Chapter 508 - 266 Unexpected_3
She also produced a small double-sided embroidered fan, handcrafted by her beloved mother, and several Suzhou embroidery screens she bought in the provincial city. Jack was so fond of them that he couldn’t bear to let go, and Old Foreign Li, grinning ear to ear, snatched them away forcefully.
In the end, at Old Foreign Li’s request, she gave him ten pounds of the number three Gold Lotus Flower Seeds. Old Foreign Li thought that the lotus root powder he was taking back was far tastier than what they had in his country and specifically wanted the seeds for this type of lotus root powder.
On the third day, after Lin Qing left with Brother Wei and Old Foreign Li, Sean and Jack stayed on in Guiyuan. Later, Yixiu learned that Sean’s name was actually Sean, and Jack’s was just Jack, both quite common foreign names.
Yixiu discussed her short-term and long-term goals with Qian Sangui. Although he didn’t know if those goals could be achieved and greatly disliked the appearance and smell of the two foreigners, he would always support his granddaughter’s decisions with both hands raised in agreement, so he nodded in consent.
Lady Wu saw that her granddaughter had left the Golden Hair Ghost and the Red-Haired Ghost at home, which made her feel anxious and firmly opposed the idea. Qian Sangui tried to reassure her, "What’s there to worry about? Embroidery has it all figured out; if she says they can stay, then they can stay."
With her husband’s support for their granddaughter, Lady Wu was compelled to agree despite her objections.
Sean and Jack were assigned to reside in Linhe Garden and mostly kept to themselves, only occasionally venturing out to the edges of the fields or to the Moonlit Lotus Pond, led by Huang Tie. Yixiu would spend an hour every day learning the foreign language with them while also teaching them the language of Daqian. Only with communication established could they talk about the next steps.
Not only did Zi Zhu and Bai Zhu join in the language lessons, but from time to time, Ming Wa and Jingjing would play along as well. Yixiu also selected two of the smarter children among the servants and workers to join in the learning. One was Cai Xiaoji, a foster grandson whom Old man Cai had taken in a few years ago, now five years old. The other was Gong Liang, who was eight.
They had only been learning for two days when the Little Monk returned to Guiyuan and also began to learn the foreign language with Yixiu. The Little Monk seemed to have a gift for languages and was particularly fond of learning, picking it up very fast. Besides spending time each day chatting and laughing with Cheng Yue, he almost always stayed with the two foreigners, and he even moved into Linhe Garden. Even when the monks from Daci Temple came to fetch him, he refused to go back.
Whenever Huang Tie took the two foreigners out for a stroll, the Little Monk would accompany them.
The Red-Haired Ghost and the Golden Hair Ghost were a source of novel amusement for the people of Huaxi Village, much like a monkey show. Although they initially scared a couple of children into crying and even caused a timid woman to fall into a ditch, within a few days, seeing their friendly and polite demeanor, the villagers stopped being afraid. Some of the bolder ones tried to converse with them, and with the Little Monk’s translation and gestures, they managed to communicate.