The holiday is finally here.

　　On the other side, Xing’er and Wang Shitou, a couple from the prefecture and county, had packed up their shop and closed it a few days ago. They packed up their bags, carried Yuanyuan and the gifts back to the village.

　　The key point is to take the bag sent from Beijing.

　　After entering the village, they exchanged greetings all the way, and finally entered the Wang family. Since the slack season in the eleventh month, when the old couple of the Wang family sent grain to the prefecture and county and brought back thirty taels of silver, the Wang family became harmonious, especially the eldest wife. When she saw Xing Ge’er and his family coming back, she was busy making arrangements, cooking meals and providing hot water for washing.

　　Why?

　　Xing’er was still puzzled when he heard her mother-in-law say, “After your father-in-law and I came back from the prefecture, we decided to send Sanlang of the old family to Dongping Village to study with Master Zhao. Don’t be angry.”

　　”I’m not angry, mom.” Xing’er remembered Zhou Zhou’s words, “We agreed not to split up. Shitou and I are doing business in the prefecture and county, but we still eat the food from our fields. It’s all thanks to the hard work of dad and big brother. My son Yuanyuan has also gone to school and learned to read in the prefecture and county, so it’s only right for Sanlang to go.”

　　When Xing’er’s mother-in-law heard this, she was naturally happy. The more she looked at Xing’er, the more satisfied she was. She said happily, “I knew Xing’er was open-minded and a sensible person.”

　　”I also bought some fabrics for snacks. You and sister-in-law can take a look at them, mom.” Xing’er said with a smile.

　　In the past, Xing’er’s mother-in-law would definitely think it was too expensive and wondered why they bought these things. But now they don’t think so. It’s not easy for the second brother’s family to do business in the prefecture and county. She and her husband went there to rest for two days, and then they were busy all day, pulling meat before dawn and washing all the time in the cold weather to make sure it was spotless.

　　After coming back, the two old people explained the first wife, so as not to make her unhappy, thinking that they were working hard on their own land while the second wife’s family was enjoying a good life in the prefecture and county. What kind of good life were they enjoying? They were all working hard, just in different ways.

　　Thirty taels were taken out in front of the eldest wife and her husband.

　　Since we are not going to split up the family, we should try to be fair and not be like the three Li families.

　　Yuanyuan is studying in the prefecture and county and learning to read, so the eldest wife’s son will be sent to Master Zhao in Dongping Village. Don’t accuse us old couple of being partial to one…

　　The eldest family was naturally happy and no longer felt the hardship of working in the fields.

　　What do people want? Isn’t it to have a son who is capable of living a better life than his father?

　　Yuanyuan went out to play with some cousins. He hadn’t been back for a long time. He was very affectionate to his brothers and sisters. The adults in the room were talking. Xing Ge’er talked about the letter sent from Beijing. The Wang family couldn’t sit still and asked what happened to the Li family.

　　”It’s nothing. Lord Gu sent two books and asked us to bring them to Master Zhao. I took the wrong letter at that time. Master Yuanyuan wanted to copy the books after reading them, but I didn’t understand. Anyway, he said that the two books were good things and sent them to Master Zhao. After Master Zhao finished reading them. Isn’t this a lesson for our Sanlang^[1]well, san means 3rd and lang refers to boys?” Xing’er was also good at speaking. Every word he said was affectionate to his sister-in-law and touched her heart.

　　That’s right. Private schools in prefectures and counties are naturally better than those in the village. But now that Lord Gu has sent the books, the teachers in the private schools in prefectures and counties have read them, and Mr. Zhao has also read them. Now they are the same knowledge.

　　How can I not love my sister-in-law?

　　”There is one more thing. Before the snow falls and the roads in the mountains become easier to walk on, Shitou and I will go to the Su family in the back.”

　　The whole family remembered the matter of the two books, and did not think much about the second branch going to the Su family. They guessed that Li Zhouzhou asked Xing’er to deliver the money to the Su family.

　　Wang Shitou took the bag and went to Dongping Village to deliver the books.

　　After receiving it, Master Zhao’s eyes instantly turned red, and he repeatedly sighed that Lord Gu was so kind and still cared about them…

　　There was no delay at home, and Xing’er didn’t have to do any of the chores such as cleaning the stove in the Wang family’s house. Xing’er took some dried goods and fruits and went over the mountain with Wang Shitou to the Su family behind.

　　Zhou Zhou had given money to the Su family for three years before, and Xing’er knew it.

　　Su Er’s family has already built a new house. Because they have many children, and they have all started their own families and have children, they have relied on the money from the Li family in the past few years. They have lived in poverty for too long and are afraid. So they took the money and built a new house first. They did not dare to build a large brick and tile house, but renovated eight spacious mud and tile houses.

　　It wouldn’t be the case that the grandson is already ten years old and still has to sleep on the same kang with his parents.

　　The remaining money is needed for living.

　　The Li family is affiliated with Su Gou Wa from the Su Er family.

　　Xing’er heard Zhou Zhou mention the Su family. It was already dark when he turned over, and Su Er’s family came to receive them. They originally said that if there was anything to say, they should talk about it in the future. But when Su Er heard that the news was brought by his nephew in Beijing, he immediately asked the children to knock on the door and call for their uncle.

　　Then they talked by the light of an oil lamp.

　　Su Er’s family has risen up, so the other brothers of the Su family are naturally jealous. But it was because they didn’t win the lottery at that time, so Su Er was caught in the middle. Seeing that several brothers are estranged from him, he thinks that things in the village can be accomplished with more people and brothers working together. Now he is trying to show goodwill.

　　When everyone arrived and heard that they were going to Beijing to do business, the brothers of the Su family all looked bitter and resentful. They thought it was just like the second brother’s/older brother’s family, where they could make money without doing anything, but they didn’t expect that they would have to go to Beijing.

　　The journey is long, don’t die on the way.

　　Everyone was scared when they heard about the capital. Their ancestors had settled here for generations, and the farthest place they had been to was the town. The capital was where the emperor lived. It was said that the journey to the capital was long, and there were bandits and robberies, so it was easy to lose one’s life.

　　Xing Ge’er then said, it is obvious at a glance that the Su family is poor, so that will be an easy problem.

　　”My dear uncles, you just see that Second Uncle’s family is doing well and can make money without any effort. Zhou Zhou has mentioned the importance of this before–“

　　”It’s just that Gou Wa’s son can’t become an official and can’t study. What’s the big deal? They are all stupid and have no ideas. Why waste money on studying?”

　　”That’s right. Even if you asked Gou Wa and the other kids to recite the name, they wouldn’t be able to tell whether it was good or bad. It must be because they were lucky that they got it by drawing lots.”

　　Why isn’t it his family that is so sour? Not to mention his son not studying, even if his grandson or great-grandson doesn’t study, it doesn’t matter. He used the money to build a house and it would be so spacious and impressive in the village.

　　Su Er knew that his family had gotten an advantage, so he complained to his brothers and sisters without saying a word. Xing Ge’er was stunned. Why did Zhou Zhou tell him that everything was accurate, but why didn’t it work for him?

　　But Zhou Zhou gave the task to him, and Xing Ge’er was unwilling to mess it up because Zhou Zhou was still waiting for him to be hired.

　　Faced with all the chatter, Xing Ge’er was overwhelmed. Finally, he thought about how good Zhou Zhou was to him. If it weren’t for Zhou Zhou, his life would be hard, and he would be complained and squeezed by his mother-in-law and sister-in-law all day long. Yuan Yuan would not be able to study.

　　”Alright! Stop talking!” Xing Ge’er shouted.

　　Wang Shitou was a little scared. He looked at Xingge’er and used his body to protect him. Why did he start shouting? If a fight broke out, he would not be able to defeat so many people, so he would have to protect Xingge’er and run away.

　　”Talk, talk, talk. Can you get the money by talking now? If you talk, the new house of your second uncle will be yours? If it’s useful, just keep talking. Don’t nag me now. Call all your sons and grandsons out to see them. I will personally pick out a smart and capable one…” Xing Ge’er arranged it in one breath.

　　The sour old men of the Su family: …

　　He really did it obediently.

　　The atmosphere of the New Year in Beijing was very strong, especially the Li family had obtained all kinds of meat and fish. Gu Zhao didn’t go to work, so he had to arrange the New Year menu. When Li Da demolished the sheep awarded by the Eighth Prince, he also took the ewe and lamb in his family to the back, so Fu Bao couldn’t come out to see it.

　　Li Da hadn’t done such work for a long time, so he enjoyed the dismantling process very much. He even took off his sheepskin vest and stretched his muscles. He finished dismantling a sheep in no time, including half a pig.

　　The weather in Beijing was cold and it had been snowing for several days, so the meat could be hung under the eaves outside the kitchen or stored in a jar.

　　As for those live chickens and ducks, it is not easy to raise them in the yard. Li Zhouzhou had an idea when he bought them. “I want to try stewing duck a few more times.”

　　”Let’s braise them all. I was just worried about what kind of New Year gift to give to Lord Shi.” Gu Zhao’s eyes lit up when he heard this. “Zhou Zhou, you really solved my problem. Let’s give him braised food as New Year’s gift.”

　　Yes, as an official in Beijing, you have to keep up with the social interactions. It is necessary to pay New Year’s greetings to your superior, Lord Shi. There is a science to what gift to give. Of course, you can’t give dried goods, candied fruits, and snacks like people in the village. That’s not enough.

　　Generally speaking, gifts to civil officials at the top are either packaged and hidden silver, which is the most practical, or limited edition ink sticks, brushes, and scrolls made by famous artists, which are more in line with the status of the head of the Hanlin Academy.

　　But the Li family couldn’t afford all of this. They had silver, but no matter how much they gave, it would give rise to gossip. If they gave too much, Gu Zhao had already said that he came from a poor farming family, so how could he take such silver? If they gave too little, it would be an embarrassment to Lord Shi. Does he need those few taels of silver from you?

　　The smell of money!

　　Moreover, according to Gu Zhao’s impression of Lord Shi in the past few months, Lord Shi should be the type of “clean-handed and proud scholar”, and taking money is not acceptable.

　　All in all, Zhou Zhou’s braised food is a good idea for gifts.

　　The braised food is particularly unique in flavor. You can also choose a bottle of fresh wine, such as osmanthus wine or plum wine. Although it is not expensive and the taste is suitable for females, the proud character of the winter plum is quite elegant.