Dengzi Shou and they entered the door, Shen Shi's longevity noodles were also ready. After dinner, everyone sat down to talk, mainly asking about the reason for Zhou Shi's sudden return.

  It turned out that the child had been seriously ill a few days ago, and it was very dangerous. Mrs. Zhou went to Qingyuan Temple again for the sake of her child. The master in the temple said that this child has never entered the ancestral hall or worshiped his ancestors since birth, so he is not protected by his ancestors. Moreover, he is too far away from his close relatives and will have no one to rely on in the future, leading a miserable life. Mrs. Zhou was frightened when she heard this, and after discussing it with her husband, they thought that what the master said must be true. In recent years, they had listened to the fortune teller's words, but their lives had not improved at all, and they had also gained a reputation for being unfilial in front of their parents. It can be seen that the fortune teller was just cheating them out of their money. The couple suddenly regretted it now, so before the winter solstice, they came back to worship their ancestors.

  "Old Master said that tomorrow's ancestor worship ceremony will be arranged by him, we just need to follow. Old Madam also said that after settling down, come over and visit Mother. And also stay to attend Second Brother's wedding, this year we will spend the New Year at home, on the first day of the new year, we need to give Zuquan the family genealogy." Zi Shou said.

  Zeng Ruixiang remained silent for half a day, and Shen knew he was feeling uncomfortable, probably thinking about the time he went to Anzhou to look for Zeng Ruizheng. After some thought, Shen asked: "Big brother is back home, do you still plan on going to see him?"

  Zeng Ruixiang shook his head and said, "I've been good to him all these years. With the relationship between our two families being so strained, I still took care of Zi Ping for him. Whether he appreciates it or not is another matter, but after all, Zi Ping is his own flesh and blood daughter. And as for his parents, I've been taking care of them alone for several years now. These things, I need to think carefully about how to bring up with him."

  "Dad, I think you'd better not go. Auntie has already said that she wants to come home and see mom, so she must know about what happened with Sister Ping. Besides, tomorrow we'll all be going together to pay our respects to our ancestors, and you'll see Uncle then. Uncle used to say that your temper is soft, maybe he's counting on you going over to see him and won't hold the past against you," said Zisou.

  "It's just that, Big Brother is certain to forgive him and they can be as close as before. Isn't this obviously taking advantage of someone?" Zi Qing added.

  "Let me tell you, you don't have to go either. I've figured it out too. All these years, because our parents are soft-hearted, the kids have suffered so much. Listen, they all have a lot of complaints. If it were Subing instead of Ziqing, would Chunyu dare to scheme like this? And Big Brother still hasn't broken Dahao's leg. These people are all picking on the weak and taking advantage of them. Besides, past events weren't your fault either. For the sake of the children, we can't be soft-hearted anymore. We always think that if we put our heart and soul into it for others, considering everything for them, others will do the same for us. What a ridiculous idea."

  "It's not that, Kangping said it clearly to our father that day. If being reasonable means letting one's own family suffer without resisting, then such reasonableness is not needed. The several decades of studying I've done have been in vain, and I'm not even as perceptive as a child." Zeng Ruixiang sighed.

  "Dad and mom, it's about time you understood. You were wrong about my sister from the start, letting her suffer this injustice. We should have kicked out my eldest aunt long ago. If I had been at home that day, I would have helped my brother beat up my eldest uncle. Even if we couldn't win, I would have bitten him a few times. I'm still young, but in a few years, justice will be served, and I'll make sure to get revenge for my sister. Don't think they can bully us and get away with it like nothing's wrong. I heard that on my sister's birthday, my eldest aunt even had the nerve to ask for work. In my opinion, sis, you should hire them, but don't pay them, let them do the work for free." Zi Xi said.

  "You know what, having a few people like that at home doesn't add to the trouble, and it's not like we're digging ponds like before. We don't have anything at home. When I'm going through tough days, there are so many things at home, I need to hire them, and also hire a few more to watch out for thieves. Am I tired or what? Spending money to find trouble for myself." Zi Qing said.

  "This is also true. I didn't think of it this way." Zi Xi felt somewhat disheartened.

  Zi Qing took out the shoes made by Zi Xi, touched her head and said with a smile: "It seems like you've grown up again, you're already eleven years old, really growing up. Do you know how to take care of your sister, do you know how to stand up for your sister? Are you used to school yet? Do you miss home?"

  "Sister, I feel like something's wrong with you. Why are you speaking in mom's tone? Don't scare me!" Zi Xi raised her hand to cover her face.

  "You stinky little brat, I'm concerned about you and you don't even know how to be grateful. Instead, you're framing me up! And I specifically made shoes for you, just watch me twist your ears!" Zi Qing was so angry that she went forward and pinched him.

  Zi Xi saw the busy hiding and said: "This is more like you, like a mother yaksha." Everyone laughed and relaxed a bit, and Zeng Rui Xiang was no longer entangled.

  The next day, the old man took the boy to pay respects to their ancestors. Madame Zhou came over and sat for a while, initially looking somewhat embarrassed. She said: "Sister-in-law, it wasn't our intention that day. It was all because of that damned fortune teller. Not only did I lose one or two silver coins, but we also haven't been able to return home in these few years. We didn't even dare come back to see our parents. People who don't know the situation must be scolding us for being unfilial. But who knows about our difficulties? I only have this one son left, so how could I afford to have any mishaps?" After finishing speaking, she began to sob.

  Shen saw that he could only persuade with words, and after a while, Zhou asked again if there was any news about Zi Ping in recent years.

  Shen's family listened and found it strange, asking: "Didn't your parents tell you? And Qiu Yu, didn't they all see Zi Ping?"

  Zhou listened and felt somewhat unnatural, explaining that he didn't know the details. Shen also didn't mind, so she told Zhou about Zi Ping's situation.

  Mrs. Zhou sighed and said, "This short-lived ghost is really disobedient. In those years, it was as if he had been possessed by a demon, and he was indeed an unlucky person. His life has been so bitter, just like an orphan with no one to care for him. Never mind, now I'll try to persuade your elder brother to see if he can recognize the child first. The child is four or five years old this year, my poor good grandson, whom I haven't seen yet." As she spoke, Mrs. Zhou began to cry again.

  Zi Qing saw it and frowned, this big woman's tears are like tap water, thinking about opening them again, and deceiving her mother's sympathy, how can she be called no one to care for, is it that all the things at home were fed to the dogs?

  "You want to see her, I'll send a message tomorrow. It's been five years, big brother should also let go of his heart. Zi Ping, this child, has really suffered enough over the years. She might have regretted not listening to you guys back then. But now it's too late for regrets, and saying those things is useless. What's important is that we can live a better life from now on."

  "Alright, let her come to you first tomorrow, I'll sneak a peek, and tonight I'll see how her father behaves. If it's good, I'll bring her back home. If not, we can only wait until the wedding day, when he won't dare make a scene in your house during the celebration. Maybe there will be room for compromise."

  Shen's family could only agree, and when Zeng Rui-xiang and the others returned, Zhou's family left. Shen's family then asked Zi-shou to send a message on the street.

  The next day, at almost twelve o'clock, Zǐ Píng finally brought the child over. She was still wearing very tattered clothes. Shěn shì sent Zǐ Shòu to invite Zhōu shì. On this side, they were busy finding some of Zǐ Xǐ's old childhood clothes. Zǐ Píng's figure was taller and more robust than both Zǐ Qíng and Shěn shì. For the time being, Shěn shì couldn't find any suitable replacement clothes, so she tore off two pieces of flowered fabric and gave them to Zǐ Píng, telling her to take them back and make two sets of clothes. This was because Zǐ Lù's wedding would be taking place soon, and also because Chinese New Year was approaching, and she would need to return to her maternal home.

  "If your parents saw you like this, I don't know how sad they would be. Good child, listen to Auntie, go back and make some new clothes, and for now, don't bring Huihui's father over. You have to let your father calm down first, then forgive you and the child, and think of other things later." Zi Ping just cried after hearing this, and right as she was crying, Zhou Shi brought Zi Quan over.

  As soon as Mrs. Zhou entered the house, she heard Zi Ping's crying voice and rushed towards her, beating her non-stop. "You disobedient child, you're a jinx, look at the kind of life you're living! I worked hard to raise you, just to have you suffer with him? You're like an ox or a horse for him, you stupid child! Listen to your mother's words and get rid of that kid, then there wouldn't be all this trouble today!"

  Zi Ping hugged Zhou Shi and only cried out "mother", Zi Qing saw it and felt a sour heart, Shen Shi brought her own children out to let them have a good talk. Shen Shi went to the kitchen to prepare food.

  "Mother, Ping's sister is really something. Weren't we given fabric before? Can't she even change into some decent clothes? Is she doing it on purpose? Eldest Aunt thought that we had never taken care of her at all, and wasn't the implication behind her words exactly that?" Zi Qing asked.

  Shen's family also sighed and said, "Just now I wanted to ask her a few questions. Forget it, as I always say, people do things, heaven watches, as long as the old sky knows our sincerity."

  "And that day, my aunt clearly knew about Ping's situation, but she still had to ask again. Isn't it just pretending not to know and not wanting to understand? I think from now on, we don't need to take care of Ping anymore. Didn't Aunt say that children without parents are pitiful? Are we all sympathizing with her in vain? Every time it's always about giving her things to eat and wear." Zi Qing muttered.

  Zi Shou and Zi Xi both nodded in agreement, while Shen remained silent.

  That day, Zhou didn't dare to bring Zi Ping back home, guessing that Zeng Rui Qing still hadn't given in. Zi Ping could only leave with tears in her eyes, bringing the child along. Shen had prepared a large pile of rice, flour, eggs, and pork, among other things, in addition to the fabric. Zhou was naturally grateful when she saw them.

  Zi Qing and Zi Shou, etc. were not happy, Shen Shi said: "You can rest assured, this is the last time, let your mother take a look, in the future, she has her own parents, I want to see how far her parents can go?"

  Zi Qing and others listened, only to be unable to respond, and reminded her with a sentence: "Mother, you must remember what you said today, don't forget."

  After the winter solstice, Zhou Zhuang came to take away the oranges and tangerines from our home within a few days. This year's orange income was over 1,000 taels, with each orange selling for six cents. The castrated chickens at home were also taken away, with about 500-600 heads, which is worth nearly 50 taels of silver. Zi Qing's orange garden sold about 600-700 heads as well. Adding the income from chicken eggs over the past few months, it was almost 100 taels of silver.

  Zi Qing was overjoyed, this is her own silver after all.