As for the details of handling other tedious matters, there are even more to it.
The clan has been bustling with activity these past few days, with people and horses scrambling around, creating a lively and energetic atmosphere.
But Xiao Que'er was filled with sorrow.
This Miss Xiao Que'er was none other than the chubby little girl who had offended Chen Xiao and was punished by Old Master Xiao to be confined to her room to reflect on her mistakes.
There's a story behind the name of this young lady, Xiao Que'er.
In traditional families like these, when a new member is born, the ancestor always bestows a name upon the child. The parents have no right to name the child.
Eighteen years ago, when this little girl was born, someone from the family rushed to inform Old Master Xiao of the good news and asked him to decide on a name.
Originally, if it was a boy, his name would be based on the generation specified in the family genealogy. For example, Xiao Que'er's cousins of the same generation were named Xiao Cangshan, Xiao Cangyu, Xiao Cangluo, etc., all of whom belonged to the "Cang" generation.
However, male offspring receive this treatment, but female offspring do not. In such traditional families, the outdated custom of favoring sons over daughters persists. When a girl is born, her name is not chosen according to her generation. After birth, the family elder is informed, and he bestows a name, even if it's something as common as "Spring Flower" or "Autumn Fragrance." If it's something like "Golden Lock, Silver Ring," the girl has no choice but to accept it.
As a result, on the day that Xiao Que'er was born, the messenger ran to the back house to announce the good news and happened to find that Old Master Xiao and several elders of the Xiao family were playing mahjong together.
The old man was holding a pure suit hand, waiting for the single tile (one of bamboo). Just as the messenger came in to announce the good news, the old man drew his tile and won by self-draw. He was overjoyed and didn't even listen to what the messenger was saying. He exclaimed, "One of bamboo! One of bamboo! That's it!"
As it turned out, the servant who brought the good news was also a brainless idiot. Upon hearing this, he didn't dare to ask any more questions. He turned his face away and ran back to report that the old master had decided on a name. The newborn girl would be named Yaoji.
When Xiao Que'er's parents heard this, they almost fainted!
Xiao Que'er's mother was so angry that she burst into tears as soon as she lay in bed after giving birth, wailing and lamenting for her daughter. Indeed, a girl named Yaoji—how could she ever face anyone again?
But in the Xiao family, Old Master Xiao was absolutely the undisputed emperor! His authority was immense; no one dared to utter a sound in his presence! Who would dare to utter a single dissent after he had decided on a name?
It's no wonder Xiao Que'er's father is a notorious good-for-nothing in the clan, a spineless and honest man who's always been bullied. He's also clueless about social matters, and anyone with eyes can see there's probably something wrong with the name. The old master is a learned man; he wouldn't deliberately come up with such a disgusting name without a reason. But this honest father doesn't know how to behave. He's been busy with the midwife for half a day, but he hasn't given her a red envelope, only verbally thanking her repeatedly. There's nothing substantial about it, which is already quite unpleasant.
The person sent from the ancestral hall to record the names didn't receive a penny in payment, so he pretended to be stupid and directly recorded the name "Xiao Yaoji" in the genealogy.
Then, once the genealogy is sent to the ancestral hall and three incense sticks are burned, it's a done deal! It means that the name has already been told to the ancestors, and it cannot be changed easily.
Originally, when a new member was born into the clan, Xiao Que'er's father was not an important figure in the clan, and since he had only given birth to a girl, he was not given much attention.
Grandpa Xiao didn't find out about this until three days later. He stared blankly for a long time, realizing he'd been incredibly foolish to have done such a thing. His beautiful daughter, bearing such a name—wouldn't she be ridiculed for the rest of her life?
The old man was a proud man and was too embarrassed to admit that he had been confused at the time. However, not long after the incident, a year later, when the ancestral hall was reopened and a clan meeting was held, he found an opportunity to change the little girl's name.
Hmm, a little bird, isn't it?
Alright, let's just change the name to Little Sparrow. It sounds quite endearing and cute.
And so, this Miss Xiao got a nickname from then on...
Although the couple was still somewhat unwilling, they knew that changing the family tree was no small matter. Since the old man was willing to change the family tree, it was already a great honor. As for the name... Que'er is fine, it's a hundred times better than Yaoji.
Besides, thinking about it afterwards, it's quite frightening.
Luckily, the old man drew a "One of Bamboo" tile by himself. If he had drawn something like a "Lucky Draw" or a "White Dragon" tile...
Imagine a beautiful young woman living her whole life with a name like "Xiao Facai" or "Xiao Baiban"—how terrifying would that be?!
Having a bad name can make people laugh at you for the rest of your life.
Fortunately, it turned out to be a blessing in disguise.
After thinking it over carefully, the old man realized that he had acted somewhat unfairly. He had been careless and confused, and almost ruined a little girl's life. After that, he began to look at Xiao Que'er in a different light.
Xiao Que'er's parents remained silent and tolerated this small loss, which made the old man quite gratified. He felt that although this couple was not the direct descendant of the eldest son's family, they knew how to consider the old man's face and were honest people.
From then on, Xiao Que'er's family had a stroke of good fortune. First, his father was promoted because of the old master's guilt and was put in charge of some financial work in the Xiao family's own business. As it turned out, the meticulous and tedious financial work was just right for this kind-hearted man who was somewhat timid and weak. He was not hot-tempered, but he was thoughtful and willing to spend time studying. He was also careful and cautious enough that he did a very good job over the years.
Later, Yue gained the old man's appreciation and was first put in charge of the finances of one of the properties. He was gradually promoted and, as a non-direct descendant of the eldest son's family, he actually became the deputy chief financial officer of the Xiao family, which was quite an oddity.
He is among the top ten figures in the core management circle of the Xiao family.
As for Miss Xiao Que'er, she lived up to her name, growing up to be a charming and adorable little sparrow with a mischievous and playful nature. The old master already felt a bit guilty towards this girl, so he took even better care of her. As a result, the little girl gained more favor from this patriarch of the Xiao family, even surpassing many of her peers from the eldest branch of the family.
Normally, even if she occasionally caused some minor trouble, other children would inevitably be punished with a beating and family discipline. But as long as Little Sparrow hugged Old Master Xiao's neck, twisted her waist, and called out "Old Master, Ancestor" a few times, she could usually escape punishment.
For a time, he became the little tyrant of the clan.
There was only one downside: her parents were both weak-willed, and inevitably, they weren't strict enough in educating their child, thus failing to discipline her properly. Coupled with the old man's doting affection, the little girl became somewhat spoiled as she grew older. Although she wasn't a bad person by nature, she still caused quite a bit of trouble with her little antics.
The Xiao family, though from a collateral branch, had gained the old master's favor, with Xiao's father even becoming the second-in-command of the family's finances. This inevitably attracted the jealousy of many. This time, the old master suddenly brought Chen Xiao back, subtly affecting the distribution of interests within the family, and he also issued a strict order forbidding anyone from harassing Chen Xiao.
No one else dared to act, but under the instigation of some scheming individuals, they encouraged Xiao Que'er, a naive girl, to barge into the inner quarters and provoke Chen Xiao. After all, this girl usually received so much favor from the matriarch; many would be happy to see her suffer a little.
Xiao Que'er was punished by being confined to her room to reflect on her mistakes. She copied the family rules dozens of times, but then refused to write them anymore.
She stayed in her house for a few days, with meals delivered to her every day. She heard that a clan gathering was being held outside, and it was incredibly lively, with lion dances, embroidered balls, flower drum teams, and opera troupes that had been invited to perform on a stage. She heard that the decorated pavilions were all incredibly bright, the actors on the stage were all incredibly charming, and the young men in the lion dances were all incredibly agile.
More and more of these messages reached Xiao Que'er's ears through the people who delivered her meals every day. How could a young girl in the prime of her youth possibly sit idly in the house any longer?
My heart has long since flown to the bustling places in the town outside.
After ten days of self-reflection, he finally couldn't bear it any longer on the seventh day.
The young girl herself had become somewhat arrogant and presumptuous due to the old man's pampering in recent years. She had even secretly disobeyed the old man's orders and quietly called Xiao Qing to inform him about the wild boy Chen Xiao's activities at home.
Her plan was this: Sister Xiao Qing had firmly resisted this marriage, and everyone in the Xiao family knew that Sister Xiao Qing was the most favored by the patriarch. She was beautiful from a young age, exceptionally intelligent, and had the best talent in martial arts. The old man treated her like a precious pearl.
Over the years, the old man has never asked Xiao Qing for anything.
Moreover, even when it came to marriage, when Sister Xiao Qing ran away from home in a fit of anger, the old man didn't send anyone to bring her back; instead, he let it go.