As soon as Jin Shanyao left the government office, she started chuckling foolishly, leaving Meng Anzhi bewildered. "Auntie, what are you laughing at?"
"I laughed at Lord Zhu... when he was talking to me just now, his feet were turned inwards with nervousness."
Meng Anzhi pursed her lips and remained silent. Seeing that she was about to walk into the ditch, she quickly pulled her back, "Auntie, when you heard Lord Zhu speaking just now, you were standing with your toes pointing outwards."
Jin Shanyao was stunned. "Really? I think I'm standing perfectly straight."
Meng Anzhi shook her head, "No, you two are both more nervous than the other."
"Impossible, what do I have to be nervous about? I'm not the one who did something wrong..." Jin Shanyao her head stubbornly. She remembered how dashing she was back then, holding her head high the whole time, not even giving Zhu Huaizhang a proper look.
How could she stand with her toes pointing outwards? Impossible, absolutely impossible... Meng Anzhi must have misread it. She's seen it all; why would she get nervous just because someone apologizes?
Thinking about it, I chuckled again... So this is what it feels like to be cleared up after being falsely accused.
Those who called her a liar never turned around and apologized to her.
Only Zhu Huaizhang apologized to her after realizing his mistake.
You know, this whole mess... I should have just let the Ghost One say thank you for seven days... Thinking about it now, I feel kind of embarrassed.
Anzhi Hall.
Qing He watched Jin Shanyao as she went in and out, her head turning back and forth. "Miss... I think Master is acting strangely today."
Standing beside her, Meng Anzhi watched as her aunt picked up the broom for the third time, nodding in agreement, " Lord Zhu apologized to her today."
Qing He was slightly taken aback, and her heart ached. "I always thought that Master didn't care if others said she was a liar."
"I've always thought so too, so I've never comforted her. I overlooked her true feelings."
Meng Anzhi's voice was very soft, her tone tinged with self-reproach.
The two remained silent for a long time. Seeing Jin Shanyao enter the kitchen to move a large stone from the sauerkraut jar, Qing He was so frightened that she rushed over to stop her.
"Master, this really won't do... It's for pressing down the sauerkraut."
Jin Shanyao her head and said "Oh," obediently letting go. She then walked into the courtyard and looked around blankly. "So... is there anything else I haven't done? I've done everything."
"No need, no need! It's all done! Master, you should go back to your study... and rest." Qing He spoke so quickly she almost bit her tongue.
"Rest... Right, I need to go back to my room to read." Jin Shanyao, feeling dizzy, and walked towards the study.
Qing He and Meng Anzhi held their breath until the study door closed before they dared to breathe a sigh of relief...
On the 20th of the twelfth lunar month, Jin Shanyao gave everyone in the Anzhi Hall a holiday, and each person received a red envelope containing twenty taels of silver. After a year of hard work, he wanted everyone to go home and have a reunion for the New Year.
That year, only Jin Shanyao and her brother remained in the Anzhi Hall.
Inside the kitchen, Jin Shanyao sat on a small stool beside the stove, watching Meng Anzhi add wood to it. This scene reminded her of when she first came to the Meng Household.
Meng Anzhi was only six years old then, and we cooked for her in the same way to keep her from going hungry. Now she's twelve in the blink of an eye, and she's quite skilled at both cooking and starting a fire.
" Anci and brought over some frozen dumplings from outside."
"Sigh..." Meng Anci opened the door and went out amidst the steaming steam in the room, returning a moment later with dumplings in her arms. "Sis... is this enough?"
Meng Anzhi glanced at it, "That's enough..." she said, lifting the pot lid. Steam rushed out, and Jin Shanyao peered into the pot through the steam filling the room.
One by one, frozen dumplings sloshed into the pot. Meng Anzhi used a strainer to scoop out the dumplings and saw Jin Shanyao staring at the pot, assuming she was hungry.
She reassured him, "They'll be cooked soon... Anci, grab a handful of peanuts for your aunt."
Meng Anci and ran out excitedly. A moment later, he came back carrying a small winnowing basket containing peanuts, melon seeds, candy, and pastries.
"Auntie... here..." he said, stuffing the Jin Shanyao's arms and casually taking a peanut, peeling it and popping it into his mouth.
He squatted down to add wood to the stove, but Meng Anzhi kicked him, "Don't mess around with the stove..."
Meng Anci, holding the piece of wood, took advantage of Meng Anzhi's distraction while she was cooking dumplings and shoved a handful of food into her mouth... "You won't let me add more, but I won't! I'll add more anyway..."
The dumplings were cooked quickly. When Meng Anzhi took them out, she noticed that the pot was still bubbling. She bent down to look into the stove, and what she saw made her furious.
" Meng Anci... Look what you've done! You've almost filled the stove pit."
Meng Anci touched his nose, unsure what to say, and hurriedly carried the dumplings to the main room. "Um... the dumplings are ready, let's eat quickly."
Jin Shanyao chuckled as she stood up. "Never mind, let's heat up the kang (heated brick bed) more... Let's go eat."
As they spoke, the two carried the dumplings to the main room, where the three of them had three plates of dumplings and four side dishes.
Jin Shanyao up the dumpling Meng Anci, "Come, let's thank Anzhi together for letting us eat hot dumplings."
Meng Anci chuckled incessantly, picked up the dumpling soup bowl, and exclaimed, "Thank you, my dear sister! Come on, drink this bowl of dumpling soup, and may the weather be favorable year after year, and may your business prosper!"
The three bowls of dumpling soup came together, accompanied by a burst of hearty laughter. Although the meal was small, everyone ate with great satisfaction.
After dinner, the three of them snuggled up on the kang (a heated brick bed) eating melon seeds and peanuts, staying up all night to welcome the New Year... until past midnight, when they finally went to sleep.
The Lunar New Year is over, but spring has yet to awaken.
When Qing He and Qing Yang returned with bags and packages, it was already the seventeenth day of the first lunar month. Qing He went to the storeroom to check the frozen dumplings and steamed buns, and breathed a sigh of relief when she saw that there were still some left.
"You have no idea how anxious I've been this year, afraid that my mistress would go hungry at home..." Qing He wasn't exaggerating; ever since she came to the Meng Household, she had never seen Jin Shanyao cook.
Qing Yang laughed and joked, "Do you think you're the master? If you can't cook, you can't even go out to eat?"
Qing He covered the table with a tarpaulin. "Eating out is free, but everything's expensive this year... Our Anzhi Hall has to support dozens of people, so we have to be very careful with our money."
"Alright, alright... You've got the sense to manage a household now, haven't you? Then hurry up and think about what we'll have for lunch. I'll go talk to the master about the First Manor."
After speaking, he went to the study, knocked on the door, and said softly, "Master..."
"Come in," Jin Shanyao said with a smile, putting down her book. "Why don't you rest a little longer after you just got back?"
"I'd like to discuss Lush Mountain and the First Manor with you, Master. After that, I'll go and rest."
Upon hearing this, Meng Anzhi and Meng Anci both put down their books and listened intently.
Qing Yang, "The new batch of people we bought before the New Year are now working more and more properly under Tao Yunshan's management. There have been no more incidents of reselling medicinal herbs or inciting people, and no one dares to use Anzhi Hall's name to make money outside."
I've personally visited Lush Mountain; the mountain is very well-maintained, and even the old roots of the medicinal herbs have been thoroughly cleaned up. Master, you can rest assured."
Jin Shanyao and said, "You've worked hard..."
"It is my duty to share my master's burdens... If there is nothing else, I will take my leave."
Jin Shanyao nodded, and only after Qing Yang left the study did Meng Anzhi speak, "It seems that Tao Yunshan has truly grown a lot after what happened with Feng Shun."
"If they don't improve, the manager should be replaced..." Unlike Jin Shanyao and Meng Anzhi, Meng Anci was not soft-hearted. His principle was that if the management was not good, then a new manager should be appointed.