Xie Zhong said, "It seems you plan to come out of seclusion."
The old bald man replied, "It’s not exactly coming out. Since we’ve taken a disciple, we must provide some security for her."
"Old Xie, rest assured," Old Chun added from the side. "Although we old fellows don’t possess great power, we can certainly protect her until she grows up."
"That’s right," Old Zhan also spoke up. "If anyone dares to lay a hand on our disciple, I’ll peel off a layer of their skin."
Xie Zhong smiled. "Protecting her this way is not as good as teaching her more skills."
"We know that without you saying it," Old Chun said directly to Zhu Yanyi. "From now on, come to my place every morning at five o’clock. I live in House Number Three, the courtyard with the plum blossom stakes. Come here to learn martial arts from five to seven every morning."
"Yes, Grandpa Chun," Zhu Yanyi nodded.
The others had no objections. They began to arrange Zhu Yanyi’s schedule. Since everyone knew she would surely start primary school in the second half of the year, they decided to use this time to teach her various knowledge. In their words, such talent must not be wasted.
From that day on, Zhu Yanyi became truly busy. After the first lunar month, she no longer went home on Tuesdays and Sundays as she had before. Fortunately, Zhu Shun Yao and Xie Xin Lian were also starting to plan for building a house.
Starting from the second day of the second lunar month, Zhu Gui Fu began building a house for Zhu Xiang Yao. Zhu Shun Yao occasionally went to help, but since his own family had many matters and he also needed to build his own house, he went rarely. This made Zhu Gui Fu very dissatisfied. On the thirteenth day of the second lunar month, which was March 29th, Zhu Xiang Yao returned.
With Zhu Xiang Yao’s return, Zhu Gui Fu felt more confident. It seemed that whenever Zhu Shun Yao was present, he was not considered one of their own.
Zhu Xiang Yao visited Zhu Shun Yao on the evening after his return. Seeing him, Zhu Shun Yao invited him in. "I just heard you arrived. It’s good that you’re back." He asked, "Has your work been arranged?"
Zhu Xiang Yao nodded. "I’ve been assigned as the captain of the village patrol team. After this period, I might be transferred to the police station."
"That’s not bad. Having a government job is always good," Zhu Shun Yao nodded.
Zhu Xiang Yao looked at Zhu Shun Yao. "Brother, I heard you and Father seem to have some unpleasantness."
"Unpleasantness?" Zhu Shun Yao looked at Zhu Xiang Yao with a faint smile. "Xiang Yao, who told you that I have unpleasantness with Father? He is my father. How could I have unpleasantness with him?"
Zhu Xiang Yao was slightly stunned. "Qiao Lian said that during the New Year guests, your wife didn’t help with the work."
Zhu Shun Yao chuckled lightly. "Your sister-in-law is heavily pregnant and moves clumsily. She put too much oil in the cooking, which displeased Mother, so she didn’t go to the kitchen." She then looked at Zhu Xiang Yao. "We didn’t complain because we are the younger generation. If Mother is unhappy seeing us, we simply don’t appear. That is what I can do as a son." She paused. "Xiang Yao, do you know? Your sister-in-law has been married to me for over ten years. Every year during family gatherings, she worked in the kitchen. Not just during the New Year, but whenever there was family business, she was busy. She never sat at the table to eat a proper meal. When A Nuan and Ani were born, my mother-in-law helped with the confinement. When my mother-in-law wasn’t there, your sister-in-law washed the diapers herself while still in confinement. Aunt Qiao next door felt soft-hearted and came to help wash diapers, telling your sister-in-law to rest well. But Mother never came over."
Zhu Shun Yao also harbored resentment in his heart.