The general kneels on the washboard again

Yue Niang and Zhou Ruoyan left under everyone's gaze and went home to continue preparing the New Year's Eve dinner.

Yang accepted the punishment, but after all she was a peasant woman who worked all year round, so she was still conscious and only cried out in the ancestral hall.

Zhang Wang and his son secretly went to the ancestral hall at night and carried the person back.

He was too embarrassed to save face. He thought that just for a chicken, he had enough at home, so why would he steal from someone else's house?

Zhang Jian also sneaked back home.

Yang cried out in pain, and cursed Yue Niang bitterly: "This little whore shall not die a good death. Wait until I am better~"

Before he could finish his words, Zhang Wang interrupted him: "That's enough. You insisted on stealing, and now you've been caught red-handed. You should learn your lesson after receiving the punishment."

Yang was unconvinced: "During the day, you didn't dare to say a word and let them bully me, and now you're scolding me? You didn't eat the chicken? I ate it alone?"

Her focus was off as always.

Seeing that his mother could not move, Zhang Jian boldly stood aside.

Seeing this, Yang wanted to rush up and hit him, but ended up falling heavily to the ground.

Zhang Wang picked her up and threw her on the bed. Yang cried out again.

Zhang Wang couldn't stand it any longer: "Calm down, Xiaojian isn't to blame for this."

"If not him, who else can I blame? If he had burned the chicken feathers, that little beggar from the Fu family would have no clue what he was doing..."

Zhang Jian also yelled, "If you didn't insist on stealing from her family, why not steal from someone else's? I'm going to the academy next New Year, and how can I go with a mother like you?"

After saying that, Zhang Wang left Yang muttering to herself on the bed and led Zhang Jian out.

Let’s look at Yue’s family.

Yue Niang asked a blacksmith to make a stove for her, which was now in use and the family gathered around it for dinner.

Zhou Ruoyan didn't want to sit at the table: "Your family is so happy together, it's not good for me to be around."

Yue Niang clicked her tongue and said, "What's wrong with that? You are a part of this family now." She pulled the man to the table forcibly.

Actually, this is just a polite remark.

The teahouse hasn't opened yet. If Ruoyan lives here, she will be a part of the teahouse in the future, so we naturally can't neglect her.

As for whether they are family or not, Yue Niang doesn’t feel it very clearly yet.

We had a lively New Year’s Eve dinner.

After the meal, Yue Niang returned the hairpin that Old Lady Fu had pawned a few days ago to her: "Grandma, Yue'er still has money, so please keep this hairpin."

Old Mrs. Fu's eyes were filled with tears as she held the hairpin, which was the proof that she would recognize the old man in the future.

Yue Niang set off a lot of fireworks in the snow, and the villagers could hardly see the fireworks. When Yue Niang's family set off the fireworks, all the villagers came to the door.

The new year has arrived.

On the first day of the New Year, Yue Niang got up early, changed into bright red new clothes, and suddenly felt playful and wanted to build a snowman in the yard.

There were no relatives visiting Yue Niang's family, so Erya came over with some glutinous rice balls. "Yue'er, my mother made a lot of glutinous rice balls. She asked me to bring some over for you."

As soon as I arrived at the door, I saw Yue Niang playing happily in the snow. The scene finally had some childlike fun.

Yue Niang stood up from the snow and called to Erya: "Sister, please put it in the kitchen."

Erya did as she was told and carefully instructed: "Cook it quickly, it won't taste good if you leave it out for too long."

After she put it down and went out, Yue Niang hit her shoulder with a snowball and stuck out her tongue playfully: "Let's play together, sister."

Erya was not polite and quickly started to fight back. Soon, Ruoyan also joined the fight, and several people laughed in the yard.

Li An was just coming in with a few chickens when he was hit in the face with a loud bang.

Several people looked over there, and Li An brushed the snow off his face. Then he loosened his grip and the chickens ran all over the yard.

Yue Niang yelled, "Close the door quickly."

The chickens kept running away for a while before they finally caught all of them.

Yue Niang asked, "Brother Li An, what do you mean?"

Li An smiled and said, "I'm leaving for a scientific expedition tomorrow. I have some food left at home, and I gave the rest to Erya's family. I'll give you these chickens."

Yue Niang's first reaction was: "Do you have enough money for the exam?"

Then she walked into the house and took out a pink purse. Erya blushed when she saw the purse.

Yue Niang stuffed the purse into Li An's hand and said, "Brother Li An, the money in here is what I prepared for your imperial examination. The purse was embroidered for you by Er Ya. You will definitely pass the imperial examination. When you come back, we will get married."

Erya scolded: "Yue Niang."

Li An held the purse and poured out the silver: "I'll keep the purse, but you don't need the silver. You're going to open a teahouse in the spring, so it's better to keep more of it."

Yue Niang still insisted on handing it to him: "Just think of it as a loan to you. When you become the top scholar and marry Sister Erya, you can give me all the salary."

Li An held the purse tightly and said, "Thank you very much." He stood up and bowed at a 90-degree angle.

Yue Niang added, "Brother Li An, I've seen how terrible corrupt officials can be. I hope you can be a good official, the kind who wholeheartedly serves the people."

"Of course, take care of yourselves."

Erya chased after him and stood under the locust tree at the entrance of the village: "I'll wait for you."

Li An turned around and smiled brilliantly: "If I come back with a good score in the college entrance examination, will you marry me?"

"I am willing."

There is a line between the two people, but the distance between their hearts has long been connected.

When Arya came back, her cheeks were still burning.

Ruoyan came closer to her and said, "Erya, what does it feel like to like someone?"

"...Well, he is clearly standing among millions of people, but every time you look at him, you can see him accurately." After saying this, Erya became shy again.

Yue Niang had already finished cooking the glutinous rice balls that Erya brought, and she called up her grandmother, Ji Mama, and Fu Shichuan.

After eating, Fu Shichuan and Yue Niang warmed themselves by the fire.

Fu Shichuan handed a book to Yue Niang: "Yue'er, this is a medical book I wrote myself. It has the right medicine for every cold and miscellaneous disease. Also, you need to pay more attention to your grandmother's feet. You must supervise her and make sure she moves around more."

"Yeah." Although she said "yeah", Yue Niang always felt that Fu Shichuan was saying goodbye.

Fu Shichuan continued, "There are 206 states in Cheng Country, and I've traveled through less than 20 of them. Naturally, I never thought I'd meet my mother again. Now that I see that you're taking good care of her, Yue'er, my only worry is gone."

Yue Niang asked weakly, "Uncle San, are you going to continue your journey?"

Fu Shichuan answered frankly: "Yes, I will continue my journey."

At some point, Old Lady Fu appeared behind him: "I knew I couldn't keep you here. Although you've been here these days, your heart has long since drifted away."

"Mother, I am an unfilial son." Fu Shichuan didn't know how to tell Old Lady Fu about his decision. It was fine like this now.

"Son! Stay." Old Mrs. Fu turned her head away and no longer looked at Fu Shichuan. This was a call of mother's love.

Fu Shichuan said nothing, walked into the house and took something out...

Soon, he handed over all his wealth to Mrs. Fu: "Mother, when I first came out, I just wanted to escape from my eldest brother, but over the years, I have treated so many patients, I have long since broken away from the identity of Fu Shichuan, and there are still many people who need my help, so I am an unfilial son." He kowtowed three times.

Old Mrs. Fu was a little unsteady on her feet, and Yue Niang quickly went over to support her.

Mrs. Fu compromised: "If you want to go, go ahead. Remember to put on more clothes when it's cold. No matter how busy you are, you must eat well and write more letters."

Fu Shichuan knelt for a long time and could not get up. Old Mrs. Fu went into the house and closed the door. This was their farewell and they might never see each other again.