Afterwards, Qin, Xu Lanyin and Xu Lanyue lived a leisurely life at home and packed up the things they were going to take to the provincial capital.

Xu Lanyin even took a day off to take Xu Lanyue to Daxiang Temple to deliver snacks to Monk Jie Chi. She also said that after she went to the provincial capital, she would ask the people from Xu's Pastry Shop to deliver Jie Chi's favorite snacks on time.

Jie Chi waved his hand and said, "Don't let those people disturb my peace. If I like the people who bring me snacks, then I will think the snacks are delicious. If I don't like them, then no snacks will taste good, unless they are filled with enough toppings."

Xu Lanyin was speechless. People in ancient times were superstitious, so who would dare to give meat to an old monk?

Xu Qingyan took Xu Lanzhou out early and back late every day, either visiting local officials, drinking at the officials' and Xiang Kun's homes, or returning to Xiaozao Village to accompany his parents and meet with relatives and friends.

He then gave his family's twenty mu of land to the clan, with the produce used to cover the clan's expenses and support the studies of the poor, academically advanced young men. He also promised that if a clan member passed the imperial examination, he would award them twenty taels of silver and even pay for them to take the imperial examinations. The Xu family's roots were too shallow, and they should have more promising children.

Before sending the land, Xu Qingyan discussed it with Qin, Xu Lanyin and Xu Lanzhou.

Qin didn't express his opinion.

Xu Lanyin agreed. The ancients valued clans, and it was always good to maintain good relations with clan members. Her main consideration was the Qin family's status. If anything unexpected happened, there would always be room for maneuver.

Xu Lanzhou began to feel a little distressed, but after listening to his father's explanation, he readily agreed.

But Xu Qingyan didn't discuss it with Old Man Xu, who was so angry that he almost vomited blood. He thought it would be better to give it to his eldest son than to the clan. But after giving it away, he didn't dare to take it back.

Xu Qingyan was away from home most of the time, which also made Qin feel relieved. Although she accepted her husband, she was reluctant to face him and didn't know how to get along with him.

Xu Lanyin secretly sighed that Xu Qingyan was a smart man. He did this because he guessed Qin's thoughts and wanted to create beauty from distance, giving her enough time to slowly accept him.

Since the Qin family has accepted him and he is the head of this family, it is better to be smart than to be stupid.

On this day, when Old Man Xu and Old Lady Xu learned that Xu Qingyan would return to the capital to work at the beginning of next month, and the second wife's family would still live in the provincial capital, they proposed to go to the provincial capital with the second wife to enjoy life.

Xu Qingyan said, "It was not easy for my parents to give birth to me, and I have always wanted to take you to the provincial capital to enjoy a better life. The house in the provincial capital was bought by my son and registered under Qin's name. It doesn't make sense for my son to let my parents live in his daughter-in-law's house now that he has money. I have already sent my personal soldiers to the provincial capital to buy a house, and we want to register it under my father's name. From now on, my parents and Qin's mother will live there, and we can often see your eldest grandson and great-grandson. How wonderful it is."

Old Man Xu was furious at first. Why was the Xu family's house registered under a woman's name? But when he heard the following words, his eyes widened and he asked, "Second son, is that house in the provincial capital really registered under my name?"

Xu Qingyan nodded and said, "Of course, just consider it as a son's filial piety to his parents."

Old Man Xu's beard was shaking with excitement, and Old Lady Xu's face was full of wrinkles from laughing.

The old couple looked at each other and reached a consensus. His house, not the second wife's, so he could live with whoever he wanted. The second son was already successful, not only owning a house in the provincial capital, but also in the capital. The eldest son and the eldest grandson were in a poor situation. Why not...

Old Man Xu smiled even more kindly, saying, "Dad knows my second son is filial, so he spent money to build us this big courtyard, and now he's bought me a big house in the provincial capital. Thank you, Dad and Mom. But," he added with a look of embarrassment on his face, "We're used to living with Qingming, and we'd like to live with them. Can Qingming and his family move into that house with us, while Qin and her children stay in the original house? We'll all be in the provincial capital, and they can come home to visit us from time to time, which shows their filial piety..."

The old lady also looked at Xu Qingyan eagerly. She also wanted her eldest son and his family to go with her to enjoy the good life.

Xu Qingyan pondered for a moment and said, "My original intention was to honor my parents. As long as they are happy, I can live with anyone. But..."

The old couple first smiled until their faces were squeezed into buns, but when they heard the word "but", their hearts began to lift again. Old Mrs. Xu asked, "Second son, are you regretting it again?"

Old man Xu's beard trembled even more violently.

Xu Qingyan said hurriedly, "I don't regret it. I mean, my eldest brother and I separated a long time ago, and this house is my filial piety to my parents. If my eldest brother and his wife don't take good care of my parents in the future, and my parents want to move to the second house again, I will take back the house."

Old Man Xu quickly assured him, "Don't worry, Er'er. Qingming and Dashi are both filial. We are willing to live with them."

Xu Qingyan smiled and said, "It's up to my parents."

After the old man praised his second son's filial piety, he shouted repeatedly, "Eldest son, Gu, hurry up, pack up your things and move to the provincial capital together. We're all going to be locals. Haha, who else in the village has the ability of me, Xu Fangzi, to raise a son who becomes a high-ranking official, and also bring all my family to the provincial capital..."

Spending some money to keep the old man from interfering with the second wife was the only solution Xu Qingyan could think of to satisfy both sides. It would honor his parents while protecting Qin from any grievances. Furthermore, his excuse for not bringing his wife and children to the capital was to have them fulfill their filial duties on his behalf. It was impossible for his parents to live in the countryside while his wife and children lived in the provincial capital. Since his parents were going to live in the provincial capital, this was the only solution left: to let his father make the decision to live with the first wife.

He had originally intended to wait until Ji Zhu returned from buying a house before telling them, but since the old couple had asked today, he had no choice but to tell them first. However, the house he had asked Ji Zhu to buy wasn't exactly a "large" one in the provincial capital. He had given most of his money to Qin, leaving only a little over six hundred taels of silver, and he had to save some for the trip to Beijing. He gave Ji Zhu four hundred taels of silver, saying that a three-story house would be best, but if that wasn't possible, a two-story house would be fine.

Thinking about how he had led his father into the pit step by step, and his parents were still so happy, Xu Qingyan felt a little uneasy.

When Xu Qingming and Gu heard this, they were overjoyed. They then discussed who to ask to help look after the work in the fields.

Old Man Xu added, "Don't talk about the marriage that Ershi is talking about anymore. Go to the provincial capital to work and find a girl there."

Xu Qingming smiled and said, "Dad has thought it through. Ershi is going to work in the government office there, so he should find a girl from the provincial capital."

Xu Qingyan said hurriedly, "I don't know any officials in the provincial capital, and I don't have the ability to let Ershi work in any government office in the provincial capital."