After Wei Laosan left, Yan Qingqing returned to her room, took out five taels of silver and handed it to Li Xiangping, saying, "I haven't been back to your maternal grandmother's house for several years. When your maternal grandmother came to visit recently, I saw that they weren't living a very good life."
"You're the eldest in the family, so go to Yanjiacun Village for me and give this money to your maternal grandmother."
Li Xiangping nodded in agreement. Yan Qingqing had indeed not returned to her parents' home for a long time, but giving five taels of silver at once was certainly extravagant.
Fortunately, Li Xiangping knew that his family was now wealthy and wouldn't be short of five taels of silver.
Just as Li Xiangping was about to leave, Yuan Huiniang called him back, took out a string of copper coins and gave them to him, saying, "Take this money and buy some food for your grandparents on the way. It's a small token of our appreciation as the younger generation."
Looking at the five taels of silver in his left hand and the handful of copper coins in his right, Li Xiangping sighed that the women in his family were truly wealthy. Not to mention his mother, Yuan Huiniang and his two younger sisters all received monthly dividends.
However, the brothers themselves need to live on their monthly allowance.
However, their life was exceptionally harmonious; since they separated, they had never had a single argument.
Li Xiangping was very content with his current life. He happily left with the money given to him by his mother and wife.
As soon as he stepped outside, he ran into Li Chengye, who was arguing with Widow Liu, which surprised Li Xiangping greatly.
Widow Liu worked for their family. Yan Qingqing had suspected Liu when the house plans were leaked some time ago, but Manager Wu said it was his fault, so she didn't investigate further.
Upon seeing Li Xiangping, Liu quickly broke free from Li Chengye's hand and ran away as fast as she could.
Li Xiangping was even more puzzled. Could it be that the two of them had some unspeakable secret?
Li Chengye, oh no, he should be called Li Daniu now, glared at Li Xiangping fiercely after seeing him, and then walked away cursing.
Li Xiangping was completely baffled. He didn't think he had offended his uncle recently, so why was his uncle glaring at him?
Since the last incident, Li Daniu's reputation has plummeted, and he has been expelled from both the academy and the county magistrate, essentially being dismissed from both positions. He has given up all pretense of civility and has stopped pretending to be polite.
Fortunately, Li Xiangping didn't like Li Daniu either, and seeing that he was ignoring him, he drove the oxcart to Yanjiazhuang.
When Li Xiangping returned that evening, he recounted the situation of the Yan family in detail. First of all, when Old Master Yan and Old Madam Yan saw Li Xiangping's arrival, they were so excited that tears streamed down their faces.
The two elders inquired about Yan Qingqing's health and were completely relieved to learn that she was doing well.
The elderly couple in the Yan family were in good health, and Grandpa Yan was especially good at working in the fields, so Yan Qingqing didn't need to worry about them.
The three Yan brothers are all upright people, and their daughters-in-law are very filial.
Yan Qingqing listened and nodded. In fact, when Old Madam Yan and Yan Qingshi came last time, Yan Qingqing could tell that Old Madam Yan's ability to take out one or two taels of silver at once proved that she had a lot of say in the family.
Li Xiangping hesitated for a moment before saying, "However, it seems that my third uncle and aunt are having a disagreement."
Yan Qingqing said somewhat nonchalantly, "Living together for a long time inevitably leads to some bumps and bruises, and conflicts are unavoidable."
Li Xiangping nodded and said, "Mother is right. There are very few families as harmonious as ours. It's all thanks to Mother's skillful management of the household."
Yan Qingqing exclaimed in surprise as she looked at her most honest son, wondering when he had learned to use sweet talk.
Li Xiangping scratched his head a little embarrassed as he looked at Yan Qingqing's teasing gaze. He didn't understand why his fourth brother was so good at coaxing their mother, but he was a little embarrassed when it came to him.
But Li Xiangping didn't consider how old Li Xiangkang was compared to his own age. Even if they said the same thing, the effect would be different.
The next day, Yan Qingqing discussed the housewarming feast with Li Xiangping and the others. After all, this was a big event, and Yan Qingqing knew that a sumptuous housewarming feast was indispensable.
I heard there are many customs and rituals involved in raising the roof beam, although Yan Qingqing doesn't really believe in these things. But people always want to think positively, so she asked Li Xiangkang to invite Old Master Li over.
Since Li Daniu's accident, Old Master Li has been depressed, and even Old Madam Li has calmed down and lost her former arrogance.
When Old Master Li heard that Yan Qingqing wanted to discuss the housewarming feast with him, he came over without saying a word.
Seeing that Grandpa Li had aged considerably, Yan Qingqing quickly invited him to sit down and said directly without beating around the bush, "The roof beam for the new house will be raised soon, and there are many things I don't quite understand, so I'd like to ask you for advice, Father."
When Grandpa Li heard Yan Qingqing call him "Dad," he was stunned. He couldn't remember the last time Yan Qingqing had called him "Dad." He had thought he might never hear it again in his life, but he didn't expect Yan Qingqing to still be willing to call him that.
In truth, Yan Qingqing didn't have much of a problem with Grandpa Li; it was just that she wasn't the original owner of this body and couldn't bring herself to call him "Father" right away. Now, as time went on and she truly integrated into ancient life, the word "Father" just came out naturally.
Old Master Li smiled slightly and slowly said, "The first thing to do when raising the roof beam is to choose a date and time. I think the ninth day of the sixth lunar month is a good day. I'll find someone to calculate the exact time later so that it doesn't clash with the family's schedule."
Before the official raising of the roof beam, a sacrificial ceremony is held, and couplets are pasted on the beams, doors, and windows. These couplets can bring you great…
Old Master Li paused here. He had originally intended to have Li Daniu write it, but when he thought of the dirty deeds Li Daniu had done, he suddenly felt that he was not qualified at all.
Then, Old Master Li abruptly changed the subject and said, "This couplet can be written by an experienced master craftsman, and then an incense table should be set up at the main entrance with offerings."
After burning incense and bowing in worship, firecrackers are set off. Only after all these rituals are completed can the roof beam be officially raised.
And of course, there's a feast for raising the roof beams; you can arrange that yourselves."
Grandpa Li explained all the details he knew to Yan Qingqing and the others without reservation.
Yan Qingqing felt that she had learned something new; she hadn't expected that there were so many intricacies involved in simply raising a beam.
Yan Qingqing looked at Grandpa Li and smiled, "It's all thanks to Father's experience that he understands these things. My children and I would never understand them."
Grandpa Li laughed and said, "These are all old traditions. You kids wouldn't understand these things."
Seeing that Grandpa Li was happy, Li Xiangping added, "So Grandpa, you must take good care of yourself, so you can teach us if we need anything in the future."
After hearing this, Grandpa Li sighed and said, "I just feel that I'm getting senile. I owe you all a lot for what happened to your uncle, and I feel very remorseful."
Not wanting to see Grandpa Li like this, Yan Qingqing spoke up again, "I plan to send Silang to school in a while."
Grandpa Li looked at Yan Qingqing in shock and asked incredulously, "What, what did you say?"
Yan Qingqing said calmly, "I said I wanted to send Silang to study."
Of course, it would be good if he could pass the imperial examinations, but it wouldn't matter if he didn't, since the purpose of studying is to understand right and wrong.
Grandpa Li nodded excitedly. Although Li Daniu was crippled, there was still hope for his grandson.
The fortune teller once said that his family's fortunes would change because of one person, and he always thought it was Li Daniu, but now it seems that it wasn't.
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