That noon, Shao Ming returned from school.
"Mom, Uncle took my cousin to the county town."
"Did you take him to the county town? Is he going to study at a private school there?"
Mu Yi'an hadn't heard of it. There are two major events at the old house right now: one is that Brother Jiang is studying at the county school, and the other is that Jiang Lan is getting married.
Jiang Lan got engaged last year, and she's fifteen this year. At the latest, she'll get married next year.
Mu Yi'an had no particular thoughts about her sister-in-law's upcoming marriage; she would simply follow the crowd and contribute to the dowry. She couldn't bring herself to ask her to provide a separate dowry; their relationship wasn't at that level yet.
"No, it seems my cousin is going to the county school with my uncle to take care of his daily needs. My uncle said that since my cousin doesn't study hard and doesn't understand the meaning of brotherly love and respect, he should learn something else so that he won't be unable to support himself in the future."
This is what Shao Ming overheard when his uncle was scolding his cousin. Many children heard it, and his cousin cried terribly.
“Your uncle is right. There are so many children who want to go to school but don’t have the opportunity. However, you shouldn’t discuss this matter. After all, it’s a matter between your uncle and cousin.”
"Okay, Mom, I'm going to school now."
"Oh, Shaoming, go to the vegetable garden and pick some vegetables. Mom wants to make bok choy soup."
Mu Yi'an quickly arranged some work for Shao Ming, telling him not to think about studying all day long, but to also balance work and rest, right?
Shao Ming agreed and went to pick some bok choy with his basket. Shao Yun saw this and followed him eagerly.
"Big brother, I want this one, it looks delicious."
Aren't they the same?
"It's different. This one looks greener and prettier."
Shao Ming took another closer look but couldn't see anything different. However, since his younger brother said it was different, he didn't argue and picked up the one Shao Yun had mentioned.
The two brothers discussed it and brought back half a basket of bok choy.
Sister-in-law Li didn't let them clean it; she took it over herself.
Chuyue ran over, grabbed her older brother, and told him to throw the bag away.
Because his younger siblings were holding him back, Shao Ming couldn't go to school. So he decided to spend some time with them and then study in the afternoon.
In the afternoon, Li Qiuniang came over carrying the child.
The day after the Mid-Autumn Festival, Li Qiuniang went into labor, cried and screamed for several hours, and gave birth to a boy weighing six pounds and eight ounces. Mu Yi'an once again felt that it was so good not to have to give birth!
She was closer to Li Qiuniang than to Jiang Dasao. She prepared small clothes for the child, caught two chickens, and a pair of silver bracelets.
Mu Yi'an didn't give the silver bracelet openly; she didn't want to be too high-profile and cause unnecessary trouble. The sentiment was enough.
Now, the baby is over two months old and can be carried out. Perhaps because Li Qiuniang drank a lot of goat milk during her pregnancy, the baby was born very strong, didn't cry much, and was easy to take care of.
"Oh, Shao Qiu is here."
"Second sister-in-law, let me tell you, eldest brother wants to take Shao Qin to the county school to be his page. Sister-in-law disagrees, saying that eldest brother is heartless and shouldn't treat his own son like that. Eldest brother says that Shao Qin is already nine years old, he doesn't study properly, and he doesn't understand the principles of being a good person. If he's not properly disciplined, he'll be ruined."
The two of them started arguing, and it got really bad. The sister-in-law packed her things, wanting to take the child back to her parents' home, but the brother-in-law said that if she went back, she shouldn't come back, and they should just get a divorce.
The eldest sister-in-law was terrified; she stopped packing her things and refusing to make any plans to go back to her parents' home, instead sobbing uncontrollably. Shao Qin was probably also frightened by his father; he became quiet and stopped his tantrums about not going.
After talking for a long time, Li Qiuniang's mouth was dry, so she picked up the water in front of her and drank a large cup.
"Drink slowly, don't choke."
"It's alright, Second Sister-in-law. Talking too much makes my throat feel like it's on fire."
Jiang Qi looked at her third brother's wife and thought she was straightforward and quite cute.
"Did your parents agree?"
“Agreed, he’ll be leaving tomorrow. Second sister-in-law, let me tell you something, Shao Qin, if we don’t discipline him properly, he’s really likely to get into trouble. He’s so old, yet he doesn’t know how to care for his younger siblings. He always snatches things from the little ones, food, toys, even if he doesn’t like them, he still takes them until he makes them cry.”
Li Qiuniang is now thinking about moving to the county town as soon as possible; she really doesn't like living in the same courtyard anymore.
At that time, Shuwen said that next year she would work with her second sister-in-law to grow watermelons for half a year on five acres of land, which would earn her a good amount of money. In the second half of the year, they would decide whether to rent or buy a house, and then the mother and her children would go to the county town, though they were a little reluctant to leave their second sister-in-law and the others.
Li Qiuniang was unaware that her second sister-in-law would move to the county town first.
"It's good for boys to learn from their fathers when they reach a certain age."
Mu Yi'an thought about her children at home, and how she hadn't seen their father in a long time. They would have to live like this for another two years, and she really didn't like this long-distance relationship.
Li Qiuniang ate at Mu Yi'an's place that evening, skipping another meal she had to cook. When she could afford it, she'd hire a cook; her own cooking skills were truly terrible!
The next day, at the Jiang family's old house, Jiang's sister-in-law got up early to prepare breakfast for Jiang's eldest son and son. After they finished eating, they went to the county school.
"Shao Qin, listen to your father there, take good care of yourself and your father, and study hard, understand?"
"Yes, I understand, Mother."
Jiang Shaoqin was dejected. He was scared and resentful, but no one was there to support him, and his grandparents agreed with his father's idea. He wanted to go to his maternal grandfather, but his father said that if he went, he shouldn't come back; the Jiang family didn't need another son like him.
After finishing their meal, Brother Jiang and his son set off to ride in Uncle Jiang's mule cart. Passing by Jiang Shuyun's house, Shao Qin glanced at it several times, truly envying Jiang Shaoming, who didn't have to be a page for his second uncle, who had his own page.
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