Chapter 139 Farewell
On the fifteenth day of the first lunar month, Xie Wanniang invited Jiang Yuan, Atai, Hao Yu, Chen Shi, and Wang Xiaozhi's family to her home and personally made tangyuan (sweet rice balls) and yuanxiao (glutinous rice balls) for them to eat.
The others were also busy. They had to prepare the dry food and hot water needed for the journey by the early morning of the sixteenth day of the first lunar month.
In order to minimize the amount of sleep they could get to tonight, they had to do all the preparations they could during the day.
The joy of reunion was mixed with a faint sense of sorrow at parting, leaving everyone with mixed and indescribable feelings.
On the morning of the sixteenth day of the first lunar month, just as the sky began to lighten, the group of people who had gone to sleep with mixed feelings got up and started getting busy.
Steamed buns, twisted rolls, and red bean buns; boiled frozen dumplings for everyone's breakfast; boiled water to fill water bags and bamboo tubes later; and finally checked every nook and cranny of all the rooms and the yard to make sure no important items were forgotten...
With everything finally settled down, the coachman and carriage that Hao Yu had hired from the carriage shop in the county town were now basking in the bright sunlight and had entered the village in a grand procession.
Hearing the commotion, the villagers peeked out to check and found that the carriage was heading towards the end of the village. The gossipy villagers immediately followed in groups of three or five.
They had already heard that Jiang Yuan, Xie Wanniang, and Hao Yu were planning to move away together. Some villagers who were particularly fond of gossip even went to ask Xie Wanniang and the others why they were moving, where they planned to move to, and why they wanted to move there, and whether they had any relatives there.
Aside from those who simply came to inquire about things, there were also a very small number of people who were very clever and made a lot of assumptions, thinking that these people were about to become successful, so they came temporarily to get close to them and build relationships.
Xie Wanniang and the others were not the type to publicize their private affairs, and naturally, they wouldn't be foolish enough to give certain benefits to some villagers just because they temporarily set up a stove, as they wished.
Using the excuse of being busy packing, they stayed indoors for several days, preventing the villagers from fully venting their gossip.
Today, the horse-drawn carts that helped them move their belongings entered the village, and the villagers finally had a legitimate opportunity to watch the spectacle.
A group of idlers followed the carriage to the end of the village to watch Xie Wanniang and her family move.
Those who were close to Xie Wanniang and the others took the initiative to help carry the things.
Boxes, baskets, crates, quilts, large sacks of grain... one piece of luggage after another was carried onto the hired horse-drawn carriage.
Because the village head and others were also there, a few villagers who originally planned to take advantage of the chaos to steal some things did not dare to reach for Xie Wanniang and her companions' luggage.
After loading everything they planned to take onto the carriage, Xie Wanniang and the others gave Wang Xiaozhi, who was holding three sets of keys, all the remaining oil, salt, soy sauce, vinegar, brown sugar, lamp oil, vegetables such as cabbage, radish, and winter melon, as well as more than 200 catties of soybeans, mung beans, red beans, millet, and sorghum.
They had already sent wine and tea to the village head and Doctor Chen, and they had also sent relatively valuable fabrics and pastries to the village head's second son.
The remaining items are things they've considered and figured Wang Xiaozhi wouldn't refuse; they're not particularly valuable.
After handing over all the ingredients that the three families didn't intend to take to Wang Xiaozhi, Xie Wanniang pointed to the two large pieces of coarse cloth and the bundle of scraps of cloth that she had placed on the table in the main room and said to Wang Xiaozhi:
"Sister, take these coarse cloth and scraps back with you. You can keep the coarse cloth to make clothes, and Yuanyuan can take the scraps to practice embroidery."
"Once we've settled in, I'll write back. If Yuanyuan has any questions, you can have someone write them down and send them to me."
"Of course, it would be even more convenient if my sister and Yuanyuan could learn to write letters."
As soon as Xie Wanniang finished speaking, Jiang Yuan brought out another heavy little box. He opened the box and gestured for Wang Xiaozhi to see the neatly stacked items inside, "These are writing brushes, ink, paper, and inkstones. You can take them back and use them."
Wang Xiaozhi's eyes widened. "This...this is too valuable."
Jiang Yuan placed the box on the table. "It's not valuable; it's just the most ordinary kind of writing implements."
Xie Wanniang nodded, "Yes, we always buy whichever is the most affordable."
After all, they are not wealthy people, nor are they scholars who have high requirements for the Four Treasures of the Study. For them, high cost-effectiveness is the most important thing.
Patting her two children's heads, Xie Wan's mother gently instructed, "You two must learn your skills well, understand?"
The two children nodded obediently with tears in their eyes.
Whether it was Hao Yu, Chen Shi, Jiang Yuan, or Xie Wan Niang, they had always been very kind to them. Xiao Yang was Yuan Yuan's classmate and playmate. The two girls often played together and helped the adults take care of Chen Fang.
Now that they're leaving, the two children are crying even harder than their own mother.
After a long and reluctant farewell, Xie Wanniang and her group boarded a carriage and left the village under the watchful eyes of Wang Xiaozhi's family, the village head, Doctor Chen, and other villagers who had come to watch the spectacle.
"Girl! Sixth Miss!" Not long after the carriage left the village, a round-faced little girl who was squatting by the roadside suddenly jumped up and waved vigorously at the carriage.
The people inside the carriage parked on the wasteland next to her heard the noise and immediately opened the door and got out.
Hearing the familiar voice, Xie Wanniang opened the car window and looked out. She recognized the round-faced girl standing by the roadside and raised her voice in surprise, "Haitang?"
Haitang was an orphan girl whom her adoptive father took in during the war. Nominally, she was a maid who served her, but in reality, Xie Wanniang never let her serve her washing, dressing, eating, or drinking.
Although she tried her best to adapt to local customs in many ways after traveling from modern times to ancient times, there were still some things she was unwilling to compromise on, and she never gave in just because of the change of environment.
She signaled the driver to stop the carriage, and Xie Wanniang nimbly and deftly opened the door and jumped out. "Why are you here?"
"Waaah—" Haitang, carrying a small bundle, threw herself into Xie Wanniang's arms, "Miss!"
Xie Wanniang patted her head, "Alright, alright, I'm fine now."
Haitang wiped away her tears. "Master sent me here. I will follow you from now on."
Upon hearing this, Xie Wanniang immediately turned her gaze to the carriage parked by the roadside.
Xie Daoheng got off the carriage, accompanied by Xie Wei and Xie Bao.
“Father, Cousin Wei, Uncle Bao.” Xie Wanniang couldn’t help but smile. “Why have you all come?”
"Here you go." Xie Daoheng quickly glanced at his daughter's complexion and expression, and seeing that she was still looking radiant, his heart, which had been pounding, finally settled down.
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