Zheng Wei said he wanted to take her to a jewelry shop to pick out some hair ornaments, but Shen Xiaoyan refused. She didn't care for such things, whether she wore them or not.
Before it got dark, the three of them returned to the inn.
Since they had a long journey the next day, they ate dinner early and retired to their rooms.
The next morning, the three of them got up. As soon as they were ready and went downstairs, they saw two large carts parked outside the gate, driven by the two brothers who had sold them the saplings.
Zheng Wei walked out and said to the two men, "You're early. Have you eaten? Come in and have something."
The brothers said they had already eaten at home and were unwilling to join them, so Zheng Wei didn't press the issue.
After the three of them had a simple breakfast, Zheng Wei went to the backyard and drove out their large cart.
There were also several baskets of various flowers they had bought. Their cart definitely couldn't hold them all, but fortunately, the two other carts could accommodate them, so they were loaded together.
Shen Xiaoyan asked the waiter to pack some steamed buns and pickles for her, which they would eat on the road at noon.
Shen Xiaoyan and the other two wanted to return earlier, and the two brothers also wanted to deliver the goods and get paid sooner. Therefore, no one delayed, and they didn't stop on the way. They ate lunch while traveling and finally arrived at Tongling Town in the mid-afternoon.
As they passed through the town, Zheng Wei stopped to buy some vegetables, meat, and some wine before leading the way towards Baiyun Manor.
After another half hour of bumping along in the carts, they finally arrived at the gate of their home.
Zheng Wei got off the cart, opened the old courtyard gate, and led the two large carts behind him into the yard.
"Where should we unload all this?" The two brothers surveyed the large courtyard and began to understand why Shen Xiaoyan and the other had bought so many saplings.
It looked like they had land, and it was quite safe, so they intended to plant a large number of fruit trees.
"Just unload it here," Zheng Wei said, pointing to the thatched wooden shed. It would be fine to unload it there, as they would be planting them within the next couple of days anyway.
Shen Xiaoyan and Shen Xiaoming got off the carts and didn't help with the unloading. Instead, they carried the wine, meat, and vegetables to the kitchen in the side courtyard.
Shen Xiaoyan washed the vegetables and cut the meat. Shen Xiaoming, meanwhile, started the fire, first heating water and washing several pots, as well as the chopsticks and dishes.
By the time Shen Xiaoyan was done, Shen Xiaoming had also dried the pots and was ready to add oil and start cooking.
Shen Xiaoyan was very efficient. She added water to one pot and rice to start making porridge, while in another pot, she began to cook the vegetables.
While the meat was cooking, Shen Xiaoyan also kneaded some dough to prepare some flatbreads.
Just as the meal was ready, Zheng Wei walked in. "Is it ready?"
Shen Xiaoyan wiped the sweat from her forehead and smiled at Zheng Wei. "It's ready."
Zheng Wei nodded. "Then I'll go call them to come and eat."
With that, Zheng Wei walked out of the kitchen. Shen Xiaoyan and Shen Xiaoming carried the prepared food to the main house together.
The weather was no longer cold, and even without a heated kang bed, it wouldn't feel cold in the room. Therefore, they ate this meal at the round table in the main room of the main house.
Five people sitting around the table made it feel a bit empty.
This was also why Shen Xiaoyan and the other two usually didn't eat here. They were few in number, and sitting around the kang bed made them feel warmer.
After they finished eating, it was already completely dark. They couldn't ask the two brothers to travel back overnight, so they had to let them stay.
Originally, they had intended to let the two brothers stay in the west room of the main house, but they were unwilling. Fortunately, the weather wasn't too cold, so in the end, they slept in the west side room in the courtyard.
The kang was already there; they only needed to bring their bedding.
During these three days, they had either been traveling or purchasing goods, and they had accumulated a lot of dust. They couldn't do anything about it while they were out, but now that they were home, Shen Xiaoyan certainly wouldn't tolerate it any longer.
Shen Xiaoyan heated water, and the three of them enjoyed a comfortable hot bath before going to bed.
Lying on the kang bed, Shen Xiaoyan finally felt alive again. However, she was also very tired and fell asleep soundly after a short while.
The next morning, Shen Xiaoyan was woken up by the sound of Zheng Wei getting up. She had also been sleeping lightly because she was concerned about the two brothers at home.
Zheng Wei saw Shen Xiaoyan rubbing her eyes, but she still couldn't open them. He looked at her with a smile. "Mi Mi, you don't need to get up. I'll come back to accompany you after I see them off."
"En. Okay." Shen Xiaoyan took her hand away from her eyes and whispered her agreement. She turned over and fell back asleep.
Zheng Wei lifted the curtain and got off the kang bed. He put on his shoes and then covered the curtain again. He went to the clothes rack beside him to get his clothes and dressed.
As Zheng Wei walked out of the main house, he happened to see the two brothers emerging from the west side room.
The two brothers smiled when they saw Zheng Wei, but they didn't greet him aloud.
The three of them walked together towards the side courtyard. After passing through the side courtyard and into the old courtyard, the two brothers greeted Zheng Wei, and then they bid farewell.
Zheng Wei put the remaining money into a wallet and handed it to them.
After opening the courtyard gate and seeing them off, Zheng Wei closed the gate again and returned to the main house.
As soon as Zheng Wei lay down on the bed, Shen Xiaoyan sat up. "Are they gone?"
Hearing Shen Xiaoyan's sleepy voice, Zheng Wei smiled gently. "Gone. Go back to sleep, I'll be with you."
He patted Shen Xiaoyan's shoulder and then held her tightly in his arms.
When Shen Xiaoyan woke up again, it was because she was hungry. She rubbed her stomach reluctantly and opened her eyes.
She noticed she was alone on the kang bed and knew that Zheng Wei must have gone to cook.
After Shen Xiaoyan washed up and walked out of the inner room, she heard Zheng Wei's voice.
Walking into the courtyard, she saw Zheng Wei sitting on the veranda. In front of him were four small cute creatures.
"Mi Mi, you're awake?" Zheng Wei heard the sound of footsteps and immediately looked towards the door of the main hall.
"En, why didn't you wake me up? Where's Xiaoming?" Shen Xiaoyan said as she walked over and sat down next to Zheng Wei.
"Xiaoming went to school. I already had him eat before he left." Zheng Wei knew what Shen Xiaoyan wanted to know, so he ignored her slight complaint and spoke directly.
Shen Xiaoyan nodded upon hearing this and no longer dwelled on her previous question. She bent down, reached out, and picked up Luo Luo into her arms. "Little Luo Luo, did you miss me? And you three, did you miss me?"
Luo Luo wagged its tail high and gently brushed against Shen Xiaoyan's face, looking quite haughty.
In reality, its words had already reached Shen Xiaoyan's mind.
Shen Xiaoyan's expression remained unchanged as she listened to Luo Luo's words, but she was a bit curious in her heart.
The reason was that Luo Luo said they had a neighbor.
Neighbor, Shen Xiaoyan had almost forgotten the word.
They lived at the foot of Baiyun Peak, with no one around. All there was were rolling mountains and overgrown wasteland.
She had almost gotten used to the idea that there were only the three of them left in the world, and now they actually had a neighbor. This truly made Shen Xiaoyan curious.
Even Luo Luo had only seen someone move in on the day Shen Xiaoyan and the other two left. It hadn't gone to check for itself, so it didn't know who these newcomers were, or rather, how many of them there were.
It was already mid-morning, so after playing with the cute creatures for a while, Shen Xiaoyan washed her hands and went to have breakfast with Zheng Wei.