The man stood up, using the table for support, and walked forward, feeling his way along the edge of the table. After leaving the table, there was no reference point, so Xiao Yunying called out to him, "Over here, over here."

Hearing the sound, the man walked to the door and whispered, "Wan Jun, I'm here."

"master!"

Seeing the light shining through the crack in the door revealing their master's figure, they hurriedly came out from the shadows.

"Master, I've finally found you! I thought I'd lost you."

He was startled when the door opened, thinking he had been discovered, and quickly shut his mouth and hid in the shadows.

After he finished speaking, he noticed Xiao Yunying standing next to him: "Hey, miss, what are you doing here?"

"This is my home, why am I here?" Xiao Yunying stepped aside from the doorway: "Come in, it's cold outside."

"What a coincidence, young lady, I never expected this to be your home."

Wan Jun came in and closed the door, saying happily, "Other people's cowsheds and pigsties are dirty and smelly, but your sheepfold is clean. I'll leave my master here. It's really fate."

fate?

Xiao Yunying didn't think so. Even if it was a bad fate, it was a tragic one. The first time she saw her, she almost fell apart. The second time, she didn't know if she had been poisoned. She was better off not having this fate.

"That's a stable; the lambs are just being kept there temporarily."

She brushed her hair back to distract herself from laughing: "Why do you insist on putting your master in the livestock shed?"

Wan Jun replied, "Master is injured; the stench of the livestock shed can mask the smell of blood."

At this point, Wan Jun slapped his thigh and said, "Look at my brain! Master, how is your injury?"

"It's alright, this young lady has already bandaged me up."

"That's good, that's good, thank you very much, young lady."

Wan Jun breathed a sigh of relief, sniffed, smelled the aroma of food in the room, swallowed, but didn't say he wanted to eat.

"Master, are you feeling alright? We should go."

"Okay, let's go."

Xiao Yunying quickly handed the cloth bag and wound medicine on the table to Wan Jun: "This bag contains food, and this bottle contains wound medicine. Take it with you."

As Wan Jun received the items, he furtively glanced at his master, saying, "This..."

The man said calmly, "Take it."

I've been waiting for this sentence.

"Oh, thank you so much, young lady. Master, let's go. The horse is at the village entrance. We need to set off tonight. Your eye injury can't be delayed any longer."

Wan Jun put the medicine bottle in his arms, slung the cloth bag over his shoulder, opened the door, and went out.

"I'll take you."

Xiao Yunying followed her out, opened the door, and finally couldn't help but remind her:

"Don't forget to send me a dose of the antidote."

"I won't forget."

The man said earnestly, "Once I return to the capital, I will have someone develop an antidote and have Wan Jun send it to you as soon as possible."

"Then... have a safe trip."

"Goodbye."

After the two figures disappeared from sight, Xiao Yunying shuddered, closed the door, and returned to her room.

After confirming that Xin'er was still fast asleep, and once he had warmed up a bit, he took off his outer clothes and got onto the kang (heated brick bed).

I was still thinking about it before I went to sleep.

"You absolutely must send me an antidote, don't let it get stuck halfway there."

Because she had something on her mind, she couldn't sleep soundly and woke up early.

When she went to collect the dishes from the room where the man had been last night, she discovered that the jade pendant she had returned was left on the table.

"Did you forget to take it, or did you leave it here on purpose?"

Xiao Yunying stroked the jade pendant, thought for a while, and then put it into the supermarket.

When he sends someone to deliver the antidote, have someone take it back to him.

As they passed Luo Yang's house, the door opened from the inside, and Xiao Yunying glanced at him: "You didn't sleep all night, did you?"

"I'm asleep. I only fell asleep after I heard them leave last night, and I just woke up early."

"Alright."

Knowing there are unknown outsiders in the house, yet still sleeping as if nothing is wrong—even that chubby Luo Li wouldn't do such a thing.

After washing up, we made breakfast, woke up the children, and the family of five ate. Then we started boiling water to prepare to kill the chickens and ducks.

I spent the whole morning slaughtering and cleaning all the chickens and ducks, and in the afternoon I steamed several pots of steamed buns and bean buns.

In the evening, Xiao Yunying filled a whole basket with vegetables, meat and various grains and gave it to Duan Yingying to take home.

"Tomorrow is the 29th, so you don't need to come over. Come over when you have time after the New Year. I have something for you to do."

Duan Yingying naturally refused, and the two argued back and forth for a long time before Xiao Yunying finally gave it away on the grounds that "Duan Xiaoxiao needs to replenish her body."

On New Year's Eve, some relatively well-off families set off firecrackers early in the morning. There weren't many, just a few, but it was enough to mark the occasion.

You should know that firecrackers in this area aren't easy to buy; getting a few shots is already considered good.

As for her, she didn't buy any because she thought firecrackers were just noisy and not pretty.

That evening, Xiao Yunying prepared a large feast.

According to custom, the dishes eaten on New Year's Eve should not be finished; some should be left, symbolizing the retention of good fortune for the following year.

The family finished their meal happily. Xiao Yunying cleaned up the table, moved a rattan chair and a small table next to the stove, and chatted while eating melon seeds and snacks, staying up all night with the children.

Late into the night, the two little ones kept yawning, and then the two older ones and she started yawning too.

Xiao Yunying felt sorry for the children, so she let the two older children take the two younger ones to sleep, while she stayed by herself for a while longer.

Luo Chen led Luo Xin and said, "Then I'll put Xin'er to sleep before I come over to keep vigil for the New Year."

Xiao Yunying peeled pine nuts and said, "No need, you should go back to sleep early too. I'm not really going to sit here all night, I'll go back to my room later."

The tradition of staying up all night to welcome the New Year is just for show; there are no entertainment facilities here, and she can't really stand sitting like that all night without sleeping.

Luo Chen didn't say anything more and led Xin'er to her room.

After the children left, the living room became quiet, with only the sound of burning charcoal audible.

Xiao Yunying put the peeled pine nuts into her mouth, turned on the stove, added a few pieces of charcoal, and then sat down next to the stove in a daze.

Her thoughts drifted away; she was celebrating the New Year here, but what about her parents?

The day she was struck by lightning was less than two months before the Lunar New Year. If the timing were synchronized, it should have been springtime where her parents were.

Before she came into this world, her parents were eagerly anticipating her coming home to celebrate the Chinese New Year together.

Now, I can only live alone in this strange world.

As she thought about it, Xiao Yunying's nose started to sting.

She nestled in the wicker chair, hugged her legs, and buried her head in her knees.