After Ji Yan left, Jiang Wanru entered the fabric store next to the bookstore. After a long time, the snowflakes accumulated at the door of the fabric store were swept away by the employees again and again, and Jiang Wanru finally came out of the fabric store with a calm expression. She held a small roll in her hand, stood at the door and looked up at the sky. In the midst of the dancing snowflakes, she lowered her head and walked into the crowded crowd.

  At the entrance of Youjian Bookstore, amidst the hustle and bustle of the crowd, several men stood tall with their heads held high, all wearing dark-colored robes. Their imposing presence caused many people around them to scatter. One of the men said bluntly, "Fang young master, I told you that this bookstore would have the book you're looking for, didn't I? Today, you should treat your brothers to a good time." Jiang Wanru walked into the crowd and heard a familiar voice, but she didn't stop or look back. The surging crowd quickly swept past her figure, as well as the gaze of the man standing at the entrance of Youjian Bookstore.

  Lianhao and his companions stood at the entrance of the bookstore, discussing their next itinerary. Each of them had their own opinions and were enthusiastically expressing themselves. Lianhao smiled as he listened to them, when he inadvertently caught sight of a familiar figure standing at the entrance of the neighboring shop - the woman in brocade clothes. Just as he was about to wave at her, she walked into the crowd and quickly disappeared from view. Lianhao, still listening to his companions' chatter, withdrew his arm which had already been raised halfway, prompting one of them with sharp eyes to ask: "Third Master, have you decided whether we should go to South Street or West Street?"

  Lian Hao listened to this and looked at him with a smile, saying: "You haven't decided yet? Let me say it again, let's go to Nanjie Wine House. Our monthly salary is not high, we can't afford the consumption of Xijie Wine House. Come on, don't argue, today Fang Xiao will treat us to Nanjie. Next time you have a happy event, please take everyone to Xijie to eat." Someone in the middle immediately laughed and said: "Third Master, we are now looking forward to your happy event. It's best if you can meet the young master of your family or the second master. Brothers will be very conscious of following you to mix and eat with the young master and the second master."

  Lian Hao listened to the man's words, stretched out his hand and pulled him out from behind his companions, pretending to kick him two or three times, saying: "My salary is not high. Please go to the wine house on West Street for a meal, it's still affordable. Besides, when have I ever done something so shameless, leading my brothers to mix and eat at my elder brother's and second brother's place? That was my two elder brothers treating us to a meal at the wine house. Seeing that we were happy, they also treated everyone to a meal."

  These people are comrades-in-arms of Lian Hao. They usually go out for exercises together and cooperate with each other when there is a task. In their eyes, Lian Hao is not only the third master of the Wang family but also a trustworthy companion. When they get along with Lian Hao, they don't have that kind of identity taboo, but rather are somewhat casual. Listening to Lian Hao's boastful words, one by one, they couldn't help but laugh out loud. Among them, a man with an honest face carefully observed his surroundings before asking Lian Hao: "Third Master, did you tell your brothers in advance that you would appear on that street today?"

  As soon as he finished speaking, everyone burst into loud laughter. "Haha, Third Master, even the most honest person among us, Shang's young master, says so, no wonder we all think this way. You've treated your brothers to meals several times, but whenever we happen to run into your family's eldest son or second son at a restaurant where you're dining with friends, they always manage to 'accidentally' help you pay the bill on their way out." "Haha, Third Master, your brothers love you so much, it warms our hearts. We wish they could treat you even better!"

  Lian Hao gazed at the several men who were laughing more and more wildly, coldly staring at them as he said: "Alright, next time any of you are treating others to a meal and my brothers happen to be in the same restaurant, I'll stop them from helping you pay the bill." The several men who had been laughing loudly immediately stopped their laughter, closely following behind Lian Hao's back as they walked, along the way speaking with him in a tone that was like mutual consolation. When these people were treating others to a meal at the restaurant, if they happened to run into the Wang Fu's eldest and second young masters, those two would usually take advantage of Lian Hao being present to help them pay the bill together.

  Jiang Wanting arrived at the South Street first and went to the bookstore. The shopkeeper saw her and immediately smiled and came up to greet her. Jiang Wanting looked at the shopkeeper's unusual appearance, and immediately looked around the store with both eyes, seeing that there were still three or four customers inside, she let out a sigh of relief and smiled as she approached. Before she could exchange pleasantries, the shopkeeper quickly came over and whispered to her: "Young Dongjia, Fang Zheng said he saw you coming and asked you to hurry up and rescue him from the back. He also said that his lifelong happiness is all in your hands, and today's great kindness, he will repay in the next life by being a cow or a horse."

  Jiang Wanmu was startled at first when she heard the shopkeeper's words, but after hearing the rest of it, she felt that it wasn't a big deal and smiled as she said to the shopkeeper: "Uncle, let's talk about this on the side. What kind of situation did Fang Zheng encounter? You and his master both came out to help him, but it still didn't work, so now you want me to personally step in and help him?" The shopkeeper was open-minded and would often chat with these young people during their free time, telling them interesting stories. At first, the shopkeeper thought of Jiang Wanmu as half-owner, and was quite respectful and distant towards her. Now, however, he had begun to regard her as a younger generation.

  After more than two years of getting along, the shopkeeper was also a kind-hearted person. He would take care of things in the bookshop and Mu Gen would generally follow his advice without going behind his back. Jiang Wanru would come and go from the bookshop without pointing fingers or causing trouble. Instead, when she encountered something she didn't understand, she would proactively ask for his guidance with a sincere heart. As a result, he gradually let down his guard around Jiang Wanru and felt that the master of the house was right - although it was a joint venture between two masters, as long as he followed the rules, neither of them would interfere in the management of the bookshop, making him the de facto boss inside.

  The shopkeeper listened to Jiang Wanru's words, her obviously joking words, and shook his head lightly: "This time, Fang Zheng's matter, I and his master cannot come forward to help him. We both have our own difficulties in this matter. Now it's about his marriage, the girl is his master's eldest son-in-law's younger sister, now Fang Zheng's parents are willing, but Fang Zheng is not willing to bow his head." Jiang Wanru listened with great interest, and Fang Zheng had always been somewhat unyielding on the issue of marriage.

  After Mu Gen and Ji Yan's marriage was settled, Fang Zheng's parents began to worry about his marriage. They looked at several girls through a matchmaker, but every time they mentioned one to Fang Zheng, he would find some fault with her. Jiang Wanru heard that it was Fang Zheng's master's eldest son-in-law who had spoken of the girl. She had originally walked near the back door, intending to speak with the shopkeeper before entering. Now she took a few steps back into the store and asked in a low voice: "Uncle, I think Master Fang has good eyesight, he treats Fang Zheng like his own son, this matter shouldn't be bad, why doesn't Fang Zheng agree to this marriage?"

  The shopkeeper shook his head and said, "His master knew about this matter, but when Fang Zheng asked him, he didn't say whether the girl was good or bad. He just said to let Fang Zheng decide for himself. Fang Zheng whispered to me that 'I'm afraid the girl is not quite right. If she were suitable, with his master's character, at least his wife would have told him about this matter directly, and wouldn't have let your brother-in-law tell him.' After hearing this, Fang Zheng's parents thought the girl's family conditions were good, so they're forcing Fang Zheng to propose now. Fang Zheng couldn't refuse his mother, so he said it was up to you to decide. If you think this marriage is suitable, then it's settled. Little Dong, hurry up and go in, I'll wait outside for news about the engagement."

  Jiang Wanru heard that she had to decide on Fang Zheng's major life events, and immediately felt her legs go weak. She looked at the shopkeeper with a difficult expression and said: "Uncle, I'm younger than Fang Zheng and have little experience in such matters. This is a big deal in life, for Fang Zheng's future well-being, I don't dare to speak carelessly about it. Uncle, please help me think of a solution that won't offend anyone." The shopkeeper couldn't help but laugh and said: "Now I believe Mu Gen is your milk brother, you two are both straightforward people. Fang Zheng is more clever than the two of you, you're being ambiguous and pushing this matter onto Fang Zheng's shoulders again. Whether to agree or not is originally his decision."

  Jiang Wanmu heard the shopkeeper's words and suddenly came to her senses, feeling that she had thought too much. She realized that major life events were supposed to be decided by one's parents, and if Fang Zheng was unwilling, he would persuade himself to exist for a long time and not send himself to be an arrow shield. Moreover, Fang Zheng was clever and had his own ideas, so if he really didn't want this marriage, he would definitely find an excuse to shirk it off. Jiang Wanmu smiled and said to the shopkeeper: "Uncle, my brother still wants to ask for your guidance. He and I are both single-minded people, but we can distinguish between good and bad intentions of others. Ha ha, Uncle, after this matter is properly handled, next time you come to the store, bring some tea and snacks from Cha Ju Yi Pin for me to taste."

  The shopkeeper was about to smile and politely decline when he saw three more customers entering the store. He signaled to Jiang Wanru to quickly exit through the back door, while he himself hurriedly stood up at the counter to greet the customers with a smile. Jiang Wanru opened the back door and was met with a gust of wind and snow that made her take a step back. She caught sight of the courtyard gate being half-open and heard muffled voices coming from inside. She pushed the gate open further and saw Mugen, Kigen, and their daughter standing in the middle of the courtyard, all three of them looking at each other with worried expressions as they tried to restrain a struggling mother and child.

  On this snowy day, they stood in the middle of the empty courtyard, talking. Moreover, it seemed that they had been there for a while, and each of them had snow accumulated on their heads and clothes. Jiang Wanru couldn't help but admire their courage as a family, and how good their relationship must be to stand in the courtyard and talk like this. A family like this wouldn't have any elegant interest in appreciating the snow; at least, their facial expressions clearly showed that they were indifferent to the snowflakes. Ji Yan suddenly caught sight of Jiang Wanru standing at the gate and exclaimed with joy: "Mother, brother, stop arguing, the young lady has arrived!"

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