Perhaps due to the effects of the alcohol, Li Laosi returned home with a flushed face and told his family about his plan to join Liu Biaotou on a delivery mission.
Sure enough, everyone was surprised to hear that they had received ten taels of silver.
This is equivalent to the income from two or three acres of land, and it's a bumper harvest year.
Wu Cuihua, in particular, had eyes that were practically glowing with greed. Just as she was about to speak, Li Lao Er gave her a light kick.
Remembering the beating she received last night, she immediately shrank back, but still muttered resentfully under her breath.
As a result, Li Lao Er chased him back into the house, and everyone was used to this scene.
"Fourth brother, it's not that I don't trust Chief Escort Liu, it's just... is this job reliable? Could there be any danger?"
Grandma Li tapped her pipe bowl, still feeling somewhat uneasy.
Tao Hongying held Jiayin without saying a word, her face also filled with worry.
Jiayin stretched out her chubby little hand to comfort her mother, but her hand was too short to reach, so she could only tug at her collar and whimper.
Grandma Li immediately took Jiayin and hugged her to comfort her, nuzzling her soft cheek.
"Is Fu Niu'er worried about your father? Don't be afraid, let's hear what your father has to say."
Li Laosi stepped forward, touched his daughter's little face, and smiled.
"Mother, please don't worry! This trip is to the south, where the weather is warm and the roads are easy to travel, so we won't suffer. Chief Escort Liu is trying to help me out so that our family can also have a good New Year!"
Upon hearing this, everyone felt a little relieved.
Liu, the镖头 (bodyguard/escort), has been in this line of work for many years and has plenty of capable people under his command, so he certainly doesn't need Li Laosi.
But he offered to take Li Laosi along on this escort mission, which was clearly intended to help the Li family.
After thinking for a moment, Grandma Li finally nodded.
"Alright! Go ahead, your two older brothers and I will take care of things at home, and don't worry about Hongying and Funiu!"
Seeing her husband's expression, Tao Hongying guessed that she couldn't stop him, so she could only nod in agreement.
Li Laosi snatched his daughter away and showered her with affection.
"Haha, with your lucky girl bringing some good luck to Daddy, Daddy will definitely come back safe and sound, and then our family will have a prosperous New Year!"
Jiayin winced as her father's beard pricked her, and she kept pushing him away with her disgusted little hands. Before she could ask for help, Jiayi had already started yelling.
"Grandma, I want to go too! I want to go on a delivery mission with Fourth Uncle! I sparred with the Liu family's kid at the delivery agency today, and he couldn't beat me! If he can go on a delivery mission, of course I can too."
Li Laosi also wanted his nephew to get some experience, so he put in a good word for him.
"Captain Liu praised Jiayi as a promising martial arts student, saying he might even pass the martial arts examination in the future. Why don't we let him come with me this time?"
Li Jiayin quickly reached out her little hand and ran towards Jiayi, thus successfully saving herself.
Jiaren went to school. Jiayi, the second brother, is naturally strong, so learning martial arts is a good choice for him.
Then she made a few noises, which no one could understand, but they saw her drool dripping out like a broken string of beads…
Old Mrs. Li glanced at Li Lao Er and saw him slowly nodding, so she didn't stop him.
"Alright, then Jiayi can go out with your fourth uncle to gain some experience. Just remember, you must listen to your fourth uncle and Chief Escort Liu, and don't cause any trouble!"
Li Jiayi jumped for joy and readily agreed.
Thus, the matter of the uncle and nephew going with Liu, the head镖师 (bodyguard/escort), to escort goods was settled.
However, Old Lady Li specifically instructed everyone not to let Wu Cuihua know for the time being, otherwise who knows what kind of trouble it might cause.
So, the group carried Wu Cuihua on their backs and prepared their luggage, food, and other necessities.
On the morning of their departure, everyone reluctantly saw Li Laosi and Jiayi off at the village entrance, leaving Wu Cuihua somewhat bewildered.
"Why is Jiayi following along? It's not like the fourth brother can't find the city gate. Does he expect Jiayi to escort him to the escort agency? What's with the fuss!"
As she was speaking, Wu Cuihua tried to pull her son away, but Li Lao Er pulled her back.
"Jiayi is going on a镖 (escort) mission with Lao Si, don't interfere."
"What? He's going too?" Wu Cuihua's eyes widened, and she shouted in a shrill voice.
"Oh dear, this is outrageous! They're sending my son out to earn money at such a young age! Isn't that sending him to his death? No way, absolutely not!"
"Shut up!" Li Lao Er said, his face flushed, as he tightly covered Wu Cuihua's mouth.
The Li family members all looked displeased, especially Tao Hongying.
Li Laosi had barely set off when Wu Cuihua's foul mouth made him sound so unlucky.
"Pah! Pah! Pah! If you say another word, I'll sew your mouth shut! Now get back home, you're just causing trouble!"
Old Mrs. Li scolded him with a dark face, and in her anger, she picked up Jiayin and turned to leave.
Li Laosi grabbed Jiayi and ran off quickly, disappearing in the blink of an eye.
In the end, only Wu Cuihua was left sitting at the village entrance throwing a tantrum, but unfortunately, no one paid any attention to her…
Three or four days passed in the blink of an eye, and Li Jiayin's 100th day arrived.
It's only the beginning of winter, but the cold wind is already particularly biting, stinging people's faces. Even Jiayin, who loves excitement the most, is staying on the kang (heated brick bed) and doesn't want to go out.
But Li Jiaren, who was studying in the county town, braved the wind and snow to return home, covered in cold air.
He went straight into the east room, bowed properly to his grandmother, and then stood at a distance, looking at his younger sister with a smile on his face.
Jiayin was trying hard to roll over, her little face turning red from holding it in. As soon as she succeeded, a cute rag doll appeared in front of her.
Jiayin reached out her little hand and grabbed it, grinning to reveal her pink gums, and shook the doll at her brother.
"Grandma, this is a 100-day gift I prepared for my little sister. It's not worth much."
Grandma Li pulled her grandson onto the kang (a heated brick bed), saying, "It's good that you care about your sister. What does it matter if she's valuable or not? What's most valuable is that your sister likes you."
Grandma Li smiled and pinched her granddaughter's chubby little face, then picked her up and put her in her grandson's arms.
"Give your little sister a hug, so she can share in our little lucky girl's good fortune!"
Fearing that the cold air from his body would affect his younger sister, Jiaren had no choice but to lift her up.
Jiayin loves being lifted high in the air; her laughter is so cheerful and joyful.
When she looked down, she noticed with her sharp eyes that her brother's feet were purple from the cold, as if he had frostbite. She was immediately heartbroken.
What a tragedy! There are no cotton socks or snow boots in this world. My brother's cotton shoes are newly made, but there are no socks.
How can one not feel cold sitting in the classroom all day, relying on a charcoal brazier for warmth?
We should hurry up and think of some ways to keep warm.
While Grandma Li was asking her grandson about the academy's food, clothing, accommodation, and transportation, Jiayin was rummaging through her spatial storage and actually found two rubber hot water bottles.
But this thing is a modern invention, and it's risky to take it out rashly.
So, after dinner, the whole family went back to their rooms.
Jiayin insisted on staying with her grandmother, so I carefully took the hot water bottle out of my storage space and placed it next to her pillow.
Sure enough, the old lady was stunned by the sudden appearance of the hot water bottle and remained silent for a long time.
Li Jiayin was anxious and pointed at the hot water bottle, making a series of "ah ah" sounds.
Grandma Li finally came to her senses, touched her wildly beating heart, and whispered to her granddaughter.
"Fu Niu'er, is this for your family?"
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