Chapter 33 I'll Hand This Home Over to You

Brother Tang said, "Mother, I'll go too. It'll be fine as long as Erlang is at home."

"No," Madam Lin said, "There are a lot of things to do at home, and we have to leave someone to take charge. Rong'er is still taking medicine, and I am worried."

Tang Qingshan also said: "There are many people over there, one more or one less of you won't make a difference, you have a lot of work to do at home, and no one else can do it."

Brother Tang nodded in agreement.

Madam Lin scolded her youngest son and daughter with a threatening face: "You all have to listen to your elder brother! If I find out who dares to be naughty, I will spank her butt into eight pieces! Do you hear me?"

The fifth and sixth brothers were well-trained and kept their heads down. Only the little one showed enthusiasm, looking up and pointing at himself with his little hands: "Xinbao will take good care of the big one, the second one, and all the children!"

Mrs. Lin was almost dizzy from her laughter. She couldn't hold her face anymore and burst out laughing. "Okay, then I'll leave this house to you!"

"Okay!" Naituanzi nodded seriously: "Don't worry, mother!"

The brothers were all laughing, and Xinbao's eyes were twinkling: "Now can Xinbao go see the little donkey?"

In the afternoon, Tang Qingshan came back with a donkey cart and also bought a small bag of candy for Naituanzi.

Then she just focused on eating the candy. After finishing her meal, she realized that they had bought a little donkey. As a child who grew up in the city, she had never seen a live donkey before and was extremely curious.

Madam Lin said helplessly: "It's dark now, what can we see? Let's go and see tomorrow morning."

The silly third brother jumped up and hugged his sister: "It's okay, I'll carry you to see it."

Tang Qingshan said: "Watch from a distance!"

Madam Lin also said, "It's not tamed yet, be careful if you get too close, I'll kick you!"

Brother Tang was worried and followed him out. Tang Qingshan, who had just stood up, sat back down silently.

The little boy was held by his third brother and walked carefully to the back.

The newly bought donkey was tied to a fallen tree trunk, with a broken basin in front of it serving as a trough. It was eating grass, making a very regular, rustling sound.

Brother Tang grabbed his younger brother from behind and said, "Don't get close. Donkeys are timid and will cry if they are startled while eating."

He also watched from a distance: "This is a Guanzhong breed, it is big and easy to raise. Once it is raised, it can recognize its home and understand human language."

In the darkness, Nai Tuanzi stared with wide eyes, trying to look for a long time, but could only see the donkey's moving white mouth and erect long ears. Nai Tuanzi whispered: "Did you give the donkey a name?"

Brother Tang smiled and said, "Not yet, Xinbao, please pick one."

So Naituanzi used her little brain and thought for a long time: "Is it okay to call him Tang Xiaoba?"

Brother Tang smiled and said, "Okay."

The silly third brother boasted: "My sister is amazing. She can even come up with names! She comes up with really nice names! They sound nice and easy to remember!"

As a result, when he shouted so loudly, Tang Xiaoba was frightened immediately. He struggled with the rope and screamed, "Ah~Oh~Ah~Oh~".

Brother Tang San quickly ran back with his sister in his arms, patting her on the back.

Mrs. Lin held the donkey in her arms and stroked its fur, saying with a smile, "I told you not to go but you insisted on going. Donkeys get startled when they first arrive in a new place. Are you scared?" She took off the donkey's shoes, changed her clothes, put her in the quilt, and patted her gently, "Okay, it's getting late, go to bed."

Brother Tang San stood in front of the bed: "Xinbao, are you scared? I'll accompany you."

"Xinbao, don't be afraid!" The little boy closed his eyes obediently and fell asleep after a short while.

Other children who sleep in separate beds would always make a fuss for a few days, so when Xinbao was allowed to sleep in her own bed, everyone in the family was worried. Everyone asked her about it several times, but for Xinbao, it didn’t matter at all that there were several people in the same room, just not in the same bed, and she accepted it easily.

The third brother walked away feeling disappointed.

The candle in the room was blown out. Madam Lin and Tang Qingshan were whispering something at the other end of the room...

When Xinbao was half asleep and half awake, the huge stone appeared in his mind again.

The big stone was dark yellow in color, with faint traces of mountains, waterfalls, pavilions, and people passing by on it, forming a small world of its own. A line of black handwriting, at first like a dark cloud, gradually became clearer, until it became dark black, protruding on the stone: "Tang Dalang fell from the cliff, the back of his head hit the rock heavily, and he slowly stopped breathing."

…

Xinbao woke up amidst a lot of noise.

First, the little donkey brayed a few times in the back, and gradually, voices from outside came one after another: "Oh, this donkey is so energetic! Is it a Guanzhong donkey? How old is it?"

"He is three and a half years old."

"Not bad, not bad, it works just fine! This donkey cart is also light. It must have cost a lot of money, right?"

"The donkey cost more than four taels, and the donkey cart was bought at the same place, so the total cost was five and a half taels. If it wasn't cheaper, I would have made one myself."

"Oh! OK, that's a good deal."

…

"Tang Wu and Tang Liu, let's go! Go up the mountain!"

"Okay!"

There is no wrong version in the 1619 book forum!

"Ask Xinbao to go with you!"

"My sister hasn't woken up yet!"

"Why don't you wake her up and go with me? I'll pick some flowers for her."

It was the one who came to the fore yesterday, little brother Tang Jinguo.

Xinbao was so scared that she immediately covered her head with the quilt, fearing that her little brother would come to call her.

Fortunately, the fifth and sixth brothers were still reliable. The children's voices gradually faded away, and Xinbao covered himself with the quilt and fell asleep again in a daze.

Someone lifted her quilt, kissed her red face, and then tucked the quilt under her head before walking out, saying in a whisper, "I'm going up the mountain for a walk. I'll be back in two hours at most. Please keep an eye on Xinbao."

"Got it, big brother."

Brother Tang carried the basket on his back and went up the mountain.

Fourth Brother Tang also whispered, "Second Brother, I'm going to go out and look for some tall grass so I can weave a raincoat for Xinbao to play with."

The second brother nodded.

The surroundings returned to silence. The second brother slowly boiled medicine on the small mud stove at the door, looking up at his sister from time to time.

Xinbao slept for an unknown amount of time. He turned over several times and got stuck in his own sleeve. No matter how hard he tried to pull it out, he couldn't. He woke up groaning and sat up in bed with his eyes hazy.

The second brother smiled and said, "The lazy little bug has finally woken up?"

He came over to put shoes on Niutianzi, and he carried Niutianzi off the bed, with his sleeves hanging down, still a little dazed.

The second brother drank the steaming medicine quickly.

Xinbao: “…”

Alas! Second brother, how can you believe that I really won’t drink your medicine secretly! But the second brother obviously thought that she was a greedy person who would even taste the medicine secretly, and after drinking it, he asked her to look at the bowl again.

Then she went to the stove and brought out breakfast, saying with a smile, "Mother steamed it with tofu and meat. I don't know if you are used to it. Try it first."

The little girl uttered an "oh" and went to the basin to wash her face. Then she finally remembered and said to her brother, "Brush your teeth."

The second brother brought a willow branch and cut off a small piece of skin on the top, letting her chew it, leaving some silk. This is the toothbrush. He then took the box of green salt and said with a smile: "Dip a little bit, yes, just a little bit. Xinbao, do you know how to brush your teeth?"

Xinbao nodded: "Yes."

She held the willow branch in her small hands, moving it up and down, left and right...

While brushing her brush, she felt as if there was something very important hanging in her heart. She thought hard about it, and then she was suddenly startled and her whole body was stunned.

(End of this chapter)