Chapter 55 Chapter 55 Two chapters merged into one

The children in front were talking about things, and the adults in the back were also talking enthusiastically, all throwing out their own chips.

Mrs. Jiang Liu said, "I am a person who speaks her mind. In the future, the Nanxunfang mansion will definitely be inherited by the eldest son. But don't worry, Madam Luo. We still have a shop in Jinliangqiao with oil-painted walls and five rooms in total. There is also a warehouse in the back. Now I am renting it to someone else to open a tea shop. The monthly rent is fifteen strings of cash. In addition, the one hundred acres of paddy fields in my dowry are all for them."

Luo Yu'e also said, "Since you are honest, I will not hide it. We have a house over at Zhouqiao, which we rent out to others. This house will also be used as a dowry for my eldest daughter in the future. In addition, you have also seen the house in Tianshui Lane. These land deeds and house deeds were also bought by my daughter alone. Moreover, she has this skill, and she can earn at least 100 or 200 strings of cash a year, and at most 300 or 400 strings of cash."

After they finished speaking, they smiled at each other.

Only at this time did Luo Yu'e feel the sincerity. Those who really wanted to become in-laws would definitely treat each other with sincerity.

After listening to Luo Yu'e, Mrs. Jiang Liu felt more and more satisfied. It is said that embroiderers rely on their youth to be employed, but even so, they can save up a large fortune when they are young, three or four hundred strings of cash a year, and more than a thousand strings of cash in three years.

She also held Luo Yu'e's hand and said, "When my eldest son got married, I sold a shop and gave my eldest son's wife a dowry of 500 strings of cash. I will give the same to my younger son's wife in the future."

Luo Yu'e was satisfied with this. Five hundred strings of cash was not a small amount of money. What was rare was that Mrs. Jiang Liu did not favor one over the other.

When they arrived at the gate of Renwangji Temple, Jinniang followed the adults in worshiping Buddha. Every time they worshipped Buddha, she asked Aying to bring the purse and put a handful of money into the merit box. Madam Jiang Liu thought that Madam Wei must be richer than her mother said, but she just didn't show it.

They had a vegetarian meal here at noon. Jinniang really ate the braised bamboo shoots that Jiang Xian had mentioned. It was really delicious and she even ate half a bowl of rice.

Because of the difference between men and women, Jiang Xian automatically went to the front in Renwangji Temple, and the two did not see each other when they parted later.

As soon as Jinniang got home, she rushed into the embroidery room. Chen Xiaolang wrote down the names of the people who needed embroidery today. When Jinniang saw the booklet, she found out that there were still three orders: to embroider a bamboo leaf collar, a pair of shoe uppers, and a pair of purses.

The collar cost six hundred wen, the uppers three hundred wen, and a pair of purses sixty wen, totaling more than nine hundred wen.

She was just beginning to cut the cloth when Luo Yu'e came in and asked with an ambiguous look in her eyes, "Jinniang, how is it? I think Jiang Shiliu is quite good, and looks like a handsome man."

"Mom, he is three years younger than me." Jinniang looked at her mother.

Luo Yu'e waved her hand: "As the saying goes, a woman three years older than you is a treasure. Besides, he is just the right age."

"What do you mean just right?" Jinniang didn't understand.

Luo Yu'e was not in a position to tell this to her daughter. Since ancient times, it has been easier for women to conceive when men are younger. Her daughter has been staying up late embroidering for many years, and her qi and blood are insufficient. She had lost weight before, and although she became much prettier, she had also lost a lot of hair. If she finds a younger man, it may be possible that he can help replenish her yin by absorbing yang.

Thinking of this, she told the story of the family fortune that Mrs. Jiang Liu had mentioned. "Her family was originally well-off. When the family was divided, they got a large house with three courtyards and a garden, as well as a small house with two courtyards, two shops and 500 acres of land. But when her daughter got married, she sold the house and gave 300 acres of land as a dowry. When her eldest son got married, she sold another shop, so the family fortune declined a lot."

Jinniang knows that poverty in the eyes of rich people is different from poverty in the eyes of poor people. Rich people may have fallen into a lower class and have less fun in appreciating flowers, buying antiques and calligraphy and paintings, but poverty for poor people means not having enough food to eat and warm clothes to wear.

When she heard Luo Yu'e talking about what the Jiang family would get if they split up, she was surprised: "I didn't expect Mrs. Jiang Liu to be so sincere."

This is very clear.

Luo Yu'e also smiled and said, "Yes, it's rare to see someone so frank. I'm telling you the truth."

"Mom, why do you say I can only earn that much in a year?" Although at the current rate of earning money, she can earn about 300 strings of cash a year, but...

Luo Yu'e said: "This is called raising the status. Our family is already honest enough. Do you know that other families rely on the matchmaker to blow their mouths to the sky and the earth?"

On the other side, Madam Jiang Liu was already very smart. She was having dinner with Master Jiang Liu. She dismissed the servants, coughed a few times, and then told him everything that happened today. She also said, "She has a younger brother who is studying with Wu Hanlin. Wu Shizhao praised her brother for his pure talent. Although he is not a person with extraordinary talent, he is focused on his studies and is also a promising talent."

Master Jiang Liu patted her on the back and said, "Don't worry too much. Now that we've decided, we can send someone to deliver the marriage proposal. We have to get married quickly, so we can stop some rumors."

Seeing that her husband's tone had softened a little, Mrs. Jiang Liu also breathed a sigh of relief. Originally, Yan'er and Xian'er from the eldest house had a very close relationship, but they were also slandered into such a terrible relationship. Later, the same was true in the Liu family. Liu Jixiang was her distant cousin, and she never thought that he would also believe such slander.

She took a bite of the food with chopsticks, but it was tasteless. Then she looked at the table and saw only one meat dish. She sighed slightly, "This eldest daughter-in-law is good in every way, but when I give her the house to run, she makes the food even tastier than the vegetarian food at Renwangji Temple."

The eldest daughter-in-law visited her husband every morning and evening, served her husband, and raised children. Everything was fine, but she just wanted her husband to be ambitious too much. This was a common problem among daughters of officials. They were afraid of falling into a lower social class, so they were particularly competitive.

She took out her own pocket money and asked someone to add two meat dishes for Jiang Xian.

In the hottest time of July, the Jianyang gauze that Jinniang had bought before came in handy. With a capital of 800 wen per piece of gauze, she made six gauze tops or skirts. The reason why she was able to do this business was because Jinniang acted as a model herself, and almost everyone who saw her wearing the clothes wanted to buy one.

The Jiang family has already sent a matchmaker to deliver the draft invitation. The dowry on the woman's invitation was written by her. There is nothing she can do about it. In the Northern Song Dynasty, a woman's dowry was independent of the man's property. Even if they divorced in the future or her husband died, the man had no right to touch her dowry. Therefore, Jinniang would certainly not hesitate to write it down.

Although there was no dowry, the dowry items did have inscriptions on them: one house in Renxiang (Choushuixiang) in Zhouqiaoli, one house in Xiaotianshuixiang, north of Xiangguo Temple, three shops, five hundred strings of silver as dowry, twelve pieces of silk and satin, some jewelry, a four-poster bed with mother-of-pearl inlay, some round chairs and embroidered stools, four quilt covers with "Wealth and Flowers" and "Happy Eyebrows", etc. As for the door curtains, tents, embroidered clothes and shoes, porcelain, etc., there is no need to elaborate.

She planned to take out 100 strings of cash to prepare her own dowry, and her parents added 20 strings of cash for her. Although she didn't want to boast, she still wanted to have everything she needed.

She could make all the embroidery for the dowry herself, which saved a lot of money, and she didn't have to make it complicated. It took her two or three months to embroider a wedding quilt for Miss Zhou. Now she could make her own, so she didn't have to make it too complicated, and she could finish the embroidery in half a year.

Therefore, she now works in the embroidery shop during the day and does her own embroidery work at night.

Seeing Chen Xiaolang coming back from outside again, Jinniang asked Aying to go to the back and get a bowl of mung bean soup. The mung bean soup had been boiled in the well and was cool.

After drinking two bowls in one breath, Chen Xiaolang finally felt comfortable and said, "Miss, I went to the eldest and third girls' homes and told them that the Jiang family would come to get the hairpins tomorrow and asked them to come. They all said they would come."

"Well, that's good." Jinniang said.

They had already met each other in advance and sent over the invitation, so they came here just to go through the motions. According to the custom in Bianjing, if a man liked a woman, he would leave her a gold hairpin; if he did not like her, he would leave her a piece of cloth.

Little did she know that Rongniang and Yingniang had already come together. Yingniang came directly to Rongniang and said, "Big sister, do you know which family the second sister is engaged to? When their servants came over, I was busy in the medicine shop."

"It was a servant who came over, and he couldn't explain it clearly, but judging from his appearance, it should be okay. Anyway, we will be able to see him tomorrow." Rong Niang said.

Yingniang was a careless person, and she usually only cared about her own affairs. When she realized that she couldn't get anything out of her, she left.

Jinniang doesn't have many relatives, and they have separated a long time ago, so they can't control what her family does. The Jiang family was in an uproar. Jiang Fang first found Jiang Xian after hearing about it and said, "You will take the exam next year. If you do well, you can find a good wife. Why would you marry a merchant?"

"Second brother, marriage is a big matter and it is our parents who make the decision. Besides, you know the situation at home. My parents are doing this for my own good." Jiang Xian's face was calm.

Jiang Fang whispered, "Do you know that she was a servant in the Zhou family? How can we become relatives with someone like that?"

Jiang Xian took a deep breath and said, "I appreciate Second Brother's kindness. She only helped embroider clothes for the Zhou family, and then she was admitted to the Wenxiu Academy. She bought a house in just a few years. This also shows her ability. What's more, whether I can pass the test is another matter."

"You, you are still the same as before. I really thought you have changed a lot. Your parents really spoil you like killing you. They have favored you since you were a child. Now they don't want you to suffer and gain fame, but only want to marry a rich man for you and let you live a life of leisure." Jiang Fang has never had much patience. Seeing that Jiang Xian couldn't make sense, he waved his sleeves and prepared to leave.

Jiang Xian's expression changed when he heard this: "You are putting the blame on me. If you were not adopted by yourself, mother wouldn't be so angry that she got sick. If so, she wouldn't be so anxious to find a marriage for me. I think you are the one who hasn't changed."

The two brothers were at loggerheads with each other, neither giving in.

After parting with his second brother, Jiang Xian was walking aimlessly on the street. He didn't expect to end up in Tianshui Lane. The servant behind him reminded him, "Sixteenth Young Master, this is the shop of our future wife."

Jiang Xian didn't expect that he would end up here, but now that he had reached the door of someone's house, it seemed like it would be bad if he didn't go in. He lifted his skirt and climbed the stairs, but he didn't expect that when he came in, only the waiter was there. He was about to speak when the maid came in from behind and took a look at him, very surprised: "Why are you here?"

Ah Ying came in and told Jin Niang that Jiang Xian was coming. Jin Niang said, "Go to the alley and buy a few bowls of sugar iced Xiao Yuanzi. I'll be out right away."

She didn't know why Jiang Xian came to her house. Could it be that he wanted to break off the engagement? I still want to say something.

Unfortunately, her parents had to accompany her brother to the Luming Academy to take the exam, so she had to go out. When Jinniang came out, Jiang Xian, who had been a little fidgety, suddenly calmed down a lot. He quickly stood up and saluted: "Hello, my lady."

Jinniang smiled and said, "Why did you come out in such hot weather? Do you have something to say?"

If it's something bad, just say it quickly, she can handle it. Unexpectedly, Jiang Xian scratched his head and finally showed a trace of behavior that was consistent with his age, "I just walked here unknowingly."

"Since you're here at my shop, would you like to take a look?" Jinniang said.

Jiang Xian saw the couch and table on the east side, several ready-made clothes hanging on the carved hanger on the right, and all kinds of fabrics behind the counter. He also followed Jinniang to the embroidery room, where Jinniang showed him her album and she did needlework on the side.

Little did he know that Jiang Xian picked up the album and looked at it very seriously, and said, "Which art shop did you buy those silk paintings outside from? They are all very beautiful. You have a good eye."

"I imitated some masters of flower and bird painting, but I'll just take it as a compliment." Jinniang said with a smile.

Jiang Xian saw that she was wearing a gauze dress today, with a pair of pink silk flowers in her hair. She looked youthful and natural, not delicate or artificial. He lowered his head and said, "My wife is so capable, I am praising her."

"I can't say I'm capable, but I just put in a little more effort than others. I asked someone to bring a few bowls of ice cream. I wonder if you can eat ice. If not, I'll ask Aying to order some tea." Jinniang glanced at him.

Jiang Xian secretly thought that Madam Wei was so considerate, but Jinniang didn't know that he thought so much of her. She lowered her head and embroidered a few more stitches. Seeing that Aying used the lotus bowl at home, she nodded secretly.

After eating a bowl of iced snow, Jiang Xian didn't feel so hot anymore. He looked around and said, "It's just getting hot now, but it will get hotter after the middle of July. My wife is still embroidering here. Isn't it too hot?"

Yes, she still cares about herself. Jinniang said, "It was fine when I was in Wenxiuyuan before, but now I have forgotten it at home. I will buy an ice jar and ask someone to go to the cold cellar to ask in a few days."

But Jiang Xian said, "Why bother buying it? I can just send it to you from home."

Jinniang quickly tried to stop her: "How can this be good? You have things in your house that you will need." She wants other people's things before they even get married. How can this be?

"Why are you so distant with me, madam?" Jiang Xian was very dissatisfied with Jinniang's distant attitude.

Jinniang looked at him and said, "My dear, please listen to me. This is not a matter of estrangement. If it is not proper, won't it cause gossip? I know your feelings, which is better than anything else."

As soon as she finished speaking, she heard Aying say that there were guests outside, so Jinniang went out first.

Jiang Xian was in the embroidery room listening to Jinniang introducing the guests outside as they came. Needless to say, she was very attentive and patient. She spoke very precisely and used accurate words.

"You mean you want to make a jacket with narrow sleeves, but you don't want the shoulders to be too wide, right? Then make it fit more closely, preferably with Luo."

After measuring the size, deciding the pattern and time, the deal was completed quickly.

Jiang Xian wanted to talk for a while longer, but he saw Jinniang coming in with a piece of silk and cutting it in no time. He looked at the dark pattern on the silk and said, "This seems to be the color of Tang Sancai? It's really beautiful."

"Really? I bought this from a businessman in Shaanxi. It has a light green base and four small white flowers with yellow stamens. The distribution is so beautiful." It is easy for large cloth shops to sell similar products. To find this kind of unique cloth, you need to have a unique vision.

After saying that, she saw that Jiang Xian couldn't let it go, his eyes sparkling. As the boss, she could guess his intention at once, just like the customers who came to her to look at the materials on weekdays: "Do you like this too? Otherwise, I will make one for you and send it to you when you get engaged."

Jiang Xian smiled and said, "If I refuse, it will be true or false. Then you should not be so formal with me. I will send you the ice mirror tomorrow."

Jinniang blushed slightly: "Okay."

Then he added, "Then you should go back now, so that people won't gossip about you."

"Well." Jiang Xian knew that Jinniang had a very strict upbringing, so he didn't sit for long.

Jiang Xian was not in a very good mood at first, but after leaving Wei's embroidery shop, he felt very happy. His servant Liu Dou'er said, "Madam Wei is so kind. She even asked someone to buy ice and snow for me. I was resting in the corridor just now. Opposite is the kitchen. I don't know what kind of soup she is cooking in the kitchen. It smells really good."

Jiang Xian slapped him: "You're just a greedy person."

Dou'er was still young, white and plump, with no other problems except that he was very greedy. When the master and servant came out of Wei's house, they saw a tea shop called Jiang's North and South Branch at the end of Tianshui Lane. Jiang Xian remembered that his sister-in-law was in charge now and cooked light Fujian dishes, so he couldn't help but say, "Let's go to this shop to eat."

He even ordered an extra dish, Jiangling's famous dish, "Winter Melon and Turtle Skirt Soup".

After the two of them finished eating, they packed up a few special dishes from Jiang’s Restaurant and sent them to his parents.

The next day, Jinniang got up early in the morning and dressed up. Feng Sheng and Rong Niang were the first to arrive, and they brought Lin Ge'er and Guan Ge'er with them. Luo Yu'e asked Yang Ge'er to play with the two nephews, and prepared a plate of snacks for everyone.

Rong Niang saw that the yard was cleaned very neatly, and bamboo curtains were hung on the opposite veranda and a table was set up. She couldn't help but ask, "Second Aunt, are you going to entertain guests in the porch?"

"There are trees planted under the corridor and flowers placed next to it. It's cool and we can smell the fragrance of flowers. How nice." Luo Yu'e said with a smile.

Feng Sheng couldn't help but ask: "Which family did Jinniang marry?"

Although Luo Yu'e liked to show off and was a bit vain, she was more afraid that Jinniang's marriage would not be harmonious and that others would ruin it, so she just said, "They are from a family with the surname Jiang. Although their ancestors were officials, they are no longer like that and are now studying at home."

Feng Sheng said "Oh". After he changed to a new clinic, the pressure was not as great as before, but the salary was much lower, and he was less aggressive than before.

Luo Yu'e said, "We hired someone to cook at a nearby restaurant today. We all have to do business. Ju Xiang at home is good at making home-cooked dishes, but he might be afraid to cook big dishes. You should eat more today. The donkey meat he makes is delicious."

Rong Niang smiled and went to the second floor to see Jin Niang. Jin Niang had already dressed up and was still doing embroidery. If it were in the past, she would definitely scold her, but now, she felt vaguely impressed.

After a while, Yingniang and her husband came again. It was almost the same as if Yingniang had not given birth to a daughter. Her mother-in-law or Anping took care of the child, and she was only responsible for selling medicine in the pharmacy.

After they went upstairs to see Jinniang, they all went downstairs to chat. Then other guests came over. Jinniang concentrated on sewing one side of the dress, cut off the thread, and continued to sew the other side.

After a while, Chen Xiaolang ran to the back and said, "Madam, the Jiang family is here."

All the Jiang family members were here today, including Master Jiang Liu, Madam Jiang Liu, and their eldest son Jiang Yan and eldest daughter-in-law Xu. Wei Xiong and Luo Yu'e welcomed them in.

Feng Sheng realized at first glance that the Jiang family members were of unusual status, especially when he saw Jiang Xian, his eyes lit up. This person was clearly the son of some government official. The Jiang family also sent a draft invitation from the man. Feng Sheng took it and looked at it. It mentioned his great-grandfather, the former Vice-Chancellor, posthumously awarded the title of Minister of the Ministry of Revenue, his grandfather so-and-so, and his father so-and-so.

As the few of them were chatting, Feng Sheng immediately stepped forward to start the conversation, which surprised Luo Yu'e and Rong Niang.

Then we heard Wu Hanlin and his wife coming outside the door. Old Madam Wu was the matchmaker, and Wu Shizhao was from the Painting Academy of the Hanlin Academy. He had something to talk about with Master Jiang Liu and Jiang Xian's brother.

While everyone was chatting, Wu Shizhao asked Wei Xiong, "How was it yesterday when you sent Yang Ge'er to Luming Academy?"

"Thanks to you, my son passed the exam. I thought it would be a good thing to get in, but I didn't expect that he would be sent to the inner dormitory. My husband and I will send him there in a few days." Wei Xiong has now learned how to deal with it.

Feng Sheng was puzzled again. Wei Yang, a little kid who only loved to buy toys and play with woodworking, was actually an apprentice of a Hanlin and entered Luming Academy. You should know that Luming Academy is second only to Kaifeng Academy.

How come so many things happened in the second room, but he didn't know anything?

Master Jiang Liu originally felt a little embarrassed to come to a merchant's house, but when he heard that there was a scholar in the family, he called Wei Yang over. Wei Yang was handsome, and although he was honest, he looked like a studious and polite person, so he was much more satisfied.

The Jiang family brought a load of "engagement wine" today. They wrapped the wine bottle in a net bag, decorated it with eight large flowers, colorful raw silk, and eight silver coins as colorful flowers, and then tied it to the wine load with red silk. It was called "Jiaodanhong". The Wei family prepared two bottles of clean water, three to five live fish, and a pair of chopsticks, and put them into the wine bottle sent by the man, which is called "returning fish chopsticks."

After finishing all these, Madam Jiang Liu went upstairs to see Jinniang in person. Jinniang immediately stood up to greet her, but Madam Jiang Liu supported her and said, "Good child, I felt that we were destined to be together last time, and now we are really going to become a family."

Jinniang smiled and said, "I didn't expect that either. I'm still young, so I hope you can give me more advice in the future."

Mrs. Jiang Liu said, "I have already told your mother what I should say. In fact, as long as you children are well behaved, we as parents will be fine. Here, I will put this hairpin on your hair for you."

Jinniang stood up and saw that Madam Jiang Liu was holding a double-branched golden phoenix hairpin in her hand. She lowered her head slightly and Madam Jiang Liu put it on.

The two exchanged a few more polite words, and Mrs. Jiang Liu was about to leave. When she was at the door, she turned around and said, "Shiliu Lang brought the ice jar today. Remember to move it to the embroidery room. Don't overheat yourself."

Jinniang blushed slightly.