After saying that, she took Granny He's hand and said with a smile, "It's so good that you've come to our home. You've been a great help in just a few days!"
Granny He was also pleased. If they were in the palace, no matter how satisfied or grateful the master was, he would only remain aloof and say a few words indifferently.
Now, the old lady of the Li family doesn't care at all that she's a servant. Instead, she treats her like an old sister, so close that she can't get used to it, but her heart feels strangely full.
It seems that coming to the Li family was definitely the right decision...
The old lady had a short temper; once she got out of bed, she wanted to go home to prepare.
Jiayin happily clung to her grandmother's back, wanting to follow her to see her grandmother's "little treasure trove"!
My eldest uncle has brought back a lot of nice things for my grandmother these past few times from the south, including two large camphor wood chests.
She had been eyeing it for a long time. Even if she didn't dare to take advantage of the situation, she could still try to squeeze out a little something.
The old lady chuckled and scolded her granddaughter, but still bent over and happily carried her home on her back.
Shui Ling and Shui Yun carried the young lady's shoes and followed behind.
When Tao Hongying returned from the valley, she saw her daughter playing with pearls like marbles on the kang (a heated brick bed), and she guessed that her daughter had done something "bad" again.
So she scooped up her daughter, held her close, and asked, "You little rascal, have you ruined Grandma's good stuff again?"
Jiayin grinned and hugged her mother tightly, trying to cover it up. "Mom, you're wronging me! I didn't do anything wrong. I even helped Grandma prepare a gift for Sister Peng! If you don't believe me, just ask Grandma!"
Grandma Li glared at her granddaughter, but couldn't bring herself to contradict her, and replied, "Fu Niu'er did help me."
After saying that, she called to her daughter-in-law, "Come quickly and help me see if these items are okay to bring when I propose marriage to Jia Huan?"
Tao Hongying tapped her daughter's little nose before sitting down and opening the fabric to discuss it with her mother-in-law.
Jiayin immediately picked up a few large pearls and ran away. If her mother found out that she had "extorted" some good stuff from her grandmother again, she would probably get a spanking.
Seeing her daughter run out the door like a rabbit, Tao Hongying couldn't help but laugh and say, "Mother, has this girl's money-grubbing habit struck again?"
The old lady laughed, "Don't wrong our Fu Niu'er, this child is conscious of money, but definitely not stingy! Not to mention the bracelet she bought before, just look at this time, two of the pieces of material here were brought by her!"
Tao Hongying sighed, "Even if she did take it out, she got it from the Marquis or Jinrou. Sometimes I'm really afraid that this girl will grow up to be unruly. There are too many people who love her, and none of them have the heart to discipline her!"
The old lady wasn't worried about that at all. She comforted her daughter-in-law, "Fu Niu'er is very smart. She knows what she's doing. Besides, children learn by example. Our family has a good tradition, so this girl is bound to be good."
The next morning, Lord Zhou arrived with the craftsmen.
Soon, the village heads from the three villages also led their villagers to help in a grand procession.
Once everyone was gathered together, they quickly got to work.
Today we need to clear the ground and dig the foundation; it's all hard work.
Therefore, the village chief specially sent someone to buy two chickens and a large piece of pork.
For lunch, I steamed white rice, stewed chicken with mushrooms, stewed pork belly with green beans, and added a large bucket of seaweed and egg soup.
After a busy morning, everyone was covered in sweat. They washed themselves clean by the river and then started eating from big bowls.
The village chief, along with three village heads, Lord Zhou, and two minor officials, sat in a thatched shed, eating around a table. Two more stir-fried dishes were added to the table.
Li Laosi was busy, and Li Yong had gone to the dock yesterday. He had just arrived home on horseback and, smelling the aroma of food, came over. He was pulled to sit down with everyone.
Li Yong felt somewhat uncomfortable seeing his brother-in-law there as well.
The argument was so intense that day that he couldn't say who was right and who was wrong, but he knew he could never go back to the way things were with his family.
In particular, when he went to the dock yesterday, he took the documents for the division of the household registration to the yamen and changed his household registration.
Now, apart from his surname being Yan, he has no other connection with the Yan family.
Seeing his appearance, Lord Zhou didn't say anything more.
After the meal, everyone rested for a while while waiting for the stones and timber to be delivered. Lord Zhou pulled Li Yong to take a walk by the river.
Li Yong thought his brother-in-law was going to scold him, and he was mentally prepared.
He wasn't close to his two older brothers since childhood, but he spent a lot of time with his brother-in-law, and his sister genuinely loved him.
So even if he disagrees, he's willing to listen quietly if his brother-in-law has something to say.
Unexpectedly, Lord Zhou spoke up, "My father-in-law has been dismissed from his post and can no longer stay in Xindu. He will be setting off tomorrow to return to his ancestral home to live out his remaining years. Once he leaves, he may never have the chance to come back. If you wish, please go and see him off!"
Li Yong was somewhat surprised, then fell silent. After a long while, he asked, "Brother-in-law, do you also think I was wrong?"
Lord Zhou sighed and patted him on the shoulder.
"It's hard to say who's right and who's wrong in this matter, but if someone were to harm my wife and children, I certainly wouldn't tolerate it. Now that things have come to this, don't think too much about it. Just live a good life with Hui Niang from now on. If you need anything, come to me and your sister. Everyone else in the family has left, and only you and your sister are left in Xindu. You should visit each other more often!"
"Don't worry, brother-in-law, I know," Li Yong replied sullenly.
Just then, a convoy arrived from afar, and everyone rushed to help unload the stones and timber. The two men then got to work as well…
The next day, when the sun was high in the sky, Tao Hongying was on her way to the valley when she heard a child crying in the side room. So she went in to help comfort the child.
Hui Niang was breastfeeding her son when she chuckled and scolded Tao Hongying's little daughter, "This girl will definitely be something special when she grows up. She's too eager to eat. She was asleep, but as soon as I fed her brother, she woke up immediately and started crying for more!"
Tao Hongying gently patted the little girl, "Every family's children are like this, but our Fu Niu'er was exceptionally sensible when she was little. Although she was worry-free, it still makes one's heart ache when you think about it."
"The baby is newborn, not even as big as a kitten. She only cries when the family is taking a break. Everyone is busy escaping and really doesn't have time to take care of her."
Hui Niang switched to breastfeeding her daughter and said with a smile, "Sister-in-law, people say that the bitterness and sweetness in this life are all limited. If you finish the bitterness first, then all that will be left is sweetness."
"That's absolutely right. Look at Fu Niu'er and our family, we went through a lot of trouble before, but now we're living a good life, aren't we?"
Tao Hongying couldn't help but laugh, "You really know how to sweet-talk people. No wonder Fu Niu'er has such a sweet tongue; she learned it all from you."
Just then, Li Yong came in from outside, his face looking rather ashen. Seeing Tao Hongying inside, he quickly greeted her, "Fourth Sister-in-law is here. I'm so sorry to trouble you to take care of the children again."
"What are you talking about? We're all family." Tao Hongying handed the boy, who had finished eating, to him and then went out.
Grandma Li pulled her daughter-in-law aside, pointed to the side room, and asked, "I think Dayong is acting a bit strange. Could the young couple have been arguing?"
I'm late today because I'm adding an extra chapter for you all~ Four chapters, and an extra chapter for each book that gets over 10,000 words~ Please don't complain about my slow updates anymore, I've really put in all my effort, managing three chapters and 6,000 words every day, that's a lot~~~~ Don't miss out, give me a good review (give me five stars or click "like"), I need your support!
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