Because the ancestral hall will be open for worship in the afternoon, Brothers Hot Pot Restaurant will be closed for half a day today.

When Qingyao returned home, she was surprised to see all her brothers at home.

"Mother, come and see! This lake-blue silk suits you so well!"

As soon as I got home and walked into the house, I saw my sons unpacking the gift boxes that had been piling up in the house for the past few days.

Jiang Yue looked up at the sound and saw Qingsong holding a neatly folded piece of silk fabric, presenting it to her as if it were a treasure.

Aoyama also took out an exquisite palm-leaf fan. Remembering that his mother didn't like this kind of fan, he asked:

"Mother, this palm leaf fan is so beautiful. May I give it to Daxue to fan herself?"

“These were all given to your third brother by someone else. You should ask him, not me.”

Jiang Yue waved her hand, sat down in the armchair, poured herself a glass of water, and drank it after speaking.

And you know what? Aunt Ge is quite thoughtful; she made chrysanthemum tea that had been cooled down, which is good for clearing heat and reducing internal fire.

"Hehe, Mom, we asked our third brother, and he said what's his is yours, and you can do whatever you want with it!"

Qingsong grinned and then happily twirled around after speaking.

Upon hearing this, Jiang Yue understood the situation. She looked around and asked:

"By the way, where are the Qingyun people?"

"My third brother said he had something to discuss with Changjun. He went out for a while and should be back soon."

Qingsong put the lake-blue silk back in its place, turned to answer her mother, and then began to unpack the other gift boxes.

Who can resist the joy of unpacking?

Qingyao, watching from the side, was itching to join in, let alone the two brothers who had already been taking things apart for a while.

The more parts are disassembled, the more problems arise.

The gifts from Magistrate Liu were mostly writing implements, books, and biographies.

Other local gentry mostly gave gifts of gold, silver, jewelry, pearls, agate, and silk.

Although the two brothers were wealthy and worldly-wise, they couldn't help but feel suspicious in the face of such an extravagant gift.

My own third brother only passed the imperial examination at the county level, yet so many people sent him congratulatory gifts.

If one were to pass the imperial examination and become a court official, wouldn't that mean...?

Moreover, in their minds, accepting a gift means you have to do something for that person; if you only accept the gift and don't do anything, wouldn't that be...?

But now that our wings are not fully grown, if we don't cherish our feathers, wouldn't that lead to...?

The two brothers lost their initial enthusiasm and their expressions became somewhat serious. After putting down their things, they quickly discussed with their mother how to deal with the gifts from these people.

After hearing her two sons' ideas, Jiang Yue couldn't help but feel a sense of pride and joy, like a mother whose sons have grown up.

Qingyun is still young and doesn't yet understand the implications.

Qingshan and Qingsong are getting on in years, so it's time for them to shoulder the responsibilities of men in this family!

She was quite surprised that the two of them were not blinded by wealth such as gold and silver jewelry.

Now that we've realized this is inappropriate, we should try to find a compromise without offending these people.

Just then, Qingyun returned, bringing Changjun with him.

Changjun looked anxious, distressed, and at a loss, which Jiang Yue noticed, so she asked him what was wrong.

"Auntie, several groups of people came to my house with wedding gifts. They were too expensive, and my mother, grandparents, and I were terrified. They're afraid that accepting them will become a burden on me in the future..."

Sure enough, Changjun's family also realized something was wrong.

The group sat together and began to chatter amongst themselves.

By the time Aunt Ge had finished cooking the shredded chicken noodles and was about to call the host family for lunch, everyone had already come up with a solution.

Make a list and register all the gifts sent. Keep one or two of the less valuable items, such as the Four Treasures of the Study, and return the rest to the families unopened, along with a thank-you note.

Without further ado, Changjun smiled and respectfully bid farewell to Aunt Jiang.

She nodded to her sister and brother-in-law, waved to the others, and then left.

Aunt Ge carried a tray with four bowls of chicken noodle soup, making two trips back and forth. After setting the table, she returned to the kitchen, squatted in a corner, and ate her own bowl of chicken noodle soup...

Yes, she can also eat chicken noodle soup.

This was something she never dared to dream of. Even in her former master's household, where she held a high position and enjoyed better food and drink, she was still just a servant to the master's family.

The food was naturally what the master left over, and the clothes were naturally the uniform servants' clothes.

Now, although she doesn't dress as well as before, she's just like most of the women in the village. When people see her, they assume she's hired by the owner and don't give her any strange looks.

Although we didn't eat at the same table as the host family, the food wasn't leftovers. Instead, after the food was served to the host family, we were allowed to serve ourselves a portion as well...

She felt that these days were wonderful!

After eating and drinking her fill, Jiang Yue went back to her room to change into a plain white dress, and also told the children to change into plain white clothes as well.

Establishing an ancestral hall is a sacred matter, and commemorating ancestors is an even more solemn one!

There is no room for carelessness or negligence.

Fortunately, the children cooperated and went back inside to change into plain white clothes.

Here, just after changing his clothes, the village chief sent his grandson Youyin to invite Qingyun to the ancestral hall for rehearsal, and also invited Changjun.

Jiang Yue laughed. In this day and age, even large-scale events need rehearsals.

And so, Qingyun left home first, and together with Changjun and Youyin, they went to the ancestral hall.

Jiang Yue packed the prepared candles and other items for the memorial service into a basket and handed it to Qingsong to carry.

Why not Qingshan?

I thought they would go even in heavy snow, since their daughter-in-law is pregnant and needs her husband to take care of her.

All the livestock in the house were entrusted to Aunt Ge for feeding and care, just in case. She also told the other party that no one other than people from the old house were allowed to enter the house!

Aunt Ge wasn't stupid; she quickly understood what her employer meant.

And so, everything was ready. Jiang Yue, holding Yao Yao's hand, led the way...

Along the way, villagers who had finished lunch gradually headed towards the ancestral hall.

The children must have been disciplined by their elders at home; they didn't fight or make a fuss along the way, and their innocent faces were all serious.

This shows how sincere and important people are to ancestral halls and to the worship of their ancestors in this era!

Jiang Yue saw many women, which made her look at the ancestral worship customs of Wujia Village with new eyes.

You should know that even in her previous life, in a civilized society, just because she was a girl, she was locked in the house by her elders from childhood and was not allowed to go up the mountain to pay respects to her ancestors.

Every year, during the Qingming Festival, it's the same!

At that time, she thought, we are all of the Chiang family bloodline, so why can my brother do it but I can't?

Later, after getting drunk with Grandpa, Dad, with a cold expression, revealed his true feelings—

Her mother could, because her mother married into the Jiang family; she couldn't, because she would eventually marry out and become someone else's wife.