Chapter 121 Chapter 121 Two Chapters in One
But Manager Yao and Village Head Fan went to Beijing to pay rent, but unexpectedly they happened to run into Wei Yang's wedding. Jinniang asked them to stay and have a drink of wedding wine before leaving. This time, Manager Yao sent 530 strings of silver and Village Head Fan sent more than 300 strings. Jinniang gave them each 20 strings of wages, and also rewarded them with two pieces of fashionable satin, two boxes of wedding cakes, and a bottle of lamb wine.
Fan Zhuangtou didn’t know about his wife’s family situation before, but now that he saw that her brother had also passed the imperial examination, he was even more respectful.
This money, plus the rent of the collapsed house and the house in Tianshui Lane that cost more than 1,700 strings of cash last year, totaled 2,500 strings of cash. She took 50 strings of cash and asked Luo Da and A Ying to help arrange a marriage for her brother. The rest of the silver and the more than 500 strings of cash in hand were put away separately to make up 3,000 strings of cash. This was Yun Jie'er's dowry and it absolutely could not be touched.
Jinniang called Wei Yang over again and said, "Ms. Zhang will be married soon, and you and your wife will be sent out together. I have already told your brother-in-law to bring our two servants, Ding San and Zhao Wu, to you to protect your safety."
"Sister, I really didn't expect that I would win. I'm still in a daze. In fact, it doesn't matter whether I become an official or not, as long as I can be with everyone." Wei Yang was a little scared when he thought about being an official. He rarely argued with others.
Jinniang smiled and said, "What can I do? You just happened to win."
Somehow, Wei Yang felt a little chilled when thinking of Hao Erlang's attitude: "He didn't win, but I did, and I didn't show off, but he suddenly became indifferent to me. We often discussed academic matters together in the past few months?"
So it was for this. Jinniang smiled and said, "If it were me, I wouldn't necessarily be that tolerant. You passed the exam, but they didn't. They were already upset. So why don't you be more tolerant? But you have to be careful. I heard that a scholar who passed the provincial exam was tricked into going to Xiaoyun Tower and ended up being drunk to death. You're already a Jinshi now, and I don't know how many people are hoping that you'll make a fool of yourself and live a life of drunkenness and dreams. You have to be careful."
The two siblings talked a lot, mainly Jinniang's admonitions, and Yangge'er listened. In the end, Jinniang gave her ten strings of silver: "Take it and spend it. Don't be stingy."
Yang Ge'er refused: "Sister, the Wei family gave me fifty taels, and my father-in-law gave me five hundred strings of cash as money for paving the ground. I am not short of money now."
Seeing that he really didn't want it, Jinniang said with relief: "Okay, then I'll take it. Anyway, I'll use it for your wedding."
When the engagement was finalized, Zhang had said how poor the Wei family was. Unexpectedly, she was slapped in the face so soon. Wei Yang passed the imperial examination at such a young age.
Zhou Cunzhi asked her to send a gift over, but seeing that she hadn't made arrangements yet, he asked the steward to send it over directly. He also went to the Jiang family in person to congratulate them. Jiang Xian then called Wei Yang over to talk. After leaving the Jiang family, Zhou Cunzhi went to Zhang Jiulang's house.
"You have good taste. The young master of the Wei family is indeed a simple man."
When choosing a son-in-law, you have to choose this kind of person, who has no ulterior motives and is well-educated.
Zhang Jiulang smiled and said, "I saw that Shushi was teaching him, and I thought he was a student of the Imperial College. With the ability of Madam Wei and the kinship with the Wei family, even if he failed, he might still have a future. I didn't expect him to be so competitive and win consecutive victories this time."
His daughter will soon be an official's wife. No way. He has to urge the Wei family to get married faster. Nowadays, there are some despicable people who specialize in stealing other people's marriages.
Seeing that Zhang Jiulang was absent-minded, Zhou Cunzhi didn't want to sit for long. After getting on the sedan chair, he thought that when he was twenty years old, he would never have thought that he would be like this when he was almost forty years old.
Jinniang was unaware of these complicated matters. She just felt that the Wei family was becoming more enthusiastic towards her and that they were truly treating her as equals.
In the past, there were always some Jinniangs who begged the Wei family for favors. Now that the Wei family has truly produced a Jinshi, although it is impossible to be on an equal footing with them, they are more confident.
Just as she was thinking about it, her stomach moved and she cried out "Ouch!" Ning Ge'er hurried over and put his ear against Jinniang's stomach: "Mom, the baby is turning over again."
Jinniang touched her son's little head and said, "You were like this when you were in my belly."
"Mom, I want to do my homework here with you today." Ning Ge'er didn't know why he wanted to be closer to his mother. He also lived in his mother's belly before.
Jinniang was also happy that her son was closer to her: "Okay, you can do your homework here later. Go back to your room to eat first. I'm going to lie on the couch. My waist is a little sore. Come over after you finish eating."
As soon as Ning Ge'er left, Ah Ying said with a smile, "The one who is most unhappy about our uncle's success in the imperial examination is probably Madam Xu. She always acts like she is from a scholarly family, but no one in her family has ever passed the imperial examination, and now she still relies on you. In the future, we'll see how she continues to act in front of you."
"I just told you that the girls of the Wu family look humble, polite and gentle, but they are not to be trifled with. I saw that young Mrs. Wu a few days ago, and the way she spoke and behaved was exactly like the Madam Wu we met in Daming Prefecture. Both the mother-in-law and the daughter-in-law want a reputation, so who knows who will be more virtuous in the end?" Jinniang shrugged.
Ah Ying smiled secretly: "You are right, two people have to compete with each other in terms of 'virtue'."
The two talked about this for a while, and Jinniang said, "Now that my uncle is getting married, we should buy some more people to our family. We can set up a room in the west wing of the second courtyard as a tea room, which can be used to boil medicine and make tea in the future. In addition, we need to buy a wet nurse and two maids to serve them all."
Ah Ying remembered: "In fact, you need to add two more people here. Qingrong is very capable and often accompanies you. But Ziteng is good at rough work, but not delicate work. I am worried about leaving her to look after the house."
"Okay, I'll leave it to you." Jinniang said.
After she finished speaking, she slapped her head and said, "I forgot. Next time, let Mr. Fan come over and bring some high-quality wood. We will prepare the dowry for Sister Yun in advance. Let's see if the Zhang family can get her married as soon as they say so."
Ah Ying started to worry: "I don't know when I can save enough money like this."
"Yes, the shop in Jinliangqiao has been closed for almost half a year. I will ask someone to ask tomorrow." Jinniang still felt that there were too many places to spend money recently, so she couldn't invest, because casual investment would likely result in losses. Now she should take care of the baby in her belly first.
It would be good if you give birth to a good child, but if you give birth to a prodigal son, even a huge family fortune will be squandered.
Last time, everyone helped Ruyan with her wedding, so Aying knew everything. Chen Xiaolang was in charge of internal affairs, and Luo Da was in charge of external affairs. Once the money was in the account, everyone got busy. First, she cleaned up the courtyard, decorated it with lights and lanterns, hired a cook, and hired a sedan chair. There were not many servants in the family, but they were all capable.
"The hall can hold six tables, our flower hall can hold three tables, and there will be enough for a few tables in the garden." Jinniang held her belly and went to take a look.
Just as he was about to go back, he saw someone outside delivering a gift, saying it was from the county lady next door. When Jinniang opened the box, she saw that the gift contained a box of lilies dripping with dew, two jars of wine, and four boxes of Fanlou snacks.
The servant was seen wearing a white silk bodice and a blue silk jacket, and was dressed very well. Jinniang took the visiting card and looked at it. It read, "The wife of the second son of Marquis Jin'an, Princess Le'an County."
It turned out to be a noble relative. Jinniang said hurriedly, "I have been busy at home recently and didn't know there was a new neighbor visiting. I will pay a visit to greet you when I have time in the future."
After saying this, he let Aying give him a tael of silver as a reward, and sent Mother Fang to deliver a box of tangerine cakes, two boxes of snacks from Huixianlou, as well as six sea bass and two jars of Qiongbo wine brought by Fan Zhuangtou.
After returning, Mother Fang said, "After the old marquis passed away, the marquis's mansion was divided, so the couple lived next door to us."
"Well, our husband is a civil servant, and we should not associate with members of the royal family and nobles, so as to avoid being caught by the censors." Jinniang was very cautious in this regard.
Mother Fang said hurriedly: "You are right."
As soon as the two finished talking, they saw Yun Jie'er coming over. She was going to the garden to learn how to play the pipa. Jiang Xian specially invited a master to teach his daughter Yueqin, but his daughter couldn't let it interfere with her studies, so she usually studied for an hour in the afternoon after school.
The child already had a basic foundation in Daming Prefecture, and now it is even more difficult to learn fingering and music scores.
Jinniang smiled and asked, "Why did you come straight here?"
"Mom, it's very noisy at home." Sister Yun was used to a quiet life when she was a child.
Jinniang smiled and said, "When your uncle gets married and the appointment is given, everything will be fine. However, you can't blame the environment entirely. You also have to learn to focus on your work and concentrate on your work."
As for Yun Jie'er, she was already eleven years old, so she understood. She said, "Mom, I know that my uncle's success in the imperial examination is a great thing for our family, but I think my grandparents are better to my uncle."
Now Yun Jie'er still doesn't understand what it means to favor sons over daughters, because such a thing never happens in her family. Her parents love her and her brother equally, and even make her brother apologize when he is naughty.
But this is not the case for every family.
So it was because of this. Jinniang smiled and said, "But what can we do? If I keep fighting over these things, I will be stuck here forever."
This is why she would rather start out on her own, earn her own money, dowry, and even buy her own house, because she knew that even her parents could not be relied upon.
Yun Jieer nodded, not quite understanding. Jin Niang kissed her daughter on the forehead and said, "There are many unfair and unequal things in this world, but we have to fight for our own status, understand?"
"I know. I love my mother the most." Sister Yun sometimes feels very happy.
Jinniang thinks that some children are born to understand love, while some people take everything for granted no matter how good you are to them.
It was also said that Aying had brought back two maids who specialized in making tea and snacks. Because these two were good at making these, their price was fifteen taels each. Needless to say, they were also very good at making tea and could make all kinds of different dishes.
Yang Ge'er now lived in a small courtyard in the garden. The west wing happened to be vacant, so the two of them rested in the small room while they made tea and boiled medicine in the outer room.
In this way, Juxiang would feel more relaxed, as she wouldn't have to make the snacks anymore. She could just let the waitresses Huizhu and Xiaoyun do it.
Jinniang also asked them: "I heard that you can make some snacks. What are you good at?"
Xiaoyun smiled and said, "I am best at making crispy abalone snails, and others like Ting'er can also make them."
The so-called "pavilion" is made by kneading dough into locust flower juice and dyeing it into black tiles, drawing maltose into wire ropes to form carved railings, shaping jujube paste into rockery, pinching mung bean powder into moss marks, and freezing mung beans in the pond to make waves. Below this set of snacks is a miniature garden, which is the favorite of the scholars and officials.
This was also the reason why Jinniang wanted to not invite anyone from the four departments and six bureaus this time, but to have her own cooks prepare the banquet, thus saving a lot of money. Otherwise, if she hired a cook with a little fame, she would have to use a sedan chair to pick her up, and would have to pay one or two hundred strings of cash for each trip.
"Where is Huizhu?" Jinniang asked another one.
Huizhu smiled and said, "In addition to making tea, I can also make candied winter melon fish, carved plum blossom balls, green plum lotus leaves, carved kumquats, candied bamboo shoots, and carved ginger. My mother was originally a cook, and she taught me a dish of crab stuffed with orange."
"Okay, you guys make some of your best dishes tomorrow and let me see them first." Jinniang couldn't just listen to their empty words.
Xiaoyun made a few of her specialties the next evening. The first was a "pavilion", which cost less than one penny and usually cost at least three or five pennies to buy outside. It was still very perfunctory, but this one turned out to be very good. There are also crispy abalone snails, which have a smooth texture and are also good.
Huizhu's candied fruit was not made that quickly, but she still sent some drinks over. Jinniang couldn't drink much, so she asked Yangge'er to come over. Yangge'er loved drinks the most. He said everything was fine, and Jinniang felt relieved.
The two maids stayed in the mansion, and Luo Yu'e came over and said that the tenants no longer wanted to rent the house in Choushui Lane.
"The woman next door who had her things stolen from her has raised a few vicious dogs. No matter how many times we talk to her about it, it's not good enough. She has made it difficult to rent out our house." Luo Yu'e was speechless.
Jinniang said, "Why don't you just leave it there for now? Anyway, you and my father are living with me now."
Luo Yu'e suddenly said, "Jinniang, I actually want to sell the house or mortgage it to someone else. You see, even if we don't live with you in the future, when we bought the fifty acres of land in the suburbs of Beijing, we originally had a small farm to live in. Otherwise, it would be too troublesome to rent it out and collect money from it. We will give you the money, and the dozens of acres of land in the countryside will be given to your brother a hundred years later."
"Mom, you should keep it for yourself." Jinniang refused.
Luo Yu'e waved her hand: "I don't want it."
"Then let's do this. After you sell the house, you will keep the hundred strings of cash in your hands. You can give the rest to your brother or to me, it's up to you." Jinniang said.
Luo Yu'e acted decisively and she and Wei Xiong drove over to find a real estate agent to sell the house. However, the environment in Choushui Lane was not good and it was not easy to sell the house.
Regardless of what they were busy with, the shop at Jinliangqiao finally found a suitable owner, a gold, silver and jewelry shop, with a monthly rent of 60 strings of cash, which means 720 strings of cash a year.
Jinniang finally breathed a sigh of relief. "I've waited for more than half a year, and it's worth it. Those who run money houses or gold and silver shops usually don't leave after a few days. We can at least have three years of stability this time."
After calculating the property of several places, he found that Tianshui Lane brought in 456 strings of coins a year, Jinliang Bridge brought in 720 strings of coins, the rent of 200 acres of land in Beijing was about 160 strings of coins, the dividend from the collapsed house was 1,200 strings of coins, the rent from Wu County was 360 strings of coins, and the mansion in Wu County was more than 500 strings of coins, totaling 3,396 strings of coins.
But the expenses are also high now. Including the monthly wages of the head of the village, the chief steward, technical workers like the tea waiter, and the maids in the mansion, it is more than one hundred strings of cash a year, and this is just the pure salary, not including extra rewards. In addition to the expenses for children's education, pens, ink, paper and inkstone, it costs about one hundred strings of cash a year. At least one hundred strings of cash would be needed to prepare gifts for the four seasons and eight festivals, as well as daily clothes and jewelry.
Fortunately, she planned to use Jiang Xian’s monthly salary to offset all of this money.
Thinking of this, she first took out ten kinds of Shu brocade, goose yellow satin and a piece of fashionable satin from the south of the Yangtze River, and asked an embroiderer from outside to come home and spend ten strings of coins to make new clothes for everyone, for Yang Ge'er to wear when he got married.
She also took the mother and daughter to the gold and silver shop they had rented out, which was also considered doing business for the shop. She bought a pair of eggplant-shaped gold earrings, a Ruyi hairpin, and a silver comb for Luo Yu'e, and also made a light gold headdress for her daughter. As for Jinniang, she chose a seven-strand bridge-shaped gold hairpin with floral pattern. Finally, before leaving, she bought a green jade crown for Jiang Xian.
These gold and silver items are also a person's face. Jinniang would buy them once or twice a year. She couldn't just save money and not spend it.
For example, for my daughter, a gold crown and a silver crown will be enough as her dowry, and she doesn't need to make any more jewelry once a year.
When she got home, Jinniang gave Jiang Xian the jade crown she had bought for him. She also heard him say that Hao Erlang was leaving. Jinniang was puzzled: "Isn't he studying at the Imperial Academy in Beijing?"
Jiang Xian shook his head: "This is also the reason why it is difficult for rich and powerful children to become useful. You always say that Brother Yang is lazy, but when I give a question, Brother Yang can solve it no matter how hard he thinks. That's why he often says he has a headache and wants to sleep."
"Okay, he's leaving, you should comfort him with some words." Jinniang said.
Jiang Xian smiled and said, "Don't worry about this."
Hao Erlang left first without saying a word to Wei Yang. Jinniang arranged the ceremony for him and just said, "If you come to Beijing in the future, please come to our house and don't be shy."
This made Hao Erlang feel relieved. He did feel that Wei Yang was not as good as him, but he won. But Wei Yang is not a bad person, he just can't face himself. Fortunately, Mrs. Jiang didn't say anything.
After Hao Erlang left, Jinniang had the guest room cleaned. Hearing that Manager Yao had smuggled Jiangnan silk to the capital and made a small fortune, he was very good at dealing with people. He also gave Jinniang two gold-plated handkerchiefs, two pieces of fashionable satin, three boxes of jade girl peach blossom powder, twenty boxes of rouge, and twenty boxes of lip balm.
Sister Yun said, "Mother, Rong's mother said that the Di store in Wu County is very profitable. Why is the money that Manager Yao gives you almost the same every year?"
Jinniang smiled and said, "You are still too young. He is a capable man. Only he can make such a big business. But without the power of my family, he may not be able to do business there. If I were in Wu County, your brother would grow up and help me patrol the store, and these subordinates would not dare to make trouble. But now I am out of reach. If I make trouble now, what will happen to the Di store in Wu County? Who can guarantee that we can change the manager? Sometimes when you are unable to do something, you should naturally hold back."
Shopkeeper Yao was smart, but he wasn't a cunning bad guy, so Jinniang turned a blind eye to him.
For example, Luo Da is a good person and can manage the farm, but he is totally incapable of running a shop. Renting it out will only make the prospects of the farm even smaller. But Luo Da was loyal, so the chief steward still wanted him to do it.
"In the future, you will have all kinds of people under your command. It all depends on how you use them."
In Daming Prefecture, Jinniang has taught her daughter how to read the account books. When she organizes various banquets on weekdays, Jinniang also starts to bring her daughter with her to help her become familiar with the affairs.
In early April, Luo Yu'e sold her house in Choushui Lane for 360 guan. She wanted to give all of it to Jinniang, but Jinniang only wanted 100 guan, saying, "Mother, you should tell your daughter that you have money in your hands, so you won't be worried. You and Dad should keep 160 guan for your old age, and give the remaining 100 guan to your new wife."
"To the bride? Isn't it for your brother?" Luo Yu'e didn't understand.
Jinniang smiled and said, "Mother, the Zhang family has chosen my brother and brought a large dowry, but we can't take it for granted. You handed this hundred strings of cash to her in person, which shows your trust in her. Besides, although our Wei family is poor, you and father have money for retirement and land, so she doesn't have to bear the burden. This way, both sides can get along well."
Luo Yu'e nodded.
The Zhang family sent their daughter home in mid-April. Boxes, cages, and bedding filled several whole yards, and the small courtyard was also tidied up and prosperous. Madam Wei sent her eldest daughter-in-law, Fan, and Wei Liulang's wife, Wang, over. Wang was Madam Wu's biological daughter. She got married in Daming Prefecture at the beginning of the year and came to Beijing with her husband to study.
Today Luo Yu'e was wearing the hairpins and rings that Jinniang had made for her in the gold and silver shop, which looked quite gorgeous. As they were chatting and laughing, tea and snacks were served.
This time, the family specially hired a maid to make snacks. Sure enough, Fan said, "This crispy abalone snail is so good."
"The servants are just doing the dirty work. Today we would like to ask my two nephews and their wives to help us." Jinniang said.
Both Fan and Wang said they dared not.
The next day, the bride came home. This time, no officials were invited, but the dishes were all selected by Jinniang. The first dish is a plate of fresh fruit, with red, green and yellow diced fruits arranged in rows, followed by a plate of dried fruits and carved candied fruits, and finally the "tinger".
Even Fan Zhuangtou and his friends have this dish on their table. It is so exquisite that even those who dare not eat it dare to do so.
At this time, drinks were served. The wine sent by the neighboring county lady was given to the female guests for tasting, while the male guests drank the aged wine from Huixianlou.
Only then did the main course begin. The side dishes that Juxiang was particularly good at, such as skewers of lamb shanks and grilled lamb chops, were served as the first and finale. In the middle was Wang Po's crystal goose and Hui Zhu's crab stuffed with orange. There were also a few less amazing dishes mixed in, and it actually received a good rating.
Mr. Fan was really enlightened today. Although their table was only enough for the outer courtyard, they ate it all in no time. Everyone even got a box of wedding candy when they left.
Let's not talk about how the newlyweds got along. Three days after returning home, Zhang Pingjun said to her mother, "My mother-in-law gave me a hundred strings of cash for us to spend. I was shocked."
Mrs. Zhang asked her daughter about her daily life. Zhang Pingjun said, "My aunt is pregnant. She takes care of me and often asks the waiter to bring me some small and exquisite snacks. My mother-in-law is straightforward. She lives two courtyards away from us. She told me that there is no custom of greeting in the family. It is better for everyone to be at ease."
"That's good, that's good. In my opinion, you are the one who has benefited the most now. Your husband has passed the imperial examination, and your aunt and mother-in-law are not nosy people. They are better at looking at mothers-in-law and sisters-in-law than the wealthy families. But even if others treat you well, you can't put on airs like your aunt. If your brother-in-law is sent away, you should follow him. Otherwise, you will be comfortable for a while, but in the future, all your money will be stolen." Mrs. Zhang was happy for her daughter, but she was also making plans for her.
It's true that raising a child for a hundred years means worrying about him for ninety-nine.
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