"I actually prefer the big pot of rice cakes from the North. Could you please make a pot with me later, sister-in-law?" Liao Hongying picked up a small, rectangular piece of white rice cake, about the length of her palm, and said leisurely, "I always feel that our rice cakes are sticky and chewy, with a soft and slightly grainy texture from the kidney beans! I like that!"
"Sure! What's so difficult about that? Fatty and I ground a lot of glutinous rice flour, just for making the big pot of rice cakes you mentioned! We also have kidney beans, add more if you like!"
As Wu Chunhua spoke, she patted the basket, indicating that they didn't need to worry, as the rice flour for the sticky rice cake was already available!
"The beans are all ready and sitting in the kitchen. Have a drink of water before you start cooking!"
Liu had soaked the kidney beans and red beans last night, and they were ready to be cooked now. She also had many other things to do, such as preparing the ancestral tablets.
Qin San Niang had already asked each family in advance. Most of the people in Shiligou were surnamed Chen, so naturally the Chen family had ancestral halls. However, other surnames, such as Cheng Shi, worshipped their ancestors in their own homes, and the ancestral tablets were also maintained by themselves!
On Qin San Niang's side, she could only worship the ancestors of the Qin family. By her father's generation, the ancestral tablets of the Qin family were naturally taken away by her uncles and aunts when they fled. As for where the Qin family village fled to, she did not know!
Fortunately, before leaving, Liu went to the ancestral hall to retrieve her late husband's memorial tablet, as a way to leave a memento for her branch of the family. If her son were still alive, he could pass on their lineage in the future!
She believed that her youngest son was still alive, and she also believed that her son was so intelligent that he could turn the danger into safety!
When A-Yuan was born, the monk who came to beg for alms looked delighted and said that the child was blessed and would surely turn danger into safety and misfortune into good fortune. Because of this, Old Man Qin and his wife doted on their son, which led to his unruly personality. He even went so far as to say that he was going to join the army without saying a word. How could his mother, Liu, live like this?! Whenever she thought of this, Liu felt extremely sad!
Qin Jiangqiu's younger brother, the fifth in the family, is named Qin Siyuan, also known as Qin Wulang. He was intelligent and quick-witted from a young age, a natural talent for martial arts!
How good was he? In the original owner's memory, there was a Hunyuan Temple thirty miles east of Qin Family Village. The old monk in the temple happened to see his younger brother once and insisted on taking him as his disciple and teaching him martial arts, saying that he had extraordinary bones and was a once-in-a-century talent!
If it were the current Qin Jiangqiu, he would definitely think that person was an old swindler! What if he were a child trafficker! In short, he would definitely ignore him!
However, the original owner and Qin Siyuan clearly believed it without a doubt, otherwise, the subsequent events would not have occurred!
In short, Qin Siyuan began going up the mountain every day. Liu Shi didn't know what the boy was going to do in the mountains, because Qin San Niang told her that her younger brother was going up the mountain to listen to the monk preach.
Nowadays, people admire Buddhism, and those who can understand the scriptures must be extremely intelligent children! The young Liu actually believed it and had no doubt that her children were conspiring to deceive her!
However, many years passed, and Qin Wulang gradually grew up into a handsome young man. Qin Sanniang still couldn't see how profound her younger brother's martial arts skills were!
She only saw him demonstrate his skills once, when he was preparing to leave home to put her mind at ease. Under the moonlight, the young man wore a coarse cloth shirt and a short jacket, his thick hair all tied up on top of his head, not a single strand out of place! He used a tree branch as a sword, and yellow leaves danced with the branch in the moonlight. The original owner didn't understand; that was called sword energy! If a martial arts expert saw this, they would surely praise, "What excellent skills the young man has!"
“Sister, I’ve come to see you today, but it seems we must part ways! My master has sent me to join the army on the border. The country is unstable, and this is a good time to make a name for myself. What I worry about most is you and Mother.” The young man’s voice choked slightly at this point, but seeing his sister’s searching gaze, he steadied his voice. “Sister, this journey will be long and arduous. Please take good care of yourself! Your brother will certainly strive to make a future for you!”
"Is it absolutely necessary to go? Does Mother know?" The original owner was panicked. She knew her younger brother had always been a strong-willed person; once he made a decision, few could sway him. However, the current situation was turbulent, and war could break out at any moment. Joining the army would undoubtedly mean certain death. She didn't want wealth and status; she only wanted her family to be safe and healthy!
Clearly, Qin Siyuan wouldn't give her that chance. He knew his older sister all too well. Quickly adjusting his mindset, Qin Siyuan smiled and assured the original owner, "Sister, I've always had the luck to turn misfortune into good fortune. Even if the battlefield is dangerous, I'll definitely be fine! Don't be afraid, sister. But after I leave, I'll need you to take good care of Mother."
She then stepped forward, rested her head on the original owner's shoulder, and said softly, "Sister, this matter is of utmost importance. I must go! If the country falls, you will all be gone!"
It was this one sentence that made the original owner's words of dissuasion stuck in her throat: her younger brother has his own ambitions and should not be buried because of them.
So, wiping away her tears, she patted Qin Siyuan's shoulder, smoothed the stray hairs from his forehead like she did when he was a child, and forced a smile. "Siyuan, you've grown up. If you think it's the right thing to do, then go for it! Don't worry about Mother. I'll go visit her whenever I have time. But you must promise your older sister that you'll calm down and think things through carefully no matter what happens. Mother and I are still waiting for you to come home! Don't act impulsively. Staying alive is the most important thing!"
“I know, sister, don’t worry. I still need to work hard to get Mother an official title and to secure a future for you and your nephews! I don’t have any worries about your husband, but your stepmother and sister-in-law are both wicked. You must be very careful! If possible, it would be best to separate the family from them. I’ve already discussed this with my brother-in-law, and he’s agreed. We’re just waiting for the right opportunity,” Qin Siyuan said, frowning.
Mother's side naturally has the support of her uncles and elders, and with her reputation and seniority in the village over the years, there's no need to worry about anyone causing trouble. However, there are some uncertainties on my sister's side. My brother-in-law is honest but inflexible, and my stepmother, Qin, and her sisters-in-law are in cahoots. Although my sister is smart, she can't escape the constraints of social norms and the importance of filial piety. If it weren't for the law, he might have considered punishing Qin and the others so they could never cause trouble again.
They could only secretly find their nephew, Da Wa, and tell him that if anything happened in the future, he should persuade his mother to leave the Wang family and go to Qinjiacun to find his grandmother. Even if it was a matter of fleeing, they should separate from the Wang family.
My mother still has a few dozen taels of silver. If the group could escape with the Qin clan, they might have a chance to survive. But if they followed that wicked woman, Qin, there would be no hope of survival whatsoever! I only hope he can fulfill the old monk's request soon and return home quickly. If his family has really gone to escape, where will he find them?
Regardless, Qin Siyuan left so quickly that the original owner felt like she was dreaming!
The next day, I managed to find some free time to go back to my parents' home, and when I saw my mother's red eyes, I realized I wasn't dreaming!
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