His walking posture is strange.

In his dream, Lu Futu, who had seen the world in the palace, suddenly felt his head throb with blood. In an instant, a lot of information flashed through the child's mind.

He stared at Lu Wujiu, his eyes wide with rage.

The gaze was too blatant, and Lu Wujiu sensed it in an instant.

His gaze fell on Lu Futu, and he walked towards Lu Futu. However, Lu Futu had already been conquered by his own imagination and was not very happy to see Lu Wujiu. He took small steps and kept his distance from Lu Wujiu.

Lu Wujiu stopped and let Futu adjust himself.

Life in the courtyard continues, and no one will change their life trajectory because of anyone else.

The weather is getting cooler day by day.

Fang eventually sold the inn and handed the money over to Lu Defu.

That day, Su Jiaoniang watched as Lu Dahai was removed from the Lu family and became the Fang family's son-in-law.

The inn was sold, and the family business was gone.

But Lu Dahai felt relieved.

In the future, with vast mountains and boundless seas ahead, he can do as he pleases.

While Fang stayed home to take care of the children, Lu Dahai got a small carrying pole and started working as a peddler, buying furs and mountain delicacies from the village and delivering them to wealthy families in the county town.

They would buy some rouge and pink colored silk threads, as well as handkerchief-sized pieces of silk scraps, from the county town and sell them in the villages.

The small business is doing quite well.

As for the Lu family, they were so frightened by Su Jiaoniang's act of cutting Lu Daishu with a kitchen knife that they didn't dare to cause trouble for a while.

On this day, white frost fell.

Old Huang from the village ran over and said to Su Jiaoniang, "The county officials are here to collect the grain. Go to the ancestral hall and line up to pay your taxes."

After finishing his sentence, Old Huang left the Su family's house and headed towards another house.

Su Jiaoniang was strong and carried two sacks of grain outside. When she reached the door, she saw Lu Wujiu and Changsheng.

“Let’s go together,” Lu Wujiu said, his gaze falling on the sack Su Jiaoniang was carrying. “I’ll go.”

"No need, no need." Su Jiaoniang stared at the clothes Lu Wujiu was wearing, shook her head, and said that the price of two bags of grain combined was not as much as a piece of cloth on Lu Wujiu's body.

Lu Wujiu did not retract his outstretched hand.

His gaze fell on Su Jiaoniang.

Su Jiaoniang was too lazy to be coy and handed the sack to Lu Wujiu. He had insisted on carrying it himself, and he didn't even care about the clothes.

Lu Futu walked out of the small courtyard, his gloomy gaze falling on Lu Wujiu.

If he could carry it, he would definitely have snatched the grain.

Lu Wujiu turned around and his gaze fell on Futu.

Fu Tu glared at him, strode out, and tugged at Su Jiaoniang's sleeve: "Mother, I don't want to go to school today, I want to go with her to see what's happening."

"Not going to the private school?" Su Jiaoniang paused for a moment.

Lu Futu nodded: "Master Li said that after the snow this year, I won't need to go there."

He had learned everything the old master had taught him, but as for how to conduct himself in society, Fu Tu slumped his head. Master Li said that unless he suffered a great loss, it would be difficult for him to correct his ways.

A fierce tiger was lurking in my heart, and now it is asleep.

After weighing the options, Su Jiaoniang ultimately did not agree. She was simply going through the motions; if she didn't go after the snow, she still needed to maintain a proper attitude since it hadn't snowed yet.

He left Lu Futu's private school and turned to walk towards the ancestral hall.

When we arrived at the ancestral hall, we found that the line in front of us was neat and orderly.

Su Jiaoniang still saw Wu Shi in the crowd.

Just then, Wu turned around and saw Su Jiaoniang. She shrank back and muttered under her breath, "Scholars don't have to pay grain taxes. No wonder she doesn't try to build a good relationship with them."

Su Jiaoniang smiled at Wu Shi, then raised her fist and gestured towards Wu Shi.

Wu immediately shrank back and disappeared into the crowd, only feeling slightly safer once she could no longer see Su Jiaoniang.

Su Jiaoniang followed Lu Wujiu to watch the grain delivery.

Kicking the bucket to harvest more grain is a normal practice.

Fortunately, the year was relatively smooth with favorable weather, and most villagers had some income. In addition, the local magistrate was not a corrupt official.

Just collect a little more so that the people below can survive and you can live a little more comfortably.

Changsheng was unaware of these things. Seeing the grain leaking out from under the sieve and the officials taking away the excess grain, his little face immediately turned red.

“How dare they!” Changsheng said, then added, “The Great Zhou law stipulates that only one or two tenths of the grain should be handed over, but they’ve already collected four or five tenths.”

"There are still five or six points left," Lu Wujiu said calmly.

He had known all along these things.

For the common people, the laws of the Great Zhou Dynasty were no match for the regulations of the county magistrate, and the county magistrate's regulations were less authoritative than those of the minor tax collectors.

If people can just get by, that's good enough; nobody will cause trouble.

Changsheng tugged at Su Jiaoniang's sleeve.

Faced with this situation, he desperately wanted to get an explanation from Su Jiaoniang, but what good explanation could Su Jiaoniang possibly have?

She also disapproved of the unspoken rules at the bottom and wanted to implement reforms, but she lacked the aura of a ruler to command everyone to follow her in rebellion with a wave of her hand. Therefore, some things were better left unsaid.

When you're poor, you should focus on your own well-being. She's still very poor now. Her gaze fell on Changsheng: "Look carefully, learn about people's lives, and when you have the ability, go and change them."

Changsheng nodded emphatically.

Su Jiaoniang returned to the queue and continued waiting.

They lined up from morning until the sun was setting in the afternoon before Su Jiaoniang finally handed over the grain. One adult and two children handed over a total of two sacks of grain.

The official glanced at Su Jiaoniang, paused his kicking motion, and smiled.

"So it's Miss Su." The clerk returned the sack to Su Jiaoniang and exchanged a few polite words.

As Su Jiaoniang walked out of the ancestral hall, she noticed that there were several more street vendors outside. Some were selling rattle drums, trinkets, hair ties, hair flowers, and tiger-head shoes, while others were selling candied hawthorns and sweet rice cakes.

Where there are many people, there will always be one or two people who have money in their hands and a beloved grandson at home, and that's how business comes about.

Changsheng stared at the tiger-head shoes, curiosity flashing in his eyes.

Su Jiaoniang looked at Changsheng with curiosity and decided to buy one. Although she couldn't wear it, it looked nice.

If children lack a childhood, then make the most of the limited time you have to see more of it.

The three returned to the courtyard. Su Jiaoniang walked towards the kitchen, and while she was tending the fire, another person appeared behind her. When she went back to look, Lu Wujiu had already changed his clothes.

He stood there without saying a word.

Su Jiaoniang asked, "What, are you going back to Qi?"

"It will be soon," Lu Wujiu said.

The sound of firewood burning under the stove echoed in the air.

Su Jiaoniang turned around: "When?"

"During this time..." Lu Wujiu seemed to want to say something, but ultimately didn't. He wanted to take the woman away, but would she go with him?

It's impossible; there's no point in saying more.

Su Jiaoniang lowered her head, feeling strangely empty inside for a moment. She shook off the strange feeling and said, "Come again when you have time. What would you like to eat?"