After Mrs. Li slunk away, Mr. Li looked at Yan Qingqing and opened his mouth, but in the end he didn't say anything and followed her away.
Grandpa Li was a sensible man. He knew that Yan Qingqing disliked Grandma Li and Li Daniu and wouldn't help them. He himself probably didn't have much influence with Yan Qingqing, and he didn't want to squander the little face he had left in her eyes. Anyway, as long as Li Daniu and the others were willing to work hard, they could find a job anywhere to support their families.
Yan Qingqing didn't care at all and turned around to go home.
Li Xiangkang was peeking out from the corridor when he saw Yan Qingqing and gave her a thumbs up. Just as he was about to praise her, someone grabbed him from behind by the collar and lifted him up like a chick, startling Li Xiangkang into screaming.
When he turned around, he found it was Li Xiangjian. Li Xiangkang said irritably, "Third brother, what are you doing? Put me down!"
Li Xiangjian said loudly, "Second brother said you followed Mother out suspiciously and asked me to see if you were eavesdropping. Sure enough, second brother was right. You are a scholar, how could you do something like eavesdropping?"
Li Xiangkang rolled his eyes furiously after hearing Li Xiangjian's words. He was a scholar, not a fool. He couldn't understand why people viewed scholars this way. Since he couldn't openly watch the spectacle, he had to eavesdrop.
However, Li Xiangkang obviously wouldn't explain these things to Li Xiangjian. He rolled his eyes and said, "Third brother, you listen to second brother too much. You can't just do whatever he tells you to do."
You two are twins, and you're better than him in every way, from looks to physique. Maybe they made a mistake during the delivery; you might actually be the older brother. So don't always listen to him.
Upon hearing this, Yan Qingqing thought to herself, "Good heavens, Li Xiangkang has resorted to sowing discord since he can't resist."
However, Li Xiangjian's study of military strategy during this period was not in vain, and he completely ignored him.
Seeing that his attempts to sow discord had no effect, Li Xiangkang looked at Yan Qingqing and cried out, "Mother, please save me! Your son still needs to study hard to win you a title of Lady of the Imperial Household."
Yan Qingqing looked at the two brothers making a ruckus, smiled and shook her head. She was about to ask Li Xiangjian to put Li Xiangkang down when, before she could even speak, Li Xiangjian leaped and disappeared.
Yan Qingqing thought she was seeing things, so she rubbed her eyes hard. She felt like it was unreal; Li Xiangjian was just here, wasn't he?
Yan Qingqing pinched her thigh hard, then hissed in pain; it was definitely not a dream.
Ruyi looked at Yan Qingqing with some concern. Madam was so gentle, she must have been angered by that old woman today. It was a pity that she was just a servant. That old woman was, after all, Madam's mother-in-law. Otherwise, she would have liked to beat up Old Madam Li to vent her anger for her mistress.
Li Xiangkang was eventually beaten up by Li Xiang'an and Li Xiangjian, who accused him of violating family rules by sowing discord between the brothers.
Yan Qingqing found it somewhat amusing that even her own mother didn't know what her family's rules were. However, Yan Qingqing was happy to watch the spectacle from the sidelines. Although Li Xiangkang was wincing in pain, Yan Qingqing knew that neither of them had really hurt him.
The children spent a lively day with Yan Qingqing, and then went off to do their own things.
That day, Yan Qingqing noticed that the trees in the yard had sprouted buds, and she knew that spring had truly arrived.
As Yan Qingqing was lost in thought, she suddenly remembered that she had forgotten something important. She slapped her forehead and hurried back inside to do a quick search. She found the land deed for the fifty mu of estate that Magistrate Ling had given her.
This was something Yan Qingqing had asked for indirectly when Magistrate Ling came to her house. Although Magistrate Ling hadn't explicitly said he would give her the fifty acres of land, only that she could use it for experiments, a few days later he actually had someone deliver the land deed to her in Canghe Village.
Since the land deed is in her hands, the land naturally belongs to her; she'll be more motivated to work on her own land.
Yan Qingqing hadn't seen what the fifty acres of land looked like yet; she'd heard it was a small mountain village, quite close to the county town. She felt she needed to go and see it for herself.
So he sent Ruyi to find Li Xiangping, and also sent Ada to hitch up the oxcart.
When Li Xiangping heard that Yan Qingqing was looking for him, he thought it was something important, so he quickly put down what he was doing and came over.
Seeing Yan Qingqing dressed neatly and looking ready to go out, Li Xiangping asked with some puzzlement, "Mother, are you going out?"
Yan Qingqing nodded and replied, "Go and pack your things, we'll go together."
Although Li Xiangping didn't know where they were going, Yan Qingqing had already packed everything, so he didn't dare to delay. He quickly tidied up and went out with Yan Qingqing.
Ah Da was driving the cart. Yan Qingqing hadn't ridden in an oxcart in a long time and really missed it. The gentle spring breeze felt very pleasant on her face.
Seeing Yan Qingqing enjoying herself, Li Xiangping's mood improved as well. Even if it was just accompanying his mother for a stroll, as long as she was happy, Li Xiangping was willing to do it.
The village is very close to the county town; it took Ah Da less than an hour to arrive by oxcart.
Ah Da stopped the car in front of the villa. Yan Qingqing looked up and saw that although the villa was not large, it was still very well built. There used to be a plaque at the gate, but it was removed after the government raided and confiscated the property.
Looking at the villa, Li Xiangping suddenly remembered the villa that the county magistrate had given to his family. Could this be it?
So he asked, "Mother, is this the village where the county magistrate told us to grow sweet potatoes and potatoes?"
Yan Qingqing nodded and replied, "Yes, but the county magistrate later sent someone to deliver the land deed, so I guess this estate will belong to our family from now on."
Li Xiangping was overjoyed to hear this. He hadn't done anything and had just gotten a fifty-acre estate for free; it was like a windfall.
Seeing that Li Xiangping was happy, Yan Qingqing said again, "From now on, this estate will be managed by you."
Li Xiangping stammered in disbelief, "Mother, how can I manage this without any experience?"
Yan Qingqing rolled her eyes at him and said, "Look at your lack of ambition. This is just for you to practice on. If you can't even manage fifty acres of land, what will you do when your family has tens of thousands of acres of fertile land in the future?"
After saying that, he stepped into the villa. Li Xiangping was still standing there in a daze. What had his mother just said? Ten thousand acres of fertile land, how big must that be? How much grain would they harvest?
Seeing that Yan Qingqing had already left, and Li Xiangping was still standing there in a daze, Ah Da decisively followed Yan Qingqing's steps.
When Li Xiangping came to his senses, Yan Qingqing and A'da were nowhere to be seen, so he quickly followed after them.
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