Farming Games are All About Grinding-Chapter 168 - 161: Rite of Enlightenment

Tang Qingying naturally heard those words too and felt a faint discomfort in her heart, but she said nothing. She put the towel she hadn’t used back into her bag and took out a bottle of water that had been opened but not drunk, ready to hand it over at any moment.

After the fifth round, everyone relaxed; the next task was left to the pig butcher.

"Not bad, I didn’t expect you to have such strength, kid." Tang Yi looked at Han Qiwu with satisfaction and gave him a hearty pat on the shoulder.

Han Qiwu smiled slightly, "It’s all from regular training. I’ll go find some water to drink."

"Here, freshly opened." Tang Qingying walked over and lightly tossed the bottle towards him, deliberately sizing him up and giving a faint applause.

"Student Han Qiwu, your physical strength is impressive! Next time we plow the experimental field, maybe you can plow three acres all by yourself."

Han Qiwu: "...Oh crap, I forgot about that."

Seeing Han Qiwu’s Adam’s apple suddenly pause in swallowing the water, Tang Qingying burst into carefree laughter.

The two chatted while watching the pig butcher do his thing.

The pig slaughter process is a topic for another time. After cleaning the pig, it’s laid flat on the ground and covered with flammable materials like straw and wood, then set on fire to burn for one or two hours.

Once the pig is thoroughly burned, it’s washed clean with water, chopped into large portions, and divided among the townsfolk.

After the fire was set, Tang Yi walked over and said, "Xiao Han, you haven’t eaten yet, have you? Come to my house and grab a bite. Xiao Ying has to help my daughter with the ’breaking the initiation,’ so you can watch too."

"Alright!" Han Qiwu nodded; he was indeed feeling a little hungry.

The three walked along the stone-paved road back to Tang Yi’s house. During their chat, Han Qiwu discovered that Tang Yi usually worked away from home, only returning during holidays to tidy up the old house and immerse himself in the village’s spirit.

Before entering the house, Han Qiwu found a chance to send a message to Tang Qingying, asking how much money was typically packed into a red envelope for children.

Tang Qingying glanced at the message and quickly replied, "No need for that. Our family doesn’t have such customs. Just enjoy the meal later. Don’t mind my uncle’s nonsense."

Looking at her reply, Han Qiwu still felt it wasn’t appropriate. It was his first time meeting the child after all. Either a gift or a red envelope should be given, but since buying a gift was out of the question now, he could only opt for the red envelope.

Just as he was about to reply to Tang Qingying’s message, his phone screen showed an incoming call from Brother Jing.

What perfect timing...

"Xiao Han, what’s the matter? The place I went to recently had no signal, so I just received the message." Tang Jing’s hearty voice came through the phone.

"Oh, it’s nothing much. It’s just that during fishing last time, the bronze knife broke, and I originally wanted to ask you to fix it, but it’s not urgent anymore since I’ve got a new fishing rod instead." Han Qiwu explained.

"That’s nothing serious; I’ll fix it when I get back. It’s the second day of February today, the town should be lively. They might still be handing out roast pork. If you’ve got time, go join in and soak up the festive spirit," Tang Jing said with a laugh.

Glancing at Tang Qingying beside him, Han Qiwu thought for a moment and directly said, "Sure thing. I just helped carry the fire-roasted pig earlier today. Now I’m heading to Tang Yi’s house along with Mr. Tang."

Tang Jing: "?????"

What was this situation?

How had he ended up meeting the younger generation?

Things were looking a bit dicey.

Tang Jing’s voice was suddenly silent. If it weren’t for the phone showing the call was still connected, Han Qiwu would’ve thought he had hung up.

After several seconds, Tang Jing finally said, "Alright, it’s nothing," and then abruptly hung up.

Han Qiwu: "...Your tone doesn’t sound like it’s nothing."

Mr. Tang’s two uncles sure have vastly different personalities.

Tang Qingying speculated from the side, "Was it my Uncle Whale?"

Han Qiwu nodded, his expression complicated.

Tang Qingying sighed helplessly, "You know what? I bet within ten seconds, he’ll call me."

Han Qiwu shook his head, "I don’t believe it."

"Ten seconds is too long."

"Three seconds at most."

As soon as the words fell, the phone rang. The moment the call was answered, Tang Jing’s anxious voice thundered through.

"Qingying, think this through! Even if you’re meeting the parents, the first visit should be to your dad, not your unreliable uncle!"

Tang Yi: "?????"

Fortunately, both Tang Jing and Tang Yi were somewhat intimidated by Tang Qingying. A few sharp remarks from her quickly put an end to their argument.

After hanging up the call, Tang Jing felt he had to rush back as soon as possible; otherwise, he kept feeling like the family’s treasured crystal was about to be stolen.

Walking along the stone-paved road, Tang Qingying wore an expression of helplessness, her mind in a state of disarray.

Tang Yi didn’t say much and instead chatted with Han Qiwu about school-related matters.

After a few minutes, the three arrived at Tang Yi’s house.

Striding inside, Tang Yi called out loudly, "Little Cai, come and see who’s here!"

A few seconds later, a plump little child ran out from the inner room. She wore a red dress and had her hair tied into a lively tuft, running straight toward Tang Qingying while calling "Sister!"

Little Tang Cai jumped into Tang Qingying’s arms and snuggled affectionately for a while before turning to look at Han Qiwu beside her.

"Sister, this big brother is so handsome!"

Han Qiwu chuckled, nodded, and handed over the money he had prepared earlier to Little Cai.

This kid has a bright future.

Truthful!

"Thank you, big brother." Little Cai gratefully accepted the money and gave Han Qiwu a polite bow.

Following behind Tang Cai was Tang Yi’s wife, who walked out while taking off her apron and cheerfully said, "The meal will take a bit longer. Why don’t we do the initiation ceremony first? Otherwise, Little Cai’s clothes might get dirty after eating."

"Xiao Han, what do you think? Hungry?" Tang Yi seemed to agree, turning back to ask Han Qiwu.

Han Qiwu waved his hand. He hadn’t expected Tang Yi to consult him first—such attentiveness was over-the-top—but he replied, "I’m curious about the initiation ritual, so let’s go with Auntie’s suggestion and do it first."

Tang Qingying nodded in agreement. After playing with Little Cai for a bit, her mood lightened considerably.

Young children are such stress-relievers.

The three of them teased Little Cai while walking into the old study room.

In the old study, the table was set with a statue of Confucius, a copy of the *Three Character Classic*, and some vermilion paper. To the left of the table was a red iron basin holding a live carp, while on the right was a tethered white rooster.

After setting Little Cai down, Tang Qingying took a seat, lit a red candle, and sat solemnly upright.

"The initiation ceremony begins!"

Tang Yi announced gleefully, then guided Little Tang Cai to first bow before the Confucius statue and then to Tang Qingying.

After the bowing rituals, Little Cai sat obediently on a small chair and started learning the *Three Character Classic* with Tang Qingying.

"At the beginning of man, his nature is good..."

After four or five lines, Tang Qingying went on to teach Little Cai a single character: ’人’ (person).

One must first learn to write ’person’ to understand how to be one.

As Han Qiwu gazed at the carp and rooster by the table, he understood their symbolic meanings.

The carp signifies the leap of the carp over the Dragon Gate, while the white rooster represents the phoenix singing of literature—both embodying parents’ best wishes for their children.

After writing the character ’person,’ the initiation ceremony was successfully completed.

Little Cai was officially ready to embark on her learning journey.

Watching the joy on Little Cai’s face, Han Qiwu couldn’t help but marvel at her youthful enthusiasm.

Would she still recall the delight of gaining knowledge today when faced with tear-inducing exam papers in the future?