22. Chapter 22

Aunt Fan is in charge of the kitchen, while Aunt Hong is adding firewood.

There were four dishes in total for lunch, braised chicken nuggets, scrambled eggs with loofah, stir-fried pork liver with radish soup, and kimchi. There were not many dishes, but each portion was very generous.

Yang Haiyan asked Aunt Fan to pack a portion of braised chicken nuggets, stir-fried pork liver with radish soup and scrambled loofah with eggs, and put them in a thermal tea bucket. The staple food was white rice, and she asked Uncle Hong to take them with her later.

She ate a small bowl of white rice, a few pieces of chicken, a few bites of pork liver, radish and eggs, and left the rest for Aunt Fan and Uncle Hong's family to eat.

Aunt Fan and Uncle Hong ate all the remaining dishes. The staple food was a bowl of rice and sweet potatoes for each person. Although they were not completely full, they were still 70% full. To them, the food was good enough.

After eating, Uncle Hong went to deliver food to Qin Fang.

Uncle Hong: "Madam, I delivered a meal to the master. You can pick up some firewood at the foot of the mountain when I pass by. However, it is not safe for the donkey cart to park at the foot of the mountain, so I want to take my wife with me. She can keep watch while I collect firewood." Do you think it’s okay to drive a donkey cart?”

When Yang Haiyan heard this, she said, "Okay." It's absolutely okay, and the 30 yuan of firewood a month can be saved. Therefore, it is good to have servants.

Baili Village

Qin Fang’s hometown

Qin Tieniu is thirty-eight years old this year and in his prime. The eldest son Qin Fang went to serve in the military at the age of sixteen. Originally, he was supposed to go. This is easy to say.

Grandpa Qin has three sons and two daughters. The Qin family is a large family in Baili Village and has not yet been divided. Qin Tieniu is the eldest son. Logically speaking, because the Qin family has not been divided, a quota for military service will not be for Qin Tieniu, the eldest son, nor Qin Fang, the eldest grandson. Anyone with a little bit of discipline knows the difference between the eldest son and the eldest grandchild.

However, there is an exception.

Second Uncle Qin Qin Erniu's son was only five years old at the time. As the saying goes, a child cannot live without a father when he is still young, so Second Uncle Qin naturally could not serve in the military.

Then only Qin Sanshu Qin Sanniu is left, but Qin Sanshu is the youngest, he got married last, and he didn't have a son at that time. An accident could happen at any time while serving in the military. Once an accident happened, Uncle Qin would be dead.

So when Qin Erniu and Qin Sanniu were unable to serve in the military, only Qin Tieniu, the eldest son, could do so. Qin Fang was worried about his father going to serve in the military, so he signed up secretly behind his family's back. Once the quota for military service was signed up, it could not be changed, so Grandpa Qin could only bear to let his eldest grandson go.

They originally prayed that after five years of military service, the eldest grandson would come back safely. Who knew that three years later, the eldest grandson would become a centurion and be able to bring back three taels of silver every year.

Grandpa Qin made the decision. Of the three taels of silver that the eldest grandson brought back, one tael was given to the father-in-law and the other two taels were kept by the eldest son. Regarding this, no matter what the second and third bedrooms thought, they had to hold it back. After all, this was the money Qin Fang earned with his life.

On this day, Grandpa Qin was busy in the fields with his son and daughters-in-law, and the family's little granddaughter came to call for help. The little granddaughter was Qin Fang's eight-year-old sister, named Qin Siya.

Qin Siya ran happily into the field. Before she could reach it, she shouted towards the field: "Grandpa, grandpa, grandma, come home quickly. My eldest brother has sent a letter and asked the official to bring a big package." return."

Although the Qin family has not been divided, the money earned by several families in private does not need to be handed over, so what Qin Fang said is true that the eldest family's mother is in charge.

After hearing this, Qin's mother immediately dropped her work and ran to the ground. Qin's mother was not a soft rake. Originally, Grandpa Qin and Qin's grandma valued the eldest son. Of course, they would not marry a soft rake to the eldest son's wife. In addition, Qin's mother gave birth to a child. Her three sons are the great contributors to the Qin family, so she is very confident and her back is straight. For this eldest daughter-in-law, Grandpa Qin and Grandma Qin are very considerate to her.

In addition, now that Qin Fang is promising, they value their eldest daughter-in-law even more.

When he heard the letter from his eldest grandson, Grandpa Qin was also anxious, but he was not like his eldest daughter-in-law who threw away her work and ran away. He said, "That's it for today. Come back with me." In the beginning, every time the eldest grandson wrote a letter, they had to ask someone Children in the village read letters. Last year, the eldest grandson sent three taels of silver, saying that he would send his younger brother to study. He didn't say anything about taking the imperial examination, but he said that if he could read and write, he would make a lot of money in the future.

So, Qin Tieniu made the decision and sent his two sons to study with Tong Sheng in the village. Of course, Dafang paid for it himself, using 2 taels of the three taels of silver sent by Qin Fang.

Sanfang has no son and doesn't care about it. The second wife was unhappy when she had a son, but the second wife had no choice but to use her own money to send her son to school.

The two children were given away this year. The eldest, Qin Shouye, is fourteen years old, and the youngest, Qin Shoucheng, is eleven years old. Speaking of which, Qin Fang chose these two names after he learned how to read.

The Qin family is a peasant family and is not particular about names. When Qin Fang, the eldest grandson, was born, Grandpa Qin spent six copper coins to ask the children in the village to help him choose a name.

However, Qin Shouye and Qin Shoucheng now know a lot of words and can read letters.

By the time Grandpa Qin returned home with his people, Qin Shouye and Qin Shoucheng had already returned from Tong Sheng's house.

Seeing everyone coming, Grandma Qin said happily: "This is what A Fang brought. It was just a letter before, but this time it's a big package."

Qin Shoucheng: "I don't know what brother brought. Grandma, please open the package and take a look."

Qin Shouye has a relatively calm personality. After his eldest brother went to serve in the military, he was the second eldest son. If his eldest brother had an accident, the family would have to rely on him, so he was taught to be stable, while Qin Shoucheng was more lively. It's like this in every family. The eldest son has a big burden, while the youngest son has no worries.

The package was packed in a wooden box. After breaking the seal and opening the wooden box, I saw the contents inside. I have to say that everyone was shocked when they saw what was inside. Because this is the first time Qin Fang has brought something over. He used to send it by letter, and even the money was only delivered at the end of last year, but why are there so many things this time? There is cloth inside, this is really...

Second Aunt Qin: "Oh, isn't this Ah Fang getting rich? From the looks of it, this military service is really good."

Qin's mother: "You serve in the military once every five years. If the second brother and sister feel good about it, just let the second brother go next time." Her son is working hard. Even if there is no war now, what if there is a war? This sister-in-law can only make sarcastic remarks.

Second Aunt Qin: "Sister-in-law, aren't you forcing the head of the household? My Niu Dan is only nine years old. What if there is an accident when the head of the household dies?"

"Shut up." Grandma Qin warned. Listening to this, would it be okay if her eldest grandson had an accident? But with her son on one side and her grandson on the other, she certainly didn't want anything to happen to either of them.

Grandpa Qin: "Shou Ye, come and read the letter."

Qin Shouye: "Yes, Grandpa." He opened the letter, poured out three taels of silver from the letter and gave it to Grandpa Qin, and then read the letter.

When he finished reading the letter, the Qin family was shocked.

Qin Shouye added: "...there is another letter here, which is for our eldest family. My sister-in-law said that we should read it privately."

Qin's mother's eyes turned red: "Is A Fang getting married? Or is she the daughter-in-law found by the court? She has studied and knows how to read. It's great." She was originally worried that her eldest son would be twenty years old and would not be until March next year. After five years of service, he will be twenty-one when he comes back. How should he find this wife? But she didn't expect that the court would find her son, so she breathed a sigh of relief.

Then she heard in the letter that her daughter-in-law had studied and learned to read, and now she was teaching her son how to read. She was very happy. It should be known that a girl who studied and knew how to write was extraordinary, and she was also so virtuous.

Qin Shouye: "This letter was written by my sister-in-law. My sister-in-law's handwriting is really good."

Grandma Qin had the same idea as Mother Qin. Now she no longer had to worry about her eldest grandson's marriage, and she was extremely happy to have such a good grandson's daughter-in-law. "Old man, according to what A Fang's wife wrote in her letter, these things are worth one point."

Second Aunt Qin: "Mom, at Niu Dan's age, he doesn't even have decent clothes. Let's take a piece of this blue fine cloth and make some clothes for Niu Dan."

Qin's mother: "This is a gift from A Fang's daughter-in-law to her younger brothers and sisters. A Fang's daughter-in-law comes from a wealthy family. If you want to snatch this thing, won't it make A Fang's daughter-in-law laugh?"

Second Aunt Qin: "But she's not here right now, and she doesn't know." It's really annoying that this sister-in-law has found such a good daughter-in-law even if she can give birth.

Qin's mother ignored her. There was no reason for anyone to snatch the things given by her daughter-in-law. She said directly to Qin Shouye: "Second son, just distribute these things according to what your sister-in-law said in her letter."

Second Aunt Qin looked at Grandma Qin: "Mom, can't you love the cow egg? He is also your grandson."

Qin’s mother: “If you want the eggs to be good, you have to rely on the hard work of you as a mother and his father, not by robbing other people’s things.”

Second Aunt Qin: "Mom..."

Grandma Qin: "Okay, boss and wife, please divide the things."

Qin's mother: "Yes. Dad and grandma, these two pieces of cloth are for you, just like the cloth for me and the master. These two pieces are for Shouye and Shoucheng, and these two pieces are for Daya and Siya." "Erya is the daughter of the second brother-in-law, and Sanya and Wuya are the daughters of the third brother-in-law.

Qin Daya is sixteen years old this year. She just got engaged and plans to get married at the end of the year. Although the fabric is not red, she can still make a new dress for her. For Qin Siya, this cloth is also suitable, and Yang Haiyan chose it well.

Qin's mother: "This veil is for the second, third, second, third and fifth siblings." No matter whose daughter-in-law comes in, it is always better for her husband's direct brothers and sisters. "This purse is for eggs."

As for the second uncle Qin and the third uncle Qin, they are gone. The nephew, wife, and uncle should still be kept taboo. Besides, Yang Haiyan didn't know what to give them. Besides, she gave it to Second Aunt Qin, Third Aunt Qin, and her cousins. It was a sign of affection.

After dividing the things, Qin's mother took the things from the big house back into the house, and called the people from the big house back: "The head of the family, Shouye, Shoucheng, Daya, Siya, have returned to the house." They wanted to continue reading the letter.