Chen Yan corresponded with Qi Su Niang from time to time, although he was bent on governing the river, listening to Qi Qiang's return, it was in the month of Layue again, and he also lined up the days, and came back to visit relatives for the New Year after a few days off. He got off the boat and hurried overnight, and arrived home in the middle of the night, originally wanting to surprise Qi Su Niang, but he was surprised by the fourth elder brother at home.

Qi Su Niang was overjoyed when she saw Chen Yan coming back, and she threw all her affairs to Chen Yan, hiding in the room by herself, never going out half a step, even talking to Qin Quan'er, also through the door.

She was thinking that the fourth elder brother would leave immediately because of the changeable situation, but she didn't expect to stay until the next day, when the news came back, the top belt of Gaoyou Zhizhou had been removed, but she didn't catch the news of the anti-thief Ming Zheng's punishment, and Qi Qiang's matter was even more shadowy.

When Qi Su Niang heard these news from Chen Yan's mouth, although she was happy, she was very puzzled, and after inquiring carefully, she knew that this mess was confused. It turned out that Gaoyou Zhizhou colluded with the Gaoyou Gang to provoke and bully the passing Changzhou Cao Boat, and asked for silver. In order to return an eye for an eye, the Changzhou Gang deliberately released the news that Gaoyou Zhizhou was greedy for the river and the bank, and attracted the fourth elder brother who was ordered by the emperor to inspect the river workers to investigate, Gaoyou Zhizhou was busy dealing with the nobles and didn't care about the affairs of the Cao Gang, and the Changzhou Gang took the opportunity to break into Gaoyou City and entered the Gaoyou Cao Gang altar.

After that, Gaoyou City fell into a mess, but the first attack on the fourth elder brother was the officers and soldiers of the Hebiao Green Battalion who received the emergency from Gaoyou Zhizhou and heard the news from Baoying and Xinghua County to suppress the rebellious people.

When Qi Suniang heard the news, she was secretly speechless, not knowing what the end would be to these officers and soldiers who accidentally injured the emperor's elder brother, and only told Chen Yan about Qi Qiang's involvement. Chen Yan said with a smile: "Brother Qi Qiang has nothing to do with the injury of the fourth elder brother, it is just a matter of the gang. Su Niang, I go to and from the banks of the Cao River for the governance of the river, and there are nearly 100,000 sailors on and below the Cao River, just begging for food and helping each other. Caoyun is a matter of national capital, I look at it, this gang can't help it. As long as Brother Qi Qiang is not possessed by others to kill people and steal goods, it is easy to hide. ”

Qi Su Niang couldn't help but be stunned when she heard him say something lightly, and then remembered that she was worried every day for a while, and flattered the fourth elder brother for Qi Qiang's life, which was superfluous for a while, and couldn't help but smile bitterly: "It's okay if it's okay, this thing can't come back a second time." ”

Seeing that the fourth elder brother had returned to the city, and Qi Qiang had also returned home, Qi Su Niang let go of the big stone in her heart. The reason is that the fourth elder brother and Qi Qiang, the twenty-fourth day of the lunar month sent the god of the stove sloppily. Now that Chen Yan is home, Qi Qiang is fine, full of joy, and ready for the New Year.

Qi Su Niang drove Chen Yan and Qi Qiang out of the house, and after cleaning the two houses from the bottom up, she cut red paper and pasted red couplets on the door, in front of the house, and in front of the stove of Chen Qi's two houses. Qi Su Niang's words can't be on the stage, but Chen Yan is a serious person, but Chen Yan asked Qi Qiang to write Spring Festival couplets, and he painted some red and green landscape characters on the cooked eggs prepared by Qi Su Niang, and prepared auspicious Ruyi eggs for the first day of the new year.

Qi Su Niang first looked at Qi Qiang's font, it was really handsome, especially above Chen Yan, and then looked at the poems, but it was a big sour text, or "Purple gas masterpieces are rich and blessed, and the spring breeze and ink show talents", or, "The spring water is full of peach blossoms, and the articles on the water surface are colorful." The east wind combs the catkins, and the scenery is beautiful and affectionate. These are not the rules of the banker's family.

Qi Su Niang saw that he didn't know what to do, so she was furious, pulled a piece of rice paper, and wrote a few words for the Spring Festival crookedly, and asked Qi Qiang to copy it. Qi Qiang saw that "spring returns to the earth, and the world is full of blessings." "People are diligent and abundant, and the country and the people are safe." "One is renewed, and everything is renewed." Such a vulgar couplet that can't be more vulgar, laugh out loud, and wave it away.

More than a dozen pots of daffodils wrapped in red paper filled the halls of the Chen and Qi families, the lintel was pasted with a spring primrose door crane of ten thousand taels of gold, the window was glued with the red paper-cut of the magpie herald spring, and the front and rear doors also had the door god of the house and the ghost hunting Zhong Kui. The Chen and Qi families were dressed up by Qi Su Niang. Chen Yan and Qi Qiang looked here and there, and they saw that even the grass nests where chickens and ducks were raised were labeled with the word Hongfu, and they all laughed.

On the evening of the twenty-ninth day of the Lunar New Year, according to the customs of Gaoyou in Yangzhou Prefecture, Qi Su Niang used charcoal to put a red and prosperous "ingot" fire in the two courtyards. On the night of Chinese New Year's Eve, the two families worshiped their ancestors and received the gods. Qi Su Niang packed two large pots of pot rice, scattered red dates, black dates, beans, inserted pine and cypress branches, bit peanuts and ginkgo nuts, sandwiched them on the branches, hung ingots and money strings made of tin foil, and made "money trees" and "cornucopias" in front of the two gods' cabinets.

Qi Qiang shook his head with a smile, and at the same time sealed the front and back doors of the Qi family with the copper money pattern red paper that Qi Suniang forced to him, jumped out of the wall, and went to the Chen family for Chinese New Year's Eve dinner. Qi Su Niang waited for Qi Qiang to enter the door, hung sesame oranges on the lintel, and also sealed the front and back doors of the Chen family with red paper with copper coin patterns. I heard Qi Qiang laughing in the house: "Sister, you just hurry in and eat!" ”

Qi Qiang is three years older than Chen Yan, he grew up together, he was affectionate, and he sat in front of the warm cage after eating, saying goodbye to each other. Qi Su Niang scalded a pot of corn wine for them, sat on the side, and listened to the two of them talking while weaving dragon shapes with colored threads and stringing green money.

"Brother Qi Qiang, where have you lived in the past few years? What do you do for a living? Chen Yan put down the wine glass, and picked up a braided dragon pattern color thread from the small bamboo basket in Qi Su Niang's arms, stringing green coins one by one.

Qi Qiang looked at the work in his hands, smiled slightly, took a sip of wine, and said: "First I ran away with private goods on Cao for a while, and then I came to the capital to be a gangster." ”

Qi Su Niang heard that he was vague, and knew that he didn't want to say more, but Chen Yan said: "Brother Qi Qiang, if you are still worried about your livelihood, you are not familiar with Baguwen, and it is not difficult to find a martial artist from you......

Qi Qiang laughed and poured Chen Yan a glass of wine, "Acting official, you have been an official for a year, and you still don't understand where I am to be an official?" After a pause, he said, "Don't worry, I already have some money in my hands, and I don't have to worry about my livelihood." It was...... I originally wanted to come back to honor the second elder, but now-" Turning his head to look at Qi Su Niang, "When your filial piety period is over, let my sister marry into your family in a beautiful manner." ”

Chen Yan looked at Qi Su Niang, and smiled, before he could speak, Qi Su Niang raised his head and said, "Brother, in the past few years, do you have a favorite girl outside?" ”

Qi Qiang was stunned for a moment, hurriedly drank two sips of wine, and said, "It's still ...... No ...... yet"

Qi Su Niang thought that Qi Qiang didn't return night after night, thinking that she had gone to Gaoyou City's private house, and said thoughtfully: "Brother, our family is poor, and there is no need to be constrained, as long as the girl is single-minded to her brother and her brother likes it, my sister will ask someone to say goodbye." Since my brother is rich and silver, he is not bad for these, and it is better to marry his family. ”

Qi Qiang choked on a sip of wine, his face flushed, and said embarrassedly: "Sister...... Girl, you're still young, you don't understand this, it's just that the men are looking for some fun and a place to talk about something...... It's not ......" As he spoke, he glanced at Chen Yan.

Chen Yan only pretended not to see it, where was he willing to speak, Qi Su Niang smiled slightly, and said, "Sister's words, my brother just keep it in mind." After that, he stood up and went to the stove, and vaguely heard Qi Qiang seem to be out of breath, and complained: "Acting officer, you just look at my sister's face now, and you want to turn over in the future?" She has bigger rules than my mother, she is not my sister, she is the old lady of the two of us......" As she spoke, she laughed to herself.

Early the next morning, Qi Suniang didn't care about their Chinese New Year's Eve night, urged the two to get up, stared at them to wash up, ate soup balls and auspicious Ruyi eggs, changed into new clothes, and then pulled the two of them, drove the carriage, and began to worship relatives and friends within a radius of ten miles.