Chapter 127 Chapter 127 Two Chapters in One
Wei Qilang had never lived in anyone else's home except for the many days he had lived in his grandfather's home in Luoyang. However, surprisingly, he lived very well in the Jiang family.
Especially the guest room, which was repaired better than the main room. Although the furnishings in the room were not as good as those in his own home, he did not come here for this.
The breakfast was delivered directly from the kitchen. It was said that they were Yunying noodles and Cao Po Po’s meat pie bought directly from outside. The in-house kitchen made mung bean and lily porridge, salted duck eggs, two vegetarian buns, and two meat buns.
Qing Rong said as she had it delivered, "My wife usually buys one or two things outside in the morning and prepares some at home, depending on what Qi Lang likes to eat."
"Thank you, Sister Qingrong. I like both the Yunying noodles and porridge." Wei Qilang said hurriedly.
Qing Rong smiled and said, "As long as you are happy, you still have to go to school after dinner, so I won't disturb you. By the way, my wife said that our husband will take his family to Fanlou for dinner tonight, so you don't have to go to her to pay your respects when you come back, just finish your homework first."
Wei Qillang was happy again.
In fact, this is very normal for Yun Jie'er and Ning Ge'er. Their parents often take them out to eat, drink and have fun, so the siblings often want to stay at home quietly doing needlework and reading books.
But for Wei Qilang who was able to go out, it was like a bird out of a cage and he was still free. After all, his mother protected him too well on weekdays. Even when they go out, they only go to the residences of high-ranking officials and dignitaries, and rarely perform on the streets. Now look at sumo acrobatics.
"Uncle, aunt, I saw some windmills being sold there, and I want to buy one as a gift for my cousin." Wei Qilang said.
Jinniang smiled and told him that it was not necessary. Jiang Xian raised his eyebrows. Why did this boy's behavior look so familiar?
Ten days passed like this, and Jinniang helped him finish his clothes. He wore a breathable blue lining with a white crane pattern, and a gauze short-sleeved outer layer embroidered with hostas flowers. The belt was also embroidered with hostas flowers on a blue background, and the shoes were made with matching uppers.
When Wei Qilang came out, Jinniang couldn't help but say to Jiang Xian, "Wow, this child is really good-looking."
Jiang Xian said "hmm" lightly, and when no one was looking, he pinched Jinniang's waist. Jinniang looked at him angrily.
Wei Qilang walked over slowly and said, "Thank you, aunt, for your kindness and for making this set of clothes for my nephew."
"You're welcome. You should take a rest tomorrow and have a good rest at home. I'm going out with your cousin to burn incense. Your uncle is at home. If you need anything, please send someone to tell him." Jinniang said.
Wei Qilang said, "Aunt, why don't I send you and your cousin to go together? Even though the emperor's feet are not always peaceful."
Jiang Xian was speechless. Isn’t it enough that I sent four followers to follow him? He just bought a famous painting and wanted to appreciate it at home, but you guys interrupted him.
Therefore, Jiang Xian said, "Nephew, don't worry, you can stay at home, I will tell you the trick to solve the problem tomorrow."
Jinniang had not expected the complicated situation between the two of them. She only heard Jiang Xian talking about his studies before she said, "Yes, good boy, you should stay at home and listen to your uncle's teachings."
Wei Qilang said respectfully: "Yes."
Jiang Xian smiled and thought to himself, you are still a little naive, it is not easy to be my son-in-law. A few days ago, he met Wei Daxueshi, his nominal brother-in-law, and there seemed to be some meaning in his words, otherwise he would not have entrusted the child to his family.
For others, this is indeed a very good marriage. As the saying goes, a rich family marries a daughter and a poor family marries a wife. He and his wife have decided to let go of their obsession. When he is promoted to the fourth or third rank, will he still not have a good marriage?
I didn’t expect the Wei family to have such good vision.
However, Jiang Xian did not tell Jinniang these things, because Wei Daxueshi did not say it explicitly, and he was not in a position to say it, in case it made things weird for the two families to get along.
At night, with the candlelight flickering, Jinniang took a sip of fragrant tea and said, "Since my grandmother passed away, no one in our family has returned to Anlu, so the ashes are still stored in Renwang Temple. My parents sent a letter in March this year and sent me 20 strings of money, asking me to pay homage on their behalf. You stay at home tomorrow and have a good rest."
Jiang Xian took a sip of tea from her teacup and said, "Don't tire yourself out."
"I'm not tired at all. I've even taken a job and I'm going to be a very happy person." Jinniang said with a smile.
Jiang Xian said, "My wife, we have some income now, so why don't you not go and avoid getting into any trouble."
Jinniang shook her head: "What kind of hardship is this? Why not make money if you have the chance? It's just a formality anyway. Our family expenses are already very high now."
The more people there are, the higher the expenses will be, but there is nothing we can do about it, the money that should be spent still has to be spent.
Just like Jiang Xian still has a fee for writing a painting, but he wants to buy a famous painting, so he needs to withdraw money from the account, and the fee may not be enough. The cost of buying hairpins, jewelry and clothes for Jinniang and her friends every year is also a considerable amount.
Why not make money if you can?
The next day, Jinniang and Yunjie'er came very early, and they arrived at the temple before the sun came out. She was saying to her daughter, "Although we also burn incense and worship Buddha, we don't have to believe in these things too much. Many legends are just fabricated."
Sister Yun nodded: "My mother taught me that man can conquer nature."
"That's right. We will have a vegetarian meal here today. The vegetarian food here is well-known far and wide, and it's much better than the one we went to in the temple last time." Jinniang smiled.
The mother and daughter walked forward together, first gave money for incense, and then prepared yellow paper incense to pay homage to their grandmother.
Jinniang had no feelings for her grandmother at all. After the worship, Master Fa Neng gave a sermon. Jinniang took her daughter to listen. After the lecture, the mother and daughter went to the room for pilgrims to rest.
But just as I came in, I ran into an acquaintance, "Sister-in-law."
Mrs. Zhou San smiled and said, "It's great that my sister-in-law is here too. Let's talk together."
It turned out that she came here with Zhou Cunzhi's wives and concubines. It was said that they came here specifically to pray for the safety of Zhou Cunzhi's illegitimate son. This Guo Xiaoniang's son fell ill during the New Year and was saved by a senior monk in this temple, so they came here to fulfill their wish.
Tokyo is different from other places. There are many high-ranking officials here and it is a royal temple, so it will not be cleared easily.
Jinniang met Guo Xiaoniang again. Guo Xiaoniang seemed to have a gentle personality. She had never thought that Zhou Cunzhi liked such a gentle person. Then she looked at her child, who was about five or six years old this year and was very healthy.
As a mother, Jinniang also has a little son, Ding Ge'er, who she usually looks at like the apple of her eye. She said to Guo Xiaoniang, "It will be fine when he grows up a little bit."
She also took out a white jade locket as a gift to the child. Seeing Jinniang's gentle and kind face, Guo Xiaoniang quickly stood up to thank her.
After everyone exchanged pleasantries for a while, Su Zhai came up, and Jinniang took the opportunity to talk to Xiangming. Xiangming now had her hair done in a woman's style, and wore a gilded silver crown and several gold hairpins on her head. She was excited to see Jinniang, but at the same time she felt a little ashamed of herself: "Sister Jinniang, I'm surprised you're still willing to associate with me now."
"What are you talking about? The friendship between us is unmatched by anyone else. It's just that I can't invite you out alone." Jinniang said.
What's more, they don't have much contact with the Zhou family now.
Xiang Ming smiled bitterly: "I know how good my sister is to me. But I am no longer favored now. Our master favors Miss Guo, and I have no place to stand."
"Since you have already given birth to a daughter, it is the same to raise her well. Isn't the third young lady trying to bring honor to Lady Lu now?" Jinniang could only comfort her like this.
She was not very good at competing for favor, especially since Guo Xiaoniang did not use any bad tricks. In fact, Guo Xiaoniang was very pitiful. Her son had almost died, and Jinniang could only comfort her in this way.
After that, he took out a jade pendant from his waist and gave it to her: "Since my niece is not coming, give this to her."
Xiang Ming took it and complained again: "I was too naive at that time. I thought that I would be favored because I was younger and smarter than the lady. Now I think about it, it turns out that men also need help and love rich women."
Jinniang thought to herself, isn’t this very normal? As the saying goes, poor couples have many sorrows. Take Jiang Xian for example. His salary is enough for him to support himself. He can buy some antique calligraphy and paintings, but it is not enough to support a large family. A pair of antique jade cups costs one hundred taels of silver, and a mutton-fat jade vase also costs one hundred taels of silver.
Therefore, Jinniang would have to set aside two hundred taels of silver in her account every year, specifically for him to buy these things.
And his clothes, shoes, socks, and the crown on his head, all of them must be of good quality.
Fortunately, her daughter's dowry has been saved up, and a big house has been bought. The family expenses are not high, and Jinniang is willing to dress him up and pamper him.
So, she said, "Don't we women also like men with talent and good looks? Si'er, you originally hoped to get rid of your old life, but now it's already good. You don't have to worry too much. Let's work it out slowly in the future."
Xiang Ming was actually a very insightful person, but he was often confined to his own little world in the backyard, which made it easy for people's hearts to become distorted. After listening to Jinniang's words, she suddenly realized, "Sister Jinniang is right."
"Let's go, let's take our seats first. I'm afraid they will wonder why we haven't left yet." Jinniang said.
The two of them went in one after the other. Seeing that everyone had almost finished eating, Jinniang asked Cuihuan to buy another vegetarian meal and put it in a lunch box, preparing to take it back for Jiang Xian and the children to try.
Every time she came back from outside, not to mention the children, even Jiang Xian loved to pull at her sleeves, as if she had hidden something delicious.
It was too hot outside, so Jinniang took her daughter to rest in the room for a while before going back. On the way back, she asked someone to go to the drink shop to buy some icy and cool delicacies such as honey shaved ice, lactose snow, snow-soaked plum wine, and cherry yogurt. Seeing someone buying green lotus buns, she also bought a few trays.
When they got back home, Jinniang said she had brought some ice drinks, and everyone came.
However, Jinniang looked at Wei Qilang and asked, "Can you eat ice?"
Wei Qilang nodded immediately. Jinniang then asked his maid and foster mother, both of whom looked embarrassed. She had no choice but to say, "Then you should eat later. It's too cold now."
Wei Qilang said with a bitter face: "Aunt, I am really fine. I was with Wang Dalang before, and he died, but I am fine."
"Hehe, then have a bite." Jinniang asked someone to bring a small plate and scooped a bite of lactose real snow for him.
Jiang Xian quickly poured the snow-soaked plum blossom wine and took a sip. He felt so comfortable that he wanted to eat the cherry yogurt again. Jinniang looked at him and said, "This is mine."
"I want to eat." Jiang Xian looked at her.
Jinniang then said, "Okay."
The couple finished their share of cherry icy yogurt, and Jinniang even gave Juxiang a tray of green steamed buns so that she could also try the flavor outside.
Wei Qillang was amazed. He usually thought Jiang Xian was a very capable person, but he didn't expect him to be like this. Looking again, Jun Jie'er and Ning Ge'er had already finished eating the lactose snow and honey shaved ice.
After the so-called afternoon tea, Jinniang was afraid that she would feel sleepy, so she went to the inner room to read, and everyone else went their separate ways.
In the evening, there was a meal served at Huaxie Temple. There were several vegetarian dishes from the temple, two cold meat dishes, and a soup made of radish meatballs. The whole family ate to their heart's content.
After dinner they continued to take a walk to enjoy the cool air. It was very quiet, without any special music activities. However, Wei Qillang felt very comfortable, just like Tao Yuanming's paradise.
There is no turmoil, and no ugly things that overwhelm the bottom line. The people in the Jiang family are too normal.
This is great. Look, my uncle is teaching them how to look at the twelve constellations in the sky.
A few days later, Jinniang put on the silver-gilt crown she had made last year, a hairpin, and fresh flowers in her hair, and went to the Tao family to become a married woman. Every time Jinniang chooses a lucky person, she has to pick one carefully, otherwise all her efforts would be in vain.
She just met an acquaintance here, the White Snake who used to come to her embroidery shop to make clothes, but her life seemed not to be very good. Nowadays in summer, people usually wear light-colored gauze skirts, but she wore a yellowed dress, which looked like it was worn several years ago. She only had a silver hairpin on her head and her hair was wrapped with a headscarf.
"Who is this?" Jinniang asked the maid who brought her in.
The maid said disdainfully, "Mrs. Shao Peng is not a good person. She always takes advantage of our weddings to come and take advantage of us. Our master and mistress are very angry. She was originally the wife of an official family, and her family was demoted because of corruption."
Jinniang thought to herself, "So that's how it is." It was really sad.
The complete blessing gift given by the woman today is sixty-six taels of silver, a piece of Double Peaches Ruyi Brocade, a piece of True Red Yi Nan Baihua Brocade, a piece of Cloud Pattern Silk, a piece of Peacock Silk, two pairs of jewelry, four kinds of fresh fruits, a set of wine utensils, and two boxes of silk flowers.
After coming back, everything else was fine except the fruit, so Jinniang asked the waiter to make two jars of fruit wine and distributed the remaining fruit to everyone.
She saw that these pieces of brocade were of good quality, so she had them sent to the warehouse to be used as dowry for her daughter in the future.
Just as he had his things packed up, Wei Qilang came home from school and handed a note to Jinniang: "Aunt, there will be a polo meeting in Beijing in a few days. I thought my cousin is good at polo, so I specially asked for a note."
Jinniang looked at the post and found it was about the polo club of Princess Shanzhen's family. She did not regard Wei Qilang as a child and just said, "I'm sure Sister Yun will like it very much. But don't we civil officials have anything to do with these royal relatives?"
"Don't worry, aunt. Our family and the Fan family are going too. They're just going to play polo. It's okay." Wei Qilang said.
Jinniang nodded and said, "Then I'll tell your cousin. She will definitely be happy."
Wei Qilang then left with satisfaction. He returned home today, and his father tested his knowledge and felt that he had made great progress. In fact, he did not stay up late to study like before, but the effect was better. The reason was that his uncle would check his homework every day and explain the problems to him during breaks.
Apart from that, you just need to keep writing repeatedly. This is what Ning Ge'er said. He didn't write policy papers well before, but he made rapid progress by constantly solving problems and writing.
The aunt and nephew talked for a few more words, and then Wei Qilang went to the study room in the front to do homework with Ning Ge'er.
Jinniang continued reading, and after a while she got up to embroider.
This time she was going to embroider a Purple-robed Guanyin. The original one she had embroidered had been given to the Wei family, so this time she was going to make a new draft and embroider it again, without any carelessness.
The next day, Madam Shi from next door invited them to have a drink in the flower shed. Jinniang took the children there. During the meal, Madam Shi felt unwell, so she called a female doctor over.
Unexpectedly, it turned out to be another acquaintance. Jinniang thought that she had met all the old acquaintances this month.
Lou Si Niang also found it incredible to see Jin Niang here. Her family had always been in contact with Ying Niang, but since the death of Wei's grandmother, Wei Xiong and Luo Yu'e had stopped interacting with other people in the Wei family.
She thought that since he was an official, he must respect his status.
Therefore, Lou Si Niang did not rush to acknowledge it, but only told Feng Sheng when she returned. Feng Sheng is already 45 years old this year and has started to grow a beard. In the more than ten years since they got married, they have run a clinic together and are quite famous in the Jinliangqiao area.
Although the eldest son, Lin Ge'er, was not good at studying, he was extremely good at ophthalmology. He was admitted to the Imperial Medical Bureau established by the court. At a young age, he opened a clinic outside. The family also used the money earned to buy more than 1,000 acres of land. The eldest son married a woman from a scholarly family, who gave birth to a grandson soon after they got married.
As for the second son, Guan Ge'er, he is still studying and has entered the county school of Xiangfu County. Although his qualifications are mediocre, his family is rich and can afford to support him.
The third child was also born to Lou Si Niang. Originally, Lou Si Niang thought that she could no longer give birth, but unexpectedly, she gave birth to a son five years ago. The child was very smart and was named Yun Ge'er, which means rising to the top.
After listening to Lou Si Niang's words, his memory became clearer: "You were right not to shout it out. Jiang Shiliu is already a high-ranking official like the Secretary-General. There is no relationship between us anyway, so there is no need to keep in touch with him."
Although so many years have passed, he did set up a trap to get rid of Rong Niang. But no matter how he set up the trap, people had to jump in willingly. If Rong Niang had not been fooled by just a flick of someone's finger, he would not have been so righteous.
As time goes by, he is no longer afraid of others, but he is afraid that his sister-in-law will deal with him.
At that time, when he and Rong Niang mentioned Jin Niang, although they often showed disdain, because she was fat, had a strange temper, and was born a maid, she was a very shrewd person. She could always endure it when she failed in something. She was an old girl who got married in her twenties, and her husband became a Jinshi in just a few years.
He even became an official in recent years, and he found out after asking around.
How can the people fight against the officials? That's what a broken brain means.
Lou Si Niang smiled and said, "I thought so too. Their family lives next door to the Li family. From the outside, it looks like a big house. Now they have many children."
"I have to go to Qizhou to deliver some medicinal materials. I'm sorry to trouble you to take care of my family." Feng Sheng said.
Lou Si Niang couldn't help but say, "Just let someone else go. Why do you have to go there yourself? You are not young anymore."
Feng Sheng smiled and said, "I don't trust my subordinates to go. Qizhou white flower snakes are easy to be counterfeited. Let's just buy more. Don't worry, I will let my subordinates do it in the future."
"In that case, it's fine this way. Brother Yun misses you, so you must come back safely." Lou Si Niang was nice to her two step-sons, but she loved her own sons, especially those born in their thirties. The meaning of each son was different.
After having a child, people become softer.
Feng Sheng only took the money for the purchase, and left the remaining two thousand taels with Lou Si Niang, saying, "I will use this money to help our Yun Ge'er buy some land after I come back."
He and Lou Si Niang run this clinic together. Yun Ge'er is too young, so he has to buy property for his youngest son.
Lou Si Niang was upright and didn't want to do this: "If you buy it privately like this, what will Da Lang and Er Lang say to us if they find out? Let's just forget it."
"The eldest son is married, and I plan to help the second son find a wife when I come back this time. We should divide the family as soon as possible so that we can feel at ease." Feng Sheng knew that in a few years he would reach the age of knowing the destiny. If he passed away, what would happen to Si Niang and Yun Ge'er?
Lou Si Niang nodded heavily: "Okay."
They soon forgot about meeting Jinniang, and Jinniang didn't want to mention it either, because she remembered that Madam Shi had suffered from heatstroke today, so she came back and asked the children to wash up and rest.
Sister Yun said, "Mother, I'm going to go see Erlang."
"Okay, if he is asleep, don't wake him up." Jinniang was very pleased that her daughter knew how to take care of the people around her.
Yun Jieer went to Ding Ge'er and saw him standing with the help of a chair. She played with him for a while. When she came out, she saw Wei Qilang standing in the corridor. She was surprised: "Seventh cousin, it's so hot, why don't you go home?"
"Oh, I'm going to see my cousin too. I'll go in right now." Wei Qilang said quickly.
Sister Yun looked at him suspiciously and warned, "Then you can't let him play too crazy, otherwise he will be too excited and sweat."
Wei Qilang smiled and said, "Don't worry, that won't happen. I've already told my aunt, and I'll help him take a bath with my uncle later."
Sister Yun tilted her head and looked at him: "Seventh cousin, can you do it?"
"You're underestimating me." After saying this, Wei Qilang walked leisurely into Ding Ge'er's room.
Sister Yun shook her head and left. She returned to her room and lit a stick of benzoin. She did not rest but took a bath first. After coming out, she asked the new maid Cuilan to bring her riding clothes.
It's such a hot day, and this seventh cousin wants me to go riding. It's really a bad idea. But he is quite good at pleasing my mother. Before he came, she was the eldest sister in the family, her words were final and her parents listened to her. Now that he is here, he takes all the benefits, even trying to snatch her brother's bath! That's too much.
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