Early the next morning, the Xia family and his wife came to visit the Xiao family early and gave them generous gifts. Xiao Han entertained Xia Zhongquan in the flower hall, and Mrs. Song led Mrs. An into the inner house.
"The dogs have caused you trouble these days." Xia Zhongquan said politely.
"Uncle Xia, you're welcome. It's Brother Xia who takes care of us a lot." Xiao Han said politely. He should have thought of the relationship between Xia Xiaoba and the new Xia family.
Compared with the polite words of the two people in the outer courtyard, the Song family and An family talked affectionately and warmly in the living room of the inner house.
"Oh, this is Sister Ming, isn't she? She's so handsome? I'm your Aunt An." Ms. An was familiar with herself and greeted Xiao Ming warmly. She pulled Xiao Ming to praise her and called herself Aunt An. .
"Hello Aunt An, please have some tea." Xiao Ming served Xiao's chrysanthemum tea to Mrs. An.
"This tea is good. Auntie came here so early just to ask for a cup of tea? Don't laugh at your auntie?" An said with a smile. In the past, I heard that the Xiao family siblings are good-looking and they are twins. It's just that she has never had the chance to see him, but now he sees that the two siblings look exactly the same, and they are really good-looking.
An was eloquent, enthusiastic and cheerful, and quickly got along with Song and Xiao Ming.
"Speaking of which, we also want to thank you for taking in Xiaoba?" Anshi brought the topic to her son. When she mentioned her son, Anshi was worried and helpless. She told her the reason she had thought up with Xia Zhongquan yesterday: "Xiaoba This child was angry and impulsive. He was not like his brother at all. He was scolded by his father at home and actually ran away from home without saying a word. As a result, we couldn't find anyone anywhere and we were very worried. I was so anxious that I didn’t expect to come to you. I really caused you trouble."
"Xiaoba is your child?" Mrs. Song asked in surprise.
"Yes, Xiaoba is my youngest son. He has caused you trouble these days." An apologized.
"Aunt An is polite. Brother Xia has helped us a lot." Xiao Ming had long expected that Xia Xiaoba's parents would come, but she didn't expect that it would be so soon. They would also build a house next door. It seems that Xia Xiaoba will be there in the future. No need to live in his house.
"His father and I were getting older, so we quit our jobs and took our son home to take care of him in old age. We wanted to live a peaceful life for a few years." An explained the reason for coming here.
"His father was an orphan, and he didn't know where his hometown was. It was Xiaoba who wrote a letter saying how good it was here, so we came here. This place is backed by green mountains and faces the river. It is indeed a good place, so we thought of setting up our home here. In these places, we can settle down and live a long life."
"This place is great. You are welcome to come. Our two families are the only ones east of this bridge. We will be neighbors from now on and we have to take care of each other." Mrs. Song said with a smile. She welcomed the addition of another family. She had not been there for many years. Walking around the village, she usually couldn't hide her loneliness when she was alone. Now, there was a woman of the same age and similar temperament to talk to her to relieve her boredom. She couldn't help but wish for it.
Mr. Song has a gentle temperament and is quiet and taciturn. Mr. An is well-informed, cheerful and eloquent, which complements Mr. Song perfectly.
"Welcome Aunt An to Qiaodong." Xiao Ming also expressed welcome, without doubting An's words at all.
"Okay, okay, we will be neighbors from now on. If anything happens at home, just let me know. You can do whatever you want with Xiaoba. If he doesn't obey, tell me and I will take care of him."
"I want to shamelessly buy some vegetables when I come here this time. Now that my house is going to be renovated, there will be a lot of vegetables to eat in the future. Boss Xiao will have to give me a cheaper price." Anshi joked, talking about herself Another purpose of this trip.
"Aunt An is too polite. Just call me junior Xiao Ming." Xiao Ming said politely. She couldn't handle An's calling her boss. What kind of boss is she? Originally, as a neighbor and fellow villager, she planned to sell at a low price. Now that she knows that Xia The couple are Xia Xiaoba's parents. Xia Xiaoba has helped them a lot during her time at home. She brought gifts back last night, so she can't accept An's money.
After Xiao Ming found out last night that Mr. and Mrs. Xia were Xia Xiaoba's parents, he discussed the matter with Ms. Song. In return, Xiao Ming set his sights on Mr. Song and asked Ms. Song to speak out about this matter.
At Xiao Ming's signal, Mrs. Song took An's hand and said, "We don't have anything else at home, but there are a lot of vegetables. I can't charge you any money. You can pick as much as you want."
"How can this be done? It will take a lot of time to repair the house at home. The money must be given." An refused. She knew that the Xiao family had to take two carts of vegetables to the city to sell every day. In addition to her medical skills, Xiao Ming , she only earns some money from these fields, how can she pick vegetables for free without giving any money.
This kind of taking advantage would be hard on her conscience, and even if the prince knew about it, he wouldn't be able to spare them.
"Why not? That kid Xiaoba has helped us a lot in our house. Just like our family, Xiaoba helps water these vegetables every day, so he should have his share." Mrs. Song said again. After all, Xia Xiaoba came to Xiao's house and helped with many things every day. He also sent Xiao Han and Xiao Yu to study in the town. Needless to say, it was hard work.
"But you can't calculate it that way. Xiaoba also receives two taels of silver per month, which is considered high even in the capital." An insisted on buying groceries for the money.
"It's really not necessary." Mrs. Song still wanted to refuse.
"Just listen to your sister! My good sister," Anshi pulled her and interrupted her: "I took advantage of you today, how can you ask me to visit you in the future?"
In the end, with An's insistence, Song couldn't put it off and finally accepted ten taels of silver, refusing to take any more.
When Mrs. An saw that Mrs. Song had accepted some money, she felt relieved. She chatted with Mrs. Song for a few words, because she was busy repairing the house today and she couldn't stay too long, so she went back.
After sending Xia Zhongquan and An Shi away, Mrs. Song held her money and said with great emotion, "This Xia family is good and worth making friends with." The Xia family is much better than those in the village who laugh in front of their faces and have knives in their backs.
"Yes, Aunt An has a lot of people." Xiao Ming said.
"I'm going to pick out the vegetables they want to eat for lunch." Mrs. Song took the basket and went to the vegetable field. She picked several baskets of vegetables and went to Xia's house to help.
The Xia family's house renovation was different from that of the Xiao family's. In addition to people from Liujia Village, men from other villages were also hired as manpower. In addition to the people who arranged to clear the wasteland, there were hundreds of people. Both the purchase of wasteland and the manpower were very generous. .
The whole village of Liujia Village was mobilized. The men helped to repair the house, and the women weeded and cooked. While repairing the house, many people inquired about what the Xia family did for a living, how much money they had, and whether there was a woman with an unmarried daughter in the family. They were all curious about An's two sons. For country people like them, Xia Wu and Xia Xiaoba from Yushu Linfeng were their best son-in-law candidates.
However, Xia Zhongquan and An were tactful and deceived everyone with just a few words.
The Xia family hired a lot of people to repair the house this time, and the wages were high and the food was good. The purpose was just to build the yard as soon as possible. It was the same size as the Xiao family, and it was also a three-entry yard.
