Men, listen, grab the top of the mountain and stand in the center position

The sky is yellow and the earth is yellow, and there is a boy crying at night in my house.

A gentleman walks by and thinks for a moment, and sleeps until dawn.

Red paper with incantations for stopping children from crying at night was pasted on the door of the neighboring house. Most of the guards and maids in the mansion would stop to recite some incantations when passing by to express their gratitude.

Similarly, the world outside is even more turbulent in April.

First, the general managed the grain transport in Jingzhou Prefecture and Suzhou and Hangzhou counties, and organized troops to suppress the river bandits. Then, the ice disaster on the Yellow River in Huainan was severe. Due to the cold weather in late spring, the people were worried that they would lose their harvest if they missed the right time, and they were in panic.

Near the end of the month, Qin Wu, stationed in Longzhou, frequently deployed troops, making probing advances eastward. Given the devastating ice melt in the lower Yellow River, it was conceivable that similar disasters would occur in the middle reaches of the river, flowing from south to north. The generals remained calm, simply preparing for battle.

"Qin Wu has become increasingly unethical in recent years."

On the Dragon Boat Festival, Zheng Da came to the mansion to celebrate the festival as agreed.

It's difficult to satisfy everyone's taste during the holidays. Wangshu likes salty food, Wangshi likes sweet food, the son likes big meat, and the daughter likes small shrimps. The kitchen put a lot of effort into preparing. There were all kinds of rice dumplings in different sizes and lengths on the round table, with all kinds of meat, vegetables, salty and sweet flavors.

Wang Wangshu, mother-in-law, daughter-in-law, three children, and Zheng Dalandie had lunch together as a guest.

"Today is a holiday, and I don't want to hear about this person anymore."

Wangshu chose a salty pork rice dumpling and shook his head as he untied the rice dumpling straps. "No one can beat the other, and there's no need to fight it out. He's acting every day, his salary is so good, he's just trying to make his presence felt."

The pass was a natural barrier, and the city gates were heavily guarded. As long as the two tribes in the north, whose flames could not be extinguished but would spring up again, did not unite and march south, I could sleep peacefully.

A few years ago, Qin Xiuyuan and the Liao Dynasty had a fierce fight, but in the blink of an eye, they lived in peace for several years.

Zheng Da quickly shut up, "It's me who has no tact."

"General Zheng has been diligent in his duties and has never relaxed for a moment. Qin Xiuyuan is fortunate to have a capable general like you."

Wangshu commented pertinently, “I’m just too lazy to listen.”

"Mom, when will Dad come back?"

Qin Yunxiao interrupted Zheng Da who was about to continue explaining. Wangshu shook his head and said, "I don't know."

Who knows? When he took Mingxi out, he received many letters, telling her about all kinds of new things and people. He was always reporting on his work, as if Wangshu had sent him as an imperial envoy. He was told exactly what he was doing there, but his return date was uncertain.

Wangshu has always wanted his man and daughter to come back soon. The first two times when he wrote, he wanted to say directly that he missed him and hoped that he would bring Mingxi back to Chang'an as soon as possible. In the end, he could not help but silently say "The general values ​​profit over separation" and shed tears several times.

When Xiao San heard his eldest brother asking about his father, he stopped chewing on the rice dumpling and finally dug out the image of his father from the corner where he was playing pitching pots. The image of a tall and straight man who allowed him to ride a horse and look at the scenery with his head held high suddenly jumped into his mind. It would have been fine if he didn't think about it, but once he did, it was like a flood, and tears came to his eyes. "Oh, I want my father... my father..."

Wangshu suppressed the pain in his eyes, hugged his head and quickly covered his ears in surrender. He couldn't stand the baby crying, and the hairpins and rings clashed, "Ahhh! Noisy!"

"Xiao San, go to the martial arts room and cry."

Qin Yunxiao quickly took the zongzi in his hand, wiped his brother's tears, and ate while comforting him vaguely, "Eat full...oh...cry again."

As for Xiao Si, who was oblivious to what was happening outside and was only concentrating on eating the rice dumplings, he gave his second brother a blank look, not understanding why others were crying while eating so well. If he didn't understand, he should respect him and continue eating.

Xiao San was in agony. His sister ignored him, his mother covered her ears in disgust, and his brother wanted to send him to the martial arts room. Zheng Da looked at the little guy with a blank look in his eyes, and happily reached out to hold him on his lap, "Little Master, eat well. Your father has been away for a long time and will be back soon!"

"tomorrow?"

Zheng Da glanced at his ten fingers and shook his hands twice, "So many days."

Xiao San, who is still a poor student, couldn't understand it. She only knew that tomorrow would come. Since someone said it would be soon, it would be soon. She stopped crying and started eating. Her face changed faster than the weather last month.

"General Zheng, I'll give it to you to play with for a few days?"

This was a nonsensical statement. Zheng Dalian quickly shook his head and said, "Madam, please don't joke."

Wangshu sighed and said to his mother-in-law, "If your son doesn't come back, I will really give all his sons away."

After hearing this, Lan Die's face was full of embarrassment.

Wang said calmly, "Yun Xiao, your mother said she would give you away." It was obvious that this was not the first time she had heard that grandchildren were being sent away privately.

"Grandma, don't worry, Yun Xiao remembers the way home."

Qin Yunxiao was calmer, "I will bring Xiaosan and Xiaosi home."

Look and listen, this is the responsibility of the eldest son and grandson.

After dinner, Xiaoqing, seizing the short-lived good spring weather, had people set up colorful oil-paper umbrellas as a canopy to block out the scorching sunlight. On the rows of fences on both sides of the path were placed small leaf windmills, also painted in bright colors, to welcome and send off visitors.

A group of people followed the windmill path that was turning with the wind and stepped into a shed with oil-paper umbrellas to provide shade. The shed was surrounded by soft, fluttering shawls of various colors, which moved as the wind blew, making people feel relaxed and happy.

"Drinking tea and appreciating flowers in spring is inseparable from flying kites."

As soon as Wang reminded her, two colorful kites were sent over. The third and fourth children pulled them for a long time, but the colorful kites that failed to fly into the sky fell badly. Wangshu turned his head away and ignored them. Wang was old, so Lan Die, who was a teacher, stepped forward to coax the children.

"You guys are good at coaxing kids. I'll ask you to come next time."

The mistress was satisfied, but Zheng Da was helpless. Others didn't understand why the eldest brother had a baby hanging on his body at home when he was in Chang'an, and had a child with him from time to time when he went to the military camp - it was all a hot potato thrown by the child's mother.

He saw it clearly.

"Madam, in a few years the young master and young lady will grow up."

"Oh, don't try to coax your mother with this." Wangshu no longer had any illusions. She wouldn't fall for this. "Wait until your boss comes back and coax him."

Qin Xiuyuan is still taking the bait.

Zheng Da couldn't help but burst out laughing. It was a pleasure to talk to a smart person. "Don't worry, Madam. Jiang Taigong fishes and those who are willing take the bait will be caught."

"The general will be able to travel north to Luoyang by the middle of this month at the latest."

Once we arrive in Luoyang, returning to Chang'an is just around the corner.

"The disaster in Huainan is now over, and spring planting is going smoothly. This year, there is an extra June, so it's not too late to do anything now."

Wangshu didn't want to ask why there was an extra June. He leaned lazily on the rattan chair with his chin supported. Outside the pavilion, a pair of colorful swallows flew in the sky, and the brother and sister screamed with joy.

"As long as the people are safe and sound, that's all that matters. When Ji Shou returns, we'll review the taxes we've collected. If there's a good surplus, we'll raise the salaries of the soldiers."

The mistress downplayed it, but everyone knew that last year's tax revenue was considerable, and various places had built large granaries ahead of schedule for three consecutive years. Now that there was such a statement, a salary increase was a foregone conclusion.

He stood up, bowed his head, and said, "Zheng Da is here to thank Madam on behalf of all the soldiers!"