To be honest, Wen Jingqing's appearance was indeed the most handsome and attractive among all the people Cheng Ruyi had ever met, so every time she saw him, she would feel a sense of "danger".
She was just an ordinary mortal, so it would be a lie to say that she felt no disappointment after seeing the letter. But more than disappointment, she felt relieved and at ease.
After all, life is more important than beauty.
As for Mr. Wen saying he wanted to repay her, it didn't seem like just polite talk, because he asked her directly in the letter what she needed.
Cheng Ruyi couldn't help but ponder what she needed most right now.
After much thought and comparison, she realized that what she needed most was spiritual energy, and Wen Jingqing happened to have plenty of it!
She couldn't help but recall that night when, as soon as she entered his study, the system notification kept ringing, constantly reminding her that there were a large number of items containing spiritual energy in the room.
Cheng Ruyi knew without a doubt that these spiritual items must have come from the hand of Master Wen; they were probably either his calligraphy or his paintings!
So she didn't stand on ceremony and immediately wrote back, saying that it was just a small favor and that Mr. Wen didn't need to be so polite. However, she had recently opened a small elementary school at home, and if it wasn't too much trouble, she wondered if she could ask for some of Mr. Wen's writing materials to observe, learn, and cultivate her mind.
She also specifically noted that she only needed to provide some unimportant handwritten or discarded calligraphy and paintings.
After writing the letter, Cheng Ruyi read it several times to make sure that it was simple and straightforward enough and wouldn't cause any misunderstandings. Then she put it into her Qiankun bag, planning to deliver it to the Wen family when she went to the city to pick up her aunt's family in a few days.
Speaking of which, the biggest difference between this year's Spring Festival and previous years for the Cheng family is that they finally have normal and friendly relatives to visit!
In December, after Cheng Yan's repeated invitations, Cheng Hua agreed to have her whole family visit Huai Shan County during the Spring Festival. Both families were very much looking forward to it.
After careful consideration, Cheng Ruyi finally decided to let her aunt's family live in Qiushi Courtyard.
The He family is neither too many nor too few. It wouldn't be impossible to arrange for them to live in a separate courtyard, but it would require living in several separate courtyards, which would be inconvenient.
Qiushi Courtyard is different. It is located at the foot of the main mountain of Lishan, with a very nice view. It has its own independent courtyard, and the main house and side rooms are more than enough for the whole family to live in. Of course, the most important thing is that the He family has many children. Qiushi Courtyard is themed around parent-child play. Not only are there facilities everywhere that are convenient for children to use, but a small playground has also been built in the courtyard with rocking horses, swings, slides, seesaws and other play facilities. Every child who has stayed here has left crying!
Therefore, she was absolutely confident that she could make her aunt's family so happy that they would never want to leave.
The He family, consisting of twelve people, set off from Qionglin before dawn on the sixth day of the Lunar New Year. Fortunately, there had been no heavy snowfall in Chongzhou in the past few days, so the official road was relatively easy to travel.
Even so, they were still worried about unexpected events that might delay them along the way, so the family hardly stopped at all, only having lunch and a short rest in Dongming County before continuing their journey.
After a long and arduous journey, the two mule carts finally arrived at the north gate of Huaishan County before nightfall.
Cheng Yan and Cheng Ruyi had been waiting at the North Gate for a long time. After the two families met, they exchanged a few simple greetings and then rushed off to Lishan.
"It's getting late, so I won't take you around the county town. Let's go back to Lishan Village first, and we can explore it slowly tomorrow after everyone has rested."
As Cheng Ruyi led the way, she introduced the three treasures of Huaishan County to the He family: Lingshan Academy, Dabei Temple, and Zhiwei Restaurant. If you are interested, you can visit them all.
"Okay, okay~~ This is our first time here, we don't know anything, so we'll have to trouble Ruyi to show us around."
Since the opening of Lingyun Pavilion in the prefectural city, Cheng Ruyi gave Cheng Hua a gold membership to the shop, so that she could soak in the Nourishing Meridian Spirit Pool more often to regulate her body.
However, the prices at Lingyun Pavilion in Fucheng were much higher than those in Huaishan County, which was still unaffordable for ordinary people. However, He Gang saw that Cheng Hua's health had improved significantly after soaking in the hot spring, so he did not hesitate to take out all his savings to let his wife soak in the hot spring as much as possible.
At first, the He family thought it was too expensive and worried that they wouldn't be able to afford it if they stayed too many times. But later they found that their worries were unnecessary because they couldn't make a reservation at all. Lingyun Pavilion's business was getting better and better every day, and many wealthy families were spending a lot of money to book the whole place for several days.
Only then did they realize that truly good things are indeed not something that money can buy!
Fortunately, whenever someone from the Cheng family went to the prefectural city, they would "go through the back door" to secretly bring Cheng Hua in; otherwise, the He family would still be waiting in line.
It wasn't that Cheng Ruyi was stingy and unwilling to give her aunt a special exception, but after all, the Zhou family was in charge of the daily operation of Lingyun Pavilion, and even if members of the Zhou family wanted to go for hot springs, they would obediently queue up or directly pay for a whole month's worth of hot springs, so she was embarrassed to make this request.
With the miraculous healing effects of the hot spring, and the fact that the Cheng family would send a large amount of their own food to the He family every now and then, Cheng Hua's health has improved significantly over the past few months. She looks much more energetic, and even her complexion has become rosy.
Cheng Hua knows her own body best, and feels even closer to and more grateful to Cheng Yan and Cheng Ruyi.
"Auntie, don't be so polite~~ We're all family. It's so kind of you to travel all this way to visit us in this rural place. Our whole family is overjoyed!"
Cheng Ruyi turned around and said to Cheng Hua with a big smile, "Although Lishan Village is not as prosperous as the county town, it has the advantage of being spacious, beautiful, and self-sufficient. So don't worry, although I can't guarantee anything else, I can make sure you eat and drink your fill these few days. You'll definitely gain three to five pounds when you go back!"
"Haha, since my cousin says so, then your cousin's wife and I are really looking forward to it!" The biggest hobby of He Zheng's family is eating. He had long heard of his cousin's excellent cooking skills, but unfortunately he had never had the chance to try them, so now he was really looking forward to it.
He Gang didn't care much about these things. "We came here just to reunite with you, Ruyi. Don't make things too complicated. These are all external things. Being together is the most important thing."
"Uncle is right, but don't worry, it's not troublesome at all, just some ordinary home-cooked dishes."
Cheng Ruyi had a very good impression of her aunt's family. Her aunt was kind and approachable, her uncle was upright and incorruptible, her cousin's family was generous and cheerful, and although she wasn't very familiar with her cousin's family, they hadn't caused any trouble so far, so everything was fine.
Unexpectedly, when they passed the south gate of the county town, her usually aloof cousin He Nuan suddenly spoke up, "Cousin, I heard that your family used to live in the county town, so why did you move to the countryside?"
“Yes, there’s nothing in the countryside except fields, it’s so boring!” He Nuan’s husband, Gao Qingshan, couldn’t help but sigh as he looked at the city wall getting further and further away. “If you ask me, it’s much cleaner and more comfortable to live in the city.”
Only then did Cheng Ruyi take a serious look at He Nuan's family and realize that they had clearly put a lot of thought into their outfits from head to toe. Especially her cousin, who wore a rose-red embroidered top with a light lake-blue silk long skirt, looking both noble and charming. She also wore a gray-white fox fur cloak. Although the fur color was ordinary, fox fur was already a luxury item for ordinary people. However, the most valuable item in this outfit was probably the half-jade pendant that He Nuan inadvertently revealed on her slender waist. Its entire body was a vibrant green, and it was clearly not an ordinary item.
Cheng Ruyi withdrew her gaze, feeling a greater understanding of He Nuan, and explained, "Our house in the county town isn't very big, and it's connected to a shop, so it's a bit inconvenient to live here. Lishan Village isn't far from Huaishan County, and it's bigger and more comfortable to live here."
She could understand their family's concerns. Imagine you've always lived in a first-tier city and are quite materialistic. Now you're suddenly being dragged to stay with relatives in the countryside you've never been before. You're bound to be worried about the environment and conditions.
So she patiently introduced everyone to the villages in the vicinity, as well as some basic information about Huai Shan County, before finally saying, "The area around Li Shan is all our family's territory. Besides the villa where our family lives, there are several shops along the official road where many passing caravans stop, making it very lively. Moreover, there are four independent courtyards of different styles on Li Shan. Among them, Qiu Shi Courtyard is the most suitable for your family to live in. I had it cleaned up early this morning. Look, that's the one!"
Before they knew it, the cars had arrived at a place not far from Lishan.
Upon hearing this, the He family members all followed Cheng Ruyi's finger and looked towards the small hill in front. Looking into the distance, they could see that Lishan, which consisted of three small hills located beside the official road, was now covered in silver. Several unique courtyards could be vaguely seen scattered among the hills, while at the foot of the hill, in front of a row of neat blue brick and tile houses, many mule carts and donkeys were parked, and goods of all sizes were piled up in the wooden sheds on the side. People were coming and going, bustling and lively.
Cheng Ruyi naturally noticed their surprised expressions and couldn't help but feel a little proud. She said in a light tone, "The courtyard closest to us and the highest is Dongxue Courtyard. The one a little further away, halfway up the mountain and surrounded by plum blossoms, is called Chunhua Courtyard. The one furthest away, with a bamboo forest, is called Xiazhu Courtyard. All three courtyards are currently occupied by guests."
After entering the first month of the lunar calendar, the wind and snow began to subside, greatly facilitating the travel of the people. Therefore, even during the New Year period, Lishan was still very lively, and all the villas were full of guests. If she hadn't cleared the schedule of Qiushi Courtyard in advance, the He family would have had to stay at Lishan Villa when they came.
"The place on the top of the mountain in the middle is Qiushiyuan. It was built with the theme of family-friendly accommodations. There are many facilities suitable for families to stay in, as well as many places for children to play. If you come here in autumn, you can also enjoy the scenery surrounded by a large expanse of fiery red maple leaves!"
Along the way, Cheng Ruyi excitedly introduced the entire Lishan area to the He family. The sheer amount of information left the He family stunned. It wasn't until they reached the foot of the mountain that they came to their senses.
As dusk was just beginning to fall, a short walk along a well-maintained and flat path beside the main road led to a beautifully constructed bluestone path at the foot of the mountain.
The entire path, illuminated by countless lanterns, shone softly. It began at the foot of the mountain and wound its way up, connecting four courtyards of varying heights. As people looked up, it seemed as if the entire Lishan Mountain was draped in a luminous pearl and gold chain, dazzling and as brilliant as a galaxy.
At the entrance to the bluestone path, there stood a dozen or so women dressed identically. Upon seeing Cheng Ruyi and her group, they bowed in unison and said, "Greetings, Master."
"Alright, you can move all these luggage to Qiushi Courtyard first." After getting off the car, Cheng Ruyi directed the female workers to move the luggage, and then turned to Cheng Hua and said, "Auntie, I'll take you for a walk around the courtyard first to familiarize you with the surroundings. The kitchen is already preparing dinner, and we can eat anytime after everyone has rested."
At this moment, somewhat at a loss, Cheng Hua could only subconsciously reply, "Oh, okay..."
After Cheng Ruyi led the He family on a tour of the whimsical and quirky Qiushi Courtyard, they were still in a daze when they were shocked by the incredibly lavish dinner. When did the dirty and poor countryside, which they remembered, secretly develop into such a place?
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com