Chapter 1335 Husband and Wife Gossip
Everyone in Zhou's family knew about this change. The children didn't feel anything, but the Feng family was extremely envious.
Especially Feng, she was the only one in the Zhou family who gave birth to two daughters, except Daya.
So as soon as Zhou Erlang lay down, she pulled him up and asked in a low voice, "Why did Dad agree to give the shop to Daya?"
Zhou Erlang said nonchalantly, "Manbao went to tell him, what's wrong?"
Feng was so jealous that she unconsciously pulled his hair and said, "Didn't you say you wanted to leave it for Manbao as a dowry?"
"Manbao said she doesn't need this shop, and she doesn't need the money." Zhou Erlang pulled the hair out of her hand and lay down. "Okay, go to sleep. We have to go weed the vegetable garden tomorrow. Lao Wu has to go to the county town to ask someone about Lao Si and see when he will be back for the New Year."
Feng pulled him up again and continued to pester him, "Even if Manbao doesn't need it, don't we still have Datou and Santou? Sister-in-law, you're such a fool! You could have given the shop to your son, but why did you let your daughter take it away?"
Zhou Erlang knew that if he didn't explain it clearly, he wouldn't be able to sleep tonight. He sat up and said, "Who do you care who the eldest brother and sister-in-law are given to? Anyway, it won't be given to Ertou. So what difference does it make whether it's Daya or Datou?"
"Of course not. If we give it to the majority, the shop will still be in our family's hands. It's always a profit, isn't it?"
"Don't worry, even if we give it to Daya, she'll still be the one cooking. Daya's cooking skills..." Zhou Erlang paused and said, "For someone like my brother, I don't think it would take at least ten years to master the technique. So the vegetables for the restaurant will still be provided by our family, and the grains and beans will also be purchased from home. When the time comes, we'll still give a portion to the public school according to the old rules, and the rest will go to our sister-in-law and Daya."
Upon hearing this, Feng let him go, but she was still filled with envy. "I wonder if Erya's family can also give her a shop when she gets married..."
"Don't even think about it. We only have a shop at home. And if you really bought one, would you be willing to give it to Erya as a dowry?" Zhou Erlang punctured her fantasy and said, "By the way, return Sanya's colored silk to her. She was almost crying when she found me yesterday."
Feng: "...I was afraid she would waste the good things, so I kept them for her. I will give them to her when she gets married."
Zhou Erlang said, "She's not young anymore. She can keep her things by herself. Now that Da Ya is married and Er Ya is in the capital, she's the only girl left at home. Haven't you seen that Dad has become much kinder to the two girls?"
Mrs. Feng grabbed his hair and said, "I didn't say I was keeping her things. Every year, she wears clothes, shoes, and the tuition for school, and the books and pens and paper she buys, don't we spend all our money?"
Feng's heart ached when she heard this. "She, a maid, spends far more money than her brother. When her brother was studying, the books he used were copied by her aunt, the pens and ink he used were her leftovers, and the paper she used was also given by her aunt. He also bought some of the rest with his own money, which we used to pay for our tuition. But when it comes to her, how much money does she spend in a year?"
Zhou Erlang said, "Didn't Manbao help them earn money back then? Sanya and the others don't have anyone to help them now. They don't have a penny on them. How can you ask them to buy it?"
"Actually, I think two or three years of schooling is enough for her. She should be sent to my eldest sister-in-law to learn cooking. If she can learn to cook like the sixth child, then she can open a shop in the future to help support the family, right?"
Seeing Zhou Erlang lying down again, she pulled him up, hit him and said, "I'm asking you a question. Look at Erya. She hasn't come back since she went out. Manbao said she made a lot of money, but I didn't see her bring any back to honor us. What's the point of a girl reading so many books?"
Zhou Erlang could only sit quietly again. He lowered his voice and reasoned with her, "Look at Manbao and you'll understand. Do you think it's useful for girls to study? I'm strong and healthy now, and there's no need for children to take care of me."
He said, "Er Ya didn't get the money back, and neither did Er Tou. Oh, that boy did come back, but he ended up being worse than my daughter."
Feng pinched his ear and said, "How can they pass by home? They changed their route just after reaching Mianzhou."
Zhou Erlang was not afraid of her pinching him, because it didn't hurt anyway.
"But it's not enough to just study all the time. She still needs to learn a skill," Feng insisted. "Girls are different from boys. If they study a lot, they can even take the civil service exam. What should she do?"
"Er Ya is at least good at accounting. If she learns to be an accountant, she'll have a job in the future. But what can San Ya do after she finishes her studies?" Feng said, "Either she can be a good cook like her eldest sister-in-law, or she can do accounting like her sister, or she can learn medicine like her younger sister-in-law. Otherwise, no matter how much she studies, she'll still have to farm and weave after she gets married. It's better not to study at all."
Zhou Erlang thought about it and felt that what she said made sense, so he said, "Okay, tomorrow when I have some free time I'll ask her what she wants to do in the future. But you have to return the colored silk to her first. Everyone else has it, but she doesn't."
Feng: ...Why hasn’t this matter passed yet?
She said, "They don't have any of the four."
"That's a boy, how can he be compared with a girl?"
Feng also lay down, pulled the quilt over her head, and pretended not to hear.
Zhou Erlang pushed her and said, "I'm talking to you."
Feng snored, indicating that she was asleep.
Tuesday Lang:......
The next day, Manbao went into his mother's room early in the morning, squatted in front of a big jar, and together with her, he felt for eggs from inside, counting them as he felt.
Qian put a layer of rice in the basket, put the eggs she had found in it, then poured another layer of rice, and then another layer of eggs. After putting in a total of twenty eggs, she took the basket out.
Little Qian took the basket and asked the family, "We are going to the Taoist temple to worship the Heavenly Lord. Who will go with you?"
The children all raised their hands excitedly to express their desire to go. Zhou Dalang said, "Mom, let Sanlang take you there. The second son and I will go and tend the vegetable garden."
Qian nodded and asked Zhou Sanlang to harness the ox cart. Then she asked her daughters-in-law, "Do you want to go and pay your respects?"
They were also very interested, especially Fang and Lu. Their homes were in Dali Village, and they could go back to their parents' homes on the way to the Taoist temple, so everyone nodded in agreement.
Manbao had already slipped back into her room and got three books. She wrapped them in cloth and handed them to her mother. "These are the books I bought in Beijing for Daohe. Mother, please hold them for me first."
Qian took it and asked, "Aren't you going?"
"I'm going to go find Bai Shan and the others, and visit Brother Bai by the way."
Qian put away the book and said, "Then hurry up and come with us into the hall. I need to take you to pay your respects to the abbot."
Manbao agreed and ran to the Bai family.
See you at 9pm
(End of this chapter)
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