Chapter 164 Returning to Mingfu Village
Xie Wanniang rubbed her forehead, "Then you can keep them all yourself."
Jiang Yuan disagreed, "If I weren't married, I would definitely keep it for myself, but now that I'm about to marry you, if I don't give you money, are you going to support our little family on your own?"
Is this something a normal person would do?
He's not the kind of shameless person who lives off a woman and acts all high and mighty.
As a normal man, even if he wasn't as good at making money as Xie Wanniang, he absolutely couldn't be careless when it came to supporting his family.
The two argued about the issue for about fifteen minutes. In the end, Xie Wanniang, too lazy to waste any more breath, chose to accept the small money box that Jiang Yuan gave her.
The box contained not only cash and copper coins, but also several deeds, meaning that Jiang Yuan had handed over his house and land in Mingfu Village to Xie Wanniang.
Xie Wanniang sighed and silently carried her things into her room, placing them together with her small money box.
Jiang Yuan got his wish, and his excitement and joy made him exceptionally energetic. Even though he was injured, he couldn't settle down and rest properly. After Xie Wanniang ordered him to go back to his room to recuperate, he lay there with his eyes open, thinking about the many details of the engagement and wedding.
Xie Wanniang was not idle either. After settling the things Jiang Yuan had handed over, she wrote a long letter, planning to send the letter and gifts to Xie Daoheng through someone when she returned to her hometown.
After all, it was a major life event, and she could agree to Jiang Yuan's proposal with Xie Daoheng's tacit approval, but she couldn't not even inform her adoptive parents.
Besides her decision to get engaged and marry Jiang Yuan, Xie Wanniang also briefly described her life in Yi County in the letter.
It's impossible to only report good news and not bad, but it's also impossible to tell the whole truth.
Yi County was more dangerous than their hometown. Every year from late autumn to early spring, there would be bandits and foreign tribes causing trouble. Even if she didn't say it, Xie Daoheng would know, so she wrote everything down in her letter.
However, Xie Wanniang did not mention the two incidents of being ambushed by spies and bandits in her letter.
She focused on describing her business, the guards she hired, the harmonious working relationship she had developed with the border troops, and the fact that Jiang Yuan had been promoted to the rank of Qianzong (a military officer) based on his military achievements.
Ultimately, the goal was simply to ease Xie Daoheng and the others' worries.
Ten days passed in the blink of an eye. The day before Jiang Yuan was to set off back to Zijing Pass, Xie Wanniang and the others set off on the auspicious day they had chosen, carrying a large amount of local specialties on their journey home.
The rewards from the military camp were also delivered to Yi County on this day. Jiang Yuan felt both helpless and amused about it—he didn't even have a vacation anymore, and if the things were delivered now, he wouldn't have time to buy a house or a shop!
Helpless, he had no choice but to sort and collect all the gold, silver, gems, cloth, furs and other items that Chang Yao had sent, and put them into the warehouse along with the list.
The courtyard where Xie Wanniang lived was connected to the clothing shop in front, and a large number of people were active in the vicinity every day, so thieves dared not visit it.
Those who work in the front yard, even if they come to clean or take care of the plants, will not sneak into the storeroom. Therefore, as long as he locks all the boxes and the storeroom door, the things inside will not be lost.
After settling his belongings, Jiang Yuan followed his comrades who had come to deliver the rewards, and together they rode back to Zijing Pass to continue doing what he had to do.
Xie Wanniang, Hao Yu, and the others traveled a long and dusty journey back to Mingfu Village in a hired carriage.
Before returning to the village, Xie Wanniang arranged for someone to deliver the items and letters prepared to be sent back to the Xie family to a shop in Baihe Town.
That was the intermediary station for Xie Daoheng's secret communication with her. Every time the two exchanged letters and items, they went through the shopkeeper of that shop.
Chen Lizheng, Wang Xiaozhi, and the others were surprised and delighted to see the familiar faces when they saw them return in person.
Many villagers recognized them and couldn't help but come over to ask about their lives after leaving the village.
Everyone was very curious about the outside world and Xie Wanniang and the others' recent lives.
Xie Wanniang and the others said what they could say. When they passed by Xiaoyang's parents' house, Xie Wanniang took advantage of the fact that there were many villagers watching the commotion and openly handed over the gifts that Xiaoyang had prepared for her parents, brother and sister-in-law to Xiaoyang's second brother.
Xiao Yang's eldest and second eldest sisters are already married, but Xiao Yang still prepared a gift for each of them.
Xiao Yang specifically instructed Xie Wan Niang not to give these two items to her parents, brother, or sister-in-law.
In her words, once these things were in her parents' hands, her two older sisters would never be able to get a single thing.
Xie Wanniang knew that Xiao Yang's understanding of her parents was very accurate, so she agreed to send one of her guards to run an errand for Xiao Yang.
Amidst the villagers' onlookers and inquiries, they returned to the end of the village. Xie Wanniang and Hao Yu took the keys handed to them by Wang Xiaozhi and opened the gates to their respective courtyards.
Since Xie Wanniang had brought back guards, Wang Xiaozhi simply opened the gates of Jiang Yuan's courtyard and the doors of his side rooms as well.
The guards first helped Xie Wanniang and the others unload and arrange their belongings from the carriage, and then they carried their simple luggage together to Jiang Yuan's room to rest.
After receiving the money from Xie Wanniang, the coachman and his companion drove to Baihe Town.
They planned to rest for the night in Baihe Town, and then see if they could pick up a fare on their way back to Yi County to earn some extra money.
After receiving the snacks and candies distributed by Xie Wannian, the other villagers left in small groups, whispering among themselves. Only Chen Lizheng, Doctor Chen, Wang Xiaozhi, and others who were close to Xie Wannian remained with her.
The women brought meat, eggs, fruits, and vegetables, and were chatting with Xie Wanniang while quickly helping to cook.
The men sat in the main room, surrounding Hao Yu and asking him all sorts of questions.
Atai and Xiaomei are going back to their own village tomorrow, so Xie Wanniang didn't ask them to help with anything.
Xiao Mei was currently taking stock of the things they planned to take back to the village, while Atai was adding tea and water for Hao Yu and the others, patiently waiting for the right opportunity to speak.
He planned to hire an oxcart in the village instead of driving one of the horse-drawn carts they had brought back from the border town, as Xie Wanniang had suggested.
On the one hand, it was not easy for a carriage to enter their village, and it was also easy to attract envy. On the other hand, Atai felt that Xie Wanniang and the others would definitely need to use a carriage.
Not wanting to cause trouble for themselves and others, Atai felt that hiring an oxcart once when they returned and once when they left was the best option for them.
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