Ruan Banxia's father and brother are both gone, and her mother passed away early. She has a close relationship with Cheng Qingyan and Ye Lingyu, so she should go first to pay New Year's greetings.

She met them on the way here today, and she couldn't let Cheng Qingyan and Ye Lingyu go back for that reason. Then she went to Cheng Qingyan's house with Shen Ziyu to wish them a Happy New Year.

Such outdated and pedantic words could never have come out of her mouth.

Although going back to her house like this might be a bit rude, since Cheng Qingyan and Ye Lingyu have come over, they certainly won't blame her for this.

Suddenly, Ruan Banxia felt a sense of kinship, where she didn't have to be bound by etiquette in everything, and could occasionally go against the grain and break the mold without being blamed.

Although she was a traditional Chinese medicine doctor, and the villagers treated her with great respect, many people in the village still disliked her because, in the eyes of some villagers and many others, she was someone who did not follow the rules and etiquette.

In an era where rules and hierarchy are paramount, those who do not adhere to class systems and have strong opinions are the least likely to be accepted by the masses.

Although Cheng Qingyan comes from a civilized era a thousand years later, every era has people with outdated ideas.

Even though times have changed, some people's thoughts still seem to be stuck in a rut.

Ruan Banxia and Shen Ziyu, who had originally planned to go to Mengjia Village, are now returning to Shuanghe Village with Cheng Qingyan and the others.

In modern times, the system of exchanging New Year's greetings is no longer as strictly hierarchical.

However, it is generally customary to wish elders a Happy New Year first. For example, Cheng Qingyan and Ruan Banxia are of the same generation, and in modern times, they would not have any conflict over who said Happy New Year first.

Even nowadays, many people don't send New Year's greetings to all their friends.

If so, it's most likely a mass message.

After all, in this technological age, mass messaging saves a lot of trouble.

The chickens we brought were alive.

Upon arriving at Ruan Banxia's house, Meng Chuying skillfully began boiling water.

I had visited Ruan Banxia's house before, and she had helped with the cooking after she recovered from her illness.

The task of killing the chicken fell to Shen Ziyu, since Ruan Banxia was out of the question, Cheng Qingyan didn't know how, and Ye Lingyu was a guest.

Cheng Qingyan watched Shen Ziyu deftly butcher a chicken and asked Ruan Banxia, ​​"When you two are at home, does Brother Shen do all the cooking?"

Ruan Banxia didn't feel embarrassed at all. Instead, she readily admitted, "Pretty much. She does most of the cooking. Besides, even if I wanted to go into the kitchen, she wouldn't let me."

Cheng Qingyan had an "I knew it" look on his face: "Brother Shen must have suffered quite a bit from your medicinal cuisine, right?"

Ruan Banxia frowned slightly, but quickly recovered: "It's alright, I didn't think it was that bad. But she definitely wouldn't let me into the kitchen."

Cheng Qingyan tried to suppress her laughter, but after hearing it, she couldn't hold it in and burst into laughter without any regard for her image.

Ye Lingyu is alright; her smile is subtle.

"You guys are just too picky. When I'm alone, I cook and eat for myself and I'm doing just fine!" Ruan Banxia wanted to prove that they were the ones being picky and that she was the one who was easy to take care of.

Cheng Qingyan joked, "You? Forget about it. You're not just not picky, you probably have problems with your sense of taste and smell."

I don't need to go into detail about how unpleasant traditional Chinese medicine tastes, right?

Does adding rice to make a medicinal porridge mean that the medicinal flavor of the herbs will disappear?

Of course not, we must preserve the medicinal effects; otherwise, why would we add other medicinal herbs?

As for the medicinal cuisine cooked by Ruan Banxia, ​​she had nothing to say in her own words, and could only shrug and say, "But it's good for your health."

"It's good for your health, but we can't stand the taste. Only you can."

"Who said that? Sister-in-law ate some before, didn't she?" Ye Lingyu, Ruan Banxia's sister-in-law, was eating snacks.

She patted the sunflower seed crumbs off her hands: "Yes, I have."

Cheng Qingyan felt a pang of heartache; her wife had drunk such bitter and unpleasant medicinal food without batting an eye.

“My wife is reluctant to waste food, not because your dark porridge tastes good.”

"·····"

On this point, Ruan Banxia truly had no way to defend herself.

She pretended not to hear and turned to rummage through the medicinal herbs drying in the yard.

Meng Chuying came out after boiling the water, and Shen Ziyu also finished preparing the chicken.

Ruan Banxia beckoned to Meng Chuying: "Little apprentice, come here, let your master teach you to identify medicinal herbs."

Meng Chuying ran over, her steps becoming cheerful.

Cheng Qingyan leaned against the back of the bamboo chair, swaying back and forth.

Ye Lingyu handed the peeled melon seeds to Cheng Qingyan: "They're peeled, have some. You should also be considerate of Banxia. What if she tries something bad on you next time you're not feeling well? Can you handle that?"

Recalling the double dose of Coptis chinensis in the medicinal soup, Cheng Qingyan still felt a bitter taste in her mouth.

He was utterly despondent: "Oh, thank you for reminding me, my wife. I'll be more accommodating to her next time."

Ye Lingyu smiled without saying a word and continued peeling melon seeds.

"Wife, you eat it yourself, don't peel it for me anymore, it's too embarrassing."

"What's there to be embarrassed about? Don't you often peel lychees for me?"

"Hehe, that's what I should do."

When talking about serving Ye Lingyu, Cheng Qingyan grinned foolishly. Peeling fruit and other chores for someone you like is just part of the job, nothing special.

“Ayan, giving is mutual, so you don’t need to feel embarrassed.”

"Hehe, my wife, you are so sensible and capable, you are outstanding."

Ruan Banxia came over to pour a glass of water, and upon hearing Cheng Qingyan's words, she immediately covered her face and said, "Ouch, my teeth hurt."

"That's because your teeth are bad. Get yourself some medicine to take care of them." Cheng Qingyan didn't care what she said and continued to grin foolishly at Ye Lingyu.

Ruan Banxia slammed the cup down a little louder, and sighed, "Sigh, it's the New Year, how can some people act like dogs instead of humans?"

Cheng Qingyan glanced at Ruan Banxia, ​​then at the kitchen, and finally settled on Ruan Banxia: "Tsk, to be honest, there really are two single people here. Chu Ying is still young, so she doesn't count."

The term "single dog" may not have existed in ancient times, but its literal meaning is quite easy to understand, isn't it?

Ruan Banxia was overcome with sorrow when she thought of the blockhead in her own home.

Seeing others in front of me enjoying their love and smooth sailing in their relationships, why did I have to stumble?

"Let's not talk about it anymore, let's not talk about it anymore. My sincere heart has been pierced by you and is now full of bloody holes. You'd better just not fall into my hands."

Ruan Banxia left a message and turned to leave.

She was envious of how affectionate Cheng Qingyan and Ye Lingyu were.

These words gave Cheng Qingyan goosebumps and made her feel inexplicably cold.

Pulling Meng Chuying, who was sitting next to him, he said, "Chuying, Brother Cheng treats you well, doesn't he?"

Meng Chuying nodded and smiled, saying, "Brother Cheng is a very nice person, and Sister Ye is also very nice."

One has to admire how perfectly Master Meng Duanshui, Chu Ying, balanced everything!