Tian's heart was empty and she glanced at Xia Xiuzai a few more times before holding back and saying nothing wrong about Xia Zhi.

  Tian didn't know why Xia Xiuzai always said that Xia Zhi's heart was good, because she didn't know that among the thirty taels of silver that Xia Xiuzai had taken out, ten taels were from Xia Zhi.

  In Xia Xiuzai's eyes, Xia Zhi had never said anything bad about the Tian family or Old Man Tian. What Xia Zhi said were all indisputable facts, without adding her own judgment. And although Xia Zhi was extremely dissatisfied with the Tian family and Old Man Tian's actions, she was willing to take out the ten taels of silver she had earned through hard work.

  If it weren't for his kind heart, Xia Zhi wouldn't have done such a thing.

  Moreover, Xia Zhi later said that the money was not needed, but instead fought for some rights. The rights that Xia Zhi fought for, apart from self-protection, were mostly for his brothers and for this family.

  So, although Xia Xiuzai was extremely obedient to Tian's family, if he were asked to say that Xia Zhi was not good, he absolutely would not be able to utter the words.

  Mrs. Tian no longer said that Xia Zhi was not good, but said that Xia Zhi should give her face as a mother. Xia Xiucai did not object to this and promised Mrs. Tian that he would go to persuade Xia Zhi.

  Then the two of them started discussing how to arrange Da Ya and Er Ya's living situation.

  "Western-style houses are all taken, otherwise, let Da Ya and Er Ya live with Shi Liu together. The three sisters will have each other's company." Xia Xiucai said first.

  Tian's expression was somewhat hesitant.

  It's not a bad arrangement for Da Ya and Er Ya to live with Xia Zhi in the west house, but if Da Ya and Er Ya live together with Xia Zhi, will they be "corrupted" by Xia Zhi? Xia Qiao and Xiao Shu'er are always under her nose, but they unknowingly follow Xia Zhi.

  If Da Ya and Er Ya don't listen to Xia Zhi's teachings, then things will get troublesome.

  Tian thought to himself, but said aloud: "I don't know if Xia Zhi will be willing or not."

  "I'll talk to Sixteen, see if there's anything she's not happy about. Our own child, Sixteen has a good heart, you should know that. Just look at how she treats her sister Lanzi!" Xia Xiuzai said with a smile, and then called Xia Zhi into the room.

  "Dad, are you looking for me?" Xia Zhi walked into the house and saw Tian Shi with a stern face, while Xia Xiucai was smiling.

  "Father and mother want to discuss something with you." Xia Xiuzai called Xia Zhi over, and said with a smile, "Your elder sisters and second sister will be staying at our house for a while, how about letting them stay in the west wing with you?"

  Xia Zhi did not answer immediately, but looked at Tian Shi with a glance.

  Tian immediately avoided Xia Zhi's gaze.

  "Does my mother agree?" Xia Zhi asked, then slowly said, "The way Da Ya Jie and Er Ya Jie look at me makes me a bit uncomfortable."

  This is true. Da Ya and Er Ya's attitude towards Xia Zhi was also seen by Xia Xiuren.

  "They are two sisters... and they're also pitiful. You'll get along slowly, Sixteen, treat them well and it will be fine." Xia Xiuzai's tone was a bit low. He didn't blame Xia Zhi for this, on the contrary, he thought Xia Zhi had such a reaction because of her kindness.

  "I wish someone would treat me like that too," Xia Zhi said softly.

  Xia Xiuzai and Tian's faces both changed.

  "Let Da Ya and Er Ya live in the east house then." Tian Shi's tone was somewhat urgent, "I still have to keep an eye on them, there are things I need to teach them. They're not like Xia Zhi, they'll be getting married soon."

  The words that followed seemed to have a somewhat apologetic tone.

  Since Tian said so, Xia Xiuzai naturally wouldn't refute. The matter was settled like this. Xia Xiuzai immediately gave Xia Zhishi a glance, and the father-daughter pair walked out of the house.

  "Where's your brother and Xiao Shu?" Xia Xiucai asked Xia Zhi.

  "In the lower trough." Xia Zhi said.

  "Let's go and take a look." Xia Xiuciai said, then followed Xia Zhi through the front yard to the lower slope.

  Xiaqiao and Xiaoshu were taking a cool break when they saw Xia Xiucan coming, both brothers hurriedly stood up.

  "Let's sit down and talk." Xia Xiuzai said with a smile.

  The father and son sat down on the big rock.

  Xia Xiuzai hesitated for a moment before slowly opening his mouth. "Your mother has something... regarding the matter of Da Yuemei, it is indeed... indeed..."

  It was indeed so; Xia Xiuzai hesitated for a long time and still couldn't say it.

  "But after all, she is your mother. Our family's life still has to go on. You should treat your mother the same as before and stop mentioning Da Yue's matter all the time. Your mother... her heart isn't feeling well either."

  Xia Xiuzai said many comforting words to the children and finally sighed, "We still have to live our lives, let's look forward to everything."

  "I still want to find my older sister." Xia Qiao said nothing more than that.

  The little tree watched his brother and sister, he was very clever and didn't say a word.

  "Dad, from now on you can't always go along with mom. When you see her doing something wrong, you should advise her and not let her do it that way. That way, we'll listen to you and look forward." Xia Zhi said.

  Xia Xiuzai looked at Xia Zhi, couldn't help but shake his head and sigh, then smiled. "You little girl, who did you learn this from?!" No matter what time it is, don't forget to negotiate and fight for it.

  "I'm Daddy's little girl." Xia Zhi smiled slightly.

  Xia Xiuzai sighed again. "You're not like me, but you're really like your uncle. No wonder you two get along so well."

  With that, Xia Xiuzai got up and went back to the house. For him, he had already completed his task of persuading several children. Although everyone was unhappy for the past two days, from now on, they were still a family and would live in harmony.

  Xia Zhi sat in the lower Kan for a while, and she also looked into Sun's courtyard, but didn't see Sun Lan'er. It seems that Sun Wangshi arranged too many tasks for Sun Lan'er, otherwise, as long as Sun Lan'er could spare some time, she would definitely come to find her.

  Before waiting for Sun Lan'er, Xia Zhi saw that the sky was no longer early and followed Xia Qiao and Xiao Shu'er back to the house.

  On a summer evening, in the eastern house, Tian Shi was talking to Da Ya and Er Ya. The room wasn't lit either. Tian Shi told Da Ya and Er Ya that she wanted them to live with her in the eastern house.

  Xia Qiao hesitated for a moment at the door before entering the house.

  Tian saw that several children had returned and simply said to everyone, "Let Da Ya and Er Ya sleep at the head of the bed."

  "I'll go borrow a plank from the backyard then." Xia Qiao muttered.

  Tian looked at Xia Qiao for a moment, and didn't say anything. Xia Xiuzai thought that her eldest son was very considerate. "There's a pressing board at your grandfather's place, it's just idle and not in use, you can go borrow it."

  Xia Qiao nodded and went to the backyard. Xia Zhi also wanted to go to the backyard, so he followed Xia Qiao with Xiao Shu'er.

  In the backyard, there are Xia Lao Ye Zi, Xia Lao Tai Tai, Xiao Hei Yu Er, and also Xia San Shu's family. In addition, there is a Wu Lao Tai Tai who came to visit.

  They are all familiar with each other, and Xiaqiao told them about borrowing the ladder.

  The old lady Wu just now was talking about this topic with the old lady Xia, she is the aunt of Xia Xiucui, so she didn't hesitate to ask Xia Qiao a question.

  "Your mother and daughter have all arrived, I heard they are going to stay for a while, right?"

  "It seems I'm going to stay for a while longer, but I don't know what specific arrangements my mother has made." Xia Qiao said honestly.

  The old lady nodded and exchanged a glance with Old Lady Xia, and didn't ask any further.

  Old Man Xia's eyebrows furrowed slightly. "Was it your parents' arrangement? Why didn't they let them live in the west wing with Sixteen?"

  "My dad told me that I had no opinion. My mom didn't let." Xia Zhi smiled and said, "I guess it's because they're afraid of living with me again and learning something from me."

  Old Man Xia's expression changed to one of sudden realization.

  "It's fine like this." Little Black Fish didn't care about Old Master Xia's expression or thoughts, "I don't like those two girls from the Lao Tian family."

  "What else do you know about likes and dislikes!" Old Lady Xia glanced at Old Man Xia, guessing what he was thinking. But since Old Man Xia didn't say anything, she couldn't just blurt it out, so she deliberately smiled and scolded her youngest son instead. "You're everywhere, and you have to chime in too."

  "That's not sixteen, or I wouldn't have bothered to say it!" said the little black fish immediately. Old Lady Xia didn't really mean to scold him, and he didn't take Old Lady Xia's words seriously either.

  The old lady next door was overjoyed. "I'm most fond of Little Dragon. This child speaks with a crisp and clear voice, too lovely."

  The little black fish was delighted.

  Old Lady Xia also said to Old Lady Wu: "Don't praise him, or he will become even more unmanageable in the future."

  "I think Xiaolong is quite sensible and doesn't need you guys to take care of him."

  "Oh dear, you don't know how naughty he is..." Xia old lady turned around and complained to Wu old lady about Xiao Hei's mischievous behavior, saying that he was especially troublesome.

  Old Man Xia ordered Xia San Shu to help Xia Qiao fetch the shutter.

  In the backyard, there were five rooms. The old couple lived in two eastern rooms with Xiao Hei, and the two western rooms were empty, storing grain and various miscellaneous items. They didn't use the sluice gate, so it was placed in the western room.

  Xia San Shu responded with a "yes" and followed Xia Qiao to move the screen. Xia Zhi also went along to take a look. This so-called screen was actually a kang screen, which served as a partition. Old Master Xia had four of these idle screens, which were just the right size to match the length of the kang. According to Xia San Shu's introduction, they were made of iron pear wood, painted with green primer, and adorned with paintings of the Eight Immortals crossing the sea. They weren't luxurious, but one could tell they were good items. Moreover, although these screens had been idle for some time, they were well-maintained and probably wiped clean regularly.

  Such a thing, Xia Qiao said borrow, Old Master Xia nodded without saying anything, and also doted on this grandson very much.

  Xiaqiao also knew what was at stake and proactively promised Old Man Xia that he would use it carefully and keep it safe.

  "Take it away and use it, leaving it here is also useless." Old Master Xia waved his hand and let Xia Qiao and Xia San Shu work together to carry the sluice gate away.

  "Sixteen, I'll still go with you today." Little Black Fish said to Xia Zhi.

  "Alright." Xia Zhi nodded naturally in response.

  "When she was sixteen, she went to her grandmother's house for a night, and her uncle kept muttering at home. This muttering has come true, look, now they're going to live together with the past, not enough affection." Old Lady Xia said with a smile.

  "This guy is just a kindred spirit. Close uncle and nephew, blood ties are there." Old Lady Wu also smiled along with them.

  Mr. and Mrs. Xia both loved listening to this story, and they nodded with a smile.

  Xiao Hei Yu wants to go live with Xia Zhi, and he doesn't even need to bring his luggage. Because he always goes to Xia Zhi's place, Old Lady Xia simply let him leave his bedding there, and at home, they prepared another set for him, so it saves the trouble of moving things back and forth.

  Larou saw it beside her and whispered to Xia Zhi that she also wanted to go.

  "Go ahead, you tell Third Uncle and Third Aunt." Xia Zhi smiled.

  Lai Yue immediately said in front of everyone, "You can go if you want to, as long as your sister doesn't bother you, we won't stop you."

  "My sister can't bother me." Lao Yue smiled. She was a shy and introverted person, but once she got familiar with someone, she would show her lively and interesting side.

  Nothing makes the elderly happier than seeing their grandchildren get along. Xia Lao Ye and Xia Lao Tai were all smiles, and Xia Lao Tai even asked Xia San Shu to pick a few small cucumbers from the backyard garden, washed them clean and had Rui Yue carry them in a basket, saying they were for the kids to snack on before bed.

  This season, there isn't much fresh fruit yet.

  Summer Solstice makes me think of the Li Zi given by Nai Nai in Shan Tun Village, she thinks it's quite delicious, but unfortunately, I rushed back and met Qian Yue, so I forgot to buy some. However, this is not a big deal, as tomorrow is the Grand Assembly in Linshui Town, where we should be able to find some at the market.

  Then they chatted and laughed for a while in the backyard, and Xia Zhi led Jiaoyue and Xiao Heiyu back to the front yard.

  She went to the east room first after entering the door. The threshold had already been placed on the kang, and Tian Shi took out two mattresses and had Da Ya and Er Ya pat them down on the side of the threshold closest to the head of the kang. The bedding for several people at the head of the kang was also laid out.

  Xia Xiuzai slept on the highest platform, followed by Tian Shi, then Xiaoshu'er and Xia Qiao.

  Xia Xiuzai was already seated on the kang, while the others were sitting along the edge of the kang. Da Ya and Er Ya looked a bit stiff, but both had smiles on their faces.

  This smile is slightly different from the one earlier, it's not a forced smile to please others, but a genuine delight. The two sisters are very pleased with Tian's arrangement.

  They were unwilling, and some were even afraid to live with Xia Zhi. Now they live in the east house, Xia Qiao even borrowed a screen to separate them from their own little world, and the bedding that Tian Shi brought out for them was all new.

  This is something that Tian's family wouldn't even dare think about.

  Seeing Xia Zhi bringing people over, Da Ya and Er Ya both quickly stood up. Da Ya was about to go get the foot-washing water for Xia Zhi, but Xia Zhi hastily stopped her.

  "This is my uncle, and this is La Yue." Xia Zhi introduced to Da Ya and Er Ya.

  The two sisters hurriedly followed Xia Zhi and shouted "Little Black Fish Old Uncle", then called Lai Yue. Lai Yue curiously looked at Da Wa and Er Wa, and also politely called out "Sister".

  Then, Xia Zhi told Xia Xiuzai and Tian Shi that tonight, Lao Yue and Xiao Hei Yu'er would both come to keep her company. Tian Shi didn't say anything, while Xia Xiuzai smiled and nodded, also telling Xia Zhi to take good care of Old Uncle and younger sister.

  Xia Zhi brought Xiao Hei Yu Er and Lai Yue to the west house. As soon as they walked into the main hall, they heard someone calling her from the courtyard.

  "Sixteen."

  It's Sun Lan'er who has come.

  (。)