450 Unlucky Zhou Heng
Ping'an saw the familiar village gate in the afterglow. He had been away from home for too long. He left home at the age of fifteen and returned home at the age of eighteen.
Wan Changsheng and his uncle were watching the two children playing in the yard when they suddenly heard the sound of a carriage at the gate of the manor and someone shouted, "Master Ping'an is back, Master Ping'an is back."
"Safety?"
Sun Hongyu hurried out: "It's been three years since this kid left."
Wan Changsheng hurriedly started to jog, but Xier turned around and ran into the house to call her mother. Her mother was crying so much that her eyes were almost broken because she missed her brother so much.
Pingxuan was stunned for a moment, then started running after his uncle. He was already four years old this year, so of course he knew that he had an older brother in the family.
Mei Niang was looking for a change of clothes in the house when she saw her daughter running in like the wind.
"Xi'er, a girl can't run away like this, I'll follow you"
"Mom, now is not the time to talk about this. My eldest brother is back, and my father and uncle have gone to pick him up. I am the only one thinking of you."
Mei Niang started to jog.
This was the second time his son had left him for such a long time since he grew up. The first time was when he went to the northern border, then to Yingtian, and this time was another three years.
Xier chased for a few steps and then slowed down, pouting, "Isn't it me who is running? Mom only knows how to criticize her."
She tugged at her clothes with her little hands and touched the pearl flowers on her head to make sure there was nothing wrong before walking out.
When she walked into the yard, her mother was holding her eldest brother's hand and crying. Xiaobao was held in her eldest brother's arms, looking at him and smiling foolishly.
Her elder brother is taller and more handsome now.
Ping'an saw the little girl walking towards him at a glance. The girl was tall and thin, wearing a pink dress and was as beautiful as a peach blossom.
She perfectly avoided his father's imperial-style face, and looked a lot like her mother, and naturally a bit like him too.
"Xi'er, you haven't forgotten your brother, right?"
Xi'er politely bowed to Ping'an: "Xi'er greets big brother."
"Be good, I'll get you a gift later."
Tong Miao and Xiao Wu brought their children forward and bowed to Mei Niang and the others: "Tong Miao (Xiao Wu) brings the children to pay respects to Madam, Master, and Uncle Old Master."
Mei Niang finally woke up from her joy of seeing her son: "Tong Miao, Xiao Wu, is this your son? Has he grown so big?"
"Madam, his name is Wucheng. We usually call him Cheng'er. He is already three years old."
Leng Shui also carried the child with Tong Lin to greet the mistress and the master.
Mei Niang hurriedly took out two red envelopes from her purse and said, "I really don't have anything prepared today, I will definitely give you gifts later.
Ping An, have them settle in the main courtyard quickly and come over for dinner later. Xizhi and the others have cleaned the courtyard very well."
Xiao Wu said, "Master, I will take them downstairs then."
Erqiang and his wife went back. There were exactly ten of them, not too many, so it was okay for them to have dinner at the lady's place tonight.
The three strong men hurried over: "Ping An, you are back?"
"Well, third cousin, how are you these days?"
Sanqiang has also grown a lot taller, estimated to be around 1.72 meters, and is gentle and handsome, looking completely different from Erqiang.
"Your second brother and his wife have taken the children home. They will probably be back in October."
San Qiang laughed and said, "My uncle and aunt will be very happy."
The academy had a long holiday in July, so he studied in the study in the main courtyard during the day. Xiaobao was really noisy here.
Sun Hongyu said, "You've been traveling for so many days, aren't you tired? Come into the house quickly."
Wan Changsheng and Mei Niang both laughed, they were so happy that they were confused.
"All is well. Zhou Heng is also taking part in the provincial examination this year. He is currently living in the eldest son's house."
Ping An was stunned: "I heard from Master that his luck is not very good, otherwise even if his ranking is not good, he still has a good chance of passing the exam."
Wan Changsheng sat down and said, "He was indeed unlucky. When he was about to hand in his last exam paper, he accidentally scribbled some ink. I heard it was a policy paper, so he must have lost points. Even so, he still made the secondary list. What a pity."
Sun Hongyu took over the conversation: "His grandfather passed away more than a year ago. As a grandson, he has to observe mourning for a year. If he misses half a month, he won't be able to participate this time."
Mei Niang sighed, "His grandfather basically didn't take care of him these years, and his uncle was even worse. He didn't even plan to send anyone to tell him about this. It was your uncle and your father who treated his grandfather and told him that he died within two days. Zhou Heng went to look for him himself, otherwise he would have been criticized even for taking the imperial examination in the future."
"There's no need to have any contact with this uncle and aunt in the future." Ping'an was also a little angry. Is it good to treat a nephew whose parents have both passed away like this?
Besides, this nephew will have a good future, and the family will still have time to regret it.
Mrs. Liu bought the house for Ping An before he left. They have a son and a daughter, one of whom is currently with Xiao Bao and the other with Xi Er.
The man Liu Ping does all the big and small things at home very well, and now everyone calls him Manager Liu.
His son Liu Hu is thirteen years old this year. Before leaving, Ping An promised that as long as he worked hard, he would let him follow him in the future.
He is too different from Xiaobao, so it is not suitable for him to be a personal servant.
My daughter Liu Fang is ten years old this year, just the right size for Xier, who is nine years old.
Mei Niang was very satisfied with this family, and asked Liu Hu to light two oil lamps in the main room. It was dusk, and the room was a little dark, but it became bright after the lamps were lit.
Ping An took out the gift he had prepared long ago.
First, it was Xiaobao. He prepared a large box of various conch shells for him, all strung with strings. They could be worn around the neck and could make sounds by blowing. The little guy liked it at once.
What was given to Xier was an exquisite wooden box, which contained various pearl jewelry that he had asked the craftsmen in Chen Xuan's family to make for him, including earrings, bracelets, necklaces, pearl flowers, and pearl hairpins.
Chen Xuan made six sets for him, one set for his mother and Xier, one set for his sister in Beijing, and one set for Awu. The remaining two sets will be put into the betrothal gifts in the future. The style, including the beads, is very good.
There are still a lot of odds and ends, but they are not complete sets. I can just keep them for my mother to give away.
Xier opened it carefully and smiled from ear to ear.
Ping'an also handed a set to his mother.
He took out a wooden box and handed it over: "Xier, take the wooden box when you go out, and wear these at home."
Everything in this wooden box was bought in Minzhou City. They are strung with the lowest quality beads. But they are pearls after all, so they are still beautiful.
"Ping An, why are there so many?"
Mei Niang opened it and saw that it was full.
"Mom, the ones in the small box just now were made by the craftsmen in the shop. They look good when you go out to visit guests. These are much worse. I just bought them in the city for Xier to wear for fun."
A large box cost only a dozen taels of silver, but the little girls all liked it, and he also bought one for Awu.
"How can they be bad? They are all real pearls, but a little smaller, and some are not so round. If you wear them on your head or hand, no one will notice them.
Xi'er, keep this box of good ones to yourself. It won't be too late to wear them in two years. Now just wear these, they are also made of pearls."
Mei Niang found two pearl flowers, a bracelet and a necklace and handed them to her daughter. She had to keep the rest for later use.
Ping An gave a pair of glasses to Dad and Uncle: "Uncle, Dad, these are rare. They are made by foreigners. They are made of real good crystal. Uncle, try them on. Dad is still young. Keep them well and use them again in a few years."
The one he gave to my great uncle was of a slightly stronger degree. The old man is already 58 years old this year.
The one he gave to his father was the kind with a slightly lighter degree, which was for old men to use.
"Ping An, I know this. Sicheng's grandfather once had a painting that was extremely precious. I heard that a painting costs more than 100 taels of silver, and it's impossible to buy it."
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