At this moment, the villagers also heard the commotion and ran over from the fields.
Just then, the convoy arrived. Liu Yang jumped off the carriage and went straight to Liu the镖头 (bodyguard) and his wife, who were beaming with joy.
Li Zhensheng quickly bowed to the old lady, the village chief, and others, saying, "Mother, Uncle, fellow villagers, we're back!"
Grandma Li took her son's hand and looked him up and down. She saw that apart from being a bit dark-skinned, her son looked much more robust, which put her at ease.
"It's good that you're back, it's good that you're back."
The village chief was more interested in the contents of the carriage. "Sir, what good things have you found in the south?"
Li Zhensheng didn't want to tell the truth, so he said, "These are some local specialties from the south, I brought them for a friend, and someone will come to pick them up later. However, I also brought some seafood for the village, so I'll share it with everyone when I have some free time tomorrow, so we can enjoy something fresh."
"We're all family, why be so polite?" the village chief said, but his face was beaming with joy.
The villagers were curious about what was happening to the south, and they chattered and argued amongst themselves.
The village chief interrupted them, saying, "Hurry up and plant the melon seedlings, or they'll wilt in the sun. The old man isn't leaving right away; if you want to hear more, come to his house tonight."
The group greeted Li Zhensheng with smiles and then went back to work in the fields.
Seeing dozens of people waiting in the convoy, Old Lady Li quickly said, "Second brother, take your eldest brother and the others back quickly to wash off the dust. We'll cook something; these young men escorting the convoy are probably still hungry."
Li Lao Er quickly stepped forward and led the convoy to his own doorstep. The goods on the carts were unloaded into the Marquis's courtyard, and the horses were handed over to the servants to graze.
Manager Chen and the others split into two groups and took a refreshing bath in the hot spring pools of the Li family's and the Hou family's residences.
After everyone changed into the clean clothes from their own bundles, the food was served.
It was lunchtime, and everyone had lit their fires. There was also extra food prepared in the valley. They pooled their resources and the Li family cooked a large pot of porridge, which was enough to feed these dozens of people.
Everyone was doing well, so they didn't eat too frugally. Even if there was no meat in the dishes they shared, there was plenty of oil. The steamed buns and stews brought back from the valley were especially delicious.
Even so, Old Lady Li still felt bad, saying, "Why didn't you send a message back beforehand? The family wasn't prepared. If you young men aren't in a hurry, stay another day. We'll slaughter a pig and give you a good meal. You must be exhausted from traveling such a long way back!"
Manager Chen and the others naturally could not agree. They had just finished bathing and heard that the courtyard was the Marquis's residence, which made them extremely apprehensive.
How dare you eat and stay here!
"No, no, Madam, we have errands to run and must hurry back to report. We'll definitely come for the pig-slaughtering feast next time!"
"Oh, it's a deal then. Next time you have the chance, you must stay a few more days." The old lady didn't insist that they stay, but kept urging them to eat their fill.
Li Zhensheng carried his little niece and wandered around. Not seeing his younger brother, he asked, "Mom, where's the fourth brother? Did he go to town?"
Old Lady Li said, "Fourth Brother has been on the expedition with the Marquis for almost a month. A few days ago, the Marquis specially asked him to come back for a visit and have a meal. I guess he should be killing barbarians in Jiangbei right now!"
Upon hearing this, Manager Chen and the others lowered their heads and ate even more.
Fortunately, Li Zhensheng was not neglected on the way; the Li family was getting far too close to the Marquis.
The old lady didn't try to show off, but when she talked about the Marquis, her words were full of affection, as if the Marquis were her own son or grandson...
After finishing their meal, Manager Chen and the others quickly took their leave.
The carriage arrived laden with goods, but left empty.
Li Zhensheng didn't linger, only saying that there would be opportunities to meet again in the future.
After the convoy left, the Li family quieted down. Before the villagers came to visit, Li Zhensheng and Jiayi quickly started unpacking the things they had brought back for their family.
Li Zhensheng bought all the dried shrimp, dried fish, scallop meat, crab sauce, seaweed, kelp, etc. He kept some for his family and planned to share the rest with the villagers so they could have something fresh to eat.
There was also a box of pearl necklaces and coral bracelets, and several bolts of imported fabric, which were simple but thick, all for the older and younger women in the family.
Several sets of coral-carved pen holders and small ornaments, and a box of new books popular in the south, were brought to Li Lao Er and his son and nephew who were studying.
The two extra-large conch shells are for Jiayin and Maoge'er. Jiayin also has an extra box of small pearls for her to play with.
Jia Yi brought much more crude things; it was a huge bag of colorful seashells of various sizes, which he dumped on the ground, filling the entire bag.
This made Jia'an, Jiaxi, and Maoge'er's eyes light up. They pounced on it and searched around, shouting whose shell was prettier and whose was bigger. The noise was so loud it almost lifted the roof off.
Jiayin wanted to join in the fun, but was lifted onto the table. Then Jiayi took out a small cloth bag and poured out a bunch of white, shiny things.
Jiayi blushed slightly and laughed, "Little sister, those colorful gemstones were too expensive. I didn't even have enough silver to buy just one. Luckily, someone was selling these for only twenty taels, so I bought them all. Um... don't mind, when your third brother earns more silver in the future, I'll definitely buy you some colorful gemstones."
Jiayin was so surprised that her mouth could fit an egg; rubies and emeralds didn't matter anymore!
Because what's in front of you is diamonds, diamonds!
Diamonds are forever, a single diamond lasts forever. These are the finest gemstones, coveted and sought after by women in a past life!
Back then, when she was financially well-off, she couldn't bear to buy even one. Now, she has a pile of hundreds of them in front of her, big and small! The big ones are as big as peanuts, and the small ones are as big as soybeans!
They've struck it rich! They've really struck it rich!
Jiayin danced with joy, hugged her brother, and smeared his face with drool.
"Third Brother is the best, Fu Niu loves you to death!"
After saying that, she jumped to the ground.
Jiayi was startled and helped his sister up. Before he could say anything, his sister had already run away with the small stones.
He blinked twice and grinned, "Fu Niu is really different. I thought she would like those colorful gems, but I didn't expect her to like colorless ones!"
Everyone laughed, "Your sister likes it, so you deserve a lot of credit!"
The old lady added, "If you see stones like these again, buy more for your sister."
“Okay!” Jiayi readily agreed.
Tao Hongying was busy tidying up the seafood, moving around inside and outside the house. When Li Zhensheng saw her, he quietly asked his mother about it.
"Mother, why did Fourth Brother go to war with the Marquis? He's too reckless. What if something happens to him? We're not short of money now, and I can help out even more. There's no need for him to risk his life!"
The old lady sighed and waved her hand in response, "Do you think I wanted to? I didn't agree either, and my family all tried to stop me. But what could I do? He's so stubborn, I couldn't persuade him at all. In the end, I had no choice but to let him go. Fortunately, he had someone with him, and he's in the Marquis's personal guard, so at least he has some protection."
After thinking for a moment, Li Lao Er recounted the conflict with the Marquis of Dingbei during the Ghost Festival, and finally said, "Since childhood, Lao Si has wanted to go out and make his way in the world, unwilling to stay at home and farm. In a fit of anger, he became even more determined to make a name for himself."
Li Zhensheng blamed himself, "It's all my fault. If I hadn't been away from home for more than ten years, things wouldn't have come to this..."
"What nonsense are you talking about? This wasn't your choice." Not wanting her eldest son to be sad, Old Mrs. Li quickly changed the subject. "Another big thing happened in the family. My second son's wife... died of illness."
Jiayi was taking a big gulp of water while holding the teapot when he heard this, and the teapot fell from his hand with a clatter!
My mother... is dead?
Here it is at midnight! As usual, I'm asking for a five-star review and a thumbs up. Thank you for your encouragement, my little cuties. I'll keep going!
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