Thirty li is a journey that takes less than half an hour.

In the new village, almost every household was empty; men, women, and children had all gathered at the Li family's house.

Tao Hongying and Zhao Yuru, along with a group of women, were working up a sweat.

The mutton soup, which had simmered to a milky white color in a large pot, was then poured into large buckets along with mutton offal, meat, and bones, and a hundred or so steamed buns were also packed into baskets.

This is to be carried to the hot spring valley and given to the guests.

Today was a busy day at home, and I didn't have time to cook a special meal for them. We were short-handed and couldn't provide adequate hospitality. So, I'll treat our guests to a bowl of mutton soup to share in the joy and as an apology.

There were also two small bowls containing stir-fried pork belly with cabbage and wood ear mushrooms, and eggplant with minced meat.

This is in case female guests don't like the gamey smell of mutton soup, so they can have a different dish and won't go hungry.

After finishing these tasks, tables were set up inside the house and in the yard.

Today is a wonderful day. The autumn wind seems to have lost its usual chill, leaving only the warm sunshine.

Three tables were set up under the eaves for distinguished guests and elders.

There are eight tables in the courtyard, enough to seat all the men, women, and children in the village.

The family had already slaughtered pigs and sheep, and then Madam Cui and others sent so many chickens, fish, meat and eggs.

Therefore, today's feast is exceptionally lavish.

The four main dishes are braised chicken with mushrooms, braised fish and tofu in an iron pot, braised lamb chops, and pork belly with garlic sauce.

The four stir-fried dishes were: stir-fried cabbage with wood ear mushrooms, eggplant with minced meat, sweet and sour pork ribs, and fried eggplant fritters.

The four cold dishes were spinach with nuts, cowpeas with minced garlic, hand-shredded mixed vegetables, and homemade aspic.

In addition, there are two dishes that women and children love: candied sweet potatoes and baked pumpkin with salted egg yolk. There are also two soups: winter melon meatball soup and pork bone and radish soup.

There were sixteen dishes in total, plates piled on top of plates, large bowls piled on top of large bowls, the table was almost crushed.

The staple food was still large steamed buns made of white flour, five or six baskets of them, enough for more than a hundred people to eat as much as they wanted!

The wine jars were lined up against the wall, waiting to be opened and drunk.

Everyone greeted Li Lao Er with smiles as he returned.

"The Second Master is back, just waiting for you to have a drink."

Li Lao Er smiled and agreed a few times before going up the steps. He said to his mother and brother, "The courtyard has been sold, and the household registration has been changed. Everything is going smoothly."

"Good, that's good! Our family is finally all together again, everyone's back!"

The old lady's eyes reddened, and she tried her best to hold back her tears. Li Zhensheng also turned his head away, not daring to speak, for fear that his tears would fall if he opened his mouth.

Everyone quickly changed the subject, and Liu Zhiheng joked with the old lady.

"Auntie, this feast is too lavish today! They've brought out all the good food for us. Are we going to starve from now on?"

The old lady laughed when she heard this, and waved her hand generously.

"This is the happiest day in our family's life, which is more than ten years ago. Of course, we have to celebrate properly. Everyone, eat and drink your fill, don't be shy. Even if we have to eat coarse food for a year afterward, our family will still be happy!"

Everyone laughed and shouted loudly.

Congratulations on your family's reunion!

"Congratulations on Zhensheng's return home!"

"From now on, the road to prosperity will be smooth sailing!"

The villagers hadn't received much education, so they couldn't offer any elaborate congratulatory words, but every word they uttered was heartfelt.

Li Zhensheng got up, took his two sons, walked down the steps, and knelt down in front of his mother and the main door.

“Mother, with the ancestors of the Li family above, your unfilial son Zhensheng has returned with his two sons, Jiali and Jiakang.”

Old Mrs. Li, fighting back tears, responded loudly.

"It's good that you've returned. From now on, you must honor your ancestors, love your brothers, and bring glory to the Li family. You must not slacken your efforts!"

"Yes, we will remember Mother's teachings!" Li Zhensheng led his sons in kowtowing, officially acknowledging their ancestry.

Li Lao Er and Li Lao San quickly helped their eldest brother up, while Li Lao Si also held one of his two nephews in his arms.

The village chief and the others were delighted. "On such a good day, we should have a few more drinks!"

Old Mrs. Li waved her hand, "We'll have to wait a bit. All the elders and folks are here today, and Mrs. Cui, Mr. Wen, and Master Liu have also come to celebrate. We can take this opportunity to witness this for our Fu Niu'er."

Lucky Girl? What testimony are you giving?

Most of the villagers didn't know about it and were very curious.

Not to mention them, even Li Laosan and Jiaren didn't know.

At this moment, Young Master Ye took Jiayin's hand and walked to the steps, smiling as he said, "I want to adopt Fu Niu as my goddaughter. Today, I ask all the elders and villagers to be my witnesses."

Everyone was both surprised and delighted. Although they knew that Young Master Ye was close to and trusted the Li family and treated the Li family's children well.

But unexpectedly, Young Master Ye was so fond of Fu Niu.

You must know that Young Master Ye is a marquis, a military marquis with military achievements and power, while the Li family are just ordinary farmers.

Fu Niu became the Marquis's adopted daughter, which can be described as a meteoric rise to power.

Everyone couldn't help but look at Fu Niu, wanting to see what was so special about this child that made the Marquis value her so much.

Fu Niu'er dressed up specially today, wearing a red diagonal-front dress with butterflies embroidered on the front and yellow and white kittens embroidered on the hem, looking like they were about to pounce on the butterflies. They were so lifelike, playful and cute.

Her sparse hair wasn't tied into a high ponytail or adorned with golden bells today. Instead, it was styled into two small pigtails, wrapped with ribbons dangling pearls, and adorned with a gleaming gold necklace. This made her eyes sparkle, giving her an air of nobility, completely different from her usual mischievous self.

Jiayi moved a chair down, and Young Master Ye slowly sat down.

Jiaren also took a cushion and placed it in front of the chair, but Jiayin moved the cushion to the side and then knelt directly on the bluestone floor.

Young Master Ye's eyes warmed even more as he reached out and patted Jiayin's little head, saying, "Although I was born into wealth, I have lived a lonely life and often felt the cruelty of the world. However, I was fortunate enough to meet the Li family and Fu Niu, and only then did I finally understand what family is."

"Today, I, Ye Chengyi, the Marquis of Tianwu Xinting, hereby declare that I am willing to accept Li Jiayin as my goddaughter, to protect her for the rest of her life, ensuring her comfort, happiness, and peace! Furthermore, I am willing to be a son-in-law of the Li family, to be filial to my mother, to unite my brothers, and to care for my nephew. If I disobey, may Heaven and Earth punish me, and may God and man be outraged!"

This isn't just about adopting a goddaughter; it's about making her half a son of the Li family, or even a son of a different surname!

It's truly astonishing that a military commander like him has no disdain for the Li family, and even admires them. Now he's openly stating that he wants to be bound to the Li family, sharing their glory and disgrace.

The Li family was also taken aback. Just as they were about to stop her, Jiayin spoke up in a soft, gentle voice.

In her previous life, she was also all alone, yearning for family affection to the extreme, but on the surface, she had to pretend not to care.

If there was only one person present who understood why Young Master Ye acted this way, it was her.

A person deep in hell will desperately try to grasp any ray of light they see.

Those who are in the depths of winter will surely rush to offer warmth when they encounter it.

"Godfather, Fu Niu welcomes you on behalf of the Li family. Fu Niu will treat you as her own father from now on! I'll make you clothes, cook delicious food, earn money for you to spend, and take care of you in your old age!"

After Jiayin finished speaking, she respectfully kowtowed three times, then picked up a teacup from the side and raised it high above her head.