When they arrived at the yard, the sky was filled with twinkling cold stars, and the clear light filled the courtyard. A gust of night wind blew, and Xu Lanyin shrank her neck.
She heard a low whistle and looked in that direction. The small window in the west wing had opened a crack, revealing half of Zhao Wu's face, smiling at her. In the dim light, his white teeth looked even whiter.
Xu Lanyin smiled at him, waved, and walked into the main room.
In the Xu family's main house, Old Man Xu and his wife were also awake. They were lying on the kang and whispering to each other.
Old Mrs. Xu was still complaining to Old Man Xu, "How could you say those things to Zhou boy? If Qin heard about it, she would be so sad."
Old Man Xu said angrily, "Do you really believe that Qin will stay at the Xu family forever after she recovers? Before, she was sick and couldn't have any frivolous thoughts. Look at her now, she's recovered, she's wearing fragrant perfume, and she's wearing silk clothes. What a shame. When she went out the other day, I saw several men staring at her. Qin holds all the money from the second house. If she uses it to remarry, I wonder what you will do." He added, "I also feel sorry for the two grandsons left by Qingyan. I'm afraid that their hard work will be in vain and they will end up being taken advantage of by outsiders."
Old Lady Xu didn't quite believe Qin would remarry. She said, "Qin has been married for over ten years. She's diligent, dutiful, and very kind to her husband and children. Everyone saw how sad she was after her second son died. I don't think she will remarry."
Old Man Xu said, "But what if she can't resist the temptation of others? Don't forget how the villagers talked about her background when she first came to the village."
Old Mrs. Xu's eyes widened as she cursed, "You damn old Dengzi, she's the daughter-in-law my second son brought back. I trust my second son, and you're not allowed to think about her like that."
Old Man Xu sighed, "She's the daughter-in-law of our Xu family. I also hope that she has a clean background and stays at home to take care of Qingyan, but I'm afraid of the worst. She has so much money now, and it will be even more in the future, much more than when Qingyan was alive. I'm worried that she will have too much money and too many worries... I think Lanzhou should be in charge of the money. Although Lanzhou is young, he is sensible and frugal."
Old Lady Xu pondered for a moment, then shook her head and said, "Let's wait and see. If Qin doesn't have that idea, then these words are hurtful. Don't make her angry again. I'll just remind Lan Zhou to be more careful..."
Old Man Xu said again, "How about we live with the second wife starting next year and help our grandson look after the money?"
Old Mrs. Xu shook her head like a wave drum. "My eldest son and grandson are still alive. Why would they burden an orphan and a widow?"
The next day, Xu Lanzhou and Xu Lanting followed Old Man Xu and other men to the ancestral hall to worship their ancestors under the leadership of the head of the Xu family. Qin went to the main house to help prepare meals, and they would have a reunion dinner in the main house at noon.
Because it was New Year's Day, Qin also wore the silver hairpin Zhao Wu had given her. She wore a dark green silk, half-worn cotton jacket, the collar embroidered with a single circle of pale green plum blossoms, which made her face and lips appear even paler. Because she had to cook, she also brought a sleeved apron that Xu Lanyin had made from an old dress.
Her body has not fully recovered yet, but her cheeks have grown some flesh, the wrinkles at the corners of her eyes have smoothed out a lot, and she looks much younger.
Xu Lanyin watched the frail figure walk out of the courtyard. If Qin Shi hadn't been a widow, she would have looked younger and prettier with a bit of makeup.
Only Zhao Wu and Xu Lanyin were left at home, and they cleaned the yard together.
The weather today is very good, with bright sunshine and clear blue sky, which makes people feel particularly happy.
After cleaning, they started to paste couplets and window papers. Zhao Wugao had long arms, so he pasted the couplets and Xu Lanyin handed them over.
After the pasting was completed, Zhao Wu hung four red lanterns under the eaves. The two came under the tree, and Zhao Wu stood on a stool and hung two more lanterns on the tree.
Most farmers would just put up some couplets and the word "Fu" during the New Year, but Qin wanted to make her home more festive. She not only bought six red lanterns for herself, but also bought two for Zhao Wu to hang in front of the door.
He looked down. The sunlight shone through the leafless branches and cast shadows on Xu Lanyin's smiling face. Her skin exposed to the sun appeared smooth, white and shiny.
Zhao Wu was as if he had discovered a new world, and said in surprise, "Sister, you have become whiter, it must be because of the balm. I will buy you more next time."
Xu Lanyin didn't know whether to laugh or cry. She touched her face and said, "It's not just because of the balm. It also has something to do with me not going into the mountains to collect herbs." She added, "Don't buy those things anymore. I haven't finished applying them yet."
Zhao Wu jumped off the stool, took another close look at Xu Lanyin's face, and asked, "Sister, I bought you rouge and powder, why didn't you put on some blush and lipstick? You haven't used the scented cakes either."
Xu Lanyin was amused. To protect her skin, she didn't wear powder or rouge, and she didn't like the smell of the biscuits. She said angrily, "You're a young man, why do you care about these things?"
Zhao Wu said stubbornly, "I don't care about others, I only care about my sister."
Xu Lan was afraid that he would buy random things again, so she said, "There are so many kinds of rouge and powder. You don't know what I like. Don't buy random things again."
Zhao Wuyi thought the same and said, "Okay, I'll buy one for me next time."
As soon as the lanterns were hung, the farmyard immediately became festive.
The two of them took the words and went to paste them on the door of "Zhao's House".
After finishing all this, Xu Lanyin began to prepare the dishes for her family to eat in the evening. Xu Lanyin did not allow Zhao Wu to interfere, so he followed her all the way.
At noon, Xu Lanzhou and his brother came back. They changed into new clothes. Xu Lanyin also wore the silver hairpin and silver cloves given to her by Qin, and went to the main room with the filial piety gifts for the old couple.
Although Zhao Wu was not a member of the Xu family, his family was not here, so Old Man Xu invited him to join him for the reunion dinner. Following behind them was Huazi, with Mazi standing on his back.
The second wife gave the old couple two taels of silver each, a set of winter clothes, a pair of shoes, a silver hairpin, twenty catties of flour, and two catties of tea. Zhao Wudan gave the old couple two pieces of cloth, and the first wife gave two jars of wine and two toys for the younger brother and sister. Since the shop started making money, the second wife's monthly donation to the old couple has increased to one tael of silver.
This was the happiest and most prosperous year for the Xu family since Xu Qingyan's death. Seeing so many things, the old couple smiled.
Xu Ershi would always talk to Xu Lanyin whenever he had nothing to do, calling her "sister" in a sweet and crisp voice. Xu Ershi was a year younger than Xu Lanyin, and he had always disliked her and rarely said a word to her, but now his attitude had changed drastically.
Xu Lanyin knew that he wanted her help. Whether he went to the Xu family shop or to the government office, it would be better than his current situation.
But Xu Lanyin couldn't help him with either of these two options at the moment, so she pretended to be stupid and spoke politely to him.
Two tables were filled with food, and Old Man Xu gave an important speech. He mainly praised Xu Dashi, Xu Lanzhou, and Xu Lanyin, saying that the Xu family's shop was so successful because of these people. He also said that Xu Qingyan was pitiful. He contributed to the family but did not enjoy the happiness and died young. If anyone dared to forget him, he would not allow it...
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