The next morning, Zeng Ruixiang took Zi Fu and Lin Kangping out. They first went to the old house. As expected, the old man was furious when he heard that Zi Fu had been driven out. He scolded: "How can a newlywed couple drive their child away? What will Zi Fu think? How will the new daughter-in-law think? The key to a happy family is having many people and a lively atmosphere. Listen to my advice, if you want to separate, wait until after Zi Xi gets married."

  Zi Fu explained that it was for his convenience in doing business outside, and according to the law of this dynasty, without a household registration, one cannot have their own property.

  The old man was taken aback by this, and after a moment of contemplation, Zeng Rui Xiang took the opportunity to say: "Father, even if we divide the family property, they are still my children. I've thought it through - once Zi Lu and the others get married, they'll all move out on their own, make their own way in life based on their own abilities, and whether they live well or poorly will be their own responsibility. No one will be able to blame anyone else. It's better than having everyone living together, constantly bickering over trivial matters, and eventually even the bond between brothers will fade with time. Who knows, maybe they'll make a name for themselves, and it won't bring shame to our ancestors' names or our teachings. Don't worry, I'll make sure they come back home every Spring Festival, and we can still be together, lively and joyful."

  The old man calmed down after hearing this, thinking of his several children, scattered and fragmented, feeling very uncomfortable. But where did all this go wrong? When they were young, they had suffered together, and the eldest son was especially sensible, knowing how to protect his younger siblings. How did they become unrecognizable after getting married? Especially the eldest daughter, who, for a small gain, didn't even consider family ties. The old man couldn't understand why he had always favored her over the years. This problem had puzzled him for a long time. After thinking about it repeatedly, he still hadn't realized that the root of the problem lay within himself.

  Tian's wife pulled Zi Fu's hand and said, "Your grandma is getting older. One year is not like the other, this old lady in Beijing doesn't know how far away she is, you should go home more often to see her, every time grandma sees you is a blessing." As she spoke, her eyes turned red.

  Zi Fu didn't like hearing this either, although the old lady was biased because he was her first grandson. To be fair, she wasn't bad to him, and a big reason for that was Zi Fu's outstanding performance, which made them realize that investing in Zi Fu was worthwhile, especially now that he had become a jinshi. With a bright future in sight. If the Tian family could distribute some of their affection towards Shen Shi and other grandchildren, Zi Fu would truly appreciate the Tian family's kindness, unfortunately, the Tian family never thought of this.

  Zeng Ruixiang and his son Fu accompanied the old man to discuss some family matters, and then took their leave, ignoring Chunyu and Yan Renda who were watching with eager eyes. They did not expect that after hearing this conversation, Da Mao's wife would go back and instigate Da Mao and his parents to make a fuss about dividing the family property. This is a later story.

  At night, Zeng Rui Xiang and the others returned home, saying that everything was almost done. The old man said that the 18th is an auspicious day, and they would set out early in the morning. Zi Qing's tears immediately rolled out, and she choked with sobs: "It was better when I was a child, only today did I realize it. The cost of growing up is countless reunions and separations."

  The words were so abrupt that everyone was stunned. Each of them thought, savored and agreed in their hearts. The room fell silent for a moment. Only Lin Kangping pulled Zi Qing's hand aside and whispered, "Don't cry, Qing'er, you cry and I'll feel terrible. Don't be sad, wait another year for me, I'll come back soon, don't worry, the price of my growth is to marry you, then stay with you, never parting again."

  See off Zifujin, Ziqing took Zilu, Zishou and Zixi to the orange garden to plant saplings for two days. For more than half a month, Wang Tieshan has not been idle, and has dug more than 200 holes. Ziqing had to admit that Lin Kangping still had good eyesight and indeed found a diligent person.

  The little chickens in the orange garden are also well-raised. Ziqing has bought several hundred chicks, and except for about a dozen that froze to death, the rest have all shed their down feathers. The first batch of over 80 chicks he bought now weigh around one kilogram each. Ziqing estimates that the total investment in the orange garden is around three hundred taels, which should be recouped soon.

  Zilu, Zishou and Zixi left on the 19th in the afternoon. Just after seeing them off, Xia Yu came with her son, bringing some homemade dishes of braised duck and two live ducks.

  Mrs. Shen hastily invited her into the house, asking when she had come and how long she would stay, and preparing to keep her for dinner. Seeing what Xia Yu was holding in her hand, she said: "It's so far away, and it's so heavy, it's hard for you to bring it over. In the future, don't carry it again. My family doesn't lack anything, leave it for yourself to eat well, don't suffer yourself and the children."

  "Sister-in-law, don't worry, I brought those things you sent over and I haven't finished eating them yet. I didn't have anything good to give you, but since your family doesn't raise ducks, I'll bring two over for you. I know Xiao Qing loves to eat them, and this braised duck is also made by myself. Sister-in-law and second brother, try some, it's a little token of my affection as a younger sister." Xia Yu said.

  Shen's family heard this and quickly took over, then Xia Yu said: "Second sister-in-law, I'm really sorry, it's the New Year, let the children go like this, my heart is not at ease, especially to say a word, want to take you and second brother to live in my house for two days."

  Originally, on the third day of junior high school, Zifeng and his family returned early because they saw that Damao and others were going to stay overnight, competing for rooms and beds. Zifeng couldn't bear to let Xiayu work too hard, and since there was a horse-drawn carriage, he took his family back home. Lin Kangping didn't want to stay after seeing Damao and Guiying, but he stayed for dinner because of Xiayu's face.

  "What's the matter, it's worth mentioning again when you're back. The children came back and didn't say anything. I thought they were coming home early to play mahjong. Your second brother's school is opening tomorrow, and I'm busy too, just about to go back to my mother's house to take a look. Since you're back, stay for a few more days before leaving. Take good care of yourself, I think your complexion looks better than in previous years." said Shen Shi.

  "It's not a loss, Second Sister-in-law. The goat milk has been drunk, and after the kid was born, I couldn't raise it so I sold it. Now that I live alone, it's also more convenient. Last year, the four orange trees in the old courtyard were also sold for several hundred wen. The medical expenses for last year were slightly less than previous years. You also brought me those things, which saved me a lot. This is the first time this year that there's been some surplus." Xia Yu said.

  The two of them chatted for a while longer, and when Xia Yu was leaving, Zi Qing asked her to pass on a message to Qiu Yu, telling Young Uncle Zhou Yunjiang to come over the next afternoon to plant tree saplings.

  More than half a month later, Zifu entrusted Wenjia to bring a letter, all the way very smooth, temporarily staying at Lin Kangping's place, only when he arrived in Beijing did he find out that Liu had good news.

  Shen's family was overjoyed and didn't know what to do, so they hurriedly lit incense and recited Buddhist scriptures. They also sent their son, Zi Yu, to deliver a message to the old house. In the afternoon, Zeng Rui Xiang returned home and forced him to write a reply immediately, instructing Zi Fu to buy a maid or an elderly woman to take good care of Liu's family. He also said that if they delayed for a few more days, they could stay at home and take good care of them. After finishing speaking, he busied himself finding fabric to prepare clothes, shoes, and socks for the child, as well as various baby supplies.

  Zeng Ruixiang saw his wife like this and couldn't put it down, so he said: "In the past when you were pregnant and gave birth to a child, I wasn't by your side. You still had to serve your parents-in-law and take care of the children, didn't they all pass too? Don't worry, they will learn to grow up eventually."

  "Can that be the same? It's precisely because I've had enough of being a daughter-in-law's hardships, so I must sympathize with my own daughter-in-law and not let her go through what I did. Isn't it one of your teachings: 'Do not do to others what you would not have them do to you'? That's why I sent them away early on, while they're still young, to enjoy a few sweet years together. Once they have kids, most of a woman's thoughts are taken up by the children; where will she find the energy to enjoy anything else?"

  "Not bad, learned for a few days and can be used, didn't waste my effort, unexpectedly thought of 'don't do to others what you don't want done to yourself', really made me look at her in a new light. Unfortunately, if I had taught you earlier, maybe you would have become a talented woman too." Zeng Rui Xiang smiled and said.

  "That's natural, Qing'er will follow me." Shen said with a smile, and the couple chatted for a while before Shen put down the things she had prepared to make clothes for the child.

  Zi Lu's new house is finished, and the furniture has just started to be made. Shen Shi has a lot of things to take care of: she needs to find a matchmaker to ask Chen Jia to agree to this year's marriage proposal, which is called "qīng qí", and also needs to find someone to calculate the auspicious day, and prepare the betrothal gifts, and buy jewelry and clothing materials. Fortunately, there is Zi Fu in front of her, so she doesn't need to worry about it anymore, just follow the example and do the same thing again.

  Zi Qing took over the tasks in the kitchen, and handed over the work on the back mountain to Zi Yu. In the orange garden, there was a small uncle who ran errands every day. During the day, Zi Qing was busy embroidering screens, and at night, she was busy with needlework. At the end of last year, when Lin Kangping came back, he brought two pieces of plain white silk and fine cotton cloth, which were used to make underwear. Zi Qing's chest had developed a bit, and she was not used to wearing that so-called "breast wrap", which wrapped around her in circles, not conducive to growth. So, Zi Qing secretly made a few bras, with embroidered peach blossoms on them, but didn't dare wear them out, fearing Shen Shi would scold her, thinking of saving them for after marriage. Zi Qing slowly made all the underwear needed for the two to get married, including long-sleeved and short-sleeved ones, as well as large bathrobes for bathing and cotton home clothes for winter. Every piece of clothing was carefully thought out and embroidered with flowers.

  At the end of February, Zifeng wrote again to say that he had been admitted to Guozijian and had bought a small courtyard with two entrances near Guozijian for over 500 taels of silver. He also hired a family, with the man taking care of the house and the woman managing household chores. Additionally, he spent 1,200 taels of silver on a nearby bookstore, which brought in an annual rent of 100 taels, enough to cover daily expenses.

  Shen's family was delighted to hear that, saying that they could finally focus on preparing for Zi Lu's wedding. The Chen family agreed to the marriage proposal because their daughter is already 16 years old this year. They set the date for December 16th, which coincides with both Zi Lu and Zi Fu's vacations. After careful consideration, the only possible dates for the wedding were either December or January.

  Zi Qing only then knew that her elder brother had gone to the capital to take the Imperial Academy exam. Every year at the beginning of the year, scholars from various places, mainly those who had failed the imperial examination, would come to the capital to take the Imperial Academy exam. After studying at the Imperial Academy for a few years, their chances of passing the imperial examination would naturally be higher.