The village of Wang was now deep into the autumn harvest season, and everyone was bustling with the fieldwork. No one dared to spare any effort now, as the grain they gathered was the very lifeline of their homes!

The Wang Youfu household, thanks to the short-term laborers Youfu had hired earlier, managed without any frantic scrambling; everything proceeded exactly as he had planned.

Just as they had during the wheat harvest, the Wang Youfu family entrusted Wang Qingshan with looking after the mill, and Wang Qinghua returned home to help with the grain gathering. Naturally, just like before, the Wang Youfu family also lent a hand to Wang Qingshan to harvest his family's grain as well.

As Wang Qinghua helped his family bring in the harvest, he couldn't help thinking about Qingchen, who had been busy at home during the wheat harvest last time. This time, however, Qingchen was in the county seat. He wondered if everything was going smoothly for him over there. But then, he thought again, Qingchen had always been resourceful; he could surely take care of himself, and Wang Qinghua felt much more at ease.

This year, the family's cultivated land had significantly increased, so the busy days stretched on a bit longer. Thankfully, it didn't interfere with Little Qinghe’s zhuazhou ceremony. Once all the field crops were gathered, the Mid-Autumn Festival was fast approaching, which was also Little Qinghe’s birthday. Fortunately, Madam Yang and the others had already prepared everything needed for the zhuazhou ceremony, so now the family only needed to prepare things for the Mid-Autumn Festival itself.

Wang Youfu was deeply fond of Little Qinghe. Thinking back, during the early years of his previous three children, the family hadn't split up yet, and the Old Madam favored the eldest branch. They had no money either, so the children inevitably had to endure hardship. After the family split, they hoped things would improve, but they received so little property in the division that their lives became even harder. Under such circumstances, Wang Youfu naturally had little energy left to pay attention to the children; he was entirely consumed with managing the land they had received! Furthermore, his prevailing thought then was that for a child, simply having enough to fill their belly was good enough.

Things were different now; the family was much more prosperous. This allowed Wang Youfu, when he had spare time, to pay attention to his son. However, his eldest and second sons were already grown, capable of standing on their own, and rarely needed parental involvement. As for his daughter, Wang Youfu still held his old view that daughters were just expenses to be married off. Still, since the family was now quite wealthy, he didn't much mind setting aside a dowry.

Thus, among all the children in the house, the one Wang Youfu cared for and doted on the most now was Little Qinghe. Sometimes, when not overly busy, he would even set aside time to teach his son how to speak. This surprised Madam Yang for quite a while, as Wang Youfu had never acted this way when his older children were young!

On the day of the Mid-Autumn Festival, the Wang Youfu family followed tradition by first visiting familiar relatives and friends to deliver festival gifts. Afterward, they plunged into preparing for Little Qinghe’s zhuazhou ceremony. By now, Wang Youfu’s family was on good terms with quite a few households, so many people visited them that day. What Madam Yang hadn't anticipated was that her sister-in-law, Wang Guifang, would also come. Looking at her, her complexion was much better than before—likely a result of her spirits lifting now that her marriage issue had been settled.

Madam Yang was genuinely pleased that Wang Guifang had come. She had always sympathized with Guifang’s earlier misfortune, especially after she had suffered so much. Afterward, with so much happening in the family, she hesitated to call Guifang over. It wasn't that she considered Guifang’s status as a divorced woman inauspicious, but rather she feared Guifang might feel awkward, putting her in a difficult position regarding whether to come or not.

Now, with Wang Guifang taking the initiative to visit, it clearly showed she had moved past her previous pain and wasn’t moping around all day anymore.

When Madam Yang saw Wang Guifang carrying some items, she exclaimed, "Oh, you shouldn't have! Your presence alone made me happy enough; bringing gifts makes me feel too formal. What am I supposed to say about this?"

Wang Guifang smiled. "To be honest, I didn't buy these myself. This is what Qian'er asked me to bring back when I visited her previously. I can't use so much myself, and it felt a waste to let such good things go unused. So, I brought them over for Qinghe’s zhuazhou today. If Sister-in-law doesn't find them unworthy, that’s giving me face enough."

Madam Yang feigned anger. "Bringing gifts only pleases me; how could I possibly find fault with them?"

"That’s good, as long as Sister-in-law is pleased," Wang Guifang seized the opportunity to say.

"Very well, then I shall accept them," Madam Yang replied with a hint of helplessness.

The subsequent zhuazhou ceremony proceeded smoothly. Little Qinghe grasped a book and began flipping through its pages with an air of profound seriousness, which sent the assembled adults into peals of laughter. To think such a small child could understand anything, yet he put on such a convincing act—truly adorable beyond measure.

Consequently, Little Qinghe was passed around, held by numerous people throughout the day. Some even playfully tried to coax him into calling out names. Unknowingly, perhaps because he was in an especially good mood, Little Qinghe obliged them, calling out as prompted. This only made everyone like him even more.

Wang Youfu was overjoyed. Upon seeing his youngest son grab a book, he immediately thought that this child was destined to be as accomplished as his second brother, Qingchen, or perhaps even more so. After all, when Qingchen had his zhuazhou, he hadn't grabbed a book! What had Qingchen grabbed back then? It seemed to be a copper coin! No wonder Qingchen was so adept at earning money from such a young age—that must be the reason. If Qingchen, who didn't grab a book, was such a scholar, then the one who did grab a book must surely surpass him!

Other children from the village were also present for Little Qinghe's ceremony today, such as Quan'er and Gou Sheng from the old homestead. Someone later suggested putting the three children together, and watching the three plump, fair-skinned boys, the crowd became even more animated.

Quan'er was the oldest of the three, and also the quietest in temperament. While Gou Sheng and Little Qinghe crawled everywhere, even pulling themselves up to stand, Quan'er merely sat and watched the other two play. This delighted the onlookers—what a well-behaved child!

However, once the adults noticed that even when teased, the child showed no particular reaction, their interest waned. They turned their attention back to coaxing the other two lively boys.

Of course, although these onlookers didn't voice their thoughts aloud, they were secretly murmuring to themselves: Could this child be dull-witted? Poor He Shi; not only did she fail to bear children for so many years, but the child she finally adopted turned out to be a simpleton.

He Shi, standing nearby, could guess some of what people were thinking, but in her view, the reality was far from that. Quan'er was merely quiet in nature, not foolish. Wouldn't she know after spending every day with her son? Quan'er was only truly close to her and Qingshan. Although he could speak many words already, he simply preferred not to talk much. He Shi had worried intensely at first, until Qingshan reassured her, saying that because Quan'er was quiet, he would certainly be able to settle down and study diligently later on. Thinking it over, He Shi agreed, and her worries lessened.

But here today, hearing her son labeled as foolish made He Shi feel quite uneasy. Yet, after a moment, she found peace again. Whether he was foolish or not would become clear once her son grew up and started studying; there was no need to dwell on such gossip now—it was meaningless.

Afterward, everyone was captivated by the energetic antics of Gou Sheng and Little Qinghe. Look how rambunctious those two little rascals were! Their little bodies were sturdy; they looked easy to raise. For a farming family, a child growing up strong was more important than anything else. In this ancient era where child mortality rates were high, sturdiness signified that the child would likely survive to adulthood and become another strong laborer for the family in the future.

Little Qinghe’s zhuazhou ceremony passed smoothly that day without any mishaps, which put the Wang Youfu family in very high spirits, especially since Little Qinghe had managed to steal some of the limelight and was thoroughly adored.

After the zhuazhou rite, Wang Youfu immediately picked up Little Qinghe. "Haha, it seems our family will have another scholar in the future!"

Madam Yang quickly countered, "Husband, you mustn't say things like that outside, or people will laugh. The zhuazhou is just for good luck; how can it be taken seriously?"

"Ah, you can't say that," Wang Youfu insisted happily. "Didn't Qingchen grab a copper coin during his zhuazhou? Look how much money Qingchen is earning now. So, it’s quite accurate! Our youngest son will surely be successful too."

Madam Yang heard Wang Youfu’s twisted logic. Though she knew it was highly unlikely, seeing his persistence, she didn't argue and let him have his moment.

Meanwhile, in the Wang family's old homestead, the atmosphere was somewhat different. The Elder and Old Madam had been made aware of the private whispers at Little Qinghe’s ceremony suggesting Quan'er was simpleminded, as they had attended as well.

The Old Madam was contemplating this matter while speaking to the Elder: "What kind of business is this Qingshan’s wife engaging in? Adopting a child is one thing, but adopting a fool? Is that proper?"

The Elder, smoking his pipe, grunted upon hearing her words, "Since they've adopted him, what more can be done?"

"Our family cannot have an adopted fool! If this gets out, won't we be laughed at mercilessly?" the Old Madam complained fretfully.

The Elder looked at his wife and asked, "Then what do you suggest should be done?"