Chapter 1121: Preparing for the New Year Festival

When it comes down to it, if Xin Xianying could come to the same conclusion as Lu Xun, it would be quite strange. Xin Xianying is just a little girl, after all. How could she see things from the same perspective as Lu Xun?

As for her occasionally surprising statements, it’s mainly because most of the time, Lu Xun’s words are quite shocking in themselves. It’s just that he’s used to it, and he pays too much attention to Xin Xianying’s reactions.

Sometimes, that’s just how it is. An outsider sees more clearly. However, Lu Xun is entirely caught up in a mentality of competing for his master’s favor, so while working harder, he’s also paying more attention to Xin Xianying. Even Chen Xi is beginning to suspect that Lu Xun might have his eye on Xin Xianying.

To be honest, if Xin Xianying were around Lu Xun’s age, Chen Xi wouldn’t mind if Lu Xun were interested in her. But Xin Xianying is still in the age where she’s losing her baby teeth and eating candy. Chen Xi can’t accept this situation.

Thus, Chen Xi plans to keep the 'loli-loving' Lu Xun away from Xin Xianying. After the new year, he intends to send Lu Xun to study with Lu Su to prevent him from having any ideas about the little girl.

When Xin Xianying arrived in the back courtyard, Chen Ying and Chen Chen had already made many snacks for the New Year, tasting and enjoying them. By now, the maids in the inner courtyard could all recognize some characters and sing opera. Naturally, making snacks and home-cooked dishes was also within their capabilities.

“Hello, Miss Xin~” The maids greeted Xin Xianying in unison. Just as they called Lu Xun "Young Master," this was the expected courtesy.

“Woof woof!” The little puppy, Hum Hum, also raised its paw. It seemed that this little guy was quite popular and had learned who to please around here.

“Would you like some, Miss Xin?” Chen Ying laid out the finished snacks and ingredients neatly on the board. Among the maids, she held a slightly higher status.

“Mm.” Xin Xianying was already quite familiar with these maids. She walked over and picked up a portion of her favorite snacks, played with Hum Hum a little, and then left.

“Another year has passed...” After comforting Chen Qian, Chen Lan went back to her needlework. These tasks were what she used to do as a personal maid in her younger days.

Although Chen Xi rarely asked her to do these things nowadays, every New Year’s season, Chen Lan would pick up the fabric to sew clothes for Chen Xi. Interestingly, she didn’t need to take measurements. Just by feel, she could tailor the clothes perfectly.

This is also why Chen Yun, the personal maid, has such an easy time. After all, warming the bed, dressing, and sewing were all tasks that Chen Lan took care of.

However, this year was different from previous ones. Chen Lan didn’t have time to make new clothes for Chen Xi. But she didn’t feel comfortable buying new clothes from a tailor, so she guided Fan Jian to do it instead. Unfortunately, Fan Jian was good at embroidery but not so much at making clothes.

“Sigh, sister, your seam is crooked,” Chen Lan said helplessly. Fan Jian looked a bit embarrassed. It had been fine during the measurements, but problems appeared during the sewing.

“This is really hard to make,” Fan Jian complained, feeling frustrated. She was great at embroidery, but when it came to making clothes, she struggled. This is also why she didn’t prepare ceremonial robes for Chen Xi back then—she didn’t know how to make them!

“Ouch~” Fan Jian sucked on her finger. She rarely pricked her hand when doing embroidery, but sewing clothes had already resulted in several injuries. Even with a thimble, it didn’t help much.

“Sigh, sister, at this rate, you won’t finish even by the New Year,” Chen Lan said helplessly. What seemed so simple to her was turning out to be difficult for Fan Jian. Back when Chen Lan embroidered the ceremonial robes all by herself, it hadn’t been this troublesome.

“Forget it. Let’s get Yun’er to help. Making new clothes for the master is supposed to be the job of the wife and personal maid anyway. Let her handle it. We can’t have our lord wearing last year’s clothes during the New Year,” Chen Lan decided to stop Fan Jian from wasting more time.

Since everything was handmade and without a sewing machine, the stitching was dense and intricate. It would take half a day to finish. On top of that, Chen Lan worried that Yun’er, like Fan Jian, wouldn’t be able to judge Chen Xi’s figure correctly, which would be a disaster.

“Alright…” Fan Jian was clearly disappointed but didn’t refuse. She went to find Chen Yun in the main hall where Chen Xi usually stayed.

However, when she arrived, she found that neither Chen Xi nor Chen Yun were home. Fan Jian was even more helpless, realizing there was nothing she could do.

Earlier, as time shifted back slightly, Chen Xi was lying in a rocking chair, still pondering what gifts to prepare. After Chen Yun had gone out, she brought him a snack from the backyard.

“Chen Yun, do you have anything you like or need?” Chen Xi stretched his hand in Chen Yun’s direction as she placed the tray beside him. After finally grabbing a rice cake, Chen Xi lazily asked.

“Something I like, huh.” Chen Yun knew that her master was quite lenient with them, so after thinking for a moment, her cheeks blushed a little as she looked at Chen Xi. Then she shook her head, “No, I don’t.”

“You don’t even have something you like? What a sad life you’re living,” Chen Xi commented, his thoughts jumping from one topic to another.

“But I’m living quite well right now,” Chen Yun explained calmly. Ever since Chen Lan had stepped down, she had become the personal maid and had a good understanding of Chen Xi’s temper.

“Oh, that’s true. Happiness is also important,” Chen Xi said, stroking his chin. “Alright, let’s go. Come with me to buy some gifts for the madam.”

Chen Yun felt helpless. She understood Chen Lan and Fan Jian’s thoughts well. If Chen Xi picked the gifts, everything would be fine. But if she chose them, she would have to avoid Fan Jian for a while.

Since she couldn’t stop Chen Xi from going out, she could only follow. She just hoped he wouldn’t ask her for input on the purchases.

They left the house, turned right, and headed toward the northeast corner of Ye City, where all the shops were concentrated. Just like in Fenggao, gathering businesses together had become a habit. It made management easier and helped prevent price manipulation.

With just one day left before the New Year, the festive atmosphere in Ye City had grown significantly. After months of effort, Liu Bei had finally stabilized the situation in Jizhou. On top of that, the warehouses were opened before the New Year to distribute grain, ensuring that everyone could have a good holiday. This year, there were no beggars on the streets.

Although the social support system was still lacking, ensuring that the people had a full meal during the New Year and could see some meat on the table was achievable. To this end, large quantities of salted fish were transported from Qingzhou’s Donglai area to the north and sold at a low cost.

Of course, this was only necessary for the first year. In the future, local resources from the Jizhou coastline would suffice. Even now, selling at cost still yielded some profit.

After all, fishing becomes more economical at scale. The tiny fishing villages along Jizhou’s coast had been struggling precisely because they were too small in scale, lacked markets, and salt was too expensive. Next year, Chen Xi planned to consolidate the fishermen and launch larger boats!

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