After staying in the prefectural city for more than half a month, the three of them finally packed their things and happily went home.
Grandpa Fu was watching the children read when he learned that the three of them had returned. He brought the children over as well. They hadn't seen their mother for almost half a month and missed her very much, so they all ran up to her.
"Mom, you're finally back! I've missed you so much!" Xuanxuan hugged Xichun's leg. She was the youngest at home, so she liked to cuddle with Xichun.
"Have you been behaving well these days? Have you been tiring out your grandfather?"
"No, no, the children are all very well-behaved. They get up to study every day at Chenshi (7-9 AM). A-Zhao is also a good child and has been leading them in their studies." Old Master Fu, worried that the children would be punished, also stepped in to smooth things over.
Xi Chun knew her children well enough to know them well. Seeing that they didn't dare to look her in the eye, she guessed that they had run off to play, but that nothing serious had happened.
"Hehe, you're all good children. Look what your grandmother brought you this time. These are all local specialties from the prefecture. Come and try them." Old Madam Fu patted her grandson's head and pulled the children to play.
"By the way, a few days ago, Changjin's uncle and aunt came. They heard you weren't home, so they stayed for half a day and then left." Seeing his wife taking out some snacks for the children, Old Master Fu quickly told them what had happened.
"Oh, my elder brother and sister-in-law have come. They rarely come here. Is there something you need?" Madam Fu was also a little surprised to hear this. Her elder brother and sister-in-law lived in Weixi County and rarely came here. They would only come to the banquet when there was something going on at home.
"I saw that my elder brother looked worried, so I asked him what was wrong. It turned out that it was about Wenmao. Wenmao has had a lot of bad luck with marriage these years. He has taken the imperial examination for the lowest degree several times, but he has not passed. A few days ago, he got engaged to a family, but they changed their minds and broke off the engagement. My elder brother and sister-in-law are afraid that he will not be able to accept it, so they came to us to ask for our help in arranging a job for Wenmao."
"I remember Wenmao from my uncle's family must be twenty years old now, right?" The eldest sister-in-law stayed at home all year round and knew the relatives in the family better. Xichun rarely saw these relatives and didn't know about this.
"Yes, he's twenty now. Before, he was focused on passing the imperial examinations. He was already engaged to a girl, so your aunt and uncle weren't in a hurry. But the girl was worried when she saw that he hadn't even passed the preliminary examination. Not long after, she broke off the engagement and remarried a girl who had passed the county-level examinations."
Later, your aunt and uncle got anxious and asked around several more times. But the people who initially agreed eventually refused after further inquiries. I think your aunt and uncle were at their wits' end; otherwise, they wouldn't have come to our house to discuss this.
Your uncle and aunt are very concerned about their reputation, and they've never asked us for help unless absolutely necessary. Now that they've asked, I don't think we can refuse. Xichun, why don't you talk to Changfeng and see if you can find him some work?"
Madam Fu was also worried about this nephew. Back then, Madam Fu and her brother-in-law grew up under the care of their stepmother, so their relationship was closer than that of other half-siblings.
The stepmother married off Madam Fu to the Fu family because of the high dowry. When the eldest uncle found out, the two families had already exchanged betrothal gifts, and even he could not change it. Later, the stepmother used the money from her sister's marriage to marry off her own son. The eldest uncle also lost contact with the family and separated from his wife to live on his own.
Knowing that his sister was not doing well in the Fu family, her eldest uncle never asked them for help. It was only after the old master and old lady of the Fu family separated and the old master made money that she used the money to help her family, making her eldest brother and sister-in-law's lives a little better. Her eldest brother and sister-in-law also started their own small business and slowly built up their fortune.
"Father and Mother, don't worry, I will talk to Changfeng about my cousin Wenmao. But I was thinking of inviting my aunt and her family to come to our house first so I can learn more about my cousins and make arrangements accordingly."
Seeing is believing, and Xichun didn't have a deep impression of her uncle's relatives, nor did she know their temperaments.
“Alright, I’ll write a letter and invite them over. Why did they only stay for half a day before leaving?” Old Madam Fu knew that Xichun was a person with her own ideas, so she followed her advice.
Soon, the eldest uncle's family learned of this. They heard that the nephew had returned from the capital and invited the whole family to visit. Naturally, they did not refuse. Now that their nephew had become a high-ranking official in the capital, they wanted to ask him for help in finding a job for their youngest son. So, the whole family came over.
Xichun was reading with the children in the courtyard when she heard a maid report that her uncle's family was coming. Only then did she take the children to the front yard.
My uncle and aunt have worked hard in their business over the years, so when they sat next to Madam Fu, they looked much older. My uncle's family has two sons and three daughters, so they can be described as a large and prosperous family.
All three daughters have already married out. This time, the eldest uncle and his wife came with their eldest son Wengui, eldest daughter-in-law He Fang, two grandsons, and youngest son Wenmao.
"I have met your uncle and aunt."
"Greetings, great-uncle and great-aunt." The children also stepped forward to greet them.
"Elder brother and sister-in-law, I heard you came for half a day before and then went back. This time you must stay here for a few more days. We haven't seen each other for many years. We are all family, so we can't be estranged." Madam Fu said happily when she saw her elder brother's family.
"Okay, I'll definitely come often in the future, I'll definitely come often."
"I don't have anything valuable here, this is just a little something from your great-aunt. Please accept it, children." The aunt distributed the gifts she had prepared in advance to the children; the boys received inkstones, and the girls received gold bracelets.
These weren't anything too valuable, and Xichun and her sister-in-law decided that the children should accept them. They also gave gifts to the two children in her eldest cousin's family.
"Relatives should visit each other often. Fortunately, we don't have much to do at home. We'll let the children visit more often. We don't have many relatives in our family. Sister-in-law, you don't need to be as polite as before."
“We know that, but we have a lot of things to take care of at home and can’t spare much time. So, as soon as we received your letter, our whole family came over immediately.”
During the conversation, Xichun learned that her uncle and aunt had two shops in Weixi County, mainly selling general merchandise. The couple ran one shop, while their eldest son and daughter-in-law ran the other. They lived a comfortable life, but their youngest son's marriage was still unsettled, and he had failed his exams, which made the couple panic.
The only family they could turn to for help was their sister's family. Both of their nephews were accomplished scholars, and they wanted to ask them for advice on how their youngest son should proceed in the future.
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