Magistrate Wu said: "Whenever you want to go to the Xujia Village, just let the officer drive you there in a carriage, but you have to tell me about it in advance, understand?"
Wu Xinyi's eyes lit up and said: "Father, is that really true? Then can I visit often?"
"Well, that's fine, but you have to know manners when you go, you can't put on airs just because you're the county magistrate's daughter, understand?" County Magistrate Wu instructed.
"Father, of course I understand—I've never acted like that before. Father, you're such a good official, how could I possibly embarrass you as your daughter?"
Magistrate Wu nodded with satisfaction.
"By the way, Father, Grandma Xu brought me back quite a lot of delicious things! Later on, father, you have to accompany your daughter to eat together." Wu Xinyi said.
"All right, all right, hurry inside. The cook has already prepared the food, and it will be cold soon." said Magistrate Wu.
"Got it, Father."
......
At the dinner table, the old man asked: "Wifey, have you sent soup to Daniu these days?"
Mrs. Wang replied: "Sent, sent, I need you to remind me of this! Are you still going to town tomorrow? The land has already been bought, didn't you say you were looking for someone to build a house?"
The old man said: "We don't need to worry about this. I gave the required silver to Magistrate Wu. He will send someone to find the workers who built the house to thank us for helping him solve the refugee problem."
Mrs. Wang said: "The magistrate is a good official, he has taken good care of Xinyi, a child with good character. It is not easy for a grown man to teach a child so well while being busy with official duties!"
Xu Laoda: "Mother, Magistrate Wu is indeed a good official, but he also benefits from helping to find workers and supervisors. Just think about it, these refugees will definitely be grateful to the magistrate when they see how much he cares about their affairs. The most important thing for an official is to win the favor of the people."
The old man said: "Although what you said is true, as long as he is willing to sincerely do practical things for the people, what does it matter if he does it for fame! He is still a good official."
Xu Erbo exclaimed: "Father has a point."
Qibao thought her grandfather was exceptionally insightful, though she hadn't realized this until now—was wisdom really something that came late in life?
......
Time flies, and winter is here in the blink of an eye.
After lunch, Mrs. Wang and her daughters-in-law sat with their serving girls in the main house to chat while sewing clothes together.
Mrs. Zhang said: "Our boys grow up so fast these days, last year's winter clothes are already too short for them this year. If our family hadn't improved its circumstances, where would we have gotten the silver to buy new fabric for them?"
Mrs. Li exclaimed: "Sister-in-law, now that we have good food at home, it's normal for the child to grow up fast. The child can't stay young forever!"
Mrs. Lin concurred, saying: "Qibao has also grown quite a bit, and most of her clothes in the closet are short, so I've kept a few new ones, intending to give them to Yaya when she's a bit older."
Mei Niang heard this and said gratefully: "Thank you 3rd Madam for taking care of YaYa."
Mrs. Lin replied: "Why thank me? They are all new. We can't just throw them away! I'll bring them to you later."
"Yes, 3rd Madam." Mei Niang said.
Qibao has been learning embroidery for some time and can even embroider simple flowers and plants. At this moment, she is embroidering a pattern on a piece of clothing that her aunt has just made. The clothing belongs to her eldest brother. Qibao embroidered a small word "Xu" on the back corner of the clothing, with a small smiley face next to it.
Mrs. Wang felt very happy when she saw her little granddaughter sitting on a small stool, embroidering clothes seriously.
"Look at how well our Qibao embroiders. I guess the other girls in the village can't learn as fast as Qibao!" Mrs. Wang said with a smile.
Madam Qian replied: "Auntie, you are right. Qibao is indeed the one with the best understanding among them, but the others are not bad either. Hua'er is also a good learner."
Mrs. Wang stated: "That girl Hua'er is clever as well, she plays well with Qibao, and understands things very well."
Mrs. Zhang chimed in: "There was no snow last winter, so this year's winter will likely have plenty of it. Fortunately, times have gotten better for everyone these days. Just the other day, I saw many aunties from the village go to town to buy fabric and cotton, probably to make clothes."
Mrs. Wang continued: "Each of the Twelve Guards needs to make two sets of winter clothes even if they already made one set last year. It's shocking when you think about it—so many children need new clothes."
Qibao suggested: "If we can't manage to sew all of them ourselves, we could just buy ready-made clothes instead, as long as they won't freeze."
Cuizhu spoke up from beside her: "Young miss, you've already bought us lots of fabric before, so we'll just make our own clothes. We should be able to finish in time, and we'll take care of all the servants who work for Madam and Young Master."
Qibao agreed: "Good. If you run out of time, let me know, and I'll ask Kui Wu to purchase some ready-made clothes from the town."
"I understand, miss."
It was busy until the afternoon, and in winter the day darkens faster than the night, and by the time her brothers and the others came back from the academy, it was somewhat darker.
Qibao showed the embroidered clothes to her eldest brother.
"Brother, these are the clothes that your auntie just made for you today. I also embroidered the word "Xu" with a smiley face on it. I hope you will always be happy!" Qibao said with a smile.
Xu Wenwu touched the pattern embroidered by his sister, and felt warm in his heart. He said: "Brother likes it very much." After saying that, he folded the clothes neatly.
The fourth brother said, "Sister, you can't be partial. I am your biological brother, and I want it too."
The old man's eyes widened at these words: "Your younger sister has been working all afternoon, can't she take a break? What is there to be partial about? Even your grandfather hasn't received one yet! Go away, go away!"
Qibao said: "Brothers, don't misunderstand me. It's just that eldest brother's clothes were made first. When your clothes are made, I will definitely embroider them too. Don't think they are ugly!"
The third brother replied: "This third brother doesn't think they'd look bad whatsoever. Even if my dear little sister only pokes a single hole, it would still be the most beautiful thing ever! But you must be careful, little sister, and make sure you don't prick your hand."
Qibao was very happy and said: "No, Third Brother!"
"Sister, whatever you embroider looks good, Fifth Brother likes it." Little Five stated.
The old man coughed dryly: "All right, let's eat! Don't pester Qibao as soon as you come back. We've made hot pot today."
Xiaoliu looked delighted: "Finally I can eat hotpot again. I've been thinking about it for a long time!"
The large family sat before the long dining table, looking at the bubbling hot pot that emitted steam from atop its surface. The old man said: "I wonder how our former boss is doing now! Has he managed to open up his restaurant?"
Madam Qian expressed her concerns: "Indeed, and whether or not they'll write to us this year, wondering if they'll make it back for New Year's."
Qian Xuedong reassured her: "Mother, don't worry, Father knows what he's doing, nothing will happen. If Father doesn't return for New Year's, we'll celebrate at Grandpa Xu's house instead—there'll definitely be lots of people there, lively and fun."
Mrs. Wang nodded: "That's right, Yue Ru, you three can spend the New Year at our house, it will be so lively!"
Madam Qian nodded: "Mm-hmm, I too enjoy Auntie's festive atmosphere."
Mrs. Wang said" "I wonder how Zhiyong is doing in town! This kid doesn't even know how to come home to visit his parents."
Xu Wenwu said: "Grandmother, don't worry. My second brother told me at the academy that he learned a lot from the shopkeeper. Shopkeeper Zhang even praised him for being flexible and suitable for doing business."