Finally, Chen Lan reached out and handed a lacquered jewelry box to her mother-in-law. "Mother-in-law," she said, "this is a gift for Mingwei. She's not home today, so please trouble you to pass it on. She came by a few days ago to pick up Er Zhuang's letter, and I forgot to give it to her. My memory hasn't been good lately; I keep forgetting things. I'm worried that if I wait too long, I'll forget again. Please find some time to give it to her!"
Her mother-in-law happily took the lacquered jewelry box from Chen Lan's hand. Upon opening it, her eyes crinkled with even more delight. She thought, "Little Lan, this sister-in-law is truly generous. Her gift for Mingwei, her sister-in-law, is the most lavish. Not only is there everything one could need, but also a pair of large gold bracelets. Looking at the weight, the purity, and the style of these bracelets, they are far superior to the dowry I gave Mingwei. Little Lan, this sister-in-law must want to help out Mingwei and Er Zhuang's young couple, but she can't give it to them directly for fear Mingwei might refuse, so she found this excuse!"
As her mother-in-law was pondering this, Chen Lan suddenly remembered something and asked, "Mother-in-law, isn't Er Zhuang's sister, Yanzi, old enough to be married now? Has she found someone?"
Her mother-in-law immediately replied, "She's been spoken for for a long time. It's your Aunt Qian's youngest son, Song Dafeng's younger brother, Baozhu. The engagement has been settled, and they say the wedding will be held as soon as Er Zhuang returns."
Chen Lan thought for a moment, then reached into the purple gold jewelry and selected a pair of purple gold earrings, a purple gold bracelet, and a ruby gold ring, placing them in a small jewelry box. She handed it to her mother-in-law, saying, "Mother-in-law, when you deliver the jewelry box to Mingwei, please give her this as well. It's not right for the sister-in-law to have jewelry to wear while the only sister-in-law in the family just watches. Wouldn't that cause conflict? Besides, her sister-in-law Yanzi is a good girl. Please have Mingwei give this small jewelry box to her sister-in-law. Say it's from her as a sister-in-law to keep for Er Zhuang's only sister's trousseau!"
Her mother-in-law smiled and took the small jewelry box from Chen Lan, praising, "Little Lan! You always handle things so straightforwardly and generously. Thank you, sister-in-law, for thinking so thoughtfully for Mingwei. Mingwei is truly blessed to have you as a sister-in-law."
Jia He, the child, had apparently approached at some point. He was now seen with his arm around Chen Lan's neck, speaking in childish tones, "Grandma, stop thanking so much. My mom said that any problem that can be solved with money isn't a big deal."
His grandmother was amused by his words and burst into laughter. Everyone else also laughed heartily. The grandmother then said, "Come, Jia He, come to Grandma. My good grandson, tell Grandma, what *is* a big deal?"
Jia He was stumped and started scratching his head and ears in frustration. Seeing Chen Lan smiling at him, he wrapped his arms around her neck again and asked, "Mom, what *is* a big deal?"
Chen Lan thought seriously. This question was indeed difficult to answer. Chen Lan herself believed that in a person's life, apart from birth and death, nothing else could truly be called a big deal. It was just that different people had different standards for measuring things, which led to different perceptions.
She then said, "Jia He, like the matter of the crossbow you and I agreed on just now, it's a big deal to you right now, isn't it?"
Seeing Jia He nod slightly, Chen Lan continued, "But for Mom, this is a small matter. Do you understand? This is the result of everyone having different standards for measuring things. In short, the bigger your heart, the smaller the matter. The smaller your heart, the bigger the matter."
Looking at Jia He's bewildered expression, Chen Lan knew he hadn't understood. After all, he was still very young and had only ever lived in the harmonious environment of the valley since he could remember. His thoughts were simple and direct, which was normal.
She then said, "Jia He, you're still young, so you might not understand what Mom is saying. How about this? Starting today, let's use the crossbow matter as a starting point. You can write it down in a notebook, call it the 'Big Matters Notebook.' The crossbow matter will be the first big matter. When you turn ten, if the crossbow matter is resolved, look back and see if it still counts as a big deal to you then. Is that okay?"
Jia He nodded dazedly. At this point, Xu Mingxuan spoke up, "Jia He, come here. Don't cling to your mom. Come to Dad. Why aren't you going to play with your brothers?"
Jia He's small face immediately went from sunny to cloudy, and he pouted, complaining, "Dad, my brothers all went to the big study to assemble crossbows. Jia Xing is also there."
Xu Mingxuan asked curiously, "Then why didn't you go? Didn't you want a crossbow yourself? What, are you not interested anymore?"
Jia He drooped his little face, looking very unhappy. "Not at all! It's because they won't even let me touch it. They also said I'm just messing around. Hmph! I don't care! When I turn ten, I'll have a brand new crossbow too. I don't want theirs."
Xu Mingxuan understood as soon as he heard this. The boy must have been mischievous and messed with things, which is why the older brothers didn't include him. He reached out and stroked Jia He's little head, saying, "Jia He, how about you play with Dad instead? Will you?"
Jia He's eyes immediately lit up, and he nodded repeatedly, asking, "Okay, okay! Dad, what are we going to play?"
Xu Mingxuan said, "A couple of days ago, I saw your eldest brother and second brother playing Go in the small study. I don't know how to play. Can you teach me how to play?"
Jia He happily nodded repeatedly, exclaiming, "Okay, okay! Dad, let's go to the small study."
Watching the father and son walk hand in hand into the small study, the mother-in-law couldn't help but laugh. "Now it's good. Besides Grandpa Fu, Jia He has finally found someone willing to play Go with him."
Chen Lan asked, puzzled, "What? There are so many people in the family, and no one else is willing to play Go with Jia He? That can't be right."
The old mother smiled and explained, "It's not that they're unwilling, but this child, I don't know why, ever since he learned how to play Go, whenever he plays, he chatters incessantly, making it impossible to concentrate. How can you play like that? Only Grandpa Fu can tolerate it. But the child also complains that Grandpa Fu plays Go poorly."
Chen Lan couldn't help but laugh and cry at the same time. There were already seven children at home, and it was chaotic enough. Now she was pregnant with at least two more. The future days would undoubtedly be very exciting.