"Grandpa, Uncle said that no matter what we do in the future, we must learn farm work. He said his goal is to let us understand what real life is."

Beside him, Shi Tou immediately laughed and joined in, "My Aunt also said, to be fair, when summer vacation comes, she will have Ping’an and them come back.

She won’t need us to do any heavy labor, as long as we learn how to farm, know how to gather herbs, and know how to collect mountain goods.

She said her purpose is similar to Uncle’s, trying to teach us self-reliance while letting us realize what it means to live a grounded life."

As the two grandsons spoke, Mr. Zhang’s face gradually broke into a smile, "Did you promise?"

"Absolutely! My Uncle also gave us many examples. Brother, if you’re not working, you’ll have to come back to the team to help out, I’ve promised for you."

Seeing his brother say this, Zicong laughed too: "Uncle said, once you’ve got mud on your legs and the girls don’t mind, you can enter the candidate list for Big Brother’s wife."

"Right, it’s just a candidate, Uncle said you’re still young, no need to rush into finding a partner. He was stuck; if he didn’t catch Aunt, his wife would have run away."

As these words fell, everyone covered their mouths in stifled laughter, all looking at the blushing Zhang Ziwen. They all knew that many families had their eyes on the older cousin.

Zhang Ziwen looked at the amused Mr. Zhang, "Grandpa, my Grandma is still outside, you’ll have to take the things with you, we still have to go for a run early tomorrow."

"Silly boy."

Watching the kids enjoy the show about the eldest nephew, Mr. Zhang dropped his idea of saying a few words about his grandson’s marriage. He pointed to the pile of stuff, "Move it over."

The children looked at each other, all tightly packed, wondering why their Grandpa wasn’t taking it home to sleep. Nonetheless, Zhang Mingzuo obediently pushed it forward.

Mr. Zhang patted the edge of the kang, scanned around the kids, "I have an idea, can you see if it works?"

Whether it works or not doesn’t matter!

Xi Zi and his group quickly nodded, waiting quietly for him to speak.

"These things, I don’t suggest you hold onto them for future separation, nor do I suggest each of the younger ones gets a share. Money is a good thing, but it’s also bad; you should know how many families start fighting over uneven distribution when separating..."

Xi Zi frowned, looking at Zhang Ziwen. The cousins knew there was more to come, each calming their younger brothers down to listen to the elders finish speaking.

"Grandpa, just tell us what you decide. We’ll all listen to you; it’s better not to have it if it causes discord among us brothers over these external possessions."

As Xi Zi spoke, a few younger ones couldn’t help but chime in.

"Yes, Grandpa, we’ll all listen to you."

"Grandpa, if it’s hard for you, just deal with it as you see fit, we won’t obsess over these things."

"Big Brother is right, even without these things, each of us can support ourselves. We brought them back because we were worried they’d be wasted."

Mr. Zhang carefully observed their expressions, nodded silently, and waved his hand. Once they quieted down, he touched his tobacco pipe.

Is he troubled?

The brothers sneaked glances at each other but dared not make a sound.

"I guess your Aunt sorted it for you; besides worrying you don’t know good from bad, she’s probably also considering having you boys sort it now to prevent future complications."

"This is something she can’t say." Mr. Zhang chuckled, "It’s more appropriate for me to say it."

"Grandpa..."

Mr. Zhang waved his hand, "You all shouldn’t say anything. Not mentioning if your Aunt thought this way, just your Aunt’s family, giving their kids a share isn’t reasonable."

With that, Mr. Zhang picked through a few items, set four aside, and divided the rest into five parts, "I don’t understand which is most valuable, but let’s go by how your Aunt sorted them. Here are four items, Xi Zi and Ziwen, you two take two each as a sort of travel reward for your brothers."

Xi Zi hurriedly waved his hand, "Grandpa, please don’t say it like that, they’re all my brothers, why be so clear-cut? I don’t want it!"

"Enough nonsense! Xiao Wen, don’t say anything either." Mr. Zhang smiled and shook his head, "With family, accounts must be clear; this is your private property among the brothers."

After finishing this, Mr. Zhang ignored Xi Zi and his brother, knowing that the four items wouldn’t cause any big issues in the future, whichever they choose.

He glanced at the five silly grandsons and outside grandsons, "You can start rock-paper-scissors now. Hurry up; anything to say can wait for tomorrow."

Can this work?

Shi Tou looked around at his brothers, seeing them still hesitant, rolled his eyes. Better to divide it rather than have Grandpa worry. Anyway, they can split it among brothers in the future; what difference does it make?

Really stubborn!

He thought that if he didn’t step up, everyone wouldn’t sleep tonight. Helpless, he smiled and persuaded, "Uncle said we should listen to Grandpa when we come back."

This actually works!

Hearing this, Zhang Mingzuo didn’t hesitate. This time, with the five traveling, it’s usually him making the decisions, he nodded, "No need for rock-paper-scissors, just listen to Grandpa, each takes one, and we’ll discuss it in the future."

Mr. Zhang wasn’t interested in considering what the five of them would do in the future, as long as it’s divided, they can figure it out based on their inclinations.

Seeing this, he stood up, took paper and pen, and wrote each child’s name, wrapped the five parts in old fabric, and inserted each with a note.

Rolled and bundled together, they were just small items, forming a package that seemed little. 𝑓𝓇𝘦ℯ𝘸𝘦𝑏𝓃𝑜𝘷ℯ𝑙.𝑐𝑜𝓂

Mr. Zhang pondered that he’d hide them first thing in the early morning. These things were only safe with these bold kids, if left out, and an outsider came by, it’d cause concern?

Sigh, these children take after him quite a bit; back in his day, he joined in the crowd but was sharp enough to stash things like the others.

But such thoughts couldn’t be shared with these wild kids; if they knew, they’d surely be over the moon.

Mr. Zhang thought of many things, anxiety, and happiness alike, but kept his face calm and composed, "Alright, apart from this issue, there shouldn’t be anything else, right?"

The young men watching the lively scene stared at him after sorting, then bundle it all together, peered at each other, and checked among themselves for anything left unresolved.

Oh, they’re really quite naive! Even his son mentioned in letters that they were clueless about their Uncle’s underlying intentions.

Mr. Zhang paused, finally deciding to wait until Zuo You and Zi Wu graduated, lest the young ones scattered their minds and lost their motivation.

Before leaving, he repeatedly instructed not anyone to speak of this matter, everyone should keep it buried in their hearts. Not even revealing it to their parents unless peace reigns someday.

This point is understood by Xi Zi and the somewhat older ones, even Shi Tou the youngest understands. Three months’ outing wasn’t for nothing.

However, Shi Tou glanced at his Grandpa, thinking he better not mention it to his father. Seems he’ll just let it go.

It’s not a matter of filial duty; it’s following orders from his father’s father!