Exile with Storage Space: Family Fortunes in the Barren Lands-Chapter 618 - 575 Won’t Let People Go Easily (1)

Li Xing’an and the wife of Eldest Young Master Chai had to guard the shop. They returned to the county town the day after Chai Eying’s child was a month old.

After Li Xingmao and his group arrived in the county town, Li Yuzhu and Li Lixing took Guoguo and Li Jing to Li Xing’an’s shop, while Li Xingmao and Second Master Chai went to the county government.

Miss Chai was a first-time offender, and the crime was not serious, but because she abducted two children from the Li Family, County Magistrate Li ordered her to be detained without release.

Li Xingmao went to the county government and explained the situation to County Magistrate Li.

County Magistrate Li agreed to release the person without another word.

However, he did not release her easily and imposed conditions.

Because Li Xingmao hinted to County Magistrate Li that though Miss Chai deserved no death penalty, she shouldn’t escape punishment to learn a lesson.

County Magistrate Li understood the hint, fined Second Master Chai a thousand taels of silver, and then released her.

Second Master Chai was furious inside.

He picked up Miss Chai from jail, and before she could cry and complain, he scolded her all the way from the county town to the village.

Miss Chai was heartbroken, aggrieved, and furious, crying all the way.

The incident caused quite a stir, and the misdeeds of Miss Chai were known far and wide.

From the moment she entered the Chai Family door, everyone looked at her differently, and she was so ashamed she wished she could hide.

She also heard that Chai Eying gave birth to a son, and he was already a month old, making her angrily curse the heavens for being unfair.

Second Master Chai only let Miss Chai stay at home for an hour. After she changed clothes and ate, he sent her to her maternal family.

Meanwhile, Old Mrs. Chai called in a matchmaker to find a husband for Miss Chai.

She no longer cared about the man’s family background or distance; as long as someone was willing to marry Miss Chai, that would suffice.

Getting married early would save trouble.

She couldn’t afford to lose face any further.

Since the second granddaughter’s incident, whenever the Chai Family went out, people would ask them indirect, sarcastic questions.

What bad luck befell the Chai Family to produce such a disgraceful granddaughter?

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County Magistrate Li, after handling Miss Chai’s matter, didn’t immediately send Li Xingmao away but invited him to stay for dinner.

Li Xingmao thanked him and stayed.

Li Yuzhu and Li Lixing, taking Guoguo and Li Jing, went to Li Xing’an’s shop.

The two kids leaped off the carriage and rushed to the shop next door to play with Chai Tianlang.

Li Xing’an snorted, "Am I not charming enough?"

Li Lixing laughed and said, "Third Brother, I’ll play with you."

"Go away, who’s playing with you? You always ask me about this and that." Li Xing’an turned away dismissively.

Guoguo and Li Jing liked to pester Li Lixing with all kinds of strange questions.

Li Lixing enjoyed asking Li Xing’an about happenings outside because Li Xing’an often traveled to neighboring counties for business.

It made Li Xing’an quite annoyed with him.

In fact, you couldn’t blame Li Lixing for being inquisitive, as Li Xing’an loved to brag, and Li Lixing loved to expose his exaggerations.

This made Li Xing’an lose face.

Over time, Li Xing’an grew weary of Li Lixing’s questioning.

Li Yuzhu went to the Chai Family shop, greeted Sister-in-law Chai and her husband, and seeing the three children were playing well, she went to Li Xing’an’s shop to check the sales of her medicine pills.

The pills for treating women’s menstrual pain, insomnia, and reducing internal heat were selling well without prescription.

Li Yuzhu counted and noticed that many shelves were empty again.

She restocked the shelves with the medicine pills she had brought.

Until it was nearly dark, Li Xingmao had not returned, but instead, they received a government official from the county government.

The official said that Lord County Magistrate sent him to invite the Li siblings and the two children to the county magistrate’s house for dinner.

Li Lixing, who was talking with Liu Yanbai and Xiao Chengzi, heard the official’s words and immediately came over, "What about me? Didn’t my father invite me?"

The official chuckled, "Oh, Young Master is here too? The magistrate didn’t mention you."

Li Lixing sighed, "My father forgot me again, it’s always like this."

When the Li Family’s siblings came to the county town, County Magistrate Li indeed often forgot about his son.

Li Xing’an laughed and patted him on the shoulder, "You’re going home; we’re guests. Are you really holding a grudge against your father?"

Li Yuzhu had already brought Guoguo and Jingjing out from the neighboring shop and said with a smile, "Going back to your own home without needing our old father to invite you? You’re really throwing a child’s tantrum."

Guoguo repeated, "Child’s tantrum."

Li Lixing, "..."

Li Xing’an instructed Liu Yanbai and Xiao Chengzi to watch the shop, then drove Li Lixing’s carriage to take everyone to the County Magistrate Mansion.

The siblings and children met the county magistrate, and Li Xingmao stayed in the magistrate’s study to chat, while Li Yuzhu took Guoguo and Jingjing to the back residence.

The County Magistrate’s Wife was delighted to see the two children, patting one face and then the other.

She called for the maid to give the children towels to wipe their hands and faces and asked the nanny to bring snacks and fruits.

Li Yuzhu laughed and said, "Dinner is coming soon. If they eat snacks and fruits, they won’t eat their meal."

The County Magistrate’s Wife laughed, "Just a few candies, they won’t fill you up, let them eat. It’s from a newly opened candy shop in the county city. I find them quite alright, so I had people buy more. You should try some too."

The candies at this time were simple, generally made from malt and some fruit flavors.

There were tangerine-flavored and sweet date-flavored ones.

Today, the County Magistrate’s Wife offered candies with rare flavors like winter melon and milky scent.

The two children seldom ate candies, maybe two or three times a year, and Li Yuzhu did not stop them, letting them fully explore the flavors.

Li Lixing washed his hands and joined Guoguo and Jingjing in grabbing candies.

The County Magistrate’s Wife laughed and scolded him for not growing up.

Li Yuzhu helped the County Magistrate’s Wife sit down and started to check on her health.

The County Magistrate’s Wife had been pregnant for more than five months, and she had grown chubbier than when they saw her last year.

Standing by her were the maids Chun’er and Xiaxia, who said that the County Magistrate’s Wife hadn’t been nauseous these past two months and her appetite was great, eating even more than Lord County Magistrate, which was why she’d gained weight.

The County Magistrate’s Wife used to be extremely thin because of her stomach issues, and even after recovering, she didn’t dare eat freely. But now, having a child, she had to consider the child and finally ate freely.

Li Yuzhu told her that her stomach was fine and she could eat and drink normally without hesitation.

"How’s the baby?" The County Magistrate’s Wife asked nervously, wide-eyed, looking at Li Yuzhu. "I’ve been feeling him moving these past few days."

Li Yuzhu put away the monitoring instruments and checked the pulse before touching her belly. She smiled and said, "Everything’s good, the fetal position is very correct."

The County Magistrate’s Wife smiled in relief.

The two watching maids also breathed a sigh of relief.

Chun’er smiled and said, "Li San Niang, you might not know, Lord County Magistrate found several experienced midwives to check Madam’s body. They all said the baby is fine, without any problems, but Madam still worried, insisting on waiting for you to check."

The County Magistrate’s Wife patted her belly, "I just don’t know if it’s a boy or a girl."

Xiaxia laughed and said, "Madam, Lord County Magistrate says he loves both boys and girls."

Looking at Li Lixing who was wrestling for candies with Guoguo and Jingjing, the County Magistrate’s Wife shook her head and said, "There’s already a son, it should be a daughter this time."

Li Yuzhu had seen the baby’s gender and she smiled, "I have a feeling this is a girl."

The County Magistrate’s Wife looked surprised with joy, "Really?"

Li Yuzhu laughed and said, "It’s very likely."

"That’s wonderful, one son and one daughter, that’s perfect." The County Magistrate’s Wife gazed expectantly at her belly, "Four more months, then I’ll meet my daughter."

The two maids shared congratulations with laughter.

The County Magistrate’s Wife then asked Li Yuzhu about Chai Eying’s child.

"I’m inconvenienced physically, so I can’t go personally to check." She said apologetically.

Li Yuzhu smiled and said, "The child was born weighing six pounds six ounces, very much like Jingjing."

The County Magistrate’s Wife enviously said, "Your elder brother is truly blessed, two sons and a daughter."

Li Yuzhu laughed and said, "Madam is young, and will surely have many children in the future."

This made the County Magistrate’s Wife very happy.

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Guoguo, when first coming to the county city, couldn’t walk nor recognize people or things.

This time in the county city, Guoguo could run and appreciate the exciting scenes.

Li Xingmao planned to take her and Jingjing, exploring and playing in the county city.

The village was far from the county city, making it rare to visit lively places.

The next morning, Li Xingmao personally drove the mule cart, taking Li Yuzhu and the two children to tour the county city.

Li Lixing, being playful, also tagged along.

Guoguo and Jingjing each leaned on the window, curiously observing the street scenes.

The two kids occasionally exclaimed "Wow" and "Oh" in awe.

Li Lixing, a local, played the guide for the children.

This time, the two kids did not stump him; he answered all questions about the county city they had.

He redeemed his face.

One adult and two small children, chirped incessantly inside the mule cart.

Li Xingmao glanced back into the cart and smiled gently. 𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝔀𝓮𝒃𝙣𝓸𝒗𝒆𝒍.𝙘𝒐𝒎

Their mule cart arrived at a bustling street.

In front of a large tavern, they encountered a disturbance with people arguing.

Jingjing shouted, "Aunt, look, someone’s fighting over there."

Li Lixing exclaimed, "Too much, three against one!"

Li Yuzhu looked up, seeing a young man fighting with three workers.

Three against one, the man was completely overwhelmed.

Li Yuzhu was surprised, the man being beaten wasn’t Yang Runsen?

"Brother, stop for a moment!" Li Yuzhu lifted the curtain and called out to Li Xingmao.

Li Xingmao guided the mule cart to the roadside and stopped, "What’s up? Third Sister?"