Chapter 63. Qiu Yuruo hugged the little one...
Qiu Yuru hugged her little sister and coaxed, "How about I make you fried tofu again today?"
My younger sister has grown quite a bit taller now, and she's no longer the kind of girl you'd immediately think of as.
So if Qiu Yu no longer likes to touch her head like before, she will hug her when she needs to be comforted.
The younger sister wanted to eat meat, but she never said it. Her older brother had already explained the importance of mourning, and she wasn't an ignorant child; she knew what she could and couldn't say.
Even if it weren't for the fact that not observing mourning properly would affect the careers of my eldest and third brothers, I wouldn't object to observing mourning for the sake of our parents.
But she was, after all, just a ten-year-old girl, and back in her hometown, she had been carefully raised by Qiu Yuruo for so long.
Now that meat is completely banned, even if she doesn't say she's craving it, her body instinctively starts to crave it.
If Qiu Yu suggested frying tofu, the younger sister agreed and took her arm, leading her to the backyard.
In the backyard, the second sister was having Granny Song, whom she had hired, and her own maid, Dujuan, do the laundry, while the youngest sister's maid was cleaning the various rooms.
The second sister is introverted, so Qiu Yuruo chose a cheerful girl of the same age to be her maid. The youngest sister is naturally lively, so Qiu Yuruo chose a more composed maid for her.
Whether they're compatible or not, let's work things out first. Once their brother becomes the top scholar in the imperial examination, we'll buy one for each of them.
Girls should be raised in comfort, but they should still learn what they are supposed to learn.
Speaking of what young ladies should learn, Qiu Yuruo was still filled with gratitude towards Magistrate Lu.
When the whole family moved here, Magistrate Lu had not yet been transferred.
Now, in everyone's eyes, Su Yunting is practically a member of Magistrate Lu's household. Since the whole family has moved to the county, it's only natural that they would go and pay him a visit.
The three women, Qiu Yuruo and her sister-in-law, were entertained by the wife of Magistrate Lu. Magistrate Lu had been an official for more than ten years, yet his inner courtyard was very clean, with no concubines or maids.
This is the most important reason why Su Yunting chose him; another reason is that he is a fairly upright official.
Madam Lu was quite different from Madam Sun, Sun Ruimin's mother. Although she was an official's wife, she didn't have any haughty attitude and was very close to Qiu Yuruo and her two sisters-in-law.
Su Yunting is now relying on Magistrate Lu, who is an official. Madam Lu doesn't mention his official position, only asking Qiu Yuruo and her two sisters-in-law to treat her as an elder.
Since they had already shown such closeness, and considering Su Yunting's instructions before she came, Qiu Yuruo mentioned the biggest problem her family was facing: she didn't know how to manage the household affairs.
Magistrate Lu had already received his transfer order and was preparing to move. So Madam Lu had them go over every day to teach them how to handle household affairs.
Having learned household management from Madam Lu for a period of time, not only Qiu Yuruo and her second sister, but even her youngest sister, could speak eloquently about how to handle household affairs.
Qiu Yuruo further extended the methods she learned for managing household affairs to how to better manage the workshop.
Now, with my second sister managing the household affairs, everything is going smoothly for me, from food and clothing to housing and transportation.
I've also learned a lot from Madam Lu. At the beginning of the workshop, I had to do everything myself, but now that the sales channels have opened up and we have enough staff, I only need to go for half a day. The rest can be left to my apprentices and Su Dani.
The Su brothers ate lunch at the academy, so there was no need to cook for them. However, even without the two of them, there was still a need to cook for eight people.
Your apprentices and those who come to work at your home don't need to abstain from meat, but if they eat with you, they still need to follow your dietary restrictions.
When Qiu Yu Ruo teaches her apprentices to cook, she will have her second sister's maid, Du Juan, come in to help. Du Juan was bought and has been with her second sister her whole life. She can learn some cooking skills and will be a help to her second sister in the future.
Now, Qiu Yuruo guides her apprentice in making lunch at home, while she lets him do whatever he wants in the evenings. Du Juan makes breakfast.
In the afternoon, Qiu Yuruo had nothing to do because she had to observe mourning and didn't need to go out to socialize with Su Yunting's classmates. At most, she would have some interactions with the surrounding neighbors.
At home, I would read books, do needlework, or take my sisters shopping.
Previously, the purchase of a house, furniture, and manpower had cost nearly four hundred taels of silver. After deducting the seven hundred taels of silver given to Su Yunting by Magistrate Lu and the expenses for his own family, two hundred taels remained.
Two hundred taels of silver is a huge sum of money in the countryside, enough to live comfortably in the county. Not to mention that Su Yunting has tax-free privileges, and Qiu Yuruo's workshop now earns several taels every day.
Her family was well-off, her apprentice was obedient, and her younger siblings were well-behaved and sensible. Her relationship with Su Yunting steadily improved.
If I had to find something unpleasant about life, the first would be the inability to eat meat during mourning.
Another one is when the two are deeply in love...
Su Yunting was in mourning, so he rarely went out with his classmates after school. He would go straight home after school and never linger outside.
When he got home, he first reported to Qiu Yuruo what he had done that day, then checked the knowledge Yun Che had learned in school, and occasionally looked at his younger sisters' homework.
After dinner, Su Yunting washed up and went to Qiu Yuruo's place again.
Girls are always much slower at getting ready than men. When Su Yunting came over to her side, Qiu Yuru was mostly applying face cream.
After Qiu Yu applied her face cream, Su Yunting liked to comb her hair. Once her hair was combed, he would hold her in his arms and wouldn't want to let go.
The two remained in a state of kissing foreheads and hugging waists, but no matter how much they restrained themselves, how could two young people in the prime of their lives not be filled with passion when they embraced each other!
Today, after Su Yunting finished washing up, he came to her room again, and Qiu Yuruo refused to let him help her comb her hair anymore.
Seeing his wife's flushed face, Su Yunting knew it was because he hadn't been able to control his physical reaction yesterday.
Su Yunting sighed inwardly. He had been single his whole life in his previous life and hadn't found it particularly difficult. But now, he woke up to find himself with his wife, which had finally ignited the fire within him that he hadn't been able to kindle in his previous life.
Since his wife wouldn't let him comb her hair, Su Yunting sat down on another chair in the room.
Qiu Yuruo felt embarrassed by his gaze and said, "It's alright, you should go back and get some rest."
Su Yunting didn't want to go back. Even if his wife wouldn't let him hug her, he was happy just to be with her.
He didn't want to go back, so he picked out interesting things from the school and told them to make her happy.
After chatting and laughing for a while, the two forgot about not letting him comb his hair, and Su Yunting habitually picked up a comb to comb his wife's hair.
Once the hair was straightened, he hugged her again.
Qiu Yuruo: ...
Su Yunting held her in his arms, and then remembered that his wife hadn't let him get close earlier.
If he had thought about it before hugging her, he could have resisted the urge to hug her, but now that his sweet and lovely wife was in his arms, he really couldn't bear to let go.
Feeling that the person in his arms did not resist, Su Yunting pretended that he hadn't remembered yet and continued talking from where he left off.
Lovers naturally want to be together all the time, and Qiu Yuruo also enjoys hugging Su Yunting, as it gives her a sense of security.
...
When life isn't filled with major troubles, the days fly by, and a year can pass in the blink of an eye.
The Su siblings are finally about to end their mourning period.
When one is out of mourning, one must first return to one's hometown to pay respects to one's parents.
The parents passed away within a hundred days of each other, so when the mourning period for the father ended, there was no big celebration. But when the mourning period for the mother ended, a big celebration was necessary.
Old Su's life is now vastly different from before. Last time, they were swindled out of almost all their savings and sold a lot of their land. Although their remaining assets are not exactly impoverished, they are far worse off than before.
In Old Su's family, there's a fight every three days and a physical altercation every five days; life is chaotic and disorganized.
Compared to them, Su Yunting's life is enviable.
Su Yunting caught the eye of an official and bought a house in the county. Both brothers studied at the county academy, and Qiu Yuruo also opened a pastry and sauce workshop.
In the eyes of the villagers, their family now has both money and power.
So when it came time to observe the mourning period for his father, some people in the village said that Su Yunting should reconcile with Old Man Su.
Now, when faced with someone advising him to be magnanimous, Su Yunting no longer gets angry.
He not only didn't get angry, but also thanked the other party for considering his feelings.
Su Yunting remained calm because the happy life he had experienced over the past year had soothed the resentment in his heart. As for Old Man Su, the most he could do was refrain from taking the initiative to retaliate. However, he absolutely could not reconcile with Old Man Su.
Don't say you wouldn't do it, Yu Ruo doesn't want to either!
So after being persuaded by the villagers, Su Yunting went to the clan chief's house.
No one knows what he said to the clan chief, but a few days after Su Yunting's family returned to the county, the clan chief's grandson, Su Shuo, also went to the county academy with his wife and children.
In Sujiazhuang, just as Old Man Su was feeling pleased with himself for the suggestion made by many villagers to reconcile with Su Yunting, the clan chief came to his house.
The clan chief kept Old Man Su and his son to talk, asking them, "Do you still remember Magistrate Lu who appreciated Yun Ting?"
The Su family father and son certainly remembered.
The clan chief said, “The magistrate of Lu County has been promoted and is now the assistant prefect in the prefecture. He wrote a plaque for the doctor in our town. After taking office as the prefect, he focused on women’s childbirth safety and achieved results in just one year. In a few years, he may be promoted again.”
Old Man Su and Second Brother Su looked at each other, wondering what the magistrate of Lu's successful career had to do with their own family.
Seeing the two's ignorant expressions, the clan chief said angrily, "Have you forgotten that Magistrate Lu's nephew and Yun Ting are very close friends? This time, Yun Ting's return is just for a small ceremony, so it's inconvenient to inform his classmates and friends. Next time we hold a ceremony, we'll have to have a big one."
We locals think that what's past is past, but those scholars won't think that way. They'll use their pens to accuse the current magistrate of being unkind!
"Then your reputation, and the future of your second son's family, will be completely ruined!"
Old Man Su was frightened after hearing this.
The clan chief said, "With the example of the previous magistrate's achievements, the new magistrate also wants to achieve something. If he makes an example of you, it's not impossible for him to parade you through the streets of the entire county!"
Although Old Man Su was shameless, he wasn't so shameless as to be so indifferent to being paraded through the streets of the whole county. He was genuinely terrified.
Su Lao Er was also quite frightened, and dragged the old man to be paraded through the streets, probably because he himself couldn't escape either.
Clan Chief: "If you ask me, whether we reconcile or not, Yun Ting is still your grandson. If something really happens to you, he won't just ignore you."
"If a reconciliation is truly reached, and the scholars around him accuse you, affecting the magistrate's political achievements, even if Yun Ting wanted to intervene, he would be powerless to do anything!"
Old Man Su was so frightened that he broke out in a sweat: "No, we won't reconcile. We did sign a written agreement back then, that we would each go our own way and not interfere in each other's affairs."
He spoke defiantly, his leg trembling: "I didn't care when they were struggling to make ends meet, and now that they're doing well, I'm not going to fawn over them!"
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