CHAPTER 160: CHAPTER 158 NEW YEAR

Xie Liangchen heard from Chang Yue that Old Mrs. Song had come out from her home, so she took Chen Zigeng and a few others to wait at the village entrance.

Unexpectedly, they first saw a gift from the Su Family.

Old Master Su, upon learning of the entire matter, felt apologetic towards the Chen Family Village. Therefore, he had some herb books copied and sent over, including seeds and methods for cultivating these herbs.

Seeing the herb books didn’t make much of an impression on Xie Liangchen, but when she saw the seeds and cultivation methods, she realized this wasn’t solely Old Master Su’s idea, or at least not entirely his own idea.

Having been with the Su Family for so long, she had never heard Old Master Su mention wanting to cultivate herbs. Moreover, planting southern herbs in the north required trial and effort to determine what was suitable.

The prescriptions sent by the Su Family weren’t just randomly compiled but were targeted and specific.

Xie Liangchen thought this might be Su Huaiqing’s doing, but she needed to look closely to be certain.

Not having time to think too much, Xie Liangchen put down the books and went to welcome Old Mrs. Song.

At the village entrance, Xie Liangchen saw Old Mrs. Song with her kindly smile, accompanied by Song Xian who was supporting her.

Xie Liangchen stepped forward to greet, "Old Mrs. Song, General Song."

Old Mrs. Song smiled and nodded, releasing her grandson and taking Xie Liangchen’s hand.

Old Mrs. Song’s hand was slightly cool, a common trait among the elderly. After winter began, Xie Liangchen often warmed her grandmother’s hands, so when encountering a similar situation now, she skillfully warmed Old Mrs. Song’s hands.

Old Mrs. Song patted the back of Xie Liangchen’s hand. Mrs. Rong used to surround her to seek favor, but true feelings were always apparent. This child, Liangchen, really knew how to care for others.

Old Mrs. Song said with concern, "You’re not wearing much either, let’s hurry along."

Watching his grandmother and Xie Liangchen walking ahead like that, Song Xian suddenly felt a sense of neglect, especially recalling the time when he met Xie Liangchen alone in the small courtyard, and she prepared food for the night.

Unfortunately, the first bowl of noodles was eaten by Cheng Er.

At that time, he thought Xie Liangchen was an intelligent person, knowing how to grasp boundaries, not doing what shouldn’t be done or seen.

Yet now, her understanding made him feel restless and warm inside.

Song Xian looked at his grandmother, then at Xie Liangchen’s yangfei-colored gown, quite different from her usual attire.

The yangfei color made her cheeks appear as white as jade. Upon closer inspection, it seemed she had applied something to cover her face. What would she look like without it?

Song Xian recalled carefully, but nothing came to mind.

In the past life, she didn’t cover herself, but when he saw her, he only remembered the murderous aura between her brows. After being reborn, he had once threatened her... The room was dark, and he couldn’t remember clearly.

When she was cooking in the little courtyard, he hadn’t looked closely at all.

The more he thought about it, the more stuffy his chest felt. Was he just an evil person in Xie Liangchen’s heart? Otherwise, why did her words seem to please him in particular, as if she was trying to make him happy?

Did she truly think that if he was displeased, he would harm her?

And the first time he taught Chen Zigeng archery, she looked so nervous.

"General Song," Chen Zigeng stepped forward and said, "I didn’t expect you to come to the village. Yesterday, we went to the city and heard you went to inspect the camp."

Noticing that General Song Xian appeared a bit gloomy, Chen Zigeng approached warmly to engage in conversation.

Hearing Chen’s crisp voice, Song Xian’s expression seemed to clear up like clouds parting to reveal the moon.

Chen Zigeng said, "General, you work hard. My sister knew that you and the household general would come, so she has been stewing lamb since morning. She said it’s best to eat lamb in cold weather."

Song Xian’s expression completely brightened. It didn’t matter much to him if she hadn’t noticed; nothing was lost anyway, as he was still the same as before.

Unconsciously, everyone arrived at the Familiar Medicine Institute.

During the New Year, everyone gathers together, and the house at the Familiar Medicine Institute is large enough. Many people from the Chen Family Village came along this time too.

Chen Yongsheng said to Song Xian, "General Song, if you don’t mind, please let your people join us. Our long table can seat many people, making it more lively."

Song Xian nodded and instructed Chang An, "Ask everyone to come over!"

While speaking, Song Xian scanned his eyes around. To others, it might seem like nothing, but he had been an advance guard a few years back and had led scouts to gather information, able to see everything clearly at a glance. So he noticed that small yangfei-colored dress in the kitchen.

The Song Family brought five chefs, yet some dishes still required Xie Liangchen to prepare herself.

Song Xian sat down while Chen Yongsheng and others stood by the side, fearing insufficient hospitality, while Old Mrs. Song went with the ladies to the weaving room to chat.

This made the Familiar Medicine Institute even quieter. Without Chen Zigeng talking beside him, this place might turn into Song Xian’s central army camp.

Song Xian asked Chen Zigeng, "What have you all planned to play with?"

Children naturally couldn’t stay idle, especially on such days, where there was food and drink. They would run outside even if dressed a bit lightly.

Chen Zigeng said, "We have prepared archery, bamboo dragonflies, and... I actually made a kite, but it’s not easy to fly it in winter."

Song Xian stood up, "I’ll take a look."

Chen Yongsheng couldn’t help but sweat a little. He glanced at Chen Zigeng, signaling him to take General Song for archery but not to mess around with kite flying.

Such children’s playthings shouldn’t entangle General Song.

In no time, Xie Liangchen in the kitchen heard that General Song was teaching Chen Zigeng archery. The two were fiddling with something, and Chen Zigeng’s bowstring snapped, resulting in General Song gifting Chen Zigeng a new bow.

A moment later, Hei Dan came again and said, "The target has been shot to pieces."

Xie Liangchen was cooking fish porridge, intending to serve it to the village elders before meals.

Upon hearing Hei Dan say, "They’ve gone to fly the kite."

Xie Liangchen couldn’t resist stepping out of the kitchen and looking up into the sky.

In such weather, not even Song Xian could get the kite to fly. It was fluttering erratically in the air over the Chen Family Village, rising and falling, swaying as if it were drunk.

As the kite rose and fell, the children’s shouting echoed.

Xie Liangchen wanted Hei Dan to remind Chen not to make too much commotion, but she found it amusing.

Xie Liangchen asked, "Is General Song really flying the kite?"

Hei Dan nodded.

It seemed he wasn’t very skilled either. Apart from running, there was no other technique — even though the weather wasn’t ideal, it shouldn’t be this way.

Could it be that he never flew a kite as a child?

Xie Liangchen continued tending to the little stove, making sugar syrup for the village children.

Hearing there was sugar syrup, the children gathered around.

Xie Liangchen handed out the finished syrup wraps.

"Thank you, sister."

Chen Yuyu, worried that Xie Liangchen would be too tired, stood by and said, "Sister, I’ll help you later."

Xie Liangchen waited for Chen Yuyu to reach out, but for some reason, Chen Yuyu delayed. She continued wrapping the syrup and extended her hand to pass it on.

This time, she didn’t hear any thanks, so she raised her head.

Song Xian stood before her, holding two sticks coated with syrup.