Chapter Eighty-six Return

  Zhao Xuan stood somewhat anxiously at the city gate, occasionally tiptoeing to gaze into the distance, looking for her grandmother and brother's carriage.

  She waited at the city gate from dawn till nearly noon, but still didn't see any sign of her family members, and she was getting a bit anxious. Lu Ma then advised her: "Miss, it's sunny outside, why don't you wait in the sedan chair instead?"

  Zhao Xuan shook her head, the sun was shining but she had someone holding an umbrella for her and a chair to sit on, so she wasn't tired at all. But where were her grandmother and brother? They should have arrived long ago according to the date.

  The idea had just flashed through her mind when the servant who had been sent ahead to scout out the front came running back and reported: "They're here! They're here! The old lady and the young master have arrived!" Zhao Xiu's spirit was shocked, and she hastily ran in the direction of his arrival. Lu Mama, Bi Lian, and a group of male and female servants followed closely behind.

  Several horse-drawn carriages and a number of riders appeared at the end of the road, Zhao Xun recognized at a glance that the one riding in front was his own brother, Zhao Wei. Several months had passed without seeing him, his skin had darkened somewhat, but he looked very spirited, and had added a few points of stability. Zhao Xun was overjoyed, waving his hand and shouting loudly: "Brother! Brother!"

  Zhao Wei saw his sister coming from afar and also revealed a big smile. He immediately turned over, got off the horse, and ran over: "Sister!"

  The brother and sister finally reunited. Zhao Wei excitedly grabbed his sister's hand: "Why did you come out of the city to pick us up? It's such a big sun, what if you get heatstroke?"

  Zhao Xuan smiled and said: "I'm fine, which day don't I go out to bask in the sun? I'm not that weak! And looking at the horse carriage behind him: "Is grandma okay? Is brother okay? Was the journey tiring? How's life in the capital? Have you been bullied?"

  Zhao Wei smiled: "Where can we? My grandmother and I are fine. The road is a bit tiring, but it's not too hard. It just so happens that we met Tao, the new magistrate of Fengxian County, who was on his way to take office in Yangzhou, and we traveled together. Along the way, there were people taking care of trivial matters for us, so we were relaxed. However, after getting off the boat, he heard that Fengxian had just suffered a disaster and hurried to report to the government office, so he parted ways with us." He pointed behind him at the two attendants following the horse carriage: "Those are the people he sent to escort my grandmother and me. We were originally local people and didn't need an escort, but he was worried that our group had many women and I was just a half-grown boy, so if we encountered any trouble, we would be at a disadvantage. He insisted on sending someone to escort us, and my grandmother and I could only accept his kindness."

  The new Magistrate of Fengxian County? Zhao Xuan was surprised. In the past few months, the entire Zhao clan had been concerned about who the new magistrate would be and what kind of person he was, but with the flood disaster, they hadn't had time to think about it anymore. Unexpectedly, her grandmother and brother had met him on their way back home. It seemed that her brother had a good impression of this person. He should not be difficult to get along with. The Zhao clan could finally breathe a sigh of relief.

  Thinking of this, she smiled and said: "This Mr. Tao seems to be a good person, let's tell Brother Jing later and have him thank Mr. Tao on our behalf."

  This is an opportunity for Zhao Yun to get in good with the new county magistrate.

  He is the son of the Zhao family, and also the closest male younger generation to Xia Er Fang. Since Zhao Wei was still a minor, it was reasonable for him to take charge of socializing on his behalf. Zhao Wei nodded in agreement and replied, "Later I'll go talk to Brother Jing, after traveling together for many days, I have some understanding of Mr. Tao's preferences."

  The Zhang family's carriage approached. Zhao Wei pulled his sister's hand and they walked over, the siblings got on the carriage together. After being apart for several months, Zhao Xiu finally saw her grandmother Zhang again. For some reason, seeing her grandmother's loving face, her eyes suddenly turned red. Feeling like she suddenly had someone to rely on, no longer needing to hold herself up, she directly hugged Zhang and cried: "Grandmother, you're finally back, I miss you so much!"

  Zhang's eyes widened, and her eyes turned slightly red. She stroked her granddaughter's hair and said softly, "You always say you're a big kid now, not a little baby, but today you're acting like a spoiled child."

  Outside the carriage, Lu's mother and others came to ask for peace and well-being. Zhang looked at Lu's mother's face with a smile full of joy, her mood was somewhat complicated, and she smiled slightly: "You've all worked hard these few months, go back home first, we'll talk later."

  Lu's mother hastily nodded and smiled: "Everything is ready at home, the old lady and brother have returned, let's eat first, you must be hungry after traveling all the way."

  Zhang nodded slightly, and Lu Ma sent someone to run back to the old house to report the news. She brought Bi Lian and others to follow the carriage slowly.

  Mrs. Zhang held her granddaughter and asked how she had been doing for the past few months. Zhao Xiu then gave a brief report of what she did every day. By the time they arrived at the old house, Mrs. Zhang already knew that her granddaughter had changed many family rules, added new ones, bought dozens of acres of land, and even inquired about peach saplings.

  Zhang thought it was a bit complicated and asked her granddaughter: "Peaches are indeed good things, but how did you think of growing them?"

  Zhao Xun said, "Originally, I didn't plan to do anything, just sympathize with Zhao You and bought the land from him. Later, I found that the wild fruit trees on that land grew well, and the fruits were delicious. Although many of them have rotted now, it's enough to prove that the land is suitable for growing fruit trees. Compared to re-cultivating and planting rice or cotton, growing fruit trees is much easier, isn't it? The peaches in Lu Xiang Yuan are good, I read about them in a book and always wanted to know what they taste like. That day, Uncle Lu bought some back, and after eating them, I thought of growing them."

  "Is that so?" Zhang didn't know why, but he felt that his granddaughter's words were not entirely true. Seeing her frank face, he didn't ask further and smiled, saying, "Never mind, it was just a coincidence anyway, only thirty mu of land, you can deal with it."

  Zhao Xuan asked her curiously: "Grandma, aren't you from Songjiang? This water peach is a specialty of Songjiang, why haven't I ever heard you mention it?"

  Zhang smiled and said: "I also had this when I was a kid, but my father didn't like to eat it, so we rarely bought it at home. After going to the capital, I forgot about this thing."

  Zhao Wei chimed in from the side: "What's this thing supposed to taste like? I've never had it before."

  "You want to eat, just ask your second uncle to send a message and have him deliver a basket. It's just that this thing doesn't keep well, it goes bad in a few days, and needs to be kept on ice, which is very troublesome." Zhang said as much, then couldn't help but say a couple of things to her granddaughter, "You enjoy eating this fruit so much, you want to plant thirty mu of it. Don't you ever think that even if we do plant it, it'll take several years for the trees to mature? By then there will be too many fruits, and what if we can't finish them all? Are we going to sell them outside? What if they don't sell? They'll just rot there, not even enough to make a loss. If you really want to plant some for yourself to eat, a few trees would be enough."

  Zhao Xuan didn't think so, did she plant peaches just to satisfy her own desires? Of course, it was to add an income source for her family, but since her grandmother looked down on doing business, she didn't mention it first.

  But the peach trees have been planted, and they can be sold naturally. The water peaches on the side of Songjiang's yellow mud wall are in short supply. In a few years, it will be enough for her to establish a sales channel, and at worst, she can ask Wai Liu Fang for help. There is business to do. There is money to be made. Are you afraid that no one will help sell the goods?

  The three of them entered the old mansion, and Lu Changxiu led the servants to greet them. He bowed his head to Zhang Shi: "Madam has had a hard journey, lunch and hot water are all ready. Does Madam want to eat first or wash up first?"

  "Look at him, and let out a sigh: 'Go back to your room to freshen up first, this dusty attire is not appetizing for dinner.' Old Lu, Xiujie (Lu's wife's name), I won't hide it from you, this time I brought back Dasou and his wife too." Seeing the surprise on Lu's face, Luchangxiu looked stunned. She furrowed her brow: "But for now, don't go see them or talk to them. They're good people, just made a mistake this time, that's why I brought them back to discipline them. After I eat, I'll tell you more."

  Lu's mother had a worried look on her face, but she was always loyal to the Zhang family and would never question their words: "Yes, Old Madam, I'll escort you back to your room. As for my unfilial son and his useless wife, if they dared to do something that went against your rules, whatever punishment you give them is well-deserved. I won't have a single word of complaint, and I'll even help you scold them!"

  Ms. Zhang nodded, her trust in Lu Mama would not be reduced because of Lu Dazhu's behavior, and she still felt a little guilty in her heart. If it weren't for her orders, Lu Mama wouldn't have been separated from her son for so many years and couldn't teach him well. She was convinced that Lu Dazhu's mistakes were related to his lack of upbringing, otherwise why would his parents and siblings not do such things?

  Lu's mother supported Zhang back to the house, and when they were halfway there, Zhang stopped again, turned her head to Zhao Xiu and said: "I brought someone else back, in the carriage at the back, let your brother take you to see if you still recognize him."

  Zhao Xuan felt stuffy in her heart, but Zhang Shi had already left without looking back. She turned around to see Lu Changxiu directing people to move luggage, his face was straight and his complexion wasn't good-looking. Zhao Wei stared at him silently by his side. So she went forward and pulled on her brother's sleeve: "Brother, who did grandmother ask you to take me to meet?"

  Zhao Xuan withdrew her gaze and smiled again: "Someone you can't guess, take a guess?"

  How could Zhao Xun have expected this? He simply dropped everything and ran to the other side of the carriage, where servants were already unloading luggage from the car, filling up a whole courtyard. The maids and servant girls had also gotten off the car and joined in the sorting, except for one small, inconspicuous horse-drawn cart that was left at the end. It seemed as though no one had gotten out of this carriage, but a pair of servant couples stood in front of it, one holding the reins of the horse, while the other softly asked the person inside: "Are you alright? Are you still dizzy? Can you get off the carriage?"

  Zhao Xun didn't recognize the couple, but thought they looked unfamiliar. Could they be new owners of a small house in the capital? Who were the people in the carriage anyway? Judging from the appearance of the carriage, it didn't seem like any relatives, but rather more like servants. Since they were riding in a carriage, it was likely to be a woman, but listening to the maid's question, it was also possible that it was a patient.

  Just as Zhao Xuan was puzzled, the car curtain was lifted and a boy emerged. He was thin, with an unhealthy pale complexion, wearing ill-fitting clothes, and his hair was yellowish. When he saw Zhao Xuan, he jumped in fright, shrinking his neck back, seemingly a bit shy.

  "Winter gave birth, what's wrong?" A somewhat weak female voice came from the car, and then a thin, pale face looked out. When she saw Zhao Xiu, she was stunned for a moment, and soon her eyes turned red: "Big sister? Is it big sister?"

  Zhao Xuan looked at this face, and her memory instantly returned to that cold and bloody night: "Pearl?" Her eyes welled up with tears, and she rushed over: "Nanny!"

  ps：

  Suddenly I feel like this chapter title is quite fitting...