The paternal grandfather of Miaozhen and the father of Xu Yiming, Xu Erpeng, and Xu Sanlei. He and his wife were originally from Huguang. Due to the change rice to mulberry policy, Suzhou was short on grain, so the old couple opened a small rice shop at Maple Bridge. They raised three sons and one daughter. When Miaozhen was born, they still lived in the cramped house behind the rice shop. Later, after their sons were all married, they passed the rice shop to their youngest son, Xu Sanlei. At the time of the story, he is referred to as Grandfather Xu Laoguan and lives in one of the rooms of the family house at Maple Bridge.
