Chapter 97 Your brother has come to pick you up.
While wrapping the baby up tightly, the midwife complained, "The preparations are quite complete, but there's no one to boil water, and there's not even a fire in the room."
Turning to the lady on the bed, she said, "Don't worry, madam. Although the baby is premature, it has a loud voice and is growing well."
"As the old saying goes, there are no children who are not raised well, only children who cannot survive. If you raise them well in the future, they will be no worse than full-term babies!"
Shuang'er leaned against the door frame and wept with joy.
Then he quickly led Jiang Xingyao into the room next door. The two rooms were connected, so there was no fear of drafts coming in when looking after the child or the older sister.
When Jiang Xingyao pushed open that door.
The little boy who used to follow him around when he was little is now a mother.
But she had no one by her side; she had to endure all the pain all by herself.
"Yao'er, your brother is late."
Yao Shisan's eyes welled up with tears.
"elder brother……"
The midwife received a generous reward and was happy, but it was also the strangest baby she had ever delivered.
The house was just rented, and everything inside was brand new.
There was no one in the house.
The husband is nowhere to be found, the mother-in-law is also gone, and the only maid has run away!
My brother from my maternal family only came after I gave birth.
A grown man, not minding the filth, dared to go in right after giving birth.
However, this wasn't the first time she'd encountered something like this.
Only those who truly care about a woman's life and death would not have such a taboo.
Countless possibilities had flashed through her mind. She was sure that this accident would be the talk of the town for ten or eight years!
So she kindly stayed to help.
Holding his newborn nephew, Jiang Xingyao gritted his teeth and scolded his sister.
"You really have the nerve to do this! You were pregnant and you even faked your death while carrying a child!"
"I'm your brother, can't you tell me if you've been wronged?"
Yao Shisan smiled, "Those things are all in the past. We'll have a good New Year this year, and every year from now on will be a good one!"
Looking at his sister's expression, Jiang Xingyao felt extremely uncomfortable.
The person she treated sincerely only received a helpless act of faking her death.
The man he considered a brother was forcing his sister to her death for his own future.
Jiang Xingyao recalled the news he had heard before leaving Beijing.
After hesitating for a long time, he said slowly, "Zhou Congxian wants to marry the granddaughter of Grand Secretary Li."
Yao Shisan paused for a moment, then smiled silently. "It has nothing to do with me anymore."
"It doesn't matter who the child's father is, as long as I am the mother and you are the uncle, that's enough."
Shuang'er peeked out from the doorway and exclaimed, "Me too! I'm their auntie, the auntie who will love them the most from now on!!"
Yao Shisan smiled and replied, "Yes, and you too."
Jiang Xingyao also looked up at her, then looked at his sister, "So, you bought the granary in Ding County?"
Yao Shisan thought he wanted to avoid suspicion, "Brother, don't worry, I just want to make money honestly, and our family will never have to live the hard life we used to live again."
"I don't need you to earn money now. I have a salary, and supporting you and the kids won't be a problem."
It wasn't that she looked down on her brother's salary, but rather that she had learned the benefits of doing business and didn't want to go back to the days when she could only rely on luck.
She didn't argue with her brother, but just smiled and said, "Brother, you need to save your money for your wedding. If our parents knew this in the afterlife, they would come to me in my dreams."
Jiang Xingyao knew his sister's temperament, and since she had just given birth, he wouldn't argue with her.
"So you're staying here now? Come back to Ding County with me. The county government office is spacious enough for you and the kids to have room."
She could definitely find a place to stay, but her brother was getting on in years, so she and her child stayed at the county government office.
A county official doesn't earn much, and he has to support his sister and nephew. What girl would want to be with him?
Yao Shisan said, "Brother, since you're an official in Ding County, I'll naturally go there. Once I've earned enough money to buy a house, I'll come and be your neighbor."
"Have you grown distant with your brother?"
As girls grow up, they will inevitably have their own ideas, especially since the brother and sister haven't seen each other for ten years.
Yao Shisan shook his head. "Brother, the warehouses in Yuzhou and Dingxian were all borrowed from Prince Cheng."
"How much did you borrow?" Jiang Xingyao had a feeling the amount wouldn't be small.
"When I came out of the capital, all the carriages and horses were assisted by Prince Cheng. He wanted to collect 20,000 grains from the granary in Ding County and collect 50,000 grains."
70,000.
Jiang Xingyao almost had a heart attack.
He felt that his foolish sister had fallen into King Cheng's trap.
"Yao'er, do you know that selling grain is not difficult, but transporting it is?"
Where there are many mountains, there are many bandits.
Yao Shisan smiled. "What political matters will you be handling next, brother?"
Jiang Xingyao's eyes flickered slightly, "To connect the waterways."
He had already read the notes left by the previous magistrate, Lord Qin.
With the Cao family, a major threat, eliminated, all that remains is to dig out the waterway.
Both Dingxian and the neighboring Lingxian have water, especially Lingxian, which is rich in fish.
However, the waterway was not completed.
If the waterway is built and connected to the Jinlong River, the route of the Grand Canal can be opened, and in the future, it will be possible to travel from the capital to Yuzhou by boat in a day!
With boats, there's no need to worry about transporting grain.
Yao Shisan said, "His Highness Prince Cheng may have some intentions in using me, but how can I not use him in return?"
"After all, I can't build such a large warehouse on my own right now."
Jiang Xingyao sighed, "You're asking a tiger for its skin."
"I don't want the skin, just some fur will do."
The brother and sister chatted until Yao Shisan fell asleep.
The house was warm and cozy from the underfloor heating, and Fu'er had been brought back.
It was only then that Shuang'er realized she had forgotten about Wen Xi.
She pushed Fu'er towards Jiang Xingyao, "Fu'er, this is your uncle. I'm going to fetch Sister Wenxi."
Fu'er felt that the face looked familiar, as if she had seen it somewhere before.
"You're my uncle?"
Jiang Xingyao squatted down in front of the little girl, looking at her rosy cheeks.
After a long while, he recognized her as the little girl he had accidentally bumped into on the day he entered Yuzhou City!
He also warned her not to wander off!
That woman's silhouette is Yao'er!
He had already seen his sister when he arrived in Yuzhou!
Why didn't he wait a little longer? He could have reunited with his sister sooner!
He was also able to persuade his sister not to buy the Cao family's granary, thus avoiding so much debt with King Cheng.
Jiang Xingyao carefully took her small hand. "I'm your uncle. What's your name?"
Fu'er: "My name is Zhou Jiafu, no, Mother said my name is Yao Anfu now."
He bent down and led her closer to his sister's room, asking, "Do you want to see your mother's new baby brother?"
"Yes!" Fu'er's eyes lit up immediately!
He patted Fu'er on the shoulder first, "Fu'er, go in first and see what your mother is doing. If your mother is asleep, your uncle can't go in. If your mother is awake, you can ask for your uncle if you can come in."
Fu'er nodded, went inside for a while, and then came out.
Her eyes were full of wonder. "Uncle, Mother is asleep. My little brother is so tiny."
Jiang Xingyao patted his niece's head and said, "You were just as small when you were little, it's a pity your uncle never saw you."
Fu'er tilted her head. "Fu'er never met her uncle when she was little."
He chuckled, "Yes."
"But from now on, your uncle will protect you and your mother."
Jiang Xingyao stayed at the house for three days before Yao Shisan started to kick him out.
"Do you still want to be a county magistrate?"
"He's only been in office for a short time, and he doesn't even go to the government office anymore."
He said sternly, "I asked you to come with me to Ding County, and you've been giving me all sorts of excuses. I've only been here a few days and you're already kicking me out?"
"Brother, you're my backer! Without an official position, how can you achieve great things, how can you make your old enemies regret their actions?!"
After Wenxi came to the house that day, two more maids were bought and brought in.
Everything is running smoothly now.
There are hot meals and hot water, children are looked after, and adults are cared for.
Apart from being a bit small, it's no worse than a prince's mansion.
Jiang Xingyao: "The New Year is almost here. According to custom, the gate can be sealed for eighteen days. I'll come and spend the New Year with you."
Yao Shisan quickly waved his hand at him.
"Alright, go quickly. The county magistrate doesn't sit in the office; if something happens, we won't be able to find you!"
Shuang'er was busy in the kitchen when she heard the sound of the courtyard gate closing, so she slipped out of the kitchen and into the house.
She has been feeling guilty these past few days.
She'd been in Ding County for so long, how could she have mistaken "Jiang" for "Jiang"?
Otherwise, my sister and Lord Jiang wouldn't have missed each other for so long, and wouldn't have been able to recognize each other under such circumstances.
"Sister, Lord Jiang has returned..."
Yao Shisan knew what she was thinking. "She has an accent, Jiang and Jiang. It's normal to misunderstand."
"Besides, there are quite a few people with the surname Jiang. Could you bring all the people with the surname Jiang to show me?"
Shuang'er said, "It was my carelessness. Lord Jiang of Chuzhou is the top scholar in the new imperial examination. He should be able to match the list."
Yao Shisan: "Don't dwell on things that are already in the past."
"We'll be spending the Lunar New Year here this year, so we'll have to trouble you to prepare the New Year's goods."
Shuang'er opened her mouth but hesitated for a moment.
"Sister... the Dingxian warehouse can't be left unattended, and A-Xun is all alone in Dingxian..."
Yao Shisan looked at her, "You want to go and accompany Wei Xun?"
She bit her lip before speaking slowly, "He doesn't remember anything now. If he has to spend the New Year alone in Ding County, all cold and lonely..."
"Think it through, but come back safe and sound."
Having been away from home for so long, she has come to understand one thing: as long as it's a decision she's made, she should be brave enough to do it.
Shuang'er couldn't help but smile and immediately nodded.
New Year's Eve came especially quickly.
Yao Shisan finally spent a month in bed.
Jiang Xingyao had already sealed off the government office three days before New Year's Eve.
They brought large and small bags, filling an entire cart.
These are all foods she loved to eat when she was little!
*
Wei Xun did not expect Shuang'er to come and keep him company.
The fire in the hearth crackled and popped, and two sweet potatoes were roasting on the iron rack.
"You're just going to eat this?"
Even if you don't eat a lot of meat and fish on New Year's Eve, you shouldn't only have two roasted sweet potatoes.
There weren't even any couplets pasted on the door; where was there even a hint of festive joy?
Wei Xun quickly stepped aside, "It's cold outside, come in quickly."
Only after Shuang'er walked in did he notice what she was carrying behind her.
"Why did you bring so much stuff?"
He was carrying two huge bundles in one hand; I don't know how she, a young woman, managed to bring them all.
As if she knew what he was thinking, she said, "There is a coachman in the manor who is from Ding County. He happens to be going back to his hometown and has a carriage, so I brought some extra things with me."
No sooner had she finished speaking than the bell in the corner rang.
Wei Xun's face turned cold. "Someone is stealing grain. Stay inside and don't go out!"
He grabbed a stick from the corner of the wall and went outside.
The closer it gets to the coldest weather, the easier it is for thieves to approach the granary.
He would distribute his food to some elderly people who were living alone.
But if it's someone who's idle and lazy, he won't show any mercy.
He had just come around from behind the granary when an arrow shot from behind him.
He flipped over it, and the arrow just barely grazed past him.
Some images suddenly flashed before his eyes.
It was as if the cloud-covered sky in his mind had finally cleared up.
"It's because you wealthy gentry hoarded grain that we brothers are left to starve!"
Wei Xun held a wooden stick and looked at the thief standing on the high place.
His voice grew colder, “The Black Tiger Army will one day be reduced to robbing grain.”
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