She jumped up and turned to look. Sure enough, there were two dark-skinned young men standing at the door, grinning with white teeth, just like she remembered.
"Fourth Brother, Fifth Brother!" Jiayin couldn't hold back any longer and rushed over to hug them tightly.
Jiaren and Lige couldn't resist either, and rushed over, the siblings hugging each other tightly.
Cat Bro, following behind, giggled and shouted, "Hey, you can't forget me! I want a hug too!"
Jiaren reached out and pulled him, and the six siblings huddled together.
Seeing this, Li Lao Er and Mr. Wen were also happy and invited the children to sit down.
Jiayin wiped away her tears and hurried to the kitchen to prepare two delicious dishes for her returning brothers, both of which were their favorites.
When she carried the tray into the house, Jiaxi was talking animatedly about going to sea.
Everyone listened with smiles, occasionally asking a question out of curiosity.
As soon as Jiayin came in, Jiaxi and Jia'an pulled her to sit in the middle, shouting as if they were taking credit.
"Little sister, I brought you lots of good things, they're all on the boat, they'll be delivered to your home tomorrow." Jiaxi was still her usual lively and cheerful self.
Jia'an was more composed and explained, "On this voyage, we'll travel around in every country we visit. We'll bring back about half of the things you've found."
"We also packed some things that we thought were interesting. Take a look at them; if they come in handy, all the effort won't have been in vain."
Jiayin wanted to speak, but her nose still stung with tears. She choked out, "Brother, it's good that you're back safe and sound. It doesn't matter whether you brought anything or not."
Jiaxi laughed heartily, extremely proud of himself, "We're lucky and have a long life, of course nothing will happen to us. But we must take our things with us; how can we go out empty-handed?"
Jia'an guessed that his younger sister must have been under a lot of pressure these past two years, and gently comforted her, "It was our insistence to go to sea in the first place, not your idea. Even if something happened, it was our fate. Besides, we've returned safely now, so don't worry about it."
“From now on, I will no longer go to sea. Even your fourth brother will only travel between Jinfo Kingdom and Quanzhou at most. He will definitely not take any more risks.”
Sure enough, these words truly comforted Jiayin, and she finally smiled.
Ever since she learned that her brothers had returned safely, her biggest worry has been that they would have to go out to sea again.
To be honest, she and her family never want to experience the ordeal of their loved ones going missing and not knowing whether they are alive or dead again.
Everyone picked up their chopsticks again and started eating and talking.
Jiaxi and Jia'an talked a lot, but they also ate with gusto, devouring the food as quickly as possible.
"Waaah, what I miss most about home while I'm away is this food. My sister made it, my fourth aunt made it, and my grandma made it. I'm drooling in my dreams." Jiaxi picked up the last piece of sweet and sour pork ribs, reluctant to eat it.
Jia'an nodded in agreement, adding, "Luckily, my sister taught us how to sprout beans, otherwise we would have suffered terribly at sea, eating fish until we were sick of it."
Jiayin quickly said, "Now that we're home, we can eat as much as we want. I'll cook delicious meals for you every day!"
Jia'an asked, "I heard you're going to the palace every few days to be the Third Princess's study companion? Has anyone in the palace been giving you trouble? Have you been bullied?"
Jiaxi also threw down the ribs and glared, "That's right, Grandma and Uncle are also worried. They're afraid you usually only report good news in your letters and not bad news, so they want us to come back and see for ourselves."
Jiayin waved her hand with a smile and replied, "Brothers, don't worry. The Third Princess may have a bad temper, but she's actually a good person. She's my best friend now and takes good care of me. She hasn't bullied me at all."
"As for that... old woman, she certainly caused a lot of trouble, but your sister is so smart, how could she possibly suffer a loss? On the contrary, she became my whetstone and learned a lot from me."
"Besides, I have my godfather and my royal uncle protecting me. I'm fine with everything. I'll just treat it as working in the palace, and I'll even get a few days off every now and then."
Jiaxi and Jia'an subconsciously looked at the Marquis and Li Lao Er and the others, clearly afraid that their sister was lying and did not want them to worry.
The Marquis smiled and nodded, giving his testimony on behalf of his daughter.
"Don't worry, Fu Niu'er is doing very well in the palace, no one dares to bully her."
Li Lao Er also said, "Fu Niu'er can stay at home for two days after staying in the palace for three days. Since you've come back this time, she can take a long vacation and stay at home for a while longer."
Jiaxi and Jia'an were finally completely relieved.
Jiayin asked with great interest, "Where are my fourth sister-in-law and nephew? Why didn't you bring them back with you?"
Jiaxi replied, "We were on the boat, originally planning to go to Xindu tomorrow, but our fourth uncle and his men came to greet us. We couldn't resist, we really wanted to go home."
"So we entrusted the affairs on the ship to our eldest uncle's steward and followed our fourth uncle on horseback back. Your fourth sister-in-law and the children couldn't travel with us, so they stayed on the ship as well."
"You should be able to see her tomorrow. Your fourth sister-in-law has prepared a lot of traditional clothing and jewelry from her Golden Buddha Kingdom for you. Even my son, who heard that his aunt can make pastries, is looking forward to seeing you every day."
Jiayin smiled, her eyes crinkling into crescent moons, and readily agreed, "Our family runs a pastry shop, so even if we lack something, we'll never lack pastries. I'll light the oven first thing tomorrow morning, and I'll bake some pastries for my little nephew myself!"
Wan'er also said, "The courtyard where you will be staying has been prepared and you can move in at any time."
"Thank you, sister-in-law. You've gone to so much trouble," Jiaxi quickly said.
Jia'an, who had no wife or children, said, "I live with Li-ge and Mao-ge, so we can talk more at night."
Cat Brother, not seeing Jia Huan, asked, "Where's Second Brother? Is he still at the restaurant?"
"Yes, we'll have someone call him back in a bit. He thought you were going into town tomorrow, but who would have thought you'd come back tonight?" Li Lao Er replied, then sent someone to inform Xiankelai.
When Jia Huan rushed back, the dining table had already been cleared away.
Just like when they were children, Jiaxi and Jia'an rushed forward and grabbed Jia Huan, calling out "Second Brother" over and over again.
Jia Huan laughed until tears streamed down her face, and she kept saying how much her two younger brothers had grown.
He was a naughty boy when he left home, but now he's an adult.
The young men gathered together and naturally had endless things to talk about. Li Lao Er, Lord Hou, Mr. Wen, and others gave them space and dispersed early.
The boys were left to gather on the large kang (heated brick bed) in the side room, chatting about everything under the sun.
Jiayin was like a happy little bee, busy serving tea, snacks, and fruits, piling the kang table to the brim.
The siblings chatted until midnight, their voices almost hoarse, before finally closing their mouths and getting a good night's sleep.
The next morning, Jiaxi and Jia'an didn't have time to eat. They grabbed two meat buns each and hurriedly returned to the fleet to rejoin the others.
By midday, the docks outside Xindu were packed with people.
Upon hearing the news, almost all the people who weren't in a hurry rushed over, eager to catch a glimpse of the envoys from the eight nations.
Today's update is here! New year, new look, let's live life to the fullest!
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