As soon as Xia Li and the others entered the Xia family compound, a tall young man came forward with a smile, “Eldest sister, has Li Li fully recovered from her illness?”
Xia Shan stood tall and dark in his military uniform, his features resembling Old Mrs. Xia’s more, yet still quite handsome. After three years of military training, his temperament had undergone significant changes.
The original host had been very close to him, and he was also the savior of this body.
Looking at him, Xia Li felt particularly affectionate. She stepped forward with a smile, “Third Uncle, you look so imposing in your military uniform.”
Beside them, Old Mrs. Xia beamed with delight and said proudly, “Shanzi has become a banner chief now, and his military pay has increased to three hundred wen per month. Of course he’s imposing!”
A banner chief was equivalent to a squad leader in the modern military – still a soldier, not an officer.
Xia Li exaggerated, “Oh my, Third Uncle is going to become a general soon, how amazing!”
Xia Shan laughed heartily, reached out and ruffled her hair, saying, “Silly girl, your uncle is still far from being a general.” Then he added regretfully, “Your uncle is incapable, I’ll never become a general in this lifetime.”
Old Man Xia also shook his head and said, “We have no power or influence, nor silver to bribe our way through connections. We can’t become officials.”
Seeing Xia Shan’s somewhat dejected expression, Xia Li smiled and said, “Third Uncle has inherited Grandfather’s true skills – highly skilled in martial arts and literate too. If you gain your superior’s appreciation, it’s not impossible for you to become an official.”
She wasn’t entirely flattering him. Xia Shan had loved archery and martial arts since childhood, receiving careful guidance from Old Man Xia all along. Old Man Xia had taught him all his secret skills, thinking that if Xia Shan had no other path, he could become a hunter. After Mrs. Xia returned, she paid for Xia Shan to attend a private school for one year, making him quite capable in the military.
Xia Li’s words made Old Man Xia smile until his eyes narrowed, saying directly, “The daughter of the God of Literature is indeed different, your words are always so comforting.” He added, “Li Girl is still young and doesn’t know some things. People in this world are divided into different classes. Our family are just peasants, how could we possibly reach those noble people. Shanzi will return home to farm after two more years of service. The family has already started looking for a wife for you.”
Xia Shan had been engaged before, but the woman’s family forcibly broke off the engagement when he was about to serve in the military, saying their daughter was too old to wait five years. Old Mrs. Xia was so angry she went to make a scene at the woman’s house, but Xia Shan had already grown cold-hearted – it was better not to be related to such a family.
Hearing Old Man Xia’s words, Xia Shan blushed and chuckled a few times.
He only came home once every month or so, and being the darling of the old couple, plus his promotion to banner chief and increased military pay, Old Mrs. Xia was so happy that she generously told Xia Zhu to bring home the unsold meat, pork offal, and half a pig’s head for the family to eat themselves, and sent Dani to town to buy a jar of good wine.
Li and Little Mrs. Yang led their respective daughters to busy themselves in the kitchen, while Mrs. Xia also went in to help.
Xia Li didn’t have that awareness, instead sitting in the courtyard chatting and laughing with the men.
Actually, she really wanted to go into the kitchen and cook a few dishes herself – the Xia family was too stingy with oil, so even the best ingredients wouldn’t taste good when cooked. But she was afraid that if she entered the kitchen even once, Old Mrs. Xia would permanently assign her kitchen duties afterward. Mrs. Xia had fought hard for a long time to secure this privilege for her.According to Xia Shan, he would be staying home for several more days this time. Lord Ye, the military commander, had a dog named Huzi that was accidentally lost by his cousin Young Master Liu in Tongning County. Despite searching for many days, they hadn’t found it, so Lord Ye had dispatched additional people to assist Young Master Liu in the search. Since Xia Shan was from Tongning County and familiar with the terrain, he was assigned to oversee the dog search in several nearby villages…
The Xia family had already heard about the missing dog notice from Xia Tie. When they learned that a single dog was worth five thousand taels of silver, they were utterly astonished. It turned out the dog’s owner was Xia Shan’s superior.
Upon hearing Xia Shan’s description of the dog, Old Mrs. Xia widened her eyes in surprise and exclaimed, “Heavens! The dog that Lan Niang’s family picked up has exactly that black and yellow fur pattern.”
The Xia family had known earlier that Mrs. Xia’s household had picked up a dog, but none had imagined it could be the military commander’s lost dog. How could such incredible fortune—five thousand taels—possibly fall into their laps?
At the old woman’s words, everyone froze, their burning gazes turning to Xia Li. Old Man Xia’s hand holding the tobacco pipe trembled slightly.
Little Mrs. Yang, who had been busy in the kitchen while eavesdropping on the conversation outside, rushed out brandishing a fire poker and declared loudly, “Younger brother-in-law should quickly take that dog to the county town for Young Master Liu to identify. If it really is the military commander’s dog, we’d have enough to live comfortably for generations!”
Her eyes bulged like cow’s eyes, as if she would immediately seize the dog if Old Man Xia gave the order.
Xia Li sneered inwardly—since when had her family’s dog become theirs? She asked Xia Shan, “When did the military commander’s dog go missing?”
Xia Shan also found the coincidence hard to believe. “It disappeared on the nineteenth of this month. Lord Ye’s dog is a Yanshan Wolfdog, exceptionally intelligent—even a ten-year-old child might not be smarter. Lord Ye is extremely fond of it. Several people have brought Yanshan Wolfdogs for Young Master Liu to examine these past days, but unfortunately, none were the right one.”
Hearing that multiple people had already presented Yanshan Wolfdogs to the young master, Xia Li felt more at ease. She smiled and said, “Then it definitely can’t be ours. Our dog was found at the end of last month—the timing is off by nearly a month. Moreover, although our dog also has yellow and white fur, it’s certainly not a Yanshan Wolfdog and isn’t that clever either.”
No one doubted Xia Li’s words. If Li Girl’s dog were truly Huzi, she wouldn’t need persuasion or lies—she’d promptly hand it over for the silver. Good heavens, that was five thousand taels!
Only Little Mrs. Yang remained unconvinced. “Li Girl should still let Third Uncle take it for that Young Master Liu to see. What if it looks similar and the young master recognizes it?”
Xia Li snorted coldly. “Second Maternal Uncle’s Wife is quite bold, daring to deceive even the military commander. Third Uncle has finally been entrusted with this important task—should we really bring trouble upon him?”
Hearing that it might cause problems for Xia Shan, Old Mrs. Xia began scolding first: “You ruinous woman! You’ve gone mad for money. Shanzi has finally gained the commander’s favor and been assigned such important work, and you want to cheat them with some random dog? Five thousand taels—what tremendous luck would that require? How could Lan Niang and Li Girl possibly have such fortune…”
Xia Tie’s bell-like eyes bulged as he roared, “No one would take you for mute if you kept quiet! Get back to work!”
Little Mrs. Yang deflated like a punctured ball and retreated to the kitchen with her head hung.
Xia Shan continued, saying that because Huzi had gone missing, Lord Ye was furious. He rushed to Tongning County and beat Young Master Liu and several of his servants half to death, even threatening to break his legs if the dog wasn’t found…
Xia Li felt both guilty and distressed, frowning as she said, “It’s just a dog. That Lord Ye is truly brutal…”
Old Man Xia quickly stopped her in alarm, “Li Girl, don’t speak nonsense! That kind of talk will bring disaster.”
Old Mrs. Xia also scolded her sharply. This was the first time she had dared to berate Xia Li harshly in front of Old Man Xia.