugged, not putting much stock in Old Chen’s casual tea invitations.
"Let’s go! We’re going to the banquet!"
Having accepted the red envelope, Yu Xueqing picked up her cute little fox and headed outside the shrine, ready to enjoy the banquet.
With Old Chen’s introduction, Ansheng was now considered one of Changxi Town’s own.
A place was set for him at the kids’ table.
Yu Xueqing also sat at the kids’ table.
As the banquet began, the chefs from the kitchen served a bowl of shark fin soup per person, to whet the appetite.
Sitting next to Yu Xueqing, Ansheng also had a bowl of shark fin soup in front of him.
However, due to the height difference, Ansheng might spill the bowl if he tried eating it on the table.
Being close to the coast, the banquet featured local seafood with lobster and some imported seafood like abalone.
Not finding it convenient to eat, Ansheng thought for a moment, then nuzzled his head into Yu Xueqing’s right arm.
Feeling a sudden weight on her arm, Yu Xueqing was restricted in moving her spoon.
"Hmm? Xiaolan, why aren’t you eating?"
With curiosity, Yu Xueqing looked at the little fox resting on her arm.
’Sigh sigh sigh~ Master, I can’t use chopsticks to eat; the fish swam past and someone else got it before I did...’
’Sigh sigh sigh—fish can fly, they’re bad.’
Complaining with no strength, Ansheng lamented his inconvenience in feasting in public.
And Ansheng’s complaints, after machine translation in Yu Xueqing’s brain, turned into piteous coos, almost triggering her maternal instincts.
With eyes full of pity, Yu Xueqing cradled the little fox resting on her arm and fetched an extra set of tableware, using communal chopsticks to place food in his bowl.
Yu Xueqing pulled over a chair, letting the little fox sit on her lap while they enjoyed the feast under the sunshade.
Today, because of the unusually hot weather, there was a shading cover over the feast area, and ice and fans blew cool air over the meeting place.
But, Yu Xueqing’s appetite wasn’t strong, simply eating two pounds of meat, two bowls of rice, some dessert, and two bowls of soup.
For now, her appetite was only three-fifths of her all-time best.
Ansheng clung onto a cheese-baked lobster, munching it down.
He slurped down a dozen fresh abalones, two pounds of shrimp, and amid praise and amazement, scooped out half a pound of conch meat without using a toothpick.
The banquet at the shrine continued till nearly two in the afternoon, dispersing due to the heat.
Yu Xueqing, all smiles, pinched the little fox’s rounded belly, saying, "Give me a kiss!"
She lifted the little fox high and kissed it twice before returning home with her parents.
On the way home, Ansheng poked his head out, glancing toward Lin Ying’s home.
Two identical business vehicles, save for their license plates, were parked in the lot.
"Sister Lin Fu...just now coming back?"
"No idea what happened after the fight with those crocodiles yesterday."