"Youāre going to read again?"
Yang Chuxia grew somewhat worried. Such a young child, barely bigger than a fart, and already so engrossed in booksācould he become a little bookworm in the future?
Lele didnāt care what she thought. He wanted to read, no matter what.
"Book, book..."
"All right, all right, your mother will get the book for you," Yang Chuxia said as she had Ming Liu bring over the Three Character Classic that Lele usually held and flipped through, as well as a copy of the Thousand Character Classic, placing them both on the soft couch.
Once Lele was seated on the soft couch, he scooped up the two books, hugging them to his chest as if they were his most cherished possessions, as though fearing someone might try to snatch them away.
"This child must really love learning, look at him, you wonāt even need to keep an eye on him in the future."
A child who loved to learn was welcomed everywhere, and Ms. Wang felt a special tenderness for this quiet and well-behaved grandson.
"Ah, after your grandfatherās fifth seven-day period after death, you all should be going to Mianyang, right? Who knows when weāll be able to meet again after that. I wonāt be able to see Little Lele and Little Yangyang then," Ms. Wang sighed with emotion, finding it hard to part with them. Both children had grown up right under her watchful eye; suddenly not being able to see them would indeed take some getting used to.
"Mother, donāt just focus on Lele and Yangyang. Qingrui is already fifteen this year; itās time to talk about his marriage. Boys his age in our village are already married. You should start looking for a suitable match for your elder brother, choose carefully. Actually, for your younger brother, itās also time to start looking. Once weāve settled on a good match, we could make an arrangement in private. Once my grandfatherās mourning period is over, itād be just right to officially propose. After that, we could get married. Then you could look forward to having grandchildren sooner."
Ms. Wang hadnāt thought about Yang Qingruiās marriage prospects until Ms. Liu Juniorās family came to discuss a child betrothal earlier that year. With two younger brothers at home, Qingrui being two years her junior and Qingtong four years, both, at fifteen and thirteen, were of age to have marriage talks.
At the mention of this, Ms. Wang sighed.
"Ah, Iām afraid it will be several years before I can hold a grandchild."
"Whatās the matter? Could it be that your elder brother is reluctant?"
Speaking of this made Ms. Wang quite upset as she said gloomily, "Your elder brother, I donāt know if itās a good thing or not, but heās set on studying to achieve official ranks through examinations. Before the New Year, I thought Qingrui wasnāt young anymore and wanted to ask what kind of girl he liked. But as soon as I brought it up, he directly told me to wait for him to become a Recommended Man before discussing marriage. I thought, what if he never becomes a Recommended Man? Does that mean heāll never marry?"
Ms. Wang felt that her hopes of holding a grandchild were exceedingly distant.
And when she thought of Qingtong, her mood worsened!
Ms. Wangās mouth twitched as she said, "Neither of my sons gives me any peace of mind. I wonāt mention your elder brother; becoming a Recommended Man is tough indeed, but still easier than becoming an Advanced Scholar. But your younger brother, now heās the one who drives me insane. Heās not even a Cultivated Talent yet, and heās dead set on not marrying unless he becomes an Advanced Scholar. What if he only achieves that at fifty? Where would I go to see grandchildren then?"
After hearing this, Yang Chuxia also felt her two younger brothers were being overly harsh.
Thinking of this, Ms. Wang said, "Anyway, Iām not thinking about it anymore. Your grandfather just passed away, and it wouldnāt be proper to arrange a marriage now, so weāll wait another two years. Letās see if he passes the exams to become a Recommended Man. If he does, Iāll be overjoyed. If not, Iāll figure out another way to get him to agree to marry."