The Lunar New Year is getting closer and closer.
After experiencing a drought, the area around Nan'an Village didn't start to get cold until late October or late November.
November is also called the winter month.
The weather is still good, so the villagers can still come out to work.
December has arrived.
As the weather grew colder day by day, fewer and fewer villagers were able to go out.
At this time, some families facing difficulties often only had one thick cotton-padded coat.
This meant that in winter, the whole family had to squeeze into one room and take turns going out.
Even though the villagers earned some money by helping Jiang Bai with his work, it was far from enough to buy cotton and make clothes.
Since villagers couldn't come, many jobs went unattended.
Pingshan raises quite a few chickens and pigs.
Jiang Bai has been extremely busy lately due to a shortage of manpower.
When I woke up, the sun was already high in the sky.
"Sister, dinner's ready!"
Jiang Lu prepared delicious food before waking Jiang Bai up.
Jiang Bai's face showed an indescribable weariness.
Sometimes it's really tough.
Although things were chaotic outside, the control over road permits was also stricter, and villagers could not easily leave the village. Moreover, due to the war and the arrival of winter, cotton was also difficult to buy.
Nan'an County is located in the southwest of Qianyuan Kingdom, and cotton is not produced here.
Jiang Bai has been pondering for the past two days whether he should come up with a new way out.
She pulled back her feet as soon as she lifted the blanket.
It's so cold.
"Sister?"
Jiang Lu called out from outside the door, and Jiang Bai no longer hesitated. He endured the cold, got out of bed, and quickly dressed.
He even yawned as he opened the door.
"Er Ya, what time is it?"
"It's almost over."
Jiang Bai paused slightly as he yawned.
It's eleven o'clock?
"Sister, are you sick?" Jiang Lu looked at her with concern.
She didn't want to disturb her older sister's sleep, but it was already too late.
"It's nothing, I'm just a little tired."
Jiang Bai gently patted her head to comfort her.
Jiang Lu pouted, puzzled, and asked, "Sister, we already have enough food at home, why do you still need to raise so many livestock in Pingshan?"
"So many beans were planted in the field too."
For her, it's enough to have enough to eat for her own family. Raising so many livestock would be too hard!
Especially my older sister, she's been working so hard.
She didn't want her older sister to be so tired.
You don't understand.
Jiang Bai sighed.
She has a mission.
In order for other places to be able to eat their fill, one place must be able to eat its fill.
This time it was her oversight.
However, she had already come up with a solution.
"Alright, anyway, there must be a reason why you do things, sister."
"Are you hungry? Come and eat something."
The little girl smiled and pulled Jiang Bai to sit down in the main room. Soon, she and Jiang Songwen brought out warm cakes and a wooden box.
"Sister, try this pancake, is it delicious?"
Under the expectant gazes of the two, Jiang Bai picked up a pancake and put it in his mouth.
I took a small bite and bit into something hard.
She paused for a moment, then raised an eyebrow, picked it up with her chopsticks, and saw a copper coin inside.
"Wow, big sister is amazing! She found a copper coin! Out of so many cakes, I only managed to wrap a few!"
Jiang Lu looked at her with admiration, clapping her hands repeatedly.
Jiang Bai naturally showed a surprised smile in gratitude for the gifts his younger sister and brother had carefully prepared.
"Then I'm pretty lucky."
After saying that, he took out the copper coins and ate the remaining cake.
I ate several in a row, and each one contained a copper coin.
"Er Ya, did you really only pack a few?"
"Really!" Jiang Lu lied without batting an eye.
"It's because my sister is so lucky that everyone gets to eat a copper coin."
Anyway, there was a whole bowl of pancakes, and my sister couldn't possibly eat them all.
The girl looked very serious; if Jiang Bai didn't know her well, he would have believed her.
She smiled but didn't say anything.
She couldn't possibly finish all the cakes; she ate exactly sixteen, accumulating sixteen copper coins, and then she stopped eating.
He put away all sixteen copper coins and then looked at the wooden box that the two men had brought over.
"This was Awen's idea. He said that giving birthday gifts directly was too old-fashioned, so he put all the birthday gifts we prepared into a box."
“We each prepared three birthday gifts for Sister. She made a wish in the box, and the birthday gift she drew will definitely be her favorite.”
The little girl chattered away, and Jiang Songwen looked on with anticipation.
Jiang Bai really wanted to tell her that this thing had nothing to do with luck, but with probability.
However, she was also very curious about what gifts the two had prepared for her.
Following their instructions, Jiang Bai obediently made a wish, and then, under their expectant gazes, placed his hand into the box.
Inside were small boxes of roughly the same size.
Jiang Bai touched it and found that even the length and width were the same.
I picked it up and shook it, but it didn't make a sound.
She was very surprised.
This is actually quite realistic.
You can't tell what's inside these boxes just by touching them.
After rummaging through the contents with his fingers, he finally reluctantly chose a box.
"Sister, please open it and take a look."
Jiang Lu smiled broadly, while Jiang Songwen beside her looked somewhat disappointed.
Jiang Bai guessed that the gift was probably prepared by Jiang Lu.
Inside the box was an exquisitely crafted gold hairpin, adorned with several begonia blossoms and dangling tassels.
Its design is simple yet sophisticated, giving it a stunning effect.
"I'll put it on my sister."
Jiang Lu's face was full of joy. She took the chopsticks from Jiang Bai's head that were used to tie her hair up, and with a gold hairpin in her hand, she skillfully tied Jiang Bai's hair into a new bun. The begonia-shaped tassels naturally fell beside Jiang Bai's ears, and the dazzling gold hairpin made Jiang Bai's already fair skin look even whiter and more delicate.
She sat there gracefully, like a fairy who had stepped out of a painting.
"Sister, you look so beautiful."
Jiang Lu took out a mirror and handed it to Jiang Bai, her eyes quietly reddening.
Jiang Bai looked at the beauty in the mirror, raising her eyebrows slightly, and the person in the mirror made the same gesture as her.
"It is quite beautiful."
No woman doesn't love beauty, and Jiang Bai is no exception; she's just too lazy to do it.
She only ever casually curled her hair up and stuck chopsticks in it; she couldn't manage any complicated updos.
"Big sister, big sister."
Jiang Songwen watched anxiously, and when he saw Jiang Lu re-style Jiang Bai's hair, he became even more anxious and hurriedly brought over the box.
Jiang Bai was in a great mood and drew another one. After taking it out, Jiang Songwen's eyes lit up.
I opened the box, and inside was a pair of earrings.
"Sister, let me put it on you."
Jiang Lu volunteered to help Jiang Bai get dressed up.
By the time all the contents of the box were drawn, Jiang Bai had completely transformed from head to toe.
Her hair was adorned with exquisite hairpins, her face was covered in delicate makeup, and her hands and neck were completely covered in cosmetics.
She thought it was over, but Jiang Lu stood up and pulled her into the room.
"Sister, I have something else to give you."
The little girl took her hand and led her to the screen in the room. She lifted the cloth covering the screen to reveal the gift she had carefully prepared underneath.
A dazzling red color came into view, and Jiang Bai stared in shock at what was in front of him, momentarily at a loss for words.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com