The next day, Li's children and grandchildren gathered around the old lady, who then announced that after she passed away, the family mansion would be left to the fourth branch of the family.
Even after the house was built, when it was registered at the government office, it was directly registered under the fourth son's name.
The second and third sons' families would contribute money to build additional houses for their children when they grew up and needed to get married.
Li Lao Er and Li Lao San had no objections, but Li Lao Si objected.
After all, the eldest son inherits the family business. With the eldest brother gone, it should be the second brother living in the house, so why did it fall to him?
Tao Hongying blushed and declined, afraid that her close sister-in-law would think she was bewitching the old lady behind her back.
In the end, it was Grandma Li who made the final decision: "I just favor Fu Niu. If she weren't so young, I would have wanted to register her under her name directly."
Everyone fell silent, especially Li Laosi and his wife, whose feelings were truly complicated.
Their daughter is not even two years old, and they're already benefiting from her fame...
In front of the villagers, Old Lady Li gave the silver to the village chief, using a ready-made excuse: she had borrowed the silver from Madam Cui and would repay it later.
The villagers all protested against accepting the house, since they had all been saved and were living good lives because of the Li family. They felt it was only right and proper to build a house for the Li family for free.
But Grandma Li insisted on giving it to her, so the village chief accepted it on her behalf.
He knew very well that the Li family didn't want to take advantage of the village, lest someone living in a cramped house see that the Li family's yard was big and gossip broke the harmony.
These fifty taels of silver would allow the Li family to stand tall in front of the entire village, and no one would dare to utter a single word of dissent.
It must be said that Grandma Li's strength and foresight are truly remarkable...
Madam Cui stayed for a day, taking a hot spring bath with the village women, and then went to the fields to check on the peanut and sweet potato planting before returning to the manor.
Liu Zhiheng had already swiftly taken care of the neighboring estate and contacted the Guo family.
Guo's nephew negotiated the price, and in the end, the estate was registered under the name of Guo Shanzhang's grandson.
Perhaps it was because the price of the estate was too favorable, or perhaps it was because he knew that Madam Cui was his daughter-in-law's classmate, and he was also thinking of the late Scholar Cui, that Master Guo insisted on visiting to express his gratitude just a few days after moving to the new estate.
After thinking for a moment, Madam Cui sent a message to Suijintan and even went to invite Old Master Liu in person.
Liu Zhiheng, of course, would not hide it from his father and had already explained the connection between the Guo family and his junior sister.
Old Master Liu felt sympathy and understood that his niece was afraid that Headmaster Guo might hear the bad news and suffer some mishap, so she wanted to ask him to take charge. Therefore, he readily agreed.
On the other side of Broken Gold Beach, Old Lady Li had the same concern, so she specially invited Doctor Zhang to have dinner with her.
Tao Hongying made stuffed tofu with minced meat, garlic-flavored bok choy, and jade cabbage rolls. She also made an extra bowl of braised noodles for the old doctor.
Doctor Zhang got along particularly well with the village chief and Uncle Zhao, and they ate and slept together all the time. Whenever the Li family had a good dish, they would send him a portion.
But such special preparations are rare, given the limited resources available.
The doctor was very satisfied with the meal and naturally agreed to go with him the next day.
Jiayin also wanted to join in the fun and take a walk to clear her head.
So she snuggled into the old lady's arms and said sweetly, "Grandma, I want to go too!"
Grandma Li disagreed, "No, last time Madam Cui took you to the village and almost caused a lot of trouble. You should stay home with Grandma. Grandma will take you to Xiao Wang Village to buy meat bones tomorrow, okay?"
Jiayin looked miserable, pouted, and played with her fingers with a wronged expression, neither saying yes nor no.
Before the old lady could soften her heart, the whole family couldn't take it anymore.
Zhao Yuru quickly interceded, "Mother, there's a lot of work to do lately, and we don't have enough people to take care of Fu Niu. Why don't we let him go?"
“Yes, Mother, if you’re worried, then let the fourth brother carry it.” Li Laosan said with a simple smile.
Li Lao Er even hugged his niece and said with a smile, "Mother, if it really doesn't work, I'll come with you and take care of Fu Niu."
Grandma Li was both amused and exasperated. "The whole family are good people, except for me, the only wicked grandmother, right?"
Jiayin quickly ran back to her grandmother's arms, smearing her grandmother's face with drool, "Grandma is the best, Grandma loves Fu Niu the most."
The old lady gently patted her granddaughter's bottom and replied helplessly, "Go on, go on, but your father and the others have important things to discuss. Behave yourself and don't be naughty."
"Okay, Grandma!" Jiayin was overjoyed. She fluttered around her family like a little butterfly, giving each of them a kiss as a thank you, which made everyone laugh.
Jia An and Jia Xi were also tempted, but they wanted to look after the melon patch.
Fortunately, Jiayin didn't forget her two older brothers and promised, "Brothers, I'll bring you delicious food when I come back."
The two boys immediately beamed with joy!
Jiaren thought of the Guo family's collection of books, hesitated for a moment, and said, "Grandma, I also want to go with Fourth Uncle to take a look."
Old Mrs. Li immediately agreed, “Go ahead, wash your hair, change into a long gown, and dress neatly. You are a scholar, and you’ve been suffering these days.”
Jiaren followed along, working up the mountain and down to the fields. He became tanned and thin, and his hands were cracked.
Even so, he continued to practice writing with his left hand on the stone every day. His family saw this and were willing for him to go out for a walk.
Tao Hongying and Zhao Yuru were busy finding clothes for Jiaren and giving Jiayin a bath, trying their best to make the children look presentable when they went out the next day.
They came from humble beginnings, and that can't be changed, but at least they shouldn't be ridiculed for their unkempt appearance.
Early the next morning, Li Laosi and Liu Biaotou drove a mule cart, carrying Doctor Zhang and Jiaren Jiayin, and set off.
Madam Cui's estate wasn't far, but the mule cart couldn't travel fast, and by the time they arrived, the sun was already high in the sky.
Mrs. Cui, Mr. Wen, and Liu Zhiheng were all brought out.
When Mrs. Cui and Mr. Wen met Dr. Zhang, they were overjoyed and felt even more confident.
Liu Zhiheng was unaware of Doctor Zhang's identity, and upon hearing about it, he became even more curious about Broken Gold Beach.
Weren't they supposed to be refugees from the north? How come there's a miracle doctor among them?
The group entered the house and paid their respects to Old Master Liu.
Having heard that Jiaren was Mr. Wen's disciple and also the successor of Grand Scholar Cui, Old Master Liu carefully tested Jiaren's studies.
Finally, when he looked at Jiaren's left-handed writing, he was extremely satisfied.
Upon hearing that Jiaren's right hand was injured by a wolf while saving his younger brother, and that his left hand was used to practice calligraphy on a stone slab with a brush dipped in water, he was overjoyed and praised him repeatedly.
He even had his son prepare a box of paper, ink, brushes, and inkstones to give to Jiaren as a gift for his grandmaster.
Li Laosi led Jiaren to express their gratitude, and even Jiayin followed suit, the chubby girl looking quite respectful, which made everyone laugh non-stop.
At this moment, Headmaster Guo arrived with his nephew and grandson, bringing generous gifts.
Jiayin hid behind others and quietly observed Guo Shanzhang, an elderly man around sixty years old. He was a very refined and upright traditional scholar. Perhaps due to poor health, his expression showed some frailty, but his back was ramrod straight.
The Guo family's grandson looked to be about four or five years old, with a pale face and was very thin.
Looking at Guo's nephew, Jiayin frowned slightly. He was portly and had a smiling face, but something just felt off about him...?
I had some family matters to attend to, so the update is a bit late. Thank you all for waiting so patiently. Here's the third update. Please beg for more updates and five-star reviews!
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