Xue Zhi awkwardly withdrew his hand, "Have you put out lunch?"

Xue Shao nodded, "Yes, I came to call you to eat."

Xue Zhi coughed lightly, put his hands behind his back, and stood up and left the house.

Xue Shao followed him and asked, "Dad, why are you smelling your hands?"

Xue Zhi couldn't explain it to him, so he could only say, "Dad just sweated a lot, does it smell bad?"

Xue Shao looked disgusted, "Then go wash your hands quickly, wash them clean before you eat."

Xue Zhi had to pretend to wash his hands in the bucket by the well. Xue Shao even gave him soap, fearing that he wouldn't wash them clean.

After washing their hands, the father and son entered the main room one after the other.

The food in the main room had already been placed on the table. Old man Zheng and old lady Zheng sat at the top, with Zheng Ren on the right and Zheng Xiu on the left, leaving the seat next to them empty. Zheng Yu sat at the bottom and waved to Xue Shao, who trotted over and squeezed in with him.

After Xue Zhi sat down next to Zheng Xiu, old man Zheng said, "Everyone is here, let's eat." He picked up a piece of meat for Zheng Xiu with chopsticks and said, "Xiu, you've been busy for half the morning. You must be tired."

Zheng Xiu also picked up some food for old lady Zheng and said, "Grandma has helped a lot, too."

The two children followed suit. Zheng Yu picked up some food for Xue Shao and said, "Shao, you've worked hard in school. Eat more."

Xue Shao also picked up some food for him and said, "You've worked hard too. Eat more and grow stronger."

The children's words made all the adults at the table laugh.

Zheng Ren couldn't help but laugh and said, "Ah Shao, don't call me 'Ah Yu' anymore. You should call me uncle."

Xue Shao couldn't even say 'mother' to Zheng Xiu in person this morning, let alone Zheng Yu who was only less than half a year older than him. He was immediately embarrassed.

Zheng Xiu helped to smooth things over, saying, "Dad, just let them go and yell. They are all of different ages. It's bound to be awkward to yell with their seniority. As long as A Shao knows it in his heart, it's fine."

Zheng Ren was originally teasing Xue Shao, and seeing that his face was flushed, he also said, "Well, A Shao is smart, it's fine as long as he knows it in his heart."

But Zheng Yu was embarrassed, and with a sly smile on his face, he picked up a chicken leg and put it in Xue Shao's bowl, saying, "Come on, nephew, don't be polite, eat more!"

Everyone at the table laughed.

After lunch, Zheng Ren returned to the academy, and the two children also went to school. The two elders of the Zheng family went back to the house to rest.

After Zheng Xiu and Aunt Qian had cleared the dishes, they also prepared to go back to the house to rest for a while.

Xue Zhi also had nothing to do and was very idle, so he just swept the yard, and then fed the chickens and the dogs. He always felt uncomfortable if he didn't find something to do. But thinking back to the past, he was also so idle when he was at home or not hunting in the mountains, but now it felt weird. Especially when Zheng Xiu was busy in and out, and always had something to do, he felt more and more that his idleness was shameful.

Zheng Xiu was afraid that he would find something to do again. The firewood in the yard was enough to use for a month, and the ground in the yard had been swept away without a single fallen leaf. She was afraid that if he continued to look for work, Aunt Qian would lose her job.

Fortunately, Xue Zhi was very obedient. When she called him, he quickly put down his work and went back to the house with her.

Zheng Xiu let her hair down, took off her shoes, and got on the kang. She asked him, "Do you want to take a nap?"

Xue Zhi didn't have the habit of taking a nap, but at this time he nodded and said, "It just so happens that I feel a little tired."

Then he sat on the edge of the kang, took off his shoes, and climbed into the kang.

The two lay down side by side, and couldn't fall asleep for a while.

Zheng Xiu found a topic to talk about, "When is the White Widow getting married?" She remembered that Xue Zhi had promised to go to the wedding banquet. Now that they have become a family, she will naturally go there and prepare money for the wedding gift.

Xue Zhi thought for a moment and said, "Probably in June. I didn't ask for the details."

June means there is still more than a month left, so there is no rush.

"Why didn't you invite Bai Liaohu's family to the wedding banquet yesterday?"

"I did, but Bai Liaohu refused to come. I did send the gift."

Zheng Xiu understood. She thought that Bai Liaohu felt sorry for Xue Zhi because his sister had found another man. In addition, he had wanted to marry his sister to Xue Zhi, so it was not easy to face the Zheng family.

"Then invite Bai Liaohu to your home for dinner some other day." Zheng Xiu said. Xue Zhi didn't have many friends here, and Bai Liaohu was the only one he often interacted with. There was no reason for them to become estranged just because Xue Zhi got married.

Xue Zhi responded sullenly.

Zheng Xiu thought he was feeling sleepy, so she stopped talking and closed her eyes to get sleepy.

Xue Zhi lifted his eyelids depressedly and glanced at Zheng Xiu secretly. Seeing that she was almost asleep, he became even more angry. Although he knew that their marriage was a stopgap measure, how could Zheng Xiu have no grudges against the White Widow? She even invited the White Hunter to her home for dinner?

He remembered that when he was at home, if his elder brother looked at another maid for a little longer, his elder sister-in-law would frown for a long time!

The girl was too generous! So generous that he felt uncomfortable!

After a while, Zheng Xiu fell asleep, and her breathing became very even.

Xue Zhi was so angry when he saw her sleeping so soundly that he couldn't fall asleep at all. But he couldn't bring himself to do it to such a pretty face of Zheng Xiu. He could only flick her forehead twice to vent his anger.

Zheng Xiu suddenly lost consciousness. She had a very comfortable nap and slept for a full hour.

Xue Zhi lay there straight for an hour.

After Zheng Xiu got up, she combed her hair and went out of the house. Xue Zhi also got up quickly to move around. He was afraid of waking her up after lying there for so long, so he didn't dare to move. Half of his body was numb.

It was almost May, and the weather was getting hotter day by day.

Zheng Xiu made new summer clothes for her family. Of course, she selected the material and sent it to Madam Su to make it. If she were to make it, she might not be able to make a decent piece in a whole summer.

After putting on the new thin clothes, her mood also improved.

However, Zheng Xiu found that Xue Shao was acting strange these days. The little guy seemed to be out of energy and even looked listless when eating and talking. She asked Xue Zhi, but she didn't know whether Xue Zhi really didn't know or was pretending. He just shook his head and told her not to worry about it and to leave Xue Shao alone. He would be fine in a few days. Usually,

he would respond to Zheng Xiu's requests and answer whatever she said. So this time, she thought that as long as she asked, Xue Zhi would tell her everything. Unexpectedly, he suddenly became stubborn and didn't say a word to her even after she talked for a long time.

Zheng Xiu was puzzled, so he took Xue Shao aside one night to interrogate him.

Xue Shao hesitated and refused to speak.

Zheng Xiu pretended to be angry and said, "Don't you consider me a family member?"

"No, sister..." Xue Shao wanted to call her 'sister', but realized it was wrong when the words came to his lips, and then said, "I can't say it. If I say it, you will... not like me anymore."

Zheng Xiu said seriously, "What are you talking about? A Shao, although you haven't changed your words yet, I still treat you as my own child. In my eyes, there is no difference between you and A Yu. Do you think A Yu has hidden anything from me? He had a funny dream, and he wanted to tell me every word of it."

"That's different," Xue Shao tied his clothes, "This is not a fun thing."

Zheng Xiu gently hugged him, "You should tell me about bad things. We are a family and should share the burden together."

Xue Shao hesitated and said, "The day after tomorrow... the day after tomorrow is my birthday."

Zheng Xiu raised her eyebrows, "Birthday? That's great! Why didn't you tell me earlier so that we can celebrate for you together!"

Xue Shao tied his clothes, "But the day after tomorrow... the day after tomorrow is the fifth day of May."

"Isn't the fifth day of May the Dragon Boat Festival? It's a good day..." Zheng Xiu paused when she said this. She suddenly thought of a saying of this era, 'If a child is born on May 5th, it will harm the father if it is a boy and the mother if it is a girl'. The child who was given birth on this day was considered a great disaster in that era. Many families who gave birth to children on this day would abandon them. It is said that Meng Changjun was born on the fifth day of the fifth month and was almost abandoned.

No wonder the father and son kept it a secret, probably because they were afraid that she would dislike it.

Zheng Xiu didn't know how much Xue Shao had suffered outside, she just felt distressed and touched his head gently, "Are you silly? What about the Dragon Boat Festival? Our family can still celebrate your birthday while eating rice dumplings and drinking realgar wine."

Xue Shao murmured, "But I postpone my birthday by one month every year. My father said that May is not a good month, it is an evil month."

But Zheng Xiu could also see that this birthday had obviously become a knot in Xue Shao's heart, and it was not like he would be free of grudges if he postponed it for one month.

"It's a good birthday, why delay it? There are only twelve months in a year, and so many people are born in each month. Almost one in every twelve people is born in May. Does that mean they are all bad? Let's ignore those and just celebrate our birthday." Zheng Xiu smiled softly, "What does our Shao want for his birthday? Although it's a bit rushed and we don't have time to prepare something too grand, just tell me and I'll think of a solution for you."

Xue Shao asked in a low voice, "Can we really celebrate our birthday on the Dragon Boat Festival?"

Zheng Xiu smiled and nodded, encouraging him to speak boldly.

Xue Shao then boldly said: "Then I want the whole family to get together and have a hot and noisy meal. In the morning... in the morning, I also want to have a bowl of longevity noodles with an egg!"