Shoushan Village has a custom that has continued for decades.
On the day before the winter New Year's Eve, a grand ceremony to worship the mountain god will be held.
On this day, every household would contribute money, and the village chief Li Kui would preside over the party. They would set out wine, kill chickens, cook sheep and pigs, and set off firecrackers at the foot of the mountain to celebrate a year of good weather and good harvests.
Just as the sky was beginning to brighten, a chaotic rustling sound, mixed with the sound of disorderly footsteps and the chattering of the crowd, came from outside through a low wall. It was very lively.
After hearing the noise outside, Mrs. Li also put on an outer coat and got up early.
With the mountain-worshipping ceremony on New Year’s Eve, the village, which had been quiet for more than two months, began to become lively again.
“Bang, bang, bang!”
The doors on both sides of the main room were knocked loudly.
"Hurry up and get up! We'll be late for the Mountain God Welcoming Ceremony. Don't be lazy!"
There was a hint of impatience in Li's voice as she just woke up.
Inside the house, Hua Shi rubbed her closed eyes and pushed the furry fox tail that was blocking her eyes.
The room was dark, without any light at all.
Hua Shi opened her eyes and it took her a while before she could barely see the furnishings in the room.
Outside the house, Li knocked on the door twice and then heard her footsteps leaving.
Then, Hua Shi, who had fully regained consciousness, heard Li's gentle voice calling out to her father in the opposite room, "Ciyuan, it's time to get up..."
As the sound gradually faded away, Hua Shi turned over and sat up.
The white fox and the black cat were obviously woken up by the knock on the door. Seeing that she woke up, they came over to her affectionately.
Hua Shi reached out and pushed the two guys who started to act coquettishly towards her again: "Shh, I'll get you some dried meat. I'm going out soon. If you three are bored, go for a walk by yourselves. Remember not to let anyone see you, especially Eleven."
Eleven was the name she gave to the white fox. Originally, she thought of calling it Xiaobai or Dabai, since it had white fur anyway, but she finally decided on the name Eleven.
Because the white fox arrived at the Hua family around November, Hua Shi was not good at naming. She had never raised so many pets before, and had no experience in naming pets. In order to commemorate the day, she simply named it Eleven.
“Woof…”
The little white dog, who was squeezed to the end of the bed by the black cat and the white fox, raised his head in a daze when he heard Hua Shi's voice, revealing his round head.
Hua Shi struggled to crawl out of the warm bed, put on her coat and shoes, and her neck, which was exposed to the air, shrank unconsciously because of the cold.
After that day, nearly a month passed, and a lot of changes took place in the house.
There are a lot more things piled up, and they are all in order.
Tomorrow is the first day of the Lunar New Year, and this winter is almost over.
In this snowy December, she hardly went out. She still had more than 30 taels of silver in her hand. Although she didn't dare to spend it openly under Li's nose, her life was more comfortable than before.
On the fifth day after He Jiang left last time, he knocked on the Hua family's gate again.
Fortunately, she had been squatting, otherwise the knock on the door would have almost alarmed Li in the room.
After a close call, He Jiang brought her good news. The young master seemed to appreciate her cooking skills very much and was willing to spend twenty taels to buy her hawthorn cake recipe and all the hawthorns she had.
Obviously, the hawthorn cake this time was not as attractive to the young master as the one with frosted dates, but he was still willing to spend money to buy it.
But the young master's real purpose was not to get her hawthorn cake recipe, but to hire her to work as a cook at Jueweilou in Taohua Town.
He said that as long as she was willing, the young master would give her enough salary and benefits and buy the recipe of hawthorn cake, which seemed like a promising approach.
However, Hua Shi hesitated for a while and finally refused.
Taohua Town is too far away from Shoushan Village, and she is unfamiliar with the place. The unfamiliar environment here makes her feel no sense of belonging.
Now she was asked to go to another strange place where she didn't know whether it was good or bad. Hua Shi was unwilling to do so, so she refused without much hesitation.
Besides, if she really left, the lives of Hua Yu and the other three would be much better now because of her, but once she left, they would be back to their old ways.
Moreover, if she were to become a cook, she would definitely tell Li. If Li knew that she still had this ability and could continue to bring her income, she would probably force her to do it no matter what and she would not be able to make the decision.
In the end, all the salary she earned through hard work went into Li's pocket...
Thinking about this for a while, Hua Shi became unhappy.
He Jiang was a little angry because of her refusal. He obviously felt that the job given by the young master of Jueweilou was a rare one and that she should not refuse it so rashly.
He Jiang was naturally anxious because what others thought was a perfect opportunity was rejected, but in the end he couldn't stand Hua Shi's attitude.
"…Hanatoki, are you awake yet?"
While she was feeding the three cats with dried meat, Hua Xiao's deliberately lowered voice came from the dim doorway.
"Rise up."
Hua Shi rubbed the black cat's turned head and responded.
Hua Xiao outside the door seemed to be relieved, and said in a low voice: "If you wake up, come out quickly... Don't stay in the room for too long."
It is easy to guess what Hua Xiao meant. She was afraid that if Li saw that she did not come out for a long time, she would inevitably scold her.
Things are different now than before. Now, in the entire Hua family, except Hua Ciyuan who is no longer scolded by Li, the others are all the same. Now, if Li is not satisfied with something, she will point at them and curse them.
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