On a night like this, with the cold wind howling outside and the carriage driving through the night, driven by her own man, how could she sleep peacefully?

I just want to stay awake, sit quietly, and be with him.

On this day of the twelfth lunar month, I am always afraid of unscrupulous people coming out to block the road and rob me on the road late at night.

And every now and then, Yang Ruoqing would open the curtains and take a look outside to see where she was.

It was dark all around, except for occasional lights in the fields in the distance.

Yang Ruoqing stared at the lights in a daze, imagining what the scenes in those farmhouses were like at the moment.

On such winter nights, when travelers are on the road, lights are bright lights in the dark night, and lights are also a source of warmth that dispels the darkness in people's hearts.

Every light represents a family. The family gathers together and eats a simple meal around the light. After the meal, the man sits at the table and repairs the child's toys. He has no time during the day and leaves it until night.

.

After the woman washed the pots and dishes, fed the pigs, chickens and ducks, she brought a basin of foot-washing water over to soak the children's feet.

After the children were soaked, the man added a ladle of hot water and continued to soak. When the men and children had finished soaking and got into bed, it was the woman's turn.

Even when she was soaking her feet, she was not idle. She picked up her sewing basket and did a few stitches under the dancing soybean oil lamp.

The man put his hands behind his head, lying on the bed and staring at the yellowed and patched tent ceiling, chatting with the woman about everything, discussing the purchase of new year's goods this year.

What things should be purchased, how much of each thing should be purchased, how much money should be spent, how much money the family currently has, how big the gap is, and which relatives and friends should go to borrow the remaining money...

Most of the children who had been tucked into the quilt earlier and told to sleep quickly were pretending to be asleep. When they heard their parents discussing New Year's purchases, they all poked their little heads out of the quilt.

"Dad, I want a new slingshot."

"I'll make it for you later. I'm sure it will work better than the ones I bought."

"Mom, I like red headband."

"Okay girl, ask your mother to pull two of them for you later."

"Dad, I also want a Guan Gong sword!"

"What kind of knife do kids play with? What do you do if you poke someone during the Chinese New Year?"

"Dad, it's a wooden knife with gold foil on the outside. It's so domineering!"

"If you don't buy it, don't buy it. Children are not allowed to play with knives."

"Dad, the girl next door had a candy bar today, and she let me take a lick..."

"Haha, daddy will buy you a handful of candy figures and sugar pancakes during the Chinese New Year."

The quilt was suddenly lifted, revealing a boy's head.

In the dim tent, the boy must have raised his lips and shouted loudly: "Dad, you are partial! Do you want to buy it for my sister or not? I am not your biological child!"

At this time, the father will definitely look down and have a bad temper and slap the kid on the head.

"What are you talking about, you brat? This family will belong to you in the future. Your sister is going to get married when she is a teenager. Why don't you wish your parents would be nicer to her now?"

"But……"

"It's nothing, just go to bed quickly. Do you believe I will kill you if you keep yelling?"

The boy must still be full of grievances and dissatisfaction. At this time, the mother will most likely put down her sewing basket, wipe her feet in a hurry, come over to mediate the conflict between father and son, and then coax her son to sleep, and tell him: "Buy, all

Buy, your dad is just teasing you, go to bed quickly after it’s late at night..."

The boy received his mother's assurance, and his father no longer insisted that he would not buy it, so he felt relieved and fell asleep in anticipation...

Yang Ruoqing looked at the lights in the village in the distance outside the car, watching them gradually go out one by one in the night wind.

Expecting that the whole family would fall into a deep sleep, she also retracted her fantasy and stretched herself.

Picking up the water bag next to her, she came to the front again.

"Come, I'll help you pull the reins, and you can drink some hot water."

Yang Ruoqing sat down, handed the water bag to Luo Fengtang, and took the reins from his hand without any explanation.

Luo Fengtang was indeed a little thirsty. He took off his mask and scarf, raised his head and drank seven or eight sips.

"Are you feeling better?" Yang Ruoqing asked him with a smile.

Luo Fengtang nodded: "My throat feels much better. It was dry and astringent before."

Yang Ruoqing said: "It must have been blown by the cold wind. When we get home, the first thing we do is drink isatis root and use wine to soak our feet in hot water, otherwise we will easily get cold."

Luo Fengtang said 'hmm', tightened the lid of the water bag, and reconnected the reins.

"We'll arrive in Qingshui Town soon. We'll almost be home before midnight," he said.

Yang Ruoqing looked around, looking at the shadowy scenery in the night. She found a few iconic long dams, "It's really fast. It went smoothly tonight. There were no robbers on the road."

Even if you encounter it, don't be afraid.

With just the strength of the two of them, even if a whole village of people came out to block the road and rob, they wouldn't be able to fight him, and she hadn't had enough of Dao Brother today.

"Okay, I'll drink the water, you go back inside."

"Oh, you're chasing me away again. It's stuffy inside. I'm going to change the door to let some air out."

"disobedient!"

"Hmm."

Yang Ruoqing made up her mind to sit next to him, but he had no choice.

"By the way, what did you say when Magistrate Zhang asked you for advice today?" Yang Ruoqing asked Luo Fengtang again about the follow-up of the thieves.

Luo Fengtang said: "I did not give clear requirements. After all, this is the power and responsibility of County Magistrate Zhang. I just suggested that each thief be sentenced according to the severity of his crime and his attitude towards admitting his mistake."

"The youngest Xiao Liuzi, among all the confessions I saw, his attitude of admitting his mistake was the most sincere." Yang Ruoqing recalled that person.

The young man named Xiaoliuzi was the one who was captured later to clean up the rice grains in Yang Huazhong's warehouse.

At the age of seventeen or eighteen, there is only one old woman left in the family who needs long-term medication.

According to what my subordinates went to Xiaoliuzi's village to inquire about, Xiaoliuzi was very popular in the village. He was a warm-hearted person and a filial son.

I had never stolen anything before. This year, due to the flood, my family couldn't open the pot, and my mother couldn't afford medicine. Then, the young man was bewitched.

Although making a mistake is a real mistake, it cannot be beaten to death with a stick.

Luo Fengtang glanced at Yang Ruoqing and said: "Well, I also mentioned Xiao Liuzi's situation to County Magistrate Zhang. Considering that the others are habitual offenders, Xiao Liuzi is a first-time offender and has a sincere attitude in admitting his mistakes. The family situation is not very good. I hope

I can be given a lighter sentence and given a chance to make a new start."

Yang Ruoqing smiled and nodded: "That's good. As for people like Yang Huasheng, if you give him a chance, he won't realize his mistakes. We don't have to worry about his life or death."

Luo Fengtang's guess was really accurate. When the carriage stopped steadily at the door of the Five-Fang Courtyard, the sound of the night watchman came from the village.

Bang, bang, bang...

Exactly three times.
Chapter completed!