"Second Young Master, Candy has grown a heart! It's right here! If you don't believe me, listen to it, it's beating 'thump thump' all the time!" Candy exclaimed anxiously, pounding her chest to prove that she really had grown a heart.
Everyone was amused by her. Candy didn't understand why, but seeing that even the fiercest second young master was laughing, she felt that the matter was resolved, and she chuckled along with him.
Zhou Erfu and Zhou Sifu came to call Xingxing back for dinner. When Tangguo heard that it was time to eat, she quickly picked up her big jar and walked out of the cave.
Once everyone had left the cave, Zhou Erfu lifted the stone door to block the entrance. This stone door weighed a thousand pounds, and only Zhou Erfu, Zhou Sifu, and Tangguo could lift it. If none of the three of them were there, Zhou Lao Er would have to call on several villagers to help him move it.
Of course, up until now, Zhou Laoda has not let the villagers know that there is a mountain cave where grain is stored. Only the village chief and a few others who are close to him know about it. However, every time he wants to enter the cave, he asks Tangguo to move the stone door.
That night, Zhao Guihua called Xingxing into the house to talk. When Xingxing entered the house, she saw a wooden box on the table. The box was open, and Zhao Guihua was picking up a gold lock and handing it to her with a guilty expression.
“Daughter, this is what you were wearing when you were first found. It’s the only token you have. I heard from Brother Fu that when you returned to the capital, you couldn’t even produce a token to prove your identity. Your mother and father were negligent. We forgot that there was a gold lock hidden in the cellar. If you had taken the gold lock with you back then, it would have been much easier to prove your identity, and so many problems wouldn’t have occurred.”
Xingxing took the gold lock, looked at it, and put it back in the box. "Mother, whether it's a token or not isn't important. Prince Gong and his people are too cunning. Even if there was a token, they could have said it was fake. Besides, with Brother Lin and several senior brothers and sisters helping us, we could have solved even the most difficult problems. This gold lock is useless. I won't be able to wear it when I grow up. Let's save it for my eldest brother's child to wear in the future."
Zhao Guihua was amused by her, "Your eldest brother has become a bookworm. Although he's already fifteen, he doesn't want to get married so early. Your father and I aren't in a hurry either. Your five brothers are all around the same age. If Dafu finds someone, the other four will have to find someone too. We can't favor one over the other."
Finding five daughters-in-law isn't easy; even one requires careful selection. Your father and I have to choose five, so there's no rush. We can take our time, three to five years is fine.”
Xingxing agreed wholeheartedly and nodded, saying, "We must choose carefully. We can't pick someone like Zhang Cui or Zhong Mailian. If we find a daughter-in-law like that, the family will be turned upside down. Sigh, there's only one gold lock, not enough for all the brothers to share. I'll just go to the jewelry store tomorrow when I have some free time and get four more gold locks, so all the brothers will have one."
Upon hearing this, Zhao Guihua chimed in, "These five aren't enough either. After Fu and his brothers get married, they won't just have one child each. They might have a whole bunch. Let's not get rid of Jin Suo yet. We can wait until the children are born."
“Oh right, how come I didn’t think of that?” Xingxing covered her mouth in shock and whispered in Zhao Guihua’s ear, “Mom, if all my sisters-in-law had quintuplets like you, that would be 25 in total, meaning you would have at least 25 grandchildren, more than piglets.”
"How dare you talk like that? Your little mouth is getting more and more unrestrained. You even dare to tease your mother. You little rascal!" Zhao Guihua became more and more annoyed as she listened, and she was so angry that she laughed. She pressed down on the little girl and tickled her.
"Hahaha, Your Majesty, please don't scratch me. I know I was wrong, and I won't dare to say that again." Xingxing really regretted her quick tongue, which angered her mother.
Zhao Guihua was truly enraged and was determined to teach this little girl a lesson, but she couldn't bear to hit her, so she could only tickle her until she begged for mercy.
In the end, it was Zhang Xiantao who came to Xingxing's rescue. Zhang Xiantao was heard knocking on the door and whispering, "Xingxing, come out quickly! It's late at night, and the frogs in the paddy fields are all out crowing. Let's go catch frogs and stone frogs!"
Zhao Guihua immediately stopped what she was doing, helped Xingxing up, straightened her messy hair and clothes, and scolded her, "Don't talk like that next time, or I'll really get angry."
Xingxing nestled in her arms like she had no bones, her voice soft and sweet as she said, "I know, it won't happen again, Mom, please don't be angry anymore, Xingxing knows she was wrong."
“I didn’t blame you. It’s just that some gossipy women used to curse your mother, saying that I was like a sow, giving birth to a litter of five in one lifetime, and that no one else could give birth as many as me. Actually, there was a family in the village who gave birth to quadruplets, but that family didn’t take care of the children properly, and in the end only one survived and three died. Your father and I put so much effort into your five older brothers, and that’s how we managed to keep them all alive.”
She had five children but no means of proper nutrition. Later, she fled from war, which severely damaged her health, and she never conceived again.
“I know how hard it was for my parents, I know all of that,” Xingxing said softly, hugging her. But in fact, she was still looking forward to it. If all five of her sisters-in-law gave birth to quintuplets in the future, she would have twenty-five nephews or nieces. That would be such a grand occasion.
Cough cough, but I absolutely can't say that again, or I'll hurt her mother's feelings again.
"Alright, Miss Zhang wants to catch frogs, so take her there to see what it's like. Otherwise, that little girl will keep thinking about it all day long. At night, when it gets dark, bring a few more torches. The weather is getting hotter and hotter. When you walk, use a stick to probe the path first, so you don't step on any snakes," Zhao Guihua nagged in.
"Okay, Mom, don't worry, we'll be careful." Xingxing smiled as she went out the door.
When they arrived at the courtyard, they found that everyone was already prepared. Dafu and Sanfu didn't want to go; they wanted to stay home and study. Wufu wanted to work with Zhu Chumo to research herbs. Erfu and Sifu, however, carried several baskets, looking like they were ready to get down to business.
“I also catch frogs. There used to be frogs in the swamps. Frog meat is tender and delicious,” Zhao Mingyue and Zhang Xiantao said.
"Then let's catch more and eat our fill." Zhang Xiantao smiled brightly. Mingyue was so good to her. After confirming that he liked her, he treated her incredibly well. It was a pity that her parents had no taste.
Zhu Lin doesn't like catching frogs in the paddy fields, but Xingxing likes to join in the fun, so he goes along too.
As Zhu Qiuyu was leaving, she happened to come from the Song family's estate. This time, several senior brothers and sisters were staying at the Song family's estate with Zhang Xiantao and the others. Fu Ge and the others were all grown up, and it was not appropriate to ask them to give up their rooms so that five of them could squeeze into one room.
"Master, do you want to catch frogs with us too?" Zhou Erfu and Zhou Sifu's eyes lit up with excitement.
Zhu Qiuyu closed her folding fan and tapped the two boys on the head. "I'm not going. I just came to tell you to catch some eels and loaches while you're at it. I haven't had fried eels in a long time, and I'm really craving them."
“Okay, leave it to me and my fourth brother. We’ll definitely catch lots of eels and loaches tonight. My sister loves to eat them too. Tomorrow we’ll put them in a bucket to purge the mud, and then we can kill and fry them tomorrow night.” Zhou Erfu readily agreed.
Hearing about fried loach and fried eel, Xingxing almost drooled. She urged, "Stop dawdling, let's get to work!"
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