Cao Xiaoxiang stammered, "I don't want to compete with my brothers." It turned out he understood everything, and it was probably precisely because of his intelligent and gentle nature that Cao Cao liked him so much.
I patted his head and said, "Then Dad will pick you up in a while."
Besides me and Baozi, there was another person who was reluctant to part with the little elephant—Hu Hai held Cao Xiaoxiang's hand and lowered his head in silence. The two children had developed a deep bond over the past few days.
Hu Hai looked back at Qin Shi Huang and said timidly, "Father, I would like to give Brother Little Elephant a gift."
The fat man said, "You decide what to send."
Hu Hai murmured, "Qi, Chu, Wei, and Zheng have all been sent away. Little Elephant, you shall be the King of Lu."
Baozi whispered, "Isn't this child being a bit too generous?" I am the King of Qi and the King of Zheng, and Baozi is the Grand Marshal and the King of Wei. Our family should have been enfeoffed as the King of Chu before we were even born. Now Cao Xiaoxiang has been enfeoffed as the King of Lu. Our family's share in the Qin Dynasty alone far exceeds 51%.
Cao Xiaoxiang, holding Hu Hai's hand, said earnestly like a little adult, "Brother, this gift is too much. I have no way to repay you, so I will teach you the secret to mobilizing 30 people." We couldn't help but laugh. It turned out that Cao Xiaoxiang wasn't so kind after all, taking so long to teach us. Xiaoxiang continued, "I didn't teach you before because I was afraid you would be too playful and neglect your studies. When you can understand the two articles I left you, 'On the Faults of Qin' and 'On the Six States,' you must carefully study their principles."
I am deeply ashamed; look at the level of their thinking!
Empress Lü walked over and greeted me, saying, "Xiao Qiang, I should be going now. One last question for you—is our husband Lao Liu having an affair?"
"Uh..." I said hesitantly, "Sister-in-law, it's best if you and Brother Liu discuss this privately."
Empress Lü sighed and said, "I didn't mean to pursue this matter. It's not a big deal for a man like your brother Liu to have one or two women outside. I just want to meet this sister."
I picked up the steamed buns and said, "You should learn from your sister-in-law's magnanimity!"
...
Time flew by, and before the month was even almost over, I received another call from my father. The old man, his face contorted with rage, yelled, "You little brat, did you die out there?"
I:"……"
Before I could come up with an excuse, the old man suddenly changed his tune and said pitifully, "Qiangzi, please come back soon, let this old man see the little one. Do you know, I'm afraid to even leave the house now, for fear that the neighbors will ask me what my grandson looks like. Do you think I'm a grandfather like this?"
I was suddenly speechless. The old man was right. To put it bluntly, if Baozi and I were to die, they would be the natural guardians. What kind of grandfather hasn't even seen his child a month after birth? The old man kept scolding me, but it was more like he was begging me. Our son has grown up, he's independent now. When the old folks yell at you, it's because they care about you, they want your attention, just like when we were little and wanted to be pampered by them…
I remained silent for a moment, then finally asked, "When do you think we should go back?"
The old man immediately perked up: "The full moon shouldn't be until the day after tomorrow. Can you come back tomorrow?"
Having no other choice, I could only say, "We'll definitely go back tomorrow."
The old man said in his usual booming voice, "I knew you wouldn't dare to hit Beng'er. Let me tell you the truth, I've already booked the restaurant for the full moon celebration—it's in the same place where you and Baozi got married, what's it called again? Happy Forest!"
I hung up the phone and looked at Baozi. Baozi gave me a wry smile: her husband's accountant had given her the same ultimatum.
Therefore, children are an important bond that holds a family together. Look at how many families on the verge of breaking up because they suddenly have a child and can only muddle through. This killer move also has an academic name: turning the raw rice into cooked rice. Baozi and I are both only children. When our baby turned one month old, both sets of grandparents had been eyeing us for years. If we didn't invite those four grandparents over that day, my husband and I were afraid we wouldn't be able to go home again.
Baozi sighed and said, "Do you think we could bring all the old folks to Qin Dynasty and live here from now on? I really don't want to go back."
To be honest, I don't want to go back either. Life in the Qin Dynasty was so much better! We currently hold several kingships simultaneously, and as long as we get along well with Xiao Huhai, the whole country will be ours sooner or later—
But reality is reality. Leaving aside the fact that four elderly people from the 21st century to the Qin Dynasty couldn't bear it—all that Baozi wanted was a family reunion, which is impossible. None of my clients are people who can easily give up their lives; we are destined to live on our own separate paths.
Seeing that returning was inevitable, I felt it necessary to say hello to Xiang Yu and Liu Bang, who were still out there. If we could make it in time, we might be able to have a farewell dinner that evening. But one of them, with his wife, was staying with Wang Xizhi and didn't want to come back, saying he wanted to let Yu Ji's unborn child receive prenatal education. The other said he couldn't return for the time being; Lord Su was very stubborn, and although he had taken medicine, he still didn't really listen to his old leader. Liu Bang was trying to figure out a solution. In the end, only Fatty, Ersha, and Li Shishi and Jin Shaoyan came to see us off the next day. Baozi, holding his arms, kept turning back to look at us. I stood by the car watching them. We all knew in our hearts that once we went back, it wouldn't be so easy to come back. The three-month deadline had unknowingly dwindled to only two months left. Once our little one went back to reunite with his grandparents, he wouldn't be able to go anywhere for at least a month.
I glanced at Li Shishi and her husband, whose arms were entwined, and asked Jin Shaoyan, "Are you really not planning to go back?"
Jin Shaoyan smiled faintly and said, "Going back will only lead to more trouble, so why bother getting hurt?"
Li Shishi said, "Don't worry, cousin and cousin-in-law, we will take care of ourselves."
I looked at Ersha again. The idiot was quite calm, nodded at me and said, "Let's go, we..." He didn't finish his sentence before Fatty Ying slapped him back down, and said with a smile, "Be careful on the road."
That sentence was rather redundant; although vehicles came and went in the military tunnel, the space could extend infinitely. Baozi kept turning back, asking, "Are we just leaving like this?"
"So what else do you want?" I said, turning back frequently. Ever since our first long separation, my meetings with the group of five have always been more often apart than together. I never expected this parting to be so rushed.
I drove the car onto Bingdao Road, pointed to the bustling crowds on both sides of the road, and said to Baozi, who was still feeling sad, "Take one last look at this road. It's real. There won't be another road this wide for you to mess around on."
Baozi's face grew increasingly gloomy. She wrapped herself up carefully with the small quilt, which she shouldn't have done so meticulously, and suddenly flung open the carriage window and leaned out. Before I could react, I heard her shout at the carriage in front of us: "Make way! I am the Grand Marshal of Qin!"
Amidst the astonished and awe-inspiring gazes of passersby, our car sped past. I looked at Baozi, puzzled, and he said sheepishly, "I took advantage of my authority a little before leaving..."
I:"……"
I understand that Baozi was saying goodbye to Bingdao in her own way. Passing by Tang Dynasty and Liangshan, I wanted to stop and visit my old friends several times, but I held back. It was only a short, less than a day, and as Jin Shaoyan said, it only brought sadness.
We drove back to He Tiandou's garage, and as soon as we stepped out, Baozi exclaimed, "The air here smells awful! Look how choked I am!" I looked down and sure enough, the little guy was frowning, raising his little fists high in protest. I said helplessly, "There's nothing we can do. You'll get used to it." I pressed the key, and the automatic door rolled down. "Didn't they even have doors like this in the Qin Dynasty?" Baozi scoffed, "Why would I care? Wouldn't it be better to hire two people to poke around and open this door? This door is ruining the air!"
As I was speaking, I glanced back and saw that the tunnel in the garage was completely closed.
Upon receiving news that we were coming back, my grandparents and Baozi's parents came to see their grandson. I thought since we were meeting tomorrow and it was getting late, there was no need to make the trip. But the four elders got impatient with me, scolding me as soon as they entered before starting to fuss over their grandson. Baozi and I watched, quite moved; we never received this kind of treatment when we were kids. This is the special bond between grandparents and grandchildren!
Baozi's mother asked Baozi, "Do you have milk?"
Baozi: "..." Don't let Baozi's usual carefree attitude fool you; she knows her place. Faced with this question in front of her in-laws and the whole family, she was speechless. But I understand that older women are almost completely uninhibited on this issue. For example, when Zhang's daughter-in-law gave birth, they would often ask anyone they met, regardless of the occasion or who they were talking to, "Do you have milk?"
Seeing that Baozi was speechless, and since I couldn't ignore the elder's question, I could only say, "There's milk, there's milk."
This time, all four parents looked at me with amusement... I then realized what was happening, and it felt rather awkward. Just as I was about to explain, Baozi kicked me from behind without warning...
The old accountant, with a hint of pride, said to my father, "How about it, Lao Xiao? We didn't marry Baozi for nothing, did we? We had a big, healthy baby boy right away."
My dad said modestly, "Actually, his mother and I both want a girl. You've got a lot on your mind, kid."
The old accountant said with dissatisfaction, "What kind of talk is that? I didn't see you replace Xiaoqiang with a girl back then."
I quickly explained, "Father-in-law, you've wronged my dad. He almost swapped me for a girl back then. I heard that girl was only a few months younger than me, and the two families almost met."