December 23rd, sugar melons stick.
According to customs, this is the day of offering sacrifices to the Kitchen God and dusting, so on this day, every household begins to bustle with activity.
Wealthy families set up large tables with offerings, praying for the Kitchen God's protection.
Families with less money also buy a few sugar melons, as a gesture of their sincerity.
The festive atmosphere becomes increasingly intense starting from this time.
Meanwhile, at the West City Gate of the Commandery, several armored guards huddled around a fire for warmth.
With the cold wind howling and wearing armor, even close to the warm flames, these guards remained chilled to the bone.
Despite this, when large groups of merchants passed through, these guards dutifully stepped forward for inspection.
Some merchants attempted to bribe them with money, but were sternly refused.
However, the guards did not make things difficult; once they confirmed no issues, they allowed passage promptly.
Once their round of duties was complete, the sun had risen high. One of the guards, enviously watching the chatty travelers heading home, couldn't help but sigh.
"How nice, when will we ever have a home in the Commandery?"
Someone nearby joked, "Heh, Old Seven, you're craving a wife, aren't you?"
"That's right, I crave a wife, so what? Don't you want to get married?" The guard called Old Seven immediately retorted.
This left the other person speechless, and the guards around the gate fell into silence.
Indeed!
Who wouldn't want to marry and settle down?
But the key problem is, their past status doesn't allow them to do so!
As former cavalrymen under Wei Hongbin, which respectable family would marry one of their daughters to them?
In fact, even when some are unable to control the loneliness and decide to visit a brothel to chat with a singer, once the singer learns their identity, they show disdain and refuse to serve even if offered money.
The reason is simple.
It's because the reputation of Wei Hongbin and his men in Yunxiao County is terribly bad.
Even though they did not commit any wrongdoings back then, once marked with this label, it is a lifelong stain difficult to shed.
This is the source of these guards' gloomy moods.
At that moment, they heard the sound of horse hooves approaching from the long street, and then a single armored Captain arrived at the city gate.
As he dismounted and lifted his cloak, it turned out to be Sun Yingkui.
He appeared weather-beaten, with his eyebrows and beard frozen.
Yet, he paused not a moment before asking.
"Any situations?"
The guards shook their heads.
"Reporting to the Captain, all is normal."
"Good, with the year-end approaching, inevitably there may be thieves trying to sneak into the city, so you must not let down your guard," Sun Yingkui advised.
"We understand."
Watching these guards stand firm in the cold wind, without daring to leave their posts, Sun Yingkui sighed quietly.
He understood the awkward situation these men were in.
This is why he patrolled the city several times every day.
To prevent these guards from slackening or succumbing to temptation, thereby causing any mishap.
Such things may not mean much to others, but for these guards who bear the burden of redemption through service, it threatened ruin.
For throughout the Commandery, who knows how many eyes were watching them.
Fortunately, these guards understood this, and so remained diligent, never committing any mistakes.
After a few more words of encouragement, Sun Yingkui was about to leave.
On the main road, a sudden commotion arose, and then someone shouted, "It's Young Hero Zhao!"
"Young Hero Zhao has returned from afar!"
Sun Yingkui's body shook, quickly looking up.
Sure enough, there appeared on the main road a dust-covered carriage, with a smiling young man sitting on the driver's seat, none other than Zhao Ya.
Gathered around the carriage were many townsfolk, warmly chatting with Zhao Ya.
Some bold young women even squeezed forward excitedly, speaking almost in admiration.
Sun Yingkui was first stunned by the scene, then smiled and shook his head.
He knew that Zhao Ya had a good reputation in the Commandery, yet he didn't expect him to be this well-received.
But this was understandable, as over the past year, thanks to Zhao Ya's efforts, the Commandery was revived with a new lease of life.
Today, while not every person was fully fed, at least the problem of people dying from hunger was essentially resolved.
This alone was enough to be admired, and combined with improved law and order, and the return of peace to the Commandery's surrounding areas, it was no surprise that Zhao Ya earned the admiration of the common folk.
From the main road to the city gate, Zhao Ya took more than a quarter hour, before Sun Yingkui's intervention finally disbanded the enthusiastic crowd.
Then Sun Yingkui and his guards greeted Zhao Ya with a salute.
Zhao Ya smiled and waved his hand, "It's alright, no need for such formality. Have things been peaceful in the city while I was away?"
"Peaceful and without incident," Sun Yingkui responded.
"That's good!"
Saying this, Zhao Ya drove the carriage toward the city, watched by Sun Yingkui and the others.
Suddenly, Zhao Ya seemed to remember something and tossed over a small pouch.
Sun Yingkui caught it, and Zhao Ya's voice came.
"Today is Little New Year, all of you have worked hard. After your shift, go have a few drinks in the city; it's on me!"