In early November, frost and light snow fell, and the evenings gradually turned chilly, with the leaves turning slightly white.

Niu Da, Shen Yu, Niu Yong, Niu Cuihua, Niu Meihua, Xiao Heng, Sang Yu, and Sang Rong all returned from the fields.

Ji Ying and Ji Duo also returned. They had mainly gone to admire the vegetables; neither of them knew how to work, and they weren't hired helpers by Niu Da.

Niu Da and Niu Yong each carried a large basket of radishes and lettuce, while Chen Yu and her daughters each carried a small basket of cabbage, greens, winter bamboo shoots, and daylilies.

After putting it down, Chen Yu smiled and said:

"A lot of winter bamboo shoots have grown on the back hill this year, so I'll make you a stew of bamboo shoots and pork today! As for the rest, Mom will make you some crispy and sour bamboo shoots!"

"Mom's crispy pickled bamboo shoots are so delicious!" Little Fu Bao exclaimed, then suddenly blurted out in his local dialect, "They're so crunchy and fragrant!"

The whole room burst into laughter. Niu Yong said, "Little Fu Bao, who taught you this Northeastern accent? It sounds quite authentic! Haha!"

Little Fu Bao shook her cute little head and said in a clear voice, "I learned it from the plays!"

Xiao Heng looked at the little girl with eyes full of doting affection.

The dozen or so female workers at the house sat at another table. After finishing their meal, they all dispersed. After dinner, Niu Da went to the ginseng field to fertilize the ginseng.

Now that it's October, there's been more rain and snow, which has made things much easier for Niu Da's family. They've even hired someone to look after their vegetable garden.

Sangyu was in charge of the land he had purchased from the Tan family.

Niu Da was in charge of the family's land and dozens of trees.

Chen Yu was in charge of pickling vegetables.

Everyone had their own tasks, and everything proceeded in an orderly manner.

“I see that the fruit at home is almost ripe, and the fruit drink shop in the county is just sitting idle anyway, so why don’t we sell some fruit and make some juice while we’re at it, and see if it sells well!” Niu Dadao said.

Occasionally, Niu Da would pick some oranges, tangerines, winter dates, green dates, and hawthorns to sell at the county's fruit shops. The sweet potatoes planted with ginseng were also ready to bear fruit, and he could sell some of them as well.

"Wear something warm, it's getting colder and colder! When we come back from town later, we'll buy some more charcoal!" Chen Yu said, as she picked up several goose feather cloaks.

The cloak was embroidered with filigree gold cloud patterns.

Then I gave Xiao Fubao an eight-treasure stove.

“Little Fu Bao, your aunt’s due date is coming soon. When we get to the county, I’ll help you choose two bolts of fabric and shoe soles to make two sets of clothes for the baby!” Chen Yu said.

All seven members of the family went to the county.

Shen Yu was quite concerned about Magistrate Wang's matter. Upon arriving in the county, she saw the notice. She couldn't read all the characters, but Niu Meihua could:

"Mom, Magistrate Wang and Village Chief Zhao have been exiled to the army! And Magistrate Li has been executed!"

"How are the two daughters of Magistrate Wang, and the concubine who was made his official wife, doing?" Chen Yu asked.

It wasn't written on the notice.

Someone nearby said, "Sister, you rarely go out, right? His fourth wife denounced him, and not only was she innocent, but she was also credited for her report and left with her own daughter!" "Fortunately, his daughter from his first wife got married early! Otherwise, she would have suffered too!"

The only person Wang, the county magistrate, had was his daughter from his concubine.

"Where is this going to be charged?" Chen Yu asked.

"I heard it's for forced labor, probably to work in a mine in another city!"

Chen Yu remained silent.

Luckily, he didn't know that Xiao Fubao was his daughter. If she had been taken back, wouldn't he have suffered along with her?

"At the East Street vegetable market, Magistrate Li is going to be beheaded! Does anyone want to go and see?" The bold and curious were always eager to see what was happening, and many people followed.

“Little Fu Bao, let’s go home!” Chen Yu said.

"But Mom, it looks so lively over there!" Little Fu Bao wanted to see too.

“There’s nothing to see here. Let’s put these bolts of cloth in the shop and help your father sell fruit. That’s more fun than this!” Chen Yu said.

"Oh, what a pity, she's not interested in the excitement."

As soon as they returned to the shop, the whole family started talking about it. Niu Dadao said, "Village Chief Zhao and County Magistrate Wang were exiled, County Magistrate Li was beheaded, and County Magistrate Wang's affair of buying an official position was exposed. This matter is probably not that simple. It may involve some big shot. Although County Magistrate Li is a county magistrate, he shouldn't be so easily involved in buying and selling official positions!"

Chen Yu said, "Wang, the county magistrate, is probably not the only one who could buy his way into office under Magistrate Li. When the time comes, many people will be implicated in the mess."

Niu Cuihua said, "Father, Mother, I wonder who will be elected as the village head this time?"

Little Fu Bao listened silently, then suddenly spoke up: "Choose a daddy!"

The whole family turned to look at Xiao Fubao. Niu Da laughed and said, "Daddy doesn't want to be a village head. I'm too busy with my own business."

"Father will first be a minor official, then a major official," said Xiao Fubao.

Niu Da laughed and ignored Xiao Fubao's innocent remarks. He was already thirty-one years old and had only just learned a few characters, some of which he still had to guess.

"Father, you're neither good at literature nor martial arts, what kind of official can you be?"

Little Fu Bao lowered her head in frustration and muttered softly, "But Daddy is good at business!" However, although her father was good at business, he seemed to prefer carrying a hoe and hoeing the fields to do more business.

“Father, I’m thinking, why don’t we buy a carriage next year? It’s expensive, but it’ll be more convenient to travel! The restaurant is going to be built next year, and if we can travel faster, it will be easier for us to go home and see the children!” “Besides, by the time the restaurant is finished next year, Cuihua will be almost thirteen. She doesn’t really want to continue studying and wants to join us in the business. Why don’t we go along with her wishes? What do you think?”

Niu Da tilted his head slightly and said, "Big girl, why don't you want to study anymore?"

Niu Cuihua said, "I've been studying for four years now. I've mastered arithmetic, the Pythagorean theorem, ancient mathematical classics, and arithmetic! Although I can't say for sure I know all the characters, at least I haven't encountered any I don't recognize yet. I'm not taking the imperial examinations, so I don't want to study anymore. Father, I prefer managing accounts to studying. Next year, once the restaurant is built, I'll help you and Mother with the business!"

Niu Da did not force her to study.

Niu Da didn't go home with them, but stayed at the shop to watch over it. Niu Yong drove the oxcart and took the group to Niu Xiaomei's house.

Niu Xiaomei is already more than seven months pregnant.

“Both little ones said they miss Qiao’er and Ke’er terribly, so I thought I’d take them to play with me for a couple of months, and then bring them back to you around the New Year!” Chen Yu said.

“It’s nice for several children to keep each other company!” said Niu Xiaomei.

Taking advantage of the few people in the room, Chen Yu said, "Little sister, I heard that when you're pregnant with a son, you'll get a lot of stretch marks and your belly button will turn inside out. Can you take a look, sister-in-law?"

Niu Xiaomei laughed and said, "Sister-in-law, this is an old almanac from hundreds of years ago! What's there to care about? Boys and girls are both your precious children."

Chen Yu laughed, "Sister-in-law knows Huaimin isn't that kind of person. You're overthinking it. I was just wondering whether to embroider a tiger's head or a rabbit's head on the hat!" "Fine, I'll embroider two of each. If it's a boy, I'll get the tiger's head one, and the rabbit's head can be saved for Cuihua in the future."

"If it's a girl, then the tiger-head one should be left for Cuihua to use later. That would be best, since both can come in handy!"