"One tie for the eyebrows, two for the hands, three for the shoulders, four for the elbows, five for the chest, six for the knees..." Ma Xiaomai shouted the formula while practicing. When he shouted a part, he would point the branch in his hand at the corresponding position of Dabao and the others. He did it very well, which made the little guys stunned.

"Great, great! Brother Xiaomai is so awesome!" Ah Man jumped high and shouted louder than anyone else.

"Of course, my eldest brother said he wants to be a general." Ma Xiaodou was so proud as if he was the one who was determined to become a general.

"Xiaodouzi, what do you want to be in the future?" Ah Man turned his head and asked with a smile.

"I, I'll be the daddy!" He pointed at Sanniu, "Yaoyao will be the mom. Yaoyao, how about I be the daddy and you be the mom?"

Before Sanniu could say anything, Erniu scratched her face with her fingers, "Shame on you! You're only a little kid and you already want to be a father. You even want my sister to be your mother. What the hell are you dreaming of?"

"Hahaha..." Ma Xiaodou almost burst out laughing when he heard it, and then he moved closer to Sanniu, "Yaoyao, she said you are my mother, hahaha, so stupid, you are younger than me, how can you be my mother? Hahaha..."

Sanniu and A'man also laughed. Erniu knew she was wrong, but instead of getting angry, she joined in the laughter.

Jian Ning moved a small stool and sat on the porch to pick Chinese cabbage. The Ma brothers all loved the dumplings she made. As she picked the vegetables and watched them laughing so hard that they fell down, a smile also appeared on the corner of her mouth.

Ma Xiaomai was not affected by them at all, and danced with a branch in a very professional manner, which made Jian Ning smile even more deeply. She had only seen Aunt Li and Huo Jincheng dancing with spears before. She was just thinking about the time when she took A Man to the farm outside Jin County to rescue Ma Xiaomai, and the scene when Huo Jincheng came riding a white horse and holding a silver spear, when Huo Jincheng strode over.

"Is Brother Ding back?" He asked Jian Ning with a frown, looking as if he was worried about something.

"Not yet, what do you want with him?"

Huo Jincheng glanced at Ma Xiaomai and the others and said, "Send someone to let me know when he comes back." He turned around, took two steps, and then looked back. "Making dumplings tonight?"

"Yes, you and Uncle Cai can come over for dinner tonight."

Huo Jincheng walked away.

Tsk, he didn't even ask if he wanted help rubbing her down there. Although Jane Ning had plenty of time and didn't need his help, this guy didn't say a word, as if he owed him something. This made Jane Ning unhappy, and she couldn't help but curse him in her heart.

After Ma Xiaomai finished practicing her spear skills, the brothers Duan Hong and Duan Yu arrived with Duan Xinyan and her maid Feng Zheng. Duan Xinyan did not ask for any reward because Jian Ning had kept her promise and was canonized as a princess. She only asked the emperor to withdraw his order to marry her to Prince Yong as a concubine. Although she still felt uncomfortable, she was no longer angry with Jian Ning. She just stopped calling her Jian Ning by her name every time she saw her.

"Eldest sister." Duan Hong and Duan Yu greeted Jian Ning, and Duan Xinyan also knelt down and bowed, then followed her to Erniu and the others. She still liked Jian Ning's children from the bottom of her heart.

"Auntie." Seeing her, Ah Man, Erniu and Sanniu all called out, and Dabao also called out.

Duan Xinyan smiled at them, but her eyebrows and eyes quirked when she looked at Ma Xiaomai. She sneered, "You've been in the barracks for several months, right? You're still just a soldier. My eldest brother was already a centurion by then. You're so useless! You still dream of becoming a general!"

"When I'm older, do you think I can become a centurion? And you, you won't even be one until you're a hundred years old!"

As soon as Ma Xiaomai finished speaking, Ma Xiaodou immediately joined in, "That's right, you can't become the emperor even if you live to be two hundred years old. You're a woman, you can never become the emperor in your entire life!"

"I don't care."

"Brother, ignore her." Ma Xiaomai was sweating after practicing a set of spear skills. He took off his armor and strode towards Jian Ning. "Master, I will help you knead the dough later. Call me when you are ready."

"No need for you, I'll do it." Duan Hong said with a smile.

"Can you knead dough?" Jane Ning asked him.

"Yes, I can make dumplings. We also help make dumplings during festivals in the military camp, but they're not as delicious as my eldest sister's."

"Okay, you can help wrap some later. We'll make more and you can take some back to your father, mother, and aunt."

Shaoyao and Fengzheng also helped to make dumplings. In the afternoon, Jian Ning and his friends made more than 300 dumplings. After they finished eating, Duan Hong and his friends went home and Ding Youtian came back. He was drunk and reeked of alcohol.

Dabao stood in front of the flower hall and saw that his steps were a little unsteady, so he frowned like a little adult.

"You kid, why are you looking at your dad like that?" He staggered forward, raised his hand and slapped Dabao on the head.

"It's annoying!" Dabao put his hands behind his back and turned to go to the west room.

"Hey, you dare to say that your father is annoying?" Ding Youtian glanced sideways and saw Jian Ning coming out of the kitchen with his hands swinging. He chuckled and stumbled towards Jian Ning. His left foot tripped over his right foot, and his body leaned forward. He almost fell down. Fortunately, Jian Ning was quick-eyed and quick-handed and held him in time.

"Thank you very much, ma'am! Hehe." He grabbed Jane Ning with one hand and tried to touch her face with the other hand.

Jian Ning slapped his hand and said, "Look at you, how drunk are you? Isn't it just a matter of passing the imperial examination that makes you so excited that you drink like this?"

"How dare you hit my husband? He is the new number one scholar, and he got this title by himself, unlike my wife..."

"What's wrong with me?" Jane Ning interrupted him.

"Hehe, my lady, the princess naturally relies on herself. But it is partly due to your father. Do you dare to say that there is no reason?"

Jian Ning pushed him away and said, "I see you're really drunk. You're so drunk that you don't even know your own weight or your name!"

"My surname is Ding, and my given name is Youtian, that's Ding Youtian!" He swayed and just stood firm when Baimei flew over and pecked him hard on the back of his neck, which really hurt him. He turned around and wanted to grab Baimei, but fell on his buttocks to the ground, and fell on his back, with his limbs spread out, and even his top hat was knocked askew.

Jian Ning angrily picked him up and threw him onto the bed in the east room. She then poured him some spiritual spring water. He slept for half an hour before waking up. He vaguely remembered being drunk and talking nonsense. He rubbed the back of his neck, remembering Jian Ning's words that he didn't know his own weight or name. Shame crossed his face. He was about to throw off the covers and get out of bed to find Jian Ning when she pushed the door open and walked in.

"My wife!" He got out of bed and bowed to Jian Ning. "I'm ashamed. My wife said that most people in the world have bad natures. I'm just an ordinary man after all. But I got carried away by being the top scorer in the imperial examination. I'm sorry for my wife and for my teacher's careful teaching. I know I was wrong!"

"It's good that you know you're wrong. If Uncle Liu sees your smug look today, I'll be damned if I don't break your legs."

"Not again."

"Ah Man's father is looking for you. He left just when you came back. He came again after you fell asleep. He seemed to have something urgent to do. Go wash your face and I'll go call him."

Ding Youtian raised his eyebrows, "I know why he wants to see me."

"Oh, what's the matter?" Jane Ning asked.