felt awkward, and kept saying, "Why didn't you send a message back in advance There was no preparation at home. If my younger brothers aren't in a hurry, stay for another day, we'll slaughter a pig at...In a nutshell, this first trip out is just an experiment. We'll take whatever we can find. The agreement is to return by early November.

In addition, to ensure the survival of saplings and flower seedlings, Jia Yin also brought five bags of black soil for Lao Hei and the others, carefully explaining how to use it.

The soil is a mix of cultivated land and nursery soil, which is better than the soil previously sent to the flower garden. Hopefully, it will ensure that flowers and seedlings transported from afar arrive safely.

Of course, with a nursery at her disposal, Jia Yin could successfully grow a sapling and bear fruit from even a single seed.

But that would be too shocking, and over time, people might start to suspect something.

If it's just a sapling, it would be much easier to hide!

The next day, early in the morning, Lao Hei and his men set off in three carriages pulled by over twenty horses.

In the previous few northern campaigns, many warhorses from barbarian tribes were captured. Some older horses in the military camp were retired, and Li Lao Si bought back dozens of them for his daughter at a low cost.

Of course, if outsiders wanted to buy it, it wouldn't be so easy.

The saying goes, "Those who live near water get the moon first, and those with connections in court find it easier to become officials!"

This speaks to the convenience of social connections and objectively reflects...the gradual prosperity of the Li family.

Seeing that the mooncakes are all baked and after a few days, the appearance of the mooncakes is even better, with an oily sheen.

So, Tao Hongying began making mooncakes by the month.

Ordinary yellow wrapping paper, holding five mooncakes, each weighing two ounces, making up a total of one jin.

Pack it up, tie it tight, and then press the "Li" seal on top. Then it's done.

The residents of Xincun, Ercun, Zhengjiayuan, and Houfu were the first to depart.

The village head, riding a donkey cart, happily sent some to the villages of Daxing and Huai.

Everything else that needs to be presented is in a custom-made wooden box.

A wooden box with four compartments, unpainted, just the natural color of the wood. The lid was carved with a picture of Chang'e flying to the moon, looking simple and clean.

Each box contains eight mooncakes, with two pieces of the same filling in each grid. They were tied with red satin ribbons and distributed.

The gifts included items from the Wen family, Li family, Peng family, Zhou's clinic director family, Mr. Tang, and fellow colleagues close with Li Lao Er. All in all, the gifts weren't valuable but were tokens of appreciation from the Li family.

And, it's definitely fresh and original!

At first, when the mooncake gift boxes arrived, no one really paid much attention. After all, this is how it always is every Mid-Autumn Festival.

As a result, after they tasted it, they realized this mooncake was quite different.

Thus, the old master Liu first sent his son to ask for a few boxes and gave them to his good friends.

Mr. Wen also bought two boxes to give to his boss.

The main patrons of the Hundred Flowers Garden heard about it, and they came to demand it as a joke...

Finally, there wasn't much left for the Li family. Old and young could only taste it simply.

The lord himself personally carried two boxes and sent them to the palace for the emperor.

The Emperor, perhaps pleased with his meal, brought back for Jiayin a white jade sculpture of Chang'e holding a rabbit.

Jia Yin happily collected the gifts, her private stash growing thicker by one...

Throughout the village, there was a festive atmosphere of celebration, but the Li family wasn't feeling very joyous.

For no other reason, Li Zhensheng, with his children, still hasn't returned.

Li Lao Tai kept it in her heart, but she didn't dare say it, fearing that her family would also worry and become agitated.

Seeing Grandma run back and forth to the village entrance, Jia Yin couldn't help but worry. She wished she could just sit in the autumn wind all day.

No matter how powerful she was, she couldn't overcome the distance and bring her uncle back.

As a result, in the evening of August 14th, the Marquis and his guards returned in a dusty whirlwind, bringing back seven or eight people of various sizes.

It's Li Zhensheng and Jia Yi!

The entire Li family and the new village were in an uproar, rushing forward to greet him.

Grandma Li led her grandchildren over and checked them one by one. Seeing that nothing was wrong, she glared at her eldest son, who grinned cheekily, and scolded: "If you don't come back soon, this festival will be ruined! You're like rabbits, released and impossible to catch!"

Li Zhensheng was away from home, naturally he missed his family, old and young. Being scolded and pinched by his mother at this moment was truly a comfort to his heart.

This is truly home!

"Mother, we encountered a sinking ship on the way and helped them out. It took us two days to get things sorted. There were many ships gathered at the docks, and it was difficult to find a place to dock. Luckily, Lord Hou's men guided our fleet to the military camp, allowing us to return quickly." Li Zhensheng wiped his face, now covered in dirt from his hurried ride.

"Oh my, how is there another shipwreck It's necessary to lend a hand. Life on the road is hard, and when someone needs help, we can't just stand by." Old Li couldn't truly blame her son. As long as he was back safe, that was all that mattered, especially since there was a reason for his absence.

"Let's go home and talk about it." Li Lao Er hurried forward and greeted his family.

The village head, seeing that the villagers still wanted to go and see the commotion, laughed and scolded them.

"What are you all crowding for All the good stuff is on the boat. You'll get nothing by squeezing in there, go home and kill a chicken, sweep the yard! The festival is tomorrow, and there will be plenty of days after that to gossip."

The villagers thought about it and smiled as they agreed. Then they went home.

This year has been somewhat dry, relatively speaking, and the hot weather has lasted longer.

So, the crops in the fields can be harvested after the Mid-Autumn Festival. Otherwise, they would have been harvested by this time last year. How could there be such a leisurely opportunity to celebrate the festival!

Although the villagers had dispersed, Li's courtyard was still crowded with people.

Mr. Li Yong and his wife Huiniang, along with their two children, Mr. Wen and his wife, the village head, and several others including Zhao Shushu were all present.

Liu Biaotou's wife held their youngest son, and they also pulled on their eldest son to ask him questions.

Liu Yang was already quite tall, but now he's even taller, like a giant iron tower.

Jia Yi wasn't weak either. He was just as tall and strong, and had completely shed his youthful appearance.

Only Jiaxi and Ji'an... simply unbearable!

These two boys went out for a trip, they didn't gain much weight, but instead tanned into black monkeys, becoming even more slender.

The most striking change was that their eyes were bright with a manic gleam, like monkeys who had discovered a peach orchard.

Li Laotai's heart was heavy with worry, she always felt that these two children were becoming uncontrollable.

As expected, the two boys, one on each side of grandma, grabbed her arms and excitedly talked about the wonders outside, the bustling streets of Quanzhou, their words flowing non-stop.

Finally, they got down to business.

Jia Xiyang pleaded, "Grandma, can we stop going to school from now on"

"Yes, Grandma, we don't want to be the top scholar either. We want to go see other countries," Jia An also agreed.

Li Laotai's head buzzed. She glared at her innocent eldest son, who was absentmindedly touching his nose, then harshly slapped her grandsons. "We'll talk about this later. Go wash yourselves first. Look at you now, if someone saw you, they'd think you bathed in ink every day!"

Everyone burst into laughter and started teasing each other.

"Yeah, is the sun in the south that powerful Everyone who goes there comes back tanned black."

"Won't it turn black just from being sun-dried without even needing to dye it"

Jia Yin was rare and well-behaved, with a water spirit and cloud-like grace. She fetched water to wash her foster father's and uncle's hands and faces, then she was "kidnapped" by several brothers...

Three more chapters are up, Huahua went back home to get a shot in the rain and came back a bit late, sorry sorry, muah!sha qima and fruit pudding that she had been thinking about in the palace earlier.Thanks to Lao Hei and others' hard work and skill, over the past few years they have almost traveled all over Tianwu,...