How Liang Xin Got His Name

"Dad, I understand. I'll go right now."

Liang Xin knew what to do. Now that he was back, he would play the good son.

He would just do whatever they asked.

The reason his father had waited until the meal was ready to send him for his grandparents, instead of inviting them over earlier,

was that the two houses weren't far apart.

"Wait."

His mother stopped Liang Xin and walked in, carrying a basin in her hands.

"There are two jin of meat here. Take it over to your eldest uncle's family!"

"Your eldest uncle takes care of your grandpa and grandma. We already owe them so much; we can't keep all the good food to ourselves!"

Hearing his mother say that made Liang Xin happy.

Even though the family was in such dire straits, his mother was still willing to give half the meat to his eldest uncle's family.

Clearly, she was a virtuous and good daughter-in-law and sister-in-law!

That was exactly the kind of spirit Liang Xin liked!

Two minutes later, Liang Xin carried the small basin to his eldest uncle's house, a few doors down from his own.

Back when his father had married, had a child, and split off from the family,

he had very much wanted to live next door to his elder brother. That way, he would be closer to his elderly parents and could fulfill his filial duty alongside his brother.

But a house plot wasn't something you could just claim wherever you wanted.

The house plots on every side of their home already belonged to someone.

What, just so you could fulfill your filial duty, did the rest of us neighbors deserve to make way for you?

That wasn't how the world worked.

Besides, even if they were willing to move, what about their house? Were they supposed to sell it to you?

Your family was poor as fuck. Could you afford it?

So they had waited several years before a house plot relatively close to his eldest uncle's home became available.

The two brothers and their elderly parents had pooled every bit of their savings, yet had only managed to build these two small adobe houses.

"Grandpa, Grandma, are you home?"

Liang Xin called out before he even entered the house.

"Who's here? That sounds like Xinxin to me!"

"I think so too! Quick, see if it's him!"

His mom and dad simply called Liang Xin "Eldest."

But the old couple were used to calling him Xinxin.

That pet name alone showed how much the old couple doted on Liang Xin.

Speaking of Liang Xin's name, there was a funny story behind it.

His grandfather had given him the name Liang Xin.

The reason he had chosen the character Xin was that he had gotten into an argument with someone else at the time.

That person had mocked the old geezer, saying he could forget about ever turning his life around and would stay poor until the day he died.

Liang Xin had just been born then.

So his grandfather had given him the character Xin.

Xin was made up of three characters for gold!

Didn't that mean he was destined for great wealth and high status in the future?

Even if he couldn't rise to a high status, great wealth alone would do!

Then his grandfather had taken to calling him Xinxin as a nickname.

That was six characters for gold!

When Liang Xin entered the house, he saw the two elders, who had heard him, their faces full of delight as they were just about to get off the bed to greet their precious eldest grandson.

"Xinxin, you're back?"

"Xinxin, when did you get back?"

"Grandpa, Grandma, slow down."

"I just got home. I brought some meat back from the city, and the meal's just been made. Come on, let's go to my house to eat."

"Good! My grandson is so filial. I have to go and eat this meal!"

"You old man, I think you're just craving a good meal!"

"Humph! Nonsense!"

The old man really wasn't craving the meal.

He didn't even know what they had made, so what was there to crave?

He only knew that his grandson had come to invite him to eat, and whether the two of them went or not, his grandson still had to go back for the meal.

If he didn't go, wouldn't that mean he had only just seen his precious eldest grandson, only for them to part again right away?

So he wanted to go along and spend a little more time with his grandson!

Liang Xin was eighteen, and his grandparents actually weren't that old. They were only in their early fifties.

People married early at the time. There were plenty who married and had children at sixteen or seventeen.

Liang Xin's parents hadn't been quite that early, but they hadn't been much later.

When his father was Liang Xin's age, Liang Xin had already been in his mother's belly and had almost been ready to be born!

It had been much the same for his grandparents, which was why they were only in their early fifties.

In later years, people in their early fifties could even be considered middle-aged.

A few who took good care of themselves barely looked any different from young people!

That wasn't the case at this time.

In this era, the conditions were poor and nutrition was lacking. Add to that the aging winds of the countryside, and they already looked very old.

"Few have lived to seventy since ancient times" was no empty saying here.

Generally, anyone who lived to sixty was considered to have enjoyed a long life, and their funeral was a celebration.

So the old couple no longer worked for the production team.

When they had nothing else to do, they tended their garden, and if they had the energy, they could even help tidy up their second son's home.

Grandma saw the small basin in Liang Xin's hands, with a piece of cloth covering it, and asked, "Xinxin, what are you holding?"

"Oh, this is the meat I brought back from the city. By the way, where should I put it? I need to take the basin back."

"Meat?"

At this time, there was no one who wouldn't get excited hearing that word.

Grandma was no exception. Her legs and feet seemed much more nimble as she hurried over and lifted the cloth.

She was clearly astonished to see the big piece of fatty pork, a full two jin.

Then she said, "Why did you bring it over? Leave it at home so your mom can render the fat! Oh, and cut a little off to make something for you to eat, too. You look like you've gotten thinner, Xinxin. You need to build yourself back up!"