Seeing this, Yang Qingrui and his siblings, along with Yang Xiayun, couldn’t contain their curiosity, all climbing around and hopping on the horse carriage.
"Yes, it is ours, of course," Yang Chuxia knocked Yang Qingtong’s head and said, "You guys, why are you so curious about everything our family buys? It was the same when we bought the ox cart last time."
Yang Qingrui looked at the horses in front of him, and his eyes flashed with the desire to try riding them. Then he said, "Sis, you should know that this is the only carriage in our village; hardly anyone in the village has ever ridden in one. How can we not be curious?"
"Exactly, Sis, our holiday starts tomorrow and lasts until after the New Year, and we won’t have classes. Can you take us to the town in the carriage for a stroll, please?"
"I want to go too, I want to go too," Yang Xiayun also raised her little hand and said.
"You all really want to go?"
Yang Chuxia looked at the three little ones in front of her and saw them all nodding in unison.
"Alright, I’ll take you for a ride in the carriage tomorrow."
"Oh, oh," the children jumped around, overjoyed.
After they’d unloaded the carriage, the family chatted for a while and put away the things they’d bought. Then Ms. Wang brought out their evening meal.
After dinner, Ye Zi’an was going home, and Yang Qingrui naturally wanted to go with him. Since they were on holiday, Qingrui had pretty much moved all his books to Ye Zi’an’s house, as if he wanted to root himself there permanently.
"Brother An, wait a moment," Yang Chuxia called out as they were about to leave.
"What’s the matter, Xiaxia?"
"Brother An, tomorrow we’re going to town. You should come with us, and once we’re there, you can quit your job with Shopkeeper Li."
Chuxia had thought about this while they were in the county town. An often worked for her, which meant he had no time to rest, instead of taking leaves from work every time when there was something to do at home. She figured Shopkeeper Li might become displeased with the constant leaves granted to him, even if he hadn’t said anything yet.
Furthermore, she was planning to do something else in the spring, and she’d need An’s help with it. Also, considering he still needed to treat his leg, it would probably be better to quit the job now with all the other things going on.
Thinking this, Yang Chuxia shared her thoughts with Ye Zi’an.
Ye Zi’an pondered for a moment before nodding, "Alright, that works. This way, I can help with matters when needed and study when there’s no work to do."
"That’s right, and our shop also needs an accountant. It’s better to work for our family than Shopkeeper Li’s." After all, An had a stake in the shop from the beginning, just like with the drunken crab business, so it would be like working for himself.
"Alright, I understand. I’ll talk to Shopkeeper Li tomorrow." After saying that, Zi’an asked, "Xiaxia, is there anything else?"
Yang Chuxia was about to say that there was nothing else, but she suddenly remembered the thing she’d picked out in the county town, so she said, "Wait for me."
She then ran back to her room, and after a while, she took out a small box and handed it to Ye Zi’an, saying bossily, "You can only open it after you get home. You must like it, even if you don’t. Understand?" Then, as usual, she added, "And you can’t think it’s too simple, alright?"
Ye Zi’an, who hadn’t even seen what was inside yet, was left dumbfounded by Yang Chuxia’s several warnings.
He couldn’t help but laugh and nodded, "Don’t worry. Even if there’s only a leaf inside the box, I won’t despise it."
With that, he and Yang Qingrui went home together. When they arrived and opened the box, they found not a leaf, but a white jade hairpin. Simple and elegant, it was a perfect fit for Zi’an.