The atmosphere in the west wing grew heavy again after Yun Si Man was dragged away by Xiao Xin Ling.
Xiao Jin Heng stared at the luminous pearl in Xiao Xi Tian’s hand, his brow furrowed deeply, not even wanting to speak…
“Stinky brat, do you think this luminous pearl is pretty?” Xiao Xi Tian showed off.
Xiao Jin Heng said, “It’s passable!”
“How can you call it passable? This is a gift from Fourth Brother, it’s bright and round, like a little moon!” Xiao Xi Tian said with a smile.
Xiao Jin Heng: “……”
Actually, the luminous pearl he bought was bigger and brighter than this one.
It was just a pity that he couldn’t present it now.
“Little village girl, you have a birthday tomorrow, what gift do you want?” Xiao Jin Heng suddenly asked.
Xiao Xi Tian was slightly taken aback, “Mother said, as long as you come over for dinner, there’s no need to give a gift…”
Their family received gifts from Xiao Jin Heng every few days, and the Yun family didn’t know what to give in return.
Xiao Jin Heng narrowed his eyes, “You really don’t want anything?”
“Uh-huh, I don’t want anything!” Xiao Xi Tian said with a firm expression.
Xiao Jin Heng couldn’t help but laugh, “Alright then, this young master won’t have to trouble himself to prepare a gift. You’re the one who refused it yourself…”
Thus, as dawn broke, Xiao Jin Heng set off by carriage with Kong Xing Zhuo.
In order to buy a gift that the little village girl would like, he hadn’t even slept well.
Prefect Chen heard that Sweet Baby was celebrating her birthday today. After finishing his official duties, he brought Madam Huang and Chen Xiao Ran to the Yun family.
He gave a longevity lock, made of pure silver, and Madam Huang had also prepared two small floral jackets…
The weather was getting colder day by day. Yun Lao Tou was already wearing a fur coat when he went to the fields in the morning, and he would take it off when he got warm from working.
Xiao Xi Tian put on a pink floral jacket and ran around the yard.
Chen Xiao Ran sat on the threshold, hugging her legs, and watched Xiao Xi Tian with a smile.
“You’re the daughter of the Prefect?” Gao Jing De asked.
Chen Xiao Ran was startled and looked back to see a thin, weak little boy standing behind her…
“Uh-huh!” Chen Xiao Ran nodded and asked curiously, “Who are you?”
She vaguely remembered seeing this boy before, but she didn’t know whose son he was.
“My name is Gao Jing De!” Gao Jing De sat down next to Chen Xiao Ran and took out two pine nut candies from his sleeve, “Here, have some candy!”
Chen Xiao Ran looked at the candy, then glanced at Gao Jing De, “My mother said I shouldn’t eat too much candy, it’s bad for my teeth…”
Gao Jing De said, “Oh,” and peeled a piece of candy, throwing it into his mouth with a “slurp, slurp” sound, “It’s so sweet!”
Chen Xiao Ran: “……”
Was he deliberately trying to tempt her?
“Then, then I’ll try it too!” She took the other piece of candy and tasted it, “Hey, it’s not sweet at all, you lied to me!”
This candy was a bit sour, as if it had been soaked in vinegar, and it didn’t taste good.
Gao Jing De said, “I like this kind of sour candy. Do you know what sour plums are?”
Chen Xiao Ran shook her head, “I haven’t heard of them!”
“Come, I’ll take you to the village entrance to pick sour plums, they’re delicious…”
So, Chen Xiao Ran inexplicably followed Gao Jing De.
Xiao Xi Tian hugged a dog, blinked her big eyes, and watched their departing figures, suddenly understanding something.
The village chief, Fu Da Qiang, and Du Lao San, along with other villagers, all came to celebrate Sweet Baby’s birthday.
Some brought dried sand fruits, some carried a basket of eggs, and some directly brought a pig’s knuckle, all arriving at the Yun family…
Yun Lao Tou, along with his three sons, worked all morning, and in the afternoon, they began to busy themselves with entertaining guests.
Yun Si Man had taken Xiao Xin Ling up the mountain and hadn’t returned yet.
“Haha, Old Yun Tou, your family has double happiness this time! Jin He passed the imperial examination for Xiu Cai, truly bringing honor to our village!” Du Lao San praised with a smile.
Fu Da Qiang also echoed with a smile, “That’s right, with Sweet Baby’s blessings, Jin He will become the top scholar in the future, just you wait and see…”
Yun Lao Tou felt as if a halo was shining on his head after being praised like this.
Any happy event in the family was attributed to their little daughter’s good fortune.
This was because the old Yun family had been too unlucky in the past, failing at everything they did.
Farming led to a year of disaster, small businesses ended in complete loss, and even their sons’ marriages brought home a troublemaker…
But ever since Sweet Baby was born, they had enough to eat even on the road during the famine, and the family became richer day by day. Of course, this was all thanks to Sweet Baby.
“Heh heh, it’s just, just so-so!” Yun Lao Tou said with a simple smile.
The villagers: “……”
Look at you, you’re clearly overjoyed, but you have to pretend to be indifferent.
You’re asking for a beating!
In the kitchen, dishes were being prepared. Zhao Gui Hua, after coaxing Xiao Zhu Zi to sleep, also came to help.
“Mother, do you think eight dishes are enough?” Du Tie Shan asked.
Gu Shi was busy peeling potatoes, “It’s a bit few. There are many people at home today, let’s prepare a few more. Cut the salted duck eggs, stir-fry the peanuts, and cut a plate of aspic. That makes three more dishes…”
“Got it, Mother!” Du Tie Shan replied and poured out the jelly from the basin.
With Jin Huai Hua’s help, she no longer had to chop wood or dig the stove pit.
Zhao Gui Hua worked quietly. She blanched the large bones and put them in the pot to stew. After it boiled, she added the trimmed green beans, sprinkled some salt and Sichuan peppercorns, and in less than half an hour, a pot of braised pork bones with green beans was ready…
Granny Jin had sent over a few pig trotters earlier. After they were stewed, served with garlic paste, they were also a good dish to go with wine.
“Mother, did you hear? Cui Rong was pregnant with a girl but couldn’t keep it. It’s a real shame!” Zhao Gui Hua said while working.
Gu Shi had already heard from Yun Lao Tou, so she didn’t react much. She poured the prepared garlic paste into a bowl, “Perhaps she wasn’t destined for it. Whether it’s a girl or a boy, as long as they are born healthy, it’s good. Who would have thought it would die in the womb…”
She didn’t have a good impression of Liu Cui Rong. If the child was gone, then it was gone. Such a person would probably not have a good ending in the future.
At the same time, in the General’s mansion in the capital.
A middle-aged man slammed the table in anger, his short mustache trembling slightly.
He had a square face, thick eyebrows, and big eyes, exuding an extraordinary aura. Every movement carried an imposing presence…
“A bunch of useless people, what do you mean you couldn’t find her? A living person just disappeared out of thin air, inexplicably?” Gu Zhen Shan roared.
His subordinates were flustered and dared not retort.
It was a slightly older man who stepped forward and cupped his hands, “General, the young lady has been missing for too long. We searched all the way to Feiyan Village, but… but the houses there are all collapsed and uninhabited. If the eldest young lady really went there, she probably fled the famine…”
Upon hearing this, Gu Zhen Shan sighed in his heart and turned to look out the window.