Qin Fang came down from the Shoushan Taoist Temple on time. He patrolled every day and went down the mountain at mealtime. Today, when he came down the mountain, he saw Huang Huzi at the foot of the mountain. Qin Fang paused, then asked with some joy: "Did you bring my family back?" Huang Huzi had been in Baili Village for a month and finally came back. Qin Fang was worried about his family, thinking how nice it would be if his grandparents and his father and mother came.
Huang Huzi saluted Qin Fang first and said, "Greetings, General. We have brought the old man and the old lady back and have settled them in the general's mansion."
Hearing this, Qin Fang was anxious to go home: "How is the situation at home? Are they all here?"
Huang Huzi said: "Not really. After I arrived at Baili Village..." He recounted everything that had happened in the Qin family during this period, mainly about the broken letter of engagement.
Qin Fang had not expected this to happen. He was no longer the 16-year-old boy who left home to join the army six years ago. After the training in the military camp, the experience of getting married and becoming an official, he was mature enough at the age of 22. Besides, he was originally a smart man, so he had the courage and difficulty to think of his grandfather asking his second and third uncles to write a letter of severance of the relationship.
Qin Fang sighed: "It was me who made Grandpa bear all this emotion and pressure." For Grandpa, forcing his two sons to write a letter of severance, how could it not be difficult? However, for his own sake, Grandpa still did it. Qin Fang felt a little sad, touched by Grandpa's dedication to him, but also guilty for his grandfather's dedication to him.
Huang Huzi didn't know what to say after hearing this. He just said, "The general is the pride of the old man."
Qin Fang smiled.
When Qin Fang returned to the general's mansion, the Qin family had already gathered in the hall after having enough rest, waiting for Qin Fang to come back for dinner.
Qin Siya came back from the embroidery workshop. She was very happy to know that everyone from her hometown had returned. She had been alone here all along, and she was extremely lonely. When she saw her father and mother, she acted like a spoiled child for a while, and then she pulled Qin Sanya to start chatting.
On the contrary, Qin Shoucheng, who was precocious and introverted, couldn't help but become a little childish when he saw his family. He was also happy to know that his second brother had settled in his own yard.
Qin Siya seemed to have thought of something, and said to Yang Haiyan: "Sister-in-law, our embroidery workshop is about to start embroidery. If the embroiderers with good skills are selected, there will be rewards after the embroidery is completed. Can you let my third sister go with me?"
As soon as Qin Siya said this, Uncle Qin and the others all looked at Yang Haiyan.
Qin Sanya said nervously, "I... I can't do that. I can only embroider handkerchiefs and flowers."
Yang Haiyan said: "Xiaoya, as for this matter, unless I say it's okay, your third sister can go with you."
Qin Siya said: "I know, I have to ask the embroidery master, right?"
Yang Haiyan: "Yes, you have to ask the embroidery master. But in addition to asking the embroidery master, you also have to ask your third sister for her opinion. No matter what we do, we can't make decisions for others without authorization. We must ask the opinions of the parties involved. Their opinions are the most important."
Qin Siya said, "I see. Thank you, sister-in-law." Then she looked at Qin Sanya, "Third sister, we can learn different things in our embroidery workshop, and there are many girls to make friends with. Do you want to go?"
Qin Sanya had no friends. When she was in Baili Village, she played and did housework with her cousins because they were close in age. Later, when she went to learn embroidery, she went with Qin Erya. The two sisters knew that their family was in financial difficulty and it was not easy to give them money to learn embroidery, so they studied very hard and seriously. At that time, the girls in the embroidery workshop were all from rich families. Girls from poor families like them had no chance to learn embroidery, so the girls from rich families in the embroidery workshop would not be friends with them. She and Qin Erya also worked hard to learn embroidery.
At this moment, she was moved and yearned to hear Qin Sanya say that she could make friends with other girls in the embroidery workshop. Qin Sanya did not agree immediately, she looked at her father.
After Uncle Qin nodded, Qin Sanya said, "Okay, thank you, Ya."
"The General is back."
There was a sound outside.
When everyone heard that Qin Fang was back, they all looked towards the door. Even Grandma Qin was so excited that she stood up from her chair and walked towards the door. She was still shouting, "Is Ah Fang back? Ah Fang..."
Seeing this, Yang Haiyan rushed forward to support her, fearing that she would be too excited. The old lady hadn't seen her grandson for more than a year, and she really missed him, but not as much as she had in the past five years. But now she missed him with more excitement, excited about her grandson's success.
Before Qin Fang entered the hall, he heard Grandma Qin's voice. He changed his originally anxious pace to a big run. After running a few steps, he saw Grandma Qin's figure. He was afraid of knocking the old lady down, so he slowed down and waited until the old lady was in front of him, then hugged her: "Grandma."
Grandma Qin responded with a sigh, then grabbed Qin Fang's sleeve with her old hands and said, "Finally, the family is reunited. After so many years, the family is finally reunited." As she spoke, she started crying. Although Qin Fang brought Yang Haiyan back to his hometown in March last year, they only stayed there for a short period of 20 days. In the eyes of the old lady, this was not a family reunion. Living together like this is a family reunion.
Qin Fang was a grown man, and he didn't know what to do even if his wife cried, let alone his grandmother. He could only say awkwardly, "I am an unfilial grandson, and I made you worry." He looked at the people behind Grandma Qin, from Grandpa Qin, Father Qin, Mother Qin to others, all of them looked at him expectantly and excitedly. Qin Fang's eyes were also a little red. "Seeing them now and letting them live well is probably the greatest satisfaction for him.
Finally, Qin Fang's gaze stopped on Yang Haiyan, with a look of asking for help.
Yang Haiyan hugged the old lady and said, "Grandma is so happy that she is crying. She is happy to see her grandson. But grandma, we young people will be jealous when we see this."
Mother Qin hurriedly said, "That's right, mother, please come and sit over here."
Grandma Qin let them help her over.
Qin Fang walked to Grandpa Qin: "Grandpa."
Grandpa Qin looked at him. This little kid who was only as tall as his knees when he was born now needed him to look up. However, the look in Grandpa Qin's eyes when he looked at Qin Fang was also filled with pride.
"Grandpa, I..." Qin Fang had a lot to say, especially about the matter of the broken letter of kinship.
However, Grandpa Qin patted him on the shoulder and interrupted what he wanted to say. Huang Huzi was his grandson's son, and he would definitely report the things in his hometown to his grandson, so Grandpa Qin did not intend to hide it from his grandson. However, some things did not need to be said. Moreover, he knew that his grandson was not a heartless person. Just use the second and third sons to be obedient in exchange for a little protection from his grandson.
The Qin family didn't know about the eye contact between Grandpa Qin and Qin Fang, and everyone sat down around the dining table. After Grandpa Qin and Qin Fang also walked over and took their seats, the dishes were served.
The Qin family was large, and one table was not enough for everyone, so the elders and Qin Fang and his wife sat together, and the younger generation sat at another table. The younger generation was headed by Qin Shouye, and there were five other people, Qin Shoucheng, Qin Siya, Niu Dan, and San Ya. The elders' table had Grandpa Qin, Grandma Qin, Father Qin, Mother Qin, Second Uncle Qin, Third Uncle Qin, Third Aunt Qin, Qin Fang, and Yang Haiyan, a total of nine people.
When comparing the number of people at these two tables, the difference is half.
Qin Fang personally poured tea for all the elders at the table, not leaving out Yang Haiyan. After pouring the tea, he said, "Grandpa, grandma, dad, mom, second uncle, third uncle, third aunt, Yanyan, I'll offer you a glass of tea instead of wine."
Uncle Qin: "Afang, you don't have to be so polite."
Grandpa Qin said, "We haven't seen each other for so long. Everyone in the family is worried about you. It's only right for you to show respect to the elders. Your wife followed you all the way here to help you settle down in the inner house. You should also show her a cup of tea. Everyone drank this cup of tea."
After Grandpa Qin spoke, everyone stopped talking and drank tea.
After drinking tea, Qin Fang sat down and picked up some dishes for Grandpa Qin and Grandma Qin: "Let's eat." This is the general's mansion. Although Grandpa Qin and Grandma Qin are the oldest elders, Qin Fang is the host of this place.
This meal opened the eyes of the Qin family. When they first arrived, they drank porridge and ate some side dishes, so they didn't have an idea of the situation in the general's mansion. But now, when the dishes came one by one, they were stunned. This is not a meal, this is simply a wedding. Oh, even when they held weddings in the countryside, they didn't eat such good food. Because the dishes were too good, everyone was scared and dared not eat.
Grandpa Qin and Grandma Qin also looked at the dishes, but they were the elders and they still kept their dignity. Grandpa Qin said, "Eat, everyone. What are you sitting for?" As he said that, he picked up the dish that Qin Fang picked for him and started eating.
Grandma Qin said, "Yes, yes, yes, eat quickly."
After everyone started eating, they thought that today there were not only many dishes, but also delicious ones. Among the women sitting there, there were some who were good at cooking, but they could not make such delicious dishes. As expected, the chef in the general's mansion was also very good.
Actually, this is not the case. These dishes were cooked by Kun Zhang. It was not because Kun Zhang was a good cook, but because there were enough seasonings. The Qin family usually did not want to add seasonings when cooking, so the taste was different.
Kun Zhang is not a cook, and her cooking skills are not as good as everyone thinks.
The table was quiet, except for the children who were busy eating. Although no one was wolfing down their food, they ate much faster than usual. Especially men like Uncle Qin Er and Uncle Qin San, who had big appetites, ate to their heart's content since there were many dishes today. Aunt Qin San ate a little slower, perhaps because she was embarrassed.
Farmers like to chat while they eat, but today no one was chatting.
After the meal, Yang Haiyan took everyone to move to the next room to rest, where they could have some snacks or drink tea. Someone would naturally come to clean the table here.
Yang Haiyan took out some papers and said, "Grandpa, grandma, and all the elders, I have already chosen the names you mentioned this afternoon. I will read them to you. If you think they are not good, then we can choose new ones."
Grandma Qin said, "Okay, okay, Yanyan, tell us all."
Qin Fang: "What's the name?"
Yang Haiyan said, "It's a new name for your brothers and sisters. You are a general now, and your brothers and sisters should also have a name. It's not appropriate to always call them Da Ya and Er Ya. However, I will name the sisters, and Niu Dan's name must be named by you, the eldest brother."
Qin Fang didn't know about this, but he didn't think much of it: "Okay, then I'll give Niu Dan a name first."
Niu Dan didn't dislike his name. He knew that his elder brother had made great achievements. He thought that if he continued to call his elder brother Niu Dan, it would be embarrassing for him. So when his elder brother wanted to name him, he happily made a suggestion: "Brother, can you give me a name with fewer strokes? Otherwise, I can't write it."
After hearing this, everyone couldn't help but burst into laughter.
Seeing that everyone was busy, Niu Dan also started to talk foolishly: "Really, writing is so troublesome."
Qin Fang said, "Okay. Your name should be something like Shouye and Shoucheng. Shouye, Shoucheng... You can just call yourself Shouxin. The character "心" has fewer strokes and is easier to write. Shouxin means to stick to your original heart. I hope you can always keep your innocent heart like you are now."
Niu Dan knew the Chinese character "心" (heart) and could write it. When he heard the name Shouxin, he was satisfied: "Great! Shouxin, Qin Shouxin, this character is easy to write."
Qin Fang said again: "Grandpa, Second Uncle, do you think the name Shouxin is good?"
Yang Haiyan looked at the names he could come up with at random, and it was really... without thinking.
Grandpa Qin said, "Very good." Guard your heart, and also guard your own heart.
Of course, Qin Fang didn't mean that. He just saw that his cousin had a cheerful personality and hoped that he would always be as happy as he is now.
Uncle Qin said, "Good, very good." What could he mean? If his father said it was good, then it was good.
Qin Siya: "Sister-in-law, my brother has named Niu Dan, what names did you give to the sisters?" To Qin Siya, she wanted to know the girls' names more than her brothers' names.
Indeed, there are many girls, and everyone is curious about the names Yang Haiyan gave to the girls.
Qin Fang also looked at his wife curiously: "What names did you give your sisters?"
Yang Haiyan said, "I named Daya Yiya. Yi is one of the first two three characters and is pronounced in English. I used the Yi in Yiren's name. Daya is the first daughter in our Qin family, so it is more appropriate to use Yi. Originally, she was going to be called Daya, but I couldn't find a nice pronunciation for the character Da, so I used Yi instead. What do you think of her? " She looked at Qin Fang.
Qin Fang had no objection to the girls' names, not to mention Yiya, even Daya. In his mind, it didn't matter what name they were given, because his sister was still his sister. So after listening to his wife, he said, "That's good."
Mother Qin asked: "Yanyan, Yi means Yiren, which means the first girl. Which ya is it? What does it mean?"
Yang Haiyan said: "Shoucheng, come and explain to mother which bud is it and what does mean?"
Qin Shoucheng stood up and said, "Yes, sister-in-law. Mother, bud means sprout. Sister-in-law said that bud is a homophone of ya, and it has another meaning. Bud means future and hope. Whether it is fruit, crops, or other things, they all start from a seed, then sprout, and then grow vigorously. Sister-in-law used this bud because she hopes that the girl of our Qin family can also have a bright future. Moreover, whether it is fruit or crops, when they sprout, they grow up under the careful care of the common people. Our girl of the Qin family, like a sprouting seed, grows up in the love of our Qin family elders."
When Qin's mother heard this, she said, "Oh, this is a proper name. It has a different meaning. It's much better than the one given by Afang."
Qin Fang: “…” She’s not my biological mother. Even if I want to praise his wife, I can’t step on him.
After hearing this, Yang Haiyan looked at Qin Fang proudly.
Qin Fang also looked back at her innocently, feeling a little aggrieved.
Yang Haiyan went on to say: “Uncle, I named Erya Erya. Er is pronounced the same as Er in Chinese. The character is very simple, and it looks very beautiful when written out. Look.” She showed Uncle Qin the piece of paper with Erya’s name on it.
Uncle Qin couldn't read, so he took it carefully... He couldn't understand it, so he asked Qin Shouxin, "Niu Dan, look at your sister's name."
Qin Shouxin looked at her and said, "Wow, this name, Sister, is also easy to write."
Hearing that it was easy to write, Uncle Qin was relieved: "Fang's wife, thank you so much."
Yang Haiyan said, "Second uncle, you are too polite." Then it was Qin Sanya's name, "Third uncle, Third aunt, Sanya's name is a bit complicated, let me explain it to you. According to the pronunciation, it is more suitable to have Shanya. Shan and San are pronounced similarly, and it is the Shan of kindness, but Shanya is pronounced too fast, and it sounds like Shanya, which is not smooth. So I thought about it, Shan is originally a good virtue, for example, use Mei to replace Shan, and Sanya is named Meiya.
But now, I have thought of a very suitable name. According to the ranking of the girls, San Ya is the third in the family. However, if it is the third, you can use another way to rank, for example, some families will use spring, summer, autumn and winter. In this case, Autumn is the third, so I thought of the name Qiuya. If I use Meiya, others will not come to the third place first. But when talking about names with sisters, if San Ya is called Qiuya, everyone will definitely know that she is the third in the family.
Uncle San, Aunt San, now there are three names, Shanya, Meiya, and Qiuya, which one do you think is better?"
Uncle Qin and Aunt Qin looked at Qin Sanya, and Uncle Qin said, "Sanya, which name do you want?" This is their daughter's name, and the most important thing is that their daughter likes it.
Qin Sanya has a quiet personality. Because she has no younger brother, she feels a little inferior among her sisters. When her father asked her, she said softly, "They all sound good."
Uncle Qin said, "Then you pick one. You can't call out three names, right?"
Qin Sanya thought for a moment and said, "I want to call her Qiuya."
Uncle Qin: "Then call her Qiuya. Afang's wife, our Sanya will be called Qiuya. Thank you for your hard work and for coming up with three names for her."
Yang Haiyan said, "That's not right, Uncle San is too polite, we are all family. But Qiuya, why do you want to call me Qiuya?"
When Qin Qiuya heard her sister-in-law asking her, she explained in a low voice: "I... I want to have the same name as my sisters, so that they can tell that I am the third daughter of the Qin family. My sister-in-law just said that when the name Qiuya is spoken together with the names of my sisters, people can tell that I am the third daughter of the Qin family."
Yang Haiyan said: "Qiu Ya really takes care of her sisters. She is a good girl." The self-deprecating and quiet girl wanted to be recognized by everyone like her sisters, so she wanted a name like everyone else.
Qin Qiuya blushed when she heard her sister-in-law's praise.
The name was decided, but what everyone was most worried about was not the name, but the arrangements afterwards. Everyone had a rest in the afternoon, so they were in good spirits now. Grandpa Qin looked at everyone and knew what they were worried about, so he didn't drag his feet and asked directly: "A Fang, now that everyone in the family is here, except for the second house, how are you going to arrange for everyone?"
Qin Fang said: "The military camp has a total of 1,000 mu of land. Now there is only one steward with 100 soldiers there, which means each soldier is responsible for 10 mu. So the land in the military camp now needs the steward, who is more familiar with the crops. As for the work in the land, the steward does not need to do it, the soldiers can do it. This is for the soldiers to collect food, and they are very enthusiastic in working.
The thousand-acre fields are not connected together, so the managers are also separated. I plan to recruit one manager for every hundred acres of fields, so a total of ten managers are needed. "Now these fields are taken care of by Niu Er and his soldiers. Niu Er is so busy that he has lost weight. There is no other way, he has to run back and forth between the thousand-acre fields.
When Grandpa Qin heard that ten managers were needed, he couldn't help but say, "There are only three of us here, me, your father, and your third uncle."
Grandpa Qin hurriedly said, "Grandpa, don't bother going there, just live in the mansion." He didn't plan to let his grandfather take care of it. If possible, he didn't want his father to go either, but Qin Fang also knew that his father and mother had been busy in the fields all their lives, and they would definitely not be used to living in the mansion without doing anything every day. So, he arranged for his father, but after all, his grandfather was old, and he was worried.
Grandpa Qin said: "I'm in good health, it's okay."
Yang Haiyan said: "Grandpa, you and grandma don't have to take care of the military camp fields, but you have to take care of our vegetable garden in the general's mansion."
Grandpa Qin was stunned and looked at Yang Haiyan.
Yang Haiyan said, "Our general's mansion is too big, so I have tidied up some unused places. One side is an orchard, and the other side is a vegetable garden. You have to take care of the vegetable garden, so that my husband can also eat the vegetables you grow. I guess my husband can eat one more bowl of rice per ton of rice."
Qin Fang hurriedly said, "Yes, yes, Grandpa, you still have to take care of the vegetable garden at home."
Yang Haiyan said: "If you want to go to the military camp to take a look, you can go there anytime."
Qin Fang also said: "Yes, there is a carriage in the mansion, it is convenient."
Grandpa Qin knew their feelings. Since his grandson and granddaughter-in-law were filial, he did not insist. Anyway... there was a long way to go. "Okay, I'll listen to you."