Chapter 47: Chapter 47 Delivery Chapter 47: Chapter 47 Delivery Qi Yourong could not feel at ease until he had the IOU in hand, and Qi Younian had no intention of keeping him hanging.
“Rest assured,” Qi Younian nodded and said, “I can write a few characters, though they are hardly presentable. Later on, I’ll have Ye Zi write it for you; Ye Zi writes better. You go back first, and come over again at dinner time. I’ll have my elder brother come as well, and I’ll give you both the silver and the IOU, letting my brother act as a witness.”
Although Qi Yourong wanted to take possession of the silver and the IOU immediately, what Qi Younian said made sense, and no matter how eager he was, he had to agree.
After sitting for a short while longer, Qi Yourong, with Madam Song waiting at home and feeling truly uneasy staying at his second brother’s place, made some small talk and then took his leave.
Qi Younian saw Qi Yourong out, and seemingly offhandedly told him, “By the way, since the child has been adopted into the second branch, it’s not appropriate for him to continue following the names of your family’s younger generation. I’ve changed his name; from now on, he will be called Qi Jia, symbolizing auspiciousness and kindness.”
Qi Yourong naturally did not know how to write Qi Jia, nor what ‘Jia’ meant, but he was aware that his grandson had not only been adopted by the second branch but also had his name changed. This child’s ties with the third branch had diminished yet another level. Without being told of the past and just hearing the name, this child seemed unrelated to him.
Although he had never paid much attention to Qi Congming, he was still his own flesh and blood, a part of his own continuance.
Qi Yourong nodded unconsciously, a touch of melancholy creeping into his heart, dulling the keen anticipation he had for the twenty taels of silver.
Ye Xinyan’s writing was quite dreadful, but it was sufficient for an IOU meant for rural peasants.
In the evening, under the witness of the elder Qi Yougui, the second branch of the Qi family and Qi Yourong successfully settled the transaction of ten taels of cash silver and an IOU worth ten taels of silver.
Learning that the little fellow had his name changed, Qi Yougui was silent for a moment but then glanced at his third brother, who was content with the silver, and said nothing more. The elder brother was right; since the child had been adopted by the second branch, it was the second branch’s lineage he would carry on. Having fewer concerns with the third branch was perhaps for the best.
With official business concluded, it was time for dinner.
The three elders of the Qi family were gathered together and had just completed a significant matter, so the dinner that evening was quite satisfactory. They had stir-fried vegetables, scrambled eggs with Chinese chives, braised pork slices with onion, and as main dishes, leftover triangular baked buns and corn pancakes from the morning.
Qi Yourong was carefree, having just received the silver and IOU, and now a rare good meal was before him. He had long forgotten the dejection of Qi Jia’s adoption, including the name change, and eagerly waited with chopsticks in hand for Qi Yougui to begin eating.
Qi Yougui saw this and felt helpless. For decades, their parents had indulged their youngest brother in every possible way, fostering his carefree, irresponsibility. Now that he was over fifty years old, even if he wanted to change, it was probably too late.
While the three elders of the Qi family enjoyed their meal merrily in the outer room, Qi Jia, having caught a glimpse of Qi Yourong just before, reverted to a dazed and fearful state, which was pitiful to behold.
Nanny Jin, holding a bowl and chopsticks, patiently coaxed him, “Don’t be afraid, let’s eat. From now on, Jiajia, you are our child. Only the people in this courtyard are your closest kin. Look, even your name has changed, hasn’t it? From now on, your name is Qi Jia, and we will all call you Jiajia. That previous courtyard and the people there will never dare to bully you again.”
Ye Xinyan looked at Qi Jia, who was anxiously tense on the kang, wanting to scare him a bit but also mindful of the people outside. But with Nanny Jin’s gentle and soft persuasion, how long would dinner take before it could be eaten?
Ye Xinyan took the rice bowl from Nanny Jin and said, “Nanny, go out and see if Grandpa needs more rice. I’ll take care of this.”
Did the young lady have the patience to coax a child? Nanny Jin was highly skeptical and watched her for a long time before hesitatingly saying, “Are you sure you can handle it? Maybe you should watch outside while I coax him a little longer.”
Ye Xinyan nudged her with her arm, “Go on, Nanny. Am I going to eat him? Besides, I wouldn’t be as heartless as Fourth Auntie, right?”
“If you get angry…” Nanny Jin started to say but upon seeing the resentful look in Ye Xinyan’s eyes, she quickly changed her tune, “Then you need to be patient, children are not easy to coax, and Jiajia has grown up in such an environment, so you really need to be patient, understand?”
“I know, I know,” Ye Xinyan rolled her eyes several times. Was patience useful?
Perhaps Ye Xinyan’s past misdeeds had left a deep impression on Nanny Jin, as she walked the few steps from the inner room to the outer room with a frequency of looking back every other step.
It was only after Nanny Jin left the inner room that Ye Xinyan sternly said to Qi Jia, “Qi Jia, look at me!”
When given an instruction, the little fellow, of course, would not resist. But no matter how he looked at Ye Xinyan’s eyes, they seemed unfocused, blankly staring without knowing where to look or what to think.
Ye Xinyan continued sternly, “You’re a big boy now. Since you were able to understand instructions and do work, you should be able to understand speech. Nanny has already told you that from now on, we are one family, and those two outside are your Great Uncle and Great Uncle, so you don’t have to be afraid of Great Uncle. Now, it’s time to eat! Today, Nanny and I will feed you one more time, but from tomorrow on, you will have to eat with your own chopsticks and spoon.”
It was unclear whether it was Ye Xinyan’s stern face that frightened Qi Jia or if he understood her words, but although he still looked uneasy, he obediently opened his mouth to eat.
Ye Xinyan fed him a spoonful of broken rice porridge and then said softly, “You remember working with us outside this morning, right? We were selling things to make money. That place is the county town, and what we sold this morning for breakfast was rice tofu, which is delicious. If you can eat with a spoon by yourself tomorrow, your breakfast will be rice tofu and warm, soft spread cake.”
In the short four-plus years of Qi Jia’s growth, aside from the times he could not remember, the rest were filled with maltreatment by his stepmother and indifference from the other members of the Second Branch family. And then, it was nonstop work, never having a moment’s peace like today or seeing any fresh and lively scenes.
Perhaps the sights he had seen that morning had left too deep of an impression on Qi Jia because after Ye Xinyan finished speaking, he actually looked up at her, and his eyes had a bit of sparkle.
Ye Xinyan’s heart stirred, and she tentatively said, “Why don’t you try eating by yourself now? It’s okay, even if you spill it, we won’t be afraid. When children first learn to use a spoon, they will spill their food, but with more practice, it gradually gets better.”
Ye Xinyan placed the bowl on the kang table and handed the small spoon to Qi Jia, “When you eat by yourself, you need to try if it’s too hot, understand? If you accidentally eat something very hot, spit it out immediately; don’t swallow it down.”
Ye Xinyan didn’t care whether Qi Jia understood what she said. But whether he understood or not, she had to say it — with repetition, he would naturally understand. If she always treated him like a child who couldn’t speak or understand, wouldn’t he have to grow up starting from an ignorant infant stage?