Chapter 535 The Changes in Dahe Village
Cheng Yuanyuan sat in the flower hall and talked for a while, then stuffed one hundred taels of silver into Cheng Wanwan's hand.
"I won't go to the capital for Zhao'er's wedding banquet," she said with a smile. "Zhao'er has settled down in the capital and needs money for everything. How can I waste his money? I'm already very happy that he specially wrote to invite me, his aunt, to the capital. Wanwan, you have to go. You're a sixth-rank noblewoman. Your trip to the capital can give Zhao'er some face and prevent his future in-laws from looking down on him, a country bumpkin..."
Cheng Wanwan put the hundred taels of silver back: "Eldest sister, you don't have to go to the capital, but you have to accept this hundred taels of silver. It's Zhao'er's filial piety. If you don't accept it, he'll have to keep thinking about preparing other things to repay you, his aunt. Why make Zhao'er worry about these things?"
Cheng Yuanyuan sighed.
Zhao'er is indeed a filial child. If she doesn't want money, Zhao'er will definitely send her something else instead. Can she keep refusing to accept it?
Alright, let's accept it. It'll put Zhao'er's mind at ease.
However, the next day, Cheng Yuanyuan brought a box: "This is a gift for my future niece-in-law. Wanwan, please take it to the capital for me."
Cheng Wanwan opened the box, revealing a set of jade jewelry inside, which would probably cost at least eighty or ninety taels of silver.
She was both amused and exasperated: "Big sister, why are you doing this to yourself?"
"You're allowed to give such a generous gift, but I, the eldest aunt, can't?" Cheng Yuanyuan said with feigned reproach. "Zhao'er is doing well now, so I have to keep up with her. This headdress is the best piece in the jewelry shop in Ping'an County. It certainly won't make Zhao'er lose face. Wanwan, keep it safe and don't damage it. Alright, I still need to weed the flowerbed. I'm leaving now."
Cheng Wanwan had no choice but to accept the things.
She also needed to prepare a gift for her new daughter-in-law, but after thinking it over, she still didn't know what to prepare. In the end, she chose a luminous pearl from the mall.
Artificial luminous pearls are not uncommon in modern times, but they were extremely rare in ancient times. Two years ago, she sold two of them, and it is said that the price of those two luminous pearls in the capital was raised to more than 10,000 taels of silver... She chose luminous pearls as a gift mainly to support Cheng Zhao.
For a poor scholar to establish himself in the capital, it was extremely difficult.
She'll do as much as she can, hoping that Zhao'er's future will be easier.
The departure date was set for the eighth day of the fourth lunar month. After traveling for a while, it was almost the end of April. After a few days of rest, the wedding day arrived without any delay.
The villagers knew that Cheng Wanwan was going to the capital for two months, which was neither a long nor a short time, and they were all very reluctant to see her go.
Especially Old Mrs. Zhao, holding Cheng Wanwan's hand, sighed and said, "Don't worry about home after you go to the capital. Your old man and I will keep an eye on things for you. Don't worry about the workshop either. If anyone dares to cause trouble, I'll kill them."
The village head took a puff of his pipe and said, "Don't worry about things in the village. Everyone knows what's going on, so nothing will go wrong. It's just that the journey to the capital is too far. Are there any dangers on the way? How about we arrange for a dozen patrol teams to escort you?"
Wang Yongcheng immediately stepped forward: "Big Mountain Mother, I'll bring ten brothers and go with you."
"No, please don't!" Cheng Wanwan quickly stopped her. "Magistrate Shen has already spoken with the government and the post station. Everything will be fine. Don't worry about me."
If a woman of the sixth rank were to take a dozen or so guards to the capital and be seen by someone with ulterior motives, who might maliciously impeach her, accusing her of leading troops into the capital, she would be unable to explain herself even if she had ten mouths.
“Aunt…” Donghua came closer, blinking her eyes as she said, “Here’s one tael of silver…”
The little girl stuffed a string of copper coins into Cheng Wanwan's hand.
Cheng Wanwan was very surprised. Donghua had inherited Sun's traits. Besides being greedy and stingy, she would actually take out money on her own initiative. Had the sun risen in the west?
"Last year, my aunt brought me back a book from Huzhou, and I've finished reading it." Donghua puffed out her chest proudly. "This time, my aunt went to the capital. There should be many more books like this there, right? Could you buy me a few more?"
Her eyes were full of hope.
Since the village started developing tourism, her self-created lotus flower wine opened up the market and she earned some capital. So she studied the book and developed many local delicacies from Huzhou. She took them to the market to sell, and the business was very good. She could earn more than one tael of silver every month. She and Qiuhua split the profits equally, and she made a net profit of six or seven hundred coins. After saving for more than half a year, she became quite wealthy.
But the snacks they make are always the same few kinds, and the variety is too limited. Tourists seem to be tired of them, and business hasn't been good lately.
If we could bring back some local snacks from Beijing to sell, they would definitely be very popular.
Cheng Wanwan accepted the money: "Okay, Auntie will definitely bring you the recipe."
Donghua laughed and immediately ran to the side to whisper in Qiuhua's ear. The two sisters were talking about something and then burst into laughter together.
Grandma Zhao looked relieved. Donghua, who used to be the most unruly child in the family, had grown up. And all of this was thanks to her eldest daughter-in-law.
It can be said that the changes in the Zhao family, the changes in Dahe Village, and even the changes in Ping'an County are all related to the eldest daughter-in-law. It's truly a blessing that the Zhao family and the eldest daughter-in-law could become one family.
The old lady clasped her hands together and prayed silently, hoping for a safe and smooth journey.
The weather was quite nice on the eighth day of the fourth lunar month.
Cheng Wanwan arranged for four carriages to go to the capital. She and Si Dan were in one carriage, driven by Cheng Jia, while the rest of the people were in another carriage, driven by Wei Xiaohai.
The other two carriages were given to the Cheng family, and who drove them was no longer her concern.
Zhao Dashan and Zhao Ergou helped drive the empty car to Chengjia Village.
As soon as the convoy arrived at the village entrance, they saw an uninvited guest arguing with the patrol team members guarding the registration point.
The visitor was none other than Manager He, who had recently come to Dahe Village. After returning to Yuncheng and having someone inquire about Cheng Zhao's identity, he prepared generous gifts to come again.
I heard that Lord He is planning to make Cheng Zhao his son-in-law, which shows how much the He family likes Cheng Zhao.
As the son of a steward, he actually offended Cheng Zhao's own aunt. If this were to get back to the He family, he would probably be severely punished by the head of the family.
He smiled ingratiatingly, took out a silver ingot from his sleeve, and stuffed it into the patrolman's hand: "Young man, please be kind. I have something very important to discuss with the people of Sui. If you do me a favor today, I will do you a favor in the future."
The patrolman withdrew his hand, and the silver coins fell to the ground: "Don't try that. Do you want me to call someone to throw you far away?"
Manager He was practically going bald from worry. He couldn't even get into the village. How could he possibly gain the forgiveness of the people of Sui'an?
The thought that Cheng Zhao was the son-in-law favored by the head of the He family made his scalp tingle. How could he have done such a stupid thing?
Just as he was having a headache, he saw a convoy coming out of the village. He recognized the driver; he was a guard from Sui'an's family.
It doesn't matter if he can't get in; the people from Sui'an have already left the village, haven't they?
Shopkeeper He quickly picked up the generous gifts, stepped in front of the carriage, and bowed, saying, "Greetings, people of Sui'an. I have come here specifically to apologize, and I ask that you give me a chance to make amends!"
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