Siheyuan: All the incense in the family is counting on you

After dinner, the three little ones pestered Li Bowen to tell them stories.

Li Bowen selected one of the novels he had read in later generations, the plots of which he remembered more clearly, that was suitable for them to listen to and began to tell them about it.

The stories suitable for little girls to listen to were nothing more than stories about princes and princesses. Li Bowen's stories were boring, but the three little ones listened with great gusto. Even Chen Qiao sat beside them after she had finished cleaning up, holding her chin and listening attentively.

It was late at night and the youngest sister had fallen asleep in Li Bowen's arms while listening to the story, while the second sister and Chen Qiao were still listening with shining eyes.

"Okay, okay, that's all for today's story. We'll continue tomorrow night. Let's go back to bed. Second sister, you have to go to school tomorrow!" Li Bowen himself was a little sleepy.

When Li Lan mentioned going to school, her face fell. She leaned her head on Li Bowen's shoulder and said, "Brother, going to school is so boring. I don't want to go anymore!"

Li Bowen was a little surprised: "Why don't you go to school? You are only 14 years old, and you are not needed for work or work in the fields. Why do you just want to play at home?"

"I can help my sister-in-law with work! I really don't understand what the teachers at school say!"

What's wrong with the girls in the Li family? The eldest sister, Li Mei, is like this. She worked hard in school but her grades were just above the passing line. The second sister, Li Lan, is like this now. Could it be that all the nutrition she gained went into her face and not into her brain? But they are all very smart.

Why can't I study? Li Bowen was speechless. Looking at Li Lan's pitiful expression, he sighed, "Then you have to finish junior high school for me. If you really can't get into high school or technical secondary school, then you can just stop going, okay?"

Thinking that there was less than a year left, Li Lan nodded and agreed: "Okay, then I'll listen to your brother. If I don't pass the exam, I'll go to the city to work like my elder sister!"

"Go to work in the city? Your eldest sister has no work now. She follows your aunt at home to paste paper boxes every day. Do you want to go and paste paper boxes too?" Li Bowen got a headache just thinking about his eldest sister's job. It was really hard to find a job. And since she had a rural household registration, there was no place to accept her. If he went back, he had to think of a way to move his eldest sister's household registration to the city.

But I guess there is no hope now. The situation is so tense. Even if you want to get a city hukou, you still have to provide food rations, and you can’t even get past the street level.

I just don't know if the recruitment route is still feasible now. When I have more money, I can try asking Li Huaide to do it.

The second sister Li Lan didn't care: "It's fine to paste paper boxes. Anyway, I won't stay in the countryside in the future. I'll become a yellow-faced woman in a few years!"

Li Bowen slapped her on the forehead: "How old are you? You think so far ahead. You are still a shrew. Doesn't your sister-in-law also live in the countryside? How come she is fine?"

Li Lan pouted: "Not everyone can marry someone like you. My sister-in-law is lucky. Anyway, I want to move to the city!"

"Okay, okay, okay! Let's talk about it after you finish junior high school!" Li Bowen was really at a loss. Who could bear to reject the request of such a wronged, pitiful and delicate little beauty?

How do you think Third Uncle and Third Aunt gave birth to these beauties? Although both of them are good-looking, with above-average looks, the four girls all inherited the good qualities of both of them, and each one is prettier than the other. It's really true that when you compare people, you die, and when you compare goods, you throw them away!

"Grandpa, are our ancestors a very wealthy family?"

The old man, who was still dazed, was awakened by Li Bowen's words: "Why do you think of asking this?"

Li Bowen pointed at his own face, then at his second sister and the others: "Look at how we look, as well as my uncle and third uncle. If you say our ancestors weren't from a wealthy family, I won't believe it even if you kill me!"

The old man added another pinch of tobacco to his pipe and took a few puffs towards the oil lamp: "Nowadays, everyone is very particular about ingredients. I'm telling you, don't go around talking nonsense! You're bringing disaster to our family!"

"Yeah, yeah!" Li Bowen, Chen Qiao and Li Lan nodded together, their eyes wide open, waiting to listen to their grandfather's stories about family.

"Our ancestors, starting from your great-grandfather, have been a well-known and wealthy family in the capital for more than ten generations. This can be traced back to the Ming Dynasty. Zhu Yuanzhang knows this, right?"

Li Bowen nodded: "Yes, I know, the Ming Taizu!"

"Well, Ming Taizu, this Ming Taizu had a fourth son named Zhu Di, who later became Ming Chengzu. When he launched the Jingnan Campaign, my ancestor was a thousand households under Zhu Di. After he made meritorious service, he was granted a title and eventually rose to the position of general, commanding hundreds of thousands of troops.

Our family was very prominent after the Ming Dynasty lasted for more than 200 years and had more than a dozen emperors. It was not until the Ming Dynasty was destroyed and the Qing Dynasty was established that our ancestors were unwilling to surrender to the Qing Dynasty, so they resigned from their official positions and became wealthy men. They opened dozens of shops in the capital and had large tracts of land in the countryside. The family property was passed down to your great-grandfather. Later, when the little bandits invaded, your great-grandfather donated most of his property to buy guns, cannons, and airplanes to support the fight against the little bandits. Fearing persecution, we moved to our current village.

I didn’t expect that donating all that property was the right thing to do. Now our family background is pretty good. If it were still like before, the big landlords and big capitalists would definitely have us in their sights!”

Oh, Li Bowen's mouth opened wide. It turned out that he had such a prominent family background. No wonder he lived in such a shabby and backward village. His uncle could work in Beijing and married such a beautiful wife as his aunt. His father, whom he had never met, could go to college. It seemed that his third uncle also graduated from high school. That's it.

That explains why I am so good-looking and have several pretty sisters. After hundreds of years of genetic optimization, it would be weird if the children I gave birth to were still ugly.

Suddenly Li Bowen thought of something else: "Grandpa, do we still have a lot of antiques left in our house?"

"Hahaha, you little brat, you only care about this thing. Do you dare to use it if I give it to you now? I will give it to you when everything is peaceful. Don't worry about this or that thing now, because it will be yours in the end anyway!"

Well, come to think of it, if I take it out now, something might really go wrong. Let's wait until later. It's just another twenty years. By then, I'll only be in my forties, so there's no need to rush.

But I just can't control the itch in my heart.

Looking at the look of their eldest grandson, the old couple laughed and said, "Okay, we've said so much, it's getting late, you all should go back to bed!" After telling the story, Li Bowen started to chase people away without caring about the anxious Li Bowen.