In the blink of an eye, Zhou Laoda and Zhao Guihua's family have been in Beijing for four months. With winter approaching, they are not planning to return to the south this year. A few days ago, Zhao Guizhi sent a letter saying that the rice in the fields has been harvested, taxes have been paid, and the rest, except for what they need to eat, has been stored away.
The fruit in the orchard has been harvested. Except for the fruit used for brewing and cooking, all of it was sold. The fruit that wasn't sold was used to make dried fruit. The pigs raised on the orchard have grown big enough to be slaughtered. One pig will be given to the villagers for the New Year, two will be kept for our own family to slaughter for the New Year, and the rest will be slaughtered and used to cook dishes in the restaurant.
In addition to Zhao Guizhi's letter, Zhou Laoda also received a letter from the village chief. This was the first time the village chief had sent him a letter. The letter said that Dongsheng had taken the imperial examination and passed as a student. Now Yegou Village has three students who have passed the imperial examination.
The other two are Dafu and Sanfu, but Dongsheng was at the very bottom of the class, so he still has to wait a few more years to pass the imperial examination. He will have to wait a few more years to pass the county-level examination. Dongsheng is only thirteen years old now, so there is no rush.
Next year, Dafu and Sanfu will return to their hometown to take the provincial examination. If they pass the provincial examination, they will become Xiucai, which is a prestigious title. If they can pass the Xiucai examination, it will be a great honor for their family.
"Dongsheng is a resilient child, very hardworking and able to endure hardship," both Zhou Laoda and Zhao Guihua said.
Zhou Dafu felt uncomfortable hearing this, as if it was directed at him. He was not as smart as his third brother, and he only managed to achieve tenth place in the preliminary examination by relying on his enthusiasm and perseverance. Moreover, he was two years older than Dongsheng. If Dongsheng had taken the exam two years later, he probably would have also achieved a good ranking.
He was a little unsure about the provincial examination next year, and didn't know if he could pass. Even if he was at the very bottom of the class, passing would be great. He was just afraid of failing.
Zhou Sanfu didn't have this concern. He was confident he could pass. Even if he was unlucky and failed, he could just take the exam again next time. His family wasn't short of money, so he could take the exam multiple times. He wasn't worried.
Winter is coming soon, and the weather in Beijing is getting colder than expected. The sun was shining yesterday, but when I woke up this morning, I was shocked to see the world covered in snow. The snow was falling quite heavily, with goose feather-like snowflakes drifting down from the sky.
No wonder my feet suddenly felt icy cold when I fell asleep last night. Having gotten used to the south, I'm finding it hard to adjust to the biting, domineering cold of the north.
So Zhou Laoda and Zhao Guihua got up overnight to heat the kang (a traditional heated bed). Luckily, they had bought a lot of charcoal beforehand, otherwise they wouldn't have been able to withstand the snow without heating the kang.
As the snow fell heavier and heavier, the emperor began to worry again. He was afraid of natural disasters and now felt uneasy whenever he saw heavy rain or snow. He just hoped that it would stop soon and that there would be no snow disaster.
After noon, the snow stopped, and the emperor was relieved.
"Father, I will be leaving the palace these few days and will not be able to come and pay my respects to you every day. I have things to do and will not be able to return to the palace so soon, so please do not send anyone to look for me." Xingxing was wrapped in a fox fur cloak, completely covered up, like a lovely little fox.
"Why are you going out in this cold weather? You're the one who's most afraid of the cold. You even have to wrap your head up inside. How dare you go out?" The emperor tapped her forehead, both amused and exasperated.
"Your Majesty, I bought a shop before. My parents are idle all day long, and they're almost going to get sick from boredom. I'm going to find them something to do. My mother is a good cook, so she can open a restaurant. Business should be good." Xingxing didn't hide anything from him. Anyway, even if she didn't say it, her father would know.
"And then you can sneak out of the palace to eat whenever you have a spare moment, right?" The emperor saw through her thoughts.
Xingxing giggled and shook the emperor's arm, saying sweetly, "Father, you can go eat there when you have time."
"I won't be swayed by you. Stop pretending to be innocent," the emperor snorted, then continued, "The Zhou family is going back to the south next year. They won't be able to keep this shop open for more than a few months anyway. I really don't know what you're up to."
“Even though Father and Mother have gone back, the shop is still mine. I can hire people to keep it running and I’ll have a monthly income. This is my way of making money,” Xingxing retorted seriously.
"You can only earn a few taels of silver a month. Is it worth all this trouble? You might as well rent it out. The shops, houses, and estates I gave you are more than enough for you to mess around with. Why do you have to open a restaurant?"
The emperor knew exactly where Xingxing had bought the shop, when she bought it, and how big it was. Because he knew all this, he thought the shop was too small, the location was too remote, and it was too stingy, which was not in line with the status of the eldest princess.
But Xingxing liked it, and the emperor couldn't do anything about it, so he could only let her do whatever she wanted.
After leaving the palace, Xingxing pulled Zhou Laoda and his wife to work at the shop, saying, "It's very cold now, so let's do business at noon. Let's not do business in the morning and evening. We don't need that little bit of money. We don't want to catch a cold."
“Either close the restaurant or not. If you’re going to do it, you should put your heart into it. How can you be so willful just because you’re lazy? If you can’t make much money this month, you might as well quit. You might as well stay home and sew clothes.” Zhao Guihua didn’t listen to the stars. She looked up at the sky. Although it had stopped snowing, she was still shivering from the cold.
With the year-end approaching, she needed to make clothes for her children, so she didn't have time to open a shop.
“I bought this shop because I saw you and Dad always complaining that you’re too idle and have nothing to do. Now that we have the shop, you want to sew clothes again. So, are we not going to open this restaurant?” Xingxing scratched her face, looking somewhat disheartened.
“Open it, why wouldn’t we open it? Our parents are too old to stand the cold. Sifu and I can handle it. My fourth brother and I are also quite skilled. Leave this shop to us, and we’ll make sure the restaurant opens.” Zhou Erfu patted his chest and made his promise.
Xingxing clapped her fair hands and said happily, "That's great! Dad and Mom, you can go back to the kang and stay here. Don't come out to work. Second Brother and Fourth Brother can manage."
“No, how can your mother and I be old? We’re only in our early thirties, and we’re still very healthy. How come you all say we’re seventy or eighty years old?” Old Zhou frowned, his expression indescribable.
"Oh dear, we're not saying you're old, we're just concerned about you and being filial. Aren't you happy that you can enjoy life at such a young age?" Xingxing said with a sly smile, linking arms with Zhao Guihua.
“What you said makes sense, daughter. Your mother and I will go back and enjoy ourselves. You two go about your business.” Zhou Laoda said and left without looking back.
Xingxing smiled, revealing two rows of tiny teeth, and said in a clear voice, "Dad and Mom, don't walk back. Take the carriage. There are hand warmers inside, so you won't get cold."
Zhou Laoda and Zhao Guihua grinned from ear to ear. This little darling is so sweet and considerate in every way.
Xingxing stayed in the shop to help Zhou Erfu and Zhou Sifu, as the two Fu brothers were preparing to open for business tomorrow.
That night, Xingxing stayed overnight at the Zhu residence. In the middle of the night, she vaguely heard a scream outside, but it quickly subsided. She opened her eyes sleepily and mumbled, "Qingyan, Qingluo, has a thief broken in?"
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