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The joyful first day of the Lunar New Year had thus passed, and on the second day, it was time to visit the maternal grandparents’ home.

Early in the morning, Lin Jiaxin and his wife, along with Lin Yuan and her three sisters, and Xiao Yongyan began packing their things, ready to head to Liu Family Village.

Since they would be spending the whole day in Liu Family Village and Lao Fan wouldn’t be going, Lin Yuan worried he might feel lonely staying at home alone, and she feared there wouldn’t be anyone to cook for him, so she wanted him to spend a day back in town.

But stubborn as Lao Fan was, he insisted on doing the exact opposite of what people asked.

"You’re saying I shouldn’t stay home? Well, I’ll stay put even if it means starving all day. "

Left with no choice, Lin Yuan obviously couldn’t let him go hungry all day.

So before leaving, she prepared a couple of flatbreads for him and cooked a pot of flour dumplings with the broth from stewed meat.

Since it was cold in winter and the food cooled quickly, Lin Yuan added some firewood to the kitchen stove and simmered the dishes over a low flame.

It would not only keep the food warm but also cook the dumplings until they were soft and mushy, just to Lao Fan’s liking.

With everything taken care of, they finally set off for Liu Family Village with peace of mind.

Compared to the relatively quiet Lin family hamlet, Liu Family Village was bustling with activity.

Firstly, there were more people in Liu Family Village, and unlike Lin family hamlet which was surrounded by mountains on three sides, Liu Family Village had a lot of arable land.

Land was precious at that time; having it meant food to eat and money to earn.

It was, after all, Lin Yuan’s first visit to Liu Family Village. Before, due to the lack of funds or a carriage, they hadn’t been able to visit during the New Year. Lady Liu had only returned once while carrying Lin Yuan.

Now, Lady Liu was the mother of four children.

They hadn’t even entered the village when Lady Liu, unable to contain her excitement, lifted the curtain to look out. If it weren’t for the fact that she had to take care of Xiao Yongyan, who was still in swaddling, she might have jumped out of the carriage.

"Mother, look at you, acting as excited as a child," Lin Wei said while tucking the blanket more firmly around Xiao Yongyan, smiling at the sight of Lady Liu’s glowing face.

Lady Liu shyly smiled, subconsciously reaching to drop the curtain, but a large hand gently stopped her.

Lin Jiaxin’s tender gaze fell on his wife’s face, "Take a look. It’s been so many years since we’ve been back, I also want to see if our village has changed for the better."

He said "our village," not "your village.

" Warmth spread through Lady Liu’s heart as she remembered the days when they were young – he had looked at her with the same tenderness, always considering her needs.

It was hard to believe that more than a decade had flashed by.

Though life had been tough, having him by her side had made it all bearable.

Lin Yuan was touched by the enduring love between the two, and a thought stirred in her heart, bringing to mind the roguish smile of that certain someone. She wondered how he was faring in the Capital City, whether he had been seduced away by the charms of the beauties there.

"Eh, isn’t that the Liu family’s eldest daughter? It’s been so many years since she came back, and this year she actually did."

As soon as Lin Yuan’s carriage entered Liu Family Village, the sound of people’s discussions could be heard.

It was no wonder they were surprised; it really had been too many years since Lady Liu had visited.

Lin Jiaxin had returned once, under pressure from Lady Yang to take a concubine, but since he had been borrowing silver and his family was waiting for him at home, he had returned overnight.

Despite her excitement, Lady Liu greeted the villagers with confidence and even met a few childhood friends she had been close to as a girl. However, upon reunion, everyone was now a wife and mother, and the casual jesting of their younger years was no longer appropriate.

A few of Lady Liu’s close sisters had just come from their in-laws’ and hadn’t yet entered their maternal home when they bumped into Lady Liu on the road. They agreed to meet at her mother’s place later and then parted ways.

Just after Lin Yuan’s carriage had left, a few villagers around the street corner began to talk.

"Didn’t they say that the girl had fallen on hard times after marrying into the Lin family hamlet? Look at her attire now, does she seem like she’s impoverished?"

"Indeed. At first, I didn’t dare to recognize her. I even thought some Madam had taken the wrong path."

"Ah, cut it out. Even if a Madam took the wrong path, she couldn’t possibly end up in our village, so stop dreaming," one of them remarked.

"Why not? Our village is doing rather well these days. Haven’t you heard about the Liu family’s grandson getting into the town’s school? And his father built some greenhouse, didn’t he? I heard it’s really warm inside. Don’t know what it’s for though."