Seek monthly ticket, strive for ten thousand more

  ***

  Xia Zhi followed Xia Dagu and Guo Gufu out. The person who walked in shoulder to shoulder with Changsheng was indeed Xia Ershu. Xia Dagu and Guo Gufu did not conceal their surprise at all. Xia Ershu smiled and seemed very comfortable.

  Changsheng explained to everyone: "I happened to meet Second Uncle on the street when I went out."

  Xia Dagu and Guo Gufu hastily invited Xia Ershu to sit in the upper house, then instructed Liu Sao and Xiao Hong to serve tea and snacks. Xia Dagu asked Xia Ershu when he arrived at Fucheng, what brought him to Fucheng, and why he didn't send a message ahead of time.

  Xia Er Shu looked around the house slowly and carefully, then withdrew his gaze. He picked up his teacup, lowered his head to take a look, but didn't drink it and put it down again.

  "Second Brother, Father and Mother are all right, aren't they?" Xia Dagu was somewhat anxious, she worried that Xia Ershu's sudden appearance in the prefecture city was because something had happened to Old Master Xia or Old Mistress Xia at home.

  "The two old men are doing well." Xia Er Shu finally spoke up.

  Xia Dagu immediately let out a sigh of relief. As long as the two old people were fine, there was nothing major to worry about. Xia Ershu didn't rush to speak, and she didn't need to urge him to ask questions either.

  Guo's uncle asked Xia Ershu: "When did the second brother arrive at Fucheng? Why didn't you send a message in advance, so that your nephew can pick you up?"

  "Don't bother with me." Xia Erbo waved his hand and slowly said, "I just arrived yesterday. I got here late, so I didn't come to disturb you. Originally planned to come over today to take a look at you, but something delayed me. Ran into Changsheng, I was thinking of coming over anyway."

  Xia Dagu and Guo Gufu exchanged a glance, then both asked Xia Ershu if there was something going on with him coming to the prefectural city.

  "There's nothing much to do." Xia Er Shu said with a hint of pride, "Isn't it that your sister-in-law's niece has opened a big shop in the prefectural city? She said she was busy and couldn't open it up, so she sent a message to me and your mother, asking us to come over and help manage the employees and accounts."

  Xia Dagu and Guo Gufu's surprised expressions can no longer be concealed. Xia Zhi was also very surprised. She sat on one side, carefully sizing up Xia Ershu, and then confirmed that the person she saw at the entrance of Gui Fangzhai should be Xia Ershu.

  At that time, Xia Ershu was wearing this sunflower-colored silk robe. This half-new and half-old robe was a bit too big for Xia Ershu's body, not very fitting, and should have been someone else's old clothes.

  Xia Er Shu said that sentence just now, and didn't pay attention to Xia Da Gu and Guo Gu Fu again. He seemed to have just discovered that Xia Zhi and Xiao Hei Yu were also there, so he turned his head to talk to them.

  "Is it good to stay here? Why don't you come with me to Juanzi's house. That place is big, no matter how many people go, there's enough room. Food and clothes are readily available." He was still being arrogant and showing off.

  "It's all right, Second Uncle, I'm getting along fine with Old Uncle here." Xia Zhi replied with a smile.

  Xiao Hei Yu slightly furrowed his brow and asked Xia Er Shu: "Second Uncle, you came to Fu Cheng, did you tell Father?"

  Xia Ershu's mouth twitched. This little brother of theirs couldn't be said to be disrespectful to his elders, but he always put on a airs of being a big shot. Especially when talking to him, he always had some of the mannerisms of Old Master Xia. Xia Ershu felt that this kind of thing would be unbearable for anyone. However, this little brother just happened to be someone he couldn't afford to offend.

  If the daughters-in-law or grandsons were to quarrel with the youngest son, Old Master Xia would generally not intervene. However, if several of his grown sons dared to be slightly unfriendly towards the youngest son, Old Master Xia would absolutely not tolerate it.

  Xia Ershu could only tolerate Xiao Hei, and sometimes when he was angry, he would say behind his back that he had an extra father. Of course, this sentence must not be known to Old Man Xia, otherwise it's unknown how to deal with him.

  Now, in front of Xia Dagu, Guo Gufu, especially Xia Zhi's face, Xia Ershu is also very polite to Xiao Heiyu.

  "What can I say? If your dad didn't let me come, could I have come?" Xia Ershu smiled mischievously, as if he thought Xiao Heiyu's question was unnecessary.

  However, Xiao Hei's eyebrows did not relax, he always felt that Xia Er Shu's words were not very credible. And Xia Zhi deeply agreed with him.

  Guo's uncle saw that Xia Ershu hadn't touched the tea in front of him, so he quickly got up and instructed Liu to change the tea. Then, he personally poured another cup of hot tea for Xia Ershu. "Which shop was it that Second Brother mentioned?" He asked with a smile, being very careful.

  Xia Er Shu seemed to be pleased with this attitude. He took over the teacup handed over by Guo Aunt and drank a mouthful in a humble manner. "This tea has some flavor, but it's still not as good as the one I had at Juanzi's house. Brother-in-law, wait for me to bring you some of that tea leaves another day, and you can try it too."

  "Ah, thank you so much, Second Brother." Guo's uncle still smiled and then asked another question.

  Xia Er Shu then said: "Also on this street, Gui Fang Zhai, a new pastry shop that just opened not long ago, you all know, right?"

  "I know, I know." Guo's uncle nodded repeatedly, then asked again, "So the Gui Fangzhai was actually the niece of Er Sao's maternal family?!"

  "It is." Xia Erbo nodded, took another sip of tea, picked up a piece of pastry and ate it, before opening his mouth to speak. He told Guo Shu about Juanzi, Juanzi's son-in-law Zhang Cai, and then mentioned that Zhang Cai's sister Zhang Qiao'er was the second wife of Tian Jian's mother. And that Gui Fang Zhai was given by Tian Jian to Zhang Cai.

  "The shop is doing well, business is booming, the couple just needs someone reliable to help out, and they thought of me, so they specially sent someone to invite me..."

  After saying this, he deliberately lowered his voice and mysteriously told Uncle Guo that Zhang Cai's sister Zhang Qiao'er "... is now the second wife, and in another year or so, she will definitely be promoted to the first wife and become the mistress of the house."

  After finishing speaking, he also smiled complacently for two times, as if he had gained honor.

  Xia Er Shu initially held back, asking three questions before answering one, but once he started talking, he hardly needed others to ask him and went on and on by himself.

  He liked to go around visiting people's homes when he was in Daxingzhuang, and could be out for a whole day without eating or returning home. What can you do by going around visiting people's homes? It's just chatting with people.

  Xia the second uncle is such a special person who can talk a lot. Xia the big aunt casually asked two sentences, and Xia the second uncle said everything he originally wanted to say and didn't want to say.

  This time he came to the prefecture city, not alone, but with his whole family. Xia Erniang, Xia Zhu, May and July, only one Xia Yang was left at home because of her young age, and they brought her as a burden.

  "Second Uncle, you've kept Xiao Yang at home?" Xia Zhi couldn't help but ask, she was speechless.

  "Ah," Xia Er Shu finally realized he had misspoken. However, he soon didn't care anymore. They were going to live in the prefectural city permanently. All of them would be on West Market Street, and this matter couldn't be hidden forever. "His grandfather and grandmother couldn't bear to part with him, they wanted to keep him to take care of."

  When this was said, no one in the house believed it. They said that Old Man Xia and Old Lady Xia wanted to keep Xia Yang, but in fact they had forced Xia Yang on the two old people.

  As for taking care of children, what does Old Man Xia know about it? It's all Old Lady Xia's job.

  Xia Dagu felt uneasy at heart from the start. Although Xia Laotaitai was younger than Xia Laoye, she was also getting on in years, and taking care of such a young child was a complicated and tiring task. Moreover, Xia Yang and Xia Laotaitai were separated by a generation.

  If Xia Ershu and Xia Erjie usually got along well with Old Lady Xia and were truly filial to her, then that would be fine, but in reality it was not the case.

  Old Lady Xia took care of Xia Yang, which was a thankless task.

  And after all, Xia Ershu and Xia Erniang shouldn't have done this.

  Xiao Hei Yu's mouth was pursed, and there wasn't a hint of smile on his face. Xia Da Gu glanced at Xiao Hei Yu, then subconsciously looked at Xia Zhi. Xia Zhi's face had no expression, looking slightly dull.

  Xia Zhi was indeed stunned, she was shocked by the extreme behavior of Xia Er Shu and Xia Er Shu's wife, and it took her a long time to come back to herself.

  Xia Dagu thought for a moment, then tactfully asked Xia Ershu: "If the second brother is going to help in the shop, will the second sister-in-law stay for a few days and then go back? Xiao Yang is still young, probably can't leave his mother. If it's a long time, the second sister-in-law will miss her son too."

  Xia Ershu seemed to not understand Xia Dagu's meaning at all, and he smiled casually: "Your second aunt also has something on her mind. The second wife of the monitor is pregnant, and Juanzi hasn't given birth before, so she won't know how to take care of it. She specially asked your second aunt to come over and take care of it. Little Yang that child, following his grandparents or following us is the same."

  "Your second aunt thinks that her son is not good enough, but the child in Second Mistress's belly is indeed Master's firstborn son. Can't let others take care of him! Big sister, brother-in-law, I'm telling you the truth. No one else can take care of Second Mistress's pregnancy except someone who understands everything and is absolutely reliable."

  "Except for your second sister-in-law, there is no one else."

  Xia Erniang is Juanzi's aunt, and this relationship is naturally very close. But Juanzi also has a biological mother who is even closer to her than Xia Erniang and also has similar childbirth experiences. What's the point of saying that there's no one else besides Xia Erniang? This is also nonsense.

  Xia Dagu asked Xia Ershu a sentence: "What about his aunt, the second pillar?"

  "Juanzi's mother has been ill these days." Xia Ershu said, "I'm not saying, she can't even compare to your second aunt. The Luo family is just a big pigsty, only your second aunt is okay, learning etiquette and being elegant in our home, that's why Juanzi took a liking to her."

  Xia Dagu was also amused. Xia Ershu has been a smooth talker since he was young. At least half of what he said was nonsense.

  "Second Uncle, when May and her sister come, will they have something to do too?" Xia Zhi asked Second Uncle.

  "Yes, they have something to do too." Xia Er Shu told everyone that Xia Zhu would follow him to take care of things at Gui Fang Zhai, while Wu Yue and Qi Yue would help Xia Er Yi take care of Zhang Qiao'er.

  "Second Uncle, where are you all living?" Xia Zhi asked again.

  (。)