After dismissing the children, Shen Qingyu decided to have a good talk with Erbao.
But looking at Erbao's head, which was just starting to sprout stubble, Shen Qingyu couldn't bear to say anything harsh.
So, while pondering "What to say? How to say it?", Shen Qingyu, holding Erbao, was speechless for a moment.
Erbao turned to look at Shen Qingyu and couldn't help but ask, "Mother, do you not want me to tell their fortunes or read their faces?"
Shen Qingyu nodded.
"Mother, don't worry, I'm very accurate. I've verified it many times in private, and it's almost the same as what my master saw."
Shen Qingyu didn't want to call it feudal superstition, but she was also worried that Erbao's character would go astray, so she could only explain it to him earnestly.
“My dear daughter, I’m not saying you’re inaccurate, but I think we shouldn’t tell these things to children.”
Erbao didn't understand: "Why can't I tell you?"
Shen Qingyu pointed to Erbao's little head: "They think everything you said is right. So, for things that are still uncertain, such as how much money they can earn in the future, how big of a business they can do, how high a position they can hold, how many children they can have... they will attribute it to fate."
Erbao was even more confused: "This is just fate!"
Her master had taught her.
“But daughter, if children are determined to change their fate, they can achieve it through hard work.”
"But if you tell them that everything is fate, they might not want to try anymore: no matter how hard they try, they won't get rich or become officials..."
Erbao blinked, unsure how to respond.
Shen Qingyu further explained: "First is fate, second is luck, third is feng shui, fourth is cultivating good deeds, and fifth is studying. To determine a person's fate, all aspects need to be considered comprehensively."
"Besides what is predetermined at birth, one's efforts after birth are also very important. For example, doing more good deeds and accumulating virtue; reading more books to gain wisdom..."
"So for children who haven't grown up, anything is possible, as long as they are willing to work hard."
Shen Qingyu patiently guided Erbao's thinking step by step, trying to tell her something different from what her master had said.
The mad Taoist priest and Xue Juzheng outside the door listened thoughtfully.
The mad Taoist felt somewhat ashamed: he had never told Erbao these things, but rather taught her to see, hear, and think for herself.
Erbao has a sweet tongue, so even if he does or says something wrong, the mad Taoist won't really get angry. He'll usually just pretend to be angry, say a few words, and then the matter will be over.
That's why Erbao is never afraid of him.
It seems I need to pay more attention to guiding this child in the future.
We can't let her go astray.
Xue Juzheng was even more shocked: Princess Qingyu's unintentional words of teaching the children today had a profound and enlightening effect on him.
He also valued whether the children's hearts were upright or not, but he didn't pay much attention to such trivial matters. If it weren't for Shen Qingyu's words, he wouldn't have thought deeply about this situation, and would have simply let the children disperse and that would have been the end of it.
Xue Juzheng turned and went back to his room, and the mad Taoist priest followed him.
The two middle-aged men both had somewhat complicated expressions.
After Shen Qingyu finished educating the child, she went to find Zhao Yuzhu: "The New Year is coming soon, what should we prepare for the New Year?"
To be honest, Shen Qingyu has everything in her space, so she doesn't need to buy anything.
But if we want to bring these things out, we need a proper channel to do so!
You can't just transform and have them all appear, can you?
This was Zhao Yuzhu's first time celebrating the New Year in this place, and she really didn't know anything about the local customs.
But this didn't stump Ms. Zhao Yuzhu. She slapped her thigh and said, "Shall we take a walk around and see how other families celebrate the New Year?"
Shen Qingyu naturally agreed: sitting in the fire cabinet for too long is not good either.
We should still go out and move around more often.
The two greeted Qi Yunxiao and Shen Zhongyi, then walked through the snow toward Uncle Lizheng's house.
At Uncle Lizheng's house, his son and daughter-in-law had just returned and were now discussing what other New Year's goods they needed to prepare.
As soon as they saw Shen Qingyu and Zhao Yuzhu arrive, the village head and his family stood up to give them a warm welcome.
Zhao Yuzhu placed the snacks she had brought on the table and began to discuss them with the village head.
Before going to the capital, Zhao Yuzhu had already finalized the arrangements for the New Year with the village head. Before Zhao Yuzhu and Shen Qingyu even returned, the year-end bonuses and New Year's gifts had already been distributed.
Ten days before the Lunar New Year, all the workshops stopped work, and the private schools also suspended classes.
Nowadays, everyone is happily preparing for the Chinese New Year at home.
The villagers of Shenjia Village have had a prosperous year.
In previous years, there were many families who couldn't even afford a single piece of meat.
But this year, thanks to income from selling sweet potatoes and working in various workshops, every household in Shenjia Village can afford to eat meat during the Spring Festival, and it's big chunks of meat!
Therefore, Uncle Lizheng spoke with a smile on his face: "Our family is slaughtering a pig for the New Year this year. We'll slaughter the pig first thing tomorrow morning. Your family can come over for a meal then!"
Shen Changshou added, "After slaughtering the New Year's pig, we'll make glutinous rice cakes, rice puffs, tofu, and cured meat..."
Shen Qingyu was pleasantly surprised to learn that Shenjia Village had such customs.
She had never experienced anything like this before!
Although I later went to the countryside with others for team building activities and slaughtered pigs, the feeling was still different.
“Okay! I’ll come first thing tomorrow morning.” Shen Qingyu happily agreed.
Cui Xi brought out two jars of sweet glutinous rice wine from the house: "This is homemade. We'll be making glutinous rice balls for the New Year, so you can use this to cook glutinous rice cakes and glutinous rice balls. It'll be very convenient..."
Shen Qingyu said apologetically: Glutinous rice is expensive, so they probably didn't make much glutinous rice sweet wine in total.
Just as she was about to politely decline, a pair of hands reached out from the side, and Zhao Yuzhu took the two jars from them: "Then I thank Cuixi very much! I love eating this the most."
Seeing her mother's behavior, Shen Qingyu realized that if you don't accept gifts from others, they will feel embarrassed.
It's better to accept it and then give something else as a return gift.
Is this what they call social interactions?
Another day of being lectured by my mother.
Having arranged to come over early the next morning to slaughter the New Year's pig, Shen Qingyu and Zhao Yuzhu politely declined the village head's invitation to stay for dinner and turned to go home.
With so many people in my family now, how should we celebrate the New Year? How can we show filial piety to our elders?
I'll talk to Qi Yunxiao alone after I get back to my room later.
Who knew that when they returned to their room that evening, Qi Yunxiao would hold onto Shen Qingyu tightly and wouldn't let go, looking like he was in a great hurry.
"I have something to tell you, so let go first," Shen Qingyu tried to reason with him.
Qi Yunxiao wouldn't let go: "How long has it been since we came back? Are you trying to kill me with thirst?"
Shen Qingyu: "..." What should I do if I feel inexplicably guilty?
When I pushed him again, I wasn't so decisive, and eventually I just let him be...
After finally finishing her work, Shen Qingyu was so tired that she didn't want to move a single finger. Anyway, there was no time to do anything else today, so she would do it tomorrow.
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