The three stayed at home for half an hour before getting up to pay their respects to the Meng Household couple.
The Meng Household couple were buried together at the foot of the mountain outside the village, with their tombstone facing the direction of their home.
Meng Anzhi placed the joss paper next to the stele, and then placed the copied imperial edict beside the fire.
With everything prepared, Meng Anzhi and Meng Anci knelt before the tomb and solemnly kowtowed three times.
"Father, Mother... Your daughter is now a doctor, treating patients every day, and she also runs a charity clinic, taking in homeless children. Your daughter always remembers your words, living a good life and taking good care of herself."
Meng Anci then spoke, his voice heavy, "Father, Mother, I have passed the imperial examination with top honors. I will protect my sister from now on. You can rest in peace now."
Jin Shanyao to one side, gazing at the sky, the earth, and the air, sighing softly to himself.
Her benefactor had long since been reincarnated; what they were worshipping was merely a skeleton. But she dared not say that in this life, one must always have something to remember, something to feel at peace.
Only after the paper money had burned out did the siblings begin to clean the tombstone. "Father, Mother... I want to move you to a different place. My brother and I don't like Little River Village."
Meng Anci pulled the grass off the grave mound. "My sister and I discussed it. We were worried that you wouldn't be used to moving too far away, so we chose Lush Mountain for you."
That mountain belongs to our family, you can stay there as you please... I'll move our house there later and rebuild it exactly as it was, so that when I come home I can see you right away, wouldn't that be wonderful?"
Meng Anzhi straightened up and turned around in front of the tombstone. "Mom... do you think this dress looks good on me? My aunt bought it for me, and she also taught me medicine. You have no idea how amazing she is. She can knock down a big man with one slap..."
Her voice trailed off as she spoke, "If only my aunt had come sooner, my mother wouldn't have died, and our family wouldn't have been bullied by the villagers."
Jin Shanyao her head, thinking that no matter when she came, her benefactor's death would not change... This was fate.
She didn't say anything, and waited until the siblings finished their prayers before getting up and walking back.
Old Woman Li had already prepared the meal and was standing at the courtyard gate looking out. Seeing Jin Shanyao and the others return, she happily called into the yard, " Choudan... tell your mother to serve the food."
"Okay... I know, Grandma," as soon as Choudan finished speaking, Old Woman Li went out to greet them. "You've returned at just the right time. I've sent Choudan to bring out the food."
A hot meal gives me energy... These speckled chickens are all raised by me, fed with tadpoles I caught from the river; the meat is incredibly delicious."
Jin Shanyao and said, "Auntie, you've gone to so much trouble. I happen to have something to discuss with you..."
Auntie Li was uneasy. The Meng Household now had a large number of servants, and she was afraid that she had only earned so much money. Just then, Choudan brought over the food.
"Auntie, where do you think would be a good place to put this food?"
"Brother Choudan, give it to me..." Meng Anzhi readily accepted the food. Choudan stared at her intently; she was so beautiful, like a fairy...
Ouch... Old Woman Li gave Choudan brat a hard slap on the head and scolded, "Go back to eat, don't just stand there like an idiot."
With a flushed Choudan, Chou Dan slunk home, stealing a glance at Jin Shanyao as he entered. He thought to himself, "If only she were my aunt! Sigh... I'm so envious!"
Jin Shanyao invited Old Woman Li into the house, and the two sat on the kang (a heated brick bed) chatting. "Auntie, we've been so fortunate to have you take care of the family all these years. Now Anci has become the top scholar..."
Before she could finish speaking, Old Woman Li jumped up from the kang (a heated brick bed) and exclaimed, "What... Anci became the top scholar in the imperial examination?!"
Old Woman Li rubbed her ears vigorously, thinking she was hard of hearing and had misheard.
Jin Shanyao laughed and said loudly, "That's right... he's the top scholar! The official documents haven't come down yet, but you'll all know when the news reaches Willow and Poplar County."
Old Woman Li stood on the ground clapping her hands incessantly, "Oh my god... Anci has become the top scholar... Anci... Anci..." As she spoke, she began to look around, and finally spotted the other person outside the courtyard.
She rushed forward, pulled Meng Anci close, and looked him up and down, grinning from ear to ear, "Oh my... this old woman's life hasn't been in vain, to actually know a top scholar!"
Embarrassed by her words, Meng Anci blushed and said, " Grandma Li... your good days are yet to come, you can't let them pass by in vain."
Old Woman Li laughed heartily, "Yes... yes, we can't let our lives go to waste."
As she spoke, she remembered that Jin Shanyao had called her for something, so she hurriedly ran into the house, calling out, "Aunt Meng Household, what do you need me for?"
Jin Shanyao pulled her to sit on the edge of the kang (a heated brick bed). "Auntie, Anci is going to the capital to take up an official post in two months. He probably won't be able to come back, so the two children want to move the Meng Household's graves and this house to Lush Mountain."
Old Woman Li was suspicious. "The house... moving to Windy and Lush Mountain?" How could they move it? She'd never heard of anyone moving their house!
Jin Shanyao explained, "It means demolishing the house and recreating it exactly as it was on Lush Mountain, so that it will be more convenient for ancestor worship in the future."
Old Woman Li finally understood, and sighed, "It's good that they're moving away... The two children have never been treated kindly in the village since they were little. It'll be peaceful once they leave."
"Auntie, Qing Yang told me that you've been ostracized by the villagers a lot over the years for trying to keep this house."
Old Woman Li was quite frank, and smiled, " Miss Qing, you're exaggerating. The villagers ostracize me simply because they're jealous of how easily I make money. Ask them, who doesn't envy a job where you can earn five taels of silver just by looking after a house?"
Jin Shanyao glanced at Meng Anzhi and said, "Auntie... the two children want to sell the village's farmland and this house site together. If you like it, we'll sell it to you for fifteen taels of silver."
Old Woman Li exclaimed, "Oh dear, that won't do... those are five acres of prime farmland, worth at least twenty-five taels of silver, plus the land for the house..."
Jin Shanyao interrupted her, "Auntie... you're the only one in Little River Village willing to help us... now that we're doing better, you're the first person we naturally think of."
The five mu of land was leased to the village head for ten years, and there are still three years left on the lease... We'll naturally cover the breach of contract fee to avoid you suffering a loss.
Old Woman Li was both happy and embarrassed, feeling awkward for having taken such a good deal from someone... The two talked for quite a while before Old Woman Li calmed down a bit.
She held the hand that the Jin Shanyao and sighed, "It's so good... Seeing you all getting better day by day makes me truly happy. You don't know how your sister lived after Third Old Meng passed away..."
She waved her hand, "Don't even mention it... anyone could come up and step on you there."
Meng Anzhi, who was listening nearby, felt a lump in her throat and quickly got up and left the house. She squatted by the well, staring blankly into it.
Meng Anci walked to her side and asked softly, "What are you looking at?"
Meng Anzhi's throat tightened, and after a moment of silence, she chuckled softly, "I still remember when I was little... when Dad got cantaloupes, he would put them in a wooden bucket and sink it into the well to chill them. When we wanted to eat them, we would take them out, and they were especially sweet and refreshing."
"I don't remember."
"You were just learning to walk back then, how could you remember all that?"
Meng Anzhi stood up and said to Meng Anci, "Let's go, let's draw down the layout of this house, and then build an identical one based on the blueprints when we get back."
"Okay, I'll draw it, and you can give me pointers."
As they talked, the two went to grind ink, carefully observing the small courtyard as they slowly began to draw.