The second day of the Lunar New Year, the day for daughters to visit their maternal homes.
This day carried a heavy weight for the small mountain village.
The small mountain village was a place people had fled to. Except for those women whose marriages were within the village, everyone else had no maternal home to return to.
Even Madam Su was no exception.
Zhang Qiaoxiu was one of the few young women who could return to her maternal home. Thus, yesterday evening, Er Lang personally sent her back before rushing back to the militia camp.
As he left, he told Zhang Qiaoxiu, "Tell your in-laws that when I have some free time later, I will go and apologize to them."
The militia camp was currently responsible for the safety of the entire Yao County, and their daily operations were extremely tense. Therefore, Er Lang genuinely couldn't find the time to accompany Zhang Qiaoxiu to her maternal home.
Fortunately, Zhang Qiaoxiu was sensible and said nothing, only reminding him to be careful on his journey.
Chen Yuezhi prepared the New Year's gifts for Zhang Qiaoxiu. On the morning of the second day, after breakfast, she urged Zhang Qiaoxiu to return to her maternal home quickly.
Once Zhang Qiaoxiu left, the house became quiet.
Madam Su felt a pang of sadness. Although severing ties with the Su family was her own decision, during this festive atmosphere, she couldn't help but feel emotional.
So, she handed the child over to the wet nurse and found her embroidery, stitching with intermittent focus.
Jiang Xiao, knowing her thoughts, voluntarily came over to keep her company.
As they were talking, Wang Hongye arrived with her mother-in-law and Xiao Douzi to offer New Year's greetings.
Chen Yuezhi was quite surprised to see her: "Why have you come today? Aren't you supposed to visit your maternal home today?"
Wang Hongye smiled and said, "Any day can be a day to visit my maternal home. Besides, my maternal home is no different whether it exists or not. Rather than go there and listen to unpleasant words, it's better to come here and have some fun with you all. You don't have any other relatives here, so it must be quite dull today. That's why we've come."
Wang Hongye's maternal family was indeed extremely unreliable. When Wang Hongye and her mother-in-law and Xiao Douzi were living in hardship, her maternal family had not offered any help. Later, when Wang Hongye worked as a helper at the Jiang family's, her maternal family shamelessly approached her twice, their sole purpose being to ask for money.
Wang Hongye, of course, had not given them any.
During the passage of the refugees, Wang Hongye's house had almost completely collapsed. Her maternal family hadn't even inquired. It was the Jiang family who provided the money to help repair the house.
Originally, the Jiang family had offered to help her demolish the old house and rebuild it. However, Wang Hongye had not agreed. She owed the Jiang family too much, how could she shamelessly accept such a large sum of money from them to build a new house?
The old house, after repairs, was still habitable. She couldn't take advantage of others' willingness to help and become completely unrestrained in her demands.
This was also the most important reason why the Jiang family was willing to befriend Wang Hongye.
Wang Hongye was a person who knew her boundaries and was grateful.
As soon as their family arrived, the Jiang family truly became livelier, and even Madam Su's mood improved significantly.
On the third day of the Lunar New Year, the Jiang family tidied up and went to visit Divine Doctor Jin to offer New Year's greetings. Accompanying them were the master and disciple duo, Yan Li.
This was their first time visiting relatives and friends in many years.
They had no concept of etiquette, so Chen Yuezhi took them to temporarily purchase some gifts in the county.
Upon arriving at Divine Doctor Jin's residence, Divine Doctor Jin, without a word, pulled Gu Chenzhou over to take his pulse. Then, he said, "I have concocted a new medicine for you these past few days. I will have it decocted and sent to you immediately."
Gu Chenzhou's mouth twitched, "Grandpa Jin, it's the New Year. Can we not drink medicine? It's quite inauspicious."
Divine Doctor Jin glared, "What do you mean? People still die during the New Year! Where do all these silly superstitions come from!"
Gu Chenzhou, unable to argue with him, obediently shut his mouth and waited to drink the medicine.
After scolding Gu Chenzhou, Divine Doctor Jin turned to Jiang Wan, his expression instantly changing. He smiled so much that the skin on his face crinkled, "Little girl, how is your tea tree?"
Jiang Wan smiled and took out a small bamboo tube, "Grandmaster, this is the New Year's gift I prepared for you."
Divine Doctor Jin guessed that the bamboo tube contained the leaves from the old tea tree. His eyes lit up with joy, and he pulled Jiang Wan over, "My little grand-disciple is so thoughtful. Come, come, this is the lucky money your grandmaster has prepared for you."
Saying this, Divine Doctor Jin handed her a money pouch. The heavy weight of it made Jiang Wan's eyes gleam.
Chen Yuezhi quickly intervened, "Master, Wanwan is still young. Why are you giving her so much money? Wanwan, don't be immoderate!"
Divine Doctor Jin glared, "You're always meddling! All the wealth I've accumulated, isn't it for my juniors? What's wrong with me giving her some pocket money?"
Chen Yuezhi hurriedly said, "Master, Wanwan is still young. She's not used to handling money and spending it properly. If she develops a habit of being extravagant in the future, it won't be good."
"Then you all work hard to earn more money so she can spend it without limit."
Divine Doctor Jin argued righteously, "Girls should be raised richly. Since you have the means, don't deprive her. Otherwise, if she grows up with a narrow vision, she'll be easily swayed by a little favor."
Jiang Wan nodded incessantly and even gave Divine Doctor Jin a thumbs-up.
Chen Yuezhi, unable to refute, could only shut her mouth and retreat to the side.
After Jiang Wan received her red envelope, San Lang and Gu Chenzhou also quickly stepped forward. However, they only received a few copper coins.
The disparity was too great.
San Lang asked, "Grandmaster, is this all?"
Divine Doctor Jin shot him a glance, "You find it little?"
San Lang twitched his lips, "It's not that I find it little, it's just that Wanwan received such a large bag..."
Divine Doctor Jin waved his hand impatiently, shooing them away, "Raise sons frugally and daughters richly. If you boys develop a habit of extravagance from a young age, how will you be able to manage the family business in the future?"
"A man must endure hardship and be frugal from a young age to establish himself with integrity and fortitude. As the saying goes, one must endure the bitterest hardships to rise above others. As for the men who are pampered from childhood, how many of them can shoulder responsibility when they grow up? Let alone the great responsibility of the nation and the world, they cannot even bear the burden of their own lives."
Jiang Wan felt like giving Divine Doctor Jin a super big thumbs-up!
Even Chen Yuezhi and Jiang Pan deeply felt the truth in his words.
After listening to Divine Doctor Jin, Jiang Xiao looked down at Xiao Bao, who was nestled in her arms and acting spoiled, her expression thoughtful.
After the family visited the Cheng residence on the fourth day, the New Year was essentially over.
Madam Cheng was already three months pregnant. However, the situation was tense, so she could not leave the mansion. The return gifts for the Jiang family were sent by Cheng Sinian, accompanied by the housekeeper.
On the sixth day, Wangxiang Tower resumed business, but there were very few patrons.
After all, the situation was chaotic everywhere. Who had the mood to dine at a restaurant?
Many shops in the city had cleared their inventory before the New Year and did not reopen afterward. Many even had signs indicating they were for sale.
With the advent of troubled times, people were eager to liquidate assets they couldn't take with them.
With everyone thinking the same way, naturally, there were few inquiries for these shops. Many were eager to sell their establishments quickly, so the prices kept dropping.
However, Jiang Wan went against the trend. Seeing that the prices had fallen considerably, she immediately made a move and purchased a teahouse located by the Yao River.