"Both of you, get out." Jin Huilan dismissed the Bao brothers and sat down opposite Cai Damei. "Damei, may I call you that?"

Cai Damei hummed in agreement.

"May I ask you why you are unwilling to marry Xiao Min?" Jin Huilan wanted to know what Cai Damei was thinking.

"Because I have already had the best man for me." Before marrying into the Li family, Cai Damei had a hard life at her parents' home. She had to do all kinds of dirty and hard work, and her life was very difficult.

After marrying Li Min, she no longer had to do farm work.

Even during the busy autumn harvest, when Cai Damei had to work in the fields, Li Min only allowed her to carry a lantern to light the way on the ridges of the fields.

Li Min gets up early every day to make breakfast. He prepares water for her to wash her feet in the evening. When he goes out, he brings back her favorite foods.

Cai Damei had her period and her stomach hurt. Li Min would hold her stomach and take her to see a doctor.

The doctor said that Cai Damei had severe uterine coldness and should avoid contact with cold water in winter.

From then on, Li Min wouldn't let Cai Damei wash the clothes in the house. He would get up early every day to wash them. Even the undergarments that Cai Damei got soiled by her period were washed by Li Min.

The doctor said that Cai Damei had a cold uterus and would have difficulty conceiving. Li Min told others that he had a problem and might not be able to have children.

"After marrying Minzi, I never suffered a single day. He treated me with all his heart."

On his deathbed, his biggest worry was me. He blamed himself for no longer being able to take care of me.

He told me, 'Sister, when you get to Jiangcheng, don't suffer for your wife and grandson. Take good care of yourself.'

Cai Damei's voice choked up as she spoke.

Bao Min, who overheard everything outside the door, looked utterly desperate. At that moment, he realized that no matter what he did, he could not compare to the dead Li Min.

Bao Shao patted Bao Min on the shoulder, "Let's choose another one."

Bao Min shook his head. No. He would never let go of Cai Damei in this lifetime.

Li Min was a good man, but he's dead. His wife, Bao Min, will be with Cai Damei for the rest of her life. They also have a daughter who is about to be born.

So what if we don't get married? It's no big deal. When two people are together, the ceremony isn't important.

Bao Min has calmed herself down.

Bao Shao, standing to the side, chuckled speechlessly, "You should say that to Tong Tiemei."

Upon hearing the name "Tong Tiemei," Bao Min trembled. He grabbed Bao Shao, who was about to leave, and said, "Brother, you have to help me."

"I can't help." Bao Shao had experienced the woman's terror firsthand.

“If you don’t help me, I’ll tell your sister-in-law that you’re spending your money on other women.”

"You're talking nonsense, I didn't say that." Bao Shao retorted loudly, then lowered his voice to avoid being heard inside the house, "Don't slander me."

Bao Min gave a low hum, "Bamboo Branch Lane."

Bamboo Branch Lane? Bao Shao remembered, "That's not it."

"Tell me, was that another woman you met outside? Did you pay her?"

“She is the widow of my old comrade-in-arms. They are having a hard time. So I give them some money every month,” Bao Shao explained.

“Life is tough, you’re kidding me. The second courtyard in Zhuzhi Lane is close to the Imperial College. It’s five taels of silver a month to rent out the rooms.” Bao Min held up five fingers.

“What if they, a widow and her child, encounter bad people while renting out their property?” Bao Shao disagreed.

"Just do it. If you make your sister-in-law angry and she leaves, don't expect me and Xiao Mo to come back and help you coax her." Bao Min was too lazy to pay attention to Bao Shao, whom he couldn't see clearly, and turned to walk out.

"Your sister-in-law is angry? What's wrong? Wait a minute." Bao Shao chased after Bao Min, puzzled.

What are you going to do?

"Cooking." Bao Min kept walking.

"You can cook?" Bao Shao exclaimed incredulously.

"You can't learn that." Li Min can do Cai Damei's laundry and cooking, and he can also take care of Bao Min.

Later, Tie Mei and her husband also came. They didn't say anything, but gave the unborn child a lot of things, saying they were gifts, and then hurriedly returned to Beijing.

"Oh, Tie Mei said she took Jin Lanxuan with her. The Jin family won't bother An'an anymore." Cai Damei told her everything.

Hearing this, Ye Yunniang let out a deep breath.

Although Jiang Mingzhe said he would handle the Jin family's affairs, Ye Yunniang was still worried that the son she had raised would be taken away.

After talking with Cai Damei for a while, Ye Yunniang took her three children back to the city.

Just as I arrived home, Liang Maimiao came carrying a basket.

"Yunniang, are you home?"

"At home." Ye Yunniang came out.

"Yunniang, I've come to ask you for help." Liang Maimiao was a little embarrassed.

"What is it? Tell me." Liang Maimiao had helped her many times, and Ye Yunniang would agree to anything that wasn't too unreasonable.

The day the Wang family came to make trouble, news spread that Ye Yunniang was taking on embroidery work at the Baise Embroidery Shop, and many people knew that she was good at embroidery.

Liang Maimiao's family home is not far from Wanxia Lane, and she heard it.

Liang Maimiao's younger sister, Liang Hemiao, is getting married. The groom's family is well-off and is giving a generous dowry.

The Liang family was of modest means and couldn't provide a large dowry. They hoped their wedding dress would be eye-catching and give them face.

Liang Hemiao's own needlework skills were average, and so were those of the women in her family.

Buying it in a shop is expensive.

Hiring someone to embroider is out of the question; they don't even consider the average embroiderer. And the best embroiderers are simply unaffordable.

I heard about Ye Yunniang. I also went to the Baise embroidery shop to see the handkerchiefs, screens, and other embroidered items she made, and I was very satisfied.

Find Liang Maimiao and ask her to help make the connection.

Liang Maimiao initially disagreed.

The work was short and the pay was low. And with the Lunar New Year approaching, Ye Yunniang still had three children to care for at home.

Unable to resist her mother and sister's repeated requests, Liang Maimiao reluctantly came. She made up her mind to add some more to her wages.

"Okay," Ye Yunniang readily agreed.

"Yunniang, thank you so much."

Ye Yunniang asked Liang Hemiao about her requirements for the red wedding dress and quickly drew a picture of it.

"Yunniang, your drawing is amazing!" Liang Maimiao exclaimed in astonishment.

"Go back and ask your sister. If there's no problem, I'll start embroidering for her after the New Year."

"I'll go and bring her over right away." Liang Maimiao ran straight to her parents' house and dragged Liang Hemiao over.

After some discussion, the style and size of the wedding dress were confirmed.

On New Year's Eve, Ye Yunniang got up early to kill chickens, ducks, and fish. She and her three children were busy in the kitchen until evening, preparing a table full of New Year's Eve dinner.

Li Pan, along with her two younger brothers, offered sacrifices to their deceased grandfather and father. Li An gave an extra portion to Jin Huifang.

After paying respects to their deceased elders, the mother and her three children began their meal.

After finishing the New Year's Eve dinner, Ye Yunniang refused to let the children go in and out of the kitchen with her to wash up, and instead let them set off firecrackers in the yard.

After tidying up, Ye Yunniang chopped the filling to make dumplings for dinner and tomorrow morning.

At midnight, firecrackers went off.

Ye Yunniang cooked dumplings, ate them with her three children, and then went back to her room to rest.

When I woke up in the morning, there was a box on the table.

Inside the box was a letter on top and a crystal-clear jade bracelet on the bottom.

The letter contained only one sentence: "Happy New Year. The children are all grown up now, so you can hand them more responsibilities. Don't tire yourself out."

Ye Yunniang put the letter away and put the bracelet on her wrist.

Push open the door and enter the main room.

"Mom, Happy New Year." Li Pan knelt down on the bed with her two younger brothers.

"Pan'er, An'an, Pingping, Happy New Year." Ye Yunniang went over and dressed Li Ping. Four-year-old Li Ping couldn't dress himself yet.