"Fu Niu loves Grandma, so Grandma won't cry. Uncle is unfilial, but Fu Niu is!"
Jiayin raised her little hand to wipe away her grandmother's tears. The two hugged each other, but the tears fell even more heavily.
Outside, Li Lao Er and Li Lao San were also secretly wiping away tears.
The fourth brother was still young. By the time he was old enough to understand things, his eldest brother was already studying away from home, so they weren't particularly close.
However, they spent the most time with their eldest brother and had the best relationship with him.
My eldest brother is smart, polite, cheerful and loves to joke. He is a good eldest brother that everyone praises.
But this eldest brother became a source of worry for the whole family!
If my elder brother has his reasons, that's fine. But if he really covets wealth and status and abandons his family, they'll be heartbroken, but what about my mother?
That night, no one in the Li family slept soundly.
The next day, after breakfast, when the sun was high in the east, Li Laosi and Jiayi hurriedly returned.
The whole family looked at them expectantly, and Li Laosi said, "Mother, Miao Laoda's wife did indeed sell herself to the Chu family in the west of the city. She probably didn't dare to lie! I wanted to go and see my eldest brother, but I felt it wasn't a good idea, so I had to come back first."
Old Mrs. Li's eyes were bloodshot, clearly indicating that she hadn't slept a wink last night.
She thought for a moment and then said, “Don’t worry, all of you. So many years have passed, a few more days won’t make a difference. Whenever you have free time, take turns going into the city to slowly inquire about your elder brother’s whereabouts. Don’t go looking for him. It would be best to find out why he hasn’t come home all these years.”
"Yes, Mother, we understand." Li Lao Er and the others responded, while Li Lao Si and Jia Yi ate their meal hastily and went to get busy.
The orchards and millet fields on the mountain, as well as the riverbanks, are all bustling with activity, and the valleys are overflowing with people; it's impossible to leave any place for the time being.
Even knowing news of their elder brother, they couldn't abandon everything.
After all, this is the business of the whole village, and the land of the whole village. We can't let the business of the whole family be delayed because of them.
All day long, Jiayin followed her grandmother around like a little shadow, going wherever her grandmother went.
One minute she's hungry, the next she's thirsty, then she wets her pants, and she keeps calling for her grandma, leaving Grandma Li no time to think about anything else.
In the evening, when the whole family returned from work, Old Mrs. Li called out to Li Laosi, "Take some time tomorrow to go to the city and check things out. Come back as soon as you can so the whole family can be at ease."
Li Laosi was curious as to why his mother had suddenly changed her mind.
As a result, Old Lady Li sighed and said, "Your daughter is afraid I'll overthink things, so she's been ordering me around all day, and she even secretly wet her pants! You two should hurry up and resolve this matter. Don't worry about whether your older brother comes back or not, rescue your old mother first!"
Everyone was taken aback for a moment, then they all laughed.
Jiayin covered her face and nestled in her father's arms, refusing to get up.
Why would she, the darling of the Li family, sacrifice her reputation? It's all so that the old lady wouldn't be so heartbroken.
Not only was no one grateful, but they even made fun of her for wetting her pants!
Thanks to Jiayin's sacrifice, the Li family finally had laughter again.
The next morning, Li Laosi asked the village chief for leave and headed out of the village. He ran into Mr. Wen not far away.
Mr. Wen sat in the carriage, with three companions of similar age beside him, all of whom looked like scholars.
Mr. Wen chuckled and asked, "Fourth brother, where are you going?"
"Ah, I had nothing to do, so I came out for a walk." Li Laosi didn't know why, so he cupped his hands and bowed to everyone.
Unexpectedly, the mare pulling the carriage, greedy for the roadside grass, took a few steps forward, and one of the wheels fell into the ditch, causing the carriage to tip over immediately.
Mr. Wen and the others exclaimed in surprise and grabbed onto the carriage.
The coachman cracked his whip and shouted for the horse to come up, but the horse wouldn't listen.
At this moment, Li Laosi jumped down into the ditch, lifted the carriage with both hands, pushed it upwards with force, and forced the horse to take two steps towards the middle of the road, and the carriage got back on the road.
The three scholars were astonished, scrutinizing Li Laosi from head to toe.
"Hey buddy, are you alright? Did you sprain your arm?"
"Yes, you just carried the carriage up like that?"
"That's incredible! His arms must have the strength of 500 pounds."
"It should weigh a thousand pounds. The four of us weigh five hundred pounds, plus the carriage."
Who says scholars don't gossip? Li Laosi's head was throbbing from their chatter, but he patiently replied, "I'm naturally strong. It's just lifting it off the carriage, a piece of cake."
After saying this, he was about to take his leave, but Mr. Wen stopped him and said in a low voice, "Jiaren is about to start school. I have contacted the academy. The children of these friends are all at the academy."
Li Laosi understood and immediately jumped into the carriage, laughing, "Sir, you came in a hurry. There were no seats available in the hot spring valley. But a guest who had reserved a cabin couldn't make it, so you gentlemen can have a good day."
Mr. Wen and his three friends were delighted to hear this and chatted and laughed as they hurried toward the valley.
At this time, the guests had just arrived, so the area in front of the door wasn't crowded, and the valley was relatively quiet.
Li Lao Er was pleased to see Mr. Wen, and their journey was smooth. They didn't even need to take any name tags before entering the valley.
Li Laosi was afraid that his mother would worry at home, so he sent someone back to deliver a message.
The family discussed it last night and decided that one person would be home each day so that there would be someone to look after them. At least they couldn't leave all the chores of entertaining the family to Jiayin, the little girl. So, today it's Jiaren's turn to be home "on duty".
Hearing that Mr. Wen had brought people over and had also found an academy for Jiaren, Old Lady Li was overjoyed.
She closed the courtyard gate and took her grandchildren to the valley.
It just so happens that Uncle Wang is in charge of patrolling the village streets today. We eat together every day, so he's practically family. After a few simple words of advice, I don't need to worry about home at all.
In the valley, Mr. Wen was chatting with a few friends when hot tea and snacks were promptly served.
Before we could even finish half of our tea, freshly washed fruit was brought over.
Several friends said, "We'd heard from others that you owned property here, but we didn't believe it. Turns out it's such a great place!"
Mr. Wen smiled and shook his head, “You’ve misunderstood. This isn’t my business. I just treat the villagers here like family. As you know, I arrived in Jiangnan half a year late because I encountered some trouble on the way. Fortunately, I was rescued by these righteous villagers. If it weren’t for them, I’m afraid I would have frozen and starved to death in Jiangbei long ago.”
"Oh, is that so?" Everyone was surprised, because with the Wen family's background, they shouldn't have suffered such danger.
Just then, Jiaren arrived outside the wooden house, and Mr. Wen beckoned him to come in.
"This is a disciple I took in on the road, who is going to inherit my mantle. This child is from this village, and he is very hardworking and diligent. I hope you will all take good care of him in the future."
Jiaren was wearing a slightly worn long gown. He was young, tall and elegant, but his eyes and brows showed a calm and peaceful demeanor.
He raised his hand, bowed, and greeted everyone, saying, "Greetings, gentlemen."
The person closest to him tried to help him up, but when he reached out, he only managed to grab half of the empty air.
The man was startled and instinctively exclaimed, "How did this child's hand get injured?"
My baby caught a cold during the seasonal change, and it was a chaotic morning, but I finally finished writing this. Here it is at midnight! Please give me a five-star review and votes to encourage me to update! Let's keep going, my darlings! Thank you, everyone!
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