The Golden Family, rising from the Western Regions

Chapter 99 The Daughter-in-law of the Old Li Family
The 21st year of Tianxi in the Liao Dynasty, August 15th, was the Mid-Autumn Festival.

It rained heavily and dark clouds covered the moon.

For the Han people in Hexi Fort and even the entire Jinzhou, this Mid-Autumn Festival is destined to be boring.

This should have been a festival for families to reunite and enjoy the moon together, but because of the outbreak of war, many families experienced separation and death.

Countless Han people looked at the heavy rain outside the door, with worries and sadness on their faces.

I was worried about the safety of my relatives far away on the Naiman battlefield, and whether they could even find a tent to stand in in the pouring rain.

When the army was still in Jinzhou, they could still get some news about the war from time to time and know that their loved ones were safe.

However, after the Northern Frontier Army crossed Jinshan and entered the Naiman territory, the connection between Jinzhou and the Northern Frontier Army was almost cut off.

It took a long time before one or two messengers returned, although they all told about the victory of the Northern Frontier Army and how many Naiman enemies had been defeated.

However, no one knew the extent of the damage suffered, and there was no definite information on when the army would return.

This kind of waiting without knowing the outcome always makes people worried.

In Li Xiao's house, a torch was stuck on the wall, burning silently.

The orange-red firelight illuminated the dim and shabby room, but the atmosphere in the room was a little depressing.

On this day of family reunion, there were fewer people at the Li family's dinner table than usual.

A large table was placed in the middle of the room, with the old man and the old lady sitting at the top.

On the left are Qin Dani, Sanbao and Sanfeng.

Sitting on the right are Li Erjiang and Second Aunt.

As for the three children, Erbao, Erfeng and Sifeng, they sat directly opposite the old man.

As the Northern Frontier Army crossed Jinshan Mountain and news of victory came one after another, the situation in Jinzhou was temporarily stabilized.

So the old man ordered people to bring all the children back from Longxin Island.

At least it allows every family to have a popular festival.

"Okay, stop standing there and start eating."

Seeing that everyone was silent, the old man picked up the chopsticks first and spoke in a light tone.

He picked up the dumplings from the bowl and stuffed them into his mouth.

Others also picked up their chopsticks and started eating, but the atmosphere was still very depressing.

While eating, Qin Dani began to wipe away her tears unconsciously.

"We can still eat dumplings at home, but Dalong and his three children are nowhere to be found at this time."

"Can you eat enough? Are you injured?"

Thinking of this, Qin Dani felt as if her heart was being cut by a knife.

Her husband and eldest brother had died in the war, and her two sons had also gone to the battlefield, along with her father and second brother.

If something really happened to these people, how would Qin Dani survive?

When Qin Dani started crying, Second Aunt opposite also started wiping away her tears, and was also worried about Dahu.

Immediately afterwards, the old lady's eyes also turned red.

Seeing this, Li Erjiang first glanced at the old man with a dark face, and then spoke to the old lady and Qin Dani.

"Mom, sister-in-law, don't cry."

"Didn't we hear some time ago that we were about to win?"

"Da Long and the others aren't minions, so it won't be that easy for them to get into trouble."

"Maybe by now I've already done something great and brought you a beautiful wife."

"Cough cough~"

As he spoke, Li Erjiang coughed lightly.

It was obvious that the previous injury had not yet fully healed, and he would cough when it was cloudy and rainy.

However, these days he has been asking his second aunt to make him some allicin, and his condition is gradually improving.

Qin Dani heard this and forced a smile on her face: "As a woman, I don't understand anything about meritorious service."

"I just hope they can come back safely."

The old lady nodded slightly, obviously sharing the young woman's thoughts, and added, "A daughter-in-law doesn't need to be too pretty. The main thing is that she should be frugal and manage the household well."

As she spoke, the old lady looked at Qin Dani and said, "How about that girl you spotted at Lonely Mountain Castle last time? Why don't you ask a matchmaker to go talk to her?"

Then he looked at Second Aunt and said, "Second Aunt, Dahu is almost getting married. As a mother, you have to pay more attention and ask more questions."

"Let's get married as soon as possible."

Second Aunt nodded, and she was definitely concerned about her son's affairs.

This is mainly because wars in the northern border are too frequent. In addition to large-scale wars, conflicts often occur between tribes and fortresses over some interests.

The mortality rate among men is very high.

They also want their children to get married as soon as possible, so that if there is any accident in the future, they can have an offspring.

"Grandma, Mom, I think you should stop worrying about the eldest brother and focus on the second and third brothers."

"Big brother already has a boss."

Just as the old lady finished speaking, Sanbao held the big bowl, stuffed dumplings into his mouth, and muttered to himself.

Although what he said was vague, the old ladies and the others could hear it clearly.

"Sanbao? What do you mean? What do you mean your eldest brother already has a partner?" the old lady asked in confusion.

Qin Dani, who was standing next to him, began to understand. She glared at Sanbao and said, "Are you talking about the widow from Houzhai?"

"No, no!" He shook his head quickly. "Your eldest brother is the eldest son and grandson of our Li family. Besides, our Li family is not unable to marry a wife. How can we let your eldest brother marry a widow?"

"Isn't this a joke?"

Qin Dani also knew about Li Xiao and Huang Xiuer, which was mainly spread by people in Houzhai.

When Qin Dani first learned about this, she was also very angry and wanted to beat up Li Xiao, the useless guy.

You are still young and haven't even gotten married yet, but you haven't learned your lesson.

Are you trying to follow those gentlemen and cheat on widows? It won't sound good if people tell others about it.

Although Qin Dani is now a widow, her children are already grown up and she has no plans to remarry.

It's completely different from that widow Huang.

Qin Dani had seen Widow Huang many times. She walked in an artificial manner, looked sickly, and had a foxy look on her face.

Even if the man before her was not killed, he would definitely die after being drained of his energy by Widow Huang.

You can tell at a glance that kind of woman will not bring good luck to her husband.

Qin Dani definitely doesn't want Li Xiao to marry such a woman.

However, Sanbao quickly shook his head and said, "Mom, it's not Widow Huang, it's another one."

"Which other widow?" Qin Dani asked with her voice twice as high as hers, her eyes wide open.

"It's not a widow, it's one, that one~" Sanbao thought about it and didn't know what to say.

The second leopard beside him added, "It's the girl from the Wei family of Sanhe Fort."

"The girl from the Wei family?" Qin Dani didn't expect who it was.

"Her grandfather is the lord of Sanhe Fort." Erbao said.

Upon hearing this, the old man was the first to react: "Old Man Wei's granddaughter?"

He and Old Man Wei have been friends for decades.

During this period, he took good care of Old Man Wei's grandchildren and visited them from time to time.

So the image of Erya immediately flashed through my mind, a pretty girl with delicate features.

"What's going on with that girl?" the old man said lightly, his tone full of majesty.

My old friend’s granddaughter can’t be bullied.

Seeing the old man's stern face, Erbao and Sanbao subconsciously shrank their heads.

Then Erbao whispered, "It's not like bullying her."

"These days, some kids have nicknamed her 'Old Li's Wife', 'Fort Lord's Wife', and so on."

"I don't know who was the first to shout it out, but it just spread."

"Yesterday, her brother caught the child who was screaming the loudest and beat him up, but it didn't work. The others were still screaming."

After hearing Erbao's words, the adults at the table looked at each other instantly. This was a situation they really didn't understand.

"How did Dalong get in touch with the girl from the Wei family?" the old man asked in a deep voice.

"It seems like someone saw my eldest brother talking to Erya alone, and he even entered Erya's tent." Sanbao muttered.

The old man immediately understood what was going on.

"That's Dalong treating the Wei family kid's injuries."

The old man was also very clear about this matter. It was the thing that Li Xiao made with garlic and wine that cured Li Erjiang and also cured the boy from the Wei family.

It is obviously a major matter of curing diseases and saving lives, but it has changed its meaning after being spread by those nosy women.

"What should we do now?" asked the old lady.

Second Aunt smiled softly: "Mother, I think the girl from the Wei family is not bad. If she can be a good match for Dalong, it would be good enough."

Qin Dani heard this and said reluctantly, "She's pretty, but her butt is a little small."

In her opinion, women with big butts are blessed and will bring good luck to their husbands.

Second Aunt said, "That's because they haven't grown up yet."

"Just wait and see in two years~"

Listening to what they said, the old man lowered his head and ate dumplings in silence.

In my mind, I kept thinking about what my second aunt said.

It would be a good thing if Dalong could marry the girl from the Wei family.

I am already this old, how many more years can I take care of the Wei brothers and sisters?

All their family members died, and they were left alone with only the two siblings to depend on each other. They were bullied wherever they went.

If the girl could marry Dalong, others would definitely not dare to provoke them because they would be concerned about the Li family.

"It's something you can consider." The old man said secretly in his heart.

Because of Li Xiao’s marriage, this Mid-Autumn Festival reunion dinner has become more lively.

It slightly dispelled their worries about the war.

As time passed, the torches in each household were extinguished, and Hexi Fort became quiet.

Just as the old man and others had fallen asleep, they were suddenly awakened by a burst of rapid dog barking.

The old man opened his eyes instantly and grabbed the sword beside him.

I slowly stood up and looked out the window, only to find that the barking of dogs was getting more intense, accompanied by the faint sound of horses' hooves galloping through the village, stepping on the mud.

"Someone has entered the village."

(End of this chapter)