Chapter 131
In recent years, they have gradually established themselves in the city, and the frequency of returning home has become less and less. In the first two or three years when they went to the city, they had to go back once every ten days or half a month. Ruijin and Ruili grew up in the village when they were young, and they missed the village when they first came to the city. Later, as they grew up and became familiar with the land in the city, Ruijin was busy with his studies and imperial examinations, so going back home changed from once a month to a holiday.
Going further back, the only time the whole family would get together was during the Chinese New Year to worship their ancestors, and on ordinary days, only Zhang Fangyuan would go back home more often for business.
This time they planned to stay in the old house in the village for a few days. On the first night, the maids and servants began to prepare clothes and gifts for the masters. Early in the morning of the second day, a carriage was ready at the door of the house, and two other carriages were loaded with several large boxes.
Zhang Fangyuan was not very fond of riding in a carriage. When he got up in the morning, the weather was cool and sunny, and the sun had not yet risen, so riding a horse was perfect. He felt it was boring to ride alone, so he ordered the servants to bring out two horses and asked Ruijin to go with him.
Brother Xiaoli also wanted to ride a horse for fun. After all, he had some filial piety. Thinking that his father would be bored sitting alone in a big carriage, he simply stayed in the carriage to accompany Xu He.
The journey from Siyang to Jijiu Village was fast, and it only took a little over an hour. In the carriage, Xiaoli was counting carefully what he wanted to eat when he returned to the village.
"There are so many watermelons in the village next door these days, so I must go pick some myself. I must also catch fish in the fish pond and make soup from them, which is my specialty."
Xu He smiled and said, "A few days is enough for you to have fun. Just don't get bored and rush back to the city."
"How could that be? There are so many places to eat and play around our village, how can we get bored?"
"A few days ago, Wang Si, who is in charge of the mountain, reported that the little creatures lost in the mountain have grown strong and plump. Little Li is clamoring to go hunting. You can go and take a look when you are free in a couple of days." Zhang Fangyuan turned around and saw that Ruili, contrary to his usual behavior, did not stretch his neck to look out of the carriage window. He pulled the horse to the side of the carriage and heard the two men discussing food.
"Okay, okay!" Little Li agreed quickly. He hadn't been to the forest to play for a long time. "Master Zhang, Dad has promised to let us go hunting in the mountains. You can't refuse this time. You have to kill two pheasants for me."
Ruijin looked back at Xiaoli and shook his head helplessly: "Okay."
Little Li shook Xu He's arm happily, and the family chatted and laughed, and soon they arrived at the village entrance.
It is the autumn harvest season now. The sun is not high in the sky, and the villagers are busy harvesting crops in the fields. The fields are very busy.
Although the Zhang family returned home with a small entourage this time, their family business has grown over the years, and even though they think they have been minimalist and low-key enough, it is no longer the time when the couple had only a few dozen taels of silver in their pockets. They have to hesitate whether to walk or take an ox cart when going to and from the city.
The villagers working in the fields heard the noise from afar. They put down their work and craned their necks to watch. The villagers who were closer to the road shouted, "It's Landlord Zhang coming back to the village!"
When the villagers heard that it was Zhang Fangyuan returning home, they hurried out of the fields and went to the sidewalks to watch the excitement. They looked at the Zhang family's large and small carts and the gorgeous horse-drawn carriages and marveled at them. When they saw Zhang Fangyuan on his tall horse and Zhang Ruijin, who was almost as tall as him and standing shoulder to shoulder with him, everyone was even more excited.
"I heard that Zhang Ruijin passed the imperial examination and has been appointed as an official. This is incredible!"
"What do you mean by heard? It's true. Some time ago, those members of the Zhang family went to the city to have a banquet. It was so lively. All the important people in the city went there."
"I've always said that Zhang Ruijin was a smart kid. Look, he's passed the imperial examination and become a high-ranking official."
"Aunt Wu, I remember you said that Zhang Ruijin didn't cry when he was born, maybe he was a fool!"
"When did I ever say such a thing?"
The villagers were talking animatedly, their spirits higher than the sun, and when carriages and horses approached, they hurried over to greet them, regardless of blocking the way, as if they were more worried about the smooth passage of carriages and horses.
He was shocked to see that Zhang Ruijin started calling him an adult, and he wanted to flatter the Zhang family all the time, as if the time when he called Zhang Fangyuan a scoundrel and Xu He a strange and aloof person and didn't want to associate with him was a thing of his past life, and now he just wished he could show his face in front of this family of four more times.
Zhang Fangyuan had expected that the villagers would be very welcoming. It was not easy for the whole family to return to the village. Ruijin was also an official, so he had to greet the villagers one by one even in the scorching sun.
"Uncle, uncle! Ruijin and Ruili, are you back in the village?"
Just when the Zhang family's carriage was stuck in the road and chatting with the villagers, two horse-drawn carriages carrying goods came from behind. Two men who looked like servants were following the carriages from behind. The young man on the front was riding a horse. He was unhappy that the carriages in front were blocking the road, but when he got closer, he saw that they were acquaintances and a smile appeared on his face again.
Zhang Fangyuan and Xu He heard a cheerful voice coming from behind, and when they turned their heads, they saw that it was Fei Yazheng from the Fei family.
This child is one year younger than Rui Jin and Rui Li, but he doesn't look like a teenager of this age at all. When the child was born, his father Fei Lian thought that his eldest son would inherit his mantle, study hard and take imperial examinations, so that he could enter the official career in the future, so he gave the child a very elegant name.
Fei Yazheng, however, was not a bookworm. He had been against his father since he was young. When he was ten years old, he had a big fight with his father and even ran away for half a month. Fei's family had only this one child, and the family went crazy looking for him. Fei's mother and Xu Shaochun's eyes were swollen from crying.
After searching for many days at home without any results, Xu Shaochun went to the Zhang family for help. Zhang Fangyuan sent people to search Siyang for two days and almost turned the place upside down before they found him. It turned out that the man had found a job in the city and was doing very well.
After this incident, Fei Lian didn't dare to be too harsh on him. Whenever he tried to force him to study, Fei's mother and Xu Shaochun would make a fuss. Freed from his father's control, Fei Yazheng simply stopped studying and simply followed Zhang Xiaotian and Zhang Xiaoxuan's caravan to go out and do business.
This kid was not good at studying, but he had a talent for business. After two years of working outside, he returned to Siyang and started a small business. He even opened two or three shops. Zhang Fangyuan also told Xu Hexi that the children of the two siblings in the Xu family did not like to follow in their father's footsteps, but preferred to do the opposite.
Zhang Fangyuan and Xu He's world became wider and wider, and they were less concerned about the trivial matters in the village. As for Xu Shaochun's family affairs, Liu Xianglan would sometimes come to the city to do some business and would stop by the house to see Xu He and Rui Jin and Rui Li and bring them news.
After Fei Lian and Xu Shaochun got pregnant with a son, they had no more children. When they were young, the couple had problems with the concubines and the temperaments of their respective families. Fei Lian liked to get along with the concubines, and the mother-in-law also quarreled with them a lot when they were young. It is understandable that Xu Shaochun's life was not easy.
Unable to rely on her husband, Xu Shaochun simply threw all her attention on her son. Fortunately, Fei Yazheng knew right from wrong and was very supportive of his mother. Her relationship with Fei Lian had been tense since childhood.
As Fei Yazheng grew up and started doing business, the life at home improved visibly. After he had a say at home, he treated Xu Shaochun well by providing him with all the good food and drink, and even bought some maids and servants for Xu Shaochun to use.
I know that his mother was a village beauty when she was young and she loved beauty very much. However, she was unlucky and could not marry into a good family. She has suffered a lot over the years. After he made money, he kept giving his mother the things that the women in the family liked. Every time he went out for business, he would bring back a cart of clothes and accessories for his mother.
If anyone in the family wants to make his mother suffer, Fei Ya will definitely not give a good face. Fei family has only this one child, and he is very capable, so he has no choice but to obey in everything.
Fei Lian was angry that Fei Yazheng failed to study and become a talented person like Ruijin, but was stingy with the money Fei Yazheng earned. Every time he wanted to scold Xu Shaochun, Fei Yazheng would scold him back. He also used the money to help the people in the clan, and everyone was on his side. Over time, Fei Yazheng almost made the decisions in the family, and Fei Lianqi was useless.
With his son's support in everything, Xu Shaochun has become more radiant in recent years.
The villagers looked at them and seemed to have gone back to more than ten years ago when Xu Shaochun was a girl.
At that time, her face was rosy, she looked pretty and she dressed elegantly. Now she is getting older, but her beauty is still there and she likes to dress up again. She uses new fabrics from Jiangnan that her son brought back to make clothes for her, and she wears a variety of hairpins and jewelry. She looks like a wealthy lady.
In the past, the Xu siblings were the subject of much conversation after dinner, and even now, more than ten or twenty years later, they are still the subject of much conversation.
"Yazheng, you're back too? I just heard from your grandmother a while ago that you went to Jiangnan for business."
When Xu He saw the man, he greeted him sincerely and warmly. His father was not on good terms with the Zhang family, but the child respected their family very much. Xu Shaochun said that the child liked doing business since he was young, and he admired Zhang Fangyuan as a businessman very much. In recent years, he would send gifts to the house during festivals in the city to express his gratitude.
Fei Ya was pulling the horse to the carriage. He glanced at Rui Li who was looking at him with his head tilted, nodded slightly, and then replied to Xu He: "I just returned to the city last night and brought back some fabrics from Jiangnan. I thought my mother would like it, so I hurried to send it back."
"You've been away for so long, your mother must be worried about you, but with your filial piety, her worry about you is worth it."
Fei Yazheng laughed, turned to Rui Jin and said, "I heard the news that Brother Jin was admitted to high school, but I didn't have time to congratulate my cousin."
"Brothers, please don't be so distant. It's not easy to see you. Now that you've returned to the village, we should get to know each other more." Zhang Ruijin said, "Brother Xiaoli said he wants to go hunting in the forest. Cousin Yazheng should come with him then."
"That couldn't be better!"
"Don't talk on the road in such a hot sun. I've already heated up the tea at home!"
While the two were talking, Zhang Shixin and Zhang Shicheng received the news that a family of four was returning to their hometown. They had been waiting there for a long time, but in vain did they see any sign of them returning home. The hired farmer told them that they were blocked on the road by the villagers, so they immediately went out with their servants to greet them.
Zhang Fang had been away from the village for so long that it was difficult for him to discipline the villagers. However, Zhang Shixin and Zhang Shicheng had always been in the village. As the Zhang family's wealth and power grew over the years, the prestige of the men in charge of the Zhang family in the village also increased.
Three years ago, the old village chief passed away and Zhang Shixin was elected village chief. He was very able to suppress the villagers.
When they came to pick up their nephew, the villagers had no chance to talk to the village celebrity any longer and they all stepped aside silently.
"Yazheng, come to my house and have a seat."
Fei Yazheng said: "You are still dragging things. Come back after you have sorted them out."
Zhang Fangyuan responded, "Okay, you must come over when the time comes. Are you cousins going to get together?"
"My cousin will be assigned to be an official in another place next year. I will definitely come over."
The two sides said goodbye and walked together for a short distance before heading home.
It was lively on the roadside, and then it was lively again when we returned home. The whole family had been waiting at the door for a long time. Young and old, they all stretched their necks to look around. When they saw Ruijin, they greeted him warmly, asking about how the capital was going and whether the journey to take the exam was hard.
Little Li jumped off the carriage and said, "My uncles and aunts are only concerned about my brother. They haven't seen me for a while. How can they be partial to me?"
"Look at how little Li has grown, but he's still so narrow-minded, even jealous of your brother!"
Everyone laughed.
Zhang Shixin smiled and called out, "Okay, okay, stop standing at the door and go inside."
The whole family then went in one after another.
The Zhang family's house had been occupied by Zhang Fangyuan's second aunt and fourth uncle's family since he moved to the city. Later, Zhang Fangyuan became the clan leader and built an ancestral hall. His eldest and second cousins started a caravan and made money, so the brothers discussed and expanded the house a lot, and Zhang Shixin and his family also moved in.
It is said that the Zhang family's closest relatives live in the big house now. In the novel, there are three families living there permanently, and the house where Zhang Fangyuan and Xu He lived before has been vacant for a long time, so there are four families in the house. The house is even bigger than Zhang Fangyuan's house in the city. Now that everyone is here, including the elders, children, and servants, there are actually dozens of people in total, and it is very lively.
The family talked, ate, and had a great time together. By the next day, the heat of the family reunion had slowly faded away, and they finally had peace.
Little Li couldn't sit still, so he took Ruijin and his cousins of the same age to the next village to pick watermelons, go to the fields to catch fish, and the next day went hunting in the mountains. With all the children running away, the house became much quieter.
It is autumn harvest time now, and everyone in the old house is busy with their own things. However, Zhang Fangyuan, who is usually a busy man, put aside all the trivial matters and stayed in the house with Xu He to relax for a while.
"After more than ten years, this golden osmanthus is still growing well."
Xu He came out of the house and looked at Zhang Fangyuan, who was lying leisurely on a rocking chair under the shade of an osmanthus tree, enjoying the cool air. The chair, which was too long for his arms and legs, could hardly accommodate him.
Hearing the voice, Zhang Fangyuan opened his eyes and stretched out his hand. Xu He also raised his hand, held his hand and moved closer.
“The osmanthus flowers are blooming beautifully this year.”
Zhang Fangyuan looked up at the flourishing clusters of golden osmanthus flowers that filled the branches. When the autumn wind blew, the fragrance was rich. The delicate little flowers fell on Xu He's shoulders. The years were peaceful.
He frowned and laughed softly.
"I am like this golden osmanthus."
Xu He was puzzled and tilted his head to look at the person lazily leaning on the chair: "Huh?"
Zhang Fangyuan said slowly: "Come closer, I'll tell you a story..."
A story where a new life begins with you and the rest of life ends with you.
——End of text——
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