An old woman immediately brought in a plate. Upon seeing four people, young and old, she promptly presented the plate to the white-bearded Doctor Gu, saying, "Please accept this, Doctor Gu."

After saying that, he opened the red silk covering it, revealing gleaming white silver ingots.

Doctor Gu was excited.

He forgot to place the bet with Doctor Wang, but he never expected there would be a consultation fee!

However... he cannot accept consultation fees.

Xiao Youran tugged at his sleeve, "Master, this is their gift of gratitude, please accept it!"

Is this a thank-you gift or a consultation fee?

Doctor Wang chuckled and stopped mocking him, "Look at your two good apprentices, quickly accept the gifts they're giving you!"

Only then did Doctor Gu accept it.

Oh, all that pure silver!

How long has it been since he made any money?!

So touching!

After the four men and Madam Sun bid farewell and left, Tie Tou's mother hurriedly helped Madam Sun into the house to sit down.

Sun Chengyuan was eager to go home. He had just made an appointment with Physician Wang to wait outside and take him to see his father.

So the mother and son hugged each other and cried for a while, then tidied up their things and left the small house.

Cui'er, who was waiting outside, rushed over and grabbed the young man's sleeve. "Cousin, take me with you! I can continue to serve you..."

Before Sun Chengyuan could answer, Tie Tou's mother rushed over and shoved a bundle into her daughter's hand. "You absolutely must! You've been taking care of your cousin these past few days. Although he's gotten a little better, he still needs your care. Go quickly!"

He then pushed the two of them toward the door.

Madam Sun frowned and gave a wink to an old woman, who then stopped Cui'er.

Iron-Headed Mother said, "Sister, it's almost New Year's, so let Cui'er stay with you for a few days. We'll bring her back when we go to the county town to pay our respects on the fifth day of the New Year. Besides, Cui'er has been taking care of Chengyuan these past few days, she..."

Madam Sun's brows furrowed sharply. "Sister, you must be careful what you say. What do you mean by 'personal care'? It's fine for my Chengyuan, but I'm afraid it will ruin your Cui'er's reputation."

Ironhead's mother smiled and said, "Sister, you just abandoned Chengyuan here like that, and no one took care of him... These days, when he's in pain, he cries out day and night. Washing clothes, cooking, serving tea and water, hasn't it all been my Cui'er who has to do it all? Even if she hasn't done anything special, she's still put in a lot of effort. Let her go to the county town to eat and drink well and stay for a few days, what's wrong with that?"

Hearing this, Madam Sun couldn't object anymore. She thought that with so many maids, servants, and young men in the county government office, it was impossible to let a little girl cause trouble. So she nodded in agreement, "Alright, it's really hard on Cui'er. Let you come with us to enjoy a few days of leisure."

Cui'er bowed happily, "Thank you, Aunt!"

...

Soon, firecrackers crackled and popped throughout the village; it was New Year's Eve.

Of the hundred or so households in the village, some are happy while others are sad.

The Yun family's old house was bustling with activity. Many villagers, to thank Xiao Fubao for his good idea, sent the green vegetables they grew using greenhouse technology to Tian Kuang's house.

The clan chief's wife happily brought over a large basket of dried black fungus, saying, "My husband said that this year, among all the villages in Wufeng County, Sanyang Village is the best off. It's all thanks to you two lucky ones! The villagers are able to grow some fresh vegetables to exchange for rice and flour, and the corn seeds have all sprouted and been planted in the fields. They'll grow in the spring, and we'll have a livelihood for next year!"

Through intentional or unintentional promotion, Sanyang Village has come to regard the Jiang siblings as one, both as blessed treasures.

Mrs. Zhou was all smiles as she greeted and saw off guests, saying to everyone she met, "These two Fu Baos, I wish they were my own sons and daughters!"

"Aren't your cousins ​​and nieces just like your own sons and daughters?! As long as they continue to live in your house, isn't that enough?"

However... outsiders may not know, but Zhou does. After the New Year, Su and her two children will probably have to return to Dingzhou.

So when the elders of the Yun family came to visit and offer New Year's greetings, they would intentionally or unintentionally mention to Madam Yun that her cousin and her two children should stay in Sanyang Village for a while longer so that they could bring more good fortune to the village.

That's a story for another time.

Meanwhile, a group of Yun family children were playing at the door. Xiaoshan and Shitou were teaching them how to pick up small firecrackers that had accidentally jumped out from the pile of red paper and then light the fuses with incense.

It was thrown away, and it exploded with a "bang".

Yun Tiankuang and the others found it very novel, as they had never played it before in the capital.

Unexpectedly, this simple and rough game has a unique kind of fun.

Little Youran was seemingly casually discussing with her brother, "Brother, what's inside these firecrackers? Why do they explode?"

Jiang Youchen held the firecracker scraps to his nose and smelled them, then frowned in thought, "There must be sulfur in them?"

Yun Tiankuang leaned closer and said, "Father once told me that if you put saltpeter and charcoal together and light them on fire, they might explode!"

Xiao Youran innocently said, "Wow, it flies high when it explodes, so can we tie it to a kite and make the kite fly high too?"

Jiang Youchen chuckled and patted his younger sister's head, "A kite needs the wind to fly, you know..."

Xiao Youran rolled her eyes. "Hey? Can someone fly high up with a kite tied to their clothes?"

Yun Tiankuang laughed too, "Little cousin, you really have a vivid imagination! How can a person fly into the sky?"

Xiao Youran blinked. "That's not necessarily true."

In her later life, she witnessed all sorts of different ways people flew into the sky...

Yun Tiankuang laughed it off, saying that his little cousin was still too young and it wasn't surprising that she spoke like a child.

He had no idea that years later, these few words he uttered today would lead to an astonishing achievement.

Just then, a horse-drawn carriage came clattering along.

Steward Zhang sat at the front of the carriage, smiling broadly.

Yun Tiankuang stepped forward and asked with surprise, "Steward Zhang, is something the matter?"

Butler Zhang said with a smile, "It's nothing, it's nothing. It's just that the young master instructed that we haven't sent the New Year's gifts to you and Miss You Ran's family yet, which is really impolite."

Jiang Youchen put on a stern face, "Senior Brother Da Bai is too kind, there's no need for that, Steward Zhang, please leave."

Butler Zhang smiled and said, "Some of these are gifts for Old Madam Yun and Aunt Su. Young Master Chen, please don't be offended."

As he spoke, he instructed the servant to drive the carriage to the front of the house. Two old women followed beside the carriage and quickly unloaded the things from it.

Upon hearing that there was something to offer as a gift to his great-aunt, Jiang Youchen felt it was no longer appropriate to refuse.

A group of children immediately gathered at the entrance to watch.

"Wow, so much cloth!"

"What a beautiful interstitial screen!"

"So many boxes, who knows what's inside..."

The children chattered excitedly.

Suddenly, as the two old women were carrying down a box, they tripped, and several boxes rolled out.