Jia Huan opened the door, and Jia Yin rushed over to hug her older brother, "Big brother, big brother! Grandma and the others have gone to see Second Sister-in-law, leaving Second Brother and me to look after the house."
Jiaren hugged his younger sister, laughing uncontrollably.
"Is Fu Niu'er complaining? Too bad, even her older brother doesn't dare to confront Grandma! What should we do?"
Jiayin was being naughty, hugging her brother's neck and twisting and turning, "I don't care, I don't care, Fu Niu'er is so sad, I can't make her up without a pound of sticky rice cake!"
This made Jia Huan and Li Ge'er laugh.
"Sticky rice cake can actually cure heartbreak? This is the first time I've heard of it, big brother. Okay, I'll take you to buy some now." Jiaren patted his sister, then took his two younger brothers out with him.
The four siblings found a well-regarded little restaurant, had a quick lunch, and then headed to the end of the street to buy sticky rice cakes.
On the way, they ran into a few classmates who had just finished eating. Seeing that Jiaren was holding a cute little girl, they all went up to talk to him.
Jiayin greeted everyone with a smile, praising this brother's nice clothes and that brother's handsome appearance, showering him with compliments as if they were free.
Finally, when the siblings returned to their family shop, they carried two jin of sticky rice cakes, one jin of sesame candy, a bag of hot roasted chestnuts, and a bunch of other trinkets such as a windmill and a slingshot.
And they didn't spend a single penny...
Jiaren was both amused and exasperated. He instructed Jiahuan, "If you have any free time these next few days, please make me some snacks. I'll take them to the academy as a token of my appreciation."
"Great!" Jia Huan scratched the back of his head, looking very envious. "I wish I were as clever and quick-witted as Fu Niu!"
“That’s good,” Jiaren patted his younger brother and encouraged him. “Your sister is a little girl, clever and lovable, but we are boys, and being steady and reliable is the most important thing.”
Just then, there was a knock on the shop door; it turned out that the old lady and the others had returned.
Everyone quickly opened the door, moved chairs, poured tea, and invited Liu Zhiheng and his wife, along with Mr. Wen, to sit down.
Jia Huan was anxious but didn't dare to ask, her face turning red with embarrassment.
Jiayin quickly ran to hug her grandmother, "Grandma, has Second Sister-in-law made a decision?"
"It's settled. The wedding date is set for the twelfth lunar month. We'll be busy these next few months with the betrothal gifts!" The old lady smiled broadly, clearly relieved that her grandson was now engaged.
If word gets out that the two children are seeing each other in private, it could lead to a tragedy for both families.
Now that the engagement has gone smoothly, a bad thing has been turned into a good thing, and there's nothing to fear anymore.
Jiayin shouted loudly to Jiahuan, "Second brother, second brother! You're getting married!"
Jia Huan blushed even more, stepped forward to bow and thank Mr. Wen and Mr. and Mrs. Liu Zhiheng, and then went into the kitchen and wouldn't come out.
Everyone laughed, exchanged a few casual words, and then got into the car to head back.
It's autumn now, and everyone has a lot to do.
Li Laosan and his wife couldn't insist on keeping them, so they had to see everyone off.
By the time they reached Broken Gold Beach, the sun had already set behind the western mountains.
When the villagers returned from work, they saw the old woman getting off the bus and asked, "Auntie, are you going to town?"
Now that the marriage was arranged, the old lady could talk about it openly. She smiled and said, "No, I went to Luo'an to arrange a marriage for Jia Huan."
"Jia Huan is engaged?" The villagers were all surprised and asked one after another, "Whose daughter is she? When is the wedding? We want to come and have a go!"
"The girl's surname is Peng, and she is the eldest daughter of Mr. Jiaren. The wedding date is set for the twelfth lunar month. Everyone will definitely be busy with the preparations, and of course, there will be plenty of wedding wine to drink."
The old lady couldn't help but show a hint of pride, which made the villagers extremely envious.
"The daughter of the academy's teacher? Wouldn't that mean she's a well-bred young lady from a scholarly family?"
"Jia Huan is truly blessed!"
"Yes, this boy is usually very honest and hardworking, and he has a good eye for choosing a wife."
"Congratulations, Auntie, you're about to marry your granddaughter-in-law."
Everyone offered their congratulations, their chatter making the old lady beam with joy.
Jiayin quickly brought some snacks and sesame candy to her grandmother, who then distributed them to the villagers, creating another lively atmosphere.
Tao Hongying came out of the courtyard and found it amusing to see how perceptive her daughter was.
Jiayin stuck her tongue out at her mother, then grabbed the sticky rice cake and a bunch of trinkets, and ran off with Jia'an, Jiaxi, and Maoge'er...
At dinner time, the Li family set up two tables, and the village chief, Uncle Zhao and several others, as well as Doctor Zhang, the head镖师 (bodyguard) and his wife, Uncle Wu and his wife, all gathered together to eat and chat.
Everyone was happy that Jia Huan had married a good wife, but the matter to be discussed today was the harvest of fruit.
Mid-Autumn Festival is a very important festival of the year. Every family likes to display fruits and enjoy the moon and scenery.
At this time, if you sell fruit, you're sure to get a good price.
Liu Zhiheng said the same thing when he came over earlier.
Just in time, the memorial archway was also completed.
The group decided to set up an incense table to express their gratitude the next day, and then pick fruit.
Of course, as always, ten baskets were sent to the palace first to be presented to the emperor for a fresh meal.
The remaining fruits from the two mountains can be sold. Most of them will be handed over to Liu Zhiheng to transport away, and a small portion will be left for the guests in the valley, with a limit of a few kilograms per person, as a small perk.
Li Lao Er spoke up and left twenty baskets of fruit, with the cost of the fruit deducted from his family's share of the profits.
These twenty baskets of fruit need to be delivered to the academy, to Mr. Wen and Mrs. Cui, as well as to the classmates and uncles of the students Jiaren helped when we bought the small courtyard. We need to give them gifts.
The Li family and the villagers have only been here for two years at most, their roots are still shallow, so maintaining connections is very important.
Who knew when the Li family would suddenly need to ask for help from others?
Friendships are built through mutual help, frequent visits, and over time.
It's reliable to use it only when needed, and it might work for small things, but it's absolutely unreliable for big things.
When the village chief heard that the Li family was leaving fruit as a gift, he refused to accept the money no matter what.
After all, Mrs. Cui and Mr. Wen have helped the village a lot, so we can't let the Li family pay out of their own pockets.
Finally, after much arguing, the village and the Li family each agreed to split the money, meaning the Li family would keep twenty baskets of fruit but would only receive the money for ten baskets.
Once the matter was settled, everyone dispersed.
The next morning, the entire village, young and old, came out to clean the area around the archway, then set up an altar and offered fruit and snacks.
Amidst the crackling of firecrackers, people of all ages knelt and respectfully kowtowed.
Thank you, Your Majesty, for your grace; thank you, this land, for providing shelter; and thank you, Heaven, for the favorable weather and abundant harvests.
Early risers who had come to the valley also got out of their cars and bowed in greeting.
After the incense table was put away, the villagers went up the mountain and picked ten baskets of the biggest and reddest fruit.
Jiayin was also online last night, busy picking fruit. Now she's so sleepy she keeps yawning and is leaning on her grandma's back, helping to guard the basket.
In fact, when no one was paying attention, she replaced the fruit with fruit produced in the small courtyard of her space.
Although the difference isn't huge, the fruit grown in the small courtyard is still a bit sweeter than the fruit grown on the mountain.
Not to mention that the emperor bestowed upon her the title of princess and built a memorial archway for the village, most of the solid gold bracelets that her adoptive father brought back were "robbed" from the emperor.
She should at least treat the Emperor better, shouldn't she?
If we give and take, we can be more justified in accepting gold bracelets in the future!
When Grandma Li heard that her granddaughter hadn't moved for a while, she thought she had fallen asleep. Little did she know that the girl was already plotting her next scheme, planning to exchange the fruit for a gold bracelet...
This time, the village chief and Li Lao Er led the team to deliver the fruit to the palace.
A truckload of bright red berries, shining brightly in the autumn breeze and sunshine, carried their fragrance all the way through the entire city of Xindu.
As a result, everyone in Xindu knew that the fruit orchards at Suijintan had opened.
Fearing the fruit would be snatched up, Liu Zhiheng quickly gathered men and carriages and set off for Broken Gold Beach.
The villagers, seeing a caravan turning down the path from afar, assumed it belonged to the Liu family. But as they approached and took a closer look, they were overjoyed!
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