Chapter 297 This is referring to herself!
Li Shiyue naturally gave them face and chatted with Brother Zhao and the others for a few minutes. "Since you're here, Third Brother, you can just stay for half a day this afternoon."
"I see that you, Sister-in-law Min, and Xiao Yanqiu are all quite adept at the abacus work, so it won't be a problem if you only come for half an afternoon."
Li Shiliang and Zhao Min readily agreed, and after greeting Li Shiyue, they took Zhao Min home.
Ma Zi and Zhao Yan were also heading home with Zhao Yan's brother. Wei Zi and Sun Xiaodou were doing the same, leading Sun Xiaodou's father and brother home.
Brother Zhao drove his donkey cart into the yard and put it down. There was half a bag of beans, a basket of dry flatbread made from two kinds of flour, two small jars of pickled vegetables, and a bag of hawthorn berries that his mother had brought.
Zhao Min stuffed a large bowl of steaming hot fried dough sticks into his hands.
"Brother, let Sanlang tidy up. Go inside and warm up. Have this to tide you over, and I'll go cook right away."
Third Aunt was with Xiao Yanqiu nearby. She quickly called out to Li Shiliang, who was still sweeping snow at the door: "Third brother, hurry up, who invites their brother-in-law to come and do chores at home?"
Come here quickly and tidy all this up and bring it inside.
After calling out to Li Shiliang, Third Aunt smiled broadly and pulled Xiao Yanqiu to Brother Zhao, saying, "Her uncle, let Third Brother do it. You go inside and warm up on the kang (heated brick bed). You must be freezing from the journey."
So, Brother Zhao followed his third aunt and Xiao Yanqiu into the house and onto the kang (a heated brick bed). As soon as he sat down, he watched his third aunt pull out candies, fried dough sticks, and dried fruit from various places.
"Her uncle, eat up, eat quickly. It's not easy for you to come all this way, treat us like family, don't be polite."
While Brother Zhao was still being reserved and too shy to take the fruit to eat, Xiao Yanqiu had already taken the dried fruit from the box and started eating it herself.
Third Aunt frowned as soon as she saw Xiao Yanqiu eating dried fruit;
When Brother Zhao saw his third aunt acting like this, he thought that she was reluctant to let Xiao Yanqiu eat it.
But then he heard his third aunt lower her head and whisper in Xiao Yanqiu's ear, frowning, "Yanqiu, you can only eat this one piece, you can't eat any more."
Otherwise, your mother will say that your mother-in-law spoils you.
Listen to your mother, eating too much sweet stuff is bad for your teeth.
Little Yanqiu opened her round eyes and nodded at her third aunt, then quickly chewed on the sweet dried fruit soaked in soup.
Brother Zhao was momentarily dazed before asking, "Grandma, is this the formal name she's giving the little girl?"
The moment Xiao Yanqiu's name was mentioned, Third Auntie would get really excited.
She then told Brother Zhao about how her whole family had gone to Jiangjia Village to deliver New Year's gifts to Jiang Huai before the New Year, and how they had asked Jiang Huai to name Xiao Yanqiu.
"...We don't understand, but Mr. Jiang is a scholar, and Yan is the inkstone, and Qiu is the autumn harvest. Mr. Jiang must have given us a good name!"
Yanqiu's name was already written into the family genealogy during the village's ancestral worship ceremony this year.
"From now on," Third Aunt gently stroked little Yanqiu's head as she munched on dried fruit, "Yanqiu's name will be Li Yanqiu!"
Brother Zhao had just finished his bowl of fried dough sticks. "Grandma, you mean Xiaoya, ah, no, Yan... Yanqiu, she took Sanlang's surname?"
"Of course she'll take the third son's surname. Her mother married the third son, so what other surname could she take?"
Seeing the expression on Brother Zhao's face, Third Aunt realized that she had been too forceful in her words, so she quickly added, "Uncle, don't be so critical. It's not that I didn't want to go to Zhao You's house to tell you, but things just kept happening so fast."
The third son and Minniang were planning to take Yanqiu back to her parents' home after the Lantern Festival...
Before Third Aunt could finish speaking, Li Shiliang came in carrying a pot of tea, lifted the curtain, and put down the teapot. He then used the curtain to shield Zhao Min from view.
Zhao Min walked in carrying a large tray with three plates, one large and one small, on it.
Brother Zhao saw that the small dish contained pickled vegetables, which were still glistening with oil, indicating that they had been mixed with oil.
The other small dish contained egg pancakes with scallions; this plate alone must have used at least seven or eight eggs.
"We're all family, why spend so much?"
As Brother Zhao spoke, he looked at the rather deep dish that had been placed on the kang table. Smelling the aroma of meat in it, Brother Zhao's stomach, which had just eaten a large bowl of fried dough sticks, began to rumble.
He became slightly embarrassed, and his dark face flushed.
"Brother, this is stewed rabbit. I don't know if you can eat it?"
"You eat first, I still have chicken stewing in the pot."
“Brother-in-law, this rabbit has an earthy smell. We added dogwood to mask the taste. You might not be used to it the first time you eat it, but once you get used to it, you'll find it quite delicious.”
As he said this, Li Shiliang placed a piece of food on Zhao's plate.
Brother Zhao, of course, wouldn't refuse. Even though he didn't understand it and had never eaten it before, he still picked it up and ate it.
"Brother-in-law, you eat first. I'll go to the stove and keep an eye on things. I'll have Minniang come over and keep you company."
Zhao Min was a skilled cook; the rich aroma of the chicken soup with hazel mushrooms, simmered over a high flame, was so enticing that even Zhao Da Xiong could smell it while sitting on the kang (heated brick bed) inside the house.
At lunchtime, Brother Zhao ate until he was completely stuffed. Li Shiliang's original idea was to pour him some wine and let him stay overnight at his house before returning home the next day.
But Brother Zhao said, "I told my family before I came, so I dare not delay."
Otherwise, my family will also be worried.
So Li Shiliang said that Zhao should take the wine back to his father-in-law and brother-in-law.
After they had eaten and drunk their fill, Li Shiliang and his third aunt thoughtfully left Xiao Yanqiu and Zhao Min to talk privately with their eldest brother in the room, while the two of them went out.
The brother and sister faced each other, speechless for a moment.
In the end, Zhao Min spoke first: "I'm doing quite well here. Sanlang is a good person, and so is my aunt. They both take good care of me and Yanqiu."
Spring is here, and I will send Yanqiu to school to study. Not only will he be able to read, but the teacher will also teach him to use an abacus. No matter what happens in the future, knowing these two things will ensure he has enough to eat.
Oh, brother, you probably don't know, but before the New Year, in the ancestral hall in October, the person in charge of our village established a new rule: from now on, no woman in the village will marry out; they will all be brought in by their husbands!
When Yanqiu reaches a certain age, I'll find her a husband to live with us, so she can stay with me for the rest of her life.
Brother Zhao looked up at Zhao Min, and he knew in his heart that Zhao Min was not referring to Xiao Yanqiu at all.
This refers to herself!
When Zhao Min divorced, her dowry was given to her two brothers' families by her parents, which allowed Zhao Min and her daughter to continue living in the small house she had lived in before her marriage.
What could Brother Zhao possibly say?
He simply lowered his head again and replied, "Yes, it's good that you and Xiaoya, no, you and Yanqiu are doing well."
"When I get back, I'll tell Mother that you two are doing well, so she won't worry about you so much."
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