Life went on peacefully like this, and after only a few days in Miaozhou, the Dragon Boat Festival arrived.

Although Miaozhou is close to the Miao River, it does not have the custom of dragon boat racing. However, some families make zongzi (sticky rice dumplings). Xu Zhi inquired about it early on and prepared the necessary materials for the Dragon Boat Festival a few days in advance, such as zongzi leaves, glutinous rice, red dates, red beans and mung beans for making red bean paste, and cured meat.

Zheng Boyuan was the Prefectural Assistant of Miaozhou, responsible for the compilation and collation of the prefecture's records. His job was relatively easy, and he had a few servants to help him with the work. Although Zheng Boyuan had been serving in the army for many years, he had studied under famous teachers when he was young, so he could quickly get the hang of general document verification work.

Prefect Chu Huaigui and Assistant Prefect Wan Jingchen each had their own courtyards in the prefectural government office, so Zheng Boyuan rarely saw them. However, he often saw Registrar Feng Shaoli, since they worked in the same courtyard.

There was a special place for cooking in the government office, where lunch was provided every day. A skilled chef was hired to prepare this lunch. Sometimes Zheng Boyuan would stay at noon if he needed to work overtime. The food was indeed quite delicious.

Having spent a long time with Feng Shaoli, Zheng Boyuan greatly admired this colleague who was organized and methodical. Feng Shaoli had many tasks on his hands, most of which were handled by Tongzhi Wan Jingchen. It was also because Feng Shaoli was so capable that Wan Jingchen did not need to be here often to handle many things in Miaozhou properly.

During the Dragon Boat Festival, with the help of the new cook they hired, Xu Zhi wrapped a lot of zongzi (sticky rice dumplings).

Early in the morning, the zongzi were cooked. Xu Zhi said to Zheng Boyuan, who was about to go out, "Brother Boyuan, should we give some zongzi to our neighbors?"

Zheng Boyuan thought for a moment and said, "If you're going to send them, then send them all. Let Bai Ying and the others do it. You don't need to go."

Xu Zhi agreed, and watched as Bai Ying found three bamboo baskets, took out some of the cooked zongzi of various flavors, put them in, and then carried one out the door.

Xu Zhi found another bamboo basket, put some in it, and said, "Brother Boyuan, take these and share them with your colleagues."

Zheng Boyuan took the basket and thanked her, saying, "It's all thanks to Ajiu's thoughtfulness."

Zheng Boyuan carried the basket to the government office. Bai Ying returned quickly. She first went to the Chu family, then went to the Wan family, and finally went to the Feng family with the basket.

Xu Zhi happened to be free, so she smiled and said, "Sister Bai Ying, let me go to the Feng family with you."

Hearing Xu Zhi's words, Hong Gu washed her hands and said, "Miss, please change your clothes before you go."

"No need, Sister-in-law Feng won't blame me for not changing my clothes. Hong Gu, let's go together."

The two houses had their gates next to each other. After the three of them went out, they knocked on the Feng family's gate and heard a sweet voice inside ask, "Who is it?"

Bai Ying naturally knew that this was the second daughter of the Feng family, named Miao Jie'er, and replied with a smile, "Is this Miao Jie'er? We are from the Zheng family next door, bringing you zongzi (sticky rice dumplings)."

The door was opened from the inside, and Xu Zhi saw a round-faced little girl staring at her with her big, round eyes.

Xu Zhi liked children very much, especially cute ones. Seeing the little girl staring at her without blinking, she smiled and asked, "Are you a child of this family?"

The little girl nodded quickly and said, "I am my parents' second daughter. Hello, madam. Please come in and have a seat."

The little girl, acting like a little adult, invited Xu Zhi in. Xu Zhi smiled and took out two pieces of pine nut candy from her purse, saying, "These are for you. Thank you for inviting us to your home."

Ping had already heard the commotion and came from behind. When she saw Xu Zhi standing at the gate, she quickly greeted her with a smile: "Oh, it's Madam Zheng. Please come in, please come in."

This courtyard has the same layout as the one where Xu Zhi lives. There is a sycamore tree in the front yard, which is already as thick as a bowl. Under the tree, there is a stone table and several stone benches. Ping Shi did not let Xu Zhi sit on the stone benches, but instead brought out a few stools from the house and said, "It's a bit cold to sit on these stone benches, let's sit here."

After Xu Zhi thanked her, she saw a girl of about ten years old carrying a kettle and a tea tray coming from the moon gate on the east side. She was probably the eldest daughter of the Feng family.

Ping took the things from the girl's hands and said, "He'er, take your sister to play in the back."

To everyone's surprise, the little girl who had just opened the door refused to go in. Instead, she turned to Ping Shi and said, "Mother, I don't want to go to the back. I want to see the fairy sister here."

Everyone laughed when they heard what Miao Jie'er said. Xu Zhi smiled and pulled Miao Jie'er over, saying to Ping Shi, "Good sister-in-law, just for Miao Jie'er calling me a fairy sister, you have to grant this girl's wish, right?"

Ping wanted her child to behave better in front of Xu Zhi, at least to behave politely.

This was the first time He Jie'er had met someone like Xu Zhi. She was very gentle, but she didn't seem like the lively people she had met before. Instead, she seemed distant and someone she had to look up to.

Bai Ying said to Madam Ping, "Madam Feng, we are neighbors. They say that a close neighbor is worse than a distant relative. Our girls are unfamiliar with this place, so it is lucky that they can get to know someone like you. We will definitely visit each other often in the future. Let the two girls have a good time here."

Miao Jie nodded vigorously after hearing Bai Ying's words. Xu Zhi took a zongzi and stuffed it into Miao Jie's hand, saying, "Here, I helped wrap this. I've tasted it, and it tastes very good. You should try it too and see if it's delicious."

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