The tableful of delicious dishes brought back from Tongxin Pavilion had been polished off without a scrap left. Even the juices at the bottom of the plates had been wiped up with steamed corn buns and eaten.
It was not entirely because Tongxin Pavilion's food was a rare treat for the Yi Household. Having everyone compete for the dishes made them taste all the better.
After the meal, Zhao and Li cleared the table together. A Bao sat on a stool by the door, carefully licking his candied hawthorns. Only after thinning the sugar coating did he bite into the fruit, unwilling to waste even a little.
Yi Shuyuan, Yi Baokang, and Yi Yong'an brought out a chair and a long bench and sat by the door, basking in the sun.
"This boy, he's eaten so much and still has room. A Bao, how about letting Dad have one?"
Watching A Bao eat his candied hawthorns, Yi Yong'an could not resist asking.
A Bao looked back at Yi Yong'an, hesitated, then looked at the skewer in his hand and counted them with his finger.
"One, two, three, four, five. Then... then you can have one."
His father still commanded a certain amount of authority, after all. A Bao reluctantly handed over the candied hawthorns. When Yi Yong'an actually took them, he planted both hands on his father's leg and watched with pleading eyes.
Good grief. Yi Shuyuan had thought Yi Yong'an was only teasing the boy, but the fellow really took a bite, chomping down on a whole hawthorn at once.
With a crunch, bits of sugar fell away.
"Dad, Dad, give it back! You're biting all the sugar off!"
A Bao cried anxiously beside him, looking utterly heartbroken.
Yi Baokang could not help giving Yi Yong'an a smack on