Republic of China: Guandong Ginseng King

Chapter 441 Qu Jiang Returns to Celebrate the New Year
The master and his disciple walked around the fence for who knows how many times, confusing all the people on patrol at home.

What's going on? It's freezing cold, why don't Mr. Qu and Mr. Liu stay in the house and enjoy themselves, but walk around the wall?
Did they find a loophole in the defense? Could it be that another gang is coming to destroy the kiln? No way!

Everyone was confused and did not dare to go forward to inquire, let alone go back to the corner tower to rest. They could only patrol and stand guard on the wall in the cold wind.

Fortunately, Qu Shaoyang quickly convinced Liu Dongshan, and the two of them left while chatting.

The guards and gunners finally breathed a sigh of relief and quickly hid back in the corner tower to warm themselves by the fire.

After returning to Liu's house, Qu Shaoyang called Xiaozhi over alone, and the two brothers had a secret conversation in the study.

"Dongshan, what's wrong with these two guys? They've been chatting for almost an hour, why haven't they come out yet? The food is ready, go call them to come out to eat."

Lin Ruolan didn't know what the two brothers were talking about inside. Seeing that it was getting dark and the food had already been prepared in the kitchen, Lin Ruolan wanted to ask the two children to come out to eat.

"Shaoyang is talking to Xiaozhi. Shaoyang gave me some advice and said he wanted to find a way to send Xiaozhi to the Military Academy."

Liu Dongshan was still unwilling to accept it, but there was nothing he could do but face the reality.

When the child grows up, the parents can no longer make decisions for him, let alone the fact that they are not his biological parents.

"Military academy? Well, that's fine, it's better than him actually joining the army.

Okay, the child is grown up and has his own ideas, so let's not interfere too much.

If you ask me, it's good to have a place like this to manage things. At least it won't cause any trouble.

You said that at their age, they are full of passion, impulsive and act without thinking.

If he is instigated by someone with ulterior motives to do something earth-shattering, even with Shao Yang, we may not be able to protect him."

What Lin Ruolan was most worried about was Xiaozhi getting into trouble.

The discipline in the Military Academy is strict. Send Xiaozhi there to train for a few years. The impulsiveness of a young man will be gone and things will be fine.

Liu Dongshan thought about it and realized that this was the truth, so he decided not to worry about it anymore.

"Okay, I'll go call them both to come out for dinner." After saying that, Liu Dongshan went to the study and called out his apprentice and son.

Lin Ruolan directed the maids and wives to serve the food, and also called her daughter and son over.

Liu Dongshan, Qu Shaoyang and others just happened to come out, and everyone sat together and had a lively meal.

Qu Shaoyang had already discussed with Xiaozhi and decided to find a way to send Xiaozhi to the Military Academy, so he naturally wouldn't have to go back to Fengtian to study.

Because the Military Academy hired German teachers, even though there were translators to help with the lectures, it was still not as good as understanding it yourself.

Therefore, Qu Shaoyang gave Xiaozhi some advice, telling him not to stay idle at home, but to go to the gunpowder workshop to help, interact more with foreigners, and learn more foreign languages.

Xiaozhi had no objection to this and packed his bags to go to the workshop the next day.

Originally, Xinyuan and Wanyu were thinking of taking two more days off to play with their brother.

As a result, Xiaozhi ran away first, and the two children had no choice but to go back to school to attend classes.

In a blink of an eye, the New Year's Eve had passed, and Qu Jiang also returned with his men, escorting a large amount of silver and money.

Due to the war last year, merchants from the south and abroad were unable to purchase medicinal materials, mountain products, etc. from Yingkou and other places, so the prices of various medicinal materials and mountain products have been rising this year.

“Fortunately, I didn’t sell it last year. It was left there for a year, and the price has doubled this year.

The ginseng we harvested over the past two years has sold for a total of 35,000 taels. Add to that the herbs, mountain products, hides, pig bristles, etc. that we bought from other places, not counting the goods left in the store, and we have already made over 100,000 taels.”

When Qu Jiang returned home, the first thing he did was to settle the bill with Qu Shaoyang and his wife.

"Third brother, you've worked hard these days. There's no rush for the accounts. Go back and see your third sister-in-law and the children first.

By the way, I asked Mr. Fang to name the children in our family. Ours are Zhenbang, Zhenye, Zhenwu and Zhenjie.

The two children in your family were also given big names, Zhenwen and Zhenmin."

The name was decided by Qu Shaoyang, so when Qu Jiang comes back, he must be told about it.

"Zhenwen, Zhenmin? Good, both are nice to hear. Mr. Fang is a cultured man, so the names he gave must be correct."

Qu Jiang was illiterate before, but after he became a manager, he forced himself to study.

After a few years, I could recognize most words and was no longer troubled by things like bookkeeping.

Qu Jiang didn't really understand the details of naming, but as long as the name sounded nice to him, that was fine.

"My parents went back to their hometown. They said they were going back to worship their ancestors and repair their ancestral tombs and family tree. Since you were not at home, I asked Xingye to bring people to escort them back."

My parents are returning to their hometown, this is a big deal, I must tell Qu Jiang about it.

Qu Jiang was not surprised by this. In the autumn, Qu Laokouer made arrangements to return to his hometown.

At that time, Qu Shaoyang was still out suppressing bandits, so how could Qu Jiang care about it? So he ignored it.

He had long guessed that his father would not stop, and sure enough, he went back to his hometown.

"Alas, my father always finds trouble.

You see, when he goes back this time, he will definitely invite the three brothers over. Then, this family will be in turmoil again.”

Qu Jiang sighed. He knew his father and brothers better than Qu Shaoyang.

The three brothers in my hometown are not good people. As long as they know that Qu Shaoyang has become a high-ranking official, they will definitely jump up and down to run to the northeast.

"Come if you want. What can I do? They are all my brothers. If they really come, I can't kick them out."

Qu Shaoyang also anticipated this.

Qu Laokouer had that idea a long time ago, but Qu Shaoyang never agreed, so it was never done.

Furthermore, Qu Shaoyang has been sending things to his hometown in recent years. The three brothers are living a good life, so they don’t want to abandon their homes and careers and come to the Northeast to make a living under Qu Shaoyang’s supervision.

At the end of last year, the Japanese army captured Weihaiwei. Qujiazhuang is not far from Weihaiwei, and it is possible that it will be affected by the war.

This time when Qu Laokouer came back, his three brothers knew that Qu Shaoyang had done well and became a high-ranking official, so they would definitely come with their parents.

"Your brother and sister-in-law and I have discussed this matter. After the New Year, I plan to buy a place in Shuangdianzi to grow ginseng, raise wild animals, etc.

If those three brothers come over, let them take care of this area.

After all, they are our brothers, and they are definitely better than outsiders. We are really short of manpower right now.

I'll arrange some more people to keep an eye on them. If that doesn't work, I'll have our parents go over and look after them, so we don't worry that they might cause any trouble."

This is the best solution Qu Shaoyang could think of.

Hearing this, Qu Jiang nodded and said, "Well, what you said is also a solution.

I dare not say anything else, but with our father watching, they will definitely not dare to hide their evil deeds or shirk their work."

The two brothers looked at each other, and couldn't help laughing when they thought of their father's stingy and money-loving nature.

Qujiang had been away for quite some time, and now that he was back, he definitely wanted to go back to see his wife and children. So he briefly described the situation of the shops in Yingkou and Andong, handed over the account book, and hurried back to his yard.

Qu Shaoyang was too lazy to look at the account books, so he just gave them to Chen Xiuyun and Meng Lanxin and let them worry about it.

As for the silver, part of it was sent to the accounting office to maintain the daily expenses of the family.

The other part is hidden secretly and will never be used unless it is a matter of life and death for the Qu family.

After the Little New Year, the government offices are closed, people from other places go home to visit their families, and local people go back to rest for a while, and they will not resume work until the 16th day after the New Year.

Logically, Qu Shaoyang has been busy this year and the New Year is coming soon, so he should have a good rest.

However, many people came to visit the family with New Year gifts. Chen Zhixian and Cao Zhubu of Tonghua City, as well as the inspectors of Badaojiang, Liushuhezi and other places, all sent their confidants to send generous New Year gifts.

In previous years, Qu Shaoyang prepared New Year gifts for these people.

Now Qu Shaoyang has risen rapidly in his career and has become the Inspector General of the Eastern Circuit. He is now completely different from the person he was before.

Those who received the gifts at the beginning should send some New Year gifts as soon as possible to maintain the relationship, right?

Of course, Qu Shaoyang is not the kind of person who only takes and never gives. No matter what the other party gives him, he will prepare a similar return gift.

When it comes to interpersonal relationships, the key is give and take. If you just accept gifts without giving anything in return, wouldn't that make you a sycophant?

Qu Shaoyang has a shallow foundation, and he is not short of money, so there is no need for him to care about these things. The important thing is to maintain a good relationship.

In this busy schedule, it’s New Year’s Eve.

This year, Mr. Qu and his wife are not here, and Doctor Chen and his family are also gone. There are fewer people at home, so it doesn't feel as lively as in previous years.

Fortunately, the children in the family have grown up, and even the youngest two, Zhenjie and Jialing, can run around.

Not to mention Zhenbang, Zhenwen and the others, led by several older kids, were jumping and dancing outside, setting off firecrackers and carrying lanterns, and nowhere to run.

The laughter spread far away, making people feel happy when they heard it.

As soon as the midnight arrived, many families around started setting off firecrackers and giving out paper.

Qu Jiang and Qu Shaoyang, along with the farmhands in their home, also carried out fireworks and firecrackers and set them off in the open space in the yard.

These fireworks were specially made by the gunpowder workshop. They fly high and the fireworks they explode into are particularly beautiful, colorful and in various shapes.

The children were all attracted by the fireworks. They stopped and looked up at the sky.

Not only the children of the Qu family, but also the people living around Maoer Mountain were waiting to watch the fireworks.

It has become a routine in recent years. If we don’t see the Qu family’s fireworks on New Year’s Eve, everyone feels that something is missing in the New Year.

The fireworks lasted for quarter of an hour, until the last firework was over, and then everyone went back to their rooms to eat dumplings.

Last year, Qu Shaoyang led his troops to fight against the Japanese invaders. Everyone at home was worried about him, so no one wanted to celebrate the New Year and they just muddled through it.

The civil war was over this year, and Qu Shaoyang was promoted. Chen Xiuyun was very happy, so she made a lot of preparations for the New Year this year.

Not only is the reunion dinner in the afternoon particularly sumptuous, but even the dumplings in the evening have several kinds of fillings.

In addition to the usual pork and cabbage, lamb and green onions, beef and radish, there are also pork with leek and shrimp, chicken with mushrooms, and leek, shrimp and egg fillings.

The mushroom and chicken filling is fine. You can soak the dried mushrooms and chop them up.

The main thing was the leeks. There were still fresh leeks in the middle of winter. Even Qu Shaoyang was stunned.

"This is grown by farmers at the other end of Liudaogou, who use hot springs and build greenhouses to grow it.

Not much, only five or six bundles in total, and they were all sent to our house, saying they were for you to try."

Chen Xiuyun explained as she picked up dumplings for the children with a smile.

"Oh my god, this is too expensive, it takes a lot of time and energy.

Have you given them money? You can’t just take it for free.”

Qu Shaoyang took a bite of the leek dumplings. The flavors of leek and shrimp mixed together were so delicious.

"It's amazing to eat this in the middle of winter."

“I gave it to them, but they didn’t want it and said it was a gift for you. No matter what I said, it wouldn’t work.

Later, I asked someone to prepare some candies, snacks, meat, glutinous rice, cloth, etc., and sent them to his family, saying they were for the children during the New Year, and they reluctantly accepted them. "

Chen Xiuyun has been in charge for several years. Is it possible that she can't understand such a small thing?

"That's good, that's good. You can't ask for things for free. Come on, have a try. These dumplings tonight are delicious."

Qu Shaoyang felt relieved after hearing this and quickly asked the children to eat dumplings.

For children, dumplings are not as attractive as the gold and silver ingots inside.

Especially Zhenbang, Zhenye and Zhenwen, as they are older and more sensible, they wanted to eat a few more small goldfish and silverfish to keep as toys.

So, these little guys just kept eating with their heads down, and from time to time you would hear them shouting, "I figured it out, I figured it out."

“People say that the Chinese New Year is a time to celebrate children. I didn’t really feel that way before, but now I feel it more and more, and it’s really true.

Seeing the children jumping around and playing naughty games makes me feel that life is full of joy. Isn't that right, Third Brother?" Qu Shaoyang asked Qu Jiang with a smile.

"Haha, how old are you? You speak in such an old-fashioned tone, almost like our father." Qu Jiang laughed when he heard it.

"But you are right. Isn't the purpose of living a lifetime to live for future generations? Only when you have children can you think about them."

The two brothers drank a lot of wine in the afternoon, so no one drank at dinner. They just ate the dumplings slowly, savoring the flavor and chatting while eating.

After eating dumplings, Zhenbang led his younger brothers and sisters to kneel down and wish the elders a happy new year.

"Third Uncle, Third Aunt, Dad, Mom, Second Aunt, Happy New Year."

"Hey, good, good, Happy New Year, everything is good. Hurry up, Uncle Three has red envelopes here."

Qu Jiang and Yang Qionghua were well prepared. They quickly took out red envelopes from their pockets and gave one to each child.

On the other side, Qu Shaoyang and his wife did the same thing, distributing the red envelopes they had prepared in advance to the children one by one.

"Here's another one. It's what your grandparents told you before they left. They won't be here for the New Year this year, so you can't be left out of the red envelope. Here, take them all."

Qu Shaoyang was not trying to fool the children. Before leaving, Mr. and Mrs. Qu Laokouer had indeed asked them to give the red envelopes to the children on their behalf.

The children cheered when they received the red envelopes. Even Zhenjie and Jialing, who were still young and ignorant, held the red envelopes tightly in their chubby little hands, grinning with joy.

"Okay, okay, take the red envelope and go play for a while to digest the food, and then go to bed."

The children had eaten a lot at night, and Chen Xiuyun was worried that they would go to sleep right away and miss the food, so she asked Zhenbang to take his younger siblings out to play.

(End of this chapter)