Republic of China: Guandong Ginseng King

Chapter 370 Qu Laokou's Wish

The women were talking and chatting in the house, while the brothers Qu Shaoyang and Qu Jiang were accompanying their parents in the outer room.

Chen didn't drink. She ate while coaxing Gensuo, and watched her husband and son drinking and chatting with a smile on her face.

As for Qu Laokouer, it was the first time in his life that he had such a sumptuous reunion dinner and he was particularly interested.

While sipping wine, he told his two sons about the things that happened at home in the past.

"Fourth brother, well, if you have time after the New Year, arrange for a few people to go back home and visit your eldest and second brothers.

If they are willing, can they also come to Maoer Mountain?"

After all, he is a father, and he can't let go of any of his five sons.

Even though he made his three sons very angry when he was at home, he still missed them after being away from home for a long time.

Especially since life here is good, Qu Laokouer is more concerned about the people at home. He doesn't know how they are doing at home.

Under normal circumstances, Qu Laokouer would definitely not be able to speak.

It was New Year's Day and he had drunk some wine, so he took the opportunity to talk to Qu Shaoyang.

Qu Shaoyang and Qu Jiang looked at each other before speaking.

"Dad, this winter, one of our family members went back to visit his family. Xiuyun brought a lot of things for my eldest brother and second brother.

I didn’t send them money this time, mainly because I was afraid they would develop a habit and do nothing but rely on me for money.”

“As for what Dad said, it’s not impossible to bring them all here.

However, it would be best if it were a year or two later, so I have to make some arrangements in advance."

Qu Shaoyang had thought about this before.

With Qu Shaoyang's current wealth, he can support his brothers' families.

Furthermore, my hometown is very close to Weihai, and when the Sino-Japanese War of 1894-1895 comes, I will inevitably suffer the disaster.

No matter what, they are family members. Qu Shaoyang can't just watch his brothers get into trouble and do nothing about it.

But no matter how to manage it, there must be a rule.

Qu Shaoyang wanted to bring the three brothers over and settle them down in Xigang to help him manage the ginseng garden.

We'll see how the situation is later. If the three brothers can do their job well, he will assign them other tasks.

If they are still unwilling to work hard, then forget it. We can just see if there are any promising talents among the younger generation and train them well.

Of course, these were all Qu Shaoyang's own thoughts, and he had not had time to discuss them with Qu Jiang and Chen Xiuyun.

I can't tell Mr. Qu directly right now. Let's wait until after the New Year and then discuss it when we have time.

"Alas, Fourth Brother, Dad doesn't know what to say.

You are the most promising one in our family. Dad knows that I always favored the eldest and the fifth, and was especially not nice to you and the third.

But after all, you are brothers from the same mother, so you can reach out and give them a hand.

I don’t ask them to become rich, but just to make them better off than they were back home.”

Qu Laokouer might have thought that Qu Shaoyang was just trying to get him to stop talking, so he couldn't help but say a few more words.

"Dad, I know, we can discuss this later.

Don't worry, you and mother. I can help outsiders, so why should I hold a grudge against my own brothers?"

Qu Shaoyang picked up the wine jug and poured another glass of wine for Qu Laokouer.

"Dad, let's just drink this one cup tonight, no more.

At your age, just drink a little to invigorate your blood circulation. Too much is not good for you."

Over there, Chen also chimed in, so Old Man Qu couldn't keep nagging. So he drank another glass of wine with his two sons, ate some food, and the reunion dinner was over.

Bai Zhi and others came back just in time and quickly cleaned up the food.

Qu Laokouer drank a lot and was a little dazed, so Chen helped him go back to rest.

Qu Shaoyang and Qu Jiang dug out some paper, printed it with a chisel, wrote the address, and took it to the crossroads outside to burn it.

On New Year's Eve, big red lanterns were hung in the front and back yards of the Qu family, illuminating every corner of the yard.

People were busy, talking and laughing, and everywhere was filled with laughter.

Chen Xiuyun coaxed Genyou to sleep, and Yang Qionghua changed Gensheng's diaper and fed him, then left Meng Lanxin and Baizhi to take care of the two children.

The two sisters-in-law went to the big kitchen in the front yard and watched the maids and wives chop stuffing, knead dough, and prepare dumplings for the evening.

With so many people at home, we chopped up the meat into two large bowls, and then added the vegetable stuffing, which made up four large bowls of dumpling stuffing.

All the girls and wives in the house got to work, and then they called a few skillful men to come and roll out the dough.

Everyone set up a table and a board in the front hall and made dumplings while chatting.

As soon as midnight arrived, Qu Shaoyang called for people to carry two baskets of fireworks and firecrackers to the center of the yard, and then led people to distribute paper and set off firecrackers.

The guys at home also got excited. They held incense and lit the fireworks on the ground one by one.

All you could hear were the sounds of jingling and banging, and the fireworks soared into the sky, blooming with dazzling light in the air.

The Qu family started setting off firecrackers, and the Liu family in the east courtyard was not far behind. Liu Dongshan, led Xiao Zhi and several servants in the family, and set up a lot of fireworks and firecrackers in the yard.

For a moment, fireworks of various shapes and colors kept blooming above the two courtyards, lighting up the night sky.

Xiao Gensuo, who had taken a nap in the afternoon, is now very energetic. Accompanied by his grandparents, he stands in the yard and looks up at the sky.

The colorful fireworks in the sky attracted all of Xiao Gensuo's attention, making him jump for joy.

After returning to his room and taking a nap, Qu Laokouer regained his spirit.

Looking at the fireworks exploding continuously in the air, his old habit came back again. He couldn't help but muttering how much money so many fireworks would cost.

When Chen heard this, she couldn't help but nag a few more times, trying to stop Qu Laokouer from saying these things in front of her son.

The Qu family is no longer the same as before, and they can’t just be frugal in everything.

Especially since it is Chinese New Year, we have to spend what we should spend. It only happens once a year, so even if we set off more fireworks, it won’t cost too much money.

The fireworks lasted for more than two quarters of an hour and finally they were over.

It just so happened that several pots of dumplings were cooked in the big kitchen, so Chen Xiuyun invited everyone to come and eat dumplings together.

After eating dumplings on New Year’s Eve, the 18th year of the Guangxu period began.

Qu Jiang and Qu Shaoyang brought their wives and children to pay New Year's greetings to Qu Laokouer and his wife.

Genyou and Gensheng were young, so they were held by their mother. Gensuo was older, so he knelt on the mat and kowtowed three times to his grandparents, "Happy New Year, Grandpa and Grandma."

Last year the child couldn't speak fluently, but this year he can greet his grandparents with clear and articulate pronunciation.

"Oh, okay, okay, all good, get up quickly, everyone get up." The old couple couldn't stop smiling, and hurriedly asked the children to get up.

"Here, this is the New Year's money for the three children. May you live a long life."

Qu Laokouer and Chen quickly took out the red envelopes they had prepared in advance and handed them to Gensuo and the others.

Inside the red envelope were some silver ingots shaped like pen ingots and some small silver fish. They were not heavy, but very delicate.

Qu Shaoyang and Chen Xiuyun exchanged the money at a silver shop when they went to Kuandian. They kept it for the New Year as lucky money for the children to make them happy.

(End of this chapter)