After the Lunar New Year's Eve, time seems to fly by, and the Lunar New Year is just three days away.
That morning, Ruan Fang came over, bringing a large bag of things.
"What is this?" Zhao Xian asked curiously.
"These are Spring Festival couplets, written by Mr. Fang from the academy. I counted them all, including all the doors of the old house, workshop, farm, and other places. That's how many couplets he wrote in total."
Mr. Wu and Mr. Fang originally wrote a few Spring Festival couplets for the registrar, but they felt that their calligraphy was not as good as Mr. Fang's.
If I were to compare it to what I see on the door, I would feel somewhat embarrassed, so it's better not to write it.
“Actually, both gentlemen are renowned teachers in the capital, and their calligraphy skills are very high. However, they are very modest. If they were to write something, it would be no worse than that of Mr. Fang,” Zhao Xian said.
"Actually, I think so too. Since they are unwilling to write, I can't force them. However, some of the couplets were created by the two old gentlemen."
"Really? I'll have to study it carefully after the Spring Festival couplets are put up."
"Father has arranged for a carriage to pick me up this afternoon, so I need to hurry to the market to buy some New Year's goods," Ruan Fang said anxiously.
“Your family runs a big business, how could you lack New Year’s goods?” Zhao Xian said with a smile.
"Some of the things the villagers make are very traditional New Year's goods that you really can't buy in the market. I especially love winter rice candy and sweet rice dumplings, and you can only buy them here."
"Oh, by the way, are Mr. Wu and Mr. Fang also going home for the Chinese New Year?"
"Mr. Wu lives in Xinkou County. He will ride with us back in the afternoon, but Mr. Fang lives in the capital. He has decided not to go back for the New Year and will spend it in the village."
“Okay, I feel that Mr. Fang is very preoccupied. I plan to visit him after the New Year.”
"That's settled then. I'll be back after the New Year. Goodbye, Registrar." Ruan Fang said before leaving.
Around noon, just as the family was about to eat, Yang Ruotong's mother, Sun, suddenly arrived, looking very tired.
"Mother, what brings you here?" Yang Ruotong was pleasantly surprised and went to greet her.
Li Chun'e quickly went over, took Sun's hand, and said, "Mother-in-law, you haven't been here for two years. Come in and have a meal."
"I came to visit my mother-in-law and her husband. Why are there so many people eating at your house?" Mrs. Sun found it very strange.
“Yes, we have many businesses and need a lot of manpower, so we have many people to eat with,” Li Chun’e said, pulling Sun Shi to sit down at the table.
Sun was indeed hungry. She took the large bowl of rice that Yang Ruotong handed her and began to eat heartily.
After finishing a bowl of rice, Sun seemed to feel much better, and she began to look at the other people at the table.
"Mother, what are you looking at?" Yang Ruotong asked.
"Ruotong, why don't I see your brother Yang Hong? Why didn't he come to eat?"
“Yang Hong isn’t here. Who said he was at our house?” Yang Ruotong asked in surprise.
"No way, a few months ago, Yang Hong said that you asked someone to send him a message, asking him to come to your house to work, and you promised to give him thirty taels of silver a year, so he came over."
He also said that he would earn more money here to pay off Xiao Kui's debts and then live an honest life from now on.
Where else can you find such a good job with a salary of thirty taels of silver a year? It's all thanks to you, his younger sister, taking care of him.
Your father and I are also very happy that your brother is willing to go out and work. He will soon be able to pay off the debts and live a stable life.
"With the Lunar New Year just around the corner, I came all the way here to see you and ask if he was going home for the holiday. You said he wasn't here."
Sun's words made Yang Ruotong feel uneasy, and she quickly said:
“Mother, Yang Hong really isn’t here. He did come here a few months ago, but he did nothing. He just stayed home eating and drinking all day. When my husband asked him to do something, he complained that it was too tiring and refused to do it at all.”
During that time, I happened to be in Qing'an Prefecture, and he secretly went there. After arriving, he spent his days eating and drinking in restaurants, doing nothing.
I was so angry that I had a fight with him. After that, he borrowed fifty taels of silver from the restaurant owner and then disappeared somewhere.
Several months have passed, and I still don't know where he went. He hasn't repaid the fifty taels of silver he borrowed from the restaurant owner either; it seems we'll have to pay it back for him.
“Yang Hong really isn’t here with you.” Madam Sun was a little flustered. “You were the one who always sent someone to tell him to come over, weren’t you?”
“Mother, I did not send anyone to tell him to come. He is talking nonsense. You believe him?”
"He hurt me so badly back then. I'd rather avoid a brother like that than invite him here to harm my husband." Yang Ruotong said, tears streaming down her face. She felt so wronged.
"Yang Hong really didn't come. What should we do? I hope nothing happened to him. It's almost Chinese New Year, he should have been back by now."
Three months ago, the villagers said he had appeared in Yingkou Town. I didn't believe it at the time, but it seems to be true.
Yingkou Town is Xiao Kui's territory, and the person Yang Hong fears most is Xiao Kui. Even if twelve oxen came to pull him, Yang Hong would not go there.
But then he happened to appear in Yingkou Town at that time. What exactly happened?
"Mother, has Xiao Kui come to our house to collect debts during this time?" Zhao Xian asked.
“For a while, he would send people over every few days to collect debts, but then the number of visits gradually decreased, and recently almost no one has come,” Sun replied.
"Has it been since Yang Hong appeared in Yingkou Town that they've been coming to collect debts less often?"
After thinking for a while, Madam Sun said, "That's exactly right. Since then, they've come much less often. They've only come two or three times, and then they haven't come at all."
Without a doubt, Yang Hong has disappeared, which is likely related to Xiao Kui. Based on the timeline, Yang Hong appeared in Yingkou Town more than ten days after he borrowed money from Manager Lu, which is just before the food festival.
So where did Yang Hong go during this time, and what did he experience? Perhaps only by finding Yang Hong can we find out the truth.
Thinking of this, Zhao Xian began to comfort Madam Sun:
"Mother, don't worry. Yang Hong isn't stupid; he's capable of handling things. You don't need to worry about him. He should be home for the New Year."
If he still hasn't returned home after the New Year, we'll report it to the authorities and have them send people to search for him. The county magistrate and I have a good relationship; he'll definitely take this matter seriously.
At this point, Madam Sun had no choice but to nod. There were still two or three days until the New Year, and she hoped that Yang Hong could come home in the next two days.
Because she had something on her mind, Sun wanted to leave after finishing her meal. Li Chun'e tried to persuade her to stay the night, but Sun insisted on leaving. Li Chun'e had no choice but to give her some New Year's goods to take back with her.
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