Splendid peasant girl busy farming

Chapter 12021

Yang Ruoqing looked them over and, taking advantage of the New Year's Eve, half-jokingly advised them: "Jun'er will be almost three years old after the New Year. He can run and walk by himself. You are both so young, you can consider having another child. This time next year, you can get an extra red envelope!"

In the past, if people had joked about this with the young couple, Xiaohua would have blushed and looked at Da'an shyly, clearly indicating that the decision was in Da'an's hands.

As for Da'an, this scholar is very reserved and demure. He would usually just laugh it off in response to such jokes about having children, and then change the subject with another topic. He would never express his opinion in public.

But this time it was the other way around. As soon as Yang Ruoqing finished speaking, Da'an turned his head, smiling, and stared intently at Xiaohua standing beside him.

"I'm open to all suggestions; it all depends on Hua'er's wishes." He even made this statement publicly.

As for Xiaohua, she had been joking around with Yang Ruoqing and the others about the red envelopes, but when Da'an said that, it was as if a chord in her heart had been touched, and the smile on her face froze for a moment.

She didn't look at Da'an, nor did she respond to what he had just said. Instead, she turned around and pretended to help Jun'er adjust his hat, leaving her back to Da'an.

"Wear a hat when you go out to set off firecrackers, it's windy at night!" Xiaohua said to Jun'er.

The atmosphere suddenly became a bit awkward.

Da'an looked embarrassed.

The other adults present all noticed the ulterior motive between the two. Yang Huazhong and Sun exchanged a glance, both seeing the same worry in each other's eyes.

Yang Ruoqing sighed inwardly, knowing that this barrier and estrangement would not be so easy to overcome.

"Tuantuan, Yuanyuan, let's go set off fireworks." Luo Wuyou suddenly walked over, not only patting her two younger brothers on the head, but also calling out to Feng'er and Fuwa Jun'er.

"Aunt, come too. Help keep an eye on Jun'er and make sure he doesn't run around," Luo Wuyou said to Xiaohua.

Xiao Hua smiled gently at her, "Okay, that's exactly what I was thinking too."

Then, Xiaohua bent down and picked up Jun'er, and went to the courtyard with Luo Wuyou and the others.

Inside the room, several adults were left looking at each other in bewilderment.

Yang Huazhong pointed at Da'an, lowered his voice, and said with disappointment, "You're almost thirty years old, and you're not steady or reliable at all. Look at the mess you've made, you've broken Hua'er's heart!"

Da'an stood there, his shoulders slumped. The air of a governor in power was gone, as was the arrogance of a top scholar, and the composure and self-assurance of an incorruptible compiler in the Hanlin Academy.

At this moment, his face was filled with nothing but a bitter smile, which even looked somewhat pathetic.

Sun Shi loved her son dearly. Seeing that Yang Huazhong seemed to be continuing to scold Da'an, she quickly went over and whispered to him, "It's New Year's Day, so we should be peaceful and harmonious. We can talk things out properly after the New Year is over."

"Hmph, look at what happened before, I had no intention of having a peaceful New Year!" Yang Huazhong turned his face away, his face full of anger.

Madam Sun glanced at Da'an, who was standing there with a face full of apology, and said, "The matter has been resolved. He knows his mistakes and can correct them, so he is still our good son. In the future, he will be a good husband and a good father."

"Right, Da'an?" Madam Sun asked Da'an again, and winked at him forcefully.

Da'an immediately raised his head and said in a very firm voice, "Yes."

Then he said to Yang Huazhong, "Dad, I really know I was wrong. I will make it up to Hua'er."

"Hmph!" Yang Huazhong just snorted coldly. He couldn't maintain his kind and gentle demeanor at the moment. He was furious when he saw Da'an.

Yang Ruoqing said to Da'an, "I'm worried about the kids setting off fireworks. Da'an, why don't you go and keep an eye on them?"

Da'an knew his sister was using this as an excuse to get him away, so as not to further anger Yang Huazhong. At the same time, she was also creating opportunities for him and Xiaohua to spend time together.

"Great, I just brought back another batch of fireworks from Changhuaizhou. I'll go and move them over so the children can set them off." The governor of Changhuaizhou, having received the assignment, was overjoyed and happily went to move the fireworks.

Luo Fengtang realized that Yang Ruoqing wanted to privately advise Yang Huazhong and Madam Sun, so Luo Fengtang also made an excuse to temporarily leave the main room.

In the main room, only Yang Ruoqing, Yang Huazhong, and Madam Sun remained.

Yang Ruoqing glanced at the group of children who were enthusiastically setting off fireworks in the courtyard outside, then turned and walked to Yang Huazhong's side.

"Dad, it's the New Year, even for the sake of all the children in this family, let's save some of our advice for after the New Year!"

Yang Huazhong had been looking out the window at the lively scene outside. Hearing Yang Ruoqing's words, he sighed, "I understand. Don't worry, I just couldn't help myself. I'll control myself later."

Yang Ruoqing curled her lips and continued, "As for Da'an and Hua'er, let's not meddle too much in their affairs. We should just turn a blind eye to their little squabbles right now."

Sun chimed in, "That's right. Young couples often quarrel in bed and make up before they get out of bed. If we interfere too much, we'll only make things worse."

Yang Huazhong frowned and said, "Right now, if Hua'er could have another child, maybe the matter between the two of them could truly be put to rest."

Yang Ruoqing also agreed with Yang Huazhong's suggestion. In a family, the birth of a new life will give the couple another emotional bond.

Because of the shared experience of welcoming, witnessing, and caring for a new life, the couple may have different insights and inspirations in the process.

The barriers that seemed insurmountable before may disappear without you even realizing it.

“That’s great, but it’s not something we can decide. The key lies with them,” Yang Ruoqing said.

If Xiaohua isn't willing, we can't force her to have a baby with Da'an. Da'an has to work hard to get Xiaohua to willingly accept him again, both emotionally and physically, so that the birth of this new life can be the beginning of a new chapter.

"Alright, let's not talk about this anymore. Let them be. We should have a happy New Year and not spoil the children's fun!" Yang Huazhong clapped his hands at the end, and his brows finally relaxed.

Sun and Yang Ruoqing smiled. Yang Ruoqing said, "That's right. Let's set off some fireworks first, and then we'll go to the old house to wish Grandpa and Grandma a Happy New Year. The children will get red envelopes again, hehe."

Speaking of red envelopes, Sun suddenly took out another red envelope from her pocket and stuffed it into Yang Ruoqing's hand.

This action left Yang Ruoqing completely bewildered.

"Mom, what are you doing? Didn't we just give each other red envelopes?"

“They were all here before, so I didn’t take it out. This red envelope is for Jinling. Please give it to him for us later.”

"Oh? Jinling has already prepared everything? There's no need for that. You can give it to him after he and Wuyou are officially married and become a family!" Yang Ruoqing said politely. In the older generation's understanding, whether it's marrying off a daughter or getting married, there is a qualitative difference between engagement and actual marriage, so red envelopes are generally not given before the wedding.

Sun pressed down on her hand that was being pushed away and said, "Now that the family is doing better, your father and I are also well-off. Your father said that once you're engaged, you're part of the family, so we should give you money."

"However, I didn't take it out in front of Da'an and Hua'er earlier. Now that I'm giving it to you, please accept it. Don't keep passing it around and let them see it, it wouldn't be good."

amount……

"Alright, then I'll accept it on Jinling's behalf. When he comes to pay his respects during the Lunar New Year, I'll have him come over and kowtow to you."

"No problem, no problem."

Yang Ruoqing put Zuo Jinling's red envelope together with Chen'er and Dazhi's red envelopes and kept them close to her body.

Although my parents meant well, in order to show how much they valued Zuo Jinling, they were willing to break the customs and rules of the Mianniu Mountain area (giving out New Year's red envelopes in advance) for Zuo Jinling's sake.

However, Yang Ruoqing found their secretive behavior of giving out red envelopes strange.

Take her and Luo Fengtang for example. When they went back to their room to prepare red envelopes after having their New Year's Eve dinner tonight, they had already prepared Zuo Jinling's share. They planned to give him the red envelope as Zuo Jinling's parents-in-law when he came to pay his respects.

Okay, let's not criticize Sun and Yang Huazhong anymore. Given their personalities, they've already done their best.

"Grandma, Uncle Xiao Sanzi and the others have gone to the old house!"

A small figure in a red dress rushed into the main room and headed straight for Madam Sun.

Both of her little braids were adorned with colorful ribbons and velvet flowers. Her red cross-collar jacket was trimmed with white fox fur, which made Fuwa's round face look delicate and elegant.

"Really? You saw it?"

"Yes, Second Uncle and Little Third Brother were together, Second Aunt didn't see them."

"Wow, our Fuwa has such bright eyes, she can see so clearly." Yang Ruoqing also praised her, noting that not only are her eyes bright, but the child is also precocious, has strong expressive abilities, and speaks very clearly.

Fuwa turned to Yang Ruoqing with a shy smile, then continued to pester Sun Shi, insisting on going to the old house to wish her great-grandparents a Happy New Year.

"Okay, okay, I'll go get the New Year's gifts for you."

"I'll go with Grandma to get it."

Yang Ruoqing and Luo Fengtang also hurried back to the Luo family to collect the New Year's gifts, and later went to the old house with Yang Huazhong and the others.

Back home, Luo Fengtang asked Yang Ruoqing, "Did you give out the red envelopes to Feng'er and the others? I didn't see you give those kids red envelopes before."

Yang Ruoqing said, "This year I want to change the format. In previous years, I would give them red envelopes when I visited my parents' home. This year, I plan to give them the red envelopes when they come to our house to pay their respects for the New Year."

Luo Fengtang thought for a moment, "Either way is fine, just don't forget to give it to them. It's an annual event, and the children will be happy."

Yang Ruoqing nodded, "Don't worry, I know."

Sun and Yang Huazhong are the grandparents. After they give the children of Yang Ruoqing's family New Year's money every year, Da'an and Xiaohua and their husbands no longer need to give them any.

Since the three families did not separate, they are essentially one household.

However, there are always exceptions, such as Xiao An and He Lian'er.

Every year during the Lunar New Year, even though Sun and Yang Huazhong gave the Luo family children lucky money as representatives, Xiao An and He Lian'er would secretly take out another red envelope to buy things for the children to eat.

But Da'an and Xiaohua never did. They would bring back lots of toys and snacks for the children from the capital or Changhuaizhou, but they never actually gave out red envelopes.

Yang Ruoqing had never thought about this before, but she doesn’t know why she suddenly became a bit sensitive to it this year. You could say she was slow to realize it!

“My parents gave each of us children 666 coins this year, a really generous amount,” Yang Ruoqing said, as she took out her abacus and began to calculate rapidly with one hand.

"Our family has a total of... eight red envelopes, which is... 5328 cash, which is more than five taels of silver."

"Da'an has three children. I'm going to give each of them two taels of silver as New Year's money. That'll be six taels of silver for the three children, which is equivalent to 6000 copper coins. I won't let them suffer any loss!"

When Luo Fengtang heard Yang Ruoqing's 'meticulous' calculations, he realized that it involved not only money but also the balance of social obligations.

"This is a bit of a headache, haha." He found Yang Ruoqing's behavior amusing, so he laughed.

Yang Ruoqing glared at him, annoyed. "Don't laugh. Do things the way they should. Even brothers should keep clear accounts. I won't let them suffer losses, but I also can't let them earn too much. That's not fair to my child!"

Luo Fengtang originally wanted to ponder this question, but he was embarrassed to find that his brain seemed unsuitable for thinking about this kind of thing.

He was still more used to fighting while ill; his mind was only capable of thinking about various military formations and tactics.

"Mom, come quick! We're going to the old house to pay our respects for the New Year!" Tuan Tuan's clear voice came from next door in the courtyard.

"Coming!" Yang Ruoqing responded, picked up the cloak draped over the stool next to her and put it on, then quickly left the bedroom with Luo Fengtang and headed towards the front yard.

"Uncle, Aunt, let's go to the old house first." When we passed the main hall in the front yard, the hall was brightly lit. Luo the blacksmith and Wang Cuilian were drinking tea at the table, and Rong Gu and Linglan were also accompanying them. Everyone was eating melon seeds, drinking tea and chatting. Ping An and Xing Wang were also going in and out, helping to move fireworks and prepare firecrackers for the 'opening' at dawn.

Wang Cuilian and Ronggu were mainly discussing the dumplings they would eat while staying up all night to welcome the New Year...

The atmosphere of the Chinese New Year is very strong.

"Go to the old house and give a New Year's greeting to your grandparents on behalf of your uncle and me," Wang Cuilian said with a smile.

"Don't worry, Auntie, I will definitely convey your good wishes," Yang Ruoqing said obediently.

Luo Fengtang then said to Luo the blacksmith, "Uncle, if anyone from the family comes to pay New Year's visits during this period, and we haven't returned from the old house yet, please send Ping An or Xingwang to the old house."

"Okay, okay, peace and prosperity are both fine!"

Just now, Luo Fengtang was actually giving official instructions, and only mentioned Ping An and Xing Wang's names as names.