Li Xu Shi swallowed the snack in her mouth and said gratefully: “Thank you in-laws for taking care of our family. Otherwise, I don’t know how worried I would have been!”

“We are in-laws, and this is what we should do.”

Li Xu Shi felt very happy after hearing this, “Don’t worry, in-laws. We have a large family, so we must take good care of the land.”

There was plenty of food in the fields, so they could have gotten more, but unfortunately, their own labor was still limited. With sixty acres of land, they could only tend to twenty acres themselves. However, with just twenty acres, they could still earn over ten taels of silver a year!

Zhulan said: “We have always been at ease with the in-laws’ affairs. In the future, we will have to rely on the in-laws’ help to take care of the fields and houses.”

Zhulan and Zhou Shuren had calculated that with sixty acres of land, their in-law’s family could tend to twenty acres at most. The remaining forty acres would be divided, with thirty acres given to the three brothers of their in-laws’ family, ten acres each. The last ten acres would be managed by the village head of the Li Village. With the help of the village head, many troubles could be avoided, and they could also take better care of their in-laws’ family.

Li Xu Shi smiled warmly. She didn’t envy Yang Shi; everyone had their own way of living. She just sighed, feeling that she had benefited a lot from her daughter’s marriage this year. It was thanks to her mother-in-law’s foresight. Every time her daughter returned home, her mother-in-law would tell her to treat her sincerely, and she even sent chicken as a gesture of goodwill, and even the hard-earned lamb was given away.

Without the kindness of her mother-in-law, the Zhou family would not always think about the Li family.

Li Shi didn’t feel tired even standing aside. Only when she reached her natal home did she realize why she had gone there. She was angry that the head of the family kept it from her, but she also enjoyed the feeling of supporting her parents. It felt great!

Li Shi suddenly laughed out loud. Zhulan and Li Xu Shi looked over and saw that Li Shi was still giggling. She didn’t know what beautiful thing she thought of that made her smile so happily.

Zhulan, “.”

According to what she knew about Li Shi, she must be thinking about going back to her parent’s home more often in the future.

Li Xu Shi, “.”

She couldn’t bear to see her stupid girl, but the stupid girl was so lucky that the whole family would have to rely on this stupid girl in the future.

When Li Shi saw her mother and mother-in-law looking at her, she hurriedly lowered her head, but she couldn’t suppress the smile on her lips. She was now that gū nǎinǎi¹ who when she returned home, no one dared to offend her!

In the evening, Zhulan and Zhou Shuren had dinner with their in-laws who insisted on leaving. Li Shi’s father drank a lot of wine happily, and even Li Xu Shi, who felt light-hearted, also drank a glass of wine.

After the meal, Zhulan saw off her in-laws, and Zhulan enjoyed Li Shi’s enthusiasm.

Li Shi thought it over and concluded that her parents helping her in-laws must mean that she held a high position in her mother’s heart. That’s why she bestowed benefits on her in-laws. Li Shi was determined to serve her mother-in-law well.

Zhulan, “.”

What else was Li Shi thinking? She didn’t seem to be expressing gratitude.

Zhou Shuren turned on the air conditioner, and Boss Zhou hurriedly took his wife back to the house. He didn’t know what was wrong with his daughter-in-law. She was not afraid of her father-in-law anymore. She even dared to approach his mother when his father looked with a cold face!

Zhulan exhaled, Li Shi was so enthusiastic, she really couldn’t stand it.

After breakfast on the second day, the Yang family arrived. Not only Zhulan’s parents came, but also the men of the Yang family. Zhulan’s house suddenly seemed crowded.

Zhulan helped her mother into the house and sat down. Zhulan asked, “Why didn’t dàsǎo and èrsǎo come?”

Sun Shi said: “After all, they are mothers. The sword has no eyesight on the battlefield. Life and death depend on fate. They are feeling uncomfortable in their hearts and are not feeling relieved.”

Zhu Lan knew that her mother was also feeling uneasy. “Have Dad and the eldest and second brothers discussed who will go?”

There were six grandchildren in the Yang family, which was really not a lot.

Sun Shi, “It’s been decided. For your eldest brother’s family, both the eldest son, Wuchun, and the youngest son, Wudong, will go. For your second brother’s family, the second son, Wuhe, will go. If it weren’t for the fact that your second brother’s youngest son is too young, your second brother would have wanted to send both his sons over.”

This was a rare opportunity. If you missed it, there would never be such a good opportunity in the future. The Yang family was not good at studying and wouldn’t be able to take the imperial examination, so they still had to become a military general.

Zhulan thought that the eldest brother’s second son Wu Qiu was going, but she didn’t expect it was Wu Chun. “Mom, why did the eldest brother’s family say that Wu Chun will go? Wu Chun is the eldest!”

Usually, the eldest son was left with his parents. This was the responsibility of the eldest son. Like the second brother’s family, the eldest son was the one left.

Sun Shi explained: “Your father asked Wu Chun to go there. Wu Chun has been an escort for a long time. He has traveled south and north over the years. If Wu Chun goes together, he can take better care of Wu Dong and Wu He. This way, the family will feel more at ease.”

The eldest grandson had really seen blood. He was the best in terms of experience and intelligence. The eldest grandson could climb up as long as he had the chance. The old man was particularly optimistic about the eldest grandson.

At noon, the Yang family stayed for dinner. After the meal, several boys who were about to leave stayed at Zhulan’s house. Zhou Shuren would take the boys to Zheng’s house tomorrow to show Old Man Zheng. If they entered Old Man Zheng’s eyes, they could go back and pack their luggage, preparing to leave with him in a few days.

Facts had proved that several boys from the Yang family were good, and they had all caught the eye of Old Man Zheng, and all three boys were going to follow him.

As the only gūgu², Zhulan planned to prepare some things for her zhízis³ as they traveled far away. The winter in the northwest was difficult, especially because of the lack of vegetables.

Zhulan didn’t pack anything else. She packed a lot of dried vegetables. She went to the county to find Dr. Lu in person. The sword had no eyes, so medicine was very important. She was afraid of wound infection and fever after being injured, so Zhulan asked the old man to prepare pills to treat the fever, and as for hemostatic drugs, Wu Chun could get better ones himself.

As their gūfu⁴, Zhou Shuren also found someone to get three sets of soft armor. With the constant war in the northwest, the demand for soft armor for self-defense must exceed the supply.

Zhou Shuren exchanged benefits for opportunities for the Yang family’s future, so naturally, he wouldn’t rely solely on the Zheng family for everything. He would handle what he could on his own, which would also impress the Zheng family.

That was all Zhulan and Zhou Shuren could do, and there was not much more they could do.

Waiting for Zhulan and Zhou Shuren to send their zhízis off, they stood at the door of the Zheng family’s house, no, it was the Zhou family’s house now, watching the motorcade drive away. The future of these three living lives was unknown whether they would live or die.

Zhulan supported her mother, and the old lady waited for the convoy to go away, and finally cried. The crying started a chain reaction, and Zhulan’s eyes turned red because everyone knew that the news they might get in the future would be a funeral.

(End of this chapter)

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Footnote

1. Great aunt. I think Li Shi is thinking that she will be an esteemed elder in her natal family from now on.
2. Paternal aunt i.e. Father’s sister.
3. Sons of brother
4. Paternal aunt’s husband

T/N A quite sombre ending to this chapter.