In the old Song family house in Xiaoshi Village.
Although the coffin had just been carried out, there was no sign of desolation.
Four large lanterns hung high on the eaves, illuminating the area brightly.
The withered branches and fallen leaves, along with the remaining snow, were swept away, the fallen door panels were put back in place, and the door curtains and window paper looked brand new.
Ali and his three companions went back and forth, leading the horse into the empty pigsty in the corner of the yard, drawing water from the well, and parking the large horse-drawn cart in the yard, occupying a section of the yard.
Amidst shouts of people and neighing of horses, the Song family's old house has come back to life.
Aunt Zhang and the others tidied up the clean room where Song Xiaobao used to live. The kang (a heated brick bed) was already heated, and Song Zhenping sat on the edge of the kang, lost in thought.
Yang Hua placed the freshly made egg pancakes and a large bowl of dumpling soup on the kang table in front of him, and said with a light laugh, "Uncle Kui wants us to stay at his house, but I just told him that we'll stay here from now on!"
Song Zhenping snapped out of his reverie: "Yes, this is our home, so let's not bother the village head and the others."
For the past few days, they have all been staying at Song Lizheng's house. With so many people and so much to do, it has been very inconvenient.
Now that Granny Gu has been buried and even the seven-day mourning period has passed, Song Zhenping has decided to move back in.
Not only did he only stay for a few days, but he also wanted to rebuild it.
Song Liyun in Suijin Town was also busy.
She had just returned from the garrison when she received the letter from Song Zhenping.
Abu squatted by the charcoal brazier, idly poking at a few peanuts with fire tongs.
He seemed dazed, and involuntarily sighed, "Ugh! How boring!"
He had accompanied Song Liyun to Suijin Town for more than two months, and originally thought he had landed a good job and could eat delicious food at will.
But after staying there for a while, he realized something was wrong: it was much more boring than before.
In the past, with the young master around, although he lived in Baolin Residence every day, he still had to go to the garrison training ground and patrol on horseback, keeping him busy every day.
Now, when I'm with the young mistress, I'm either looking at account books at Tianxiang Tower, Baolin Residence, or even at the ice cellar in town.
Xiao An and Hei Jin are at Tianxianglou again, leaving only a dog at home.
No wonder Yuquan had to return to the grasslands after only half a month in Suijin Town; it was too boring!
Hearing Abu sigh again, Song Liyun put down the letter in her hand, raised her eyebrows and looked at the group of people squatting down: "Abu, your young master sent a letter asking Commander Luo to go to the grasslands to pick up people. Are you going?"
Abu jumped up, his face full of excitement: "Go, of course I'm going, my bones are practically growing together!"
Song Liyun smiled and said, "Alright, you can go to the garrison with Commander Luo tomorrow morning. Oh, and make sure to prepare the vegetables in the backyard early."
"Hey! Alright!" Abu dashed out the door, shouting at the top of his lungs, "Aru, Ade, let's go harvest the vegetables!"
After he left, Song Liyun reopened the letters beside her.
This time, she visited Qingping Town.
The letter was written by Song Lizheng, and it mentioned that Xiaoshi Village was also building an acorn workshop to process vermicelli.
In his first letter of the first month, Song Zhenping not only mentioned the death of Granny Gu, but also mentioned that Song Lizheng wanted to open a workshop.
In the first month of the lunar calendar, Song Zhenping bought back the land that Song Lao Er had sold.
Those ten-odd acres were left by his parents, and he couldn't bear to give them up.
Song Zhenping wanted to travel back and forth between Xiaoshi Village and Suijin Town, making sure he didn't miss either place.
This was no longer a difficult task for Song Liyun; all she needed were Luo Baihu and Song Lizheng to provide travel permits.
According to Song Zhenping's plan, he wanted to set up an acorn workshop in Xiaoshi Village and also grow winter vegetables.
Because Xiaoshi Village is located in the south and is warmer than Suijin Town, each household has frost-resistant radishes, cabbages, scallions, and chives in their backyards during winter.
If Song Zhenping put in the effort to grow more, sending them to the grasslands would also be a viable sales channel.
Song Liyun understood his feelings; it was hard to leave his homeland, the place where he was born and raised.
Besides, there are only ten acres of land in Suijin Town, which have already been bought up by Lin Tao's wife and her family, along with the vegetable garden in the backyard. There is no need to leave any land specifically for them.
Song Lizheng wrote the letter hoping that Song Liyun would help with sales in the future.
Just as Song Liyun was about to write back, telling him to do whatever he wanted and that she was sure she could sell it, Song Dekui rushed in.
As soon as she entered, she called out, "Liyun, I heard that Abu is going to the grasslands, is that true?"
Unlike Song Zhenping, he preferred a fresh and exciting life, and after staying in Xiaoshi Village until the end of January, he came to Baolinju.
Now he and Han Ming manage several businesses, and whenever they have free time, they want to go out and run around.
Song Liyun frowned: "Uncle Kui, you're not getting any younger. The village head asked me to help you find a blind date. Have you taken a liking to Miss Wan yet?"
Upon hearing about the marriage proposal, Song Dekui waved his hands repeatedly: "How come you're just like my mother? Miss Wan is a rich heiress, she has both looks and wealth, I'm not good enough for her, don't even mention it."
Song Liyun sighed. She ran away after just one meeting, as if being chased by a wolf. It wasn't that she wasn't good enough for him, it was that she couldn't catch him.
Knowing that he couldn't arrange a marriage with Song Liyun, Manager Wan set his sights on Song Dekui and even came to Song Liyun's house during the first month of the lunar year to bring up the matter.
Song Liyun felt that there was nothing wrong with this kind of marriage, as long as Song Lizheng agreed to let his son become a live-in son-in-law.
So she specifically brought up the marriage proposal with Song Dekui, but Song Dekui ran away as soon as he heard about the proposal, saying that he was not good enough for her.
Now, I'm excited about going to the grasslands.
"Uncle Kui, you don't mean to marry yourself off to the grasslands, do you?" Song Liyun asked with some suspicion.
Song Dekui didn't even blush: "Can't I be your dowry brother-in-law? We're worried about you marrying so far away by yourself, so we're keeping an eye on you for Daping and Xiao'an!"
There were maids and servants accompanying the bride, but no uncles. Song Liyun was dumbfounded.
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