Xu Lanting quietly tugged at Xu Lanzhou's sleeve and whispered, "Brother, hurry up and apologize to Mom. She's pissed." He then whispered, "Brother, our family is not without money. Why do you need Brother Zhao's money? You can't just take favors from others. You'll be grateful if you take something from someone else, and you'll be soft-hearted if you eat someone else's food..."
Xu Lanzhou was speechless. He felt that he had done nothing wrong. It wasn't like he had asked Zhao Wu to give it to him. Since Zhao Wu wanted to live in his house, what was wrong with paying him a little? He could just not charge him rent in the future.
After returning home, Xu Lanzhou went to the main hall and knelt down facing the wall. Qin was so angry that she went back to the bedroom and locked the door. Xu Lanyin pulled Xu Lanting to Zhao Wu's room in the west wing.
Zhao Wuting felt embarrassed that his good intentions had led to bad results. He said, "Look how angry my aunt is. It's not much money. I paid it willingly."
Xu Lanyin interrupted him and said, "It's not a matter of money, it's a matter of understanding..."
At noon, she only made a pot of noodles with egg gravy and ate them in the west wing. Qin didn't let Xu Lanzhou come out to eat.
Qin steeled her heart and made Xu Lanzhou kneel until dark before she began to lecture him. She said men shouldn't be petty; they should be upright and bold. Xu Qingyan was just that, and he always hoped his son would be like him... How sad he would be if he knew his son couldn't stand up straight, asking his sister and others for money because of a small sum. There's nothing wrong with being frugal, but constantly trying to take advantage of others, taking what you shouldn't, shows a lack of ambition and backbone, and makes people look down on you. Not only will it cause family discord, but it will also lead to great losses...
Qin spoke while crying for a long time. First, Qin's crying continued, and then Xu Lanzhou's crying came, and then the two of them hugged each other and cried bitterly.
Xu Lanyin and the other two sitting in the west wing looked at each other, which should have touched Xu Lanzhou's soul.
Only after the crying died down did Xu Lanyin bring the food into the main room. Dinner was simple: a pot of steamed buns and a pot of cabbage, tofu, and meatball soup.
Xu Lanzhou hadn't eaten lunch and was starving. He finished two steamed buns and a bowl of soup in less than half an hour. Then he said, "Brother Zhao, I'm sorry to have made a fool of myself. Mother is right, I'm stingy. I'll be as generous and righteous as you and my father, and be a man of integrity." He added, "Since we have so much money saved at home, let's buy that nice house and a couple of servants so that Mother, Sister, and Brother can live comfortably."
He had been strongly opposed to buying people before, but this time he agreed.
Qin was so angry and emotional that she couldn't eat and went back to her room to rest. In the middle of the night, Xu Lan heard Qin calling her and hurried to the east room. She saw Qin pale, breathless, and sweating profusely.
Xu Lanyin was frightened and ran out to call Zhao Wu and Xu Lanzhou, asking them to go to Xinghua Village to get a doctor.
Qin was a chronic patient. The doctor gave her medicine and acupuncture, and she finally recovered.
Xu Lanzhou was terrified and kept wiping his tears with his sleeve. If anything happened to his mother, it would be because of his anger.
In the morning, Zhao Wu went to the yamen on time. Xu Lanzhou asked him to take two days off so that he could show his filial piety to Qin. Xu Lanzhou was really scared this time. He cried many times and kept promising Qin that he would be good to his sister and not take advantage of her.
Qin's health had recovered by June 12th.
Zhao Wu and Xu Lanzhou both took the day off. Early in the morning, Zhao Wu brought a translucent emerald green lotus jade hairpin, which he had bought in the provincial capital last time and had waited until today to give to Xu Lanyin.
Qin had already prepared a red gold hairpin inlaid with pearls and two silver hairpins. Seeing the jade hairpin was beautiful and transparent, she exchanged it for the other silver hairpin. The other silver hairpin left was a gift from the old lady, a thin piece of very ordinary style. But because it was a gift from the old lady, she had no choice but to let her daughter wear it today.
Qin also personally made a beautiful skirt for Xu Lanyin, using the nine-silk silk that Min Nan had given her. It was gorgeous and beautiful. The collar was embroidered with peony branches, hoping that her daughter would have a rich and prosperous life.
The eldest wife's family, Xu Lizheng, and several women from the fifth grandfather's family were invited to watch the ceremony, and Mrs. Hu also came with her two children.
Old Mrs. Xu was the main guest, Xu Yulan was the official, and the sponsor was Xu Minniang, the granddaughter of the fifth grandfather.
Although Zhengbin's words were simple and the entire process was not particularly complicated, this coming-of-age ceremony was undoubtedly the most lavish in Xiaozao Village. Not only were her clothes and jewelry the finest, but Xu Lanyin, wearing light makeup, had exquisite features and skin as smooth as fat. When she emerged from the west room with her long, jet-black hair and a fuchsia silk skirt embroidered with butterflies and peonies, and walked calmly and gracefully, all the spectators were startled. They had always known this girl was good-looking, but when had she changed, becoming completely unlike a country girl? Not only had her skin become whiter and more delicate, but her eyes and aura were also completely different.
Previously, Xu Lanyin had been similar to the original owner in both speech and behavior. With all that preparation, she decided to live her own life from now on. Pretending was exhausting. Furthermore, she had been applying the Jade Regenerating Cream regularly these days, and her skin had become much whiter, softer, and smoother.
Qin covered her mouth with her hands, tears welling up in her eyes. She felt that this graceful girl was her former self...
Seeing such a beautiful sister, Xu Lanzhou and Xu Lanting were extremely excited and proud. They made up their minds that they must study hard and become successful in order to keep such a beautiful sister.
Zhao Wu was even more bewildered. His sister was so beautiful! He had been so blind to her beauty before that he had actually thought she was much older than him. If this weren't a simple farmyard, if that beautiful face wasn't so familiar, he would have thought this was some noble lady having her coming-of-age ceremony.
The crowd's praises made Old Man Xu feel proud, and he no longer felt bad for Xu Lanyin's dazzling jewelry and beautiful clothes. Just now, he thought those beautiful things should be left for his two grandsons to buy betrothal gifts.
After the coming-of-age ceremony and lunch, the guests were seen off in the afternoon.
Zhao Wu secretly said to Xu Lanyin, "Sister, you are so beautiful, even more beautiful than the 'Four Beauties' of the capital. I was too shortsighted to recognize the beauty of gold and jade before."
This was the second time Xu Lanyin had heard him talk about the Four Beauties of Beijing, so she asked, "Who are these four beauties of Beijing?"
Zhao Wu thought for a moment and said, "Zhou Ziyou, Chai Jingjing, Huang Qian, and Su Yuan."
It turns out that Su Yuan is also one of the four beauties.
Xu Lanyin thought about Su Yuan, whom she had met a few days ago. Although she was very beautiful, she was listed as one of the "Four Beauties of Beijing" who were so high and mighty that it seemed that the "Four Beauties of Beijing" were just that. She also thought that a person's spirit and temperament were very important. Being sent to the countryside, she would lose her spirit and her appearance would be greatly reduced...
Xu Lanyin added, "Don't try to trick me. You said that my skin is dark and rough, and I'm old..." You also thought about her big breasts.
Zhao Wu's eyes bulged like cow eyes, and he said in surprise, "Sister, I have only thought about this in my heart. When have I ever said it..." He quickly covered his mouth before he finished speaking.
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