Chapter 2532 Red Envelope
Of course Old Lady Liu made preparations. She had never let her two children who were pursuing careers in government worry about such matters at home.
When she heard Zhou Man's question, she gestured to Aunt Liu.
Madam Liu brought a tray of gold and silver ingots over for them to see. On them were printed auspicious words like "happiness" and "longevity." Old Madam Liu, thinking they were still children, grabbed a handful and gave them to Manbao, saying with a smile, "Take them and play with them."
Manbao was extremely happy as he held a handful of gold and silver ingots.
Old Madam Liu was talking to Madam Liu: "All the purses sent from the needlework room are filled with gold and silver ingots. The purses with yellow thread edging are filled with gold ingots, and the purses with silver thread edging are filled with silver ingots."
She said to Bai Shan and Zhou Man, "You are adults this year. We still give you red envelopes at home, but when you go out, you are the ones giving red envelopes to others. To those who are close to you, you should give yellow red envelopes, and to those who are a little further away, you should give silver red envelopes."
Manbao and Baishan nodded repeatedly to show that they understood.
Today is New Year's Eve. All the adults in the family are busy. The three families decided to stay up all night together tonight, so they have to prepare meals together.
Old Madam Liu and Zheng arranged things like tea, bowls and plates. After walking around, the two of them found that there was nothing they could do, so Manbao took the medicine box and went out to see Madam Mei with peace of mind.
Bai Shan remembered that he had already mastered the moves that Jie Chen taught him last time, so he went to Huguo Temple with her and asked Jie Chen about the new moves.
Jie Chen never expected that he would not let her go even during the New Year.
Manbao went to see Madam Mei.
She took medicine after the abortion yesterday and she doesn't feel any pain today.
Manbao only gave her a set of acupuncture, and then gave her a new prescription, "Take this medicine for the next five days. You are in confinement now, so take care of it first. We will check your condition after thirty days."
Seeing that Madam Mei didn't seem very confident, Man Bao said, "You have blockages in both meridians. The cause has been found. The next step is to clear them. This can't be done overnight. You also have a cold uterus. In order to conceive, this disease must be treated as well."
She said, "This disease will take at least half a year to cure. If it doesn't go smoothly, it may take one or two years."
Madam Mei was stunned. "So long? Will I still be able to have children in a year or two?"
"Why not? In two years you'll only be 25, in your prime."
Madam Mei stopped talking. She was silent for a long time, but she still felt that her father might be more reliable than her, so she said, "Doctor Zhou, why don't you take a look at my father?"
Manbao had no objection. He thought that whether he treated one patient or two patients, he would be able to treat them.
But Mr. Mei had an objection. He had never thought of having another child. But seeing his daughter crying, he was worried that she would be under too much pressure, so he thought about it and nodded in agreement.
Forget it, just agree to it first. Whether he has the baby or not depends on him, right?
However, since the treatment will take such a long time, it would not be a good idea to stay in the Huguo Temple.
Mr. Mei wanted to rent a courtyard in the capital to live in. When Manbao heard this, he thought for a moment and said, "My fifth brother is more familiar with the capital. Mr. Mei can ask him if he wants to rent a house. Maybe we can rent a small courtyard in the inner city."
That way it would be more convenient for her to see a doctor.
Mr. Mei agreed and decided to find a house first and move in after the child was fully recovered.
Mr. Mei wanted to take Zhou Man down the mountain, but Man Bao smiled and refused, saying, "I'm going to visit Master Jie Chen, so I'm not in a hurry to go down the mountain."
Master Jie Chen was eager for Zhou Man to go down the mountain immediately, because if she did, Bai Shan would definitely follow her.
However, neither of them was in a hurry to go home for the New Year, and they stayed in the temple until the afternoon.
When they returned, all the shops on the road were closed and there were few pedestrians. Only a few people passed by hurriedly, all of them were in a hurry to go home for dinner.
Manbao lifted the curtain and saw two yamen runners approaching from the other side with sticks in their hands. Before they even got close, they went into a nearby alley and chased out two ragged beggars with sticks, cursing, "Are you looking for death? The charity has prepared houses for you to spend the winter, and there are hot meals tonight. Why are you still wandering around the streets? Who would be embarrassed if you froze to death at night? Go away..."
As he spoke, he led them to the charity hall in the outer city. As they passed their carriage, a yamen runner said to another person, "It must be Ba Si's gang that won't let them go. This whole area is under Ba Si's control. Damn it, the adults can't spare any effort now. When we can, we'll deal with them. Let's see how long they can keep their arrogance."
"Okay, the New Year is almost here. Everyone, please work harder and search all these alleys. Send the people to the charity hall. Have the brothers do it in person and tell the managers inside to be careful. Tonight is New Year's Eve. Don't let anyone freeze to death outside."
Manbao frowned and lowered the curtain, saying to Bai Shan, "I heard from the imperial physician in the Imperial Hospital that one of the three great evils among the people is the Beggars' Gang."
Bai Shan was curious, "What about the other two evils?"
"One is corrupt officials; the other is bandits."
Bai Shan was lost in thought. "I'll ask Master Jiechen someday. He also often travels among the people, and he's a monk, so his perspective on things is very different from ours. I can understand corrupt officials and bandits, but why is beggars considered one of the three great evils?"
"It's not a beggar, it's the Beggars' Gang."
"Isn't it different?"
Manbao shook his head, "It's different. Fourth brother is at home. You can ask him in the evening."
Zhou Silang now has a group of people under his command who used to be beggars, no, it should be said that they were refugees. They should understand these things better.
Bai Shan will be a local official in the future, so the more he knows about these matters among the people, the better.
When they returned home, they saw that everyone in the family was beaming with joy. Although Chinese New Year was supposed to be joyful, this joy was clearly tinged with excitement. Manbao couldn't help but ask, "What's all the joy?" Fang smiled and said, "My sister-in-law is back. It's because Li Zhong's (Datou) wife is pregnant. It's just such a coincidence that Li Jun was a little unwell today, and Li Zhong's wife checked on him and found out she's pregnant too. The two of them are getting married on almost the same day. My father-in-law and mother-in-law are overjoyed and are giving out red envelopes in advance."
Manbao's eyes suddenly lit up, and he dragged Bai Shan to receive the red envelope.
The two of them squeezed forward and grabbed two as well, saying, "Dad, the red envelopes we gave out today don't count. We have to give out more tomorrow."
When Old Zhou heard this, he snatched the red envelope from her hand and said, "Then you can give it to them tomorrow. They all have the final say."
Manbao grabbed nothing and glared, "Dad, Master Bai and the others will hand out red envelopes tomorrow. How can you just stand there and watch? Today's red envelope is to celebrate Sanniang and Lijun's pregnancy. This doesn't count..."
Qian also glanced at Old Zhou, snatched the red envelope and stuffed it into Manbao's pocket, saying to them, "Yes, today's red envelope doesn't count. I'll give you another one tomorrow."
She gave Liu Sanniang and Zhou Lijun double the red envelopes and said with a smile, "You are pregnant, so don't tell anyone yet, so as not to disturb the Goddess of Fertility. But we know about it among ourselves, so you should stay out of the family affairs. Stop worrying and have a good rest."
Liu Sanniang and Zhou Lijun agreed.
See you at 9pm
(End of this chapter)
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