I don’t know if it was the effect of Old Qin’s medicine, or if it was the reassurance that Jane Ning gave Aunt Feng that made her completely relieved, but in any case, by the evening, she was able to get out of bed and walk to the hall to eat by herself.
"Grandma Feng, I saw Grandpa Qin crying." Sanniu even imitated Old Qin wiping his tears with his hands and told her, "My dad used to have a crying face too. He even imitated my grandma and sat on the ground crying."
Qin Yifan almost spit out a mouthful of rice when he heard this.
"Hurry up and learn how your father cries." He teased Sanniu with a smile on his lips.
Ding Youtian didn't blush or feel nervous. He smiled and told Sanniu, "He wanted to see it, but you refused to learn it for him, you know?"
"I know." Erniu raised her chopsticks, "Uncle Qin, I can learn too."
Jian Ning said, "Even eating can't stop you two from talking, right? Why don't we go back tomorrow and you two stay here and become daughters to your Mei Niang and Uncle Qin."
"Mom!" Sanniu was the first to speak up. "I won't learn. I want to go back with Mom and Dad. I still like my own Dad."
"Me too." Erniu also quickly expressed her feelings, adding, "I like my own mother better."
"There are also my brothers and sisters, Sister Qiaofeng, and my master-master." Sanniu added.
Aunt Feng was so fond of the two little girls that she said with a smile, "Having many children in the house makes it so lively. What's wrong with you two little ones? You keep talking so much and your words are so endearing!"
"What else can you say?" Old Qin glared at Aunt Feng. "It's all given by our parents, so it's what it is."
"You..." Aunt Feng paused, then pointed at him with her finger. "You always make me angry. Don't judge how good he is to me. He's just afraid that I'll leave and he won't have anyone to vent his anger on. Why do you think he's being kind?"
"They will bully me."
"Only I can tolerate your bad temper. If it were someone else, I would have already dealt with you, this stubborn old man... Forget it, it's New Year's Day, I'm too lazy to bother with you."
"Hmph, you make it sound like I like you." Old Qin muttered and glared at Aunt Feng in dissatisfaction.
Jane Ning watched them bickering and no longer felt that Old Qin was excessive and a little annoying as before. Instead, she felt that a couple like them was quite down-to-earth and interesting.
"Brother, you're not leaving tomorrow, are you?" Old Qin suddenly thought of something and asked Blind Liu, "Anyway, you'll just be telling stories and fortunes when you go back, and you can't do that anywhere. Why don't you stay? We can be companions. I'll come over every day to cheer you on, and I can even serve you tea and greet guests."
"Stop it!" Aunt Feng said quickly, "It's better if you don't go. If you go, you'll definitely cause trouble if you get excited one day!"
When Aunt Feng finished speaking, everyone in the room burst into laughter.
"I have to go back," Blind Liu said. "I have a clerk in my shop. If I don't go back, he'll be left with nothing."
Old Qin was very reluctant to leave. He smacked his lips twice and suddenly looked at Qin Yifan. "How about your mother and I go with them and stay in our hometown for a while, or even in Dingjia Village? We can come back in two or three months, how about that?"
"You go if you want to go. I have to stay with my daughter-in-law and won't go anywhere." Aunt Feng glanced at Mei Niang's belly. "I have to take good care of my precious grandson. I'm not as carefree as you, thinking of going out and playing around."
Old Qin and Aunt Feng have never been separated since they got married. Although it is hard to leave his hometown, he really wants to go back to Baisha Town, but since Aunt Feng doesn't want to go, he naturally won't go either.
Mei Niang said, "Dad, if you really want to go back and visit, why don't we all go to their house to celebrate the New Year at the end of this year? Is that okay with you?"
Old Qin slapped his thigh, nodded vigorously, and said "good" three times in a row!
"Then it's settled." Qin Yifan patted Ding Youtian on the shoulder. "My whole family, young and old, will come to your house to celebrate the New Year. With the money we've earned this year, we can build a few more rooms so we don't have nowhere to stay."
"Even if we don't build a house, there's still a place to live." Ding Youtian said, "My master's house was your old house in the town. You can live wherever you want. It's up to you."
After dinner, he and Qin Yifan made tea and played chess, chatting about topics between men while playing chess. Old Qin followed Blind Liu out to listen to him telling stories to the neighbors.
Blind Liu had only been here for two or three days, but he had already become friends with the neighbors. If it weren't for him, Old Qin, who suffered from social anxiety, would probably have stayed at home for the entire Spring Festival, arguing with Aunt Feng all day long.
Jian Ning and Mei Niang also stayed by the charcoal brazier, chatting about their women's private affairs. Before retiring, she didn't call Ding Youtian. She figured he was seasick anyway, and he'd slept so long during the day, so she just let him play chess until dawn. She didn't have to call him up, as he wouldn't wake up and bother her, so she just let him be.
It completely ruined his New Year.
They actually played chess all night long, but in fact, they were not playing chess. Instead, they talked more about their respective mental journeys over the years since they last met.
Ding Youtian initially wanted to counsel Qin Yifan, but after talking to him, he realized that Qin Yifan had already given him clear advice, and that Qin Yifan was not really depressed and decadent, but he had another interpretation of life.
"There's more than one road in the world. For example, if you go home tomorrow, whether you take the waterway or the land route, you'll end up at the same place. The same is true for being an official. If you want to accomplish something, you can still do it by taking a detour."
Qin Yifan, who had won second place in the imperial examination, was full of ambition and determined to achieve great things and eradicate injustice in the world. However, after entering the officialdom and experiencing the ups and downs of the government for several years, he realized that he was constrained at every turn and that achieving something was not as easy as just a simple move.
"If it were my temper, I would have resigned long ago but kept my seal. But then I thought, while I'm in office, I can still make some decisions. I can use my brain to think things through, sometimes not confronting people head-on, and even if I suffer a little, as long as I get things done in the end, it's better than having no power and just drinking and cursing!"
"Besides, most officials are honest and upright. Put yourself in my shoes. Everyone has their own family and friends, just like you and me. If one day you were to fall into my hands for a minor offense, as long as you didn't cause any loss of life and you're not a wicked person, if your family came to me for help, perhaps I would be lenient with them."
"But if it's my first year in office, I won't show any mercy even to the Emperor!"
Although Ding Youtian had never entered the officialdom, he had heard Blind Liu talk about these things since he was a child. Especially after Blind Liu knew that Ding Youtian had made up his mind to enter the officialdom, he also began to talk about these things to him. Therefore, every word Qin Yifan said touched his heart.
This is what good friends are like, they can inspire and influence each other. The more they talked, the more interesting things they had to say. Even when Mei Niang and Jian Ning arrived at dawn, they were still not satisfied.
Mei Niang prepared a carriage full of things for Jian Ning and the others, and sent Ali, who did the rough work at home, to harness the cart and take them to the dock first. After Jian Ning and the others had breakfast, the family reluctantly sent them back to the dock.
Especially Old Qin, who was reluctant to let Blind Liu go, and the two old men became close friends in just a few days.
After Blind Liu got on the boat, he almost wiped away his tears.
Jian Ning stood on the deck and waved goodbye to Mei Niang. After the boat left, she turned around and was about to return to her room when the feeling of being secretly watched suddenly came over her.
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