After the group returned home, Xiao Yunying first told Zheng Yunwan to rest, and then cooked a few dishes to finish lunch.
In the afternoon, she assigned Luo Sheng some work, asking him to find the village chief to help contact the people who had come to build houses before, so that they could build a few more dormitory-like courtyards at the farmhands' place.
This year she added a chicken farm and a cattle farm, and next year she plans to set up a pig farm, which will require her to hire more workers.
There isn't much farm work to do now, making it a good time to build houses.
She gave the blueprints to Luo Sheng: "The living quarters can be expanded directly on the original site, and there are also vegetable greenhouses. I want to build two more. You can ask my father about this and have him take you to hire people and buy all kinds of materials."
Luo Sheng took the blueprints: "Is there anything else?"
Xiao Yunying thought for a moment and said, "Oh, I forgot. Wait for me, I'll go get you the silver notes."
“That’s not what I meant. I still have some silver notes here.” Luo Sheng put away the blueprints. “If there’s nothing else, I’ll go.”
"When you go to the village chief's house, go to the kitchen and get a jar of wine, as well as some of the pastries I made, and wrap some up."
"knew."
After Luo Sheng left, Xiao Yunying closed the door and lay down on the kang (a heated brick bed): "Finally, I can give him something to do."
Otherwise, he'd be idle all the time, and I'd feel resentful seeing that.
While playing with building blocks on the kang (a heated brick bed), Luo Xin suddenly blurted out, "Mom, when are you and Dad going to have a younger brother or sister for me to play with?"
Startled by these words, Xiao Yunying immediately sat up: "Who said such a thing to you?"
"Grandmother said that only when Mom and Dad sleep together can we have younger brothers and sisters, but Xin'er doesn't understand. Why didn't Mom and Xin'er have younger brothers and sisters when they slept together?"
Xiao Yunying scratched her forehead, both amused and exasperated: "Xin'er is still young, she'll understand when she grows up."
Luo Xin put down the building blocks, looked up and said seriously, "Then Mom and Dad should hurry up and have a younger brother or sister. The older brothers are going to the academy to study, and it's so boring for Xin'er to be all alone at home."
As she spoke, she even started making arrangements herself: "Xin'er used to only have an older brother, but now she wants to have a younger brother first, and then a younger sister, is that okay, Mother?"
Xiao Yunying met Luo Xin's clear, expectant gaze, and didn't make a definitive statement: "This matter... Mother can't decide on her own... Besides, Mother hasn't thought about having younger siblings yet, let's wait and see, Mother will think about it some more."
Luo Xin didn't want her mother to feel troubled by her request: "Xin'er, don't rush. Mother can have another child whenever she wants."
Xiao Yunying awkwardly stopped talking and changed the subject, asking Luo Xin what she was building, and then played with building blocks with her.
At this moment, she had no idea that Luo Xin, the little girl, thought that her father disagreed because of the sentence "Mother can't make a decision by herself," and privately mentioned this to Luo Sheng, and even recounted their conversation.
This excited Luo Sheng for a long time, and he unilaterally believed that Xiao Yunying was considering their future together and was even thinking about having children.
The next morning, Xiao Yunying was still thinking about whether she should prepare something to go to the Chen residence to thank Chen Yuancheng, since he was the one who led people to break into the residence of the Minister's wife and rescued her.
After breakfast, she made two kinds of pastries with the hawthorns her parents had given her. Just as she put them into the kiln in the yard, she heard Chen Yuanyao's voice coming from outside the gate.
"Sister Yunying, open the door quickly, I've come to see you."
Then came Chen Yuanxuan's disdainful voice: "Second sister, can't you be a little more composed?"
"You little brat, it's none of your business."
Xiao Yunying quickly opened the door: "Yuan Yao, you're back from the capital?"
Chen Yuanyao immediately gave her a hug: "Yes, I came back yesterday at noon. Sister Yunying, I missed you so much. I went to the capital specifically to see you, but unfortunately I didn't get to see you."
Xiao Yunying patted her back: "I only stayed in the capital for a few days before coming back, so I probably missed it."
Chen Yuanxuan said, "Don't believe my second sister. She just wants your cooking."
Chen Yuanyao released Xiao Yunying and tapped him on the head: "So what? Can you honestly say you're not greedy?"
Chen Yuanxuan frowned and touched his head, wanting to deny it but unable to say it, and muttered a few words under his breath.
Seeing the adorable and heartwarming interaction between the siblings, Xiao Yunying smiled and said, "Come on in, don't just stand there."
Only then did a young woman emerge from behind Chen Yuancheng, calling out to her somewhat shyly, "Big sister."
Xiao Yunying's mind didn't quite process it for a moment: "You are..."
He looks familiar; I think I've seen him before.
The girl stepped out from behind Chen Yuancheng and gracefully bowed to her: "Hello, elder sister. My name is Qingzhi. We met in the palace. I am your third younger sister."
Xiao Yunying then remembered that she had seen this girl before.
At that time, she was cautious in her words and actions, afraid of making a mistake and being punished, and kept her head down, not daring to look at her.
Looking closely now, I realize that this girl's features do resemble mine to some extent, but she looks more like the wife of a high-ranking official.
Xiao Yunying didn't know how to face her, and said dryly, "Hello, you... why did you come together?"
Zuo Qingzhi said cautiously, "I begged Brother Yuancheng to bring me along. I... I just wanted to see my older sister."
Xiao Yunying had a good impression of this girl. She remembered that she had accidentally bumped into her, but the girl did not scold or punish her. Instead, she gave her some pointers and showed no signs of being spoiled or arrogant.
Chen Yuanyao couldn't stand her and rolled her eyes, saying bluntly, "Stop pretending to be all delicate. If it weren't for the fact that you helped Sister Yunying, we wouldn't have brought you along, given how good your mother and your sister Lanzhi are at doing things."
A few words from Zuo Qingzhi made her unable to keep up the act any longer, and she retorted directly: "I didn't come here with you, I came with Brother Yuancheng. Also, don't tell me that Zuo Lanzhi is my sister. You know I've looked down on her since I was a child."
Xiao Yunying listened to their conversation, completely bewildered: "She...helped me?"
Zuo Qingzhi said, as if seeking credit, "Yes, eldest sister, when you were being tormented by Zuo Lanzhi that day, I secretly told Brother Yuancheng, otherwise how could he have found you so quickly?"
After saying that, she felt a little guilty: "It was already quite late then. I had only tasted a glass of baijiu that morning, which I bought from Huiweilou. I didn't expect that just one glass would make me drunk. I didn't wake up until the afternoon. I wish I had woken up earlier."
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