Chapter 78: Concern

“Aunt, does my snowman look good?” Zhu Guangtai rubbed his slightly red and frozen nose and asked Jiang Mixia, looking up eagerly.

“You made this?” Jiang Mixia pointed at the unidentifiable figure in front of her.

“Yeah,” Zhu Guangtai nodded vigorously. “I made it.”

“Then what about your uncle? Didn’t he help you build it?”

“He did, but he said he would go first and I should copy what he built. So, I did as he said,” Zhu Guangtai scratched his ear. “But I feel like the one I made doesn’t look like the one he made.”

After listening to Zhu Guangtai, Jiang Mixia looked up and finally noticed Song Jingyun, who had been busy building the snowman.

Covered in a layer of snow, he had been almost invisible when she first looked out into the yard, but now, upon closer examination, she could see him and the snow figures he had made.

In fact, what Song Jingyun had made couldn’t be called snowmen; they were more like snow animals.

They resembled the clay figurines Jiang Mixia often made, including a smiling little cat, a majestic tiger, and a proud watchdog standing guard.

Each one looked lively and, being made of white snow, they appeared more vivid and translucent than clay figurines.

“Not bad,” Jiang Mixia admired each one, unable to resist touching them.

These creations couldn’t simply be called snowmen; they were works of art.

“Really nice work,” Jiang Mixia praised once again.

Receiving praise from his own wife, Song Jingyun grinned, “It’s alright.”

“In the afternoon, I’ll call Chunyu and Maihua over to see what you’ve made. They’ll love it,” Jiang Mixia said. “And you can play with Guangtai. Children are often shy.”

“Sure thing,” Song Jingyun readily agreed and took Guangtai to reshape the unidentifiable snow figure he had just built.

With some patting here and shaping there, the initially unidentifiable figure soon took on a recognizable form.

This time, it was a real snowman.

It was shaped like a typical woman, complete with a bun and the beginnings of folds in the clothing.

Guangtai was filled with admiration as he watched Song Jingyun skillfully build the snowman. “Uncle, you’re amazing!”

Of course, he thought he was pretty amazing himself. After all, his wife often praised him!

Song Jingyun raised his chin proudly.

In the afternoon, Jiang Chunyu and Jiang Maihua arrived. As soon as they saw the various lifelike snow animals of different sizes arranged in the yard, their eyes lit up, and they eagerly began playing among the snow creatures.

Zhu Guangtai, who was between the ages of Jiang Chunyu and Jiang Maihua, quickly joined in playing with the two.

Throughout the entire afternoon, the yard reverberated with the sound of children’s laughter, like the tinkling of silver bells.

Although Zhu Yongwu couldn’t get out of bed, he could hear Guangtai’s laughter and see the joy on his face through the window.

It had been a long time since he had seen Guangtai so happy.

Zhu Yongwu couldn’t help but smile, but his mind was also preoccupied.

The next few days were going to be sunny and warm. As the ice and snow melted, the roads would soon be passable for pedestrians and vehicles.

Jiang Mixia was making arrangements to deliver the final batch of goods to Zheng grocery store before the Lunar New Year.

When she went to deliver the goods, she planned to take Zhu Yongwu to the county to have his ankle injury examined again.

In order to save time, they split up. Jiang Mixia and Song Jingyun went to deliver the goods to Zheng Ji, while Jiang Youcheng took Zhu Yongwu to the medical clinic.

After a long period of cooperation, Sun, the shopkeeper, had great confidence in the products supplied by Jiang Mixia’s workshop. He briefly inspected the goods and counted them before settling the payment.

It was safe to say that the delivery went very smoothly.

Once the goods were delivered, Jiang Mixia and Song Jingyun went shopping for some items. It was already mid-December, and with the Lunar New Year approaching, the household had an ample supply of meat, but they also needed some dried fruits and pastries to enhance the festive atmosphere.

Knowing that her husband had a sweet tooth, Jiang Mixia was generous while shopping. She bought all the snacks and treats that Song Jingyun liked and wanted—melon seeds, walnuts, almonds, pine nuts, dried apricots, pear slices, hawthorn cakes, persimmon cakes, lotus flower and osmanthus cakes, jujube paste and yam cakes, crystal water chestnut cakes… In short, by the time they were done, Song Jingyun felt like his hands weren’t enough to carry everything, but he was pleased as could be.

“New Year’s is really great. If only every day could be like New Year’s,” he thought.

Meanwhile, things were progressing smoothly for Jiang Youcheng. Zhu Yongwu had been applying the medicinal wine as instructed and refraining from walking around, allowing his injury to recover well. After the doctor at the clinic examined him, he only provided two medicinal patches to apply at home.

Additionally, he advised Zhu Yongwu to rest and avoid excessive movement to prevent any relapse.

Knowing that his father’s injury was not serious, Guangtai’s tense expression relaxed considerably. However, by evening, his face was once again filled with worry.

“Father, when are we going to find our great-grandfather?” Guangtai suddenly asked, prompting Zhu Yongwu to gently pat his son’s head. “Why bring this up all of a sudden? Are you unhappy staying here?”

“No,” Guangtai shook his head. “Uncle Chunyu is very nice, Maihua is nice, Aunt Mixia is nice, and Uncle Jingyun is even nicer… Everyone here is really nice. I like them.”

“In that case, why do you suddenly…”

Zhu Yongwu stopped halfway through his sentence. Indeed, it was precisely because he liked it here that he was concerned about when they would leave, when they would depart from this place that he liked.

“Father, what if we don’t go find our great-grandfather and just stay in Jiang’s Village? Is that okay?” Guangtai timidly suggested.

He had never met his great-grandfather, and he didn’t know if his great-grandfather’s family would like him. He felt happier here.

Zhu Yongwu looked at Guangtai. During their time in Jiang’s Village, even though he had been confined to the house and hadn’t ventured outside, he had felt the warmth and bustle of the Jiang family. He had also gleaned a general understanding of the village’s atmosphere.

Throughout Jiang’s Village, the majority of people were friendly and amiable.

The children in Jiang’s Village were also very warm towards Zhu Guangtai. Although there was some initial unfamiliarity leading to a bit of distance, there was no sense of exclusion.

To be honest, Zhu Yongwu had a very positive impression of Jiang’s Village and had even entertained similar thoughts.

However, settling down was no easy task…

Moreover, even if they wanted to stay, Jiang’s Village might not accept them.

After some thought, Zhu Yongwu said, “Let me discuss this with Uncle Cheng. Okay?”

Seeing Zhu Yongwu relent, Guangtai was quite pleased and eagerly nodded, “Okay!”

The next day, during breakfast, Zhu Yongwu cautiously inquired about the presence of people from outside the village in Jiang’s Village.