Is the beginning of a catastrophe? The little farm cook is raising a family with a full warehouse.

The reason she asked this question was because she had seen ignorant boys and girls running away from home without telling their parents.

They think that true love can overcome all difficulties, but in fact, true love is ever-changing. In the friction of daily life, they soon become tired of each other, leaving only a mess.

Perhaps it was the scene that brought back memories, Su Ruoyun's eyes began to wander and she was lost in memories.

……

The girl grew up in a wealthy family, and her temperament was somewhat coquettish and arrogant.

Although the young man came from an ordinary family, he had a bright face and was obsessed with reading since he was young. He had the ambition to pass the imperial examination and become an official. He was eloquent and had beautiful handwriting. Anyone who saw him would praise his talent.

By chance, the two got to know each other and fell in love.

In spring, the boy would climb up the peach branches for the girl, pick the most beautiful flowers, pin them in her black hair, and say with a smile that her face and the peach blossoms complement each other; the girl would secretly fill the boy's book bag with the snacks and cakes she had saved, hoping that he would also feel happy while reading.

When the two fell in love for the first time, they felt that each other was the most precious thing in the world, and they didn't care about the difference in family background or the expectations of their parents.

However, the girl's parents only wanted her to marry into a wealthy family and enjoy a life of luxury in the future. They turned a blind eye to the affection between their daughter and the young man, repeatedly admonished and dissuaded her, and arranged for her to meet many rich young men.

But this couple's hearts and eyes are filled with fervent love, and they are unwilling to follow the arrangements of their elders. They just believe that love can overcome all difficulties.

On a moonlit night, the young woman, while her family slept, crept out of the house, clutching her hidden collection of fine jewelry. The young man, already waiting at the alley entrance with a few tattered books, spotted the young woman and hurried over to take her hand. His palm, sweaty from nervousness, burned like a scorch.

The two of them rushed to another place and rented a house.

When I first arrived at the courtyard, life seemed as sweet as honey.

In the early morning, the boy recited poems and books accompanied by the first rays of morning light, while the girl listened quietly beside him, sometimes adding tea and grinding it for him, looking at him with eyes full of admiration; when the girl was cooking, the boy would clumsily help to light the fire and add wood, and in the smoke, the two laughed and joked, and even though the porridge and rice were plain, they still found them delicious.

As night fell, lying on the creaking old couch, the young man told the girl stories of the past and present, describing the prosperity of Qijing and the grand scene of the imperial examination. The girl snuggled in his arms, full of longing to accompany him back home in glory in the future.

But time is merciless, and the daily necessities of life soon turn into sharp blades, cutting into the illusion of love.

Torrential summer rains destroyed the kitchen in the courtyard. Money was needed to repair it. The girl rummaged through her packages and was shocked to find that she had limited jewelry, while her daily living expenses were far beyond her imagination. The young man looked at the ruins in a panic. The scholar, who could not lift or carry anything, looked extremely embarrassed. In the past, he only devoted himself to reading books of sages, so how could he know how to make money?

The two quarreled constantly about this. The girl blamed the boy for being lazy and not knowing how to make a living; the boy blamed the girl for spending money carelessly and not knowing how to be frugal. The sweet whispers of the past turned into accusations, every word was heartbreaking.

As autumn deepened, the girl accidentally stained the boy's only long gown while washing clothes. The ink stain spread out, looking like a hideous ghost face, mocking their predicament.

The boy was immediately enraged, and his words lost their usual gentleness. The girl felt aggrieved and responded sharply. Objects in the room were banging against each other, and what was broken was not only the tea bowl, but also the love that was shattered on the floor and could never be put back together again.

The cold winter came, heavy snow blocked the door, the house was as cold as an ice cellar, and charcoal was scarce.

The girl was wrapped in a worn quilt, her hands and feet red and swollen from the cold, and she missed the warm quilt at home; the boy was blowing on his hands, looking at the dim candlelight, thinking of the simple meals his parents had on their warm bed.

At this moment, the "worldly stability" that I once despised has become the most ardent desire in my heart.

At the beginning of spring, the girl's parents came to find her. Looking at their haggard daughter with empty eyes, they burst into tears out of heartache.

On her way home, the girl looked back frequently, her sleeves wet with tears, her heart filled with sorrow; the boy stood still in the yard, with fallen petals falling on his shoulders, just like his lost youth and beautiful dreams.

This incident made the young man disheartened, but after being depressed at home for several months, thinking of his increasingly haggard parents, the young man picked up his pen again, studied hard day and night, and finally set out for Beijing in the spring of the next year.

When he returned home with his name on the list of successful candidates and dressed in gorgeous clothes, he was accompanied by a noble lady. The love, hate, anger and infatuation he had with the girl in the past had turned into a cinnabar mole in his heart after years of trials and tribulations from reality, which was a slight pain but no longer fresh.

He passed by the peach blossom courtyard. The door was closed and the copper lock was rusty, as if locking up the naive old dream of loving someone who thought that love could withstand thousands of difficulties and dangers, but was ultimately defeated by the mundane world.

Only the spring breeze blows by, and the peach branches tremble slightly, like a faint sigh, telling the story of deep love and shallow fate in the past, which dissipated in the long river of time and is hard to find any trace.

……

Su Ruoyun didn't want to continue such scenes in the peach blossom courtyard. When she heard Cheng Yuntao say that she would live with her family in the future, Su Ruoyun's serious expression relaxed a little.

"I am willing to rent the house to you, but I have one request, and I hope you can do it."

Cheng Yuntao hadn't expected this to go so smoothly, and immediately reacted quickly: "Please tell me, if it's possible, I will do my best to complete it."

"After you move in, please take good care of every corner of this house, including every blade of grass and every tree, especially the peach tree in the yard. I hope you can take good care of it."

Faced with such a reasonable and simple request, Cheng Yuntao naturally would not say no and agreed immediately.

"If I were lucky enough to rent this house, I would definitely take good care of it. But I wonder... how much rent would you ask for this year?"

Old Madam Su stood up and slowly walked towards the courtyard, staring at the lush peach tree in a daze: "I am old now, and I no longer covet those material things. I will just give you six taels of silver a year for an auspicious number."

Considering the location and the size of the house, the annual rent was only six taels of silver, which was far lower than the market price outside. Cheng Yuntao was very excited and quickly signaled Li Fu with her eyes, fearing that she would miss this good opportunity.

Li Fu also reacted quickly and hurriedly took out the rental contract that he had prepared long ago and asked both parties to sign it. The contract stated the location, size, and general furnishings of the house. The lease term was one year, and the negotiated rent was added at the end.

The contract was made in three copies, two of which were kept by the owner and the tenant respectively, and the other copy was handed over to the government by Li Fu as a backup. If any dispute arose in the future, it could be judged according to the contents of the contract.

It was not until she got the signed contract that Cheng Yuntao finally felt relieved. She returned to the inn to rest for one last night. The next morning, she led her family into the peach blossom courtyard.