Ye Panjiu raised an eyebrow with some interest. "Good second sister-in-law, stop teasing me. What is it?"
Sun took out a small silver pot without a spout. The body of the pot was carved with the character "福" (fortune) of different sizes, and the lid was decorated with colorful gold-plated rubies. It was exquisite, translucent and delicate.
Ye Panjiu was truly stunned. She carefully took the pot and felt its warmth. "It's a hand warmer?"
Mrs. Sun nodded. "This way you'll be warmer."
This little pot was custom-made by her at the jewelry store, costing a full fifty taels of silver.
But seeing how much my younger sister likes it now, I feel it's all worth it.
"This is too precious. Thank you so much, Second Sister-in-law and Second Brother." Ye Panjiu's eyes were full of smiles.
She really liked this hand warmer; the warmth flowing through her hands made her feel warm inside as well.
Mrs. Sun took her arm and said, "There's no such thing as expensive or not expensive. As long as you like it, that's all that matters."
The two walked toward the oxcart.
"Little sister, let's ride in a carriage." Ye Daniu led the horse over.
Not only Ye Panjiu, but also Madam Sun was shocked, "Where did this carriage come from?"
Ye Daniu smiled and said, "I bought it. Ox carts are too cold in winter, and I also like horses, so I bought one."
He didn't tell the whole story; besides buying the carriage, he also bought two horses.
He hadn't originally planned to buy two horses, but he couldn't resist looking into the horses' bright, piercing eyes.
Liu felt that the Ma family could use it, so she didn't refuse.
She knew that Ye Panjiu was afraid of the cold, so the two of them went to buy a carriage mainly so that Ye Panjiu wouldn't have to be exposed to the cold wind.
In the Northwest, you don't need an umbrella when it snows, but the snow can be heavy, and getting soaked while walking can be harmful to your health.
Horse-drawn carriages wouldn't have to suffer like that.
Ye Panjiu climbed onto the carriage. The carriage was very spacious; after putting down two buckets, it could easily seat four more people.
Ye Daniu also put a pot of charcoal in the carriage, which made it even warmer.
He sat alone on the outside of the carriage, driving it; he wasn't afraid of the cold.
"Brother, shall we each take one of the carriages?" Ye Erniu said to him.
Ye Daniu refused quickly, "You can sit inside. Your hand isn't healed yet, I'm not cold."
Ye Erniu moved his fingers, "Doctor Gu has already removed the bamboo boards, everything's fine!"
Ye Daniu ignored him.
Halfway there, it started snowing, and the horse twitched its ears as it walked.
Ye Daniu felt a pang of heartache seeing this; he couldn't let the horse get cold, so he hurried on.
When he got home, he said to Sun, "Sister-in-law, could you make some horse coats? I think the horse is very cold."
Sun suppressed a laugh and said, "Okay, no problem."
In her entire life, apart from making clothes for people, she had never seen anyone make clothes for horses.
Ye Panjiu nodded in agreement, "Ma Yi is indeed necessary."
Looking at her husband, Liu pursed her lips. How thoughtful he is.
The day before the winter solstice, Ye Panjiu woke up from her afternoon nap.
Just as Mrs. Sun finished making the horse coats, all three of the Ye family's horses were dressed in them.
Ye Daniu grinned and quietly fed the horse beans.
Ye Panjiu held a hand warmer in her hand and found the scene quite comforting. Luckily, her house was big, otherwise she might not have been able to raise them.
"A message has arrived!" Yan Yu's voice came again from outside the Ye family's gate.
Ye Panjiu smiled and walked towards the door.
Ye Erniu frowned, and only after the door closed did he say, "Little sister just smiled, didn't she?"
Sun rolled her eyes at him and ignored him.
Grandma Ye nodded, a hint of worry in her heart. "Isn't that ridiculous? This man, he never shows up, yet he keeps sending letters."
Sun was quickly threading a needle; she was sewing silk, which felt smooth and soft to the touch!
"They're in the capital, how can we see them?"
Old Man Ye exhaled a puff of smoke, "How can that be? I won't let my daughter go to the capital alone!"
As he spoke, he started to walk towards the door.
Ye Panjiu opened the door and walked in.
Yan Yu followed behind her, carrying a bunch of things. Beside him was a young woman dressed in a black short-sleeved shirt and trousers, who looked cold and decisive.
Old Man Ye stopped in his tracks. "What's this?"
"My name is Heng Tong." The woman clasped her hands in a fist and bowed gracefully.
Ye Panjiu smiled and said, "Hengtong will be living at home from now on, in the backyard."
The Ye family members all nodded and exchanged glances.
The house is getting more and more lively.
Miss Guan is still staying in the side room. She is now in her late pregnancy, and Doctor Gu is taking very good care of her. She spends most of her time resting in bed.
Ye Panjiu led Heng Tong to the empty house in the backyard, the last house in her yard.
Heng Tong observed them calmly.
She was very curious about her master.
Ye Panjiu pointed to the door, "You must be tired from your journey. Take a rest first."
Heng Tong bowed again, but Ye Panjiu raised her hand and pressed it down, saying, "There's no need for formalities between us. Relax."
Heng Tong nodded and walked into the house.
They seem quite easy to get along with, and not at all pretentious.
Yan Yu lifted the things in her hands, "Miss Ye, this is a winter solstice gift from the master. Luckily, it arrived in time."
Ye Panjiu wanted to take them herself, but when she saw how many there were, she gave up. "Thank you for your trouble. Please help me carry them into the house."
Yan Yu entered the house with her head down, without even glancing inside. She put her things down and left.
Ye Panjiu stood at the door. "Let me check the letter. Why don't you go to the front yard and have a cup of hot tea to warm yourself up?"
Yan Yu nodded and left.
Ye Panjiu sat down at the table with some anticipation and first opened Su Yan's letter.
She found it very interesting to communicate with Su Yan. The two of them exchanged many letters and got along very well.
When she wrote about Zhou Xinran last time, she was curious about what this seemingly nice prime minister would say.
"Zhan Xin'an, upon reading your words, anger and sorrow welled up within me. Human strength has its limits, yet in this position, I dare not shirk my duty. After much thought, I can only devise two suitable methods, which I will discuss with His Majesty for three days..."
Ye Panjiu read the letter carefully, frowning and pondering. She read it over and over again several times before finally putting it down, her emotions surging.
This time, instead of writing directly on the Chengxintang paper, she first picked up her brush and quickly wrote on the Xuan paper.
She was passionate about calligraphy and also loved history. She wrote down all the intelligence gathering methods she remembered from various dynasties, and even from modern times.
She even wrote down her vague memories of gathering intelligence about the world.
Each has its advantages and disadvantages, but we can always take advantage of its strengths and deal with its weaknesses.
For the entire afternoon and evening, Ye Panjiu spent all her time writing in her room, except for dinner.
After school, Ye Taohua saw this scene and didn't dare to disturb them. She took Ling'er and went to play by herself.
Anyway, tomorrow is the winter solstice, so they can take a day off.
It's just that Ming-gege is too timid; he doesn't even go home for the Winter Solstice.
When Ye Panjiu reached her usual bedtime, she immediately stopped writing, as getting to bed on time was more important.
If wheat is covered with three layers of blankets on the winter solstice, you'll sleep on a pillow of steamed buns next year.
The snowflakes drifted down like goose feathers, making the snowy days always much quieter.
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