Chapter 008 Returning Home

It was already dinner time when Yuan Ming returned to Shangguan Village. Smoke was coming out of every chimney. He declined Yang Tao's invitation to have dinner at home and walked into his own courtyard carrying the cold steamed buns. Yuan

Ming was full of confidence when he left, which made Cao and Ji Qingyue subconsciously believe his words. Now seeing that he had nothing in his hands, they looked at each other and their hearts sank suddenly.

"Mother, I bought some meat buns and took them to the kitchen to heat them up." Yuan Ming said.

Cao glanced at Ji Qingyue, walked quickly to Yuan Ming, and whispered, "Didn't you say you were going to prepare the return gift? Why are you wasting money on buying buns? If you can't produce anything tomorrow, wouldn't that be a slap in the face of Yue Ge'er?"

Yuan Ming was stunned for a moment, and then laughed.

He patted the bulging wallet on his waist: "I didn't buy anything, but I have earned money."

Cao's eyes widened: "How did you make so much money in half a day? Although our family is poor, we must never do anything that violates morality and sells out our dignity."

Yuan Ming laughed: "What are you thinking, mother? This is all the money I earned."

He didn't let Cao go to the kitchen to heat up the buns, and went to the kitchen himself. The water in the pot on the stove has been boiled, and a small steamer is placed on it. Soon, a plate of hot buns came out of the pot.

Three people sat in the main room, each holding a bun in his hand.

Ji Qingyue chewed the bun and exclaimed: "How can my husband be so amazing? He earned more than ten taels of silver in half a day!"

Just now, Yuan Ming told her what happened in the town, but when he talked about going to the bookstore, he concealed the type of book he wrote and did not say it was a storybook.

Cao looked at the small pile of silver in front of her, and she couldn't stop smiling.

After dinner, Yuan Ming took the money out. When he came back, he had several more baskets in his hands.

Ji Qingyue took out the things in the basket one by one, and said as she looked at them: "Wild ginseng, tea leaves, dried wild delicacies, dried fruits, and fruit wine!"

Yuan Ming sat opposite him, with a stack of patterned oil paper next to him. He picked up a box and started to pack. "Although the price of these is not high, they are all picked by the villagers in the mountains and dried by hand. The taste and quality are much better than those in the grocery store."

Ji Qingyue nodded as if she understood, and opened the can of fruit wine. A peach fragrance mixed with the smell of wine came to her nose.

"What a good smell!" Ji Qingyue took a breath and smelled the smell in the air greedily.

Yuan Ming took the wine jar from him and said with a smile: "Qingqing really has a good eye. This wine is the most expensive here. It was made by the previous village chief. Since the old village chief passed away, no one knows how to brew it. If it weren't for his son's dislike of wine, it would have been gone long ago."

Ji Qingyue looked at the wine bottle eagerly. He knew the purpose of these things, so he didn't say he wanted to taste them.

In order to make the gift look better, Yuan Ming packed it very carefully, seriously and meticulously.

Ji Qingyue watched for a long time with her chin in her hand, and suddenly said: "Is it worth it for my husband to do all this? You know that my father is not satisfied with you at all, and even disagrees with our marriage. I took a letter back on the wedding day, but he didn't come."

As he said this, he lowered his head, pursed his lips, and looked a little pitiful, like a little animal abandoned by its owner.

Yuan Ming stopped what he was doing, pressed his head against his chest, and gently stroked it with his hands.

"That's your father. As long as you still recognize him, I will definitely respect him. This is what I should do."

Ji Qingyue's hands suddenly tightened, and her nasal tone was very heavy: "Thank you, you are so good, my father regretted it a long time ago."

Yuan Ming smiled and said nothing.

In addition to these mountain delicacies, Yuan Ming also prepared something special, which was an unpolished imperial examination essay and a piece of large characters. As mentioned before, Ji Fulai distinguished right from wrong and cherished talents, so he particularly disliked the spoiled and willful Ji Qingyue. All

he had to do was to please him.

Ji Qingyue half-lay on the desk in front of Yuan Ming, staring at his hands without blinking. After

writing a piece of large characters, Ji Qingyue quickly raised her head and looked at him with sparkling eyes: "My husband's handwriting is so beautiful!"

Yuan Ming put down the pen and rubbed his hairy head.

Early the next morning, Yuan Ming and Ji Qingyue packed up and got on Yang Tao's ox cart. Ji Fulai was the county magistrate, so their home was naturally in the county town. It is not possible to go directly from Shangguan Village. One must first take an oxcart to the town, and then rent a horse carriage.

It was almost noon when the two of them arrived at the county town.

The carriage stopped in front of a stone tablet with the two big characters "Chengxian" written on it, and the two got off the car - each person had to pay a five-cent entrance fee to enter the city, and the carriage fee was calculated separately, so the driver only took them to the city gate.

At the county gate in front, several soldiers in armor were checking the vehicles and pedestrians entering and leaving. Yuan Ming put all the gifts in the backpack, put it on his back, took Ji Qingyue's hand, and lined up at the end of the queue to enter the city.

After a thorough inspection, the two finally arrived in the city. The streets, which were more than twice as wide as those in Shifang Town, were bustling with people, and from time to time a horse-drawn carriage passed by them.

However, such a lively scene was nothing in the eyes of Yuan Ming and Ji Qingyue, as one had seen better ones and the other was too familiar with them.

Arriving in Cheng County, it was Ji Qingyue's home turf. He pulled Yuan Ming through the streets, talking nonstop, enthusiastically and lively introducing the various shops and facilities on both sides of the street.

Yuan Ming followed him quietly, and although he didn't say much, he responded to every word. The two walked side by side, and they were a very harmonious match.

The mansion of the county magistrate is located in the center of the entire county. The gate is magnificent, and the plaque on the top has the two big characters "Ji Mansion" written in regular script. There are two stone lions at the door with their mouths wide open.

Ji Qingyue stood still and looked at this familiar house with a complicated expression. He was homesick and was too decisive when he left. Although his relationship with his family was not very good, at this moment, he still felt a lot of grievances in his heart.

"Qingqing, I'll go knock on the door." Yuan Ming guessed what he was thinking, so he said.

Ji Qingyue neither nodded nor shook her head, but when Yuan Ming raised his hand, she suddenly grabbed him: "Mrs. Liang is not my biological mother, and what happens to her has nothing to do with us. But my father will definitely make things difficult for you. When that happens, your husband doesn't have to compromise for my sake. Just do whatever you want and say whatever you want."

Yuan Ming was stunned. He didn't expect that at this moment, Ji Qingyue was still thinking about him and worried about him.

Pinching Ji Qingyue's face hard, Yuan Ming smiled and said, "Don't worry, my father-in-law is the county magistrate, and he won't hit me in front of everyone."