Seeing that her in-laws and Xiaowu were out, and that their conversation wouldn't be affected, Zhang's mother finished her breakfast, packed up her things, and hurried off to see her grandson.

As soon as she came in, she heard Zhou Jiao mumbling to Ping An reciting something. She didn't understand what she understood, but she felt that her daughter-in-law was speaking softly and slowly, reciting the lesson, stopping from time to time to call Ping An's nickname, which made her laugh.

"Jiaojiao, you should call him by his full name. Xiaowu gave him the name Zhang Mingxuan, saying that the five elements are missing fire, and the word "xuan" means bright and warm, and there's also "xuanhe" which means very famous. In short, your father and your father-in-law both agreed with this name. When we have a child in the future, we'll name him Minghe, which together means Xuanhe. The two of them will be very famous and powerful in the future. Haha, my Xiaowu is really good at naming. Xizi's full name is Zhang Mingyuan. He said that "yuan" means the first. Zhang Mingyuan, they all come out smoothly. Look at the names he gave us: Zhang Mingyuan, Zhang Mingzuo, Zhang Mingyou, Zhang Minghao, and Zhang Mingxuan. Your uncle said that all the good names of the Ming generation are ours."

Zhou Jiao nodded after hearing this. "If mom hadn't told me, I really wouldn't have known that Xiaowu gave Xizi and the others their names. They're really good. What are the names of my uncle's grandchildren? I only heard them calling them Tiedan Tongsuo."

Zhang's mother laughed heartily when she heard this. She took Xiao Ping'an in her arms and smiled at her, "According to the family tree, Xiaowu's generation is named Qing. Your eldest uncle gave his children names like Qingshan, Qingyan, and Qingya. Your younger uncle gave his children names like Qingfeng and Qingling, all of which are related to mountains. Your father gave our family names like Guofu and Guoqiang, and your grandfather gave his name like Guoqing. Your grandfather insisted on following the family tree for Xizi's generation. Your father and Xiaowu's generations didn't follow the family tree, as otherwise it would have been a mess, so he asked Xiaowu to give him the name Mingyuan. Your eldest and younger uncles' Ming generations are all from the Hejiang and Jianghu families. Tiedan is Zhang Mingjiang, Tongsuo is Zhang Minghu, and I can't remember the rest of the names. There are too many, so I just call them by their nicknames."

"Not bad. Ming-style names sound nice. I think the names of Mai Miao and Mai Sui were also chosen by Xiao Wu, right?"

"Well, Xiaowu heard the old people say that the eldest girl lacked water, so he looked it up in a book and told your father. It has three "miao" characters for water, so her nickname is Maimiao and her full name is Zhang Miao. I don't know how to spell it, but just hearing it, you can tell she's a cultured person. When your second sister-in-law gave birth to Shitou, she insisted that Xiaowu give her a nice name. Xiaowu said she'd give her Zhang Minghao. When the little girl was born, your second sister-in-law would call her Maisui after Maimiao. It was Xiaowu who gave her the full name Zhang Tong, saying it means prosperous. Your second sister-in-law will definitely have a prosperous life in the future. My Xiaowu is kind-hearted. I was afraid that she would favor boys over girls, so I deliberately gave her a pleasing name."

Zhou Jiao looked at Zhang's mother with amusement. As long as Xiaowu did something, her mother-in-law would always find a reason to speak well of Xiaowu. This mother really favored him.

"Mom, the new yard is ready. Do you want to invite everyone to a feast?"

Mother Zhang shook her head and said sadly, "No need. Nowadays, everyone has a much easier time. When we built this courtyard before, we had to dig the foundation and set out chickens, ducks, livestock, wine and meat to invite the God of Land. All the relatives and friends came to raise the beam. The firecrackers were deafening, and steamed buns and wedding cakes were scattered everywhere. Now, we just set up one or two tables on moving day. I also plan to follow the customs of the other families in the village. Your father also said to keep it simple and not show off. This time we have two large courtyards. If we hold a banquet, they will definitely label us as rich landlords.

The ground in the new yard has been compacted. It's finally finished. You can move in this month."

Zhou Jiao's eyes widened in surprise. "So soon, I thought it would be next month at the earliest."

"It was pretty fast. We were all in a hurry. Originally, Xiaowu and his two brothers planned to build a house similar to this one. But then, to save time, the bricklayer left some space and converted it into three rooms, two on the east and two on the west wings. This saved a lot of work. Plus, the carpenter finished the doors, windows, and gates ahead of time. So it was much faster, wasn't it? Xiaowu told you about this, right? Your father always said that bricklayers are kind people and they pay more for their work."

"Xiaowu said he'd reserved some land. A smaller size would be a good idea. There are only three of us, so a larger one wouldn't be much use. The old craftsman is a sincere man, so thankfully he made the arrangements. We'll pay the extra wages, too. My eldest brother and his wife are both so busy, and I'm the only one hiding in the house. Don't put it off. If they think you're biased, I won't let you suffer. Mom, listen to me. Spend some money, and everything will be fine if the family is happy."

Zhang's mother took out her hand, patted her, and sighed, "You are just a loose hand. Mother knows what's going on, so you can rest assured and take care of yourself. Even if you have money, you have to hide it. You won't be able to live like this in the future. Besides, it can't be just you and your wife who pay for it. Once you get used to giving money, they will be able to ask for money in the future. There are many days to come. Everyone has encountered difficulties, how can they all come to you and ask for help? You are still young and don't understand the ways of the world. If they even care about your confinement, then there is no point in getting along with you. Why don't they see that Xiaowu is worth three people by himself, and don't they see that you are both flesh and cloth. Not only them, but also their children, you two have taken care of them.

As for you, remember, you can give some, but absolutely not too much. Don't give too much on a regular basis, just give a couple of pieces of meat during holidays. If you need to give more, wait until they have a family celebration and then give more. If they give you something, don't worry about the value; you can return the favor with a similar gift. It's a matter of courtesy. Don't give them anything at any time. If you stop giving after a while, they'll think you've become stingy and become very dissatisfied.

Besides your brother and sister-in-law, everyone else is doing the same. What is the meaning of human interaction? It's the give-and-take that's human interaction. No matter how much, it's all thoughtfulness. Don't give expensive gifts, or else those petty-minded people will give you a bunch of green onions today, a clove of garlic tomorrow. Human hearts are unpredictable. Maybe when you give her something, she'll express gratitude on the surface, but in her heart she'll be cursing you for being stingy, thinking you're so old and don't give more, that you're too ungrateful and too greedy.

Mom knows you're soft-hearted and don't care about these things, but that's how people should be—watch out for each other, help each other, and get along well with each other. Don't you think your aunt is generous and straightforward? But whenever her family brings back game from hunting, she always gives most of it to us and my uncle's family. She doesn't usually give us meat, except last time when your grandfather came over and had guests, so your uncle gave us some. Later, when Xiaowu hunted a wild boar, I gave it to them as a return gift, and I didn't forget your uncle's family, because otherwise it would seem like our two families are united in displeasing her. That's the way of the world, the way people interact with each other.

Look at how much stuff your grandpa and your mom brought, so I asked your dad to send two bottles of wine over, and nothing else. Your aunt and uncle came to make dumplings, so I just brought them dumplings. Am I stingy? I'm not saying I can't bear to give away those things, but look at their seven sons. Did their in-laws send things over and give them to us? No, then there's no need to send them. If I do, they might think I'm showing off and offending them, so I'll just hide them. Why send wine? It's because I know your grandpa is coming, and giving two bottles of wine shows my appreciation. Remember, we're brothers, otherwise why not give it to others? This is also a form of human relations. If they cared, they wouldn't have come to help us build the yard. If they did, then I would just stay out of their way and just keep to myself. I've said so much, do you understand what I mean?"

Zhou Jiao nodded seriously. "I remember everything Mom said. No one taught me these things. If I do something wrong in the future, Mom will teach me and treat me like her daughter."

Mother Zhang said with a smile, "I treat you like my own daughter, don't I? I know you're filial, and I'm afraid your two sisters-in-law will gossip about me and your father, and that the relationship between the brothers won't be good, but what's due to you is yours. My little five is also kind and righteous, and he thinks of his brother in everything. As for you, keep a tight rein and don't listen to him."

Zhou Jiao laughed out loud when she heard this. "Mom, your mother-in-law is really partial. Fortunately, my sisters-in-law didn't hear it."

"Silly girl, you've got to be more careful after the family split up. I thought your mother would tell you that money is tight, but I see, that's not the case. Your mother is worse off than you, and she's more financially secure than you. She's afraid you'll be wronged, and not just you, but everyone in the family has received things from her. It makes me sad to see her squandering money. Even if she only earns a hundred yuan a month, she can't make ends meet."

Zhou Jiaole was so happy that she fell on the kang with laughter. It was so funny. It was really a waste of money. Her mother really scared her mother-in-law. Just looking at the cars driving in, you can tell that she was very generous.

"Mom, I see you two sisters get along pretty well. Didn't you ask her to save some money?"

Mother Zhang was also very happy when she thought of Lin Lishan. "It's no use saying it. Fortunately, the car drove back and there were so many things that no one could see them. Otherwise, the villagers would be scared. Your dad is back now, and he will probably spend money even more. He looks like he wants to give all the good things to you. Forget it. This couple is a perfect match. Just look at it, your dad will support your mom's spending money. Last night when he was drinking, he said he wanted to go fight a tiger and get the tiger skin for you to play with." After saying that, she shook her head. She had never seen anyone spoil a child like this.

Zhou Jiao was anxious. "Don't let my dad go to the mountains. The Siberian tiger is huge, almost 2 meters tall. I don't care about tiger skins. I have to let Xiaowu hold him tightly."

Mother Zhang patted her and said, "Don't worry, your father, your uncle, and your father will be fine. The three villages will go hunting together, and they won't go deep into the mountains. Your father grew up here, so he knows what to do."

Zhou Jiao nodded and secretly planned in her heart that when his father came back, she would keep a close eye on him and make him swear not to go into the mountains and to stay away from tigers and leopards if she met them.

"What do you want to eat for lunch? I think you're tired of pig's trotters and chicken. Fish would be great. I'd make a fish pot with tofu and some green onions."

"Mom, please stop talking. My mouth is watering."

Mother Zhang suddenly remembered that she had heard at the mill yesterday that the Xiao family at the village entrance had fish. It was a perfect treat for the in-laws and a change of taste for Jiaojiao. Since the family had been busy these past few days, Xiaowu could have gone to look for some. She hurriedly handed her grandson to Zhou Jiao. She didn't know if his family had finished eating, so she had to go check.

"I wish you peace. Mom will be out for a while. You lie down and have a rest. Don't go out." After saying this, she left in a hurry without waiting for a response, leaving Zhou Jiao confused and not knowing why her mother-in-law was so anxious.