Jian Ning and his family stayed at home for nearly half a month. Daya Ding Qiang made two baby shirts for Duan Xinyan's unborn baby. She looked at them and exclaimed that they were good. She immediately wanted to buy Daya away.
Daya said that she could not make the decision, but actually she declined the offer. Although her family still owed a lot of foreign debts, she now had the help of Mr. Ding San. She became a nominal disciple of Yang Jinyu, studying in the clan school while also managing the Huimin Medical Clinic.
Since Qiao Feng went to Beijing, Yang Jinyu took over the Huimin Medical Clinic. He came to the village to see patients for one day every three days, and still followed the rules set by Jian Ning before. No matter whether the villagers came from the village or outside the village to see the doctor, he would not charge for minor illnesses, and the medicine would be half sold and half given away.
Later, Daya and Qiuying, the headman's daughter, came to the clinic to help when they had nothing to do. After Yang Jinyu wrote a letter to ask Jian Ning for his opinion, he accepted them both as nominal disciples. Now, both of them were receiving a salary from the clan in the clinic. How could they be willing to follow Duan Xinyan and be a maid?
Chang also thought so. No matter how poor her family was, they were not so poor that they had to sell their daughter as a slave. She also politely declined Duan Xinyan.
"Sister Chang, Ding Qiang is much better than Feng Zheng and Chun'er. Just let her go with me. I won't treat her unfairly. I can pay off your debts in one go. What a great thing!" Duan Xinyan was not giving up and kept pestering Chang.
"Come on, Chun'er and Fengzheng aren't enough for you?" Jian Ning couldn't stand it any longer. "Besides, Sister Mei gave you so many old clothes. It's better for the baby to wear old clothes that have been worn by others. It's not like you gave birth to five or six children at once. There are more than enough clothes for your baby. Why are you still making a fuss?"
Chang smiled apologetically and said, "What are you talking about? It's Daya's fortune that Miss Xinyan likes her. But a country girl is clumsy and unsophisticated. She will definitely not be able to catch Miss Xinyan's eye in the long run!"
Duan Xinyan waved her hands and was about to say something when Jian Ning pulled her away. "What's wrong with you? It's not like you can buy anything just because you have money. Even though Daya comes from a farming family, she's Sister Chang's darling. Did you lose your mind? Can't you hear that she's politely rejecting you?"
Jian Ning glanced at her belly and said, "If you were carrying a girl, would you be willing to let her become a maid when she grows up?"
"Hey, elder sister! Why are you cursing me to give birth to a girl?" Duan Xinyan was annoyed. She was really annoyed. "You knew that my son wanted a boy and asked my elder brother-in-law to pick out all the names for boys. Shi Lingxiao, listen to how nice this name is. Why did you want to offend me?"
"If it's really a girl, be careful or I'll ask you to compensate me!" She flicked her handkerchief and turned around angrily to complain to Erlangzi.
On the day Jian Ning and his companions set out for Xinggang County, early in the morning, the village head, clan leader, and elders, as usual, led the crowd to see them off at the village entrance. The village head took Ding Youtian's hand and said, "Fourth Brother, remember, no matter where you go, we uncles and aunts are here to support you! Your roots are here, and even if the sky falls, we will help you hold it up together!"
"Uncle!" Ding Youtian lifted his robe and knelt on one knee. Jian Ning, Tong Bajin, Ding Yang and others followed suit.
"I, your nephew, thank you, uncle and all the uncles. I will keep your words in mind today. Please rest assured, uncles and aunts, I will never bring shame to our ancestors or to the people of Dingxian Village!"
After he finished speaking loudly with his fists clasped, he stood up and bowed to the villagers who came to see him off. His gaze lingered on the faces of the three eldest brothers for a few seconds. After all, they were brothers. The eldest brothers also came later on the night of the banquet for the head of the village. Although Ding Youtian did not mention Old Ding and Mrs. Meng at all, the brothers all made it clear that they would not ignore their parents.
The older brothers really understood and figured it out. As long as they controlled their parents and didn't cause trouble in front of Ding Youtian and Jian Ning, they wouldn't suffer any loss.
For example, knowing that the two of them were going to leave early this morning, the elders locked the doors of Old Ding and Mrs. Meng's room from the outside to prevent them from running in and doing unexpected things, which would not only annoy Ding Youtian and Jian Ning, but also disgust all the villagers.
When Ding Youtian looked at him, the eldest brother smiled innocently and told him not to worry. Liu had already told the eldest brother that Jian Ning had brought something for Ding Zhu. No matter how stupid they were, they could guess that Ding Zhu was being taken care of by them.
The three carriages set off. Mr. Ding San stood on the slope, looking at the leading carriage Lieyan running forward with full energy. He did not look away until his eyes were sore. He put his hands behind his back and walked silently towards the old house of the Ding family.
Jian Ning and his companions arrived in the town. When they were almost at the house that once belonged to Old Qin, Ding Yang, who was sitting outside with Tong Bajin, the driver, lifted a corner of the carriage curtain and asked Ding Youtian and Jian Ning, "Fourth brother and sister-in-law, that's your house in the town up ahead. Would you like to stop and take a look?"
"No need." Jian Ning said, "Uncle Liu has rented it to someone else for us. It belongs to the tenant before the expiration date. It's better not to disturb them."
Before Blind Liu went to Danyang, he rented his bookshop to other storytellers in the town. The rent was sent to the clan leader every month. This was because Blind Liu had left a message before he left, that the rent would be donated to the clan school on behalf of his apprentice, to be used for the purchase of pens, ink, paper, and inkstone for the children in the clan to go to school.
Ding Yang was traveling far away for the first time, and he was very excited the whole way. He had become quite familiar with Tong Bajin and the others recently. Now he remembered to ask Tong Bajin, "Brother Tong, can I really learn martial arts from you after I arrive at the county government? I'm already 22 years old. Isn't it a bit late for me to learn martial arts at this age?"
"Haha." Tong Bajin laughed and said, "Martial arts must be practiced from a young age, just like the two young ladies in the master's house. But it's not impossible to learn some moves. As long as you are willing to study hard, it is always better than a random punch."
Ding Yang immediately patted his chest and assured: "I will definitely learn mechanics. I have plenty of strength. My arms have become much stronger after pulling the bellows over the years. As long as you are willing to teach me, I will definitely learn it well. Just wait and see!"
Tong Bajin and Master Ding Sanye had been getting along very well lately, and with the added bonus of being in a particularly good mood, he laughed heartily and said, "Don't worry, if you're willing to learn, I'll definitely do my best to teach you. Even if you can't become a top-notch expert, knocking down a few strong men won't be a problem."
As he spoke, he cracked the whip in his hand, making a hollow sound, and with his other hand he pulled the reins, and Jifeng immediately accelerated and ran towards the dock...
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