When Chi Yu heard the name Qin Mu, he was stunned.

In her memory, Qin Mu was a man with a "broad back and thick shoulders," a full beard, who looked extremely fierce, yet gave people a great sense of security.

But the person in front of me looked rather thin, and had fair and delicate features.

Standing there, it looked as if a strong wind could blow him away.

Are these two people really the same person?

Perhaps it was because the fish in the pond's eye gaze was too direct, but Qin Mu, with a smile in his eyes, said softly:

“Miss Chi Yu, I am two years older than your nephew, and I am twenty-three years old this year.”

Today, I have been invited by your nephew to attend your son's 'full moon celebration'.

Afraid of frightening him, I shaved off my sideburns.

It was my fault for arousing the young lady's suspicion!

After he finished speaking, he handed over a small brocade box.

Upon hearing these refined words, Chi Yu understood the source of his nephew's toothache expression.

Perhaps Qin Mu had left such a deep impression on her that, after accepting the brocade box, Chi Yu said quite naturally:

“Young Master Qin, although I am A-Ye’s aunt, I am actually three years younger than him.”

We're not talking about seniority right now, just age.

Since you are five years older than me, it's only right that I call you Brother Qin.

Come to think of it, I didn't have a chance to thank you that day.

If you hadn't appeared at the Qi family in time, I don't know how much more grievances I would have suffered.

I am very happy and honored that you could come today.

Later, I'll personally cook two tables of food and drinks so that my brothers, Ah Ye, and Ah Deng can keep you company and make you feel good!

"Then I shall accept!"

After Qin Mu finished speaking, he cupped his hands in a respectful gesture to her again before leaving with Chi Ye.

Actually, he wasn't a big drinker, and although he and Chi Yu were neighbors, they weren't very familiar with each other.

My decision to accept Ikeno's invitation today was for a specific purpose.

He discovered that the Chi family's extravagant purchases were related to his sister-in-law, who was in postpartum confinement.

He still doesn't understand exactly what happened, but subconsciously he feels that the underlying reason is very important.

He always trusted his intuition, so he quietly observed the Chi family's actions.

So far, the Chi family has purchased a considerable amount of grain, medicinal herbs, winter clothing, and iron furniture.

Perhaps to avoid attracting attention, the different families split up and bought the items separately.

Ultimately, because the required items were either in large quantities or difficult to obtain, some of them went through his hands.

For example, salt, or iron household items.

His grain hasn't returned yet, but he promised to leave some for the Chi family.

Based on these observations and the previous years' purchasing preparations made by the Chi family before the heavy snow blocked the mountain pass, he discovered that the quantity was much larger than before.

Moreover, some time ago, he went to Chijia'ao under the pretext of helping to transport iron furniture.

They discovered that many families there had gradually installed heated kang beds.

He had only ever seen heated brick beds in the very cold north.

They have never established a prefecture, let alone this Anping County.

As far as he knew, the Chi family were all natives of Anping County.

How did they learn about heated brick beds?

And why is it so unusual that every household is buying them?

Not to mention, the amount of things they bought during this period was also unusually large.

He understood the need for food and warmth.

I'm worried about the cold weather and the heavy snow blocking the mountains, so I want to buy more while it's readily available.

But how do you explain the iron utensils, the salt, and all those medicinal herbs?