I trade in both worlds

Xu Xu pursed her lips and pulled the corners of her mouth to smile, but the expression she made was as if she was crying. Zhang Yunxiang looked at Xu Xu and waved her hand to signal her to come over: "If you can't laugh, don't laugh. I heard from mother that Yang Erzhu hasn't sent a letter in such a long time since he left home. It seems that this man can't be trusted."

"Mother regrets finding you such an in-law family. If your in-laws bully you in the future, or if you feel that you can't live like this, then come back. Your mother's family will always be your home, even if your parents are gone."

Zhang Yunxiang touched Xu Xu's temples and said, "What I am most worried about are the three of you, especially your two younger brothers. They are still young. If possible, I hope you can live with your two younger brothers."

"If your in-laws disagree, you don't have to force it. Put Xiaojin and Xiaozhun in foster care at your second uncle's house. Let your second uncle farm the land, and all the produce from the land will be given to your second uncle as a means of providing for Xiaojin and Xiaozhun's daily needs. You can keep the money."

"You will be responsible for their tuition, writing brushes, ink, paper and inkstone for the private school. You can also give your second aunt two taels of silver every year to thank her for taking care of Xiao Jin and Xiao Zhun. You just need to come and check on them every now and then."

Xu Xu shook her head, tears falling to the ground: "Mom, I will take my brothers with me and raise them to adulthood."

Zhang Yunxiang nodded with relief: "Okay, thank you, mother. There are still fields at home, your second uncle and second aunt are watching over them, and there is also the clan leader, no one dares to have any bad thoughts, even if there are, don't be afraid, the clan leader and your second uncle will not let them succeed. You have to be tough, so that others will not dare to bully you at will."

Xu Xu listened carefully to Zhang Yunxiang's instructions: "I understand."

Zhang Yunxiang took a deep breath and said, "Okay, no more talking. Come over and help me wash up."

Xu Xu shouted hoarsely, "Mom..." She had a lot to say, but she didn't know where to start. She could only wipe her tears, carry the wooden basin to rinse her mother's mouth and wash her face, and then put a layer of facial cream on her face.

Zhang Yunxiang stroked Xu Xu's temples and said, "Mom is hungry. Bring her breakfast. Boil some water later. Mom wants to take a bath. Go get her some clothes."

Xu Xu nodded while crying, got up and went to the kitchen, took the pot of boiling water and filled it with water, added a piece of firewood to the stove, then took a bamboo basket to pick out the vegetable balls, scooped out a bowl of porridge, took two vegetable balls, and brought them to Zhang Yunxiang's room.

After breakfast, I helped Zhang Yunxiang wash her hair and take a bath, and changed her into clean clothes. After her hair was half dry, I helped her lie half-lying on the bed.

Zhang Yunxiang pointed at the chest of drawers and said, "Girl, pull out the bottom drawer of the chest of drawers and flip open the bottom plate on the left. There is a wooden box there. Bring it to me."

Xu Xu followed her mother's instructions and found the wooden box. It turned out to be a sandalwood jewelry box. Zhang Yunxiang took the wooden box and patted the edge of the bed: "Sit down."

Zhang Yunxiang stroked the wooden box, her eyes full of nostalgia: "This was given to me by Princess Jing when I was in Prince Jing's Mansion. Among the maids around the princess at that time, I was famous for being frugal. I saved all the monthly allowances and rewards. Your father was the same. He had basically no expenses in Prince Jing's Mansion. After returning to Xuzhuang, he had no other expenses except building a house and buying land."

As he spoke, he opened the wooden box and saw a pair of gold and silver bracelets, two silver hairpins, a jade pendant, a jade bracelet, and a few silver ingots. It was estimated that the total amount of silver alone was about two hundred taels.

Zhang Yunxiang took out the things in the wooden box and told Xu Xu: "My daughter, take these jewelry. There are 230 taels of silver. Keep them and the two jade pendants for your brother. 200 taels are for their studies. Take the 30 taels. You need money for daily food and clothing."

"When they get married in the future, the jade pendant will be considered as a gift from me. You keep it for safekeeping." As he said this, he pulled out the bottom plate of the wooden box. There was a shallow layer underneath with a few pieces of paper on it.

Zhang Yunxiang took out a note and opened it: "This is a silver note, 20 taels. We have been fighting for so many years, I don't know if it can still be used now. Take it, if it can be used, we will exchange it when the time comes."

"The remaining ones are the deeds to our house and some land, which you will keep. You will be in charge of your brother's affairs until he turns 18. Take out the deeds and put the rest back. Just know where they are and don't tell anyone else."

Xu Xu nodded and put the wooden box back. Zhang Yunxiang saw that Xu Xu had installed the drawers of the chest of drawers.

He continued, "Also, move the rice jar in the west wing. There is a small jar underneath. There should be more than 60 taels of silver in it. Those are for daily expenses. Put them out in the open. There is a small box in the chest. Put the deed in there. Take out the ten taels of silver. There should be a few hundred coins in the chest. Keep them all."

After seeing that Xu Xu had handled everything as she said, she waved her hand and said, "Okay, go wake up Xu Jin and Xu Zhun, and bring them over after breakfast. By the way, tell your second grandfather and uncle to come over after breakfast."

Xu Xu followed Zhang Yunxiang's instructions and helped his twin brothers wash up. Yang Qiwei also woke up. After Xu Xu washed his son, he saw that his half-year-old daughter was still sleeping soundly, so he turned around and arranged for the twins and Xu Qiwei to have breakfast.

Xu Xu served each of them a bowl of porridge, and then gave each of them a vegetable dumpling. Xu Xu picked up the bowl and took a sip of the porridge, but he couldn't swallow it. It felt like something was blocking his chest and he had no appetite at all.

Watching the three children eating vegetable dumplings and porridge, she put down the bowl and told the children: "Xiao Jin, Xiao Zhun, take your nephew, Weiwei, and eat with your uncle. I'm going to my second uncle's house and will be back soon."

After saying that, he went out and walked towards Xu Jizong's house.

Xu Jizong's house was not far away, about forty or fifty meters away, with two houses in between. Sometimes if you shouted at home, they could hear it.

His family has a big yard, and the house is half made of blue bricks and half of it of earth bricks. The house was newly built a few years ago when my eldest cousin got married. When building the house, they bought the residential land next to it and built two yards, east and west. When the family was divided later, each son had a yard.

Xu Jizong has two sons and one daughter. The eldest son is Xu Youliang, the second son is Xu Youyin, and the youngest daughter is Xu Haitang. All three children are married.

My eldest cousin Xu Youliang married Lin Erya from Hexi Village and had a son and a daughter. The eldest daughter Niuniu is two years old and the youngest son Niudan is just two months old.

My cousin Xu Youyin married Chen Lihua from Matou Village. They have been married for almost a year and have no children yet. My cousin Xu Haitang married Xie Jiaxu next door before the Chinese New Year.

At this time, Xu Jizong was sitting in the yard chopping bamboo strips, while Aunt Xu was feeding the chickens.