Xu San and Zhou Xing, a married couple, had finished packing and were preparing to drive their horse-drawn carriage to town to open their shop.
Just then, they saw Xu Dana tie up Bai Shi with a rope and prepare to come this way.
Startled, Xu San quickly stopped them, "Brother, what are you doing?"
"Third brother, your sister-in-law was confused that night. Your eldest brother will apologize to you on her behalf. Also, I'll compensate you for the bamboo forest as compensation for the bamboo that was burned!"
Xu Da took out a land deed from his pocket and handed it to Xu San.
Xu San glanced silently at the paper, then at Bai Shi, whose face was swollen like a steamed bun and had a clear horizontal bloodstain. A sense of satisfaction rose in his heart.
Suddenly, he wasn't so angry about the arson anymore. "Forget it, brother. We're brothers, let's just leave it at that. From now on, except for important matters concerning our parents, our two families shouldn't have any further dealings."
"Also, I don't want my parents to know about this, I'm afraid it will upset them and cause them harm. You'd better not go to the east courtyard to tell them." After saying that, he didn't take the land deed and drove away in the carriage.
Bai looked up at the departing carriage, her eyes filled with deep hatred.
Are you afraid your parents will find out? Afraid they'll be furious?
Xu Da glanced at the gate of the third son's house, then silently pushed Bai Shi back inside.
After returning home, he beat her again before releasing his two sons, warning them not to ask about what happened that day.
On the way to town, Zhou Xing in the carriage couldn't help but feel a little worried. "Husband, I'm still a little uneasy. Maybe I should go home and stay with our parents and children. Bai Shi is not a kind person. I'm worried that she will tell our parents about this."
Xu Shun thought about it and also had this worry, so he simply turned his horse around and sent Zhou Xing home, telling her not to open the gate if they came to cause trouble. He then went to open his shop in town.
Some people have scheduled to pick up their goods today, but they still need to open their shops today.
Zhou Xing agreed and went back to lock the door from the inside.
When the two elders saw her return, they asked her in surprise why she was back again. Zhou Xing said that she needed to take care of the bamboo at home, and they decided to bring it all to the town and put it in the Zhou residence in a few days.
Upon hearing this, the two elders sighed.
Fortunately, the day passed peacefully, and the next three days went smoothly. Xu Shun was relieved and found a few oxcarts in the village to transport all the bamboo to Zhou Lin's workshop. He placed the bamboo in a corner of his yard, intending to split it into bamboo strips as soon as possible to preserve some of it.
Xu Shun had been pondering something for the past few days: should he also buy a courtyard house in town and move out with his parents and children?
That way, if I don't see them, I won't have any worries.
This time she set fire, who knows what she might do next?
Unexpectedly, a few days later, Zhou Quan came to visit him for drinks and mentioned the matter to him. Xu Shun smiled helplessly, "To be honest, my brother-in-law has also thought about it, but his shop has only been open for a year and he hasn't saved enough money to buy a house in town yet!"
Zhou Quan shook his head. "If you have this idea in mind, I will arrange the rest for you. There is a large open space behind Madam Qi's courtyard. I saw it last time and originally wanted to buy it, but then I thought that I wouldn't need it, so I didn't."
“If you come, it would be suitable. It’s quite big there, about five or six acres. If you buy it all, you can build two small courtyards for your own residence, and you can also plant bamboo in the mansion. There’s still plenty of space left to plant a lot of bamboo. You can move all the bamboo groves in the village there. The more time goes on, the more valuable your courtyard will become.”
"Buying the land won't cost much initially, but building the house will. I know many people who can help you build houses, and I'll find the most affordable and reliable people to build it for you. Our house doesn't need to be as grand as those mansions in town; something like the ones in our village will do, with blue bricks and tiles. It'll be comfortable to live in."
After Zhou Quan finished speaking, he looked at Xu Shun and said, "Brother-in-law, this is something that Xiaomai and I have discussed and helped you come up with the most suitable solution for you, but it also depends on whether your parents are willing to move out."
Xu Shun nodded and gave Zhou Quan a grateful look. "I'll go back and talk to my parents, but they're not willing. So I'll buy the land and plant bamboo here first, then build a house. Dongdong will be starting school in a few years, so it will be more convenient to live in town."
Hearing his determination, Zhou Quan was relieved, as long as he wasn't the kind of old-fashioned person who only wanted to live in the house passed down from his ancestors.
That evening, Xu Shun returned home and told his parents and Zhou Xing what Zhou Quan had told him that day. Zhou Quan had bought a vacant lot in town, saying it was suitable for planting bamboo, and asked if he wanted it. If he did, he would give it to him.
Upon hearing this, the two elders' eyes lit up. "Yes, third brother! There's a lot of open space north of town. If you live there, you won't have to come back to the village every day to cut bamboo."
Xu Shun nodded, "Since Father and Mother agree, then I will go with Xiaoquan to buy it tomorrow."
“Yes, buy it. Xiaoquan and his family have a wide network of connections and can buy good land. If it’s not far from town, you can build houses there. It’s suitable for you to do business and live in town,” said Grandpa Xu.
Zhou Xing quickly said, "Our parents are still here, it's definitely impossible for us to move out."
Xu Shun glanced at Zhou Xing. In fact, he had really considered moving out to be closer to her parents and brothers. He knew that Zhou Xing would definitely be willing to do so. He was just saying this to consider the feelings of the two elders.
"Hey, it's alright, your parents can come and stay in that town with you for a while!" The old lady said, waving her hand in a very optimistic manner.
Xu Shun's face lit up with joy. "Alright, thank you, Father and Mother. I'll go to Xiaoquan tomorrow to take care of this."
Seeing the smile on their son's face, the two elders breathed a sigh of relief; it seemed they had guessed correctly.
They had always felt that it wasn't appropriate for the third son to travel back and forth between town and home so often; it would be more convenient for him to live in town and do business.
In the past, when they were a large family, the two elders couldn't quite grasp the concept. They felt that since they belonged to the Xu clan, they had to live in the ancestral property passed down from their ancestors in order to show that they hadn't forgotten their ancestors and their roots.
However, after the family split up, the old-fashioned ideas of the two elders gradually faded, and the most important thing became to make it easier for the children to study and do business.
Xu Shun and Zhou Xing returned to the house, and a hint of joy appeared on Zhou Xing's face. "Xiao Quan looked for you? Or did you go to find Xiao Quan?"
Xu Shun smiled and said, "Since Xiaoquan came to me, I agreed."
“I didn’t expect my parents to be so stubborn. I’ve mentioned moving to town before, but they absolutely refused, saying that would be abandoning our ancestors. They clung to their money and didn’t want to move to town. In the end, it led to a family division. Once the money was divided, it was gone, wasn’t it?” Xu Shun sighed.
Zhou Xing smiled helplessly, "Let me see how much money we have now. If it's not enough, I'll borrow some from Xiaomai. Let's take advantage of this and make a fuss about it. For the sake of the two children's future, we can't let things get out of hand."
"Don't worry, we've made up our minds this time. We'll move it, and it'll be perfect to transplant the bamboo again in the spring," Xu Shun said decisively.
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