Chapter 61: Chapter 61: A Visitor Arrives Chapter 61: Chapter 61: A Visitor Arrives Nanny Jin saw they were about to tinker with the little cart and her interest was piqued. She wiped her hands on her apron and ca out to watch.
Ye Xinyan was holding the little one, placing him on the seat of the bicycle. His feet were set on the pedals, “Like this, hold on to these two handles with both hands. Right, just like that. This handle controls the direction. Alternatingly press down with both feet.”
At first, Ye Xinyan guided Qi Jia’s feet with her hands, pressing them down slowly in turns, letting Qi Jia get a feel for how much force to use and how to turn.
After slowly making two rounds in the courtyard, Qi Jia gradually got the hang of it and learned to apply force himself, so Ye Xinyan let go of her hands.
Ye Xinyan supported Qi Jia to cycle slowly, while Qi Younian and Nanny Jin watched in astonishnt from the side. Could this really move?
Although Qi Younian understood the principles of the bicycle’s operation during the manufacturing process, he had no firsthand visual impression. Now, seeing a child pedaling the boards and propelling a wooden vehicle forward by himself was, to say the least, astonishing.
Nanny Jin found it even more incredible than Qi Younian. She had initially dismissed Ye Xinyan and Qi Younian’s tinkering as re child’s play and did not expect it to be sothing so magical.
Nanny Jin’s mouth hung open, and she was speechless throughout.
After letting go, Ye Xinyan followed the excited little one around a few circles before returning to Nanny Jin’s side, smilingly watching the little one ride around in circles.
“Look, Nanny, who says our Qi Jia is a foolish child. Which ordinary child could learn so quickly? Our Qi Jia is truly clever.”
Nanny Jin finally recovered her spirits and turned to tug at Ye Xinyan’s arm, asking, “Ye Zi, how does this cart move? I was complaining about you two wasting so much paper for nothing, but after all that scribbling and correcting, you actually created such a miraculous thing. Our old master is also amazing; after discussing with you, he actually managed to make it.”
Nanny Jin rambled on, reminiscing about the days in Duke An’s Mansion and couldn’t help but complain, “Speaking of the life of wealth, it indeed makes people foolish. The young lady was so bright and clever as a child, to be ruined by that wicked Maternal Aunt Liu.”
What does one thing have to do with the other? How could she manage to connect such unrelated matters? Nanny Jin truly was sothing else.
Ye Xinyan frowned, listening to Nanny Jin gripe and then reluctantly said, “Nanny, please don’t bring up the past again; it’s really awkward to hear.”
Nanny Jin glanced at her and quickly changed her tone, “That’s right, that’s right. There’s no point talking about the distressing things of the past. It’s Nanny who wasn’t thinking straight.”
In fact, Nanny Jin was quite content with her life now. Although it was harder, it was far better than being cooped up in a luxurious mansion, living in constant anxiety and engaging in endless sches.
If they had stayed in Duke An’s Mansion, could the young lady have tied such beautiful knots? Could she have made delicious rice tofu, or given the old master ideas to create such an unexpectedly amazing little cart?
anwhile, Qi Younian watched from the side, watching Qi Jia pedal swiftly and steadily grip the handles, feeling a surge of sentint for having such a smart and lovely granddaughter and an intelligent and well-behaved grandson.
Six months ago, he was a lonely old man with no place to lay his bones, filled with hosickness and desolation, without any solution. Just when he thought he could never return to his holand and see his family again, fate took a turn, and he t Ye Zi from his family.
The days that followed were the best he had ever had in his life. Not only had he returned to his hotown and found closer kin, but he also had descendants to carry on the family line and lived such genuine, warm days.
The little fellow played in the yard, utterly engrossed, while the three adults each had their own thoughts. And at the entrance to the courtyard, several people stood with their eyes wide, staring in shock at the child riding a wooden tricycle, unable to snap out of it for a long ti.
Jinrong stared with glazed eyes at Jiang Yifan, “Is this the toy depicted in the sketch, the thing Hongzhi ntioned for children to play with? Does a re child’s plaything need to be so high-end, so magical?”
Jiang Yifan’s mind was racing, pondering who could have truly drafted the sketch of this object. Did the household claim it was drawn by Ye Xinyan? That was simply impossible, but what was the Qi family’s purpose in telling such a lie?
He fixed his gaze once more on the wooden tricycle, examining it closely.
The construction of the device was not overly complex or obscure. If one were to dissect it, many similar chanisms seen in various tools of The Celestial Empire could be recognized in this little trinket. In essence, the child’s toy was a combination of many existing elents put together.
Yet, the toy impressed with its ingenious design, integrating several elents coherently and with simplicity in structure. If no one had thought of it, and then crafted it, it was likely that years could pass without anyone conceiving such an item for children to play with.
With Ye Xinyan’s intellect, could she really have conceived and sketched sothing like this? The very thought was preposterous!
Jiang Yifan turned his attention to the young woman in the courtyard and then glanced at Nanny Jiang and Qi Younian. Indeed, these three were the sa group he had encountered on his way to Qingyuan County, aning without a doubt that the young woman was Ye Xinyan.
But why did he find it so hard to believe that Ye Xinyan could have the brains and the skill for this?
Equally surprised were a few servants and attendants who followed the two.
Shi Shu, standing beside Shi Yu, whispered, “Have we been so dulled by our stay in the capital that we’ve limited our vision, not even aware of such amusing things in the countryside?”
“Shut your mouth!” Shi Yu shot him a glare and hissed.
Initially, he had accompanied the young master to Prince Yu’s Mansion to view that sketch. Like the young master, he believed that the woman couldn’t possibly co up with anything novel; perhaps she had picked up the sketch sowhere.
Even after Hongzhi confird that the drawing was made by a girl from the Ye Family, the young master showed disdain, implying through his words that if the drawing really was done by that woman, then it certainly wasn’t anything remarkable, perhaps just a crude toy to amuse children.
Yet, the reality was a slap in the face. To him, a servant, such a result mattered little, but who was the young master? Since childhood, the young master had been clever and insightful, now confronted with this sophisticated tricycle, the young master’s predictions had been embarrassingly invalidated.
And this clueless boy had the nerve to utter such absurd remarks, truly deserving a scolding!
The commotion finally caught Ye Xinyan’s attention. She instinctively looked towards the entrance of the courtyard and saw people at the half-open gate. Upon a closer look, she recognized Jinrong and Jiang Yifan.
Ye Xinyan quickly tugged at Nanny Jin’s sleeve and whispered, “Nanny, look, isn’t that… the Jiang boy?” She seed to still owe him one hundred taels of silver. She hadn’t intended to see the boy again, and of course, had no plans of repaying the debt.
Damn, could her luck get any worse?
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