Chapter 117 Chapter 117 Two Chapters Combined
After the boat sailed about twenty miles, Jinniang asked Jiang Xian, "Have you told Han Zhongshu about what the Xia family did?"
"I've already said it, people like Judge Xia often use their status to bully the good people when they come to Daming Prefecture. If the superiors in this prefecture fail to investigate, they will be accused of not knowing people well and will have to suffer for it in the future." Jiang Xian said.
Jinniang was relieved, and she continued, "When I left Wu County, I didn't know why I was still full of energy, but when I left Daming Prefecture, I felt relieved."
Jiang Xian smiled, "Or maybe it's said in Cao Gui's On War that the first time you make a great effort, the second time you make it weaker, and the third time you make it all the way. When we first went to Wu County, it was very refreshing to be an official for the first time, but when we arrived in Daming Prefecture, you were a little discouraged. Now, on the third time, we can finally return to the capital and don't have to wander around outside anymore. This is naturally a good thing."
"My dear, you are right." Jinniang chuckled and threw herself into his arms again.
The couple had been busy some time ago and were physically and mentally exhausted, so naturally they didn't have much opportunity to be intimate. Now on the boat, with no one to disturb him, Jiang Xian wanted to soak the goat intestines in advance, but Jinniang stopped him and said, "No need for that today."
Jiang Xian was quite worried when he heard this: "Madam, what if you are pregnant?"
"If I have it, I have it." Jinniang said with a smile.
Jiang Xian didn't understand: "Why did my wife suddenly change her mind?"
Jinniang shook her head: "Just put yourself in their shoes."
She saw that although Madam Luan was a widow in the Zhen family, she could get a share of the property in the future because she gave birth to a son. Otherwise, given the character of the Luan family, if Madam Luan returned to her parents' home, she would probably marry anyone and be sold for a good price. As for Jinniang, she was familiar with the inheritance law of this dynasty. If something happened to the only son, she could only choose someone from within the clan to be adopted in the future. She could not just adopt whoever she wanted.
In the future, she and Jiang Xian will most likely still be controlled by others.
Of course, if Jiang Xian was still here, it would be fine. But if Jiang Xian was gone, then her family property would probably have to be confiscated.
But if she said it out loud, it would be suspected that she was cursing her husband, so she didn't say it. It is difficult for a woman to survive alone in this world, she must think more about herself.
Jiang Xian didn't ask too many questions and just rolled around in the bed, the two of them feeling very comfortable.
When Jinniang got up the next day, she felt a little pain in her body. She just put on a casual shirt and lay on the couch to read a book. Occasionally, she closed her eyes to rest when she got tired of reading.
Sister Yun came over to eat with her at noon. When Jinniang saw her daughter, she felt much better. She stood up and said, "Are you hungry? You want to come to your mother's place to find something to eat?"
"No, Mother Rong (Xi Qiu) served me dinner and came over. I wanted to read a book with mother." Sister Yun said playfully.
"Okay, then let's go to the bed together. The couch is too small. What do you want to see?" Jinniang doesn't think it's bad for children to be close to their parents when they grow up. Instead, she hopes to understand more about children, especially those who are about to enter puberty, and pay attention to their emotions.
Both mother and daughter were reading books. Yunjie often shared her books with Jinniang, and Jinniang would also tell her what interesting things she saw. Jiang Xian, who was about to enter the inner room, stopped. He wondered if his wife wanted to have another child because his children were very close to their parents.
Actually, it’s a good thing this way. If they buy a big house and it’s not full of people, it will be too lonely.
After lunch, Yun Jieer went back to her room to rest and left a box of perfume powder she made herself. Jin Niang thought of the child of Sun Shichen and Zhou Si Niang whom she met on the road.
When the eldest and second Miss Sun met Yun Jie'er, they were obviously classmates. Yun Jie'er even went up to greet them, but the two sisters were unwilling to say much.
Don’t know why?
Mrs. Zhou Si was also on the boat and asked her two daughters, "Just now, the young lady from the Jiang family came over to talk to you, but you ignored her. This is not good."
Miss Sun didn't say anything. She was always thoughtful and seldom spoke out what was on her mind. But her younger sister, Miss Sun Er, said, "We came back from the girls' school halfway, and we were afraid she would ask us why we didn't go."
When her daughters said this, Mrs. Zhou felt a little guilty.
Some things are trivial to adults, just like she still lets that teacher teach her three siblings. However, the low self-esteem caused by dropping out of school has been engraved in the daughters' hearts, making them unable to hold their heads up.
"Don't worry, we'll hire a female teacher to teach you these things when we get to Shangxian County." This was all Zhou Si could say.
Miss Sun shook her head: "Mrs. Shen is the most talented woman in Wuxing. I'm afraid no one else has her talent. But if Jiang Jun goes to Tokyo, she will meet a better gentleman."
Lady Zhou Si did not like female competition, she said, "We don't have to compete with her."
"Mom, I..." Miss Sun was speechless.
Mrs. Zhou Si said: "A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step. As long as you study hard, your future will be better. Only when you respect yourself can you grow."
…
The ship sailed for five days and then stopped at the shore due to strong winds. The captain went to pay taxes and replenish supplies. Jinniang was afraid that the children would be scared, so she called them to her room and let the siblings play chess. She watched from the side and talked to Aying about housework from time to time.
"It's very quick to get to Tokyo from here. Let's get there first, find the house, and then send gifts to various places. Otherwise, Tianshui Lane is too small, things are too crowded, and there are people doing business in front, so it's not good to have people coming and going."
Ah Ying nodded: "That's what I thought too."
Jinniang smiled and said, "Anyway, when we get to Beijing, we have a big house and a garden. We don't have to go out for a walk. It's fine to stroll in our own garden. We won't have to worry about having no place to sit when we entertain guests."
She is a very practical woman. If people live a better life and don't have to worry about money, they will reduce 80% of their worries in life.
She didn't sleep much that night. When she woke up the next day, there was someone selling snacks on the shore, so Jinniang asked someone to buy a lot of them. The children were tired of eating the food made by Juxiang all day long, so when they ate the food from the vendors, they actually snatched up all the food.
"Don't eat too much, or you'll get an upset stomach." Jinniang warned them.
Ning Ge'er jumped up and down: "Mom, you are really the roundworm in my son's stomach. You know what my son wants to eat without me telling you."
Jin Niang nodded at her son and said, "You are so happy when you eat something delicious. But these foods outside are different from what you usually eat. It is easy for your stomach to get upset. You are not allowed to eat after you finish this."
She couldn't explain the difference in the bacterial flora, so this was the only explanation she could give.
Ning Ge'er knew that his mother would fulfill many of their wishes, but they had to listen to what his mother said, otherwise there would be no benefit next time, so he agreed without hesitation.
After the children finished eating, Jinniang was asking someone to fetch water for them to wash their hands when she heard a "splash" outside. It turned out that someone fell into the water.
Somehow Jinniang thought of Ruyan. This time, she ordered the servants to rescue the person and send him to the clinic on the shore and leave the medical fee. It's not anything else. It's easy to save people, but it's very troublesome to place someone at home.
She doesn't like to get involved in other people's karma, so she saves people only for the sake of saving them, and is unwilling to arrange other people's lives.
Ding San said that the person he rescued was a young wife who jumped into the river because she was forced by her mother-in-law. After waking up, he asked for shelter, but Ding San did not agree.
Jinniang said, "I understand. Let's go down."
Ah Ying brought over some tea and said, "Madam, you left her two taels of silver, which is enough for her to live for three months. She already had the courage to jump into the water, let alone live well."
"Yeah." Jinniang thought of Ma Yangniang, Ning'er's wet nurse. Now that Ning'er is getting older, she might be afraid that Jinniang will drive her out of the house, so she becomes more doting and pampering to Ning'er.
Once we arrive in Tokyo, we can no longer let her serve Ning Ge'er all the time, otherwise it will be difficult for her parents to discipline her.
"Let your brother come to my place early tomorrow morning to write big and small characters." Jinniang said to Aying.
After that, she said to Jiang Xian, "You should teach him well. After we go back, we will have to hire a teacher for our son."
There is a difference between a primary teacher and a professional teacher. A primary teacher is responsible for enlightenment, while a professional teacher teaches the classics, history, and literature.
The Song Dynasty was different from other dynasties in that there were no so-called county examinations or academy examinations. However, there were examinations for child prodigies. For children under ten years old, those who could master one classic and the "Book of Filial Piety" and "The Analects of Confucius" and recite ten volumes of text would be given an official position if they could master seven. If they could, they would be given a family name.
Ning Ge'er is studious and can endure hardships in studying. If this is his goal, it would be great if he passed the child prodigy exam. If not, at the age of ten, he will definitely be better than his peers.
Jiang Xian was also surprised when these words were spoken. To be honest, even he started to study hard only after his second brother was adopted. The wealthier the family, the harder it is for children to study.
Reading can even consume half of your life, which is not an easy thing to live with.
"My wife, you are really far-sighted. However, hiring a professional master is different from hiring a tutor. If we hire a famous person, the price may be higher. Will our family have any money left after buying the house?" He didn't know how much money his wife had. Just like this time when she came back, his wife insisted on paying the boat fee to the big boss.
Jinniang didn't know whether to laugh or cry: "You don't have to worry about the money. Even if I cut my hair and sell it, I won't let you starve."
She actually had an idea. She didn't want to rent out her house in Tianshui Lane after she returned. She could turn it into a store because she had built a house for her servants last time and separated it into small rooms that could be used as warehouses to store things or for people to live in. Her place is close to Daxiangguo Temple, and many merchants sell their goods in Daxiangguo Temple.
However, her house is still too small and she can't make much money.
By the way, after they move out, the building and study at the back can be rented out, so that one house can be rented out to two people, which is quite useful.
In fact, after buying the house, there won’t be any big expenses, so you can slowly plan for it when the time comes.
Jiang Xian was relieved when he heard Jinniang say this, and he laughed again: "Madam, you said that we have only been here for a few years and we can already buy a big house. I can't believe it."
"Silly boy." Jinniang saw that he rarely acted silly, so she rubbed his face like she was rubbing Ning Ge'er's face.
When the weather was calm, the ship sailed for more than half a month and soon arrived in Kaifeng.
When Jinniang saw the familiar shore, she finally breathed a sigh of relief. However, she said that Jinniang and her friends had sent someone to deliver a letter to Tianshui Lane first, and Liu Douer had already hired a horse carriage and a mule cart to pick people up. Luo Yu'e and Wei Xiong knew that Jinniang and the others had returned, so they moved back to Choushui Lane and cleaned the house inside and out.
Furthermore, Luo Da received a letter from Jinniang saying that there were many people brought back and some of them might not have enough accommodation, so she asked him to rent a few houses facing the street at Daxiangguo Temple and let the servants who couldn't stay there move in first.
This made Luo Da think of Jinniang's thoughtfulness, that is, she arranged the servants clearly.
When Jinniang and the others arrived home, the lights were already on. Luo Yu'e was still eagerly waiting. When she saw Jinniang coming down, she hurried forward and said, "Look, your father seems to have eyes at the back of his head. He's still waiting at the entrance of the alley."
After six years, my mother's crow's feet have become deeper, but her complexion is better. Jinniang smiled and said, "Please let Dad come back soon. I haven't seen him for many years."
After saying that, she asked Yunjie'er and Ningge'er to call her grandmother, which made Luo Yu'e very happy.
When Yun Jie'er and Ning Ge'er left Tokyo, they didn't remember much and were not very close to Luo Yu'e. Fortunately, when Jinniang came back, she asked someone to carry the boxes and crates into the room, put them away, and then asked Qingrong to watch over them.
The group came downstairs to have dinner. The dishes were cooked by Luo Yu'e and Luo Da's wife and were all warm.
"Dad, Mom, Shiliulang and I are planning to buy a house when we come back this time. We will also reserve a room for you so you can go and live there whenever you want." Jinniang said with a smile.
Luo Yu'e said: "It's quite good for us to live in Choushui Lane, but I'm afraid your brother will need to use the study room..."
"Mom, I'm planning to rent out this house in Tianshui Lane. It would be a shame to keep it like this and waste it. I can just let Yangge move to our new house when the time comes."
Jiang Xian suddenly felt that his wife was really courageous, especially when it came to money. She didn't want to owe others anything, but she had her own plans and didn't want to have any further ties. For her, this house is hers after all, and she has the final say on how to deal with it.
Although Luo Yu'e and Wei Xiong had some complaints in their hearts, they finally got used to their daughter's behavior.
After the meal, Jinniang privately said to Luo Yu'e, "I plan to give this house to our Yunjie as a dowry in the future. You two haven't found a wife for Yangge yet. If the new wife comes, will she still live here? Why don't you come and live in the big house I will buy in the future? Yangge can also live in the new house before he gets married. If he gets married, let him and his wife live there by themselves, so as not to disturb the newlyweds."
Luo Yu'e said she was embarrassed, but she would rather live with her daughter than her son.
The son is gentle in nature, and the daughter is capable of taking charge of the household.
Furthermore, Jinniang said, "Once I buy this house, I'm afraid I'll be short of money and my relatives will be left without support. Do you think I should rent it out for a little more money?"
"When the time comes, your mother and father will support you. We are old and don't have extra money, but you will definitely have a share of food and drink." Luo Yu'e thought about the twenty strings of cash that she had actually left for her daughter, in case she was not well for a while, so she could always take out some money.
Jinniang said, "It hasn't reached that point yet."
In Jinniang's opinion, she is easy to talk to with her parents, but if her brother's wife comes in and gets used to living in Tianshui Lane, it will be easy to make enemies if she asks her to leave.
If I don't solve the problem myself, and if I give it to Sister Yun in the future, it will be difficult for her to chase me away, right?
This is the first reason. The second reason is that she can take care of her parents. After all, her parents can only do so much, and she also needs popularity. In the future, if Jiang Xian is sent away, it is better to have her parents looking after him than to have servants.
Furthermore, she could provide for her parents in their old age, but if she brought her younger brother and future sister-in-law into the family, there would inevitably be disputes among the several families, and even Jiang Xian and his children would be dissatisfied.
Luo Yu'e talked about the matter of Lianzong again: "Is this true?"
"Of course not, it's all based on kinship, and they gave me a genealogy. The Wei family takes me back on the second day of the Lunar New Year every year, and I get along well with their people. I plan to take you to pay respects to Mrs. Wei after I buy the house, and then we'll introduce Yang Ge'er to her. Then we can get to know each other better, which is great." Jinniang said with a smile.
Luo Yu'e was a little nervous again: "Associating with such a high-ranking official, people like us..."
Jinniang smiled and said, "My brother is also a student of the Imperial College. You and my father earn money with our own hands, which is more noble than others. In my opinion, you and your father are both fifty years old. You and your father can't stand working from dawn to dusk in these small businesses. It's better to buy a few acres of land in the suburbs of Beijing, and you can make a living from the farm. You can also get rent money from the stinky alleys on weekdays, so you don't have to work too hard."
The mother and daughter talked for a long time, and Luo Yu'e returned home late at night.
Jinniang started asking the real estate agent about the price of a house the next day to get a general idea of the general price of a house.
She went out in the morning and looked at three houses in a row. It turned out that people nowadays buy houses near Yangzhai in the south of the city, which is also near the Imperial College. However, the houses here are either very small with only two entrances, or too large, neither of which meets Jinniang's needs.
After having some snacks in the carriage, Jinniang went to the vicinity of the west gate in the afternoon. There was a three-story house with a garden covering an area of six acres, which was worth a total of eight thousand strings of cash.
After a while, Jiang Xian, who had just reported to the yamen, also came over. Jiang Xian liked the house as soon as he saw it, but seeing that Jinniang didn't say anything, he didn't say much either.
When he came back in the evening, Jiang Xian said, "My wife, that house is quite nice."
"That's right, but we have to ask around first. I've asked Chen Xiaolang to pay a nearby beggar leader to ask." When Jinniang was the head of a guild, she had dealt with all kinds of people. There is no website to search now, but she can ask a nearby beggar leader.
Jiang Xian had also been an official for several years. He found that Jinniang was also a very magical person. For example, she asked Liu Doer and Luo Da to look after the house, but after coming back, she did not listen to the servants' advice at all. She went out to look for it by herself and even asked the beggar leader.
He is a very difficult person to fool.
In the evening, Chen Xiaolang came back and reported: "The family is in a hurry to sell the house because they were fighting over land with someone and ended up killing someone, so they want to sell it quickly."
"We don't want anything that would cause disputes, and that place is close to the official road and too far from the city." Jinniang had done a lot of research in order to buy a house.
Jiang Xian actually thought that the house was nice. If there was a dispute within the family, he could take the opportunity to lower the price, but it would be fine if his wife disagreed.
Since Jiang Xian had just arrived at the Ministry of Internal Affairs, it would take several days for him to take up his post as an official, so he simply took Jinniang back with him to pay his respects to Master Jiang Liu. After all, if I don't go to visit my parents when I go home, I'm afraid people will have something to say about me.
Jinniang prepared six rolls of gauze, twelve balls of tea cakes, two jars of Diliu wine, two Wuxian mats, a mud-gold flowered skirt for Zheng, a brocade printed skirt for Xu, a set of men's clothing with lotus green pattern, twelve boxes of fruit-filled pastries, and two baskets of goose pears.
In any case, Jiang Xian was indeed promoted this time and his official position was not bad, so Jinniang prepared generous gifts for Master Jiang Liu and his wife and Xu.
The old house of the Jiang family still looks the same as before. I heard that the garden is not rented out now, but is prepared for Xuan Ge'er and his wife to live in. But the garden is not well maintained. It looks neat, but it feels like the flowers and trees are not well cared for.
Mother Ge personally led them in. She was Xu's confidant, so she naturally inquired about everything: "As soon as I saw how you were dressed, I knew that you must have had a good time in exile. Even our wife is envious."
"Mom, you are joking. To be honest, I am still dizzy after living in the open air. I see that you are getting fatter and fatter. I guess your sister-in-law is also living a good life. You and your friends are getting better and better." After saying that, he took out a handkerchief with emerald green flowers from his sleeve and gave it to her: "This is the craftsmanship of the Wan family in Daming Prefecture. Please accept it."
Seeing that Jinniang was now wearing a crystal crown and looked more capable, Mother Ge did not dare to underestimate her and talked about some family matters.
But we didn't see Xu today. It was said that she went to the Taiping Xingguo Temple to eat vegetarian food. Zheng also went back to her parents' home. Jinniang and Jiang Xian kowtowed to Master Jiang Liu and then left.
The two of them came out and breathed a sigh of relief. Jinniang said, "Fortunately, they are not at home today, otherwise we would have to stay for another day."
Jiang Xian nodded: "Who said it wasn't, ma'am, are we going to look at houses today?"
"Well, Huang Ya told me that an old gentleman wanted to resell the land and was looking for a seller. It's at Jinliang Bridge, about six acres." Jin Niang said.
The two of them soon arrived near Jinliang Bridge and met the Yellow-Tooth Man first, who hurried over to pay his respects.
Jinniang motioned for Jiang Xian to speak, and Jiang Xian immediately reacted: "Huangya man, if you make a good introduction, we won't give you less money. If you drive up the price recklessly, I won't forgive you."
"My lord, how dare I do that?" The yellow-toothed man saw that Jinniang and Jiang Xian were either dressed rich or noble, so he spoke very carefully.
Jinniang looked at the house carefully. It was surrounded by tall locust trees and ancient willows, as well as dense vegetation. It was surprisingly cool here in the summer. The owner of the house was about sixty years old, wearing a round-necked cloth robe, which was quite hermit-like.
Agent Huang first introduced the two people: "Mr. Jiang, this is the owner of the house, Mr. Pang."
Jiang Xian was young, so he hurried forward to pay his respects. The old official Pang was a humorous man: "You look very impressive, like an official."
"Old man, although I am an official, the one behind me is the supreme official." Jiang Xian smiled.
Jinniang glared at Jiang Xian, and old man Pang also laughed.
Entering from the northeast corner, there are a row of rooms on the west side. Mr. Pang said, "That's for servants or guests to stay in."
Jinniang nodded and looked at the stables near the west corner. To the east was a small wing with five rooms. In the middle was a hanging flower door, and on both sides were winding corridors. After passing through the hanging flower gate, a path comes into view. The path is surrounded by lush flowers and trees. Walking straight along the path, you will reach the hall. The hall is on the top of a gable roof and has a total of three rooms. There are three side rooms on each side, and there are also east and west wing rooms.
Walk from the east side of the second courtyard to the third courtyard. The third courtyard is the main house with east and west wing rooms. The main house has five rooms in total. It is higher than the roof of the hall and still has a hip roof, which is also matched with the east and west wing rooms.
This is the main house. A small door on the east side leads directly to the garden. There is a half-acre pond in the garden with more than a dozen lotus flowers on it. Water droplets are rolling around on the lotus flowers. There are study rooms and halls on the four sides.
"Come, take a look here." Old Mr. Pang led them to the front with a smile.
Before diverting water from the pond and passing through the rockery, there is a small flower pavilion with different windows, including diamond-shaped windows, Ruyi windows, Bodhi windows, and ice-crack windows. Looking through the window, there is a new scene at every step. From the diamond-shaped window, you can see plum blossoms. The plum blossoms are pure white, small but lush, simple, elegant and fresh. From the Ruyi Window, one can see a clump of green bamboos, which are emerald green and elegant. From the Bodhi Window, one can see a Bodhi tree. Outside the Bingcrack Window should be a plum tree, but the plum flowers do not bloom in July, so only broken branches remain. However, the oleander not far away is in full bloom.
Walking north along the corridor from the waterside pavilion, there is another attic, which houses many books.
…
As they walked along, Jiang Xian had been looking at Jinniang frequently, and Jinniang just looked at him with a smile.
After they finished their tour, Jinniang smiled and said, "Your house is very nice, but your price is too high. If it were a little less, I would pay for it right away."
Mr. Pang said, "My lady, nine thousand strings of cash is not too expensive to buy my house. You see, this rockery and the flower garden here were all built by us slowly. We also put in a lot of effort to dig the water from the pond and divert it to the rockery."
"I know, I know it's not easy for you to build this courtyard. I also saw that you have been taking us for such a long time, and we also sincerely want to buy it. How about this, everyone should make a concession and ask for 7,000 strings of cash? If you agree, please bring the money tomorrow morning. To be honest, if my husband and I had the 9,000 strings of cash, we would like to give it all to you, but we don't have that much." Jinniang sighed.
Jiang Xian was thinking, didn’t his wife tell him last night that he had nine thousand taels in his hand? How come now, oh, he understood, this was bargaining, but this was too harsh.
An ordinary three-courtyard house would cost about five thousand strings of cash, and this one has a garden added in.
As expected, Mr. Pang said, "Seven thousand taels is not enough."
At this time, the Yellow Fang Man came out and said, "If you two take a step back, eight thousand strings of cash would be fine."
Jiang Xian immediately looked at Jinniang, fearing that he would miss this opportunity. Jinniang smiled and said, "Well, if you give less, I'll add more. You decide the price."
"Seven thousand eight hundred taels." Old Master Pang also knew that it was not easy to find someone to buy a house now.
Jinniang said, "Seven thousand six hundred taels, let's do it for good luck. I won't lower the price any more. If you agree, I'll let Huangya draft the contract."
After Jinniang finished speaking, Jiang Xian remained calm, but in his heart he was nervous about Mr. Pang's answer. He also wondered if his wife had cut too low. Who knew that Mr. Pang smiled and said, "Okay, my wife is straightforward, so am I."
Jiang Xian was delighted when he heard that, and secretly pulled Jinniang's sleeve. Jinniang slapped his hand away. This man wanted it so much that he almost couldn't bargain for the price? But even though he was hit, Jiang Xian was happy. It’s great that this house is even more exquisite than his old one. It’s great that he has more money and doesn’t have to worry about tightening his belt.
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