Shen Chengyao took his wife and child, leading a cart full of New Year's gifts to Guishu Village, meeting many people who were similarly laden with huge bags making their way back to their maternal homes.
Except for the first year after her wedding, when Mrs. Liu visited her parents on the second day of the New Year, she had always waited until after the New Year to return home in all these years. In recent years, due to poor business, they even stopped providing gifts for family visits, saying if you want to visit, go empty-handed. Since her family hadn't split yet, she didn't even have a single coin to her name. With so many villagers watching, she didn't want to embarrass Shen Chengyao or her own mother, so she chose not to return. Even in the poorest families, a daughter-in-law wouldn't return to her parents' home empty-handed.