Bai Shan went there first, intending to persuade the other party with reason first, and if that didn't work, he would go to his father-in-law and uncles. If that didn't work, he would use other means.
But the elders of the Bai family insisted, "Zhi Shan, this is your eldest son, how can you not take the surname Bai?"
"That's right, even if you want to adopt, you should choose a child other than the eldest son. Besides, you only have one son now, and he will bear his surname when he is born. What if you don't have any more children in the future, or you can't have a son?"
Bai Shan: "...the fifth uncle is too worried. I don't believe that I can't give birth to a second son with Dr. Zhou here."
Everyone: "..."
Bai Shandao: "Our second child will inherit the Xia family's ancestral lineage. It was agreed upon by our two families before we got married. People cannot stand without trust. My nephew does not want to be a treacherous person..."
"Nonsense, I always thought the second child was the second son. This is your eldest son!"
"Of course there is no difference between male and female," Bai Shan said: "If the second child is a daughter, then she will take the Xia surname and inherit the Xia family's ancestral worship. There will be no distinction between men and women."
"If word spreads about your... stubbornness, wouldn't it disturb the religious rules?"
But someone thought for a moment and suggested, "Why don't we change the eldest daughter's surname to Xia? This will not break the promise, right?"
Bai Shan's face darkened, and even Zheng, who had been sitting quietly aside, became angry and said angrily: "My eldest sister is equally noble and has said that there is no distinction between men and women. Why should my uncles force me?"
"Since there is no distinction between men and women, why can't the eldest daughter take the surname Xia? It can be seen that there is still a difference."
Bai Shan said with a cold face: "Uncle Eighth, be careful, there is no difference between my daughter and my son here. It would be fine if she had been agreed to take the surname Xia early in the morning, but now she is Bai Jingxing, and suddenly she was changed to Bai Jingxing because of her younger brother.
Xia Jingxing, that means there is a difference. Is Eighth Uncle trying to drive a wedge between our father-daughter relationship and their brother-sister relationship?"
He said displeasedly: "In my opinion, this is the root of the chaos in the family. Are my uncles and uncles really doing good for me?"
"What do you mean by this? Do you suspect that we have ulterior motives? Fourth Aunt, is this child Zhishan resenting the family?"
Mrs. Liu asked calmly: "Are you asking me for not teaching my grandson well?"
Everyone choked. Among the people present, Mrs. Liu was the most senior. With Bai Shan here, they really couldn't question her unless someone of her own seniority came, or...
Someone glanced at Bai Shan vaguely.
Or like ten or twenty years ago, when the head of the household was weak and had no one to rely on, seniority was of no use.
Bai Shan felt that there would be no progress if the argument continued, so he cast a vague glance at the servants waiting aside.
The servant quietly retreated, and after a while Bai Erlang came up with Lao Zhoutou and Zhou Dalang.
Lao Zhoutou said with a smile: "My in-laws are all here. There are a lot of red eggs boiled in the kitchen at the back. They are all eggs from my farm. They taste very good. I will send some for you to try.
.”
Zhou Lang held a basin in his hand and distributed red eggs to them with great enthusiasm, two for each person, showing no partiality.
Seeing the Zhou family coming, Mrs. Bai calmed down her anger and took the egg with a smile, not wanting to discuss the matter in front of them.
Old Zhoutou stuffed two more for Mr. Zhuang and Mrs. Liu, then sat down under Mrs. Liu and said with a smile: "My mother-in-law, I heard Man Bao say that when they are officials, they have some kind of family leave, right?"
"
Mrs. Liu held the red egg in her hand and said "yes" with a smile.
Lao Zhoutou said excitedly: "I wonder if the family visit holiday will be long. If it is long enough, I want my uncle and Man Bao to take the child to Shangzhou. This child has inherited the surname of his maternal grandmother, so why should he go?
Just make a sacrifice and tell them."
The people from the Bai family couldn't sit still and couldn't help but say: "This child's name has just been chosen, and we haven't decided whether it will be Xia or Bai."
"Why haven't you decided yet? Didn't you say that your name will be Xia Mu?" Lao Zhoutou immediately looked at Bai Shan, "Uncle, this was agreed upon early in the morning. Your second child will take the surname of Xia. You can't go back on it."
Zhou Lang also said: "Yes, brother-in-law, you are a scholar and an official, so you have to be trustworthy."
Bai Shan quickly responded humbly, "Yes", and then looked at everyone in the Bai family hesitantly.
Mr. Bai Wu and others remained silent for a long time before someone murmured: "Then we can't let our eldest son take his surname."
Master Bai Wu then discussed with Old Zhou: "Mr. Zhou, this is Zhishan's eldest son. It's not good to change his surname to him. How about waiting for the next child?"
"Yes, yes, they can still have children anyway, and the same will happen for the next child."
"Since they are all the same, why can't this one work?" Lao Zhoutou said: "I said it well before we got married. The second child will take the surname of Xia. I also said the same when I was pregnant with the child. You will change your words after he is born. Who knows?
Will you change your tune again when the next child is born?"
"Of course not. This is because of the special circumstances. He is the eldest son."
"I don't think so," Lao Zhou looked at them suspiciously. "Did you realize that this child is very smart, so you are reluctant to give it up? But what if the next child is also very smart and born very well?"
?Aren’t you willing too?”
Everyone in the Bai family:...
In the end, the hall became a battlefield between the Zhou family and the Bai family. Mrs. Liu and Bai Shan were of no use and were left alone, unable to say a word.
The Bai family insisted that the child was the eldest son and could not have his surname; the Zhou family insisted on the promise made during the engagement and asked them if they wanted to break the promise.
The Bai family can't say clearly that we are going to break the promise. After all, the Yu family's reputation is not good. It would be easier if Bai Shan was willing to speak at this time. However, he also insisted on his face and looked like he would never break his promise...
…
In the end, everyone from the Bai family was so angry that they were exhausted mentally and physically when they left.
"In the end, it turns out that we are no longer human beings inside and outside."
"If this child takes the surname of Xia, it will be embarrassing for us, the Bai family, if word spreads. Even the eldest son takes his surname. Wouldn't he become the laughingstock of the family?"
"Bai Shan is too lonely and doesn't think about the clan at all."
After seeing off all the guests, Lao Zhou took a cup of water to drink, moistened his throat and said, "In the capital, it's rare to talk so much in one day."
Bai Shan hurriedly gave him some tea and said apologetically: "I have made my father-in-law suffer."
Lao Zhoutou waved his hand to show that he didn't mind. He frowned, "But I think they are very persistent. I'm afraid this matter won't be easy to handle."
He hesitated for a moment, then asked: "Will this matter affect you and Man Bao? In fact, they are right. This is your eldest son after all. If it is really inconvenient, let him follow Xia for the next child.
That’s the last name.”
Bai Shan shook his head, "Father-in-law, it's him. It wouldn't be good if it were any other child."