After the whole family was swept away, I lay down flat

Chapter 766 Lively
Haitang didn't know that Jin Jiashu had returned home, so she went to tell Ma Shangyi about the Zhang family's bad deeds.

She got up early the next morning, and just after having breakfast with her grandparents and seeing her grandfather off, she was delighted to see the newly married Grape come back and kowtow to her master.

Grape changed her hairstyle to a woman's and put on light makeup. Although her clothes were not gorgeous, they were a new dark red dress that exuded a festive atmosphere. She also wore a silver-gilt hairpin and a pink silk flower on her head, looking like a new bride.

She was smiling, and it was obvious that she was living a comfortable life after marriage. Even Aunt Ma, who brought her to the upper room, was very happy and couldn't be more satisfied with her grandson-in-law Zhou Xiaojian.

Ma was also happy that Grape's marriage went smoothly. She gave Grape a pair of red envelopes and asked them what plans they had for the future. Grape had heard her husband Zhou Xiaojian mention it a long time ago, so she answered honestly that Master Jin had already arranged it for Zhou Xiaojian, and after the beginning of next spring, the latter would join the Chang'an Zuowei and start as a soldier. However, the boss scheduled was a good comrade of Zhou Xiaojian's late father, and the boss above him was a member of the Ma family, so Zhou Xiaojian could be safe and sound, and he didn't have to worry about being suppressed or embarrassed by anyone. He just needed to do his job step by step.

There is no war on the border at the moment, and Chang'an is a safe rear area. Zhou Xiaojian only needs to do patrols, training, and bandit suppression in Chang'an Zuowei. If nothing goes wrong, he will be promoted to a small flag within two years. After three to five years, he is expected to be promoted to a general flag. But if he wants to move up, it depends on Zhou Xiaojian's own ability. However, he himself is not ambitious. If he can be promoted to the general flag position before middle age, he will be on par with his late father's highest official position during his lifetime, which will satisfy him.

This is exactly what Grape and her family hoped for. Although marrying a frontier soldier would allow her to change her status from a slave to a military household wife, achieving a class upgrade, if her husband was in danger or even died on the battlefield, what would be the point of her improved status? Wouldn't she still be a widow? She was young, smart, and had the skills to support herself, and she hoped to live a stable life in Chang'an. It would be best if her husband didn't have to fight for his life on the battlefield. Being the wife of a small flag was already glorious enough for her.

Ma felt that the young couple were not making enough progress, but thinking of her son who died on the battlefield, she sighed and gave up the idea of ​​persuading them. She just smiled and said, "It would be great if you could be down-to-earth and live a good life for your family. All fame and fortune are false. Now that the border is peaceful, there is no need for you to risk your lives to defend your country. Since you have entered the garrison, you should do your job honestly and live a peaceful life. Don't cause trouble to the garrison and don't make your family worry. That's the right thing to do."

Grape responded, bowed his head and thanked the mistress for her advice.

Although Grape was married and Zhou Xiaojian was about to join the guard post, considering that he was still a soldier and the elderly and younger sister at home could take care of themselves, Grape gave up staying in the new home as a housewife and chose to return to the Hai family to serve. However, now she was no longer a maid, but a hired helper of the Hai family, responsible for doing odd jobs such as sweeping the front yard, and generally would not come to the backyard.

Her younger sister Shi Liu, who was originally in charge of odd jobs, was transferred to the second courtyard to be used by Mrs. Hu. The new arrival Cui Guo stayed in the main courtyard to work, while Xiang Cao was completely assigned to the backyard to serve Hai Tang. Her mother was mainly responsible for odd jobs in the main courtyard during the week, and stayed in the sewing room in the backyard at night, so it was convenient for mother and daughter to meet.

Now that Hu's house has a new child, Shi Liu, and Qiu Shugen's wife is helping out, it's much easier. But she's busy moving her son to the front yard to live alone these days, and she can't help but feel worried. She wants to assign a reliable person to take care of her son, but she's afraid that Shi Liu is too young and Qiu's family is too new, and neither of them can reassure her, so she's been worried for a few days.

Ma advised her: "Xiao Shitou is so old now, but he still lives in your room, even though it's in a side room, it's not a long-term solution. I know you're always worried about his weak body when he was a child and he gets sick all the time, so I haven't urged you all these years. But this matter can't be delayed for too long. Xiao Shitou is a boy after all. How can he always live with his mother? He should get used to moving out and living alone. If you don't let him get used to it slowly now, do you have to wait until we go to the capital to let him move? I'm afraid it will be even harder for him to adapt by then!" The capital is a completely unfamiliar place for Xiao Shitou. Moving to an unfamiliar place and not being able to live with his parents will only make the child feel more uncomfortable. Although he is not old now, he is familiar with everything in Chang'an. He should take advantage of this time to let him adapt to living alone as soon as possible so that he won't have difficulty in being independent in the future.

Mrs. Hu knew that her mother-in-law was right, but she only had this one son, so how could she bear to let him go? After two days of mental preparation, she gritted her teeth and told the Qiu family and Shi Liu to help her son move his luggage to the front yard. As for the waiter in Little Stone's house, she simply decided to let Grape. Anyway, Grape had helped her take care of the children over the years, and to Little Stone, she was a closer acquaintance than anyone else. When Grape was too busy, she could call her sister Shi Liu to help.

The day Xiao Shitou moved to the front yard, Haitang also went to help. His bedroom was the room where his great-uncle Xie Wenzai used to live, divided into two rooms, the former residence of Cao Gengyun and Lu Bainian next door was converted into his study. Although the two rooms were not connected, the doors were next to each other, making it convenient to travel back and forth.

After Little Stone moved to the front yard, he also had to go to the homes of the three elders to attend classes. Now that his father Hai Chang'an has a formal military position, he also has to follow this path and abandon literature and join the military. If he wants to achieve something in the army, in addition to practicing riding and shooting, courses such as military tactics and strategies are also indispensable. Hai Jiao learned this knowledge from the three elders in the past, and now even the teaching materials are ready-made, and there is also experience. Little Stone needs to follow his cousin's old path again to be sure of pursuing his future.

The front yard of the Hai family was very lively that day, and it was crowded with family members inside and outside. Even the three grandfathers Xie, Cao, and Lu came and said many words of encouragement to Little Stone. They had deep feelings for the Hai family, and they were happy to see that another young man in the Hai family had a bright future.

In the midst of the excitement, some people noticed that Zhou Xiaojian, who worked for the Jin family, also came over. Others thought he was here to see the new bride, and even said a few joking words, but he just laughed it off.

After a while, Zhou Xiaojian started talking to Qiu Baisheng, who had just arrived. The two were of similar age, and although they came from different backgrounds, they were both smart and clever young people, and they got along well. With Zhou Xiaojian's deliberate friendship, Qiu Baisheng told him the identity of his former master without any hesitation, and was then taken to the neighboring Jin family.

Ma Shangyi was waiting for him at Jin's house. She was very concerned about what Jin Jiashu told her.

Is it true that the Zhang family is no longer as powerful as before and is completely unable to provide any help to Empress Xu and Jin Jiashu? Is it possible that they will be misunderstood by the Emperor?

(End of this chapter)