I was divorced because I got pregnant during the lean years, so I went back to my parents’ home and

The crying in the house was so loud that the earth was shaking and the mountains were collapsing.

Mrs. Lin was so anxious that she almost rolled her eyes. The two children had never cried like this since they were born.

Ji Xiaobei turned around and looked for a suitable tool to beat the child.

Old Mrs. Fu came over trotting, holding half a pancake in her hand.

"What's wrong? Oh, little ancestor, you can't cry like that!" Old Mrs. Fu cried out in concern.

Ji Xiaobei: ...Okay, here comes another one to protect his child!

They really managed to escape the beating today!

A tender and babyish voice was heard in the yard: "Brother, sister...brother..."

An An ran into the yard with his short legs.

The two children stopped crying immediately.

"younger sister……"

"An An..."

The two children burst into laughter and hugged An An. An An lost his balance and fell to the ground.

An old man rushed over from behind and hurriedly picked up An An.

"An An, where did you fall?"

The old man didn't care about anything else and carefully brushed the dirt off An An's body.

The three children ran away arm in arm.

Jiaojiao came in from outside and saw that the family had already prepared the meal. She said a little embarrassedly:

"Aunt Lin, Xiaobei, An'an won't eat, and is crying and making a fuss, wanting to come look for his brothers and sisters..."

Ji Xiaobei chuckled and said, "Don't mention it. These two brats almost ruptured my eardrums. This one is crying and even on a hunger strike. Look, my mother is going crazy..."

Ji Xiaobei pointed to the bowl of rice on the table.

Qiu Ming and Old Lady Fu, who were standing nearby, looked at each other in surprise, with different expressions.

"You, you are..."

"Ah, Madam Fu, I'm Qiu Ming..."

Old Madam Fu was shocked. She looked Qiu Ming up and down again and asked in disbelief, "Are you the Minister of Imperial Household Department, Qiu, Qiu Ming?"

"Exactly! Thank you Madam Fu for remembering me!"

Qiu Ming took a step back and said with a bow.

An imperceptible blush flashed across Old Madam Fu's face.

She bowed and said, "Hello, Mr. Qiu!"

Ji Xiaobei, Jiaojiao and Old Lady Lin stood there staring in confusion.

Jiaojiao: Grandfather knows Old Madam Fu?

Haven't you heard him mention it before?

Ji Xiaobei looked at Qiu Ming: Is this Jiaojiao’s grandfather?

She was much younger than I had imagined, no more than 60 years old, and looked younger than Old Lady Fu, especially her eyes, which were bright and lively.

The room was awkward for a moment.

Jiaojiao quickly introduced: “Grandfather, you and Old Lady Fu are acquainted, so I won’t introduce you.

This is Ji Xiaobei, I accept her as my sister. This is Aunt Lin, Xiaobei’s mother.

Sister Xiaobei, my grandfather just came from Beijing, why don’t we have a meal together! Let’s welcome him back!”

Anyone who comes is a guest, and this person is not an outsider. It’s time for dinner, and it wouldn’t be nice to ask him to go out to eat.

Mother Lin said hurriedly, "Now that you're here, just eat at home. Caixia, Aunt Zhang, the three of us will go make dinner, and you can sit together and reminisce about the past!"

Ji Xiaobei: My mother is so passionate!

If Mrs. Lin knew that Qiu Ming was the one who raised horses for the emperor and often drank tea with the emperor.

She must have been so scared that her legs went weak. She couldn't even eat, let alone cook.

Ji Xiaobei also smiled and said, "Yes, let's eat at home!"

Jiaojiao felt that it was too much of a bother and was afraid that her grandfather would not be used to it. Just as she was about to refuse, she heard her grandfather say, "Then I am sorry to bother you, Madam Ji!"

It took Mrs. Lin a long time to realize that the Mrs. Ji that Qiu Ming was referring to was herself.

She waved her hands in her heart and said, it’s okay, it’s just a piece of cake!

Mrs. Fu said, "You guys sit down and chat, I'm leaving first!"

Ji Xiaobei felt that Mrs. Fu looked strange, and he didn't know what was going on, so he asked, "Grandma Fu, I'll take you there!"

Following Old Lady Fu out of the yard, Ji Xiaobei asked, "Grandma, what's wrong with you? Your face is so red. Are you feeling unwell? Do you want Grandma Huang to come over and take a look at you?"

Old Mrs. Fu touched her face and said, "It's okay, it's okay! I'm just a little tired!"

Ji Xiaobei sent her back to the room, helped her lie down, and two maids came to serve her.

Qiu Ming looked at Mrs. Fu's back and coughed twice before recovering.

Ning Jinzhi, the eldest daughter of the Ning family, a wealthy weaving family in Jiangnan!

This name, which was buried deep in his heart, would occasionally be dug out from the depths of his memory in his dreams, causing him to feel secretly sad.

Back then, she was as beautiful as a flower, proficient in music, chess, calligraphy and painting, and was a great beauty in the capital.

Whenever she went out, she was followed by a group of young men from wealthy families.

Qiu Ming was born in a poor family in the bitter and cold land of western Xinjiang.

With his intelligence and superb horse training skills, he became the Minister of the Imperial Household in his twenties.

Ning Jinzhi was arrogant and proud, and rejected many suitors.

She hesitated for a long time between Qiu Ming and Fu Rungao, and finally chose the military general Fu Rungao.

Fu Rungao has a distinguished resume, is young and promising, and has a handsome appearance.

Qiu Ming was convinced that Ning Jinzhi chose him, but he was heartbroken.

Not long after, he resigned from the position of Minister of the Imperial Household and went to the Western Frontier to serve as the Chief of Animal Husbandry. From then on, he and Ning Jinzhi were separated from each other and never met again.

As time passed, he became a lonely herdsman supervisor, and she became an old lady who lost her husband in middle age and her children in her later years.

He was heartbroken for a long time after hearing that the two most important men to her had passed away.

But, what’s past is past after all.

Whatever the reason, he couldn't see her again.

As fate would have it, we met again in this lifetime.

She's aged a lot!

“Grandfather, are you familiar with Old Lady Fu?”

Jiaojiao's voice brought back Qiu Ming's memories.

"Ah, it's cooked, a little cooked! But not very cooked!"

Qiu Ming answered vaguely.

Ji Xiaobei walked in and said with a smile: "I'll go prepare some tea for Mr. Qiu, Jiaojiao, you stay with Grandfather!"

Qiu Ming tried hard to pull his thoughts back.

Asked about the matter between Jiaojiao and Ruo Xiaolian.

Jiaojiao didn't hide anything and told him everything.

He then recounted how Ji Xiaobei rescued him.

Qiu Ming was so angry that he gritted his teeth, but he couldn't lose his temper in Ji Xiaobei's house, so he managed to suppress it.

Ji Xiaobei brought the tea over and put it on the table.

Qiu Ming said to the old maid outside the door: "Go and ask someone to bring in the gift for Miss Ji!"

On the way, Jiaojiao said that it was Ji Xiaobei's family who took care of her and An An, otherwise they would not be able to see their grandfather.

Several servants came in carrying two large wooden boxes.

Five rolls of silk and satin, various cheeses specializing in Western Xinjiang, jerky and dried meat, a large number of rare supplements, a pair of mutton-fat jade bracelets, and a pair of good-quality ruyi.

Mrs. Lin ran out with a spoon in her hand, her eyes wide open in shock.

This, this is too much!

"Madam Ji, my granddaughter and An'an are grateful to you for taking care of them. I, Qiu, am very grateful. Please accept this small gift, Madam Ji..."

Qiu Ming said sincerely, bowing his hands.

Mrs. Lin raised her spoon and was about to refuse, but Jiaojiao took her spoon with a smile and said, "Aunt Lin, this is a gift from my grandfather, you have to accept it no matter what you say!"

Ji Xiaobei bowed to Qiu Ming and said, "Thank you, Mr. Qiu!"

Qiu Ming looked at Ji Xiaobei with admiration and said, "Since you and Jiaojiao are sworn sisters, you should also call me Grandfather Qiu!"

Ji Xiaobei quickly said, "Grandfather Qiu!"

"Okay, Xiaobei, Jiaojiao said that she and you have opened a shop together. If you have any problems in the future, please come to Grandpa Qiu. I will definitely do my best to help."

"Thank you, Grandpa Qiu!"

Qiu Ming nodded with satisfaction!

"Jiaojiao said that you have a doctor named Huang here, who is very skilled in medicine. Jiaojiao's body was able to recover so well, all thanks to Doctor Huang. I heard that you are planning to open a medicine shop. I happen to have a shop in the back street of the government office. It used to be a medicine shop, but now it is idle. I can use it after cleaning it up and repairing it. I'll let Jiaojiao take you to have a look when I have time."

"Thank you, Grandpa Qiu! If it's appropriate, I'll sign the documents with you!"

"Why sign any documents? This is our own shop, you can just use it. You and Jiaojiao are like sisters, don't be so formal!"

Jiaojiao also took Ji Xiaobei's arm and said with a smile: "Grandfather's kindness, please don't be polite."

Ji Xiaobei had no choice but to agree.

Grandfather has a lot of shops and land, and Jiaojiao doesn't know which one he is talking about.