The sun was still visible in the sky, but there were scattered snowflakes in the air. Before they even hit the ground, they melted at the relatively low temperature and fell as raindrops.
Su Qinghe went out again after only half an hour of napping, with Ji Yuan by her side.
They had originally invited Ji Qingyu, but for some reason, the kid surprisingly didn't agree.
Lin Xi, on the other hand, had not yet gotten up.
Tomorrow night is New Year's Eve. Although the men had prepared some things before she returned, it was only enough for Shili Xiang, not nearly enough to support the huge new house.
Tomorrow is the last day of the old year, and most shops will be closed, so she has to buy everything she needs today.
The two traveled by carriage and visited many shops. Each time they entered, there was only one person to greet them, and even the shopkeeper was on vacation.
After all, not many people would be like them, only starting to prepare things close to New Year's Eve.
The two sat in the carriage, lifting the curtain to look at each shop one by one, only deciding to get off and buy something when they saw a particular store.
By the time they returned, it was nearly evening, and the car was packed full.
After instructing people to categorize and place the items in different locations, Su Qinghe pulled Ji Yuan to the hall.
"My lady, you're back!"
Inside the hall, Lin Xi and Ji Qingyu were already waiting.
Upon seeing the two enter, he quickly stood up from the stool.
"Why didn't you wake me up, my wife? I could have gone there and helped you pick out some things."
Lin Xi gave Su Qinghe a reproachful look and pulled out the stool for her.
As soon as the two sat down, servants brought over clean bowls and chopsticks, along with a cup of hot tea.
"You're sleeping soundly. Anyway, it's nothing serious. It's freezing outside, and you'll easily catch a cold if you go out."
The tea was probably brewed recently, as the cup was still quite hot. Su Qinghe barely managed to pick it up and take a small sip.
"Call Wenzhu and Mudong over."
She gestured to Zhang Fu, who was standing to the side waiting for orders.
"Yes, Master."
Zhang Fu respectfully responded and soon brought the two over.
"Wenzhu/Mudong greets the head of the family and the three young masters!"
The two men bowed respectfully to the seated group.
Who are they?
Upon seeing the two young men who had suddenly appeared, Ji Qingyu asked warily.
"He's a personal servant I found for your elder brother and Little Xi, so don't overthink it!"
Seeing his wary expression, Su Qinghe said irritably.
Ji Yuan glanced at him with amusement. "My wife is right, but I haven't found one for you yet, so I haven't told you."
Hearing their explanation, Ji Qingyu secretly breathed a sigh of relief, but then felt ashamed of her overreaction.
"Take a look and pick one yourself." Su Qinghe looked at Lin Xi and Ji Yuan.
"Xiao Xi, you can choose first!" Ji Yuan said gently.
"Okay, then..."
Lin Xi did not refuse, his eyes slowly moving between the two of them. Just as he was hesitating, he saw Wen Zhu on his left raise her eyes and meet his gaze.
"Let's choose him!" He pointed at Wenzhu.
"Then Mu Dong will come with me!"
Seeing that Lin Xi had made her choice, Ji Yuan smiled and waved to Mu Dong, who looked up when she heard the name.
The two walked up behind Lin Xi and Ji Yuan respectively and stood there.
Mu Dong kept his head down respectfully, and Wen Zhu also kept her head down, but she curled the corners of her mouth with a hint of smugness.
Su Qinghe gave a few brief instructions, telling Wenzhu and Mudong to take orders from Ji Yuan and Lin Xi from now on. The two responded in unison, and Su Qinghe then dismissed them.
"By the way, there's a night market on West Street tonight. Do you want to go check it out together?" Su Qinghe remembered this and turned to ask them.
“Okay, okay, I’ve never been to a winter night market before! My parents never let me go out when it snows.”
Ji Qingyu was the first to respond, her eyes filled with excitement.
Seeing this, Su Qinghe smiled and shook her head, then looked at the other two. Seeing that they also nodded, she said, "Let's set off after 5:30 PM."
Night fell quickly, and the four of them went to West Street together. Because New Year's Eve was approaching, red lanterns were hung on both sides of the street, and the shouts of vendors could be heard everywhere.
This is also a common custom in Tianhe County. People warm up on the eve of the Lunar New Year, and they are usually quite excited on this day.
Ji Qingyu looked around curiously, sometimes running over to examine the mask, sometimes over to touch the ornaments. Lin Xi and Ji Yuan followed closely behind him, afraid he would get lost.
Su Qinghe walked slowly behind them, watching them play and joke, with a doting smile on her face.
Before long, Ji Qingyu stopped in front of a small stall, picked up an exquisite wooden hairpin and couldn't put it down.
He turned to look at Su Qinghe, his eyes sparkling with anticipation.
Both my brother and Little Xi are wearing the hairpins she gave me today...
Seeing that he was staring at her intently, Su Qinghe stepped forward, smiled, and paid the bill.
Then she saw the man in front of her happily stick the wooden hairpin into his hair and look at himself in the mirror again and again.
The four continued strolling through the night market, sampling various unfamiliar snacks. Ji Qingyu ate a candied hawthorn while recounting amusing anecdotes from his childhood.
Su Qinghe's eyes twitched as she listened; this was definitely a brat!
Before they knew it, it was late. Pulling Ji Qingyu, who still wanted to linger, the group slowly returned to the manor in a carriage.
At dawn, with a loud rooster crow, Su Qinghe opened her eyes and soon came out of Ji Yuan's courtyard.
The rooster's crowing continued, and Su Qinghe frowned unhappily.
Who is raising chickens in her newly bought house, disturbing her peaceful sleep for no reason?
It didn't bother her, since she got up at the same time every day to exercise, though she got up a little later than the rooster.
But it would be wrong to disturb Lin Xi and the others!
Following the sound of roosters crowing, we arrived at a small courtyard. Before we even got inside, we could already smell the stench of poultry.
Meanwhile, on the rooftop, a large hen was crowing proudly with its head held high.
Su Qinghe narrowed her eyes, casually picked up a pebble from the ground, and threw it over.
"Coo-coo—ga!"
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