Chapter 168 - 164: Receiving People_1

Translator: 549690339

In the early morning, before the rise of the sun, a faint mist swirled around Bamboo Forest Village.

Yingbao, accompanied by her two younger brothers and Youyou, was running along the well-paved village path.

Youyou was swift, and Yingbao and her brothers trailed closely behind him, not lagging at all. Both puppies have grown up, and when they run, they are even faster than Yingbao.

The sight of the three children, two dogs, and a deer running early in the morning was quite usual for the villagers.

Zhang Meng stood at the crossroad, watching them with approval. “Those two kids are agile and athletic, they have potential. They’re good prospects.”

Unfortunately, the Imperial Court values scholarly pursuits over martial ability. Proposing that Jiang, the village head’s twin sons, learn martial arts seems somewhat inappropriate.

“Good prospects should be trained more,” Xu Kun murmured.

Zhang Meng glanced at his brother, “You’re thinking of taking them as apprentices?”

Xu Kun chuckled, “If anyone is to take an apprentice, it wouldn’t be me. I sense that Brother Fu would like to do so, but I don’t know why he hasn’t acted.”

“With Brother Fu’s awkward status, how could he offer to teach the children of decent citizens martial arts?”

With a sigh, Zhang Meng said, “We should just live out the rest of our lives peacefully.”

Xu Kun remained silent.

Yingbao and her brothers followed Youyou straight to the edge of the pond.

After Youyou stopped to drink, Yingbao gazed into the distance.

Early in the morning, their father was leading a group of villagers to dig a water storage trench.

The trench, twenty feet wide and ten feet long, could be filled with water during the rainy season next year to improve the water supply for the more than two hundred villagers on the South Slope.

After Xiaolu finished drinking, he lifted his head and also looked into the distance.

Following his gaze, Yingbao saw a horse-drawn carriage approaching along the distant village road, accompanied by four horse-riding servants.

The two puppies immediately charged towards the unfamiliar carriage, barking madly as they ran alongside it. n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om

Sun Licheng, who was seated in the driver’s seat, commanded the carriage to stop at the entrance of the Jiang’s residence.

Upon recognizing a familiar face, the two puppies wagged their tails and went whimpering back to their young masters for comfort.

Yingbao patted the two puppies on their heads and, leading her brothers, walked quickly towards home.

A middle-aged man descended from the carriage and was led by Sun Licheng through the large entrance of the Jiang’s residence.

The man glanced at the tall surrounding walls and curiously asked, “Why was it built like this?”

Chuckling, Sun Licheng replied, “There was some trouble with bandits a while ago, building high walls is for defense—nothing more.”

The man nodded without pressing further.

“Is Brother Jiang home?” Sun Licheng called out loudly towards the entrance of the house.

Upon hearing it was Sun Licheng’s voice, Old Man Jiang hurried out of the house, “My, my—Brother Sun is here! Please, come on in.”

Smiling broadly, Sun Licheng introduced, “Here’s a distinguished guest from Prefecture City, Mr. Wang. Mr. Wang, this is Brother Jiang, the one who has been taking care of your nephew, Wei Zhan.”

Wang Xian quickly stepped forward and bowed to Old Man Jiang, “Thank you for taking care of my nephew, Wei Zhan. I am deeply grateful.”

Old Man Jiang quickly returned the bow and invited them in, “Please, come inside and we can talk.”

He then instructed his grandson to find Wei Zhan.

The three men entered the main hall while Sister-in-law Zhou hurried into the kitchen to prepare morning tea for their guests.

Yuanbao had already dashed over to his second uncle’s house to find Wei Zhan. “Wei Zhan! Your uncle is here to pick you up!”

Wei Zhan was surprised and asked subconsciously, “Which uncle?”

Not knowing which uncle it was, Yuanbao pulled him out the door, “You’ll know once you go see!”

Wei Zhan resisted, grabbed the doorframe, and refused to go, “No, no!”

Surprised, Yuanbao turned and stared at him, “Why?” Even after several months away from home, would he not miss his parents?

“I’m not going!” Wei Zhan turned around, went back into the room, pulled off his shoes, climbed onto the kang bed, and burrowed under his quilt, refusing to show his face.

Yuanbao blinked, not understanding why Wei Zhan was behaving this way.

In the living room, Wang Xian and old Jiang chatted for a while, waiting for the young man who was nowhere in sight, they couldn’t help but feel puzzled.

Yuanbao rushed into the living room and told grandfather, “Wei Zhan refuses to come.”

Old Jiang looked at Wang Xian, stood up and suggested, “Let’s go and see what’s going on.”

“I appreciate it, Uncle Jiang.”

Wang Xian also stood up, following old Jiang to the Jiang Erlang’s house.

Jiang Erlang was not at home, he had gone out to dig ditches with his elder brothers.

In accordance with etiquette, Yanru, who saw that men had arrived, only led them to Huzi’s room and left.

“Seventh Brother?” Wang Xian called out to the bulging quilt on the bed.

The bulge didn’t move at all.

With no choice, Wang Xian was forced to lift the quilt, only to have Wei Zhan tug the corner of the quilt firmly and refuse to let go.

“Seventh Brother, I am your uncle.” Wang Xian said helplessly, “Are you upset with me for coming late?”

Wei Zhan still remained silent.

“Seventh Brother, you don’t know, but the inspections on the road are strict. We have to replace our travel permit every hundred li, which caused me to be delayed.”

Seeing Wei Zhan still silent, Wang Xian heaved a sigh, “Your mother heard you were separated from Dabang and she coughed up blood on the spot. Seventh Brother, let’s go home immediately, or else”

Wei Zhan suddenly threw off the quilt and started crying, “I I don’t want to go back, wuwuwu Uncle, can you bring mother here instead? Yingbao’s medical skills are very good, she can definitely cure my mother.”

Wang Xian:

He turned to ask old Jiang, “Uncle Jiang, who is this Master Yingbao?”

Old Jiang chuckled, “That’s my youngest granddaughter. She’s only four years old and has just learned a bit about medicine. I think young master Wei is joking.”

Wei Zhan was not convinced but knew he couldn’t contradict grandpa Jiang and pouted without speaking.

Seeing his nephew’s stubbornness surface again, Wang Xian could only reason, “Seventh Brother, how about we go back to the prefecture city first to see your mother, and then you can come back with your mother, is that okay?”

Wei Zhan really missed his mother, but he couldn’t bear to leave this place, to leave his little buddies here.

This place is much more fun than the city. He could play freely with his friends without worrying about people ridiculing him for not having the manners of a noble gentleman, and he didn’t have to worry about his food being poisoned.

The key point was that his treatment here was the same as his friends’. He would be praised for helping the adults and if he misbehaved, he would be punished along with them.

Wei Zhan felt that this was what a family should look like.

The one in the prefecture city was just a cage for training beasts where he had to behave exactly as they wanted, displaying modesty and respect, obeying norms, and preventing misconduct.

Otherwise, his mother would be disappointed, his father would become fed up, and the whole family would laugh at him. Even the slaves and servants acted insincerely because of his young age.

“Seventh Brother” Seeing that his nephew remained silent, Wang Xian couldn’t help but try to persuade him again.

Wei Zhan wiped his tears and finally nodded, “Then then I’ll go back first and bring my mother back later.”

Mrs. Wen is also from the city and she managed to live here with her daughter. Therefore, his mother could do the same.

When he returned, he would bring his mother and they would build a house next to Yingbao’s. Then, he would live here with his mother.

Seeing his nephew finally agreed to go home, Wang Xian heaved a sigh of relief, “Let’s leave now then, hurry to the county seat to change the travel permit and hire a convoy.”

This place was rife with bandits. Although the Imperial Court had sent troops to suppress them, there might still be remnant bandits on the road, so they had to hire a convoy for protection.

Wei Zhan was unhappily seeing his uncle in such a rush, “We will leave tomorrow!”

He had just become good friends with many children in the village and didn’t have time to say farewell to them. How could he leave just like that?

Wang Xian knew his nephew was stubborn and should be coaxed gently and not forced, or else there would be a fuss.

“Alright then, we will set off early tomorrow.”