The old man nodded with satisfaction and said: "It's good that you know what your sister has done for you guys, don't let her lose her sincerity by mistake, otherwise grandpa will not be able to feel at ease in the future even if you're in trouble."
"Grandpa, why do you always say such things? Qibao wants Grandpa and Grandma to stay by my side forever!" Qibao hugged one of the old man's arms as she spoke.
"Yes, yes, Grandpa will stay by Qibao's side, watch you grow up, and personally pick out a grandson-in-law for you!" The old man replied cheerfully.
After the family had dinner, it was already dark, and Qibao planned to wash up and go to bed.
"Kunkou..." Suddenly someone knocked gently on the door.
After Qibao opened the door, she realized that three of Xu Dabo's brothers were standing in the doorway.
Qibao was a little surprised and asked: "Eldest uncle and second uncle and father, why have you come to see me at this time? Is something the matter?"
Xu Dabo rubbed his hands together and laughed nervously: "Ah, Qi Bao, we snuck in here without letting your grandfather know. It's dark already, did you go to sleep yet?"
Qibao was speechless. Even if she fell asleep, she was woken up by the knock on the door...
"Brother, if you have something to say, just say it. Qibao is not an outsider!" Xu Erbo said.
"Qibao, father wants to see how that night pearl lights up." Xu Laosan chuckled. "I've only heard about it before and never seen it."
Qibao laughed and said: "Okay, I'll put the light out and show you what it looks like when it's glowing."
"Eldest, Second and Third, what are you doing in Qibao's room if you're not asleep?"
At this moment, the old man's voice sounded behind the three brothers.
The three brothers froze stiffly.
Elder Xu smiled awkwardly and turned back to see his father looking at them with a serious face, so he explained: "I... We just came to see if Qibao was sleeping. We came to protect Qibao's safety."
"You think I'm dumb enough not to know what's going on in my own family? You lot probably came to see the night pearl, didn't you?" the old man exposed their intentions.
"Father... I..."
"Bastard! If you're coming to look, you should've called me along too! Your father has never seen how the night pearl glows either, what kind of filial son are you being?" the old man scolded him.
"Ah! Father, do you want to see it too? That scared me!" Uncle Xu patted his chest.
"Aha, you old man! You tricked me into coming here for fresh air, and now you're trying to breathe outside Qibao's room? If I hadn't heard the commotion, I'd have been tricked right over!"
Mrs. Wang stood behind her husband with her hands on her hips.
"Wife, I'm not lying. I heard these three brats stirring up trouble, so I came to check. How am I lying?" The elder man reddened slightly but then continued firmly.
"All right, all right! Do you really need to say more? You were pacing back and forth inside the room this whole time, how could I not know what was going on? Since you want to come out, call your wives as well, so that our family can witness this together." Mrs. Wang said.
By the time Mrs. Zhang and the others arrived, Xiaoba had unexpectedly followed them along.
The other wives saw their husbands there and grew suspicious.
"Husband, weren't you at the toilet? Why did you run off to Qibao's room?" Mrs. Li asked.
Mrs. Zhang echoed: "Right, didn't you just say you needed to go to the toilet?"
Mrs. Wang said angrily: "Yes! They are indeed brothers. Even the excuses they came up with are exactly the same!"
Qibao was delighted.
The old man said: "Today we shall witness exactly how this night pearl glows!"
Qibao asked: "Grandpa, do we need to call for older brothers?"
"No." the old man replied: "They're too young and can't keep secrets well, it would be troublesome if they blabbed!"
Qibao extinguished the oil lamps in the room and closed all the doors and windows. Seeing everyone's eyes were fixed on her with anticipation, Qibao found it quite amusing—but she didn't delay any further, pulling out the box containing the night pearl from her personal space.
Qibo opened the lid, and the family gathered around her. In an instant, a soft white light illuminated their faces...
"This... It's so bright, truly beautiful..." Mrs. Wang exclaimed excitedly.
"Indeed! How beautiful!"
Xu Dabo exclaimed: "If we put this thing in a room, there'd be no need for oil lamps anymore!" the old man said grumpily.
"Keep dreaming!" the old man retorted. "Do you think this precious item is meant to serve as an oil lamp?"
Qibao said: "Maybe it can really be used as an oil lamp in the future?"
"Those are too extravagant! I don't dare to think about it, I don't dare to think about it." Said Xu Erbo.
Xiaoba watched the light curiously, but because he was still shorter than the table, he hopped up with his front paws on the night-pearl table to see what this glowing thing looked like.
Uncle Xu feared Xiaoba might knock the night pearl off the table and onto the ground, so he hurriedly grabbed Xiaoba's armpits and lifted him back down: "Hold on tight to me while you look, don't touch!
After everyone admired it for a while, the old man said: "Okay, everyone has watched it, and it's getting late, so go back to bed!"
"Okay, everyone has watched it, and it's getting late, so go back to bed!"
After everyone was gone, Qibao yawned, closed the door, fell on the bed and went to sleep.
The next day, after Qibao and her brothers went to school, an uninvited guest came to the house.
Wang looked at the woman at the door wearing a flowery green dress, with a big bright red flower on her head and powder on her face, and asked with some confusion: "Are you..."
The woman smiled obsequiously: "I presume this must be the grandmother of the candidate? You certainly look different from everyone else! One can tell at first glance that you're blessed!"
Mrs. said: "Thank you, but who are you? We haven't met before, have we?"
The woman finally introduced herself. "I'm a matchmaker in town, known as Madame Xi, and I came today specifically to find a match for your grandson!"
Mrs. Wang was a little confused and said: "I didn't invite anyone to come here on my behalf, so have you perhaps mistaken me for someone else?"
"No, no mistake! Someone in town took a liking to your grandson, and they've asked me to come speak to you about it."
"I apologize, Madame Xi, but I'm afraid it's too early to discuss such matters with Wenwu yet!"
The matchmaker said: Your grandson will turn twelve this year, right? He's not too young anymore. Besides, the conditions of the family I mentioned are not bad. The family is also in business and has some wealth. They only have one daughter, so it would be perfect for your family to develop a relationship with them now, allowing the children to grow closer as they age. Once they reach marriageable age, you'll soon have great-grandchildren!"
The three sisters-in-law in the room also heard the sound, and hurriedly came to Mrs. Wang's side and heard what the matchmaker said.
After hearing her words, Mrs. Zhang promptly spoke up: "Auntie, thank you for your kindness, but my Wenwu is still young, and his focus lies solely on his studies. It wouldn't do well if he were to let anything distract him while he's still studying, please go back and talk to that family. Thank them for fancying my family Wenwu, this is a little token of my appreciation, thank you!" After speaking, she took out two taels of silver from her waist and stuffed it into the matchmaker's hand.
The matchmaker clutched at the silver, somewhat troubled. She knew that the girl's family was eyeing Xu Wenwu's status as first among all the child scholars, appreciating his boundless potential, which was why they wished to settle the marriage ahead of time.
Indeed, the girl's family was acting rather ambitious by setting their sights on the Xu family. Though the girl's family did have some assets and only one daughter, they were still far behind compared to the Xu family.
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