Chapter 28 Chapter 28 Two chapters merged into one

Mr. Zhou's plan to find a son-in-law from the list failed. It was said that most of these successful candidates had already arranged their marriages when they took the exam, but the Zhou family still had other happy events to celebrate, and the second young lady was about to marry into the family.

Look, the dowry has come in.

Jinniang and the others also ran to the front yard to watch the fun. The people from the Zhang family who were delivering the dowry were wearing royal blue shorts with grey trousers, and each had a red handkerchief tied around their waist. In front were camphorwood boxes painted with gold, some of which had peony patterns and some had peach patterns, which looked magnificent.

Not to mention the furniture that was delivered later, all of which were complete sets. What interested Jinniang the most were the rattan incense tables and the incense tables made of tree roots, which were simple and elegant. Fang Qiaolian pushed her and said, "Look, the screens are all made of mother-of-pearl. I like this kind."

"No, I like the plum blossom painting screen." Jinniang said with a smile.

The dowry was not just furniture and quilts, there were even several toilet bowls prepared, not to mention that the Zhang family was a scholarly family and they also gave a dowry of several boxes of ancient books, calligraphy and paintings, which was jaw-dropping.

Qin Shuang'er heard the endless cheers around her, and then glanced at Cui Xian who was busying around not far away, and smiled contemptuously. The new wife was coming with great momentum, and the maid who used to serve her might not be able to stay.

Jinniang who was standing by also saw the look in Qin Shuang'er's eyes. She thought that Qin Shuang'er and Cuixian had no grudges in the past or present. Even if the Second Madam came in and didn't like Cuixian, the eldest girl, it had nothing to do with Qin Shuang'er. Was it necessary to be like this?

After watching the excitement, Jinniang went back first. After she finished embroidering the Buddhist scriptures, the second master rewarded her with a pound of seven-spice baskets, a piece of purple gauze, and two strings of cash. This year, she could bring a lot more things to her parents and brother than last year. She prepared a piece of silk, three feet of gauze, and a pair of candles and asked the people from Shu Embroidery Pavilion to help bring them back.

No matter what, she had to save some money to support herself.

Especially when people are young, they must accumulate more experience. In her previous life, when she just graduated, she was at a loss and had no plan for her future. It took her more than a year after graduation to gradually find her direction, but she also missed many good opportunities.

When she was thinking this, she saw Lan Xue coming in: "Jin Niang, the Second Madam will be coming home tomorrow. There are many guests outside. You have to come over and help."

"Okay, I have nothing to do tomorrow, so who else should I help if not you?" Jinniang put her arm around Lan Xue's arm, sat down, and ate snacks with her.

Lan Xue saw Jinniang eating four snacks at once. She patted Jinniang and said, "Didn't you say you wanted to lose weight?"

"Hehe." Jinniang smiled foolishly. Although she was very perseverant in making money, she didn't have much perseverance in losing weight.

Because she often stays up late to do needlework, she will have no energy if she doesn't eat. Now that she has finished eating, she has to continue painting a new pattern. Today's painting is "Bean Pudding Dragonfly".

Lan Xue was sitting down and said, "Tomorrow, all the relatives, friends, and colleagues from the master will be here. I'm afraid our little teahouse will be very busy."

"Don't talk about tomorrow. Now that the Second Madam's dowry has been delivered, you should probably prepare tea and snacks." Jinniang said with a smile.

Lan Xue sighed, resigned herself to her fate and stood up: "You're right, I'll go back now."

Jinniang smiled and shook her head. Then she saw Qin Shuang'er coming in. As soon as she entered the inner room, she said to Jinniang, "The second young lady happened to get along well with Qiaolian, so she asked her to come over to make shoes."

"That's also Qiao Lian's ability." Jinniang didn't care. She didn't like the second girl at all. She was young, had a bad temper, and was very mean. She wished that the second girl would never look for her.

Therefore, Qin Shuang'er's provocation was ineffective.

Instead, Jin Niang looked at Qin Shuang'er and said, "How are Sister Cuixian and Sister Bi'e? I heard that the Zhang family sent a maid over."

Speaking of this Qin Shuang'er said: "I don't know about those two girls, but the Second Madam's people are very well behaved. The three or four maids all have smiling faces and stand straight, just like the ruler we use to measure clothes."

"Aren't there a lot more servants in the Second Master's room?" Jinniang calculated that Zhou Cunzhi originally had six maids, and now that the Second Madam had married in, there were probably another 10 to 20 people serving him closely.

It is a big hassle to get along with so many people. Jinniang thinks it is really not easy for the bride. She has arrived in an unfamiliar environment. Her husband has people he is used to working with and is in an environment he is familiar with, but the bride has to adapt to so many people in her husband's family, and the Zhou family's main branch is very prosperous.

The next morning, which was the day of the second young master's wedding, Jiang's two sisters-in-law, Wu and Xi, came to help. Since the space in the first room was limited, the second room also placed a lot of things in their corridor. The relationship between the three wives of the Zhou family has always been very good. Jiang knew the reason. Wu was a concubine who gave birth to a child when she was over 30 years old. Besides, she was not a person who liked to fight for power. Xi's family background was even lower, so they did not dare to steal her limelight.

In the past, Jiang was proud of her outstanding family background and both a son and a daughter. Now, her daughter-in-law's family background is better than her son's, and her son is not a polite person. She is afraid that such a marriage will end in resentment.

Just as she was thinking about it, she saw Luying come in and said, "Madam, the ladies of the Han family are here."

Jiang said quickly, "Hurry up, have someone serve the tea."

Luying hurried down to give instructions.

Jinniang and her friends in the sewing room locked the door today and were helping out everywhere. Qin Shuang'er had gone to the second young master's courtyard to help a long time ago. It's said that whoever is close to the water gets the moon first. After all, the bride will get wedding money as soon as she enters the house. Fang Qiaolian and Jinniang were helping out in the tea room. Little maids like Si'er and Xiaohe were running errands and delivering messages everywhere.

Lan Xue's place is full of Jianzhan teapots, which have large mouths and small bottoms, and some are shaped like funnels. Jinniang and her friends come over on weekdays and sometimes help, which leads to her gradually learning something about the tea ceremony even though she originally knew nothing about it.

She first poured in a spoonful and a half of tea powder, added an appropriate amount of water, and beat it with a tea whisk, that is, beat the tea powder into a dense foam, making the tea soup have a gelatinous texture. Then she handed it to Lan Xue, who used a teaspoon dipped in water to paint, and the tea was ready, just like coffee latte art.

The last step is a technical job, which Jinniang cannot do for the time being. She can only work like an assembly line worker, working hard to create foam. She is plump, strong and skillful, and the foam she makes is praised by Lan Xue and others.

"Jinniang, if you keep doing this, you will be able to become a master." Lan Xue smiled.

Jinniang waved her hand: "I have put all my energy over the years into your tea."

One bowl can be divided into four cups of tea. Lan Xue was moving the dagger in the front and almost directly installed it in the back.

Caijuan from the eldest lady's room came over and said, "Lanxue, are you done?"

"Okay, okay, give it to the Han family. It's all ready." Lan Xue was almost furious with being urged.

As soon as they left, Jinniang spread her hands and said, "Go on, this is the first time, let's keep playing, customers will surely come in an endless stream."

Lan Xue said, "You don't have to be too busy. The Madam has hired four departments and six bureaus. They are specialized people and are much better than us."

Four departments and six bureaus? Jinniang recalled that in their countryside, when they had a banquet, they would ask the neighbors to come and help, and that people lived a good life in any era if they had money.

In this way, she slowed down for a while, but someone immediately urged her that Madam Jiang and her group had arrived, so Jinniang had to continue making foam with the tea whisk.

The front yard was also busy, and the fourth girl had also dressed up. Starting this year, she no longer dressed like before, but dressed like a young girl, with a double-ring bun on her head, like an unmarried girl, with a bridge hairpin in the middle.

Miao Xiaoniang and her friends were not allowed to go to the main courtyard for such occasions. The fourth girl used to think that Miao Xiaoniang was treated well, but now she knows that she is being ignored and it is actually very painful. In modern times, everyone says that they can eat and drink well and don’t have to work, and they are willing to lie down and don’t mind being scolded. But in ancient times, people felt that the respect of others was more important than anything else.

When they arrived at the ear room, the other girls had all arrived and were drinking tea. The fourth girl saw that her three sisters were all dressed up very formally, especially the third sister, who was naturally beautiful and now even more outstanding. Little did she know that she was looking at others, and others were also looking at her. The fourth girl was also extremely beautiful, and she was a little uncomfortable with it. In her previous life, she was just pretty, but after traveling through time to ancient times, she had changed into the appearance of a beauty.

The third sister and she were both born out of wedlock. Normally, the third sister was a bit competitive, but now she was also very motivated. However, the marriages of the eldest and second sisters were still ahead, so it was still a long way to go for her turn.

She had just sat down when she saw the maids asking them to go to the main room. As soon as the fourth girl entered, she was almost fainted by the suffocation of the hair oil. Sitting in the inner room were the in-laws of the Han and Jiang families. The Han family was still standing strong, and that was what the old lady relied on. Not to mention the Jiang family, although their descendants were weak, a lean camel was still bigger than a horse.

Madam Jiang often comes here, but Madam Han seldom comes. Today she wears a white-horned crown with a bowl-sized flower pinned on it, and a wide-sleeved dress with peony pattern jacquard silk, which looks very elegant. When Madam Han met them, she gave them all gifts. In such a grand occasion, no one mentioned whether they were born legitimately or illegitimately, and the gifts were the same. However, Madam Han praised the eldest and second daughters obviously more, and the third sister and her much less.

They cannot argue at this time, because if they do, they will be blamed.

"This is the fourth daughter of your family. Oh, she is so neatly made."

This sentence ends here.

The fourth girl lowered her eyes. She didn't dare to steal the limelight from her sisters. However, she was the soul of a twenty-something, while the third girl was a real eleven-year-old soul. She would interrupt at appropriate times to express herself, but this also made Jiang a little unhappy.

…

Jinniang was completely unaware of the intrigues among the ladies and young ladies; she just waited for the banquet to begin.

Today, the Fourth Department and Sixth Bureau cooked a lot of things in the kitchen that had never been seen in the Zhou family. Mrs. Hu left a portion for her, and Jinniang went to a secluded corridor to eat.

The moment she opened the food box, Jinniang was in a good mood: "So many delicious foods..."

There were several side dishes in the lunch box. The yellow bone crispy fish was small and crispy, and it was crunchy when bitten. The pig trotter melted in the mouth, and it was paired with crystal clear rice, which was simply amazing.

She was eating outside on the porch, thinking that no one noticed her, but she didn't expect that there was a young man in the pavilion watching her eat. He had rarely eaten rice since he was a child, let alone meat, and he felt sick after eating it. But why did she eat so deliciously? It smelled so good that he even felt a little hungry.

"I want a meat dish, too." the boy said.

He also wants to eat that delicious food.

But when she saw someone coming out here, Jinniang was afraid of being discovered, so she hurriedly ate a few mouthfuls of rice and left, but she didn't know that the boy finally had a meal after she left.

The boy's surname is Han. He has a special identity. Although his parents are both dead, he is a direct descendant of the Han family and was raised by the eldest master of the Han family. Because the eldest master felt sorry for his younger brother who had both lost his wife and brother, he doted on his nephew very much. However, no matter how many ways he tried, it was useless because his nephew did not like to eat.

Today, he had finished his meal, and someone told Mrs. Han about it. Mrs. Han was very surprised and said, "It's really the blessing of the Bodhisattva."

"If this girl is good, just bring her to our house. The Jiang family will definitely not be stingy. Do you know who she is?" Madam Han asked casually.

The maid shook her head: "I didn't see clearly who it was. When the person left, the girl ran away."

Madam Han curled her lips and said, "It's not a big deal. Just find a maid to eat with him on weekdays."

The maid smiled and said, "Madam is very kind."

"Shh, stop talking, the bride is coming." said Mrs. Han.

When the bride came in, Jinniang got a handful of wedding candies. She opened one and put it in her mouth: "It's so sweet."

Si Er smiled and said, "Sister Jinniang, is the Second Young Master going to marry the Second Young Mistress now?"

"Yes, it's time for the wedding ceremony. After the ceremony, we will meet our parents and then go to the bridal chamber. Let's go. It's still cold in spring. Let's go back to the sewing room. Tomorrow we will see our second grandmother." Jinniang said.

Si Er often runs errands and is well-informed. She said, "I heard that Sister Bi'e was sent away to marry a servant. I never expected that."

Speaking of Bi'e, Jinniang thought of a beautiful and pretty girl, and felt a little sorry: "I thought she would become a mistress in the future."

In the past, maids like Bi'e and Cuixian were so majestic, just like deputy grandmothers, but now their fate is no different. In fact, there was nothing wrong with Bi'e. Her biggest fault was that she was born beautiful. Therefore, after Jinniang finished her work in the Zhou family, she had accumulated capital and would never be a slave in the future.

She didn't see the eldest grandmother until three days later, when they were called to Jiang's place along with Madam Chen.

After greeting, Jiang said, "Our eldest daughter has been promised to someone else. The date is set for two years from now. You should start preparing the dowry. I'll open the storehouse and take you there later. Brother Cun's wife will also come along to give you some advice."

Although the Second Mistress was young, she looked a little shy when they came in. She kept her head down and stood beside Jiang. Suddenly she said, "Madam, if you trust your daughter-in-law, you can ask your needlework people to take a look at mine. Although my daughter-in-law's is not very good, it can always be used as a reference."

Jinniang secretly thought that the second wife was a straightforward person, not shy and generous, but even such a slightly outgoing person gave people the impression of being very strong.

Mrs. Chen said at the right moment: "Second Madam's wedding dress is so exquisitely made."

Second wife Zhang was shy again.

Jiang said, "I was the only one at home before, and I was always too busy. Now that you are here, it is a good opportunity to help me. Anyway, this family will be run by you young people in the future."

"What are you talking about, madam? I know nothing. I just hope to learn a thing or two from you so as not to make a fool of myself." The second grandmother has just married. Her husband is so charming and suave. It is the time of sweetness between them. Even when she is following the rules, she is sweet and always smiles when she speaks.

The mother-in-law and daughter-in-law seemed to be in harmony with each other, but Jinniang was thinking that their real mission had finally begun. They had been learning other things for more than a year, and now it was time for them to show their real skills. Shu embroidery was originally mostly used at weddings. This is what Jinniang wanted to learn the most from Chen Niangzi. Only during a wedding would a large number of clothes, quilts, and tents be made. These were big businesses, and nothing else would do.

But Jinniang had too little experience and had no idea what other things a woman from a wealthy family had when she got married besides wedding clothes and quilts. If she could figure that out, she would be a great embroiderer in the future, and at least she would know everything about weddings and funerals.

If she could return to Shu Embroidery Pavilion and become a head embroiderer when she reached the age of 15, she could earn three strings of cash a month. Even if she got married, she would still have her own skills. She yearned for Jinxiu Pavilion, Wenxiu Courtyard and Xiu Lane, but no matter how much she yearned for them, she knew it would be difficult for her to stay there, as the housing prices in Tokyo were not affordable for ordinary people.

Soon, they followed Jiang to the storeroom, which was filled with the dowry she had prepared. It was truly dazzling. The first thing that caught their eyes was a six-pillar nanmu bed inlaid with a continuous pattern of "Wan" characters. Further inside, there was a huanghuali double-moon-shaped canopy bed. Next to it was a beech carved canopy bed and a black lacquered canopy bed with mother-of-pearl patterns of flowers and butterflies.

The bed alone is rare and valuable, not to mention the chairs with hanging lamps, Arhat couches, bookcases, desks, chess tables, curved-legged tables, and flower tables, all of which are too numerous to be seen.

Mrs. Chen also took a deep breath and said, "Madam, I am ignorant. In the past, it would take two or three years to make an embroidery piece that was half as much as this. I am afraid we can't delay it now."

The Second Mistress also said, "Yes, Madam, there is no time to lose. My sister is getting married to the Wang Dacan family, so there can't be any mistakes."

Wang Dasan’s family? Jinniang was puzzled. It turned out to be the prime minister's family. No wonder this marriage was kept so secret. Last time, they even brought a box of pearls to make pearl clothes. The dowry was even more than Zhang's. It all made sense.

This made Qin Shuang'er regretful. She had originally planned to go to the eldest daughter, but was beaten to it by Jinniang. She then went to curry favor with Nanny Lin and even acknowledged her as her godmother, giving her a lot of money. However, the second wife was too powerful, and the eldest daughter had to marry higher up. She was caught between a rock and a hard place.

After looking at the storeroom, Jiang said to Chen Niangzi, "If you want to measure the size, go find Luying. I will tell her."

"If possible, let's start as soon as possible." Madam Chen was also anxious, because if she was too anxious, it would be easy to make mistakes, which would ruin her reputation.

It is often the case that the people doing the work know the inside story first because they have to prepare first.

After they all knew about it, Jiang told the news to her family. The eldest girl shyly accepted everyone's congratulations. Jinniang remembered that she had offended her last time, and immediately took out the purse she had made when she had nothing to do as a gift.

The eldest girl had worked hard to become the wife of a Jinshi, but now she was going to become the prime minister's daughter-in-law. She had also met the prime minister's youngest son, Wang Sanlang, and he was indeed an extremely respectable man. Therefore, she had to act more tolerant and virtuous.

When he saw Jinniang, he lost his previous aggressiveness and said, "You have a lot of things to do in the sewing room, how can I ask you to deliver this for me?"

"What are you saying, young lady? You have always treated me well. Whenever I have free time, I will definitely show my filial piety to you. However, I'm afraid our sewing room will have to work day and night from now on." Jinniang joked.

The older girl pointed at her and said, "You little bitch, you've learned to make fun of me."

Jinniang joked a few more times before she breathed a sigh of relief. She had guessed correctly. The eldest girl had now found a good marriage and had a generous dowry prepared by the eldest lady. She wished that everyone in the world would praise her.

In fact, except for those barefoot ladies who don't care about their image, generally speaking, those in power are particularly kind and tolerant, because they can get more by behave this way.

The eldest daughter accepted everyone's congratulations during the day. At night, Jiang brought a wooden box over, dismissed the servants, opened the box, and took out a land deed and a house deed. "When I got married, my family gave me two shops as a dowry, a silk and velvet shop with a capital of 5,000 taels, and a woolen thread shop with a capital of 6,500 taels. You and your sister each get one. As for you, your father and I spent a lot of effort to arrange this marriage. Your sister's marriage is to your aunt's third cousin, and his capital is lower than yours. So, I will give the shop with more capital to your sister. I hope you don't mind."

The eldest girl quickly shook her head: "How could mother say such a thing? Is my sister...really He San's cousin?"

"Yes." Jiang did not hide it from her eldest daughter.

Because she would not be able to continue to be the housekeeper for a few more years, and after her daughter-in-law came into the family, she would have to hand over the housekeeper power sooner or later. Back then, her mother-in-law handed it over to her immediately after she came into the family.

Now that I have settled the marriages of my two daughters, I am happy.

The eldest girl pursed her lips and said, "Mother, don't worry. Not only do I not mind, I also hope you can give more dowry to my sister. She is a person who cannot stand being bullied. Although my aunt's family is not someone else's, I will always feel more comfortable when the time comes to hold the dowry in my own hands."

She was also afraid that her younger sister would blame their mother for being unfair and create a rift between herself and her sisters.

Jiang heaved a sigh of relief after hearing what her eldest daughter said. "My son, this really shows your generosity. With such a broad mind, you will definitely be able to live well in the Wang family in the future. As for the shop, I gave it to you privately. I took 1,000 strings of cash from the public treasury. Your grandmother also gave me 2,000 strings of cash today. Your uncle also gave me 1,000 strings of cash. Even your third uncle's family gave me 200 strings of cash. Your father gave me 5,000 strings of cash from his private savings. I plan to help you buy some land in the near future. These are long-term harvests. Business is easy to lose money. I took out more than 10,000 strings of cash from my mother, which will make up 20,000 strings of cash for you as a deposit."

"Mom, this is too much..." The eldest girl hurriedly shook her head.

Jiang said firmly: "If I don't give it to you, will you give it to those young women to raise? Your father may have a good career in the future at his age, and your concubine sisters may also marry better than you, but without much dowry, they may not be willing to marry."

Mother was ensuring the status of the sisters because if the third and fourth sisters married well in the future, father would definitely force mother to give her private money to the illegitimate sisters. Although their Zhou family had been officials for generations, they were not a noble family and their money was limited.

Just like this, the relationship between father and mother...

The eldest girl asked worriedly, "Aren't you afraid that Dad will resent you?"

Jiang gritted her teeth and said, "I have waited for so many years, until your brother finally got married and your marriage was also settled. I have endured enough. When you sisters get married, I won't have to look at his expression anymore."