Transmigration: A Farm Girl's Brocade-Chapter 24 - Missing_1

Chapter 24: Chapter 24 Missing_1

Chapter 24: Chapter 24 Missing_1

When these two children were little, they always bathed together in a big wooden tub, with Lady Wu or Qian Manxia taking the lead, and Cheng Yue assisting.

Qian Yeejin, still very young and somewhat clueless, nodded his head as if he understood the difference between boys and girls. After he turned three, during one bath time, when he noticed his sister accidentally glanced at his lower body, he covered himself and said to his sister, “You can’t look here, or you’ll get styes.”

The naive little Qian Yixiu turned her gaze away; she was afraid of getting styes. Yet that little boy was not afraid of getting styes and kept staring intently at other people’s privates.

Qian Yixiu was infuriated, as if the little rascal had seen all there was to see of her. There was no such thing as a spotlight like this, probing others and not allowing others to probe back.

Even Lady Wu thought her own granddaughter was too naive and chuckled as she turned Qian Yeejin’s head in a different direction. Afterward, she bathed them separately.

Over the years, Lady Wu had grown into a strong village woman, no longer the fragile, weepy lady she once was.

As for the young Miss Qian Manxia, she was not only skilled in household and outdoor chores, but she also took on the role of a preschool teacher.

Although Qian Sangui was still frail, he had improved a lot compared to a few years ago. At least in winter, he didn’t have to lie in bed all day, didn’t have to rely on expensive medicines to hang on to life, and could even weave some straw mats and baskets to earn a little money.

Little mother Cheng Yue was still as naive, pure, and beautiful as ever, only her chin had sharpened a bit. Apart from being excellent at feeding the children until they were one year old, she was also quite capable at needlework. All the mending at home was her responsibility. Beyond these two tasks, she wasn’t good at anything else; she couldn’t clean the floor well, wash clothes properly, and had even broken a few bowls and dishes. Lady Wu didn’t even want her in the kitchen.

Nevertheless, the children still slept with their little mother. When the children were young, Lady Wu would sleep there with them, but once they turned two years old, she went back to her own room. Originally, there had been a thought to have Qian Manxia help take care of one child, but Cheng Yue would not have it and broke into unstoppable tears at the mere suggestion of moving the children away.

Last year, the other branches of the Qian family had also split up because Qian Sigui wanted to start a business in the provincial city, and he didn’t have much money. Old man Qian presided over the division of the family, with Qian Sigui investing all his assets into it. Old man Qian was adventurous; although he himself didn’t have the ability to strive outside, he fully supported his son’s efforts to make it out there. He even insisted on going to the provincial city with his son, claiming he could lend a hand or offer advice.

Old woman Qian didn’t follow her husband to the provincial city. One reason was that the cost of living there was too high; she wouldn’t be of any help by going and would just be an extra mouth to feed. Another reason was that she couldn’t bear to leave Qian Yeejin, her great-grandson, whom she found too endearing to leave, fearing that he might go hungry without her.

Qian Yixiu felt that these two old people were not like the traditional heads of a feudal household but more like those elderly from her previous life, who were heartbroken over their children. Even though Old woman Qian distinctly favored boys over girls and often scolded her little mother, Qian Yixiu still respected her from the bottom of her heart.

This afternoon, the family looked at the two strings and eight coins on the table and smiled with contentment. Every year after the winter wheat was harvested, Lady Wu, aside from reserving a few kilograms for Qian Sangui’s special meals, would take the rest to sell in town.

In the past few years, without any major natural disasters, even occasional droughts or floods didn’t have too significant an impact on the harvest.

The corn and sweet potatoes grown in the summer weren’t worth much; apart from what they ate, the rest wouldn’t fetch even One Guan Money. The family didn’t make embroidery or go out to labor. The straw hats and mats that Qian Sangui weaved sold for no more than a few dozen coins a year. Plus, selling jujubes brought in two to three hundred coins. So, the family’s total annual income was roughly just shy of Four Guan Money.

This was also because Qian Manjiang had joined the military, so the family was exempt from paying taxes, otherwise, it would have been even less.

But the expenses had been great.

Because Lady Wu had been busy taking care of children and the sick and couldn’t manage the farmwork, they had to hire day laborers to help. Before the children turned one, they had to provide Cheng Yue with food to replenish her body, which required them to eat more meat and eggs. Both Qian Yixiu and Qian Sangui were in poor health and often had to take medicine; occasionally, they’d have to make a little extra food just for themselves. Ever since they “received money from Lady Wu’s natal family”, Old man Qian and his wife had started to receive their retirement money as well. Repairing the house, buying salt, oil, seeds, and so on, their daily expenses were indeed not low. As a result, not only was the money from selling the annual harvest spent without a trace, but even those silver cakes were reduced to just one remaining.

However, just before the New Year, there had been rumors that the war in the north was about to end. It was said that a prince of Dajin Country had rebelled, and the Dajin army, having lost the will to fight, was continuously defeated by the Great Qian Army.

If those rumors were true, Qian Manjiang would be returning soon. As long as he came back, the Qian family would once again have hope. Moreover, both the couple Qian Sangui and Qian Manxia believed that Qian Manjiang would surely become an official of some sort, which would elevate their family to official status.

In a corner, Qian Yixiu was also very excited; she had long considered herself a part of the Qian family, sharing in their joys and sorrows. She happily thought to herself, how true is the saying “Every path has its puddle,” just as the family was about to become unsustainable, the strong labor force was about to return.

Moreover, she missed her handsome little father dearly; after the trials of war, mustn’t he have become even more heroic and exceptional?

Nowadays, she no longer calculated every day when she would time travel, because if she did, it would mean little Xiu er would be doomed. She was very fond of the fragile and beautiful girl, even though she was slow and weak, and was often scolded by Old woman Qian as a “debt-collecting ghost”.

At this moment, hearing the sound of someone knocking at the door, Lady Wu quickly took the money into the bedroom for safekeeping, and Qian Yijin opened the door, leading Qian Manchuan inside.

Qian Manchuan, in his twenties, looked honest yet shrewd. His face was brimming with unrestrained joy, and before even stepping through the door, he exclaimed loudly, “Uncle Three, Aunt Three, the Manjiang brothers are still alive, they’ll be back soon.”

Qian Sangui jumped to his feet in excitement, and Lady Wu rushed forward and took Qian Manchuan by the arm, eagerly asking, “Manjiang is still alive? How do you know? Tell us in detail.”

Qian Manchuan said, “Just now, my father encountered my uncle (Wang Lizheng) returning from the county. The uncle said the war had ended, and the death notices had arrived. Of the thirty people from our village who went to war, twenty-two died, and among these people, the Manjiang brothers were not included.”

They all disregarded the twenty-two who had died. As long as Qian Manjiang was not among these people, he was counted among the eight who were still alive. The whole family was overjoyed to the point of tears.

The family spent the next three months in joy and anticipation, waiting for those who survived the war to return to the village. But only seven people came back, with the sole exception of Qian Manjiang.

According to these seven individuals, Qian Manjiang was the fastest rising among the new soldiers. In the first year, he became a Banner Leader; in the second year, he was promoted to the eighth rank as a Cavalry Lieutenant, and by the fourth year, he had risen to the full Seventh Rank as a Brigade Commander. He was highly regarded by his superiors, who said he was brave and strategic, with a limitless future.

However, in the last major battle, Qian Manjiang’s camp was ambushed by the enemy, suffering heavy casualties. Oddly, after the battle ended, they found no trace of Qian Manjiang, alive or dead; he had simply vanished.

…………

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