Chapter 513 Giving Candy

“No need…” Song Chunxue refused instinctively.

"Don't rush to refuse. You are a woman after all. No matter how skilled you are, if you encounter a group of robbers, it will be difficult for you to escape. Before coming to Jincheng, you had a Taoist priest with you. On this trip to Zhuanglang County, my people will escort you. Everyone will feel at ease."

Having said that, Song Chunxue did not refuse again.

She opened the handkerchief and saw the sweet potato with its charred skin.

She had seen it on the street before, but had never eaten it.

She broke it in half, and the inside looked like red soil after the rain. She handed one half to Xie Zheng, took a bite herself, and said, "Mmm, it's very sweet and delicious."

Xie Zheng took it. He didn't like sweets before, but this piece in his hand tasted especially sweet.

"I'll stop here. You can go now," Xie Zheng urged. "If we delay any longer, we'll have to stay outside the city, which is very dangerous."

Song Chunxue nodded and took out a piece of ink from her Qiankun bag. It was in a brocade box and looked very valuable.

"I found this on the way, you'll have to make do with it." She shoved the box into his arms and nimbly climbed into the carriage.

Xie Zheng looked at the box and couldn't help but shake his head and sigh, "This is top-quality Huizhou ink, and you say you'll just make do with it. Sister Song is indeed very wealthy."

Song Chunxue didn't understand, "Is Huizhou ink really that valuable?"

"This piece is more valuable than an equivalent weight of gold, don't you think?"

Song Chunxue smiled and nodded, "A good match for a good ink. There's another piece here, I'll give it all to you, it would be too wasteful for me to use it."

As she spoke, she handed another piece to Xie Zheng.

Xie Zheng said helplessly, "You can keep it and give it to others to make connections when Sanwa passes the imperial examination."

Song Chunxue raised an eyebrow, "Aren't you our most valuable connection?"

"This stuff won't spoil."

“I think adults need this kind of thing more than we do. It would be a waste to leave it in the hands of someone who doesn’t know its value. You can keep it for now.” Song Chunxue gently patted the horse’s rump with the whip. “Let’s go. Until we meet again.”

Xie Zheng looked at the two boxes of Huizhou ink in his hand, shook his head and smiled.

Trading one sweet potato for two inkstones—only Song Chunxue would do something like that.

...

The following day at noon, Song Chunxue returned to Zhuanglang County.

Looking at the familiar mountains and city gates, Song Chunxue felt joyful.

After going around in circles, this courtyard still gives her peace of mind.

As fate would have it, the entire journey was shrouded in gloom. Just as her carriage stopped outside the fortress gate, before she could even unload her bundle from the carriage, snowflakes began to fall gently from the sky.

Once inside the yard, the two dogs acted as if they had seen their own flesh and blood, pouncing on and biting Song Chunxue with great affection.

There's no place like home, and the kang (heated brick bed) she'd slept on for three years was still the most comfortable.

To her surprise, Mulan was pregnant.

Mulan said that she felt nauseous when she smelled cooking fumes after becoming pregnant, so Sanwa rolled up his sleeves and went to the kitchen to cook.

That's truly rare.

The third brother in his previous life was never this considerate to Mulan.

Hongying and Hechuan have been busy harvesting grain, and they've started finishing up in the last couple of days.

With too much grain to handle, they hired help, and the full granaries were a truly gratifying sight.

In the cold winter months, Hongying and Hechuan had some free time, and they opened a steamed bun shop using the shop that Song Chunxue had bought for them.

Seeing that the children's lives were getting better and better, Song Chunxue realized that there was nothing she needed to do, so she stopped getting involved in other people's affairs and began to cultivate regularly.

Three heavy snowfalls occurred in the twelfth lunar month, much to the delight of the farmers.

If wheat is covered with three layers of snow in winter, you'll sleep on a pillow of steamed buns next year.

The spring wheat harvest next year should be good.

Sanwa is getting busier and busier. After returning from school during the day, he often has to check the accounts of the inn and the cloth shop. He feels that he can't just focus on studying. If he doesn't make a name for himself in the future, he should at least have a reason to make a living.

Before you know it, the year-end is here. Every morning, Jiang Hongying's family will come to the fort to have a reunion dinner with them.

Dumplings, noodles with meat sauce, pork ribs, and various stir-fried and cold dishes—the three children enjoyed their meal the most.

On the third day of the Lunar New Year, the eldest son drove a donkey cart to Zhuanglang County, with his newlywed wife and Jiang Huan sitting on the cart.

When the eldest brother pushed the door open and came in, Song Chunxue almost didn't recognize him.

This man, with his straight back, eyes narrowed into slits when he smiled, and a set of white teeth, looked exactly like Lao Er, except for his slightly darker skin tone.

Feeling embarrassed by Song Chunxue's gaze, the eldest brother, carrying a large jar of sesame oil on his shoulder, laboriously placed it on the kitchen floor.

After coming out, he said with a smile, "Mom, Happy New Year!"

Seeing that he was dressed smartly and looked several years younger, Song Chunxue nodded with satisfaction.

"Good, you look better than before. Did your wife make these new clothes for you?"

The eldest nodded shyly, unable to hide the smile on his face, "Yeah, she's quite skillful with her hands."

As they were talking, Xu Dahong came in from outside, holding Jiang Huan's hand with one hand and carrying a pig's leg in the other.

For some reason, Song Chunxue suddenly noticed that this time when the eldest son's family came, the two dogs didn't bark at them, but instead circled around them, acting very enthusiastically.

Could it be that the person these two wolfhounds have always disliked is Chen Feng?

"Mother, how was your New Year?" Xu Dahong's young and tender face was flushed, just like her new orange dress. She lowered her head and shook Jiang Huan's hand. "Quickly call Grandma and wish her a Happy New Year. Grandma will give you money to ward off evil spirits."

Jiang Huan glanced at Song Chunxue, then turned to Xu Dahong and smiled, "Happy New Year."

Song Chunxue was astonished, "This child listens to you?"

Xu Dahong didn't back down and replied gently, "He didn't want to talk to me for the first month, but after he saw that I would cook delicious food to coax him, he started to follow me around."

Compared to before, Jiang Huan is less rigid and has a much better temper. He looks at Song Chunxue with a silly smile.

"Grandma, money to ward off evil spirits."

"Hey, don't worry, I'll get it for you right away."

Song Chunxue felt a mix of emotions. She reached out her hand and said, "Here, I'll go get it for Ah Huan from inside. Do you want some silver beans too?"

Jiang Huan grabbed Song Chunxue's fingers. She was wearing festive new clothes with rabbit fur around the sleeves, making her look a hundred times cuter than before.

What are silver beans?

It seems Jiang Huan isn't stupid; he likes Xu Dahong, but he's unwilling to call her "mother."

It's more like she sees Xu Dahong as an older sister.

“Silver beans can be used to buy candy,” Xu Dahong said with a smile. “They can also be saved up to help you get a wife in the future.”

Jiang Huan's eyes lit up. "I want gold beans."

The others came out of the north room, and He Chuan walked straight to the front door, taking the heavy load from the eldest brother's shoulder.

Jiang Huan looked at Sanwa and Mulan, then turned to Xu Dahong again, "What should I call them?"

Sanwa lowered his head and grasped Jiang Huan's hand, "Call me Third Uncle, and call her Third Aunt."

Jiang Huan nodded obediently, "Third Uncle, Third Aunt."

After saying that, he held out his hand, "Here's some candy."

Xu Dahong placed two candies in his palm, and this method worked quite well.

Song Chunxue looked at Sanwa, "What should you call her?"

Just because someone is young doesn't mean they shouldn't greet people.

Sanwa laughed and said, "Sister-in-law, come in and sit down. I'll go start the fire; lunch will be ready soon."

They had originally found an old woman to cook for them, but she went back to her own home for the New Year on the 29th. These past few days, Sanwa has been very enthusiastic about starting the fire.

Xu Dahong was flattered and said, "You're a scholar, how can you cook? Men are more likely to start fires in the kitchen. The eldest son cooked meat on New Year's Eve and burned two pig trotters to charcoal."