The old soldiers all nodded, and the old man led Zhuzhu to call people one by one.
Zhuzhu had a soft, childish voice and was extremely spoiled, but she was well-behaved. Her eyes curved in laughter, and her constant calls of "uncle" made the veterans want to pour out their hearts.
As they laughed and talked, the veterans finished their first meal at Tai's house.
At this time, the gate was knocked again.
Tai Jizu was startled and hurried to open the door, then led Tai Sanye and several villagers in.
It turned out that the villagers on patrol noticed that there was some movement in the Tai family and the oil lamps were lit. They were afraid that someone would come to make trouble, so they quickly went to find Mr. Tai San to make a decision.
Old Master Tai welcomed everyone into the house. Seeing that the villagers were close to his family and did things in a reliable manner, he felt relieved.
"Third brother, I specially invited these ten veterans back from the border troops. From now on, the safety of our village and the children's skills will depend on them."
After that, he introduced them to the veterans, "This is the clan leader of our Taijia Village, and the rest are trustworthy brothers in the village. We will be getting along for a long time, so don't be restrained, we are family."
The veterans hurriedly exchanged greetings with the villagers. Uncle Tai San was so happy to see that all the veterans were so strong that he couldn't stop smiling.
The villagers were even more excited. They had just said that they wanted to find someone to teach the naughty boys in the village some skills, and now the master had arrived, and there were so many of them.
Uncle Six is so reliable!
The old man glanced at the sky outside, not wanting to make any more noise and attract too much attention.
He whispered, "The mute ran away before, and I think he will come back for revenge. For the time being, He Shan and his brothers cannot show up in the village. It would be better for them to stay in the ancestral hall and protect the village secretly."
"After a while, we should also repair the ancestral hall. Then we can build a separate courtyard for them so that they can live comfortably."
"Okay!" Master Tai San immediately agreed. "I cleaned it up briefly before, so the ancestral hall isn't dirty, but there are no bedding or anything like that."
"That's easy. We've already prepared it at home."
Old Master Tai called his daughters-in-law to get bedding. There was no shortage of cashmere at home, so Yang Lihua and Liu Dongniang could make bedding whenever they had free time. In case anyone in the family went out or had guests, they could use it at any time.
"As for meals," the old man continued, "I'll have to trouble you brothers to bear with it for a few days. Let my Jizu or Jizong bring you meals in the morning and evening, and you can eat dry food at noon."
He Shan and others quickly waved their hands and responded.
"That's good enough."
"Yeah, we don't have hot meals every day at the border."
"Yes, as long as I can eat enough."
Master Tai San was very considerate and added, "Then I'll talk to the patrol team privately and ask them to identify the man to avoid any further conflict in the middle of the night."
After this discussion, bedding and other supplies were prepared.
The patrol team continued to patrol, and Master Tai San took He Shan and others to the ancestral hall quietly.
Neither Mr. Tai nor his sons went with them. At a time like this, the quieter the noise, the less attention it would attract...
When they woke up, the Tai family felt a little tired, after all, they had been busy all night. But everyone felt much more at ease!
The villagers are united and dare to fight when something happens, but they lack the ability.
Now that He Shan and others have arrived, one of them is enough to replace ten people, and they are not afraid of bloodshed. It really makes people feel at ease.
Just after breakfast, Steward Min and Steward Wu arrived together, naturally coming to deliver holiday gifts on behalf of their master.
Tai Yongning accompanied his grandfather to meet the two managers.
Madam Min was the mistress of the household and knew very well what was needed for daily life, so the holiday gifts she sent were as practical as ever, including rice, flour, vegetable oil, chicken, fish, meat, eggs, and liquor, as well as four rolls of comfortable and breathable summer cotton cloth in plain colors, suitable for women to make inner garments or for Yongning to tailor into a long gown.
Mrs. Wu also sent some food, but more of it was pens, ink, and paper, which were prepared for Yongning's needs so that the family didn't have to spend money to buy them.
Manager Min also had gifts in return. He brought two jars of preserved fruits, two jars of wine, and a leg of lamb, intending to have a good drink with the old man.
He has been a servant of the Min family since he was a child, but his parents died early and his children are not here, so he can be said to be a lonely man.
Ever since I met the Tai family, from being used by them in the beginning to being recognized by them, and then to being close to them now, it was truly an unexpected fate.
Occasionally, when he has free time, he likes to come to Tai's house and feel the warmth and homely atmosphere.
He was happy to listen to the old man's nagging. If his father were still alive, it would probably be like this.
Manager Wu chatted and laughed with everyone for a while, but in the end he didn't stay for dinner and went straight back to the city.
The old man wanted his daughter-in-law to roast a leg of lamb, but he felt that the house would be too smoky and it would be embarrassing if the children in the village would drool under the door.
So, he invited Manager Min to visit the mountain cabin.
Manager Min had heard that the Tai family had a wooden house in the mountains, but he had never been there.
Of course I happily accepted the opportunity this time. I thought it would be a rare and enjoyable experience to barbecue and drink in the mountains.
Zhuzhu was even happier. She ran around happily with the sesame balls and showed them off to Manager Min from time to time.
"Uncle Min, my grandpa's roasted rabbits are delicious! Let grandpa roast one for you, and give me and Sesame Ball two thighs!"
Manager Min laughed and replied, "Okay, if you want to eat it, I'll give you a whole rabbit. But catching a rabbit is too troublesome, so let's roast the lamb leg first!"
"It's not a trouble. There are a lot of rabbits on the mountain. They will all come to bring meat to Zhuzhu!" The fat girl waved her chubby hands nonchalantly, making Manager Min laugh even harder.
He had no idea of the fat girl's magical skills. He just thought that the old man was good at hunting, which gave the girl the illusion that catching rabbits was easy.
Of course, the Tai family would not reveal it.
So, soon the old man carried Zhuzhu on his back and took Manager Min up the mountain, with Zhimaqiu running in front to lead the way.
Tai Jizu made a special trip to the ancestral hall, and He Shan took two soldiers and sneaked into the forest to protect him secretly.
When we arrived at the cabin, a bonfire was lit and the lamb legs were roasting until they were oozing with oil.
Mr. Tai and Manager Min had their glasses full of wine, and were chatting, laughing, eating and drinking happily.
Zhuzhu and Zhimaqiu shared the meat, and their mouths were full of oil as they ate.
Finally, the whole pot of wine was drunk, and only the bones of the lamb leg were left, which were crushed by the sesame balls and eaten.
Manager Min felt dizzy and walked unsteadily, so the old man helped him into the house to take a nap.
Zhuzhu called out crisply from outside the door, "Grandpa, shall we go see Grandma?"
The old man went out, smiled, carried his granddaughter on his back and continued to climb the mountain.
The old lady's grave was well taken care of, with only a few weeds growing on it.
The old man slowly pulled out the weeds, gave his wife some snacks, then sat in front of the grave with his granddaughter in his arms, and once again looked out at the valley in the distance.
The valley is quiet and peaceful in early summer. Occasionally, birds fly low over, and their clear chirping echoes in the valley.
In the forest behind the grave, He Shan sat on a big tree, looking at the old man and the child, frowning slightly.
Mr. He Qian couldn't have guessed wrong, right? Be it the Tai family, the Tai family members all seem to be down-to-earth and simple people, and there is nothing wrong with them.
How could he have kept such a huge secret...
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