"You won! Haha, I'm so sorry, Lady Hui, you let the cat go."
Madam Tian, the magistrate of Linshui County, was filled with excitement and took another sip of milk tea.
Song Anxin inwardly cried and resigned herself to paying the money. When these ladies first started playing, she could still hold her own in a few rounds of mahjong, but now they were getting better and better at it, and could even count the cards. She had become the one who caused the other to lose.
Madam Tian was very happy to receive the money. She was completely relaxed and exclaimed, "Hui Gongren, this is really a wonderful place. There are fun activities, beautiful scenery, and such delicious milk tea. I can't live without it from now on."
A group of ladies readily agreed, promising to come again the next day.
Song Anxin thought to herself, "Fine, as long as you come here often in the future, I'll let you set off the firecrackers."
After Song Anxin had an unlucky streak of firing four or five shots in a row, Lin Taohua couldn't stand it anymore.
"Second sister-in-law, didn't you say you always wanted to hold Mingyang more? I'll take over for you. The wet nurse is holding him over there looking at the scenery. Why don't you go and hold Mingyang and play with him?"
Song Anxin was overjoyed and immediately got off the table. It wasn't that she couldn't accept defeat, but the sense of defeat was just too overwhelming. She couldn't take it anymore!
Just as Song Anxin was on her way to find Xiaoyangyang and passed by the card table, Old Madam Lu saw her and immediately extended a warm invitation:
"Hui Gongren, let's play a round, these cards are really interesting."
"Hey, wait a minute, I can afford to play these cards. I'll play them all, haha."
Madam Lu was busy collecting the silver and enjoying herself when she turned her head and found that Consort Hui was gone. She wondered, "Did Consort Hui walk so fast?"
Meanwhile, a group of students in the neighboring scenic area, after enjoying the scenery and composing poems, ordered some tea and snacks and became so engrossed in playing Ludo and checkers in the pavilion that they almost couldn't find a table when they went to Dafengweixuan.
At lunchtime, Dafeng Weixuan was packed. Anyone who arrived late had to wait in line. However, the sight of this only made people flock there even more, willing to wait even if they had to take a number. While waiting, they could also grab a cup of tea at the beverage station.
Braised and roasted rabbit is the signature dish of Dafengweixuan Restaurant. Its aroma is so enticing that people queuing at the door are drooling and can't wait to eat it.
The rabbits raised by Song Anxin's family and Lin Dasao's family can be described as "raising an army for a thousand days to use it for one day," as there are visibly fewer rabbits in the rabbit pens.
The Linjiacun Tourist Area's first day of trial operation was a great success!
Dafeng Weixuan, the recreational area, the scenic area, and the novelties of Linjia Wood Shop... all became popular in several counties and towns, and even spread further afield, attracting more and more tourists.
On the evening of the sixth day of the eleventh lunar month, Song Mei went into labor, and on the morning of the seventh day of the eleventh lunar month, Song Anxin's family welcomed a pair of twins, a boy and a girl, and the whole family was extremely excited and joyful.
Lin Fengnian almost fainted from excitement, but Song Anxin calmed him down.
Upon hearing the news, the villagers flocked to Song Anxin's house early in the morning to offer their congratulations.
"Oh my, these two little cuties are so good-looking, they're so lovable."
"This must be the younger brother. Don't even mention that the younger brother is prettier than the older sister. You can tell at a glance that he looks like Aunt Lin the Second."
"That's right. This boy is probably destined to be an official like his second aunt. He's so lucky to have been born into her family, and he's the eldest grandson. He'll be living a life of luxury from now on."
"....……"
The villagers were teasing the children, clearly favoring the boy among the two.
Song Anxin felt helpless about this deeply ingrained feudalistic mindset. Holding her granddaughter in her arms, she said:
"Both children are equally lucky, they are both our family's treasures. When Xiao Yixuan grows up, he must protect his older sister Yiyu well."
The villagers were quite surprised to hear Song Anxin's words. A girl actually had the same character as a boy, and was even named Yu, which is an extremely precious thing.
They learned that this girl was highly regarded in Aunt Lin's family, and they all turned to praise her.
"Oh my, this little Yu'er is really pretty. She'll definitely grow up to be a beauty."
"That's for sure! Meizi is already beautiful, and everyone in Second Aunt's family is quite good-looking too. Who knows how beautiful they'll become in the future!"
"..........."
The villagers teased Xiaoyuer and then discovered that the child was wearing a real pearl on her hand.
This... this is what it means to be the apple of one's eye! It seems that the eldest granddaughter's life is even better than the eldest grandson's!
Lying on the bed behind the screen, Song Mei was overwhelmed with emotion, overjoyed to have given birth to a grandson for her husband's family.
But she also felt sorry for her daughter, fearing that Yixuan, being a boy, would overshadow his older sister. She never expected that her mother would marry her daughter Yiyu.
The meaning is unknown, but Xiao Yu'er will surely grow up to be showered with love and affection, and her mother always brings a sense of peace and warmth to people's hearts.
After the villagers had finished looking at the children and left one by one, Old Mrs. Song looked at the infants, Yu'er and Xuan'er, and sighed:
"Xin'er, I never expected you to become a grandmother before your mother."
Song Anxin let Xiao Yu'er's soft little hand hold her little finger, her face full of loving affection:
"Mother misses her grandson. Don't worry, when Anbang comes back next month, you might be able to hold your little grandson right away."
Sun Lixi, who was teasing Xiao Xuan'er, looked shy yet expectant upon hearing this. After waiting for so long, Brother Anbang was finally coming back.
Grandma Song chuckled and said, "If only that were true. By the way, has Fenghe been informed of any news about Xiao Xuan and Xiao Yu?"
Song Anxin replied, "I wrote the letter early this morning to let Fenghe know that he has become an uncle. He is still in Kyoto now, and he should receive the letter soon."
Feng He followed Magistrate Yan to the capital, but for some reason they ended up staying there, saying that he was going to the northern frontier with Magistrate Yan.
"Sigh, I don't know why Fenghe, such a gentle and intelligent child, had to go to that remote place. It's really worrying," said Grandma Song with some concern.
As the twelfth lunar month approached, a light snow fell in Linjia Village, making the plum blossoms in the scenic area even more magnificent. The ten-mile stretch of plum blossoms was a spectacular sight, and the plum garden quickly became a popular spot in the Linjia Village scenic area.
Some ladies simply played cards while comfortably lounging on the heated kang (a traditional heated platform bed) in the scenic area's card room, admiring the red plum blossoms outside the window, though their main activity was actually playing cards.
That day, Song Anxin went to the plum garden to cut some plum blossoms to put in Meizi's room. Meizi was feeling bored in her room every day during her postpartum confinement, and seeing some blooming plum blossoms could change her mood.
Looking at the person in front of her, she deeply regretted her decision to come to the plum garden today. She wished she had stayed with Meizi on the kang (a heated brick bed) and played with the child.
"Don't worry, I didn't expect it to really be you. I almost didn't recognize you. After all these years, you haven't changed at all. You are still as bright as the moon in the sky and as beautiful as the plum blossoms."
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