Jian Ning felt that, judging from the fact that the Grand Tutor had told her to mention this in her reply, he had no intention of letting her stay. Furthermore, ancient schools didn't have winter or summer vacations, but if Ah Man insisted on coming, it wouldn't be easy to say.

"If her homework is tight, even if her father lets her come, I'm afraid she won't have enough time. Learning music, chess, calligraphy, and painting doesn't take time, not to mention she's also learning needlework."

At this point, Jian Ning reflected that her three daughters couldn't be much worse than Ah Man. As the saying goes, people tend to go where there are high places, and water flows to where there are low places. It seems that living in the countryside all the time is not a good idea. She needs to start planning for her children's future.

"What are you thinking about, Mom?" Dabao asked when he saw her frowning and silent.

"Oh, your Aunt Mei and Uncle Qin want to invite our whole family to Zhuling County for the New Year. Mom thinks that reading a thousand books is not as good as traveling a thousand miles, so it would be nice to go out for a walk and see the surroundings. But the New Year is only a few days away, and Mom is worried that your health will not be able to withstand the long journey and that you will not recover quickly."

Dabao's eyes lit up. He had never even been to the county town in his life and had no idea what the outside world was like. He was very excited to hear that there was a chance to visit Zhuling County.

"I'm fine. This injury isn't serious. I'll be fine in a couple of days at most."

"You'd like to spend the New Year there, wouldn't you?"

"Mother, I just said that reading thousands of books is not as good as traveling thousands of miles. Going out to broaden your horizons is a good thing, my son thinks."

"Okay, I'll discuss it with your father tonight. If we really decide to go, we'll need to prepare some gifts. We'll have to start preparing them over the next few days."

"Master!" As she finished speaking, Ma Xiaomai came running over with Ma Xiaodou. "Master doesn't want to stay there anymore. Let Master think of a way, find an excuse to call him back."

"If this guy doesn't want to come back with me, then who can tie his legs and feet with ropes?" Jane Ning said this while thinking of excuses in his mind. His eyes fell on the letter in his hand and he got it.

"Xiaomi, thank you for making another trip. Give this letter to your master. He will know the answer after reading it. Go quickly." Jian Ning stuffed the letter back into the bamboo tube, covered it, and handed it to him.

Outside the courtyard, Tian saw Ma Xiaomai coming out and called out to him, "Where have you been? Your father asked you to help brew wine, but you ignored him, didn't you?"

Ma Xiaomai shook the bamboo tube in his hand and said, "Master asked me to deliver a letter to Master. It's urgent. I will help you with the work after I have lunch in town. I will keep my word and I will not break it."

He ran to the field and shouted at Ding Youtian from a distance. After stuffing the bamboo tube into Ding Youtian's hand, he called Erniu and Sanniu, "Let's go back. My senior brother will send someone to pick us up to go to town for dinner. Come with me."

Erniu held Sanniu back and said, "I don't want to go. They're going to perform an opera later. How about we stay home and watch it?"

"Is the opera the same as the story my mother told me?" Sanniu asked Ma Xiaomai. Neither she nor Erniu had ever seen an opera. Ma Xiaomai had seen one at his grandmother's house. It was performed by a makeshift troupe in the countryside and he thought it was terrible.

"No, I can't understand a word you're saying, and it doesn't look good. Do you want to go? If you do, I'll carry you back."

"Brother Xiaomai, I want to be carried too. I'll go too." Erniu ran over and grabbed Ma Xiaomai's clothes and jumped a few times.

"Go away! Brother Xiaomai said he would carry me on his back." Sanniu reached out to push Erniu. Ma Xiaomai was afraid that they would start fighting again, so she quickly stepped forward and stood between them. "No fighting, I'll carry one on my back and hold the other in my arms."

He thought that this would settle the matter peacefully, but the two little ones both insisted on being carried on his back. He was just getting into a dilemma when Ding Youtian strode over and said, "Daddy, carry one."

As soon as he squatted down, Sanniu jumped onto his back, hugged his neck and giggled. Erniu burst into tears, "I want Daddy to carry me too, I want him to carry me too, woooo..."

Ding Youtian carried Sanniu on his back and gave her a light kick on the butt. "If you don't want Brother Xiaomai to carry you, just walk back by yourself. How can I always do what you want? I want to obey you and follow you, but when you grow up, others may not always agree with you. What will you do then? Change your temper now, or you will suffer in the future."

He walked a few steps with Sanniu on his back, then turned back to see Erniu still crying with her head held high. He turned back again, sullenly saying, "If you cry again, I'll kick you into the ground and plant you there. And don't go to town for dinner later. Stay home and don't go anywhere!"

Sanniu tilted her head to look at Ding Youtian, then at Erniu. She wanted to switch with Erniu, but she also wanted her father to carry her.

Was she still debating whether to change? Erniu had already pouted and climbed onto Ma Xiaomai's back with a wronged look on her face. Ma Xiaomai carried her on his back, shouting "Go! Go!" and quickly passed Ding Youtian and ran to the front.

Now Erniu was happy, giggling even more happily than Sanniu before. Her little Jinbao also ran happily at their feet, sometimes to the left, sometimes to the right, so busy that he was dizzy.

When Ma Xiaomai carried Erniu home, Qiaofeng also came back. She used all the money that Jian Ning gave her to buy clothes, shoes and socks to buy pens, ink, paper and inkstone for Dabao, and did not buy anything for herself. Jian Ning was scolding her.

"What can I say to you, kid? Dabao can buy his own school supplies. I gave him the money. Just do what I tell you to do next time. Don't act on your own. This won't happen again. Got it?"

"I'm sorry, Master. Next time I will do as you say. But..." Qiao Feng glanced at Jian Ning, "I don't understand why I have to dress neatly so that others can see it. Isn't it enough to just feel comfortable when I wear it?"

"When you're out and about, dressing appropriately is a sign of self-respect and self-love, as well as respect for others. It's basic etiquette. My dress is not only too big for you, but the color doesn't suit you either. Even though you shortened it yourself, look at the thick stitching and it's crooked. What does it look like if you take a closer look?"

Jian Ning sighed, "Fortunately, your senior brother is not an outsider. You can't do this again next time. I know how much money we spend at home. What I can spend on you is naturally what I can afford. You don't have to worry about it. Just help me save money. Remember?"

"Yeah." Qiao Feng nodded.

After a while, Xiao Si came to pick them up in a carriage. Jian Ning carried a bag of sweet potatoes and a basket of eggs to the carriage, and told Ma Xiaomai and Qiaofeng to take good care of Erniu and Sanniu, and come back after eating, and not to run around in the town.

"If anything happens, go to the bookstore to find Grandpa Liu." Ding Youtian also instructed. There must be a lot of people in the town today, and he was a little worried.

After Xiao Si caught up with the car and took them away, Jian Ning asked him about Qiao Feng's origins and asked if he knew anything. She couldn't help but not ask because someone came into the kitchen from time to time in the morning.

"It's not certain, it's just a possibility." After Ding Youtian told her about the previous county magistrate, he added, "If she really is the daughter of the Jiang family, she was less than six years old when the accident happened, and she's reduced to a beggar. Life is truly unpredictable, and it's... quite pitiful."

Jian Ning couldn't help but sigh. She looked up at him and wanted to talk about Qiao Feng, but then she remembered that he asked Ma Xiaomai to pass on the message. She asked, "The head of the village asked you to accompany the guests. Why did you want to come back when all was well? Did something unpleasant happen?"