At noon the next day, after the Mid-Autumn Festival, Qin Anming, Ruyi, and the others went back after dinner. They wanted to stay for a while longer, but they were afraid that there would be checks at the entrance of the county. The queue could last through the night, so they had better go back early.

Xiaoguo expressed her understanding and made them promise to visit again the next time. She then sent them off along with Zhuang Zhuang.

Xiaoguo rubbed her eyes. How she hated farewells. It wasn’t that they wouldn’t meet again, but she still hated parting ways.

If Xiaoguo was feeling this way, it was even worse for Zhuang Zhuang. He hugged Qin Anming’s neck and refused to let go.

Qin Anming was filled with reluctance to leave. He hugged Zhuang Zhuang and kept whispering to him. Xiaoguo saw that it was getting late. If they delayed any longer, it would definitely be dark when they got back to the restaurant.

“Zhuang Zhuang, since you’re so reluctant, why don’t you leave with Uncle. Mother will visit you once every two days.”

Xiaoguo told Zhuang Zhuang from the side. When the boy heard this, he sniffed and let go of Qin Anming. “Uncle, take care.”

Although his uncle was important, his mother was even more so.

Qin Anming held back his words of comfort. Zhuang Zhuang…

Xiaoguo took Zhuang Zhuang from him and waved goodbye to everyone. When they were out of sight, she brought the boy home.

On the way home. Zhuang Zhuang appeared upset. Xiaoguo promised to bring him to Qin Anming two days later. Under Zhuang Zhuang’s doubtful gaze, Xiaoguo made endless promises until he eventually broke into laughter.

Xiaoguo heaved a sigh of relief and wiped the imaginary sweat off her face. Children these days are too difficult to fool. No! Too difficult to please.

At the end of the month, Xiaoguo was getting ready to drive to the county. It was time to settle the accounts and it was in her plan to bring Zhuang Zhuang to visit his Uncle. Just a few days ago, Zhuang Zhuang had been clamoring to look for his uncle.

Xiaoguo kept hurrying Zhuang Zhuang to leave the house. She stood outside the door and waited to lock up. As soon as Zhuang Zhuang came out, she locked the door.

Xiaoguo drove to the county with the boy. As soon as she arrived at the market, she saw a group of people hanging around the bulletin board. Although Xiaoguo was curious, she did not join in the crowd and walked around them instead.

As soon as she arrived at the entrance of the restaurant, she saw that it was not as crowded as usual. Xiaoguo thought it was strange and got out of the car with Zhuang Zhuang. As soon as she entered, she saw everyone seated in the shop.

Qin Anming saw Xiaoguo first and took Zhuang Zhuang from her arms so that she could sit down. When she saw that everyone seemed calm and collected, she felt relieved.

“Why isn’t the shop open today?”

Ruyi answered Xiaoguo, “It’s the new emperor’s coronation day today. All the shops will be closed for a day as a blessing for the new emperor.”

Xiaoguo was shocked. A new emperor? As expected, the small village was isolated from all the latest news. Even if the world changed hands, she would not have found out.

“We only found out when we saw the notice yesterday.”

Qin Anming said from the side. Xiaoguo remembered that she saw something earlier. Was it at the place where she saw people crowding around?

“A day off is perfect. Everyone can relax.”

Ruyi stretched lazily at the side. Everyone had been busy for so many days and had not had a good rest.

Uncle Xu began to fiddle with his abacus. Then he handed over the money jar and account book to Ruyi. Xiaoguo wasn’t the only one getting paid today, everyone was also collecting their salary at the end of the month.

Ruyi gave the others their money first. The salary that Ruyi gave them was double that of the current market rate. Since the shop was doing well, Ruyi felt that she should not treat her staff poorly. She was happy to give them a bonus every month on top of their basic salary. This was a form of reward for everyone’s consistent hard work.

After handing out the money, the girls were asked to take a break. After they left, Ruyi settled the accounts with Xiaoguo and Qin Anming.

“This is for you, Sister Xiaoguo. It’s seventy-six taels and fifty coins.”

Ruyi handed over a heavy money bag. Xiaoguo did not open it. She took it and held it in her arms.

“This is for you, Brother Anming. It’s thirty-eight taels of silver and two coins, plus a month’s salary of two taels of silver. So the total is forty taels of silver and two coins.”

Qin Anming took it and put it away. At first, he wanted to let Xiaoguo keep it for him, but she refused. She said that he was old enough and it was high time for him to get married. Qin Anming blushed and stole a glance at Ruyi. Coincidentally, their eyes met in that instant. Both of them blushed and looked away at the same time.

Xiaoguo saw them exchanging glances and hid a smile. It seemed that her silly brother had been enlightened.

In order to let them have a good day’s rest, Xiaoguo did not stay too long at the shop even though Zhuang Zhuang was keen to hang around. After saying goodbye, she took Zhuang Zhuang and left.

It’s no joke. If Zhuang Zhuang was to stay, he would definitely pester Qin Anming for the entire day. If Qin Anming wanted to spend time with Ruyi, he wouldn’t have the chance to do so, let alone taking a break. “So, my dear son, for the sake of your uncle’s happiness, you should go home with me.”

Xiaoguo lowered her head and kissed Zhuang Zhuang’s cheeks, but the boy turned his head away.

Amused, Xiaoguo continued to kiss him. Seeing that he was not angry even though he was shaking his head vigorously, she kissed him again when he wasn’t looking.

Now that he could still endure her teasing, she should make the most of it. In another two years, there wouldn’t be much fun teasing him anymore.

When she reached the noticeboard, Xiaoguo reminded herself to check it out. She hugged Zhuang Zhuang tightly and walked over. The crowd had already dispersed.

Xiaoguo stepped forward and looked at the notice that was written on rice paper. There were three lines of words written in bold calligraphy. Xiaoguo read each and every word carefully. Zhuang Zhuang was able to read most of the words and he read them silently in Xiaoguo’s arms.

Among the jargon within the notice, Xiaoguo was roughly able to decipher that the late emperor had died, and Shao Zhan, the former crown prince, had been appointed as the new emperor.

In the distance, there was the sound of horse hooves. Xiaoguo saw a man in a soldier’s uniform in the distance. He had arrived on a horse. Xiaoguo stood a distance away with Zhuang Zhuang in her arms. The man pushed aside the onlookers and came to the notice board. He pasted a new notice on the side. While he was doing so, Xiaoguo leaned over to take a look.

Xiaoguo followed closely behind the soldier and left.

As soon as they stepped away, a large crowd rushed forward and gathered around the noticeboard. Due to the presence of the officers and soldiers earlier, they did not dare to take a close look. Now that soldiers had left, everyone suddenly rushed out from nowhere just to read the notice.

Xiaoguo carried Zhuang Zhuang to the donkey cart. Looking at the large crowd, she heaved a sigh of relief. Fortunately, she had left with that soldier. Otherwise, she wouldn’t have been able to leave the place with Zhuang Zhuang.

Zhuang Zhuang was unusually silent along the way. Xiaoguo was deep in thought about the news she had just read and did not notice anything unusual about Zhuang Zhuang.

As they drove into the village, it appeared that the legendary meeting was taking place at that instant. Everyone in the village was gathered together. In front of them stood an old man whose tummy was almost touching the ground. From afar, they could see smiles on the women’s faces.

They must have found out about the news, thought Xiaoguo.

It was written on the notice she saw earlier. The new emperor had ascended to the throne and had ordered a royal amnesty. All the ordinary people who had been captured by the army would be released and sent home.

As many of the men from Peach Blossom Village had been recruited by the military, the whole village now was bustling with activity.

When Xiaoguo passed by the crowd, everyone was immersed in joy. No one paid attention to her at all. Xiaoguo didn’t want to join in, so she drove through the crowd leisurely.