139 New Year's Eve
On the day before the New Year, Wu Min heard about the eldest son being punished by the family, and he was speechless for a long time.
It is really unbelievable that such a smart and steady young master would give up most of the military supply business for a hot spring resort.
But then I thought, the Sun family is so big, but there are only two brothers and a few children. No matter how much money they earn, it is only enough for three meals a day and they only have a house to live in.
Life is short and passes in a flash. We bring nothing with us when we are born and nothing with us when we die. If it were him, he might not be willing to do so many things.
If you think about it this way, you will understand.
It was just the end of the year, and no matter how poor his financial situation was, he had to give New Year gifts. He simply took the 20 taels of manuscript fee from last time and went to the street to buy them himself. Of course he couldn't afford the good and expensive ones.
Then we bought some food. There must be food during the New Year. Kyoto is not like other provincial capitals. Specialties from all over the country are everywhere. Soon, the twenty taels of silver were gone.
I went there in person to deliver the gift that day and also met the eldest son.
It’s just that the eldest son, who usually looks so handsome and cheerful, was lying on the kang listlessly reading a medical book.
What can he say?
But after a few words of comfort, seeing that the other party was in a good mood, he did not say much, politely declined the offer to stay for dinner, and hurried back to fiddle with his study.
It is not easy to live in a big city in Beijing. He has to write storybooks to earn money, and he also has to read books and write articles. A poor scholar has no right to be willful, especially himself.
I am still taking the medicine, but I have stopped the acupuncture.
The eldest son and his grandfather both advised him that it would not be too late to have acupuncture after he finished the exam, and that head acupuncture was not suitable for people who were about to take an exam.
Of course, he couldn't be pretentious. The imperial examination was his only way to succeed, and he didn't want to miss it. Moreover, he had already arrived in the capital, and it would be unreasonable not to give it a try.
But the end of the year has arrived, and parents and relatives are probably crying at home. I don’t know whose child in the dream it is, whether it is a son or a nephew. I don’t know, but it must be someone I care about.
He felt that he was a little cold and not sentimental, but since the child had appeared in his dreams two or three times, he must like her.
Xiao Sanzi didn't quite understand why the young master spent a huge sum of twenty taels of silver on a New Year gift today. In his opinion, ten taels was already very good.
The eldest son was kind to his own son, but his own son was poor and had no relatives to help him, so he had to earn every penny he spent by himself.
In this small courtyard, he could eat three meals a day with the guards, but the young master was shy and refused. He only lived in two small houses and cooked all his own meals.
You see others are busy celebrating the New Year, but his son is still busy writing storybooks. However, two days ago, he went to the bookstore to buy paper, and the shopkeeper urged him to finish it when he saw him. It can be seen that the son is still very talented.
…
Three days passed in a flash.
New Year's Eve is here.
Mei Niang has been pregnant for several days now, and with the help of Tong Miao, she has more than enough food to eat. She is not the wife of a wealthy family, so she doesn't have to be so pretentious.
On the morning of the 31st, after finishing breakfast, she began to busy herself with the offerings for the sacrifice. Although there were three meat dishes and three vegetable dishes, there were several servings, so the work became complicated.
Lin Feng had to send New Year's Eve dinner to his grandparents and parents. There was no way he couldn't go to the grave, but Da Zhou believed that his sons and grandchildren must not forget their ancestors no matter where they went.
The ancestors can receive the paper money burned and the food sent by their descendants, which shows that the father is a filial son.
The husband has to give it to his parents-in-law.
The Tong brothers and sisters must also have it.
There are also Uncle Sun and Yuan Qing, which makes five portions.
Wan Changsheng and Erqiang of course helped out, and the rest of the people were not idle either, as they were still able to do things like picking vegetables.
Before noon, the five families went to choose a site, arranged the offerings, faced the direction of their hometown, burned paper money, knelt three times and kowtowed nine times, and chanted something.
Ping An also followed Wan Changsheng to worship their ancestors, of course, the ancestors of the Wan family. As for the Chang family, Wan Changsheng and his wife chose to remain silent.
The child’s surname is Wan, so he is no longer a member of the Chang family.
Erqiang didn't need to bow, but he missed his home very much at this moment. He had saved several taels of silver. This morning, Ping An gave him two taels of silver as a team leader. Two days ago, Mr. Sun also brought two taels. This was given by the eldest son, and everyone had one.
Tomorrow is the first day of the Lunar New Year. My aunt, uncle, and Grandpa Sun will all give them red envelopes. Ping'an also said that he would take them to the city to pay New Year's greetings to Mr. Sun. Needless to say, there will be red envelopes.
But I can’t take this money back to give to my parents and grandparents, so it makes me less excited.
Seeing that her nephew was unhappy and not as noisy as usual, Mei Niang knew that the child was missing home. Indeed, this was the first time that Erqiang had spent the New Year away from home since he turned twelve.
But there will be more situations like this in the future. The journey is too far and I don’t feel comfortable going out alone, so this is the only way.
"Erqiang, can you try this chicken nugget for me to see if it's burnt? Your uncle just doesn't know how to buy it, he always picks the big ones."
Erqiang blinked and sighed. He had chosen his own path. What was the point of thinking about these things? It would be meaningless if he was forced to go home and farm.
Once he figured it out, he felt relieved.
"Aunt, I'm here."
…
The Sun family in Beijing.
However, Sun Sicheng received a letter from Ming Wanli early in the morning. It was a small piece of paper with two sentences written on it: The goods have been delivered, Ying and Lu are fine and have returned to Yuhang.
Another sentence is that the smell of gunpowder has been a little stronger recently, but it’s no big deal.
He quickly replied: Stay in Yuhang for the time being and wait for news.
What happened in April is over, and he should return to Yong'an, so that Ming Wanli and the others don't have to go back and forth. If something happens in the border town, they should stay in Jiangnan during this time. With them, He Jin will be even more powerful.
Since I have spent five years to build up the territory of Jiangnan, I should not lose it.
The military camp business was given to the Zheng family, but with so many herbal halls, pharmacies, and medicine valleys throughout the Great Zhou, and two thousand people following behind to beg for food and money to support their families, the burden on him was still very heavy.
Sun Sicheng did not tell this matter to his grandfather and father. It was New Year's Eve, and everyone was busy all year round. It was enough for one person to worry about it. There was no need for the whole family to worry about it. It was of no benefit at all.
Tomorrow morning, my grandfather, father and second brother will go to Sunjia Village to worship their ancestors. Sunjia Village is located in Hexi County under Dingzhou. It is not far away, but a horse carriage trip takes two hours, so we have to set off at dawn.
He saved the trip this time.
I'm afraid everyone in the city knows that Young Master Sun has squandered his fortune.
This time when my grandfather and his family went to worship their ancestors, they also gave money to the Sun family. They have been giving money every year for many years. Although they gave a 10% dividend, how much to give was of course decided unilaterally by him.
Baicaotang was built by the hard work of three generations of their ancestors. The Sun family members only helped them out because of their ancestors' face, but they never did any help for them.
The few people who have been brought together over the years and who have put in a little effort will also receive additional rewards, no more, no less.
Sun Sicheng did not attach as much importance to the concept of family as his grandfather and his companions. Every year when he took the silver, he would complain about his hardship and poverty to a few elders, both truly and falsely. After all that, he would still take out three thousand taels for the clan to use.
Over the years, he has accumulated tens of thousands of taels of silver.
This does not include the extra money given to the few people who have already stood up.
…
"Dad, Grandfather asked you to hurry over, it's about to start."
When Sun Sicheng looked over, he saw little Awu, wearing a red skirt and a red cape, trotting towards him.
Sun Sicheng picked her up and said, "Why are you here alone? Where is your sister?"
Since coming to the capital, Axin has become Awu's little follower.
"Ah Xin is trying some food in the kitchen. I think she can't eat anything in a while." Ah Wu smiled with her eyes curved. Her sister is just greedy and doesn't even look at how fat she is.
"Awu, you will be seven years old this Chinese New Year. You will follow your grandfather to learn medicine this year, right? Dad's apprentice is only two years older than you, but he learns things very quickly. I don't think you can catch up with him."
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
