On the 23rd day of the twelfth lunar month, the day of the Little New Year, He Zhengchu and Hu Dacheng returned from the capital exhausted.
Everyone was delighted. Huang looked them both up and down, "Zhengchu is still as handsome as ever, and Dacheng has become stronger and more mature!"
Hu Xiaocheng couldn't help but complain, "I think he's gained weight. He must not have practiced well."
Hu Dacheng grabbed Hu Xiaocheng by the back of his collar and said, "Boy, go to the martial arts arena and practice. Let's see who of us has not practiced well!"
The two brothers were both good at martial arts and used to spar with each other frequently. After Hu Dacheng left for the capital, Hu Xiaocheng felt lost for a while. "Let's go, who's afraid of who?"
Ye persuaded the two of them, "Dacheng just came back, let's rest for the night and go compete tomorrow morning."
Hu Xiaocheng felt sorry for his brother. "Okay, I'll listen to you, Auntie. Let my brother rest for a night, so that he won't have to make excuses if he loses."
"Hey! You little brat, you're going to rebel when I'm not home!"
Kang Yueran knew Hu Xiaocheng's awkward personality and said with a smile, "Alright! Listen to my mother and compete again tomorrow morning!"
Hu Dacheng excitedly said to Kang Yueran, "Miss, you didn't go to the capital this year, and everyone missed you. Prince Ning and Master Chu came to our Four Seasons Garden several times and said it wasn't lively without you."
He Zhengchu said, "I brought back several letters, one from Prince Ping and one from Princess Yongtai."
"Qin Shu? Is she okay?"
"Let's go to the study and talk!"
If they were going to the study to discuss something, it must be something important. Ye instructed, "Hurry up and talk, Zhengchu, I'll make you something delicious tonight."
He Zhengchu smiled shyly, "Okay!"
Hu Dacheng jumped in front of Ye, "Auntie, there's me too, I just got back too!"
Ye smiled from ear to ear, "Auntie didn't forget to make delicious food for Dacheng too."
Sitting in the study, Kang Yueran began to fiddle with the small stove to boil water and make tea.
He Zhengchu took out five letters from his bag and handed them to Kang Yueran. "I'll boil some water, you read the letters first!"
Kang Yueran opened Chai Shijing's letter first. Chai Shijing's letter was full of how lonely and miserable he was in the capital, and how he was longing for her and thinking about her every day.
She opened Qin Shu's letter again. Qin Shu's letter was very brief. It talked about what happened in the capital, Gao Qi's death, and the marriages of Lu Guogong's two daughters. Finally, he said that he would come to Anzhou to visit her after the New Year.
Kang Yueran held the letter and read it again. "Qin Shu said in the letter that she would come to Anzhou to visit me after the New Year. What happened to her recently?"
"It's probably to avoid the Duke Zhenguo's wife choosing a husband for her. I heard that even the emperor asked about it, but Princess Yongtai refused and said she would never marry."
"Qin Shuzhi doesn't want to get married and have children, but a place like the capital can't tolerate her eccentricity." Qin Shu is two years older than her and will be twenty years old after the New Year.
The water on the small stove gurgled. As He Zhengchu brewed tea, he said, "Prince Ping asked me to tell you that His Majesty has already started shipping by sea, but he couldn't get the specific information, so he just wanted to give you a heads-up."
"Let's move on. The imperial court will have to reform maritime transport sooner or later. For my business, the only one I can partner with Lu Kai on maritime transport is shipping, so that's not a big deal."
She suddenly thought of the Ye family. Their main business was shipping, but all of that was given to Zhuo Limin. "Could Zhuo Limin be someone close to the emperor?"
"What did you say?"
Kang Yueran came back to her senses and said, "Nothing!" She opened the remaining three letters. One was from Chai Rong. Chai Rong's letter confirmed He Zhengchu's guess and said that Qin Shu was depressed because of her marriage. She asked Kang Yueran if there was any way to help Qin Shu relieve his mood.
One letter was from Chu Yun, saying that he had decided to get married in August next year and asked Kang Yueran to come to the capital to attend the ceremony.
One letter was from Mrs. Lin, saying that the peanut yield was good. The several recipes given by Kang Yueran had all been used to make finished products, and were being sold according to the methods written by Kang Yueran. The letter repeatedly expressed gratitude to her.
Kang Yueran put the letter away. He Zhengchu pushed a cup of tea in front of Kang Yueran. "That's perfect. Try it. Is there anything new here? How was your trip to Ningzhou?"
"It's okay, nothing serious happened. I met someone in Ningzhou..."
On the 26th day of the twelfth lunar month, Ye asked Kang Yueran whether he would return to Fengtou Village to celebrate the New Year this year. Kang Yueran said he would listen to Kang Yuanchen.
Kang Yuanchen decided to go back. No matter whether he bought a house in the provincial capital or not, Fengtou Village would always be his home in his heart.
On the 28th day of the 12th lunar month, Kang Yueran and Kang Yuanchen's families took a horse-drawn carriage and returned to Fengtou Village with bedding and New Year's goods.
The managers who were in charge of the wasteland in Fengtou Village once lived in Kang Yuanchen's house for a while. Later, when the school was built, a few houses were also built at the end of Fengtou Village, and the managers moved there.
Kang Yuanchen's house had been empty for half a year, and weeds had grown in the yard. Kang Hong took his family to clean the house.
While wiping the table, the little granddaughter asked, "Grandpa, will Sister Yueran be able to come back this year?"
Kang Hong sighed, "Whether they come back or not, this is still their home." Things had gotten a little awkward during last year's Chinese New Year, and he was worried that Kang Yueran might not want to come back.
The eight-year-old grandson ran in breathlessly, "Grandpa, Sister Yueran and the others are back and at the village entrance."
Kang Hong was stunned for a moment, tears falling down, "I knew that Yue Ran was not a stingy child."
Wang said disdainfully, "Don't cry all the time."
"I'm not crying, I'm happy!" He said and quickly wiped away his tears.
When Kang Yueran and her group entered the yard, they saw Kang Hong and others cleaning the yard, which made her feel warm in her heart, "Grandpa Lizheng, Grandma Hong, thank you for your hard work."
Wang brushed off the dust on her body and said with a smile, "It's not hard work, I'm used to it. Now that the yard is tidied up, I'll go back and get you some bedding."
"No need, Grandma Hong, we brought the bedding."
Wang didn't force it. "Since you brought it, just use your own. It's getting late. I'm going home to cook. Come to my house for dinner tonight."
Kang Yueran nodded and agreed, "Okay, let's unload the things from the car and go over."
Ye followed Wang and said, "Auntie and I will go cook. Let Sister Huang clean up here."
Kang Yuanchen took the wine and meat from the car and handed them to Ye, "Add more dishes tonight!"
Wang took Ye's hand and they went out together.
Because the place at home was small, Kang Hong took his son and daughter-in-law back to his own home.
Under Huang's command, Kang Yueran and others put everything away and then went to Kang Hong's house.
Kang Hong invited Kang Yanshun as usual.
A group of people sat in the dining room, talking and eating.
Kang Yanshun said embarrassedly: "Yueran, the cotton cloth woven by the women in the village this year is a bit rough. It will definitely be better next year."
Part of the cotton grown on the wasteland was kept as employee benefits for the New Year, and part was taken home by the villagers to be woven into cloth. The manager Song Zhao contacted the Wang family and collected all the cloth.
Kang Yueran didn't ask about this at all. "Is it very rough? Did the Wang family take it in? What did they say?"
Wang was furious. "The Wang family accepted your favor. Most of the cloth they weave is good. Only the cloth woven by a few lazy women in the village is loose and not dense at all."
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