TSWPF -Chapter 233 Quite Funny

San Ya lifted her head to glance at Li Qingning, then lowered it again. “P‑please… please grant this servant a name, Third Miss.”

Li Qingning tilted her head and sized San Ya up, then blurted out, “Then you’ll be called Sixi!”
After saying that, she pointed at the little girl standing beside San Ya. “And you’ll be called Meatball. Put together, that’s Sixi Meatballs—doesn’t it sound great?”

“…” Li Qingling glanced down at the Sixi meatballs she was holding in her hands. She seriously began to suspect that Li Qingning had eaten too many Sixi meatballs and grown fond of them, which was why she’d turned the name into a maid’s name.

“Ningning, you can’t name Rourou’s maid. She should choose the name herself.”

“Rourou won’t mind! This name sounds so nice!” Li Qingning puffed out her cheeks and retorted. When she spotted Liu Zhirou walking in through the courtyard gate, she immediately shouted, “Rourou, come here quick! I need you for something!”

Seeing Li Qingning waving at her, Liu Zhirou curved her lips into a smile and quickened her steps. After greeting Li Qingling and Liu Zhiming, she walked over to Li Qingning and asked what was going on.

Li Qingning excitedly recounted what had just happened and asked whether her maid could be called Meatball.

Liu Zhirou had no objections to such a thing. She followed Li Qingning’s lead and nodded with a smile, saying it was fine.

The moment she heard that, Li Qingning cheered, then looked smugly at Li Qingling. “See, Sister? Rourou agreed! I told you the name I picked is nice. Sixi Meatballs—just hearing it, you know they’re one family.”

Li Qingling: “…”

She was completely speechless toward this little brat. As long as she was happy, that was all that mattered.

“Sixi Meatballs really is a good name. Ningning picked something very festive.” The completely unprincipled old man praised her the moment he stepped inside and heard this.

Hearing even Grandpa agree, Li Qingning became even more excited and even more convinced that the name she chose was wonderful.

“Exactly! Grandpa has good taste.” After flattering the old man, she turned to Liu Zhiyan and Li Qingfeng. “Second Brother, Third Brother—how about I name your servants too?”

She was absolutely confident she could come up with names that were super nice and easy to remember.

Liu Zhiyan and Li Qingfeng exchanged a look, then nodded, handing over the naming rights to Li Qingning.

This made Li Qingning extremely happy. She clasped her hands behind her back and circled the two servants, her eyes spinning rapidly as she thought.

Seeing her like this, the two servants couldn’t help swallowing nervously. They were terrified that Third Miss might give them an outrageously awful name. If that happened… they really would cry without tears.

“I’ve got it! You’ll be called Candied Hawthorn!”

As soon as the words fell, everyone present froze in place. Especially the two servants—so aggrieved they were about to cry. Deep down, they strongly resisted this name.

Candied hawthorn? What kind of name was that?!

“Th‑Third Miss, do you… do you have any other names?” the slightly taller servant pleaded.
“C‑could you change it?”

“Y‑yes, Third Miss,” the shorter, darker servant hurriedly added.

“This servant feels this name doesn’t match the young master’s handsome and dashing image at all.”

He could already imagine being called “Hawthorn” in public.

That would absolutely—absolutely—be an ominous sign for his life!

Li Qingning scratched her little head and turned to look at Li Qingfeng and Liu Zhiyan. “Is Candied Hawthorn really that bad a name?”

The corners of Li Qingfeng’s and Liu Zhiyan’s mouths twitched simultaneously. If people found out their servants were called that, they’d be laughed to death.

“Little sister,” Li Qingfeng said with a smile, “I think this name is… slightly inappropriate. You should think of another one. Try not to focus on food—think of something else.”

Candied hawthorn, candied hawthorn—anyone who heard it would think they were obsessed with eating candied hawthorn to give their servants such a name.

Is it really that bad?

She thought Candied Hawthorn sounded quite nice—easy to say and easy to remember.

But since her brothers didn’t like it, fine. She’d think of another one.

“Alright then, I’ll think again.”

Hearing this, the two servants immediately breathed a sigh of relief. They had narrowly escaped disaster—thank goodness they wouldn’t be called Candied Hawthorn.

“So what should I call you?” Li Qingning sized them up again. After thinking for a long while, she suddenly clapped her hands and said happily, “Wonton and Tangyuan!”

“…”

Upon hearing these even more outrageous names, everyone froze once again.

Why did this girl’s every other sentence revolve around food?!

Li Qingling was completely defeated by Li Qingning. “Can you even call these names out loud? Enough, enough—stop messing around. Let your second and third brothers name their own servants.”

She was already terrible at naming things, but she hadn’t expected someone to be even worse.

Li Qingning turned to look at Li Qingling and the others. Seeing their half‑smiling expressions, she knew they were dissatisfied with her names again. Helplessly, she shrugged. “Alright then.”

She’d save these names for future use.

The two servants—who had nearly burst into tears—felt their eyes light up when they heard Li Qingling speak. Their hearts finally settled.

Thank goodness the eldest miss was here. Otherwise, they really wouldn’t have escaped the fate of being called Wonton and Tangyuan.

Those names were even worse than Candied Hawthorn!

They silently prayed that their masters would give them decent‑sounding names—anything but food-related ones. They really didn’t want to be laughed at.

Before naming them, Liu Zhiyan asked what Liu Zhiming’s servant was called.

“Guan Yan,” Liu Zhimou replied.

Guan Yan?

Liu Zhiyan frowned slightly, thought for a moment, then said, “Then mine will be called Guan Yi.” He hoped his servant would be sharp and able to grasp his intentions.

Li Qingfeng pointed at the darker servant and said, “Then you’ll be called Guan Lan.”

The two servants stepped forward excitedly. “Thank you, Master, for granting us our names!”

Compared to the names Third Miss came up with, these were tens of thousands of times better.

Seeing that things were mostly settled, Li Qingling told them to go find the steward so he could arrange their living quarters.

After everyone left, Li Qingling turned to the old man with a beaming smile. “Old man, can I discuss something with you?”

She really, really wanted to raise ducks in that lotus pond.

Without ducks, she couldn’t open her roast duck shop at all!

“Speak. What scheme are you plotting against me this time?” Just looking at her expression told him nothing good was coming.

“Oh come on, what do you mean plot?” Li Qingling smiled with utmost sincerity.

“It’s a good thing—definitely a good thing. Let’s go inside and talk slowly, alright?”

The old man’s heart skipped a beat with a bad premonition. He shot Li Qingling a look, then lifted his foot and walked inside.

The moment he sat down, Li Qingling plopped down beside him, smiling at him.

She stared at him so much that his scalp tingled. He waved his hand impatiently. “If you’ve got something to say, hurry up and say it. Stop putting on this mysterious act.”

“…”

Li Qingling rolled her eyes, cleared her throat, and said, “Well… I want to raise ducks in the lotus pond.”

“What?!” Hearing this, the old man nearly fell off his chair. He stared at Li Qingling wide‑eyed. “What did you say? Say it again.”

Seeing how agitated he was, Li Qingling felt a little guilty. She touched her nose and repeated herself softly.

“No! Absolutely not!”

The old man waved his hands vigorously.

“I never thought you’d want to ruin my lotus flowers!”

Although he was an imperial physician, he still had a bit of a scholar’s bad habit—he loved looking at lotus flowers.

That entire pond of lotus had been carefully tended. How could he bear to let her ruin it?

Hearing this, Li Qingling let out a heavy sigh and slumped her shoulders. “Ah… I knew you wouldn’t agree. Looks like my roast duck shop won’t be opening after all.”

As she spoke, she sneakily glanced at the old man, hoping to stir up his sympathy so he’d agree to let her raise ducks in the pond.

“What do you mean by that?” he asked.

“You don’t know, old man. If the ducks aren’t raised by my own hands, the meat just won’t taste as good. When that happens, my roast duck shop won’t survive.” She sighed again.

“Forget it. I’ll think of something else. Worst case, I’ll move outside the city, rent a place, and raise ducks there.”

“There’s really such a thing?” The old man looked at Li Qingling doubtfully, then turned to Li Qingning and the others.

“Is that really true?”

Li Qingning and the rest all nodded. Ducks raised by Sister were indeed many times tastier than ordinary ones.

The old man hesitated. There was no way he could let Li Qingling move outside the city. But when he thought of his lotus flowers, his heart ached again.

“Th‑then… what about my lotus flowers?”

There’s hope!

Li Qingling’s eyes lit up. She hurriedly said, “I won’t touch your lotus flowers at all. I’ll just raise ducks in the pond—it won’t affect them much.”

She had to strike while the iron was hot and persuade him completely.

“Old man, think about it. With ducks in the pond, wouldn’t it look even more lively?”

The old man rubbed his temples. After a long while, he finally nodded reluctantly, repeatedly reminding her that she absolutely must not touch his lotus flowers.

Li Qingling nodded vigorously with a bright smile, swearing she would never touch them and telling him to rest completely assured.

To prevent the old man from changing his mind, Li Qingling went out early the very next morning with Zeng Tietou to buy ducks.

She didn’t buy tiny ducklings, but ducks weighing nearly a jin. She could raise these for a while and then slaughter them.

She bought fifty ducks to start with. Once she found a shop location, she would buy more.

When the old man saw a whole flock of ducks quacking loudly in his lotus pond, his regret was indescribable.

He wished he could slaughter every last one of those ducks on the spot.