Zeng Ruixiang saw that he still had some time, so he let Zifu bring Zilu and Ziqing to cut red paper, and they started writing couplets on Zifu's desk. This time, they didn't have to sneak around, and the space was larger, so they could spread out and make faster progress.

  Shen also brought over her son Xi, letting him play with his brother Shou. She held needlework in her hands, making new cotton-padded jackets for the children to wear during the New Year. During the day, she had to embroider flowers, so Shen could only make clothes at night. The whole family chatted and laughed together. Zeng Rui Xiang said that after the New Year, he would take Zi Fu to the county seat to study, bringing him along to guide him well and broaden his horizons, as there was not much progress to be made in this small town. He also mentioned Zi Lu, saying that after the New Year, he should start his education soon, and at night, follow Zi Fu to learn more about recognizing characters. He also instructed Shen to make two new sets of clothes for them, as Zi Lu couldn't wear short clothes when going to school either. Shen agreed to all of this.

  The child is worried, the child is leaving, and there are only a few small radish heads left at home with the old mother, which is not safe. Unexpectedly, Zeng Rui Xiang brought back a small dog before he left, saying that since the child is not at home, raising a dog can make up for many things. Zi Qing saw it and hurried to hug it over. In fact, Zi Qing had wanted to raise a dog for a long time, when strangers came to the house and called out, the whole family would know, and taking it out could also rely on the dog's presence, which would save the big kids from being bullied.

  Ziying has been living a very comfortable life these days, with nothing much to do in the fields. She spends her days following Master Xu around, watching as beautiful pieces of furniture are completed one by one. She helps Mistress Shen take care of meals and before she knows it, the seventh day of the twelfth lunar month arrives. The long table and chairs for the main hall have all been finished, except for the Eight Immortals' table which still needs to be carved with flowers. As expected, Master Xu is indeed a master craftsman who excels at creating fine works of art. Just running her hand over the surface, she can feel how smooth and rounded it is, looking high-end and sturdy. It's no wonder that in her past life, those wealthy people all raved about his work, but there weren't many genuine pieces around.

  Xu Shifu arranged the finished furniture in the hall, and Zi Qing felt that her own home was no longer like a farmhouse. She said that a scholarly family was still missing something, and if there was an opportunity, she would go to find some books or paintings to buy. Zi Qing found Shen Shi to ask for the flower vase that Xiao Shu had sent, and placed it on the long table.

  Shen looked around and said that a censer was still missing. Just as he spoke, the doorbell rang. After mentioning it to Zifeng last time, Zifeng somehow managed to find an old bell and hung it on the gate with a rope. Now that someone had arrived, they could ring the doorbell.

  "Who's going to open the door?" said Shen. "Maybe it's your dad coming home from work."

  Zi Qing listened and hurriedly said: "I'm going, I'm going." After finishing speaking, she ran out. Zeng Rui Xiang was very fond of Zi Qing, possibly because she was his only daughter.

  The one standing outside was indeed Zeng Rui Xiang. This time, he could rest at home for a long time, so Zeng Rui Xiang brought back a bamboo trunk with some spare clothes.

  Zi Qing happily led Zeng Rui Xiang to the door, had him change into a pair of shoes. These days it's been raining continuously, cold and gloomy, with mud all over the ground. Zi Qing had placed several pairs of grass sandals and wooden clogs in the door house, so that when entering the door house, they could take off their dirty shoes and enter the house cleanly, saving the trouble of sweeping.

  At this time, a family was sitting in Shen's bedroom roasting by the fire. Zi Qing had asked Xu Shifu's apprentice Xiao Liu to make several small stools, and everyone sat around the edge of the brazier playing. Shen was embroidering flowers, while Zi Rong was roasting sweet potatoes; the whole room was filled with the smell of sweet potatoes. Zeng Rui Xiang opened the door curtain, a warm air rushed in, and as soon as he entered, he said: "You are all so comfortable. It's still good to be at home."

  "Come on, it won't cost much more, why suffer? Didn't we have no choice before?"

  The next day was the eighth day of the twelfth lunar month, and the weather cleared up. After drinking Laba porridge in the morning, Zeng Rui Xiang said he wanted to send some silver to his father's side. Coincidentally, Master Xu didn't come over either, so Shen Shi suggested they go out together to check out the market for anything needed for the New Year.

  The family arrived at the old house, just as the elderly were eating porridge. Zeng Rui Xiang handed the silver bag to Tian Shi, who opened it and took a look, asking: "Is that all? Your sister is getting married, and you, as her brother, don't even give any of the savings for her dowry? Poor thing, your sister's health isn't good, and no one takes care of her. If it weren't for you studying and spending all the family's money, your sister wouldn't have lacked timely medical treatment and ended up like this. Now that your sister is getting married, can you still afford to ask me for expenses?"

  The problem was that Ziqing had always been puzzled as to why Tian Shi had so many unreasonable demands and treatments, and Zeng Ruixiang had all agreed, basically belonging to the category of wanting to take and wanting to ask for, and Tian Shi also followed the same routine, without much novelty.

  "Mother, I have prepared a camphor wood chest and a nanmu wood screen for Second Sister. I haven't forgotten that Second Sister is getting married." Zeng Rui Xiang explained. That other camphor wood chest must be for Zi Fu to use when he goes out to study.

  "What's the use of having southern wood and northern wood, it can't be eaten as rice. Where is the silver really? We villagers don't care about those things. You are now living in a big house, you tell me, how much will you give?" asked Tian Shi.

  Zeng Ruixiang was about to say something else, when Shen said, "Mother is right, it's better to give silver, it's more convenient to use. Since that's the case, let's have her father send the remaining six taels of silver to add to Ermei's dowry later. Anyway, we haven't counted on his annual salary for a year."

  Shen said to Xia Yu, "Sister-in-law won't buy anything else, those six taels of silver, let the second sister choose something she likes, and sister-in-law won't bother anymore." Then turned to the old man: "Father, is this all right?"

  Before the old man could respond, Shen turned to look at Zhou who was lost in thought and said: "Elder sister-in-law, I'm sorry, I didn't discuss this with you, but everyone has their own thoughts on this matter. There's no need for comparison, we're also worried that Second Sister will have a hard time after marrying into another family without any personal connections, Second Sister should understand."

  Shen's family suddenly took out a large sum of silver, and everyone was still in shock. No one expected her to take out so much silver, and Xia Yu was also surprised, not knowing whether she was excited or moved, but anyway, she burst into tears.

  It was Autumn Jade who first came to her senses, and she pushed Summer Jade, saying: "Second sister, my second aunt said that six taels of silver would be given to you as a dowry supplement. What are you still crying about? Don't you quickly thank Second Brother and Second Aunt?"

  "I know, I really didn't expect Second Brother and Second Sister-in-law to be so good to me, waaah... thank you both so much," Xia Yu said.

  "Brother and sister, have you thought it through? It's six taels of silver! Six taels of silver can support your family for a year. Can you really bear to part with it? You can still regret it now." Zhou Shi advised.

  "Even if I'm a woman, what I say is as good as an oath, you can rest assured that I won't go back on my word." Shen said and then pulled Zi Qing out.

  After the family left, Tian Shi was still in a daze, asking the old man: "The second family said it was six taels, right? Six taels of silver, I didn't mishear, did I? She can't go back on her word, can she?"

  "What's there to regret? Didn't you hear her last words, 'a mouthful of saliva is a nail', all because of you, chattering away day and night. The Lao Er family is doing well now, can they still mistreat his sister?" Old Master glared at Tian Shi and said.

  "What nonsense am I talking? If I didn't talk nonsense, would I have six taels of silver?" Tian's wife puffed out her chest and scolded the old man.

  Then Mr. Tian asked again: "What's so good about that Nanmu screen? Could it be worth more than six taels of silver? Or can the second master's family afford to pay such a high price?"

  Qiu Yu listened and replied, "Nanmu wood is very expensive. When I sold embroidered flowers, I seemed to have heard that the screens of wealthy families are generally made of nanmu wood, and the embroidery on the screens is usually double-sided. A good pair of large screens with double-sided embroidery can sell for dozens of taels of silver, which is even more valuable than the screen itself."

  Tian's family heard that and sighed heavily, it would be better to take the screen again and sell it. Exchanged for Lao Ye Zi's contemptuous gaze.