I praised the kingfisher before going to rest; it was too cold, so it wouldn't be out for long. As I looked down, I saw Xie Yuancheng staring at me with his eyes wide open; those seemingly charming eyes made my heart flutter.
"Yuancheng~ I like you so much, you're so handsome~" I had to admit defeat first, otherwise Xie Yuancheng would start making a fuss. He wasn't in good spirits to begin with, this was just to cheer him up, he still needs to go to bed early tonight to make up for it.
"Alright, I'll let you off the hook for now, but I'll remember this debt. Be careful not to upset me again, or I'll tell you all about it."
"Yes, my good lord, you should rest. Your red eyes break my heart." I rubbed Xie Yuancheng's hand. He should at least take a short rest; staying up all the time is bad for his health.
Xie Yuancheng behaved this time, nodded at me, and started to rest. I put the soft cushion under his lower back so he could rest more comfortably. I didn't think he would fall asleep, but I heard his soft breathing, so I kissed him a little.
It's not far from here to the city center, but it still takes half an hour to walk. I'd be happy if Xie Yuancheng could sleep for three incense sticks' worth of time. The carriage had been stopped for half an incense stick's time, and I was worried about delaying his business, so I pinched Xie Yuancheng's nose. He struggled for a moment and then woke up.
"Did you sleep well?" I went to look at him. He had been looking fierce just a moment ago, but his expression changed immediately. "I worked so hard to make you a pillow, and you just woke up and glared at me."
"Ying'er~ How long have we been here?" Knowing he wouldn't mistake me, I said we'd only been here for half an incense stick's time, and he actually nodded. "You're truly someone who's been with me for a long time. Come and help me get up so we can get off the carriage together."
"Honestly, I'm getting fed up with you." I helped him up, and Xie Yuancheng was really impolite, asking me to straighten his clothes and then ask him to get off the carriage.
We weren't supposed to come, but this is the first time this year that reforms have been implemented, and we don't know if it will be the same as we imagined. Tomorrow will be even busier; I'll probably be lucky to get to sleep until the early hours of the morning.
We stood by the window, and there was a long line of people below. Each family could only get one child, but some families would have their children pretend to be adults. So when the news was sent out yesterday, only adults could come to get the children. Today, even though many children were crying and making a fuss in the line, they still weren't given any.
Adults love to teach children tricks to cheat. Because they are young, adults often feel sorry for them. If a child lacks self-control, they might fall for their tricks.
"It looks quite orderly. Will they be able to finish distributing them today?" I noticed that there were few troublemakers, just a few dozen girls and boys rolling around on the ground, some of them screaming and pulling at each other's mouths.
“There is a roster. When they arrive, they will give their address and name. If they are unclear or repeat themselves, they will not be given a roster. Although it is a good intention, it is not a good thing if it is abused.”
"I know you're smart, you've already thought it through, why did you make me say it out loud?" I was still bothered, wondering when he had started preparing this and why he was dragging me into it.
"Ying'er, it's already a great mercy from your older sister that you don't take care of the household. You should still know something about such important matters. What if your older sister and I become lazy in the future and you have to make arrangements all by yourself? You won't know anything about it, and you'll be thrown into chaos."
"Yes~" I closed the window. "Okay, what's the next step?"
I leaned against the window and asked him. Xie Yuancheng said he was going to send some New Year's plans and strategies to the capital. If the old emperor didn't approve, they would have to be revised and follow the emperor's instructions. There were many other small details, which sounded like a fantasy to me. I had to think carefully to make sense of many of the technical terms.
“These are the simplest things; the most difficult ones have all been taken care of. They were quite efficient this time and didn’t show any weakness. The world is vast, and many people will hide in the shadows and cause trouble when they have the chance. We don’t need to worry about anyone coming out this year. Let’s go back to the manor.”
"Has anyone come to cause trouble before?" I hadn't seen any in the past few years, this is the first time this year. Being a marquis is quite troublesome, there are so many things to do.
"Yes, let me put it this way. We used to distribute the coins in small amounts, so some people would send people ahead to snatch dozens or even hundreds of them, leaving those who arrived later with nothing. There were also some people who would keep snatching after taking one, finding others to help cover for them, so they could snatch many more."
"These people are really smart. Why don't they go and earn some money? Ten coins are only enough to buy five candied hawthorns, what else can they buy? That's their lifeline."
“Ying’er, two coins can buy a pound of rice and flour, so of course many poor people will come to collect it. In the beginning, we were afraid that if we only distributed it to a portion of the people, some people would take the opportunity to cause trouble. So we distributed it to everyone at once, with the maximum amount being ten coins. There was no more than that, but there were still many people who didn’t get any.”
"This year should be a happy year for everyone, so why are there still kids causing trouble?"
“Ying’er, people are never satisfied. This time the rules for giving out red envelopes have been changed, but people still want more. So they’ve decided to have their children make a fuss. They’re thinking the same thing as those who used to snatch them.”
I nodded. That makes sense. It seems we really can't underestimate these people. Even if you gave them mountains of gold and silver, they wouldn't be satisfied unless they were incredibly wealthy. And even then, they'd want more, like a bottomless pit.
"Forget it, why should we care about others? As long as our family is doing well, that's enough. Everyone else has a different fate, and there's no need to force everyone to be the same."
I rarely lament things, and Xie Yuancheng understands these principles far better than I do; he probably knew them when he was a teenager. That's why he and Li Ruowei always tirelessly urge their four children to look forward and not be like ordinary children. It's just that their childhood was very short, and even with family by their side, they were still somewhat lonely—there are advantages and disadvantages to both.
"Has my sister gained a little weight?" The more I thought about it, the more I sighed, so I went to ask Xie Yuancheng about Li Ruowei.
"That's because she's pregnant. It's a good thing for the family to have more children; they can be older brothers and sisters." Xie Yuancheng helped me to the carriage. I was so curious; Li Ruowei was pregnant, and I didn't even know she only knew about us. But the first three months are indeed prone to problems. She's almost four months pregnant now, so things are considered stable.
"Great, there will be more people in the manor soon!"
Xie Yuancheng and I were chatting in the carriage when we heard some noises, so we lifted the curtain to look. We saw some adults carrying red envelopes, followed by several children. Some girls, around twelve or thirteen years old, were carrying bamboo baskets, looking like thieves, or perhaps trying to protect themselves from thieves—it felt like they were trying to hide something.
“Mother, the medicine in our baskets is for my husband. He’s so pitiful.”
"Yes, we're so poor we can't even afford to eat."
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