(Winter) As the first snow of winter arrives, it's always so sudden, and overnight the ground is covered in a thick layer of white. Jiang Wanru woke up early in the morning to the sound of "shhh" outside, initially thinking it was the maid sweeping the courtyard. Later, she realized something was off, and hastily got dressed and tied her hair back, rushing to push open the window, only to find it had been sealed shut by snow. With both hands exerting force, she finally managed to push the window open.

  Last night must have been the first snowfall, and today the whole courtyard is covered with a thick layer of white snow. The world in front of me is so crystal clear, nature occasionally gives people the most beautiful enjoyment, but unfortunately many people miss the beauty in front of them because of their livelihood or other things. Jiang Wanyu gazed at the snowflakes floating outside the window, this year's snowflakes that fell into her hands would not come again next winter. By next winter, she would be in the warm south, and there might be no wind, rain or snow.

  In the autumn, Fang Zheng and Mu Gen returned from Zhongnan. There, under the name of Jiang Xiaolan, they purchased a two-story courtyard house. When Fang Zheng knew that Jiang Wanru wanted to buy a house in Zhongnan, he had suggested: "Miss, I've inquired about it, the houses in the countryside of Zhongnan are cheaper than those in the city, and the houses are spacious with some land attached, suitable for temporary residence. It's convenient for us to ask someone to take care of it when Miss returns." When Fang Zheng said this, his face still had a yearning expression, and Mu Gen on the side showed a face of approval.

  Jiang Wanru shook her head and said cautiously, "Fang Zheng, brother, there are only a few people around me who can be trusted. None of us understand farming. It's just temporary residence for a few years, I don't want everyone to worry about studying agriculture. Besides, we're familiar with things in the city, no need to put aside what we're familiar with and do unfamiliar things. The small and delicate courtyards in the city will be easier to sell in the future than those in the countryside. You two go take a look. If the price is a bit expensive, it doesn't matter, as long as the location is good and safe to live in, we can buy it. We don't need a big courtyard."

  Jiang Wanru thought of this, sighed silently in her heart, and withdrew the hand that was about to stretch out the window. She turned around and went back to comb her hair. Today she still had to go out of the palace for a trip, and there were many things to do outside. After Jiang Wanru finished combing her hair, she walked to the window and wanted to take a look at Jiyuan, who usually came early, but hadn't arrived yet. She glanced into the courtyard and saw Ming holding a package, talking to Jiyuan. Jiyuan's face, facing the window, was clearly troubled.

  Jiang Wanruo hadn't seen Mingtou for a long time, not since that day at the entrance of the study room. After seeing her that one time, she never saw her again. Mingtou was a special existence in Lianhao Courtyard, where the housekeeper was supposed to be in charge of her, but in reality, she didn't dare to manage her affairs. Jiang Wanruo, on the other hand, had always been a nominal figurehead, with no real power or influence in the Wang estate, not even as much as Mingtou. Occasionally, Mingtou would come over and talk to Jiang Wanruo, appearing respectful on the surface but actually speaking in a superficial and insincere manner, just enough to make others think she was acting properly.

  Jiang Wanru's mind was not on the Wang Fu, nor on the matters of Lianhao Courtyard. She would only listen to the reports from the housekeeper and then instruct them to follow the old rules. The housekeeper had always been one who valued appearances, and seeing Jiang Wanru's tactful handling of affairs, gradually became more affectionate towards her. Sometimes she would remind Jiang Wanru of certain matters in a roundabout way. As they spent more time together outside, their relationship became more like that of respectful guests. Jiang Wanru glanced at her housekeeper and hastily signaled for her to pay attention to Mingtong.

  Jiang Wanru watched as the housekeeper walked away, and immediately relaxed her posture. She smiled and retreated from the window, and soon heard Jiyan's light footsteps outside the door, followed by her soft voice calling out: "Miss, are you awake?" Jiang Wanru replied with a mouthful of food: "The door is open, come in yourself. You're late tonight." Jiyan opened the outer door and entered the room, catching sight of the wide-open window and hurrying over to gently close it, saying: "Miss, it's cold outside, better not to open the window too much."

  Miss, just open a small gap to ventilate is enough. Jiang Wanru let her open the window a little, and then closed it a little again, pushing it open a bit more. After a while, the opening of the window finally met Jiyuan's intention. The sound of the breakfast delivery woman's voice came from the courtyard, and Jiyuan rushed out in a small run.

  Jiang Wan was taken aback, for she had never seen Ji Yan like this before. She heard Ji Yan's cheerful laughter from inside the house: "Two sisters-in-law have worked hard, it's cold outside, come in and warm up for a while." This loud, enthusiastic, and considerate greeting was completely different from Ji Yan's usual gentle and soft-spoken manner. The aroma of food wafted into the room, and the two young women walked in with smiles on their faces.

  Two young women entered the room, one handed a large bowl wrapped in thick cloth to Jiyuan and said: "Jiyuan, this is your breakfast." Jiang Wanyu saw it and smiled, saying: "Jiyuan, you go eat first. Two big sisters are waiting here, I don't need too many people around me." Whenever there were others present, Jiang Wanyu never had meals with Jiyuan. Jiyuan glanced at Jiang Wanyu, smiling and nodding, said: "Miss, I'll come over after finishing my breakfast." The two women had already quietly placed the rice bowls wrapped in thick cloth on the table.

  Jiang Wan helped open the thick cloth-wrapped bowl on the table, smelling the fragrant rice and dishes. The two young women were frequent visitors who brought meals, and at first, they felt particularly awkward and tense when they saw Jiang Wan's behavior. Later, when they saw that Jiang Wan was just helping out voluntarily, they gradually relaxed, and now they were quite used to Jiang Wan's self-initiated actions. They helped arrange the rice and dishes, and one of the women held a large package wrapped in big leaves.

  She blushed and handed over the things in her hand to Jiang Wanru, saying: "Madam, these two roasted broad beans were grown by my husband. After I roasted them well, please try the flavor." Jiang Wanru took it with a smile, and immediately felt warmth in both hands. She could smell the fragrance emanating from the leaf package, and laughed as she opened the package to reveal two black lumps inside. Jiang Wanru stared blankly at the two black things, not wanting to disappoint the woman's kindness, so she smiled and praised: "So fragrant."

  The woman nodded happily and said, "The little man is good at farming, the soybeans he grows are better than others. Don't think the outside black skin looks bad, with this layer of protection, the inside soybeans won't get cold so quickly. After you've had breakfast, when you feel a bit hungry, just peel off the outside black skin and you can eat it. The hot ones taste better than the cold ones, if you don't mind the coarseness of the soybeans, I'll come over to give them to you after roasting them well." Jiang Wanru never easily refused others' kind intentions, she smiled and nodded, "Thank you, just don't work too hard."

  The woman's face turned red as she shook her head and said, "It's not hard work, as long as the mistress likes it, I have more at home, I'll roast them for the mistress to eat every day." She had many more words to say, but another woman couldn't bear to listen anymore and pulled her away. After lunch, Ji Yan saw Jiang Wanyu cleaning up the table, where two black things were placed, she smelled the fragrance and smiled at Jiang Wanyu saying: "Is this the roasted soybeans that Chen Shu sent over?" Jiang Wanyu nodded and said: "Yes, she said they were grown by her family, and will send more in the future, the kindness is really too much, I feel a bit overwhelmed."

  Jiang Wanting thought for a moment and then said in a low voice to Jiyi: "Think of a way to remind her discreetly, tell her that I understand her intention, just don't put it out in the open next time. Alas, I'm just doing a favor, can't block someone's path because of this." This summer, Jiang Wanting had once met Chen Shu on the road when she lost the silver to buy medicine, and at the time, he simply lent her some loose silver to help out. After finding out that she couldn't pay it back, he casually said that it was a special reward for her hard work, because he appreciated her dedication.

  The woman was so grateful that she burst into tears, and whenever there were good dishes at home, they would send a portion to her to try. After hearing the auspicious words, Chen said in a soft voice: "Miss, I have spoken with Chen's wife several times behind people's backs, and she said that although she is an unrefined person, she can still distinguish between good and bad people. From what I've seen, she handles things quite steadily, so you don't need to worry too much. The fact that their roasted soybeans are delicious was actually spread by the masters above. It's just that they all dislike the dirt from roasting, and insist on cooking them in their own small kitchen to eat. Everyone has a share, Miss, so feel free to eat."

  Miss, it's snowing. We still have a lot of golden beans, do you want to give some more to people during the New Year? Jiang Wanru smiled and said: "What's there to fear, the golden beans won't go bad if we keep them. Let's not waste them on unrelated people." She stood up and re-tied the two black bundles with leaves, smiling at Jiyuan and saying: "Let's eat together when we get back, take these bowls and chopsticks out."

  Jiang Wanmu reached out to help take a bowl from the table, but Ji Yan quickly stepped forward and took everything in hand, laughing and saying: "Miss, this task is still best left to me, it's just sending things out of the house. Miss, your new-style handkerchief is something the store has been looking forward to. Take a look and see if there are any handkerchiefs that haven't been put in the box?" Jiang Wanmu let go of her hand and laughed, saying: "I put them all in the box last night, fortunately my brother doesn't want to make clothes now, or he would have asked me to provide clothing patterns, but I don't have that kind of skill."

  Quickly, the maid came back and said in a low voice: "Miss, you just don't have an interest in making clothes. If you put your heart into it, you'll definitely be good at it." Jiang Wanru held the bundle of fabric in her hand, preparing to walk towards the door, but when she heard this, she stared at the maid with a smile and said: "Fortunately, there's no one else here. Otherwise, if others were to hear these words, they would definitely laugh at me. I still know my own affairs. I've seen the embroidered handkerchiefs made by those seamstresses. They can embroider beautiful flowers on their handkerchiefs, but the flowers on my handkerchief are not as good as theirs."

  Jiang Wanru was not talented in painting, and she got up to leave. However, Jiyuan pulled her back down and said: "Miss, I just remembered that last time Muren Ge said he liked the shoe soles you made, saying they were comfortable and warm to wear. Why don't you tell me now, how did you make those shoe soles?"

  Hard study