Don't farm, cultivate immortality!

“This child has been complaining for the past few days about why her brother hasn’t come back yet,” Zhu He said with a smile. “She looks out the door every day, hoping for the stars and the moon to appear, just waiting for you to come home.”

“I told you my brother would come back today, but Mom didn’t believe me,” the little sister said, raising her face.

"Mother, I'm back," Zhuang Xing said.

"Alright, alright, it's cold outside, come inside and warm up by the fire." Zhu He waved. "Yunling, come in and sit down too. It's still early, have some food before going back to your aunt's."

"Thank you, Auntie," Yunling said politely.

Zhuang Xing returned home around this time last year. His family knew he was coming back soon, so they had already cleaned up Wu Zhui's stable and put out the hay and fodder.

This wasn't the first time Wuzhui had been here. He skillfully lay down in the shed and began chewing on beans.

Zhuang Xing carried his little sister and went into the house with Yunling.

There was a brazier with charcoal burning in the main room, and it felt much warmer as soon as you entered.

"Isn't Dad home?" Zhuang Xing asked.

“He went to buy a chicken, saying that you should be back in the next couple of days, so he caught a chicken and tied it up at home first,” Zhu He said.

After entering the house, Zhuang Xing looked around and saw that there were changes. Originally, the house was a wooden house built on the site of a collapsed half of the mud house. Now, there was almost no trace of the old mud house. The house had been renovated on the original site and blue bricks had been used.

The stove used for making tofu back then was also demolished, and it seems that a separate kitchen was built instead.

It looks cleaner and more beautiful now. The family is living a better life, and he is naturally happy. He put his little sister down and took out the wooden sword that he had given her.

The size is just right. He specially made this wooden sword from lighter wood so that even a child wouldn't feel too much effort wielding it.

The little sister was overjoyed. She waved the wooden sword a couple of times and said that she loved it and that she wanted to be like her brother, carrying a sword, leading a horse, and going out to play.

But her mother told her younger sister to play with these things less, lest she hurt herself. Girls shouldn't be wielding swords and knives.

Mother seemed to want to raise her little sister to be a lady, but the little sister didn't look like a lady at all. Instead, she made a face at her mother.

Chapter 263 The Taste of Home

Now, my little sister is six years old. In modern times, six years old is the age to start first grade.

If there really is a school, it would be nice for my little sister to go there and meet other kids her age.

But these days there are no kindergartens, no compulsory education, only private schools and public schools. You pay your own tuition for private schools, but you can't just pay to get into public schools; it's all about qualifications and connections.

Moreover, neither of these two types of schools aimed to popularize knowledge; the students there were all there to pass the imperial examinations and gain official titles, not just to learn a few characters.

Although their family could afford to pay for their schooling, they had never heard of any private school that would accept girls as students.

There's no way around it; this is ancient times. In everyone's mind, girls should stay at home, be responsible for cooking, washing clothes, supporting their husbands, and raising children. If they were from wealthy families, they would hire teachers to teach them music, chess, calligraphy, and painting, but clearly, this wasn't the intention of our family.

The way Zhuang Xing was raised as a child is how his younger sister was raised.

In summary, there are two main approaches: free-range farming.

Just feed you, dress you, and let you play as you please, just don't get lost.

My parents didn't have any plans for my younger sister's future. They probably just wanted to raise her up, find her a good husband, and that would be the end of their mission.

Zhuang Xing's thoughts were different from theirs. He felt that it depended on what the person involved thought. Although his sister was only six years old, a six-year-old child also had her own ideas.

He planned to find some free time to have a family meeting with his parents, wanting to hear their thoughts and his sister's thoughts.

However, this matter cannot be rushed. After the younger sister finished arguing with her mother, she ran to Zhuang Xing's lap and sat down, using Zhuang Xing as a shield.

Zhuang Xing was used to her. Although her older brother only stayed at home for a month a year, he would cook delicious food for her and take her out to play and have fun when he came back. It would be strange if she didn't rely on her older brother.

The mother ignored the little guy and turned to get tea leaves and hot water to make tea.

The little sister was fascinated by the small wooden sword. She held the sword in one hand and grasped Zhuang Xing's right index finger with the other, smiling sweetly.

She was short and small, and although her sword-wielding movements were haphazard, she was incredibly cute, holding a sword as small as herself.

Fearing she might lose her balance and fall, Zhuang Xing supported her belly with his left hand. She had been eating well lately, and her belly was a little bigger than last year, feeling soft to the touch.

After waving her arms for a while, she suddenly tilted her head back, her two braids hanging down, and opened her eyes wide, looking at Zhuang Xing from a strange perspective.

Zhuang Xing thought to himself that there shouldn't be anything strange on his face, and was wondering what she was looking at when she suddenly said in a childish voice, "Brother, I want to hear you tell a story!"

I see, you wanted to hear a story.

Zhuang Xing rubbed her forehead and asked, "Okay, what story do you want to hear?"

"I want to hear the story of the monkey!" the little girl said.

Zhuang Xing had only ever told her one story about monkeys, which was "Journey to the West".

Zhuang Xing has told this story several times. It's not that he has nothing to tell, but his little sister especially loves the story of the stone monkey.

She didn't like listening to the later parts, only the earlier parts: the part where the stone monkey jumped out of the top of Flower Fruit Mountain, leaped over the Water Curtain Cave, became the Monkey King, and then saw the old monkey die, rode a small boat across the sea, found the Cave of the Slanting Moon and Three Stars, learned the Seventy-Two Transformations, and somersaulted on the cloud. That was her favorite part.

Later, when he became the Demon King, he caused trouble in the Dragon Palace and the Underworld. He was then recruited as the Keeper of the Heavenly Horses and caused trouble in the Heavenly Palace. She liked that too. When she heard the Monkey King peeing on Buddha's palm, she laughed and rolled around on the bed. But when the Monkey King was pressed under the Five Fingers Mountain by Buddha, she didn't like it anymore. Zhuang Xing only told her the rest of the story once.

She said she didn't like hearing stories about monks being captured by monsters, and only wanted her brother to tell the earlier parts of the story.

The storytelling segment is an annual tradition, so Zhuang Xing started by telling his younger sister the story of a monkey who had no parents and who sprang from a stone.

My little sister swung her short legs, humming a tune, her mood soaring.

Having not seen each other for a year had no impact on them; after exchanging a few words, that sense of familiarity naturally arose.

Zhuang Xing only has this one younger sister, whom he watched grow up, so of course he loves her dearly. As the older brother, he has a responsibility to protect and care for his sister.

However, because of the significant age gap between the two, Zhuang Xing felt like he was raising a daughter.

Actually, they're all pretty much the same; he ultimately hopes his sister can take charge of her own life.

While he was talking to his sister, Zhu He poured tea for Yunling, and the two sat together, chatting and laughing.

Yunling's mother died in childbirth. Ever since Zhuang Xing brought Yunling home, Zhu He has always been very kind to Yunling, and she feels indebted to Yunling.

Yunling was orphaned at a young age. After her father died, the villagers ostracized her, thinking she was bad luck. Only two years after her father's death, her son was not familiar with her and had never brought her to his home. She had a very difficult time during that period.

Zhu He felt guilty that only she and her son had been saved back then, while Yunling's father had died. During that time, she actually saw the villagers ostracizing Yunling, but she just watched silently until later when she truly began to care about the child.

She hoped to make up for some of the maternal love that Yunling lacked; in her heart, she had long regarded this child as her own daughter.

When Zhuang Xing and Yunling returned, the house became lively and bustling. Zhu He was happy and hoped that the two children could continue to get along so well.

As they were talking, Zhuang Xing heard footsteps outside. His father stepped across the threshold with brisk strides.

He was carrying a large rooster with brightly colored feathers, which was tied up tightly, like a rice dumpling that wasn't wrapped in leaves.

The old man said cheerfully, "Xiao He, I'm going to kill a chicken. We'll make chicken soup for lunch!"

He saw the horse at the door and knew his son had returned. He went back inside, greeted him, and then eagerly went into the kitchen to pick up his chicken-killing knife.

Before the poor rooster could even catch its breath, it was caught by a burly man, dragged into a dark room, and killed with a swift stroke of his knife.

My father was very skilled at killing chickens; the chicken didn't even make a sound.

There were quite a few dishes for lunch, including this year's newly smoked bacon and sausages. The thinly sliced ​​bacon and sausages were translucent and not greasy at all. The chicken soup was very flavorful, and my mother also cooked red bean rice and ordered tofu pudding.

My mother hasn't made tofu herself for a while now, as the family doesn't rely on it to make money anymore. But she hasn't forgotten her skills, and the tofu she makes is very tender.

Zhuang Xing enjoyed the meal very much.

This is the taste of home. No amount of elaborate banquets or fine wines can compare to this table of steaming hot home-cooked dishes.

Chapter 264 Drinking with Rats

After the meal, Zhu He cleared away the dishes and went to the kitchen to wash the dishes and pots, leaving her husband in the main room.

Although her husband no longer farms, she still habitually takes care of all the housework.

In this family, the division of labor is very clear: she takes care of the home, while her husband takes care of external affairs.

Their fields are now rented out to others to cultivate. The husband handles all the external negotiations, including dealing with the occasional government officials who come to deliver things to their home. She never interferes in these matters; she believes a wife's duty is to manage the household well.

While washing the dishes, she didn't forget to feed the white mice.

She had specially modified the newly built kitchen, leaving a removable floor tile in the corner. She placed the leftover food from earlier on a plate in front of the tile.

With a rustling sound, the bricks were pushed aside, and several snow-white creatures crawled out and started eating around the plate.

Meanwhile, in the main room, Zhuang Xing chatted with his father about the changes over the past year, and also took out the gifts he had brought from the mountain.

After chatting for only a short while, the younger sister started clamoring for her older brother to play with her.

Adults don't argue with children. Zhuang Liangqing generously gave his son to his daughter and went outside to feed the horses.

My father loved Wuzhui very much. The first time Zhuang Xing brought Wuzhui home, he would always run to see the horse.

I think every man has a dream of riding a horse across the grasslands.

The old man asked Zhuang Xing to take Yunling home on the way. Zhuang Xing and Yunling held hands and practiced swordplay on the snow as they walked towards Yunling's uncle and aunt's house, giving off the feeling of an old married couple taking care of a child.

He escorted Yunling to her doorstep, sat there for a while, and then decided not to disturb their family reunion.

Before dark, my younger sister was full of energy, swinging her sword wildly in the snow, sometimes cutting through the snow, sometimes chopping at tree branches with the wooden sword.

Sometimes, if she didn't hold on properly, the sword would fly out of her hand. She would then take short steps, squat down, and pick up the wooden sword from the snow.

Zhuang Xing watched her from the side, occasionally teaching her a few moves.

Unfortunately, she didn't seem to have much talent in swordsmanship. Her movements were very unorthodox, far inferior to Zhuang Xing, who was five years old at the time. Zhuang Xing felt that practicing swordsmanship was not suitable for his little sister.

She played until it got dark before she finally exhausted herself.

"Brother, hug me..." she said weakly, not wanting to leave.

Zhuang Xing held her calves and lifted her up.

Even when she was tired of playing, she didn't let go, holding the sword tightly in her arms.

Back inside, after dinner, she dozed off sleepily in Zhuang Xing's arms.

It started snowing lightly again outside. The family sat at the table, using an oil lamp for light.

Hot water is boiling over the stove. Once the water is hot, I'll wash myself and it'll be time for bed.

There was no nightlife to speak of; people rested at sunset and worked at sunrise. This was how the family always operated when Zhuang Xing was not around.

At Zhuang Xing's call, the younger sister rubbed her eyes, struggled to get up, washed her face, and rubbed her feet.

She hugged Zhuang Xing and said she wanted to sleep with her brother.