398 Dates need to be rearranged

Because we were carrying children, the carriage did not move very fast and we arrived in Jiao County in the afternoon of the fifth day.

As soon as they arrived at the county town, Ping An asked Xiao Wu to book an inn. His parents, brother and sister shared one room, he and his uncle shared one room, and Xiao Wu, Lin Feng, Erqiang, Sanqiang, Tong Lin and Xiao Ming shared two rooms.

The inn in the county town was much cheaper, with very nice rooms for only 150 wen. Even so, Mei Niang still felt a little distressed, as four rooms cost 600 wen, and it was just for one night.

As soon as she said this in the room, Wan Changsheng laughed.

"Please don't say these things. You are a seventh-rank lady now. People will laugh at you if you say these things."

Mei Niang laughed to herself, "I'm just telling you, how could I tell anyone? When Ping An was little, my mother and I had a very hard time. We didn't dare to spend a penny carelessly. So now that we have money, I feel reluctant to spend more. This is not good. I understand that, but I can only change it slowly."

"You stay in the room with the child. I will accompany my uncle to the medical hall to see Doctor Sun. Da Qiangzi and Wan Qing are also there. I have written the letter, and they are not sure that we will arrive today."

Ping'an thought about it and decided to accompany his father and uncle. Erqiang and Sanqiang wanted to see their eldest brother, so he took them along as well. As for the other people, Ping'an would go with them and take a walk around the streets. They could eat dinner outside, as the snacks in Jiao County were pretty good.

When they arrived at Baicaotang, the waiter thought they were customers who came to buy medicine, but Erqiang saw Daqiangzi who had just finished his work.

"Brother."

Da Qiangzi looked up and said, "Second brother, third brother, uncle, grandpa, you are all back."

Wan Qing was collecting medicinal herbs in the back hall. Hearing the noise, he and Doctor Sun ran over.

"Uncle, everything is fine, Grandpa Uncle." He knew this Grandpa Uncle; he had mentioned him in the letter.

Doctor Sun was overjoyed: "Cousin, you really came. I thought Changsheng was lying."

Sun Hongyu said: "If you don't come to see me, I can only come to see you."

Ping An smiled and said, "Doctor Sun, you may be able to leave now. If you can, let's go to the restaurant and sit down and talk. The restaurant is next to the inn where we are staying."

Doctor Sun nodded: "Okay, it's afternoon already, let's just close the shop. Doctor Lu's niece is engaged to Wan Qing, we are all relatives now, I'll ask him to come with us, you guys wait."

He ran toward the backyard.

A quarter of an hour later.

Ping An ordered a table of dishes, just enough for eight people.

"We already know that Ping'an won the first place and Sanqiang also won the title of scholar. It caused a sensation in the county. The two fifteen-year-old scholars are actually cousins." Doctor Sun laughed and shook his head.

Doctor Lu also smiled and said, "Wan Qing has been distracted these past two days, and was afraid that you would be delayed. The wedding date is set for three days later. After receiving your letter, the two families decided on this date."

Wan Changsheng looked at his nephew's red face and couldn't help but smile: "That's great, I was just afraid I wouldn't be able to catch up."

Ping An also smiled and said, "Cousin, congratulations."

Wan Qing looked at Ping An and said, "My cousin wanted to wait until you guys came before getting married. Ping An, my father can walk steadily now, as if nothing happened."

Three years have passed in a flash.

He was in despair at that time, but when Ping An came, everything became better, so much so that his second brother wanted to follow Ping An and was willing to do anything for him.

But is Ping An still short of people?

Er Qiang said, "Brother Wan Qing, I will help you pick up the bride later. Can Ping An go too?"

Ping An could only smile and nod. He really didn't like doing this, but it was a pity that Er Qiang sometimes didn't use his brain.

After dinner, Ping'an returned to the inn and went to look for his father.

"Dad, go back early tomorrow and go to Wanjia Village to worship the ancestors first, then visit the clan leader and uncle's family. I plan to give cousin Wanqing a red envelope of fifty taels of silver and two pieces of fabric. Do you think it's feasible?"

The couple looked at each other and shook their heads: "Isn't that too much?"

"How about I ask someone to find him a house tomorrow?"

Mei Niang laughed: "Isn't that more?"

Ping'an didn't think so. He once had only more than two thousand taels in his pocket, and the majority of it was with his mother, but he still bought an eighty-five tael house for his eldest cousin. Now that he earns tens of thousands of taels a year, taking some silver is really nothing.

It's just that he didn't want to spend more money than his eldest cousin.

"Ping An, let's put it this way. You haven't even graduated yet, and you still have to support so many people. Wan Qing, you pack 20 taels and take a piece of fabric. Dad can only take this much. Every family has their own life. It's not good to be too eye-catching. It may cause trouble in the future."

"Okay, I'll listen to you. How about this? I'll buy a mule cart for my cousin and I won't have to pay for it."

Mei Niang thought this was a good idea, as the mule cart was very grand, the prices were basically the same, and she didn't need as much silver as her father's bag.

"Mom and Dad, this is what we will do tomorrow. The day after tomorrow I will go to Changjia Village to worship our ancestors, and I will also pay a visit to the clan leader and give something to that distant relative.

The day after tomorrow is Brother Wan Qing's wedding day, and the three strong men will set up a feast for another day. I don't want to set up any for myself. I will just buy a pound of meat and a pound of sugar for each household in the two villages. That will be enough. Every household will have some, and no one will be left out."

The two villages were not big, with no more than sixty households. The two items cost only sixty or seventy coins, and the total cost was four taels of silver, which was easy and comfortable.

Of course Wan Changsheng also figured it out.

I have to say, this is also very good. In the village, he has no real relatives except his eldest brother's family. Ping'an's wine has been set up by his master in the city, so let's do as Ping'an says.

Mei Niang wished this were the case.

"Husband, let's do this. It's really troublesome to set up a banquet. Tomorrow morning, we will buy the things and distribute them to every household in the two villages. Even if the clan leader wants to set up a banquet, you should not agree. It's really troublesome. Just say that we will come back to do it after Ping An passes the imperial examination. We really don't have enough time now."

"Okay, I'll listen to you, Ping An. Let's make a list of the gifts. I'll go buy whatever is missing tomorrow morning."

"Dad, I'll ask Xiao Wu to buy a mule tomorrow morning, along with the carriage. I'll ask Er Qiang to buy the meat and candy. Sixty portions is enough. If you want more, let's buy seventy portions."

Mei Niang said, "We will pay for your grandfather's gifts. You haven't married yet and are still a child, so it must be the adults who pay. I have prepared everything, and so have the clan leaders on both sides."

Ping An took all these gifts, but he still agreed.

"Mom, I'll listen to you, but I've brought a lot of gifts in the luggage cart. If you don't have enough, you can take it from my car."

Mei Niang responded with a smile.

"Dad, Mom, I'm going to sleep now. Xi'er and Xiaobao won't wake up if we talk like this."

Mei Niang and Wan Changsheng both laughed. They were sleeping like little pigs.

After Ping'an left, the couple washed up and went to bed.

"Husband, my words may not be pleasant to hear, but you have to listen to me. Be careful with your words when you go back, and don't let people think that we are rich. I only brought silver hairpins and silver bracelets with me because I am afraid that some people will see the glittering gold and think that we are rich.

Wan Qing's wedding cost you and your son more than fifty taels, plus the medical expenses that Ping'an paid for your eldest brother, it's more than one hundred taels. We have some money now, but Ping'an is getting married, and I don't know how much more money Xi'er and Xiaobao will need, so we should save what we can.

As for Wanxiang, let's not worry about it. Let Ping'an go. If Ping'an wants to take him, he can take him with him. But even if he wants to take him with him, he can only tell his family in private and take him away quietly before leaving. Otherwise, they will come to you. What will you do? He will definitely not agree, but it will also be unpleasant.

After this trip, we won’t be going back for a while. It’s too much trouble and frightening, not to mention the cost. ”