They played until midnight and set off firecrackers, then Xu Lanyin and the other two went to rest.
It seemed that he had just fallen asleep when he was woken up by the crowing of a rooster. Xu Lanyin got up to make breakfast for Zhao Wu.
Zhao Wuyao would not be home for four days, so Xu Lanyin not only prepared tooth powder, cloth towels and other daily necessities for him, but also a few packets of snacks for him to share with his colleagues.
After seeing Zhao Wu off, Xu Lanyin went back to sleep for another nap.
When he got up in the morning, he saw Qin wearing a washed-out cloth dress and a wooden hairpin on her head. She hadn't even put on any facial balm.
Xu Lanyin cursed Old Man Xu inwardly. His malicious speculation had made Qin Shi afraid to live freely. Even as a widow in the Xu family, she had to remain calm. This was the sorrow and difficulty of ancient widows. Not only did they have to endure the grief of their husband's early death, but they also had to consider the opinions of others and live cautiously. If it weren't for the old lady's understanding, Qin Shi's life in this family would have been even more difficult.
A few people first burned paper for Xu Qingyan at the foot of the wall, then went to the main room to kowtow to the old couple and wish them a happy new year. They took red envelopes before going home for breakfast.
Old Man Xu was very pleased with Qin's attire and felt that his reminder was right. It seemed that if you wanted a woman to remember her duties, you had to constantly remind her.
After dinner, Xu Lanzhou, dressed in a long silk gown, rushed to the county town to pay New Year's greetings to the county magistrate, the Hong family, the Hu family, and the Xiansheng family. Normally, Hong Zhen and his wife would return to Beijing for the New Year, but because Mrs. Hu was due the following month, they dared not leave.
Xu Lanting followed Xu Dashi and Xu Yuan to pay New Year's greetings to the elders in the village.
At noon, Xu Lanzhou came back, smiling with a relaxed look, looking very proud.
Xu Lanzhou said that the county magistrate specially summoned him to the back hall of the county government office. Uncle Min had gone out to pay New Year's greetings, and Uncles Min Er and Min San were both sitting there. He sat there for more than half a quarter of an hour and answered questions from the county magistrate, such as where he studied.
The young boy was so excited when he said this that his face flushed. He had always thought that he would never see the Lord, and it was good enough to be able to speak to Butler Tang.
Hu Wan, the eldest son of the Hu family, went home for the New Year. He asked Xu Lanzhou to convey his gratitude to Xu Lanyin, discussed some academic issues with him, and gave him a calligraphy book and two bottles of high-quality soot ink.
Hong Zhen said that his family would host a banquet on the eighth day of the first lunar month and invited Zhao Wu and Xu Lanzhou to be guests. He also mentioned that he would invite several military officers and, for Zhao Wu's sake, invited County Lieutenant Sun and Constable Zhang.
On the second day of the Lunar New Year, since Qin had no parents' home, Old Lady Xu asked Xu Ershi to invite Qin and her four children to have dinner in the second house. The aunt Xu Zhiniang and her family, and the cousin Xu Daya and her husband were going back to their parents' home.
Qin refused to go. She said that she would not go out unless it was something important, so she asked Xu Lanyin and her two siblings to go.
Xu Lanyin didn't want to go either, because the original owner had a bad relationship with Xu Zhiniang and Xu Daya.
Xu Zhiniang used to dislike the original owner's squandering of money. Every time she went back to her parents' home, she would scold her and even pinch her when she was angry.
Xu Daya and the original owner were about the same age, and they had been close friends as children. However, their closeness had gradually faded since the original owner became engaged to Gu Wangchen. This was mainly because the Gu family forbade them from interacting much, fearing that Xu Daya and Xu Lanyin would follow in their footsteps and become profligate spendthrifts.
But Xu Erniu came to call her again, saying that his sister-in-law had gone back to her parents' home and his mother was too busy to handle it alone, so he asked Xu Lanyin to go over and help.
When Xu Lanyin arrived, Xu Daya and her husband Fang Sanfa had already arrived.
Xu Daya looked like Gu, a beautiful young lady from the countryside who had been pampered since childhood. That's why she married into the Fang family, who ran a grocery store in town. The Fang family heard that the Xu family's dim sum was unique and asked Xu Daya to come home several times to ask for the recipe.
Gu didn't know the recipe, and Li didn't dare to give it to her. The Fang family was unable to get what they wanted and was very displeased with their daughter-in-law.
The Xu family was very unhappy with the Fang family's actions, but considering Xu Daya's future and her relationship with her husband, they didn't want to offend Fang Sanfa too much. They could only try to persuade him to come forward to persuade the family. But Fang Sanfa was a coward. Even though he agreed here, he still didn't dare to come forward to help his wife when he returned.
After Xu Lanyin went to the upper room to greet them, she headed to the kitchen. Gu was busy at work, while the heavily pregnant Xu Daya helped light the fire. The mother and daughter chatted quietly. Pregnant Xu Daya not only didn't gain weight, but also looked haggard.
Seeing Xu Lanyin coming, Gu begged quietly, "Girl Yin, please help your eldest sister. I don't ask for much, just a prescription. Daming Dynasty is such a big place, and the small Xu shop can't even handle all the business in the county town, so how can it take care of other things? Giving the Fang family a prescription will not make our family lose money. Besides, those apprentices have learned it, and they may go out and work on their own in the future..."
Xu Lanyin also sympathized with Xu Daya, but she couldn't help. The Fang family was unkind. How could they force their daughter-in-law to give them the secret recipe of her family? This was clearly bullying a country bumpkin.
She smiled and said, "The Xu family's shop belongs to the Xu family. If I dare to tell anyone about the recipe without permission, my grandpa and grandma will beat me to death. Otherwise, auntie, please ask my grandpa and grandma first. If they agree, I will tell them."
Gu was furious. How could she dare ask the old couple Xu? If she did, she would be scolded. She had asked Li before, and Li had said the same thing, but her eldest son was still unhappy.
Seeing the worried Xu Daya, Xu Lanyin advised her a few more words, mostly about asking her to take care of her body, saying that it would be bad for the fetus if a pregnant woman was too worried, etc.
Xu Daya sniffed and ignored Xu Lanyin, thinking that she wasn't afraid of being beaten to death for selling land, but she was afraid of being given a prescription. It was just a prescription, and it wouldn't affect the shop's business. These people would rather let the Xu family's daughter suffer in her husband's family than help with such a small favor.
Xu Lanyin didn't say anything else.
Hearing Xu Daya talk about the difficulties of living in her husband's family, Gu felt very distressed and gritted her teeth to curse the Fang family and Fang Sanfa.
After a while, the yard became lively again. Xu Zhiniang came with her husband and son.
They entered the house and greeted the old couple, and Mrs. Xu took the ten-year-old Bili into her arms. Xu Zhiniang's eldest son, Bi Zhuang, and his family went to his daughter-in-law's house, bringing only this youngest son with them.
Xu Lanyin and others came into the house again and said hello.
Xu Zhiniang, between Xu Qingming and Xu Qingyan, was thirty-six years old and a forthright woman, much like Old Lady Xu. Uncle Bi was plain-looking, simple-minded, and henpecked. Although a farmer, he owned over twenty acres of fertile land and employed long-term laborers, making him considered a well-off family in the village. Life was quite comfortable for the family.
Xu Zhiniang had a close relationship with Qin, and when she saw that Qin hadn't arrived, she quickly asked Bili to deliver the gift she had brought for her to the second house. She rarely smiled at Xu Lanyin, praising her a few times before pulling Xu Lanzhou and Xu Lanting aside to chat. She also felt particularly sorry for the sickly Xu Lanting, holding him in her arms and teasing him.
"Oh my, my face finally has some flesh on it. It's not easy..."
Xu Lanyin, Gu Shi and Xu Daya went to the kitchen to busy themselves again, and Xu Zhiniang came in later.
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