After the whole family was swept away, I lay down flat

Chapter 734 Brotherly Love
Zhou Jinlin has one daughter and two sons. His daughter is the same age as Haitang, the eldest son Liangying is two years younger than Haitang, and the second son Liangxiong is four years younger. Now one is fourteen and the other is twelve, which is far from the age to join the army for training, but it is no problem for them to travel far away with their grandparents.

Although they are still children, they are actually tall and strong, and they are not much shorter than adult men from behind. In addition, they have received elite education from their parents since childhood, and have mastered good skills in the guard post in the border town of Ningxia. In terms of skills, they are better than ordinary personal soldiers. What is rare is that these two children are not dull. Zhou Jinlin trains them as future military generals and teaches them many military tactics and strategies. He also pays attention to their cultural learning on weekdays, so that they will not only know how to wield swords and guns and become reckless. Because they are from the third branch of the Zhou family and their great-grandfathers have scandals, they are very low-key among their brothers, but in fact they are on the same path as Zhou Yijun and his brothers. It's just that they don't like to show off, so only their familiar relatives and friends know their abilities.

Ma is very confident in her eldest sister's two grandsons, and thinks they are a hundred times better than Ma Lusheng. Although Ma Lusheng is not an incompetent waste, he has been spoiled by his mother for a long time and has become a mama's boy out of habit. He has to obey his mother's arrangements in everything and has no ideas of his own. If Zhou Ma travels thousands of miles to the capital, her husband and nephew are not on the same page with her. If she wants a reliable person to help run errands or even give advice in an unfamiliar environment, she really can't count on Ma Lusheng. Ten Ma Lushengs combined are not as useful as one Zhou Liangying or Zhou Liangxiong.

Ma told her granddaughter Haitang: "Your aunt is a little moved. She can't bear to part with her grandson, so of course she hopes that he can accompany her to Beijing, but she is afraid that your aunt will not agree, so she has to discuss it with your uncle and aunt. But your aunt is too shameless. She keeps talking about the advantages of her own youngest son and belittles the brothers Liangying and Liangxiong, saying that they are still children, ignorant, and will hinder the adults. It makes her angry! If Ma Lusheng didn't have some shame and knew to apologize to your aunt, she would have kicked him out on the spot!"

Zhou Ma loved her grandchildren the most, how could she tolerate someone slandering her own children in front of her? Ma's wife was so anxious that she actually violated a taboo. Her beloved youngest son Ma Lusheng still couldn't find a good future, and she had to take some responsibility...

After being rejected, Ma's wife continued to persuade her eldest sister-in-law, Zhou Ma. Unable to prove that her youngest son was a capable and reliable person, she changed to the emotional route, begging Zhou Ma to consider her nephew's future and help him, saying that when Ma Lusheng had a good future in the capital, he would definitely repay his aunt, and so on...

But in fact, in Chang'an where the Zhou family was dominant, Ma Lusheng, the son of Zhou's in-law, could not get a good job, or he could not keep the job for long after getting it. How could it be different in the capital? Not to mention Ma, even Zhou Ma, who had always had a deep relationship with her brother, did not think that her second nephew could make a name for himself in the capital. However, compared with Ma's frank attitude, Zhou Ma's tone when talking to her nephew was more tactful. She hoped that Ma Lusheng could be patient, keep a job at ease, and slowly seek promotion. Since he did not have outstanding talents, as long as he could let his superiors see that he was honest, hardworking, and cautious, he would also have the hope of being appreciated. But if he did not even complete his three-year term, how could he expect any general to look at him differently and think that he was a person worthy of promotion?
To be honest, Zhou Ma felt that her sister-in-law's eagerness for quick success and instant benefits delayed her nephew. If it weren't for his mother, Ma's wife, who always had high expectations and was eager for her younger son to get a higher position, he might not have ended up like this. He is not young anymore, and his son will be an adult in a few years. If he continues to be muddle-headed and only listens to his mother's arrangements without any ideas of his own, then even if he is lucky enough to find a career in the capital, it will not last long.

Zhou Ma wanted to persuade her sister-in-law and nephew, but her sister-in-law could not listen to her words. The two of them parted unhappily.

When Uncle Ma's wife took her youngest son out, she scolded her two sisters-in-law. Her words were very unpleasant, as if they would have a miserable end in the future without the support of their brothers, sisters-in-law and nephews from their mother's side.

Ma recalled the harsh words her sister-in-law had said at that time, and suddenly she felt her anger rising to her head again: "It's not like my elder sister and I don't have children and grandchildren! For more than 30 years, my elder sister has been bullied by the third branch of the Zhou family, and I have suffered in the border areas. When have I ever had the support of my family? Didn't I just hold on by myself?! Count on them? How can I count on them?!"

Haitang quickly comforted her: "Grandma, don't be angry. Auntie is a confused person, we all know that, there is no need to argue with her. If she continues to be so stubborn and offend all the relatives, Uncle Lu Sheng will still not have a good future. That is already a punishment for her."

Ma took a deep breath, "Brother, it's not easy to control her. I'm afraid he no longer considers me and my elder sister as relatives. Well, anyway, the Ma family has Ma Luyuan, so they can at least hold on for another 20 to 30 years. Ma Luyuan's son is not bad either, so the Ma family won't go bankrupt for the time being. In this case, no matter what jokes others make, it has nothing to do with me. I will leave next year, and my elder sister will also go to Beijing. I don't know how many years it will take for me to reunite with my brother. The so-called sibling love is just like this. I can be less sad when I leave!"

She always wanted to stay in Chang'an to retire, and she often persuaded her husband to go to Haixiya. But now, things have changed. Except for the Zhenguo Mansion which still stands there steadily, relatives and friends are different from before. The relatives come and go less and less, and their ideas are different from hers, so they can only maintain a superficial relationship; the eldest brother has his own wife and children, and his selfishness is getting stronger and stronger, which is becoming more and more unbearable; the eldest sister is going to follow her husband to Beijing, and the nephew's family is still uncertain about their future. Ma now thinks that she will leave Chang'an next year, and maybe she will never come back in this life, but she doesn't feel that sad in her heart. Instead, she is looking forward to reuniting with her eldest sister and her family in the capital!

Ma had a poor appetite at lunch, and Haitang tried her best to persuade her to eat a little more. Seeing that she was unwilling to eat any more, she did not force her any more. After serving her and taking a short break for half an hour, Aunt Cui came to report that the dentist had arrived.

Haitang waited for her grandmother Ma to wash and change her clothes, and then came to the living room in the front yard. As soon as she sat down, she saw the broker she had met yesterday, another fat-headed middle-aged agent, and a mother and daughter, walking into the hall to greet her.

The mother and daughter looked very thin. The mother looked no more than 30 or 40 years old, and the daughter was about 15 or 16 years old. They were both wearing fine cotton dresses and neatly combed hair. They wore no jewelry, but they had hair bands tied around their heads. They did not look like poor people. Looking closely at the skin on their faces and hands, they were smooth and white, and looked more like they came from a wealthy family. Looking at the way they saluted, the tone of their speech, and the words they used, I'm sure they had studied and learned etiquette.

How could a woman of such a good family fall to the point of selling herself into slavery?

(End of this chapter)