Qin said hurriedly, "Several families asked me to pass on the message, but he said that he was engaged to his uncle's daughter when he was young, and he has been looking for his uncle and cousin."
Old Man Xu said unhappily, "There's no place in the world for him to find her. Yin helped him get his household registration and even became a constable. I think if you just mentioned Yin, he'd definitely agree and wouldn't bother looking for someone else. If he doesn't marry Yin, it means he doesn't remember her."
Qin frowned. How could she threaten someone with marriage? She said, "I like Zhao Wu, but he's already said that. How can I embarrass him? If we break the ice and he still doesn't want to, he'll definitely be embarrassed to continue living in my house. Or, if he says that Yin girl should wait five years and find someone else, then we can talk about it. Should we wait?"
Mrs. Xu didn't want either of these. If she didn't live at home, the second wife wouldn't earn any money, and she'd lose her support. In five years, Yin's daughter would be 20. What if he found a cousin?
She quickly said, "This cannot be forced, and it won't work even if you force it."
Qin knew what they were thinking and smiled, "Zhao Wu gets along well with Zhou'er and Ting'er. As long as he doesn't propose marriage, he will live in my house forever."
Old man Xu was afraid that Zhao Wu would be stolen away by someone else, but when he heard that he could live here forever, he gave up the idea.
Xu Lanyin not only bought a few kilograms of cotton for the old couple, but also went to the grocery store to buy some seasonings.
Then I heard the woman selling groceries cursing softly, "Those bastards came to ask for money half a month ago, and they're here again today."
Her husband sighed, "What can we do? The New Year is almost here. If they want to have a good year, they'll have to take it from us. That He guy is pretty good; he's not that thick-skinned. If we meet someone with a vicious heart, we'll be skinned alive."
Xu Lanyin thought to herself that these two were probably cursing the detectives, led by Constable He, and including Zhao Wu. She felt a pang of unease for Zhao Wu. There were things he didn't want to do, but what if all those people were doing it? If he didn't, he'd be ostracized. If he did, he was still young and used to doing things and taking things. What would he do then?
We need to find a way to transfer him to a horse driver as soon as possible. He can learn more skills, and he won't have to deal with these merchants or farmers every day, trying to squeeze money out of the lowest level people...
As soon as she walked out of the shop, she saw several men in constable clothes walking swaggeringly in the crowd in the distance. The other five were between twenty and forty years old, and the youngest was Zhao Wu.
Compared with those people, Zhao Wu looked even taller and more graceful, with an excellent temperament. Many young ladies secretly looked at him.
They chatted and laughed all the way until they merged into the crowd and disappeared. It seemed that Zhao Wu got along well with those detectives.
When she got home, Qin explained why the old couple had sent her away. Xu Lan felt relieved to hear that Qin had completely given up on the old couple.
After dinner, Xu Lanyin went into the kitchen to wash dishes and Zhao Wu followed her in.
He took out a silver coin and said, "Uncle He and the brothers got some New Year's money today. This is what I got. Keep it, sister."
Xu Lanyin confiscated it and said with a gloomy face, "It's not easy for merchants either. You can't do that. I told you not to blackmail, and you still do this."
Zhao Wu defended himself, "I didn't do it. It was Uncle He and the others who did it. They gave me some, so I got the least. I have to take this money. If I don't, they'll be unhappy and they'll be wary of me snitching on them, and then I won't be able to stay there." He put the silver coin into his arms and said, "Forget it, this money is dirty, so I won't let you keep it. I'll give it to you next time I get my monthly salary or reward money."
Xu Lanyin told him that she wanted to ask Butler Tang to help him change his job.
Zhao Wu unexpectedly disagreed with Xu Lanyin asking for help. He said, "I also want to be a horse courier, but I have to rely on my own abilities. If a small horse courier needs your help, then what's the point of talking about working for the Six Gates and doing something big... Don't worry, I won't learn bad habits."
Xu Lanyin finally relaxed after a day of worrying. She felt like his mother, always worried about what she would gain or lose.
On the 20th day of the 12th lunar month, private schools are on winter vacation and will not reopen until the 21st day of the 1st lunar month of the following year.
Xu Lanzhou returned in the afternoon of the previous day, while Zhao Wu hadn't been home for four days. He had someone bring back a letter saying that there was a case to be solved in a certain village and they were busy.
Early in the morning of the 20th, Xu Lanyin and her family took a donkey cart to the county town. Qin took Xu Lanting to the clinic to get medicine and buy New Year's goods, while Xu Lanyin and Xu Lanzhou went to deliver New Year's gifts to the county magistrate's family.
The New Year's gifts included four baskets of Xu Lanyin's homemade snacks, a set of soft satin dresses made by Qin for Minnan, two baskets of homemade dried vegetables, two small jars of pickled cucumbers, and two baskets of snacks from the housekeeper who made the special fertility soup.
Cucumbers were introduced from the Western Regions only a century ago. People in the Daming Dynasty also used them to make pickles, but the preparation was simple and the taste was average. Xu Lanyin's pickled cucumbers are a traditional Beijing pickled cucumber recipe she learned from her mother in her previous life. They're delicious and long-lasting. In the autumn, she made ten small jars of them.
There were quite a lot of things, so Xu Lanzhou paid the Fifth Grandpa five cents more and asked him to drive the donkey cart to the back gate of the county government office.
When the people in the car heard that this was a New Year gift from the Xu family to the county magistrate's family, everyone was envious.
The donkey cart dropped Qin and Xu Lanting off at the gate of Qianjin Clinic, and then drove to the backyard of the county government office.
They still went to see Butler Tang. Butler Tang saw that they also brought him gifts, although they were not worth much, he still accepted them.
Steward Tang accepted it with a smile and had a maid take Xu Lanyin to Minnan's courtyard while he took Xu Lanzhou to see Minshan. All the New Year gifts were sent to the outer courtyard, and Xu Lanyin only took the dress.
The soft satin was a fine satin bought from an embroidery workshop. Qin's hand was deft, the colors were beautiful, and the stitches were precise. The embroidered flowers were not the common patterns of this era, but rather the cartoon flowers that Xu Lanyin had drawn in her previous life. They were simple yet very unique.
The little girl really liked it, thinking it was prettier than anything made by the servants or bought from the embroidery workshop. Now, in the little girl's eyes, anything Xu Lanyin gave her was prettier. She smiled and said, "Old Lady Min said that after the New Year, she would let me stay at the Shangshu Mansion for a while, so I'll wear this dress."
Mrs. Min also liked the clothes and smiled, "Oh, I didn't know flowers could grow like this. It looks simple and refreshing, but it's very unique."
Grandma Min's belly was already very big, and she liked the pattern very much. She said she wanted to embroider this kind of flower on the baby's swaddle and clothes.
Madam Min said, "People say you're going to have a boy, so this flower is only suitable for embroidering for a girl."
Grandma Min blushed. Of course, she also wanted to give birth to a eldest son.
Madam Min invited Xu Lan to have lunch with her, and then sent someone to ask Min Shan to invite Xu Lanzhou to have dinner with her, and to prepare some New Year gifts for the Xu family. When the servant returned, he brought a small bowl of pickled cucumbers that Xu Lanyin had sent.
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