They were discussing matters in the Huangshi town shop when Yufang came in and said: "Miss, Mr. Ren has arrived."

  Xie Wan turned her head and took a look at the desk clock, it was already 10 o'clock. She asked: "Is there something?"

  Yu Fang said: "I didn't say anything, I just wanted to see you."

  Xie Wan was speechless and glanced at Luo Sheng, who hastily bowed his head and retreated.

  Out of the front yard, Ren Yun stood under the gate with a black velvet umbrella, holding a small porcelain vase in his hand, staring at the snow on the ground as if he was lost in thought.

  Xie Wan coughed and softly said: "Third Brother Ren, why are you coming so late?"

  He handed over the fishbowl in his hand: "That night, thanks to Sanmei for covering up for me. These are two small carp I caught with my own hands in the ice river yesterday. They look quite interesting. Thinking that you like Gu Youzhi's carp paintings, maybe you'll also like carp. So I brought them over as a token of my gratitude."

  Xie Wan walked under the porch and looked at the fish tank, a delicate white porcelain vase filled with half a tank of water, swimming with two golden small carp about two inches long. She said: "This fish will grow up, I'm afraid my room's tank can't hold it, there is a small fish pond in Qi Feng Yuan, why not give it to Er Jie instead?"

  "It's enough to raise! Isn't there a small pool in the courtyard of your hospital? Raising these two fish is enough." After finishing, he put the fish tank into her hands without saying a word, and hurriedly said: "It's late, I'll go back first. Another day I will find my sister to talk!" Then he rushed out of the corridor, his busy and flustered appearance made Yu Fang burst out laughing.

  "This young master is really interesting!"

  Xie Wan felt quite uninterested. Who said she liked carp? Besides, who cared about his gratitude?

  She put the fish tank into Yu Fang's hands and said, "You think it's interesting, so you raise it!"

  The next morning, I got up early and saw Xie Liang handing over some paper and pen to Wu Xing, who went to the front yard together, which made me puzzled.

  Xie Lang stopped in his tracks and explained: "Gongzi is returning to the manor today, I'll go see him off."

  Xie Wan thought for a moment and realized that Ren Yun had been here for over ten days, so it was indeed time to leave. She didn't think about it anymore and turned back into the house.

  Xie Lang said: "Don't you go and greet him?"

  She yawned and said: "I still need to go back to my room for a nap, brother will be fine."

  As Wang's family was eager to get close to the Ren family, the young master of the Ren family was about to return home, and many people went to see him off. She decided to avoid him and wouldn't go near this commotion.

  Xie Lang's heart aches for his sister and of course won't force her.

  As the year-end approaches, many households are busy settling accounts and paying rent, making the atmosphere increasingly lively.

  Every year around this time is always the busiest for Wang, and this year is no exception.

  Xie Rong passed the imperial examination and became a jinshi, which was the greatest honor for the entire Xie family. Although it coincided with the funeral of the second master and mistress of the mansion, they couldn't hold a grand celebration, and during the New Year, they couldn't visit relatives and friends. However, these people still knew their place and didn't come to congratulate during the New Year, but before that, there was no such taboo. The wealthy ones all brought some pearls, jade, gold, and silverware to offer congratulations, while those who were not wealthy also tried to find ways to bring some wild game to pay their respects.

  Wang's daily routine was to cook and prepare food in the morning, and then receive these people in the afternoon.

  Although many of them are still tenants in the industry and do not need to be entertained personally, Xie Qigong has spoken out, "The more it is at this time, the more we should show courtesy and humility to others, only then can we reflect the style of our hundred-year-old Xie family." So, regardless of their status, they all have to come out and show their faces, ask a few questions, and then invite Xie Qigong or Zhou Er to entertain them for dinner depending on the situation.

  If it's a female guest, then either Wang or Xie must personally entertain her, or else Zhou Erjia's family will have to make an appearance on their behalf.

  So it's not just that young masters and ladies can't see her easily, even people around her need to calculate the right time to come in and exchange a few words.

  Madam Wang saw Lin Qianhua's daughter off and returned, then Su Luo took the opportunity to ask Madam Wang while serving tea: "Does madam still remember when I went to investigate about Lang Jun's affair with Yu Xue last time, I mentioned running into Li Pozi who was driven out by Lang Jun in Huangshi Town?"

  Wang poured himself half a bowl of tea and swallowed it before saying, "What's wrong with that old woman Li again?"

  "This time it's not Li Pozi, but her son Li Ershun." Su Luo leaned forward and said: "Just now, when the people from Wutou Village came to deliver the fox skin, they said that Li Ershun was beaten up a few days ago and had two long whip scars on his face. And it wasn't someone else who beat him, but our own Cui'er!"

  "Wan's sister?!" Wang raised her head and said in surprise: "Why would she go beat up Li Ershun?"

  Su Luo calmly said, "I also thought it was impossible, so I asked her a few more questions. The peasant woman said that Yuanyuan had been beaten by someone at the bridgehead in Huangshi Town because Li Ershun had spoken indecently to her. Calculating the time, it was during those days when we were staying at Wutou Village, and several people saw it with their own eyes, so they spread the rumor secretly. The peasant woman also casually mentioned it."

  Wang thought for a moment and said: "What did Wan sister go to Huangshi Town for?"

  Su Luo paused for a moment, then said: "It turns out that the second house rented a shop in Huangshi Town and is preparing to do silk business. Now the shop has opened, and they have hired local women. Xiang Gongzhu went to Huangshi Town, probably because of the shop's affairs."

  Wang sneered: "She's just a little kid, what kind of shop can she run?"

  Su Luo said: "Even if it can't be done, I can still pass on a message for Master Lang. Wu Tou Village is close to Huang Shi Town anyway, so it's not impossible to bring a message along the way."

  Wang nodded and thoughtfully drank the tea in his hand.

  Su Luo looked at her expression and said: "The slave also heard another thing, it is said that the three shops rented out by the second house will not be renewed."

  "Not renewing the lease?" Wang looked up, "Are they going to sell it?"

  "Madam," Su Luo leaned in closer and said, "I'm afraid it's not about selling, but rather Young Master Lang and the others are planning to do it themselves."

  Five shops opened at the same time, it's not a small matter, Wang was somewhat skeptical. "Have you inquired clearly?"

  "A thousand truths, a myriad of certainties. All the rumors originated from those tenants' mouths. Our mansion's shops and theirs are not far apart, don't we get more than half of our news from them every time? The entire Qingyuan Prefecture is just this big, there's no room for falsehoods."

  "Does he have what it takes?"

  Wang's eyes narrowed slightly as he stood up. Remembering the last time he had been outmaneuvered by Xie Liang over the matter of moving houses, he gritted his teeth again. Back then, even Xie Tong hadn't dared to make such a big move and open several shops at once while he was still alive. Did this half-grown kid think he could surpass his own father? Even if he was a wolf in sheep's clothing, Wang would see if he had the ability to swallow these few sheep!

  She said, "After you're busy for a few days, bring Li Ershun over." After saying that, she added, "Forget it, in a few days I'll be going to my uncle's house, and then have him come to Ganhao Village."

  She originally had seven brothers and sisters, five of whom died in the disaster years. Later, relying on Wang's remarriage, only her eldest brother, Wang En, who is now nearly 70 years old, was left behind. He lives with his children and grandchildren in a village called Canhuangzhuang, where they make a living from about 20 mu of land.

  Before Wang Shi married into the Xie family, Wang En had not yet taken a wife. It wasn't until after he received 300 taels of betrothal gifts from Xie Qigong that he married the daughter of the He Xi Mao family. By the time his eldest son was born, Wang En was already forty years old. As a result, his two sons, Wang Geng and Wang Fa, were not much younger than the several masters of the Xie family. The children of Wang Geng and Wang Fa were also around the same age as their cousins in the mansion.

  Wang attached great importance to his maternal home, so every year on the 28th of December, he would return to his maternal home and bring some fish and meat as gifts.

  Xie Wan didn't know about the Wang family's situation in her previous life. On the 27th, when she went to the upper house, she saw Zhou Erjia's Zhang Luo busy with the next day's affairs. After returning to her room, she couldn't help but ask Wu Mama about the Wang family's matters.

  The second wife of his previous life rarely came into contact with the ancestral house, let alone the Wang family.

  Qī was also a proud woman, and because of the Wang family's affairs, she didn't get along well with them. As a result, Wu Mama only knew these things, and even the number of children born to Wang Gēng and Wang Fā, as well as their marriages, still needed to be inquired about on the spot. It was Lóu Jǔ who went out for a while and came back to tell Xiè Wén:

  "Wang Ge married He Shi and had two daughters. The elder daughter, Wang Anmei, was 14 years old, and the younger daughter, Wang Andai, was 10 years old. Because he had two consecutive births of girls, Wang Ge was not very pleased with He Shi. On the other hand, Wang Fa's wife, Fu Shi, gave birth to two sons. The elder son, Wang Cheng, was seven years old this year, and the younger son, Wang Dou, died at nine months."

  Mrs. Wu couldn't help but laugh and scold, "You're really a clever ghost, born to be managed by a clever and capable daughter-in-law!"

  The speaker is unintentional, but the listener is intentional. The three words "daughter-in-law" came out of Wu Mama's mouth, and Xie Wan couldn't help but think that Wu Xing was already 15 years old, while Xiugu was still in the countryside growing vegetables for others.

  In his previous life, Wu Xing met Xiū Gū when he was selling vegetables on the upper street in Nányuán County's vegetable market. Xiū Gū had lost her parents at a young age and lived with her uncle. Her aunt treated her harshly, so she later came out to work as a vegetable farmer. Alone and bullied by people in the market, Wu Xing saw her and rescued her. Xiū Gū was a woman who knew how to repay kindness, and Wu Xing liked her kind heart, so he later brought her back to his home in Qíjiā.

  Everyone also likes Xiū Gū.

  After entering the Qi family, Xiūgū treated everyone as a benefactor. On a cold winter night, Xiě Wén's charcoal fire went out, and she was shivering with cold in the middle of the night. Xiūgū got on the bed and wrapped her feet in her belly. After Uncle passed away, Aunt took over the needlework, and Xiūgū took care of all the household chores. When Qí Rúxiāng's mosquito net was broken, she spent whole nights fanning away mosquitoes for her. When Xiě Cóng's hands and feet were injured and he couldn't move in bed, she took care of him without sleep or rest for half a month.

  Xie Wan thought of kind and selfless Xiugu and shed tears.

  I don't know if she's still being bullied in this life?

  She called Lai Luo Jing, "You go to the attic and fetch two pieces of better silk, and prepare two sets of supplementary goods to be sent to Qi Fu's house. Just say that it is my brother and I who give our uncle and aunt a New Year's gift. Then take the opportunity to go to Nan Yuan Vegetable Market and ask if there is a girl from Que Er Village named Xiū Gū."