Su Jinli took the purse, and it was warm to the touch, as if it still carried her grandfather's body temperature. She thought of her lonely and helpless self in her previous life, who couldn't even drink a bowl of hot soup before dying. Then she looked at the white-haired old man in front of her, who was full of concern, and finally couldn't hold back her tears.
"Silly child, why are you crying?" Lin Canghai wiped her tears with his sleeve, the lines on his fingertips brushing against her cheek, like his mother's touch back then. "Grandpa is waiting for you to come back with the children often, okay? When Nianli is a little older, Grandpa will teach her boxing. As for Siyan, I'll teach him accounting. I guarantee he'll be better than the accountants in Jiangnan!"
The next morning, a thin mist shrouded the Hangzhou docks like a veil. Lin Canghai, wearing a brand new blue shirt, carried a food box filled with sweets and braised dishes for the children on their journey, each carefully wrapped in lotus leaves. Nianli clung to his legs, refusing to let go, tears streaking her face. "Grandpa, you must come to the capital to see us! I want to take you to see the pony Daddy bought me; it runs so fast!"
"Okay, grandpa will definitely go!" Lin Canghai squatted down and pinned a longevity lock engraved with "peace" on Nianli. He turned to Siyan and patted his little head gently. "Siyan, you have to help take care of your sister on the way. Don't always focus on the account book, understand?"
Si Yan nodded solemnly and took out a small notebook from his sleeve: "Grandfather, I have sorted out all your accounts and calculated the water transportation expenses from Hangzhou to the capital. Take a look..." He opened the notebook. There were crooked handwriting on it, but the calculations were clear.
Lin Canghai interrupted him with a smile: "Okay, okay, I'll leave Grandfather's bill to Siyan!" He looked at Jiang Yan again, his eyes full of instructions, "Jiang Yan, please take care on the way."
"Don't worry, Grandfather." Jiang Yan bowed, protecting Su Jinli behind him, his tone firm.
The pleasure boat slowly pulled away from the shore, the wind chimes on the bow tinkling in the morning breeze, like a farewell song. Su Jinli stood on the deck, watching her grandfather's figure shrink until he became a blurry white dot on the dock. He continued to wave, his blue shirt shimmering like a stubborn gardenia in the morning mist, his white hair lifted slightly by the wind.
"Mom, look!" Nianli suddenly pointed at the water, with surprise on her little face, "The little bird grandpa gave us can fly!"
Su Jinli looked over and saw the gray bird fluttering towards the shore, its wings skimming the water, leaving a trail of tiny ripples before finally landing on Lin Canghai's shoulder. The old man reached out and stroked the bird's feathers, his movements gentle, as if he were caressing a distant memory, or perhaps a daughter who had never left.
Jiang Yan held her hand, and a warm strength came from his fingertips: "Don't be sad, we will be back soon. Look, grandpa left his 'sugar painting' with us."
Su Jinli nodded, took a deep breath of the steamy air, turned to look at the two children, and smiled again: "Okay, babies, where do you want to go next?"
"I want to go to Suzhou!" Nianli immediately raised her hand. Tears were still on her little face, but her eyes were already curved with a smile. "I want to see the Suzhou embroiderers and have them embroider a little nest for the 'sugar painting'! I also want to eat squirrel mandarin fish, with lots of sugar!"
Si Yan held his chin and thought for a while, his abacus ticking away in his palm, his eyes gleaming with curiosity: "I want to go to Yangzhou. I heard that the account books of the salt merchants in Yangzhou are the most complicated, and..." He leaned close to Su Jinli's ear and whispered, "I heard that the snack shops in Yangzhou hide their account books in steamers! I want to go and see if it's true!"
Su Jinli and Jiang Yan both laughed. Jiang Yan rubbed his son's head and said in a doting tone, "Okay, then we'll go to Suzhou first to see if we can embroider a flower cage for 'Sugar Painting'. Then we'll go to Yangzhou and help Si Yan find the account book hidden in the steamer!"
"Yeah!" Nianli cheered, pulling Siyan to the bow to admire the scenery. Little Bird "Sugar Painting" fluttered to her shoulder, tilting its head to watch the fish skimming across the water. Sunlight pierced the mist, casting a thousand golden rays across the water, gilding the two children's silhouettes and illuminating their eyes with anticipation for the next stop.
The pleasure boat slowly glided along the Jiangnan waterway. Willows swayed on both banks, their branches brushing the water, creating ripples. White-walled, black-tiled houses were scattered in an orderly fashion. Occasionally, a woman washing clothes squatted by the water, her song echoing with the waves. Su Jinli leaned against Jiang Yan's chest, listening to his steady heartbeat and watching her children chasing and playing on the bow of the boat. Suddenly, she felt she had no regrets in her life.
In this life, she was no longer the oppressed daughter of the prime minister's family, no longer the abandoned woman who died of illness without even a sip of hot soup. She had a grandfather who doted on her, a husband who loved her, lively and lovely children, and warm memories of the fragrance of gardenias filling the yard. The grievances and pain of her past life had long been washed away by the happiness of this life, leaving only the sweetness on her lips.
"Jiang Yan," she raised her head and looked into his gentle eyes, which reflected her figure and the beautiful scenery of Jiangnan. "Thank you." Thank you for making her believe that fate, which had given her bitter wine, would eventually give her honey; thank you for making her know that rebirth is not only for revenge, but also for embracing the happiness that was lost and regained.
Jiang Yan lowered his head and placed a gentle kiss on her forehead. His lips touched the cinnabar mole between her eyebrows, and his voice was full of doting: "Silly girl, I should be the one to say thank you." Thank you for appearing in his life, giving him a complete family, and making him understand what a peaceful life is and the warmth of holding hands.
The pleasure boat carried their family of four, heading for an unknown destination. There might be storms ahead, or new stories waiting to be written, but Su Jinli knew that as long as they were by her side, every journey would be a beautiful sight. She would bravely carry this hard-earned happiness forward, living every day like honey, letting past hardships transform into the warmth of her heart and the sweetness of her lips.
On the water, the traces of the pleasure boats gradually fade, leaving only the fragrance of gardenias on both sides of the river lingering in the wind, as if telling a heartwarming story of rebirth, love, and redemption. Their next stop awaits even more surprises and beauty, quietly unfolding in the misty rain of Jiangnan, for years to come.
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