A few days later, Qi Lao Er felt much better from his injuries, the pain less intense. He hung his head and prepared to leave.
Qi Wang Shi was still unwilling to go, wanting to stay.
But the four members of her family seemed united, especially Qi Jiao, who was determined to leave. "Why should you give our family's money to others?"
"Are they others? They are my maternal family."
"Maternal family? Then go live at your maternal family's and see if your grandmother and aunt will let you stay."
"Why can't you understand, child?" If it weren't for the fact that most people around were her eldest brother-in-law's men, she would have told her daughter that it wasn't that easy to take advantage of her maternal family.
If one wanted to be greedy for money, they should find the eldest brother-in-law. She understood these matters clearly, but on her eldest brother-in-law's territory, she was unwilling to be reckless.
The eldest brother-in-law didn't hit her, he only beat up Lao Er, beating him so badly that the "son of a turtle" no longer listened.
The old village chief was quite pleased to see this situation. Seeing Qi Lao Er preparing to leave, he also said he would go back with them.
When that family wanted to leave, Qi Yuan Shan didn't stop them. But when his elder brother wanted to leave, he was truly reluctant to part.
"Eldest brother, I can't stop you if you want to go back. I think these two boys are quite good. If you are willing, eldest brother, leave them both with me."
The old village chief had been waiting for this. This was what he had wanted to say, but after coming here, he knew his great nephew's difficulties and had been too embarrassed to speak.
Hearing his great nephew bring it up himself today warmed his heart.
Xi Zi and his brother were overjoyed when they learned of this. However, after a while, the two brothers came to their senses.
After secretly discussing it, they told their grandfather of their plan.
Qi Fang spoke first, "Grandpa, my brother can stay with Uncle, and I will go back with you."
"Xiao Fang, you mustn't be foolish. Your uncle can keep both of you brothers; that's your opportunity. You mustn't miss it."
"Grandpa, listen to me. I'm only twelve this year, and I'll have plenty of opportunities in the future. At worst, I'll come back next year. But if you go back alone, my brother and I won't be at ease."
"What's there to not be at ease about? Isn't Grandpa going back with Qi Lao Er's family?"
"Grandpa, it's precisely because you're going back with their family that we brothers are uneasy," Xi Zi said at the opportune moment.
"What's there to not be at ease about? This is truly a child's way of thinking."
"Grandpa, we really can't be at ease if you go back with their family." Thinking of Qi Wang Shi, who always made trouble, when they arrived, Xi Zi wanted to find a place where no one was around and beat her up to relieve his anger.
"Yes, Grandpa, we really can't be at ease if you go back with their family alone. Especially that Wang Shi, she's full of schemes. I won't be at ease if you're not with us."
The brothers' concern was not unfounded. Grandpa had already offended Wang Shi by giving so much money to Yuan Shan Shu.
Now, if Grandpa went back alone with that family, they feared that Wang Shi would use some wicked trick to deal with Grandpa halfway.
Hearing the words of the two children, not only did the old village chief fall silent, but Qi Yuan Shan also said nothing.
Because they knew that Wang Shi was truly capable of such a thing.
The two children's words also served as a reminder to Qi Yuan Shan.
The next morning, Qi Yuan Shan rode his horse to Ningyuan City. He returned in the evening with a smile that he couldn't hide.
"Eldest brother, you're truly lucky. In five days, a镖局 (security escort agency) will be going to the capital from Ningyuan City. Your nephew has already spoken with their鏢頭 (escort leader), and they'll let you travel with them."
"That's wonderful!" Xi Zi was the happiest. Otherwise, even if his brother accompanied Grandpa back, he wouldn't have felt at ease.
In the following days, Qi Yuan Shan began to prepare things for his elder brother's return.
Ten dried sea fish, a bag of dried shrimp weighing two jin, a bag of five jin of small squid, a bag of five jin of cockle meat, a bag of five jin of clam meat...
These were all sun-dried. Although they weren't heavy, they still looked quite substantial when put together.
Qi Yuan Shan didn't hide these preparations from anyone. Qi Wang Shi, her eyes turning red with envy, nagged Qi Lao Er every day, saying that her eldest brother-in-law was biased.
Qi Yuan Shan, even if he heard it, would only chuckle coldly and ignore it.
It wasn't until the day before they left that Qi Yuan Shan gave a large parcel to Qi Jiao and her siblings.
"Jiao Jiao, your father is unreliable. Eldest brother has no expectations of him. As long as he doesn't get himself lost or sold, he'll save eldest brother a lot of worry."
"You two siblings, take good care of this parcel. The seafood inside is dried. When you want to eat it, just soak it in clean water. You can pan-fry it, stir-fry it, or stew it as you please."
Seeing that her eldest uncle valued her so highly, Qi Jiao was also happy. She nodded repeatedly with her two younger brothers.
Qi Yuan Shan was quite fond of this niece, as he had no daughters of his own. Furthermore, this niece was more reliable than her parents.
Qi Yuan Shan looked around. Seeing that the profligate couple had not come out, he secretly slipped a bank note into Qi Jiao's hand. He whispered, "Jiao Jiao, this is a ten-tael bank note. It's for your dowry in the future. You must keep it safe. Don't give it to anyone, especially your mother."
"Mmm-hmm." Qi Jiao didn't expect that her eldest uncle would still remember her when they were leaving and even give her dowry money. She was so touched that she almost cried.
Qi Yuan Shan quickly comforted her, "Jiao Jiao, you can't cry. If you cry, you'll attract your mother, and then who knows if the bank note in your hand can be kept safe."
Hearing that she might attract her mother, Qi Jiao stopped crying. She wiped her eyes with a handkerchief and hid behind her eldest uncle, folding the bank note and tucking it into her sleeve.
Looking at her niece's cleverness, Qi Yuan Shan truly wished from the bottom of his heart that she wouldn't turn out like either of her parents in the future.
However, a child's disposition was not something he could dictate.
When Qi Wang Shi found out that her family's provisions were so much less than the old village chief's, she became unhappy. She insinuated that her eldest brother-in-law had given them too little.
Qi Yuan Shan didn't indulge her. He spoke with a lecturing tone, "If you have something to say, say it louder. Don't mumble there. And listen carefully, those things are for my nephew and niece to eat. There's no portion for anyone else, and they have nothing to do with you."
Qi Yuan Shan, not afraid of causing trouble, instructed the three children, "Jiao Jiao, Qi Yang, Xiao Er, you three must guard these things well. Eldest uncle is giving these things for you to eat."
"Eldest uncle, we remember. These things are for eldest uncle to give us to eat, and we won't give them to anyone," Qi Yang said, then glanced at his mother before quietly asking Qi Yuan Shan.
"Eldest uncle, what if Grandma comes and wants to take it all?"
Before Qi Yuan Shan could speak, Qi Jiao interjected, "We'll just say that eldest uncle gave these to the three of us to eat. If they want to eat, they can go find their own eldest uncle."