Chapter 514 Letter

If you burn the pig's trotters to charcoal, then the rest of the food will probably be burnt too, right?

It's Chinese New Year, and there are only four pig trotters in total. What a waste!

Song Chunxue looked at the eldest son sitting on the platform, holding his three little nephews in his arms.

"What about the others? Are they still edible?"

The eldest brother chuckled, "Luckily I didn't cook much. The pig tails I originally wanted to eat were burnt, but they turned out quite nice for starting a fire."

The third son greeted her with a smile, "Mother, please come inside and sit down. If you're hungry, have some sesame seeds first."

A group of people went to the north room in a lively atmosphere. Song Chunxue, as the eldest elder, sat in the armchair and asked all sorts of questions, including whether Xu Dahong had returned to her parents' home, whether her family members were in good health, and how the harvest was last year.

Being a senior who never makes the conversation awkward is really tedious, but she found that if she didn't speak, the eldest son, Sanwa, and He Chuan would also fall silent.

Fortunately, not long after, Mulan and Hongying brought over meat dishes, and everyone helped carry the food, making the table full.

The fourth brother was originally going to come back and celebrate the New Year with them, but the second brother stopped him, saying he couldn't stand being alone.

Song Chunxue felt that the fourth brother was mainly reluctant to part with Tian Qi. Since he had gone to her tavern, he was bound to help her and be the main force. He was very talkative and also quite capable. He probably became Tian Qi's backbone.

Tian Qi's father lost his wife early in life, and Tian Qi is his only daughter. However, her father is now looking to remarry and they have been living in the same courtyard for a long time. He has been thinking about finding a son-in-law to take care of Tian Qi.

Thinking of this, Song Chunxue was furious. How come all her sons were destined to become live-in sons-in-law?

This is unbelievable!

However, if the fourth son insists on becoming a live-in son-in-law, she can't stop him, but she will definitely skin him alive and throw away his entire inn, to see if the Tian family will still have the nerve to take the fourth son as a live-in son-in-law.

Money makes the world go round, and she has that ability now.

The fort was very lively. After the family had a lively meal, they went to the open space outside to set off firecrackers.

They originally planned to set off fireworks in the field, but were reprimanded by He Chuan and Hong Ying.

There are so many stacks of hay piled up in the yard. If we wait a little longer to light them, the New Year will be much more lively.

Afterwards, they discussed going up the mountain to the temple to burn incense. Xu Dahong and Jiang Huan both wanted to climb Peach Blossom Mountain, and Sanwa suggested locking the door and going together, even bringing the dog.

Song Chunxue thought it was pointless; as an old woman, she couldn't connect with young people.

"You guys go ahead, I won't go. You can bring the dog on a leash, so they can have a good New Year too."

Sanwa looked at her, hesitant to speak, and asked, "So, Mother, where are you planning to go for a walk? Should we go back to your parents' home tomorrow to visit your uncle and aunt?"

Song Chunxue took out a book, placed it on the table, poured a drop of water into the inkstone, and began grinding.

She looked relaxed. "I'm not going. Don't look at me with that pitying expression. I'm not afraid of being alone. Isn't this how it's been for most of my life? Before, when you guys went out to play, I was the only one busy at home. I didn't feel lonely at all."

In her past life, whenever there was a holiday, the children would go out to play together, while she stayed home alone to clean the kitchen and yard. The house was quiet, and she felt incredibly lonely and desolate.

But now, she desperately wants everyone to leave her alone. She has so many things she wants to do, and she hasn't had time to do many of them yet.

Everyone had left, and she felt completely relaxed and at ease.

Sanwa laughed, "That's good. I was worried you'd be sad being all alone, so I was thinking of sending you out to find someone to chat with."

Hearing the child calling for his third uncle in the courtyard outside, Song Chunxue waved her hand and urged, "Go play quickly. Take good care of Mulan. She's pregnant. Keep an eye on her. I'm busy."

Sanwa was still worried, so he went to the door and asked, "What do you want to eat? I'll buy it for you when we get back."

“Everyone else has gone home for the New Year, and all the shops on the street are closed. There’s wine and meat at home, and I’m not greedy,” Song Chunxue said irritably. “Why are you so long-winded now?”

"Okay, okay, I won't bother you anymore, I'm leaving~"

The child asked where Grandma went and whether she was going with them.

The third child replied that Grandma was busy reading.

Xiaolong and Xiaoxu looked very surprised.

"Grandma is old, why does she still need to study?"

This remark caused everyone in the courtyard to burst into laughter.

Hongying rubbed their heads and pushed them outside, saying, "Come on, come on, your grandma isn't old. She's cultivating herself, so she's aging slowly. Besides, grandma will be unhappy."

Xiao Xu's serious voice drifted from outside the gate, "Yes, Grandma is more energetic than Mother. Mother should hurry up and start her cultivation, otherwise she'll be older than Grandma in a few years, and what will Father do if he wants to take a concubine?"

"You little brat, where did you learn that? How am I older than your grandma?" Jiang Hongying's angry voice came from behind. "I'm just a farmer, of course I age faster than others."

Afterwards, everyone comforted her, and He Chuan said that children speak without thinking, and that he would never take a concubine, so Hongying shouldn't worry.

Judging from Hongying's voice, those words hurt her.

She was a little sad.

"Hmph, let's take better care of ourselves this year. We've spent so much money to let others cultivate our land. Otherwise, when we get old and hunched over, our children will think we're a burden."

Song Chunxue couldn't hear what He Chuan said anymore; they had walked far away, their voices drowned out by the children's laughter.

I advised Hongying not to work so hard before, but she wouldn't listen. Now that the child has said this, she will definitely change.

In this life, only you can truly cherish yourself. You can't rely on anyone else, and you shouldn't use hard work and toil to hold yourself hostage.

The saying goes, "If a person doesn't look out for themselves, they'll be punished by heaven and earth." This shows how important it is to treat yourself well.

The eldest son's family planned to stay in the county for a few more days. Jiang Huan wanted to play with everyone, so the eldest son made arrangements with the people on the village in advance and asked Li Dazui to help feed the livestock.

On the fourth day of the Lunar New Year, they went out for a stroll together again. On the evening of the fifth day, there were folk performances, flower boat lion dances, and opera performances.

Song Chunxue stayed at home with her two dogs.

"Knock knock knock".

Just as Song Chunxue was practicing her short sword skills in the courtyard, she heard someone knocking on the door.

The two dogs darted out like arrows, clearly heading to knock on the gate of the fort.

She wasn't surprised at all. She saw magpies landing on the courtyard wall in the morning, and there were two groups of them, but no one came during the day.

She opened the door to stop the barking dog.

Shh~ You two keep your voices down.

A man stood outside the door with a backpack slung across his shoulder.

"Is this Song Chunxue's house? There's a letter for you."

As he spoke, he handed two letters to her.

"I've already paid, goodbye."

Two letters?

The first two times there was only one letter; Lord Xie would write her a letter every month.

She leaned closer to look and saw that the handwriting belonged to her senior brother.

It's rare that my senior brother has finally decided to say something to her.

She closed the courtyard gate and hurried back to her room, surrounded by her two dogs, where she opened the envelope under the oil lamp.

Seeing this letter is like seeing you in person. Dear junior brother:

My senior brother's bold, flowing calligraphy came into view.

It turns out that my senior brother went to the desert, where he met with some old acquaintances by Crescent Lake to prepare for the New Year.

In just a few dozen words, Song Chunxue was told not to worry and was urged to practice diligently and not to slack off.

He didn't say when he would come back to see her, nor did he say why he left; not a single extra word was said.

"Clang, clang, clang."

The knocking sounded again.