Traveled through time and became the darling of the whole family

"Plum blossom pastry? This is the first time I've heard of it." Ye Ziyu took a piece and tasted it, "Hmm! Delicious!"

"Well, it tastes very good." Ye Qingyin also ate a piece.

"As long as you like it, the method of making plum blossom pastry is the same as that of peach blossom pastry, except that the flowers and ingredients are different." Liu Zhizhi explained.

"Zhizhi, which store did you buy this from? Next time I'll ask Liqiu and the others to buy it for you." Ye Ziyu finished eating one piece and took another one.

"I made this myself. If you like it, tell me one day in advance next time you want to eat it, and I'll make it for you."

"Zhizhi, you are so amazing! You can even make your own cakes, and they are so delicious!"

"Hehe, it's nothing. I often cook for myself at home." Zhizhi scratched her head embarrassedly.

"By the way, Zhizhi, I have a question for you. Please don't be offended."

"You said."

"I'm just curious. This time and last time I saw you, you seemed to be alone. Why didn't you have anyone to serve you?"

"We didn't hire anyone, and we couldn't afford to hire anyone before."

"Can't afford to hire anyone? How can I not afford to hire someone? The director of the Imperial Observatory just happens to be..." Ye Ziyu looked at Ye Qingyin.

"Fifth rank." Ye Qingyin replied.

"Oh, yes, a fifth-rank official." Ye Ziyu nodded, then looked at Liu Zhizhi, "The salary of a fifth-rank official should be quite high."

"I haven't told you in detail before. My father got the opportunity to be promoted to Supervisor recently. His salary before was not small but not too much. However, my second uncle was a gambler and owed a lot of debts. Most of the money in the family was used to pay off the debts. What was left was only enough for the three of us to eat and drink. How could there be any extra money to hire people?"

"But my father said that now that he has been promoted, he wants to hire someone to serve my mother and me, because there will definitely be various banquets of all sizes that we need to attend in the future, and it's not good to have no one around all the time."

"Your father is quite thoughtful, but why should your family pay off the gambling debt owed by your second uncle?" Ye Ziyu found it outrageous.

"I had no choice. My grandmother asked my father to help pay it back. She said, 'The eldest brother is like a father. My grandfather died early, so my father had to take on the responsibility of a father and help his younger brother solve his difficulties.' So from childhood to adulthood, all the problems of my second uncle were solved by my father."

"That's all nonsense. What about taking on the responsibility of a father and helping your brother solve problems? He is your father's brother, not your father's son. Yet your father is so stupid as to do it." Ye Ziyu was annoyed after hearing this.

"Sister, don't be so excited. Just talk nicely." Ye Qingyin advised.

"The key is that he is an addict to gambling. How could he stop? How long is your father going to clean up his brother's mess?" After these words were spoken, everyone present was stunned and looked at Ye Ziyu in shock.

Ye Ziyu was stared at by everyone and realized that there was something wrong with what she said. "Ah, anyway, that's what I meant. It's not a solution to help him pay off his debts. Are you going to live like this forever?"

"No, my father said before that the last time he paid off the debt was the last time he helped him pay it off, and he also promised my mother that he would save the money for us to live a good life." Liu Zhizhi said.

Ye Ziyu looked at her, "Is your grandmother still alive?"

"Well, I'm in good health." Liu Zhizhi nodded.

"Then the last time might not be the last time." Ye Ziyu shook her head and took a sip of water.

"Ayu, why do you say that?" Zhizhi looked unhappy.

"Zhizhi, I don't mean to say anything bad about your family. I know you will be unhappy to hear that, but I know addicted gamblers too well. They will never stop. And I don't think your grandmother will let your father ignore his brother." Ye Ziyu said apologetically.

"Actually, what Ayu said is right. Once you get addicted to gambling, you can't stop." Ye Qingyin also spoke.

"Then what should I do? Mom and dad have had many conflicts because of this matter. The last time my mom went back to her parents' home was also because of this matter. She went back in a fit of anger." Liu Zhizhi began to worry.

“Actually, I don’t think there is any particularly good solution to this problem. You still have to talk to your father. Only if he is firm in his attitude will it work. Otherwise, even if your grandmother says a few words, it will still be the same.” Ye Ziyu really couldn’t think of any good solution. There was no gambling addiction treatment center in this place, and it was not realistic to lock people up at home.

"I'll go back and talk to my mother first. I'm afraid it has to be my mother who can persuade my father." Liu Zhizhi said worriedly.

Seeing that Liu Zhizhi was in a bad mood, Ye Ziyu changed the subject and they talked about other things. After chatting for more than half an hour, Madam Liu sent someone to call Liu Zhizhi back.

The two men accompanied Liu Zhizhi to the gate and watched them leave. "It seems that Madam Liu and her family are not having an easy time. I see that Madam Liu and Miss Liu don't even have a servant around them, and their carriage is so small and old." Jiang Xu said.

"Mom, Zhizhi's family situation is quite complicated, and it's not easy for her either." Ye Qingyin said.

"I know. I also talked about some of it when I was chatting with Madam Liu. This time, Madam Liu brought Zhizhi here to thank you for helping Zhizhi in the palace last time."

"I thought Zhizhi came to chat with us, but I didn't expect Madam Liu to be so polite and come to our house to express her gratitude." Ye Ziyu said.

"Okay, let's go in."

"By the way, mother, Ye Xinhe came to you to ask for monthly salary again?" Ye Qingyin asked.

"Xinhe? No, she didn't come to see me. Mother Yang, has Xinhe come to look for me?" Jiang Xu asked Mother Yang, thinking about the fact that he had not met Ye Xinhe just now.

"The second young lady wanted to come and see you just now, but when I asked her she said it was not urgent and you were meeting guests. So she said she would come back later and left." Mother Yang said.

"Oh." Jiang Xu nodded and looked at Ye Qingyin, "What's wrong? How do you know she came to me for the monthly money? Did she mention it to you?"

"What could she have the reason to come to our yard? Every time she comes, it's because she has lost her monthly salary," Ye Qingyin said sarcastically.

"You can't say that. What if Xin He really has something else to ask me?" Jiang Xu patted her. "Xin He is your sister after all. You shouldn't always have such a big opinion of her."

"I know, I know." Ye Qingyin quickly ran to Ye Ziyu's side. She knew that Jiang Xu would definitely say something again, something like they were brothers and sisters and should help each other.

"You kid, you get impatient when I talk to you." Jiang Xu was dissatisfied.

"Mother knows that I don't like to hear those things, but she always tells me that I'm going to take my sister back to her room to study. Goodbye, mother." Ye Qingyin bowed.

"Mom, take care." Ye Ziyu also bowed. Jiang Xu looked at Ye Qingyin and shook his head. "Forget it, you guys go back."

Ye Qingyin took Ye Ziyu away.

"Mom Yang, why is it that Ayin is not close to other people?" Ye Qingyin has really not been close to anyone in the Ye family except the people from the eldest wife since she was a child.

"Maybe the young lady doesn't want to be close to them, but the young lady is close to you, and I think this is enough."

"Well, now that Ayu is back, Ayin and Ayu are inseparable. Before, she always stayed in her room to study and didn't want to go out to play, but now she is finally willing to run around." Jiang Xu turned and went back to her yard.