FID – Chapter 746

Chapter 746: Gratitude

“It was just a bunch of rapeseed flowers, Grandma. How about we plant some different flowers in the garden next time?”

“We have chives.”

“And we have chive blossoms.”

“Little White Lotus can also embroider.”

Lunch started amidst the laughter and noise, and it ended the same way.

As for the engagement between Liu Yusheng and Feng Qingbai, the two elders of the Liu family were very pleased.

The two children had known each other since they were young, and they had always been close. After so many twists and turns, they had finally come to this point, and it was time for the relationship to bear fruit.

Once everything was settled, after lunch, the old man returned the family’s property ledger and the two tokens to Feng Qingbai, patting his arm. “We don’t need these things. The future is yours and Nannan’s to build. As long as you two are happy, that’s all that matters. After the New Year, you can go back and settle the details of the marriage, and we’ll discuss the specifics then.”

“Thank you, Grandpa.” Feng Qingbai reached out and hugged the old man.

He was thankful that they were willing to support him and even more grateful that they were giving him a family.

The Liu family was set to board a ship the next day, and that night, Liu Yusheng’s room became crowded with Chen Xiulan and Liu Muqiu.

They all slept together.

Liu Yusheng spent the entire night stiff with tension.

Her family must be worried that Feng Qingbai would stray again.

How embarrassing.

The next morning, the group boarded the ship back to Yunzhou. On the dock, Feng Qingbai and Feng Mohan, dressed in plain clothes, saw them off.

As they watched the ship sail away, Feng Mohan’s expression remained sullen.

“Uncle, when you marry Aunt Liu, can I attend the wedding?”

“A gift is enough. You don’t need to come.”

“Why are you so cautious with me? I’m not going to fight you for her, she’s my aunt!” Feng Mohan grumbled.

The man glanced sideways at him. “You look older than your aunt now. If you can avoid showing up, then do so.”

“…” He had the body of a twenty-year-old at fifteen. Was that his fault?

Taking advantage of the man not paying attention, the young boy glanced back at the departing ship.

When Aunt Liu returned to the capital, he would be calling her ‘Imperial Aunt.’

Yesterday, Feng Qingbai had been tallying the assets under his name in the palace, and by that afternoon, the news had spread throughout the entire capital.

The whole court knew that the King of Nanling and the Ruyi County Lady, Liu Yusheng, were about to marry. Upon hearing the news, everyone rushed to prepare congratulatory gifts, eagerly waiting for the day of the King’s wedding to present their offerings.

Now, only General Qin Xiao remained in the triangle, still standing tall in the court. It was impossible for him to oppose the King anymore.

The King had truly become the dominant figure in the court, the one all the officials had to court and ingratiate themselves with.

The story of the King and Lady Liu Yusheng had become so popular among the common people that it had turned into a ballad, passed down and sung for ages.

The Liu family was still unaware of all this. By the time they returned to Xinghua Village at the end of November, the New Year was just a few days away.

As their carriage entered the village, villagers immediately shouted and followed behind, and by the time they reached the gates of the Liu family’s mansion, a large crowd had gathered.

As the Liu family members descended from the carriage, everyone’s faces beamed with joy.

The village chief, Liu Jinfu, quickly heard the news and hurried to join the villagers, squeezing his way into the Liu courtyard.

“Good, good! You’re all back, that’s wonderful!”

Grandpa Liu stepped forward and patted the shoulder of the elder. “At that time, we left in a hurry, so we couldn’t say much to the villagers. We didn’t know if the officers had interrogated you all afterward. Did they make things difficult for everyone?”

“No, no,” the villagers laughed. “Those officers came in with great force, but we are just honest country folk, and we didn’t know anything. What could they have found out from us? After failing to gather any useful information, they left and never came back.”

“We heard that many officers were blocking the town checkpoints, conducting strict searches, and we were worried about you. It’s good to see that you’re back safe.”

“Yes, as long as everyone’s back, it’s all good. After great hardship, there will surely be future blessings!”

The Liu family smiled at the villagers, knowing that the situation back then was certainly not as simple as they made it sound. The authorities had issued strict orders to capture them, even offering rewards for their capture. The officers sent to pursue them could hardly have been easy to deal with.

They kept the villagers’ kindness in their hearts.

In the future, there would surely be a day when they could repay their goodwill.

Afterward, Liu Jinfu also explained the operations of the winery after their departure. With that old guy, An Cai, in charge, and considering the previous incident in Duanqiao Village, the winery workers were highly appreciative of their current positions. 

Even though the Liu family had temporarily fallen on hard times, no one had quit midway.

As for the occasional gossip, it was forcefully suppressed by the troublemakers from Xiapo Village.

Everything continued as usual. There were no overdue wages for the workers, and no unfulfilled orders. 

Even the Liu family’s courtyard and vegetable garden, which had been unattended during their absence, were regularly weeded and maintained by the aunts, uncles, and other villagers every few days.

It didn’t look like the place had been empty for over two months at all.

After thanking everyone, they closed the door. The Liu family rested for a day, and by the next day, they were busy preparing for the New Year.

The men were in charge of buying food, while the women handled the sewing of new clothes.

Liu Yusheng didn’t need to be involved in those tasks, so during the break over the past few days, she took the opportunity to review the winery’s accounts, calculating the year-end wages, bonuses, and benefits for the workers. 

This year, due to their family’s troubles, the workers had remained diligent and loyal to their posts, so she decided to allocate a more generous bonus than in previous years as a token of appreciation for their support and trust in the winery.

Liu Zhiqiu had his own matters to attend to as well.

At the time of their misfortune, they had received help from others, which allowed them to escape successfully. Now that they had returned, it was only right to go and thank those who had helped.

One must understand the importance of gratitude in order to receive more favor from life.

This was a life principle the old man of the family had always kept in mind and followed.

When setting off, he took Liu Muqiu with him because there were two people to thank: one was the garrison commander, and the other was the Li family.

Although the garrison commander was a little greedy and wary of causing trouble, it was a great favor that he had helped them secretly under pressure on that day, allowing them to safely leave the city.

As for the Li family, the grudges between them and Liu Muqiu were now a thing of the past. He didn’t wish to comment on the Li family’s conduct, but they had genuinely taken a risk to help their family, so the favor was something to be remembered.

The carriage sped through, and soon they arrived at the town.

They bought some souvenirs and took out some gold, silver, and jade from the family warehouse. Liu Zhiqiu’s first stop was the town office.

With the New Year approaching, the office was relatively empty, and the officials were relaxed. They lounged lazily around, and when there was no one in charge, they would take a flask of wine and a plate of fried peanuts and gather to drink for hours.

When Liu Zhiqiu entered, the tipsy town officers quickly stood up, rubbed their eyes to see who it was, and then hurried off to inform the town garrison commander.