"Aunt Song, your family has the most joyous occasions. Anbang has achieved the top score in the imperial examination and is getting married. Your family has truly stumbled upon a joyous occasion."
Grandma Song laughed so hard that the wrinkles on her face formed a chrysanthemum shape.
"Oh dear, Dongzi's mother, please stop teasing me. Dongzi's mother, Xin'er, let's go quickly. The wedding day is coming soon, and I'll feel at ease as soon as these things are prepared."
Song Anxin, Lin Dasao, and Old Mrs. Song went to the street. Along with Wei Pozi who accompanied them, the four women accompanied Old Mrs. Song to buy things and chat and laugh all the way. After they finished buying things, they asked Anfu to put them on the carriage, and soon the carriage was half full.
Song Anxin wasn't worried that her mother didn't have money. Song Anbang had been awarded fifty taels of silver by the county government for being the top scorer in the imperial examination, and she had also given her mother a lot of money during festivals, which was enough to buy these things.
The group quickly strolled to the Treasure Pavilion, the largest and most upscale jewelry store in the county. Old Mrs. Song wanted to buy a gift for her future daughter-in-law, so she generously chose a delicate, soft gold-carved hairpin.
"Hey, sister-in-law, what do you think of these gold bracelets?"
Sister-in-law Lin picked up a pair of small gold bracelets, which were exquisitely engraved with auspicious cloud patterns.
"Madam, you have excellent taste! This is our newly launched auspicious cloud and ruyi gold bracelet for a baby's full moon celebration. We only have one pair left," a young shop assistant said enthusiastically.
He hadn't expected these simply dressed women to be so generous; it seemed he had met some distinguished guests today.
"How many taels of silver is this?" Sister-in-law Lin asked.
The young waiter smiled and said, "Fifty taels of silver."
"Oh my goodness, this is really expensive!" Sister-in-law Lin exclaimed, then generously pulled out a fifty-tael silver note and said, "Wrap it up for me!"
The young man grinned from ear to ear as he held the silver note. "Alright, sister-in-law, please wait a moment."
Song Anxin was surprised that her sister-in-law was so generous; fifty taels of silver was no small sum.
Sister-in-law Lin seemed to know her sister-in-law's thoughts and smiled apologetically, saying, "Originally, Master Liu didn't want the commission from selling the white fungus. Da Xi specifically instructed me to buy a gift. Fifty taels of silver is indeed a bit expensive, but Da Xi and I bought it together. Our family has earned quite a bit this year thanks to you, sister-in-law, so we can afford it."
Song Anxin thought about it and realized it made sense. Her sister-in-law had been working in her workshop, and Brother Lin's carpentry skills had improved with Uncle Bai's guidance. Whenever someone in the village got married, they would come to him to make furniture. Of course, Brother Lin made the most money when he made gift boxes for holidays, earning several taels of silver a day.
Song Anxin joked, "Oh, sister-in-law, didn't you always want to live in a big brick house? Now that you're so well-off, why don't you build a house?"
Sister-in-law Lin smiled generously and said, "I don't want to. Of course, with money, I want to eat and live well. But I've been too busy with spring planting since the beginning of spring. Let's start again after the autumn harvest. When everyone is free, someone can help my family build a house."
"Sister-in-law, your pair of auspicious cloud and ruyi gold bracelets have been wrapped up. Please take them."
The bracelet was packaged in an exquisite wooden box and wrapped in silk, making it look very high-class.
Song Anxin smiled and said, "Since my sister-in-law is so generous, I can't be stingy. Buddy, please wrap up the gilded necklace on that cabinet for me."
The young man felt dizzy and quickly said, "Okay, sister-in-law, please wait a moment."
The women emerged from the Treasure Pavilion satisfied. Just as they were heading to their next shop, Song Anxin seemed to hear a familiar voice from a corner alley. She slowed her pace and fell behind her sister-in-law and Old Mrs. Song.
"I told you not to come looking for me anymore. Don't you know I've married someone else?"
“Hong’er, I know I didn’t mean it. The man you married is now in jail serving his labor sentence, and besides, the child…”
Liu Hong'er immediately interrupted him: "Shut up. I don't care what happened back then. Don't disturb my peaceful life with the child now."
The two arguing people soon noticed Song Anxin standing at the alley entrance. Liu Hong'er's expression froze, and the man, seemingly unwilling to be seen, immediately turned away, pulled down his hat, and hurriedly left.
Liu Hong'er immediately regained her usual demeanor, and walked towards the alley entrance, her smile somewhat unnatural, as she spoke:
"What are you doing here, Second Aunt? That man mistook me for someone else. I had to talk to him for a while before he realized what was going on."
Song Anxin smiled but didn't expose her, saying only, "My sister-in-law and I are helping my mother buy some things. Did you come to the county alone?"
"Oh, no, my mother-in-law and child are here too, to buy some things for the child."
Just as Liu Hong'er finished speaking, Aunt Tietou came out of the shop across the alley carrying the child. She saw Liu Hong'er from afar.
"Hong'er, where did you go? I looked everywhere for you. Who were you talking to?" She walked over with the child in her arms and found it was Song Anxin. She said happily, "Fengnian's mother, it's you! What are you doing with Hong'er? Look at the cloth I cut for Zheng'er, isn't it pretty? Zheng'er is probably growing now, so I plan to make it bigger."
Lin Mingzheng is now over four months old and looks completely different from when he was just born. The chubby little guy looked at Song Anxin and grinned.
Song Anxin teased him, saying, "I just happened to see Hong'er and said a few words to her. I think the color of this cloth is nice, and it matches Xiaoming's skin tone perfectly."
At this moment, Granny Wei came out from the shop next door: "Oh my, madam, you're here! The old lady and my eldest uncle's wife have been looking for you everywhere for advice."
"Okay, I'll be right there." After replying, Song Anxin said to Aunt Tietou, "Auntie, my mother and sister-in-law are looking for me. You and Hong'er are taking a stroll with Xiaoming."
After she finished speaking, she glanced at Liu Hong'er, whose eyes involuntarily darted away.
"Then please take care, Aunt Lin."
"Alright, Fengnian's mother, you go ahead first," Aunt Tietou replied.
Meanwhile, in Linjia Village, Lin Fengnian was leading An Fuqingshan and the others to fertilize the rice seedlings in the paddy fields. The seedlings had begun to take root and turn green in the past few days, and now they needed fertilizer.
At this moment, Brother Lin brought over two buckets of fertilizer.
"Fengnian, why is the fertilizer you asked me to pick from your house yellowish-white? It's different from the fertilizer we usually use," Brother Lin asked, putting down his load.
“Uncle, it’s because I made this compost using rice water, soybean meal, soybean residue, grass powder… I read about it in a book on farming. It says that this kind of fertilizer makes the seedlings grow faster and turn green better. I tried it in the vegetable garden before and it really works,” Lin Fengnian replied.
Villagers passing by gathered around, and one farmer exclaimed in surprise, "There are books that specifically teach people how to grow crops and fertilize them?! A bumper harvest, you're not kidding me, are you?"
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