Chapter 219 Received a Letter

At the end of the hour of Hai, the snow stopped.

The starlight is as clear as water.

Su Zhizhi built the last snowman that looked like Po in the yard and walked into the house holding a handful of snow.

As soon as he entered, Wu Yingniang dragged him to the charcoal brazier to warm his hands.

"Look at your hands, they're frozen solid. And your sleeves are so wet." Wu Yingniang pushed her daughter into the room helplessly. "Hurry up and change your clothes, or you'll catch a cold."

Su Zhizhi was changing clothes while she was having wild thoughts:

"It would be great if cotton-padded jackets were as waterproof as water jackets, so we could play in the water and snow as much as we want."

Wu Yingniang pinched Su Zhizhi's red nose and said, "Write to Chunniang later and ask if you can sew a layer of water-resistant fabric on the outside of your cotton-padded jacket."

Su Zhizhi changed her clothes and walked back to the charcoal brazier to warm herself by the fire.

Hao Ren cooked some sweet soup beside the charcoal basin and put out a few plates of snacks.

Su Zhizhi said that she wanted to have two New Year's Eve dinners, but they had already eaten a lot in the evening and really couldn't eat the second one.

Although Hao Ren hadn't eaten much in the palace, he couldn't eat meat at this time.

The whole family ate some sweet snacks and stayed up together to celebrate the New Year.

The sounds of firecrackers and fireworks could be heard from time to time outside, and warm smoke rose from the stove inside the house.

Hao Ren talked about being named an imperial merchant, and discussed with Wu Yingniang how to proceed in the capital.

Su Zhizhi was eating snacks and listening attentively at first, but she became drowsy later.

When she was feeling dizzy, there was a loud sound of firecrackers outside.

Hua Er Niang and the others were playing with firecrackers in the yard.

It's midnight, the new year has begun.

Su Zhizhi suddenly became much more sober and jumped up from the chair:

"I'm ten years old."

"Well, Zhizhi is ten years old." Hao Ren pushed a box to Su Zhizhi.

When Su Zhizhi opened it, she saw that this year the box contained not copper coins but some small change.

She couldn't figure out how many sugar figures she could buy with this silver, hundreds or thousands?

Faced with such a huge sum of money, Su Zhizhi was a little dumbfounded.

Hao Ren said, "Now that we are in the capital, our expenses will be higher than before. Zhizhi, you are also one year older, so you may want to spend more money."

"Thank you, Dad." Su Zhizhi put the box away and felt that she had never been so rich.

She knew the village made a lot of money, but that was different from her owning a whole box of change!

Wu Yingniang also held out a box:

"Zhizhi, you are ten years old now, and mother has something to give you."

In Wu Yingniang's hand was a large black wooden box with a copper lock and no patterns.

Su Zhizhi opened the box and saw a whip inside, the whip glowing faintly in the candlelight.

Wu Yingniang has a generous personality and has never been a sentimental person. When faced with difficulties, she doesn't even frown and just works her way through them.

But in the soft light tonight, there was actually a hint of moisture in her eyes.

She said, "Zhizhi, you are ten years old. This is the golden dragon whip left by your biological mother. Today I give it to you."

When Su Zhizhi heard that it was the whip left by her biological mother, she carefully took it out of the box.

It felt heavy in the hand, much heavier than the snakeskin whip Su Zhizhi usually used, and it was much more powerful when swung out.

Su Zhizhi walked to the door with a whip in hand and whipped it hard into the air.

The long whip broke through the night, making a sharp sound in the air, and startled the dead branches in the yard to tremble.

Wu Yingniang said, "This is made of golden meteorite iron. It has been tempered through thousands of hammers. It is as flexible as a snake, but still has the toughness of steel."

Su Zhizhi waved excitedly a few times, breathing a little hard.

Her eyes sparkled, brighter than when she saw the whole box of silver:

"My mother's whip skills must be amazing. She can swing a whip this heavy. If she swings it a few hundred times, she might be able to split mountains and shatter rocks!"

Wu Yingniang laughed, "It's really powerful. It can break rocks, sure, but I've never seen it split a mountain. You should practice your whip skills well. When you grow up, maybe you can try splitting a mountain."

At night, before going to bed, Su Zhizhi placed the two boxes next to her pillow and lay on it with a smile.

Mom is so nice.

Both the mother in heaven and the mother around me are good.

No matter where you go, remember to leave a gift for her.

The sound of firecrackers outside has become quieter.

Su Zhizhi fell asleep peacefully with a sweet smile on her face.

The morning after the New Year's Eve banquet, Hao Ren received a letter secretly delivered by Qin Yuan.

There were two unsigned letters, brought back from the northwest by Qin Yuan after completing his mission of escorting military uniforms. He had just arrived in the capital the day before yesterday, and this morning he had someone disguised as a merchant secretly deliver them.

One letter to Hao Ren and one letter to Su Zhizhi.

I heard that Xue Che had already settled down in the Northwest Military Camp and was claiming to be the distant cousin of Deputy General Yun Jin.

Su Zhizhi didn't expect to receive a letter from Xue Che so soon.

Gu——gu——

Po was flapping his wings outside the window, tapping on the window frame with his sharp beak.

Su Zhizhi took a sip of the warm rice milk and lay on the couch by the window, dangling her feet.

"Abao, Ache has a letter. Let me read you what he wrote."

Po flapped his wings expectantly, and the snow on the branches outside fell down, soaking Po's head.

Su Zhizhi giggled, then unfolded the letter:

【Knowing that seeing the words is like meeting:

It has been several months since we parted ways. I have arrived in the northwest, and am now training with the army every day.

The wind is strong and the cold is bitter here, but I get to see my father every day, and he gets to see me too. The weapons in the barracks are heavy, and I practice with them, my strength growing day by day.

My master's strict supervision of swordsmanship has gradually improved my swordsmanship. Furthermore, I haven't forgotten to study even in the army. Recently, I've been reading several military books. When I have questions, my father has been attentive and has benefited greatly from his guidance.

Although the food in the military camp is not as good as the cooking of Aunt Qiu and Aunt Ying, and there are no wild fruits from Lingnan, I am determined and do not consider it a hardship.

Zhizhi, when you are in Beijing, don't forget your studies, practice calligraphy diligently, and don't waste your time playing around.

Books cannot express everything, please take care. 】

There was no signature at the end of the letter.

Su Zhizhi read the letter twice and shook her head repeatedly:

"He was so far away, yet he still urged me to practice calligraphy."

Su Zhizhi pinched her arm, suspecting that if Xue Che continued to train like this, he might become stronger than her.

She put the letter away, picked up the whip and went out of the house to practice.

She was still using the snake skin whip that Old Man Qin had made for her. She treasured the golden dragon whip she had received last night and was reluctant to use it for her usual practice.

Su Zhizhi took out the "Golden Dragon Whip Technique" and turned to the place where she practiced last time.

The second half of this secret book is not so easy to practice, and it requires repeated practice for a long time. Su Zhizhi has now practiced to the last third, and it would be good if she can finish practicing this secret book in the new year.

After Su Zhizhi finished practicing, she wiped the sweat from her head and went to have lunch.

Old Xu was preparing food in the kitchen. He gave Abao a piece of raw meat and a bowl of mutton soup dumplings to Su Zhizhi.

The midday sun is at its best.

Su Zhizhi eats dumplings and Abao chews meat, how happy they are.

However, at such a happy moment, Hao Ren opened his mouth, and his words were like a bolt from the blue:

"Now that we've settled down and each of us has our own tasks assigned to us, it's time to talk about Zhizhi's schooling."

Pah.

The slippery dumpling escaped from Su Zhizhi's chopsticks and fell back into the soup bowl.

"Go to school?" Su Zhizhi couldn't believe her ears. "Didn't I go to school before?"