Chapter 647 Recognizing Relatives
Li Dalang experienced the highest level of affection from the matchmaker at the Guo family home, an affection that was even somewhat suffocating to him.
From the moment they entered, the matchmaker held onto Li Dalang's hand tightly. After they sat down in the main hall, the matchmaker seemed intent on stuffing all the snacks and fruits on the table into Li Dalang's mouth, as if she was afraid he would go hungry.
This suffocating family bond continued until noon when the meal began without stopping.
When Guo Tuanlian saw Li Dalang's pleading eyes, he quickly looked away, pretending he couldn't see them.
Like most soldiers on the border, Commander Guo believed that "he was a good man on the frontier, but at home he was just a good man behind his wife's back!"
Therefore, Commander Guo dared not say a word, for fear of displeasing Hongniang.
Helpless, Li Dalang looked at his younger cousin Guo Jiang, who had been enthusiastically calling out to him since they met. Guo Jiang was even more ruthless than Guo Tuanlian Shi; his face was practically buried in the bowl. He couldn't even lift his head; his whole body was practically lying on the table.
In the end, Vice Envoy Wan couldn't stand it anymore. He coughed twice and asked Commander Guo, "Is Erlang on duty in the camp?"
Will they come to our house while we stay up to welcome them?
When Hongniang heard what her second son said, she finally looked up at Commander Guo, which made Li Dalang breathe a sigh of relief.
Li Dalang held his chopsticks, patted his bulging belly with his left hand, and thought to himself, "I really can't eat anymore."
"Erlang should be able to return by evening, and we can stay up together to celebrate the New Year. However, he has to be on duty in the army right now, so he can't come back."
After lunch, everyone gathered in the main hall. Li Dalang drank two large cups of tea to aid digestion, and then poured himself a third cup, sipping it slowly.
Everyone chatted about the customs of celebrating the New Year on the border, and talked about the border trade after the start of spring. Half an hour passed in the process.
Li Dalang looked at the small vermilion mole between Hongniang's eyebrows, pondered the words in his heart for a long time, and then stood up and bowed to Commander Guo and Hongniang, who were sitting at the head of the table.
"Commander Guo, to be honest, before I left Chang'an, my grandmother did talk to me about the old stories of our elders."
My grandmother also told me that if I went to the border town and met a woman about the same age as my mother with a small mole between her eyebrows, I should go up and ask her.
Upon hearing this, the matchmaker, whose emotions were already unstable, could no longer hold back and burst into tears.
When she first saw Li Dalang, Hongniang was able to hold back her tears, suppressing her sobs.
When Hongniang learned that Li's mother had not forgotten her and still remembered that someone was waiting for her in this city, she couldn't hold back any longer and poured out all her emotions.
Hongniang lost her mother at a young age and her father when she was young. Fortunately, her maternal family was able to take her to safety during the war and raise her to adulthood.
Otherwise, it's uncertain whether matchmakers would still exist in this world.
Thirty years have passed, and Hongniang, now over thirty-five, still remembers the day when Li's mother and father got married. Li's mother, blushing shyly, sat with her on the bed and stuffed all the snacks and candies on the table into her hands.
Li's mother had also raised a matchmaker before, although it was only for a little over half a year. Due to the war, the matchmaker's maternal family was worried and, for the sake of the matchmaker, they took her away from the Sun family.
"Ah, my mother, she still remembers me!"
She hasn't forgotten me!
Mother, Mother, she remembers me!
She remembers the matchmaker, and she remembers me!
The matchmaker was sobbing uncontrollably, and it took Commander Guo to comfort her until her breathing calmed down.
Li Dalang truly had no idea that his mother had raised Hongniang, since his mother had never told them about it.
"Tiger Head, is that your nickname?"
"Come sit here and tell me properly what happened after Mother took Brother away from the border town."
"...Grandma married Grandpa, and later gave birth to my second uncle and my youngest aunt."
My second uncle married and had three sons. My aunt came home with Dewdrop after her divorce.
The people here don't care about a woman's chastity as much as those moralists in Chang'an do about a woman's remarriage.
After all, firstly, widows are rare; secondly, widows can give birth; and thirdly, there are few people in the border areas. Although marrying a widow means raising her children, these children are all laborers in the family, and very few families are unwilling to do so.
Therefore, Li Dalang noticed that the people present did not react much to his story about Li Sanniang taking her daughter and leaving home.
"Dewdrop? Is she a little girl?"
Okay, okay, I've had four sons, and my eldest son's wife also had a son. I just want a little girl to love.
well. "
Afterwards, Li Dalang told everyone about the Li family's situation in detail. When everyone heard that Li Erlang had already entered officialdom, they were all shocked.
"sharp!
He's already in officialdom before even reaching adulthood—that's impressive! His future is limitless, truly limitless!
This praise came from Commander Guo. Although Deputy Commander Wan didn't say anything, he seemed to think that Li Erlang was quite capable.
When everyone heard that Li San Niang had not only become the first female doctor in Chang'an, but had also taught her life-saving techniques to the Imperial Medical Bureau, they were all utterly astonished.
Because of his life-or-death bond with Commander Guo, and because he was bound to the same side, and because he had no children, Vice Envoy Wan maintained a close relationship with the Guo family.
Under normal circumstances, Vice Envoy Wan would not interfere in the Guo family's affairs. However, after hearing Li Dalang's words, he couldn't hold back and almost stood up. He barely managed to restrain himself, but still asked Li Dalang loudly, "Was it the idea of the Third Mistress of the Li family?"
I had previously lamented that although we won this battle thanks to our superior weaponry, many of our soldiers were still wounded.
Normally, it would be fortunate if two or three out of ten people survived.
However, thanks to the new techniques of the Imperial Medical Bureau, while it might be an exaggeration to say that seven or eight out of ten survived, five or six out of ten did.
We are both soldiers; veterans who survive on the battlefield are truly invaluable!
Vice Envoy Wan finally stood up. He walked up to Li Dalang and said very seriously, "This Third Sister Li is truly righteous and talented. I never expected her to be one of our own!"
I bow to them, for the soldiers in the army, and for their families!
Li Dalang could not accept such a bow, so he quickly got up and dodged it.
The group chatted about Li San Niang's matter for a while, until night fell and Guo's second son rode home from the military camp.
Upon seeing Guo Erlang, Li Dalang naturally exchanged greetings again. After a brief conversation, Li Dalang proposed, "Now that I have met my father's relatives, my aunt and uncle, I would like to pay my respects to my father-in-law and fulfill my filial duty as a grandson."
Offering incense, bowing, and kowtowing three times—this completes Li Dalang's family reunion ceremony for the day.
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