Sun Xiaowan and Duan Liping were both there. Cheng You put the letters aside for the moment and pulled them into the room to chat.
They hadn't seen each other for a long time and had a lot to talk about.
Finally, after the final exams were over, they found time to visit.
"Cheng You, Song Jingtang and I have bought a house. We'll be able to move in after a simple renovation before the New Year. We'll get our marriage certificate then!"
Cheng You was genuinely happy for her. Lovers were finally united.
"Congratulations! When is the wedding banquet? I'll give you a big red envelope then!"
Sun Xiaowan smiled shyly, "It should be before the New Year. We plan to have the banquet at a restaurant. Don't just talk about me, Liping has a boyfriend too. He's from the same school as her."
Duan Liping chided, "What's there to talk about? It's not like we're getting married."
Cheng You linked her arm and teased, "You're dating now, maybe next year you'll be getting married."
Duan Liping was a reserved person and became a bit shy when this was brought up.
After asking, she learned that the man had returned to his hometown.
"Where is he from? Is his hometown far from here?"
Duan Liping explained softly, "He's from Yu Province, but he plans to settle down and work in Yan City in the future, so he only goes back during festivals."
This was also why she was willing to be in a relationship with him.
She was unwilling to leave Yan City.
Cheng You didn't ask too many questions. Duan Liping was even more mature and sensible than Sun Xiaowan, so she would be more cautious.
Sun Xiaowan looked at the large flower pots in the yard. The Mu Xi grass was getting denser.
"Is this Mu Xi grass?"
Cheng You hummed, "When spring comes, I plan to cut some and plant it in this small vegetable patch."
The original vegetables had been dug up and the patch had been lying idle ever since.
The three girls, who hadn't seen each other for a long time, sat together and talked for a long time until they left after dinner.
After taking a bath, Cheng You finally had time to open the letters.
This time, Qi Chengyan's letter was rushed and scribbled, with only a few sentences.
Cheng You let out a breath and folded the letter, putting it back into the envelope.
If nothing else, at least he was safe when he wrote this letter.
With this letter, Cheng You finally had a good night's sleep after many days.
She slept soundly without dreams until dawn.
When she woke up, the outside was covered in a vast expanse of snow.
It had snowed again.
It was warm inside, and she was unaware of the cold outside.
She leaned on the headboard, looking at the falling snow, her thoughts drifting.
Before she could even get out of bed, she heard a loud knocking at the door.
"Cheng You! Are you awake?"
Cheng You had no choice but to put on her coat and rush to open the door.
"Auntie, can't you come a little later?"
Song Qinglan squeezed in from outside, rubbing her hands as she entered the room.
She was very considerate now and didn't need Cheng You to prompt her.
"I asked Lin Sao to buy some meat. Let's have a barbecue at home for lunch. Why don't you come over and join us?"
"Okay, and buy some mushrooms too. Grilled mushrooms are delicious."
"Bought, bought! You just need to bring your appetite. By the way, have you received A Yan's letter?"
Cheng You nodded, "Just received it. He didn't say much. I guess he's too busy."
Song Qinglan's heart eased a little.
"As long as he's okay, I'll be going back then."
She looked visibly more relaxed.
Cheng You glanced at the time; it was still a long way from lunch.
She put on her down jacket, wrapped a thick scarf around herself, covering her ears, and then went out, planning to go to Zhen Shan Tang.
Seeing her arrive, Chen Qin handed her a telegram.
"This is from your hometown. Two of them."
Cheng You scanned them. Hui Chun Tang had already purchased the medicinal materials from Wujing Village.
The other letter was from Director Yang of the pharmaceutical factory, also talking about this matter.
Hui Chun Tang had ordered a large quantity of medicinal materials from Wujing Village at a higher price.
More than two-thirds of the people in Wujing Village had signed the contract.
However, Hui Chun Tang had stipulated that payment would only be made after confirming the quality of the medicinal materials.
This meant they had the option to renege at any time.
Despite such an unequal treaty, the people of Wujing Village had eagerly signed.
Cheng You pinched her temples. She had expected this to happen long ago.
Yet, she couldn't just stand by and do nothing.
"Hui Chun Tang will definitely not buy them."
This was because what they wanted was to produce medicine of the same quality as Zhen Shan Tang.
If they found they couldn't, they would surely break the contract.
"Then what do we do now?"
Cheng You looked at the snow outside and estimated that she would have to go back to Wujing Village.
"Brother Chen, I'll leave the matters of Zhen Shan Tang to you. I need to go back before the New Year."
Chen Qin asked, "You're going alone?"
"Yes, it's fine. Ask Han Shaohua to calculate the accounts for the past year and give everyone a year-end bonus. They've worked hard all year, let them have a good New Year. Give everyone a jar of ginseng pills and a Tai Chi pill. We're a pharmacy, we don't have much else to give them."
Chen Qin smiled and patted his chest, "Don't worry, I'll handle things here."
After giving instructions, Cheng You wrapped her scarf tighter and hurried out.
On the way back, she saw a small stall by the roadside selling calligraphy and paintings.
In this weather, there were hardly any pedestrians, let alone customers.
A middle-aged man, who looked at least 1.8 meters tall, was hunched over by the harsh reality of life.
Cheng You felt she had no major flaws, except for being soft-hearted.
"How much are these characters?"
The man had been freezing there for a long time, his eyelashes frosted over.
He had waited all morning with no customers and was about to pack up and go home.
"Small ones are three yuan, large ones are five yuan."
The price wasn't cheap, but it wasn't expensive either.
He kept them in plastic bags, well-preserved.
Cheng You picked out three large pieces and two small ones.
"Did you write them yourself?"
"Yes... Did you buy too many?"
Cheng You smiled, "No, I'm taking them back as gifts. By the way, do you write couplets?"
"Couplets? I haven't written any."
Cheng You said, "It's almost the New Year, and every household needs to put up couplets. Your calligraphy is good. If you can write couplets to sell, you might earn some money."
She put down the money and carried the calligraphy she bought back.
If she wanted to hang them on the wall, she would need to find time to get them framed.
It was a bit troublesome, but having spent money, she was reluctant to just throw them away.
Cheng You went directly to Song Qinglan's house. Lin Sao opened the door for her and handed her a hot towel to wipe her hands.
"What's in this bag?"
Cheng You took them out.
"I saw someone selling them on the way. I thought the calligraphy was quite nice, so I bought some."
Song Qinglan tutted, "In this cold weather, it was hard for you to carry them back. And they're not even framed. What's the point?"
Cheng You left one large and one small piece for them, planning to take the rest back herself.
Qi Shengwen came downstairs and frowned when he saw the calligraphy in her hand.
"Isn't this Old Xu's calligraphy?"
Hearing his words, Song Qinglan got up and walked over.
"I didn't notice until you mentioned it. It really is."
Cheng You didn't know much about these things, but she knew that the "Old Xu" they were referring to was Xu Nanxi's grandfather, a renowned calligrapher who had passed away.
"It shouldn't be. I asked the person, and he said he wrote them himself."
Qi Shengwen came to a realization, "Then it must be a copy. He's quite skilled, almost indistinguishable from the real thing."