"It must be the Northern Expeditionary Army! My father and godfather are back!" Jiayin exclaimed excitedly, standing on tiptoe to look around.
Mu Xu could hear her joy, and after thinking for a moment, he got up and ran off.
He returned shortly afterward.
Jiayin stared at him expectantly, her eyes filled with hope.
This reminded Mu Xu of a fawn he once saw in the mountains, with similarly large, moist eyes that softened his heart.
He smiled and said, "Your Highness is right, it is indeed the Northern Expeditionary Army. However, it was General Li Yong who led two hundred vanguard troops, while the Marquis and the others are still crossing the river."
Jiayin wasn't disappointed; as long as her family returned safely, that was all that mattered.
It doesn't matter if it's earlier or later.
Sure enough, after waiting a while, the advance team finally arrived.
Li Yong had lost a lot of weight, but he had become even more valiant. He was like a long sword that had not been sheathed, with an imposing aura and sharp edge.
Seeing Jiayin waving from the carriage shaft, he grinned and stepped forward to greet her, "What are you doing here, Princess?"
"Uncle Dayong, you're back!" Jiayin smiled happily. "I went to the city with my mother for a banquet, and I ran into you just as I was about to go home."
Upon hearing the word "home", Dayong's expression softened even more. He instructed, "I still need to go to the palace to report the news. Princess, please go home early and tell Huiniang that I will be staying at the dock camp tomorrow and won't be able to go back until tonight."
"Okay, Uncle Dayong, don't worry, I'll go home and report right away!" Jiayin waved with a smile, and Li Yong led the advance team into the city.
Most of the advance team members had been to Suijintan before, and they greeted Jiayin when they passed by.
Jiayin greeted everyone with a smile, "Tomorrow the village will be slaughtering pigs and sheep, everyone remember to come back for a celebratory drink!"
"Thank you, Princess!"
"Thank you, Princess. We will definitely go back!"
The soldiers beamed with joy and responded loudly in agreement.
Regardless of whether they would be able to enjoy a celebratory feast tomorrow, the princess's words warmed their hearts.
After watching the advance team enter the city, Jiayin and the others hurried back to Suijintan.
The village chief and Uncle Zhao saw the smoke and dust in the distance and hurriedly rushed to the second village to look towards the official road.
Ye Shan quickly announced the good news, which delighted the village chief and others.
"We're back! We're finally back!" Uncle Zhao clapped his hands, his eyes crinkling with laughter.
The village chief excitedly shouted, "Hurry up and set up the baking room! We've been getting a lot of fine noodles from the hot spring valley lately, so let's bake some flatbread for the boys who are going home!"
"Over there in the pigsty, the best fat pigs are starved for a day so their intestines are clean, making them easier to prepare tomorrow. I remember that Dayong and General Si both liked to have their intestines cooked!"
"Also, hurry up and bring those dozen or so sheep back up the mountain. Slaughter them today, soak them in the blood water, and they'll be easy to stew tomorrow."
"Otherwise, if you slaughter pigs and sheep all at once, you won't be able to handle it all!"
"Alright, I'll go herd the sheep!"
"I'm going to the pigsty!"
Uncle Zhao and the others readily agreed and happily went off to get busy.
The second village was so lively it was almost unbelievable, with women and children wishing they could grow wings and fly to the riverbank!
Shuiling ran to Huiniang's house to deliver the message, and Jiayin got off the bus and went to tell her grandmother the good news.
Sure enough, Grandma Li was overjoyed and asked repeatedly, "Why didn't your mother come back? She knows best what your father likes to eat, so hurry up and prepare the food in advance."
"Oh right, there's also wine. Quickly send someone into the city to buy some, or we might not be able to get any tomorrow!"
"And we also need to report to the Marquis's residence. The head steward is probably looking forward to it too!"
Jiayin didn't stop her and let her grandmother take care of everything.
The old lady had been waiting for this for over half a year; only by keeping herself busy like this could she ease the anxiety in her heart...
The lively atmosphere in Xincun and Ercun quickly attracted the attention of Dahuaishu and Dawangzhuang and Xiaowangzhuang. Jingli and others came to inquire, and they were overjoyed to hear that the Northern Expeditionary Army had returned victorious.
They quickly returned to the village and organized people to deliver a lot of winter vegetables, chickens, ducks, and geese.
In particular, the people of Dahuaishu Village always remember that the Li family loved to eat goose.
When they first settled in Suijintan, Grandma Li and Tao Hongying even went to the village to exchange places.
Therefore, Jingli sent more than ten of them at once this time.
Goose meat is firm and chewy, much tastier than chicken or duck.
More importantly, geese yield a lot of meat; the meat from one goose is equivalent to that from three chickens.
Grandma Li didn't refuse, leaving behind all the things from the three villages, and then invited Jing Lizheng and others to come for a celebration banquet the next day.
When Tao Hongying hurriedly returned from the city, Hui Niang and Sister Liu had already rolled up their sleeves and were leading the village women to boil water and remove the goose feathers.
A young maidservant, with her pockets open, happily collected all sorts of fine fluff, not wanting to waste a single bit.
This is also a local custom in the village.
No matter whose family eats chicken, duck, or goose, they will collect the down feathers.
If there were two or three ounces, they would be delivered to the Li family.
In the past two years, Jiayin's needlework has mostly consisted of sewing down pants, down jackets, and even down quilts.
The men in the family, from Li Zhensheng to Maoge'er, may look thinly dressed in winter, but they all have down pants and down vests under their robes, so they are not cold at all and do not look bulky.
The down comforter that was specially made for Grandma Li was rejected.
It's said that covering yourself with a blanket isn't as comforting as using a cotton quilt...
Tao Hongying couldn't hide her joy. After exchanging a few words with the old lady, she was about to join the busy team.
But Hui Niang said, "Sister-in-law, we can do these chores."
"Go check over at the baking room. Xiao Cui is baking sesame cakes with some people, but they're not very good at it. I heard they've already burned a whole plate!"
Upon hearing this, Tao Hongying felt distressed about the wasted grain and quickly took her maid Xia Qing to the second village...
Jiayin also wanted to help, and even more so, she wanted to prepare some good food for her father and godfather.
But in the past two years, her family has become prosperous and wealthy, and she no longer needs to secretly supplement their living expenses.
Therefore, there are very few rabbits, chickens, ducks and geese kept in the space now, and only three or four large white pigs. Compared to their edible value, Jiayin treats them more as playmates.
Just like the three little foxes and the little green snake, they have become an indispensable part of the space.
Most of the field was planted with medicinal herbs, and the rest with vegetables and green corn.
After all the calculations, the only thing I can do is pick a few more fresh fruits.
Prepare plenty of common fruits like apples, pears, and oranges for the soldiers.
Other rarer fruits like bananas and peaches were given to my godfather and father privately to enjoy something new...
But these weren't big jobs, and they were done in no time.
So, she resumed her role as the "child queen," taking care of Xingxing, Yueya'er, the twins from Huiniang's family, the naughty boy from the Liu family, and even the infant Yuanyuan.
The backyard immediately became the children's domain.
Playing football, building snowmen, and jumping rope created a lively atmosphere, giving the children and mothers a precious sense of freedom...
The next morning, Old Mrs. Li urged everyone to eat breakfast quickly. Then the whole family changed into their best clothes, got into the car happily, and headed to the city in a grand procession.
The best private room on the second floor of the cyclamen restaurant has been vacated, filled with tea and snacks, just waiting for the guests to arrive.
Cyclamen was right next to the main street, on the only way from the city gate to the palace. It was the perfect place to wait for the victorious northern expeditionary army to return to the capital.
The other private rooms were also booked at high prices and were packed with guests, mostly women and unmarried girls!
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