The old lady would occasionally come over to check on them. The three children were lying side by side, with Li Ge in the middle, his arms outstretched, protecting his younger brother on one side and his younger sister on the other.
This made her secretly wipe away her tears again, and she whispered to her daughter-in-law, "They are all good children, they are the offspring of our Li family."
Jiayin fell asleep and woke up at dusk.
Li Ge and Mao Ge'er sat to one side rubbing their eyes; they had just woken up as well.
Li Laosi led Jia'an and Jiaxi in, picked up his daughter and kissed her, then ruffled the hair of Li Ge'er and Mao Ge'er, and introduced them to them with a smile.
“Li Ge’er, Mao Ge’er, this is your older brother An Jiaxi. They are a bit older than you and will take care of you from now on. Everyone in the family has work to do and has to take care of your father, so they may not be able to take care of you all. So, if you are hungry, thirsty, or want to play something, just tell your brother, okay?”
Li Ge'er and Mao Ge'er nodded quickly and called Jia An and Jia Xi "brothers", which made Jia An and Jia Xi jump around like monkeys with joy.
"We have a little brother now! We have a little brother now!"
Li Laosi slapped them twice and said with a laugh, "Now that you have a younger brother, aren't you behaving yourself and setting a good example for him? Take him to take a bath first; dinner will be served soon."
"Okay, I'm going right now!"
Jia'an and Jiaxi agreed, bent down and picked up their younger brothers' shoes, and without letting them walk, they each carried one out.
The hot springs in the mountains flow to every household in the village. The Li family has built a stone pool in one of their side rooms, which is always filled with hot water.
It's very convenient for taking a shower and washing clothes on a daily basis.
Cat Brother and Li Brother climbed onto their brother's back and entered the side room, where they were immediately drawn to the steaming pool.
Jia'an and Jiaxi quickly stripped naked and jumped into the pool, then called to their younger brothers.
"Come and soak in the warm water! Wash yourself clean and then we'll eat. I see my mom is stewing braised pork!"
Cat Bro had been to hot springs before and had been thinking about it ever since, so he immediately took off his clothes and jumped in.
Li Ge'er was a little shy, but seeing his older and younger brothers playing, he couldn't resist and joined in.
Grandma Li brought clean clothes for her grandsons, and when she heard them laughing and playing inside, almost lifting the roof off, she smiled too...
Jiayin missed Young Master Ye, so while her brothers were taking a bath, she ran over to talk to him. The two shared a fruit, and when their father came to call them for dinner, she sat on his shoulders, and the two of them walked slowly with Young Master Ye.
Young Master Ye's back wound had scabbed over, but he still couldn't move too much. He hunched his back slightly, taking a leisurely stroll, which was quite comfortable.
After taking the medicine and sleeping for most of the day, Li Zhensheng looked much better than he had during the day.
Now that I'm with my family, surrounded by my mother, brother, nephews and nieces, my heart is overflowing with joy. I feel so full that I don't even need to eat.
The village chief, Uncle Zhao, and others, perhaps wanting the Li family to have some private conversations, did not come to eat.
He only said that the third brother's family would be back tomorrow, and they would have a proper get-together.
So, at this moment, only Young Master Ye was considered an outsider at the dinner table.
But everyone in the family knows that he wants to adopt Jiayin as his goddaughter, so they are actually family.
Jiayi didn't know how to show affection to his two newly returned younger brothers; he just kept putting food on their plates.
Li Ge'er and Mao Ge'er were so full that they couldn't finish their food. In the end, Li Laosi took their leftover bowls and ate them up in a few bites.
Li Ge'er and Mao Ge'er blushed, knowing that their parents had never picked up and eaten the leftover rice from the bowls they had eaten from.
Grandma Li patted their heads and smiled, "Don't overthink it. We used to have a hard life, so we weren't used to wasting food. From now on, just take as much as you can eat. Today it's your third brother's fault, so I'll punish him by making him take you out to play, okay?"
"Okay, thank you, Grandma." Li Ge'er and Mao Ge'er nodded in agreement, and then Jia Yi pulled them away, one in each hand.
Jiayin joined in the fun, shouting, "Brother, me too! I want to go too!"
Jia'an and Jiaxi quickly finished their food, clasped hands, hastily arranged a sedan chair, and carried their younger sister to catch up.
Jiayin wrapped her arms around her brothers' necks with one arm and kicked her legs, acting as a general charging into battle, shouting, "Charge! Charge!"
Six children, big and small, left home just like that!
Everyone in the room laughed, especially Li Zhensheng, whose eyes reddened again. He quickly lowered his head to drink his porridge, swallowing back his tears.
This was a blissful moment he had dreamed of countless times. He couldn't cry; he should laugh, laugh continuously!
Li Lao Er peeled a boiled egg for his brother and asked, "Brother, before the aftermath of this matter subsides, I'll go to the government office tomorrow to change the household registration records for you and your nephews. Is there anything else you want to tell me?"
Li Zhensheng thought for a moment, "Let's change the names of Li Ge'er and Mao Ge'er in the family. Li Ge'er will be called Jia Li, and Mao Ge'er will be called Jia Kang. They can be registered in our family's roster so that their studies and examinations won't be delayed."
"In addition, I have exchanged most of the Wang family's properties, leaving only that courtyard in the south of the city. I have already moved out anything useful. Find someone to help me sell this courtyard; I don't want to see it again."
"Alright, don't worry, elder brother, it's not a big deal. I'll take care of it in half a day." Li Lao Er nodded and added, "Tomorrow, I'll invite Mr. Wen, Madam Cui, and Master Liu to come over for dinner on my way. They've been a great help this time, and we can't repay them right now, but it's only right that we host a banquet to express our gratitude."
Tao Hongying quickly replied, "Don't worry, Second Brother, leave these small matters to me."
Li Zhensheng also cupped his hands in thanks, saying, "I'm sorry to have troubled you and your wife."
"What nonsense are you talking about, brother? We're all family, it's only right that we do this together." Tao Hongying laughed heartily. "My third sister-in-law and Jia Huan will be back tomorrow. The three of us work together perfectly, we can easily handle ten tables of food, let alone two!"
After thinking for a moment, Old Lady Li said, "Since we've managed to gather enough money at home, and the villagers have been eagerly anticipating this, let's buy a pig and a sheep tomorrow and have a proper feast. First, it's because our eldest son is home, which makes us happy. Second, since Young Master Ye wants to adopt Fu Niu as his goddaughter, we can have the whole village and Mr. Wen and the others witness this."
"Alright, Mother, we should make it lively anyway, let's have a big celebration."
Both Li Lao Er and Li Lao Si were happy that their mother was in the mood, as long as she didn't dwell on hatred and sorrow.
So they agreed almost immediately.
Li Zhensheng also said, "I will provide the money, and my second and fourth brothers can contribute their labor."
Old Mrs. Li waved her hand, "Just focus on recovering, you don't need to worry about these things. The family isn't short of money!"
Li Zhensheng still wanted to try, but when he saw his second brother winking at him, he gave up.
After dinner, it was late at night, so everyone went to rest.
Grandma Li was worried that her two grandsons would be shy, so she brought them to live with her in the east room.
Originally, Fu Niu slept with her grandmother, but now, three children were lying in a row, taking up half of the kang (a heated brick bed), which made the old lady very happy.
The next morning, the villagers received the news that the Li family was going to hold a banquet. Except for the business in the valley, which had to continue, everyone else could take a day off to join in the fun and reward themselves for their hard work during the autumn harvest.
This was a joyous occasion, and people from all over came to the Li family to lend a hand.
People were busy buying pigs and sheep, slaughtering them, fetching water and chopping firewood, boiling water and removing hair, picking and washing vegetables.
Hearing the commotion, Li Zhensheng went outside, wanting to lend a hand.
But Old Mrs. Li couldn't bear to part with him, so she moved a chair and let him sit under the eaves to bask in the sun, ostensibly to watch over the child.
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