Chapter 136
Chapter 136
Several busy yet fulfilling months passed this way.
Jin Bao was now four years old.
At daybreak on Jin Bao’s fourth birthday, the valley residents arrived at the Xiao Family’s gate, each carrying pastries they had prepared in advance or the most precious item their household owned.
Without saying a word, everyone arranged their gifts neatly along both sides of the Xiao Family’s entrance.
When Xiao Che woke and opened the gate, the scene before him left him stunned.
“This… Wife, come quickly.”
Xiao Che hurriedly called over his shoulder.
Pei Wanqing was busy in the kitchen preparing a bowl of longevity noodles for Jin Bao.
The flour had been difficult to obtain and was enough for only one bowl of noodles. Pei Wanqing had hidden it away for a long time specifically for this day.
She had only just finished kneading the dough when she heard Xiao Che calling.
“What is it, Husband?”
Pei Wanqing rushed from the kitchen with flour still on her hands and her apron still tied around her.
“Come look. The valley residents brought all these things.”
Pei Wanqing quickly reached the gate and was equally stunned by what she saw.
From the Xiao Family’s entrance outward, densely packed gifts of food, household items, and toys filled the ground.
They were clearly intended for Jin Bao.
Pei Wanqing had lived half a lifetime and seen every kind of treasure, but at this moment, she was deeply moved.
She clasped Xiao Che’s hand excitedly.
“Husband, these simple gifts are more precious than any delicacy, gold, silver, or jewel.”
Xiao Che nodded. “That’s right. Each one carries their heartfelt goodwill.”
The care everyone had taken was evident in every gift.
Hemp cloth was considered the finest fabric in the valley, yet Xiao Che saw that someone had used it to sew a little rabbit doll.
Ceramics were also among the valley’s most luxurious goods, yet someone had given Jin Bao a set of small ceramic ornaments.
There were not only toys, but small animals as well: newborn rabbits in wooden cages, little goats, and tiny fish.
They had brought every kind of novelty imaginable. If Xiao Che could think of it, someone had given it.
“Husband, there are so many. What should we do? Do we return them?”
Pei Wanqing knew Xiao Che disliked accepting gifts. Back in the Capital, when people brought presents and asked him for favors, he had thrown them straight out.
Since he valued the valley residents so highly, she assumed he would be even less willing to accept their gifts.
To Pei Wanqing’s surprise, Xiao Che laughed heartily. “No, we’ll keep every one. They aren’t for me; they’re for our daughter. Besides, do you know which gift belongs to whom? Who would you return them to?”
Pei Wanqing realized he was right.
The two summoned everyone in the household to help.
Awakened by the commotion, Jin Bao ran outside barefoot in a thin, unlined outfit.
“Daddy, Mommy, what are you doing?”
Jin Bao rubbed her sleepy eyes, her soft voice still carrying a trace of laziness.
Seeing that Jin Bao had run outside barefoot, Pei Wanqing hurriedly picked up the little girl.
“My good girl, are you awake?”
“No. The noise woke me. Did something happen?”
Pei Wanqing carried Jin Bao to the gate.
“Look. These are birthday gifts everyone gave you. Do you like them?”
Jin Bao’s sleepiness vanished instantly. Her eyes widened in delight as she nodded vigorously.
“Baby likes them. Baby likes them very much.”
Nanny Chen happened to pass by carrying a small doll, and Jin Bao reached out to ask for it.
“Happy birthday, Young Miss.”
Nanny Chen placed the doll in Jin Bao’s little hands and offered her congratulations with a smile.
Jin Bao nodded cheerfully. “Happy, happy! Baby is very happy.”
Pei Wanqing and Nanny Chen both burst into laughter.
But then Jin Bao tilted her little head and asked, “Mommy, what’s a birthday?”
The smile on Pei Wanqing’s face faded slightly. She had forgotten that Jin Bao had once lived from meal to meal in Sanjiacun. Who would ever have celebrated her birthday there?
No wonder the little girl did not know what a birthday was. From now on, however, Pei Wanqing would celebrate Jin Bao’s birthday every year and make up for all those she had missed.
“A birthday celebrates the day you were born. A child’s birthday is also the day her mother suffered, so later, Mommy will take you to pay respects to your birth mother.”
Jin Bao looked thoughtful.
“My birth mother? Is she Uncle’s younger sister?”
“That’s right. Our Jin Bao is so clever.”
“Uncle told Baby.”
Since Xie Chengyan and Jin Bao acknowledged each other as family, the Xiao Family had installed a memorial tablet for Jin Bao’s birth mother, Xie Jiaojiao, allowing Jin Bao to pay respects each day.
On Jin Bao’s birthday, it was only proper to honor her birth mother first.
After accepting the gifts and paying respects to her birth mother, Jin Bao finally ate her longevity noodles.
“Wow, these noodles are delicious! Mommy is such a wonderful cook.”
Jin Bao grew older by the day and had already learned to flatter people, delighting Pei Wanqing for quite some time.
“If you like them, eat some more. There’s still more in the pot.”
After breakfast, Old Han arrived as well.
“Valley Master, the crops are ready to harvest.”
Xiao Che was delighted. Today truly was a fine day. It was his daughter’s birthday, and even the crops had come to join the celebration.
“Good. Issue the notice shortly. We begin digging potatoes today.”
By his calculations, only a little over three months had passed since they planted them.
And this covered three thousand mu of land.
Xiao Che looked forward to seeing how many jin of potatoes one mu would yield from natural conditions alone, without Jin Bao’s power.
This harvest differed from the first.
This time, everyone had personally planted their potatoes. Apart from repaying their seed debt and paying taxes, everything they harvested belonged to them.
They would no longer merely watch others harvest while none of the food entered their own pockets.
Across more than three thousand mu, figures could be seen vigorously swinging tools everywhere one looked, satisfaction filling every face.
Xiao Che and his son, Xiao Jingmo, once again waited at the edge of the fields.
This time, rather than weighing the harvest from only one mu, they selected several representative plots.
They included fertile and relatively poor soil, sunny and partly shaded plots, land farther from the river, and other variations.
In short, they wanted to compare how widely the potato yields differed.
Before noon, Xiao Jingmo had compiled the results.
The best land yielded five thousand jin per mu, while even the worst yielded three thousand, a difference of two thousand jin.
This was already far higher than the harvest Xiao Jingmo had originally anticipated.
The villagers were also deeply satisfied.
Jin Bao’s first birthday celebration passed joyfully amid everyone’s delight in the harvest.
Early the next morning, Ye Qi suddenly rushed to find Xiao Che.
“Valley Master, something terrible has happened. The Eldest Young Master sent a message. They were ambushed on their way to Black Pine Forest, and his fate is unknown.”
Ever since the previous incident, Xiao Jingxing had reportedly been receiving treatment for a broken leg. He failed to catch up with them along the way and later found a place in the Northern Frontier to recuperate.
Several days ago, his letter said he had nearly recovered and would arrive in Black Pine Forest today to reunite with them.
Who could have known he would be ambushed?
Prince Cheng did not yet control the entire Northern Frontier. Which faction had ambushed Xiao Jingxing?
There was no time to lose. Xiao Che immediately summoned Xie Chengyan.
After discussing the matter, they prepared to lead people out of the mountains that same day. The grain harvest had arrived at precisely the right time, as they also needed to transport some to Xie Chengyan’s estate.
Supporting several thousand men in the Dragon Tiger Guard alone had become difficult for Xie Chengyan. If Xiao Che did not provide some relief, he feared they would not last another half year.
He had nearly emptied the Xie Family’s entire fortune.
If he had not been Jin Bao’s biological uncle, Xie Chengyan probably would have abandoned the burden long ago.