Heavenly Blessed Baby: Fleeing Famine, Busy to Prosper!-Chapter 160: What Is Dad Up To?

Quanjin returned to the courtyard and saw everyone tidying up, so he told Ercai that he would go to the front yard to inform them.

The Qi Family was going to move, and they needed to inform the other three families.

"Moving again? Why are we moving again?"

Mr. Zhou Sr. looked worried, "Is something wrong?"

"Nothing’s wrong."

Quanjin quickly explained with a smile, "It’s just that there are more and more people, and we can’t all fit in one courtyard, so our family thought about finding another yard. Coincidentally, there’s a big courtyard at the end of the alley, and since our family has the most people, we’re moving there."

"Uncle Zhou, Uncle Sun, Uncle Wang, my father wants to let you handle these two courtyards. You can decide whether to put those people and Ji Hu in one small yard, or split them up, whatever works."

Quanjin explained while looking at the three old gentlemen.

Helping in emergencies but not in poverty, although the four families had gotten along well so far, now that they had settled down and even arranged houses, it wasn’t good to keep helping too much.

The issue of making money was separate; after all, their side hadn’t started taking action yet, so it wasn’t appropriate to make any promises.

The three old gentlemen exchanged glances and finally sighed.

Mr. Zhou Sr. said, "Well, suddenly having so many people is indeed inconvenient."

Mr. Sun Sr. said, "It’s just in the alley, not far, it won’t affect our daily interactions."

Mr. Wang Sr. said, "It’s better to move out. Just Ji Hu and his group... sigh, only your family had the kindness to take them in, otherwise it wouldn’t really be our problem if they lived or died."

Though the words sounded cold, everyone silently agreed.

Mr. Zhou Sr. looked at the two brothers and asked, "Our courtyard is big enough. If it’s just the three of our families, we’ll have plenty of space. How about we live here and let the junior scholar’s group stay at the back?"

"I think that’s a good idea."

"Agreed!"

Mr. Sun Sr. and Mr. Wang Sr. both agreed.

They also felt that living with unfamiliar people was awkward and that staying with just their three families was more comfortable.

Seeing that the matter was settled, Quanjin got up to leave.

He also needed to go back and continue packing.

However, before leaving, he said that once they finished moving, he’d come back to inform them.

Mr. Zhou Sr. quickly called out to Quanjin, "That large courtyard of yours will be a lot of work to clean up; let Zhou Tao and others help."

"No need."

Quanjin waved his hand, "Our family has many people, so everyone can tidy up a bit. Besides, it’s cold, so let Taozi rest well!"

Zhou Tao had a fever last night, and although it’s completely gone now, recovering from an illness leaves one feeling weak.

Hearing this, everyone stopped insisting.

Illness is something you really can’t take lightly; both doctors said that if it’s not taken care of properly, it could cause problems.

After exchanging pleasantries, Quanjin finally left.

The Qi Family didn’t have any lazy people, and since it was so their family could live separately, everyone was working particularly hard.

By dusk, smoke was rising from the chimneys in the second courtyard, and there were candle lights in every room.

Even though not every room was occupied, it seemed wasteful to keep the candles burning, but Mrs. Qi insisted on doing so.

The candles were not to be extinguished all night, though a few boys were assigned to take turns watching them.

It’s not a big deal if the candles burn out, but there was a risk of fire.

After dinner, everyone was about to return to their own rooms to rest.

Tonight, they could finally have a good night’s sleep.

But before they could leave, Qi Zheng called out, "Eldest, Second, Third, Fourth, Fifth, Sixth, you all stay behind."

Qi Zheng asked all six of his sons to stay.

The daughters-in-law were a bit surprised but didn’t think much of it, assuming their father-in-law had something to discuss, so they took the children back to their rooms first.

Not only did each small family have a separate room today, but even the adults’ and children’s rooms were separated.

Even though it wasn’t the main room, no one minded at all.

Back in the old home, it wasn’t possible for everyone to have a main room either.

The main room was left for the elderly, and they were fine living in the side rooms.

"Dad, what’s up?"

Qi Dafu felt it was his duty as the eldest brother to speak up first.

Qi Zheng looked at him and said calmly, "There’s something I need you to do, but it’s not time yet. Didn’t your fourth brother’s wife buy a lot of lanterns? Light them up, and hang them at the doorway, in the courtyard, and under the eaves."

Digging would be noticed by the family during the day since there were many people around.

But at night, the ground was frozen and needed to be thawed with fire.

However, the firelight was more obvious, not only likely to alert the family but also outsiders.

So, Qi Zheng had Yi Meng buy a lot of lanterns in the afternoon.

Qi Dafu scratched his head, puzzled, "Dad, why didn’t you tell us to hang lanterns earlier? It’s completely dark outside now, it won’t be easy to hang them!"

"If it’s not easy, then climb up and hang them!"

Qi Zheng scolded irritably, "Is it always so hard to get you to do some work?"

"Not hard, not hard."

Qi Dafu quickly waved his hand.

Qi Quanli was skeptical, "Dad, why suddenly hang so many lanterns? Aren’t all our rooms already lit with candles?"

"Weren’t those lit inside? Can the candles inside your house light up the outside?"

Qi Zheng glared, "What? Can I not order you around anymore?"

"Yes, yes, yes!"

Now not only Qi Quanli, but even the others quickly nodded.

The six brothers got to work right away.

Qi Quanli followed his fourth brother, holding the ladder and whispering, "Fourth brother, what is Dad planning? So many lanterns and candles, how much silver is that? Wouldn’t our mother be upset?"

"I guess it’s because this house hasn’t been lived in for a long time, and he’s afraid some beggars might sneak in to live."

Quanjin spoke casually.

Actually, he thought that if a house hadn’t been lived in for a long time, there might be... unclean things.

Now that they moved in, the bright lights could scare those things away.

But Quanjin didn’t dare to say this.

Not only would it likely scare others, but even thinking about it sent shivers down his spine.

Qi Quanli nodded in agreement after hearing this, "Makes sense! Earlier, I saw a broken-down yard up front, it was in such a state, our old thatched house wasn’t as broken as that."

Distracted by Qi Quanli, everyone stopped discussing the lanterns.

They started talking about that broken yard, and then about when they should arrange to cut firewood next.

Being farmers, that’s the kind of things they tended to think about.

In the east room of the main house in the backyard, Mrs. Qi gently patted her granddaughter while quietly asking Qi Zheng, "Old man, are you really going out yourself? It’s terribly cold outside, let the young ones handle it."