The Beautiful Brother of the Orion’s Family (Wearing Book) - 344

 

| TBBOTOF | 344

Early the next morning, just as Tang Xu had finished making breakfast and was about to feed the poultry and livestock in the backyard, he heard someone calling at the gate.

Wiping his freshly washed hands on his apron, Tang Xu grabbed the jacket hanging nearby and quickly headed out.

When he opened the gate, he saw Wei Zhonghong standing outside with two other people who looked somewhat familiar at first glance.

Tang Xu smiled and greeted his aunt, “Who are these two?”

Wei Zhonghong led the two people into the courtyard and followed him inside, saying, “Don’t you remember them? They came here a few times to sell eggs. This is Aunt Wu and Uncle Liu.”

Tang Xu greeted them and then led the three of them into the main hall, pouring hot tea and placing it on the table.

Seeing the two looking a bit uneasy, Tang Xu gave them a warm smile and said, “You must have heard from my aunt that I’m looking to hire long-term workers. Two meals are provided, and the monthly wage is 150 wen.”

The two nodded. Uncle Liu rubbed his hands together nervously and asked, “What time should we come in the morning?”

Tang Xu thought about the usual routine of the villagers. Since it was the busy season for spring plowing and most people got up before dawn, he said, “Around the hour of Chen (7–9 AM). You can have breakfast at home before coming.”

“What kind of work will we be doing?” Aunt Wu asked.

Tang Xu raised his arm and gestured around the front yard, then pointed toward the backyard. “Auntie, Uncle, you both probably know that I have a lot of poultry and livestock, plus the vegetable plots in the front and back yards. Other than that, it’s just some cleaning and washing, it’s nothing too complicated.”

After hearing this, Uncle Liu and Aunt Wu nodded. The workload didn’t seem too heavy, and with two meals provided, they both agreed that they could manage the job.

Wei Zhonghong, standing to the side, added, “They’re both hardworking and not the talkative type. Their own yard is always kept neat and tidy, so you don’t have to worry.” 

Since she had agreed to help Tang Xu find workers, she wanted to make sure she was recommending the right people.

“Alright then, Auntie, Uncle, let’s try it out for a few days and see how we all adapt.” He didn’t immediately say whether they’d be hired long-term—he wanted to observe their work first before making a decision.

After finalizing the arrangement for them to start early the next morning, Tang Xu walked the three of them to the gate. Wei Zhonghong waved for the other two to head off first, then turned slightly to the side and spoke a few more words to Tang Xu in a lower voice.

“They’ll definitely do a good job for you,” Wei Zhonghong leaned in slightly and lowered her voice. 

“Aunt Wu’s husband isn’t in good health and has been taking medicine all year round. As for Uncle Liu, he has two sons waiting to get married. Originally, he planned for them to marry a ‘ge’er’ since it would be cheaper, but both his sons insisted on marrying women instead.”

Tang Xu raised an eyebrow.

In the village, poorer families usually married ‘ge’er’ because the bride price for a ‘ge’er’ was only two taels of silver, whereas marrying a woman required at least five taels.

“I can tell they’re both clean and neat people. Their fingernails are spotless, and even though their clothes have patches, they’ve been washed properly,” Tang Xu noted. 

He had seen how some villagers neglected hygiene, so he was quite satisfied with how tidy these two were.

Wei Zhonghong patted his shoulder with a smile. “Give them a chance. If it doesn’t work out, we’ll find someone else.”

“Alright, thanks for the trouble, Auntie.” Tang Xu walked her a short distance before she turned back home.

The next morning, when Aunt Wu and Uncle Liu arrived, the children in the house were curious about them. They gathered around, asking all sorts of questions.

Aunt Wu, who had a five-year-old grandson at home, was especially fond of children. The ones in the Wei family were not only adorable but also sweet-tongued, making them easy to grow fond of.

Uncle Liu was the same—he answered the children’s questions one by one but remained mindful of his work. When Tang Xu came over to lead the children away, the two immediately got to work, tilling the soil for planting vegetables and chopping grass to cook pig feed.

As time passed, the two of them worked diligently at the Wei household and felt a sense of stability in their hearts.

Every morning, Tang Xu would boil a dozen eggs for the family. The children, having them daily, sometimes grew tired of them. 

When there were extra eggs, he would share them with Aunt Wu and Uncle Liu. He also made sure they ate meals with the family, allowing them to enjoy meat regularly.

“Auntie, Uncle,” Tang Xu called out to the two who were sweeping the yard. “I’m settling this month’s wages for you.”

They had been working for a full month, always diligent and hardworking, never slacking off. 

Tang Xu was very satisfied with them. So, aside from paying them their agreed wage of 150 wen each, he also gave them ten eggs each.

Overjoyed, Aunt Wu and Uncle Liu repeatedly thanked him while accepting their wages and gifts.

“Head home early today and take a day off tomorrow,” Tang Xu said, waving his hand to indicate that they needn’t be so formal.

After they left, Tang Xu turned and walked into the study, only to find the children quietly writing and drawing. He was surprised. “Why are all of you behaving so well today?” 

Normally, at this time, they would be running wild in the yards—seeing them focused on writing was quite a rare sight.

"Teacher said we should reflect on ourselves daily. I want to practice writing and reading, and Er Bao and Xiao Bao said they wanted to join me."

After the New Year, the chubby boy turned five in nominal age. Recently, he had insisted on changing his nickname to Da Bao.

His exact words were: "My younger brothers are called Er Bao and Xiao Bao. I don’t want to be called a chubby boy anymore—I want to be called Da Bao!"

His serious expression had made everyone laugh, but Tang Xu agreed and made sure the whole family started calling him Da Bao from then on.

“How long do you all plan on writing? I’m about to start making dinner,” Tang Xu asked as he walked around the tables.

Xiao Bao and Yue Ge’er were just scribbling randomly, while Er Bao was gripping his brush tightly, tracing a calligraphy copybook. His strokes were shaky and uneven, but his little face was tense with concentration.

Da Bao, on the other hand, was also copying characters, but his strokes were already straight and smooth, showing a level of fluency.

Tang Xu reached over and poked his eldest son’s soft cheek. “What about your teacher? Has there been any news?” 

Since Da Bao was a closed-door disciple of Old Sun, there was no way the old scholar would just abandon his student.

Da Bao nodded. “He said he would come when Father returned. He told Father about it before he left.”

Tang Xu paused for a moment, then frowned. “Your father might not be back until summer. Will Old Sun really wait until then?”

"Teacher said he plans to stay here for a few years this time."

Tang Xu nodded. "Just write for a little longer, it’s getting dark. Writing under an oil lamp will strain your eyes."

The four little ones responded in unison, "Got it~~"

Smiling, Tang Xu stepped outside and saw Tang Yang and Wei Xi coming from the backyard. He asked, "I’m making dinner, what do you two want to eat?"

"I want steamed eggs with minced meat!" Tang Yang’s eyes lit up.

Wei Xi said, "I’ll eat anything. Whatever you make is delicious, brother-in-law."

"What about Ze’er? I haven’t seen Xiao Yang either, where did they go?"

Tang Mei had taken Goudan to town to help at the shop, and Sun Yang was still staying with Tang Xu. 

During the New Year, his aunt had taken him home for a few days, but with everything being busy and her needing to care for the elderly, she didn’t have the time to watch over him properly. 

So, Tang Xu had brought him back.

"Ze’er took Xiao Yang to spread fresh hay for the rabbits. We have so many now, and they go through hay quickly. My brother and I just finished chopping firewood in the backyard. Do you have any other chores, brother? We can help!"

Tang Yang’s eyes sparkled with enthusiasm. Ever since Old Sun had left and there was no one around to supervise his studies, he had completely embraced his freedom.

Tang Xu shook his head. “There’s not much else to do. You two can go check the chicken and duck coops to see if there are any eggs to collect.”

“Brother, hurry up and cook, I’m starving,” Tang Yang said eagerly.

Tang Xu chuckled and nodded. “Alright, alright.”

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TL: Lol is the author breaking the fourth wall by mentioning changing ‘chubby boy’ to ‘Da Bao’? After so long? lol

Anyway, this is the last chapter thanks to our MVP Chubbiest Cheeks, Thank you for your hard work~ ╰(*´︶`*)╯♡

While we wait for the author to update, I’ll be going back and editing any errors I made all the way back to chapter 1..haha. So, I’ll be basically reading this entire novel from the beginning (╥_╥). 

I will probably not pick up another novel during this time due to my busy schedule, however I have a feeling that I might go back on my word and pick up another novel (feel free to call me out in the comments if I do lol)

So the status of the novel will be on hiatus until the author updates for now, and no this novel is not being dropped lol. Thank you guys for reading this far~

Lol I did not know this chapter was gonna be posted on valentine's day not sure if that's a good thing or bad thing lol (¯▿¯). Happy Valentine's Day everyone~ ☆*:.｡.o(≧▽≦)o.｡.:*☆