The anger that had arisen because of Pei Yi's disobedience and returning to the capital without permission, as well as intentionally changing the time for registration for the school exercise, disappeared the moment he saw his grandson.
This is the child he raised, so even if he is angry, he can't bear to be angry for too long.
"Would you like some tea? I'll ask Xiaolin to make a pot."
Mr. Pei loves cigarettes, alcohol and tea. He regards these three things as the most important things and no one in the family is allowed to touch them.
When he got older, due to health reasons, Mrs. Pei and his family hoped that he would stop smoking and drinking, so he spent more time drinking tea.
He usually keeps the really good tea and is reluctant to drink it unless it is an important occasion.
"I got a little Da Hong Pao last time. There's only this much. Try it." Old Master Pei pinched his fingers and made a gesture. Pei Yi said:
"Isn't there some wine hidden in Grandpa's cabinet?"
Mr. Pei was stunned.
After his health deteriorated, his family forbade him to drink, but old habits died hard, and he cleared out a small space behind the cabinet in his study, put a bottle of good wine in it, and drank a little secretly when no one was around.
Pei Yi has been spoiled by him since he was a child. His family members don’t know his secret, but Pei Yi knows it.
When Grandpa Pei heard his grandson say he wanted to drink, he looked at him for a long time. There was a smile on his lips, but his eyes were firm and he had no intention of changing his mind. In Grandpa Pei's mind, no matter how old he grew, he was like the child he once held in his hand, so he made decisions for him in everything.
Now that I want to drink tea with him, he takes the initiative to ask for a drink. Is it because he wants to tell me that he has grown up
Mr. Pei smiled and turned to get the wine glass.
He opened a thick hollowed-out dictionary and took out a small box inside. There were two wine glasses in it, and each glass contained just enough wine for a person to drink in two sips.
In order to make it easier for him to hide the wine glasses at home, they were small and exquisite and could be held in his palm.
Mr. Pei took out the wine glass, washed it in the bathroom, and wiped it dry. A look of pain appeared on his face. After hesitating for a while, he finally rubbed his hands, took down all the books on the bookshelf, and finally took out a wine bottle:
"It was given to me by an old friend of my grandfather more than 40 years ago. I usually don't want to touch it and I won't give it to anyone."
The wine bottle was tightly sealed with wax to prevent leakage, and the bottle body was rubbed to a shine, and it looked like it had never been opened over the years.
The appearance of the bottle is not impressive, even looks a bit rustic, but it can be seen that it is old.
Old Master Pei held the bottle of wine, looking somewhat sad: "Grandpa's old friend has long been buried in the soil."
He hardened his heart and melted the wax sealing the bottle. Before he opened the cork, the aroma of the wine drifted into Pei Yi's nose.
Mr. Pei seemed to have aged ten years. He held the bottle, a little weakly:
"This wine bottle was given to you by your Grandpa Zhang. You may not know this person yet."
He sighed, sat down, and opened the bottle. The wine had been stored for many years. The wine was amber in color, like honey, and had become somewhat thick, with an aromatic aroma.
"At that time, the invaders invaded and the country was in turmoil. I was only twenty-three or twenty-four, about your age." When Mr. Pei said this, he glanced at Pei Yi and pushed the cup that was seven-tenths full in front of Pei Yi:
"The scene at that time, Ayi, is beyond your imagination."
Old Master Pei smiled and slowly sat down on the sofa on the other side to talk with his grandson face to face.
"Now that you've grown up, Grandpa doesn't want to talk to you about school or your exercises. I want to talk to you about other things."
He lifted his legs and reached out to touch the low box on the sofa. Inside was a box of cigars. He took out a cigar and sniffed it:
"Do you know how grandpa married grandma?"
Pei Yi shook his head. He only knew that his grandmother was from Shanghai, came from a prominent family, and had many relatives. Every time he went back to Shanghai when he was a child, his grandmother's family always liked him very much.
Since he was able to marry Mrs. Pei, who came from a prominent family, Mr. Pei, who was very particular about family background at that time, naturally would not have come from a lowly family. In fact, his family background was more prominent than that of Mrs. Pei.
Mr. Pei was originally from Tianjin. His grandfather was a capable adviser to Liu Zhangcheng, the regent during the late Qing Dynasty. He was later transferred to become the Governor-General of Liangjiang, in charge of Jiangsu, Jiangxi, and Anhui. He also governed Nanjing and was also the Minister of Beiyang. He was in charge of diplomacy, established the navy and army, and owned coal, iron, telegraph, shipping, theater and other enterprises. He developed in Tianjin for many years and became extremely powerful. The Pei family quickly flourished.
Under such circumstances, although Mrs. Pei had a good family background at the time, it was slightly inferior to the Pei family.
When Mr. Pei was young, he was the eldest son of the Pei family, and there were many women who wanted to marry him.
When he was young, his family was prominent and most of the nobles he interacted with were noble ladies from various ethnic groups. Many people vied to act as matchmakers for him in front of the then Old Master Pei.
Under such circumstances, China at that time presented an extremely complicated situation. The rich families were still prosperous, and even the economy was developing at an unusually rapid pace.
The invaders coveted this fertile land and had been eyeing it with great eagerness. The three provinces were already on the verge of collapse, and the people there were living in dire straits.
However, under the rule of Old Master Pei, the country was peaceful and prosperous. The extreme prosperity and war were blended together, and from Old Master Pei's mouth, it was like a picture scroll, slowly unfolding in front of Pei Yi.
"At this time, a good friend of mine, Zhang Yiping, came to visit me." When Mr. Pei said this, he leaned back on the sofa and fell into memories: "He is seven years older than me. He is an old acquaintance of mine when I was studying in Peking. He is very talented in literature and is the general secretary of Wenwushan in Shanghai. He gives him advice."
Mr. Pei held a cigar and smiled at Pei Yi, and Pei Yi said:
"Great-grandfather's people?"
Mrs. Pei’s maiden name was Wen. Her family used to run the comprador affairs of foreign companies in Shanghai and were very wealthy.
"Yes, it's not that easy to get into my Pei family, Ayi." Old Master Pei said with a smile, "He came here relying on his status as my old friend, and he brought a pot of wine like this and talked to me about my marriage."
Mr. Pei came from a high-class family and was the eldest son, so his family had high expectations for him. His marriage had not yet been decided, but he was the ideal husband in the eyes of the ladies.
Although the Wen family is rich, they are too low to match the Pei family.
To say something that seemed extremely treasonous at that time, the Pei family was like an emperor who could cover the sky with one hand in the Liangjiang area.
At that time, the late Qing Dynasty was already in name only, and warlords were separatist in various places, making it difficult to control the local areas. The Pei family was the king in the Liangjiang area, and the Wen family served as compradors for foreign companies. In the eyes of the Pei family at that time, they were tantamount to "ministers" and did not match each other. (To be continued)