Chapter 133 Chapter 133 Two Chapters Combined
After returning from the old house, Qingrong's soles were hurting badly because she might have helped with the welcoming and seeing off of guests today. She quickly asked the maids to come and serve her. Jinniang smiled and said, "I was a little weak when I accompanied others to climb mountains a few years ago. Now, in recent years, I feel uncomfortable even if I walk a few steps."
"You were tired some time ago. The Liu family's daughter was engaged, and the rules there were complicated, so you were busy. Also, you were busy with our daughter's wedding last year, so it's no wonder that you were tired." Qingrong felt distressed.
At home and outside, my wife is not the kind of boss who just sits back and does nothing, otherwise she wouldn't have saved so much dowry for the eldest daughter without saying a word.
Just after taking a short break, money came from the collapsed house business in Daming Mansion. The boss even came personally to present a rosewood screen inlaid with flowers and butterflies of various treasures to celebrate. He also said that Ruyan also presented a pair of glass lamps for Yunjie to add to her makeup. The last time Ruyan gave birth to a daughter, Jinniang specially asked the landlord's boat to send a third-day bath ceremony over.
So, Jinniang endured the pain and asked Luo Da to treat the host to a drink at Panlou.
These items were stored in the storeroom in the second courtyard. She personally watched people pack them up before returning to her room, but doing so made her feet hurt so much.
For two consecutive days, Jinniang was unable to go out and just rested at home. Sister Yun came over to help her massage her legs, and said distressedly: "Mother is doing this for her daughter, and she even makes so many things for her personally. In the past, you only embroidered for two hours and then read a book to rest."
"Stop saying that. I'm willing to do this for my daughter." Jinniang smiled.
At the end of this year, not counting the fields and mansions in Wu County, the gold and silver shop earned 720 strings of coins a year and the Tianshui Lane earned 456 strings of coins. In addition, he sold two embroidered portraits for 500 strings of coins, the whole family earned 200 taels, and the collapsed house earned 1,200 strings of coins. This is already more than 3,000 strings of coins. She wanted to wait for the silver and money sent from Wu County in the spring of next year, and then put 500 strings of cash into her daughter's dowry, which would make 4,000 strings of cash, which would be good without breaking the bank.
Although the income is high, the expenses are also not small. It also costs a lot of money to buy a dowry for my daughter. Now, in addition to the 4,000 taels of gold that cannot be moved and the 4,000 strings of cash for my daughter's dowry, I still have 7,000 strings of cash in my pocket.
At the end of the year, Jiang Xian's salary was also paid. It was for half a year. He was promoted from Shaoqing of Taifu Temple to Shaojian of Secretary. Although his official position was promoted, his salary was much less. After all, he was no longer in a lucrative department. After getting the silver, money and cloth back, I asked Yun Jie'er to start writing a list of New Year gifts and other things to prepare for the New Year.
Wine, mutton, pork, silk, etc. all have to be prepared in advance, as well as things prepared for the family's New Year.
Sister Yun, who has been training for two years, will no longer be as flustered as before. People in this dynasty love incense, and she even made incense pills as gifts by herself, which is another of her ingenuity.
Jinniang praised: "My daughter is so smart."
Sister Yun smiled sweetly: "Mother loves to praise me."
"I am sincerely praising you, but you should also remember one thing: people in this world love to hear nice words, and it doesn't take much effort to say nice things often. You see, the wife of Wei's Dalang is the daughter of the Fan family, and the wife of Liulang is the daughter of the Wang family. Only your father has a lower official position. It would be fine if your mother-in-law loves her family as well. But if she is picky about you because she likes Qilang too much, and your sisters-in-law are jealous of Qilang and exclude you as well, how will you deal with it then?" Jinniang just told her daughter the truth.
Yun Jieer looked at her mother with her beautiful eyes: "If it were mother, how would you deal with it?"
"I once heard someone talk about the five theories of being an official: 'Small officials can do great things, idle officials can do busy things, male officials can do female things, vulgar officials can do elegant things, and hot officials can do cold things.' The so-called small official can do great things means that even though you are a small official and an idle official, you must always enrich yourself and grab the opportunities if they come. You see, you are a daughter-in-law when you enter the house. Don't relax yourself thinking about the mother-in-law and sister-in-law above you. If the important task of housekeeper falls on you, you have the ability to make things happen with a wave of your hands." Jinniang remembered the words in the TV series she had watched, and it was very appropriate to put them here.
The same was true for her. If she wanted to make money, she had to improve her embroidery skills first, which enabled her to open her own shop and do business with ease.
Sister Yun found this interesting and asked immediately, "What about the male official and the female one?"
"This means that for officials, it is not enough to just please their superiors. Those who can influence their superiors must be women. It can be the official's mother, concubine or confidant. You are still young and don't know how powerful pillow talk is. Take me and your father for example. If there is an official I really hate, then no matter how much your father loves him, he will consider my thoughts. So after you get married, your mother-in-law will be your superior, and her confidants, such as You Mama and Zhuque, you can pick a few who are compatible with your temperament. First show them a little favor, and then try to win them over. In this way, they will help you say a word or two, and information can be shared, which is better than anything else." Jinniang taught her almost everything she knew.
The more Yun Jieer listened, the more she felt that she had grasped the truth, and she asked again: "Mother, what about 'vulgar officials doing elegant things'?"
Jinniang smiled and said, "For example, if your mother-in-law asks you to manage the money, you are a vulgar official. The more you manage the household, the less you should be corrupt. Don't embezzle even a penny."
"Then my daughter will definitely not be greedy. What about the last one, who is a hot official but cold in his job?"
"The higher your position and the more powerful you are, the more friendly and polite you should be to others, and don't show off your power. If one day your father and your brother become prominent, you must be even more humble and polite." Jinniang warned.
Sister Yun was convinced: "My daughter has learned a lesson."
Of course, Jinniang has also matched the people around Yunjie'er well. Xiqiu is careful and loyal, Fan Si can help manage the business and the farm, Jiaoxing has a gentle temperament but is also a sharp-tongued person. In the future, she will be able to help her daughter suppress the people under her. Her husband Hu Cheng is also smart enough.
After a few days, when Jinniang recovered, Ning Ge'er went to school for a break.
Before he came back, Jinniang had already sent people to tidy up his bedroom, and had camellia and bougainvillea placed in his study, and his new fur jacket was also fumigated to keep it warm.
When Ning Ge'er came back, he drank hot soup, wore a warm new coat, and saw that his bed was tidy. He felt drowsy for a moment.
Sister Yun helped him light a stick of benzoin, and tiptoed out with Jinniang.
"Brother must be very tired." said Sister Yun.
Jinniang sighed, "That's right. He still has many years to go. We can't study for him. He has to take this path himself."
The mother and daughter came out, pulled their fur coats together, and went back into the main room to talk.
Madam Zhou San was also talking to Madam Zhou Si: "Your aunt is not young anymore, and she is old enough to get married. Now your brother-in-law is a censor, a noble among the nobles. It is a good time to get engaged. What do you think?"
Madam Zhou Si said, "According to me, you should find a simple family. A simple one is best. Don't choose a big family, which is too complicated. It would be best if you have an only son."
But after saying that, she felt sad that in ancient times, it seemed that large families were more valued for sticking together, and she added, "In fact, we have only been back for a short time, so we will talk about it later."
Mrs. Zhou San had always been very sensible, so she didn't ask any more questions, but she still said, "It's not a big deal. There will be another candidate coming to Beijing next year, and it would be best to find a scholar then."
Lady Zhou Si knew that in this dynasty, everything was inferior except for studying, so she smiled and said, "I'll have to trouble you a lot when the time comes."
"Why bother? You and I are family, it's only natural." Mrs. Zhou San said with a smile.
The two chatted for a while, and then Mrs. Zhou San left. Mrs. Zhou Si called her eldest daughter over and asked her, "Are you still studying recently?"
"Yes, it's just that ink is difficult to grind in winter." Miss Sun and Yun Jie'er are about the same age. Yun Jie'er is almost fourteen years old, and she is almost the same.
Girls of officials' families who were about her age had started to get engaged one after another, so how could she start talking about her own marriage? The family had just bought a house. If she got married so soon, people would definitely ask about the dowry. Where would she get the dowry?
Zhou Si's wife was also worried about money. Her husband had been promoted to a higher position, but there were subsidies for land in the local area, while there were fewer subsidies in Beijing. Fortunately, the Sun family has a cousin who is a merchant, and the money he received was only 200 strings of cash, which is really too little. However, if he has any business matters, he has to use his own name.
This is indeed a troublesome thing.
But she didn't say these things in front of her daughter, she just said: "Mother told you that you should fight for what you should fight for. Why were you so dull in front of Old Madam Liu and Madam Xun that day? You are usually a very good person."
"Mom, I'm the daughter of a sixth-rank official, how can I say so much? Look at Jiang Jun, doesn't she keep silent unless someone points her out?" A girl of this age is always a little embarrassed.
Mrs. Zhou Si said, "If you want something, just go and fight for it. You are so knowledgeable, why do you have to pretend to be a pig and eat the tiger?"
If there is something good, it must be shown.
Miss Sun said, "You think I'm good, but I may not really be good. In fact, Jiang Yun and other girls are also very knowledgeable in poetry and literature."
Their Sun family was also a family of officials, and her father was a clean official among the clean officials. However, the people she met were of higher status, so she, the daughter of the censor, did not have many advantages. What's more, Miss Sun keenly discovered that it is not because you are talented that people favor you and think what you say is right, but because your family is powerful that people are more willing to listen to you.
Mrs. Zhou Si was aware that she was making plans for her daughters, so she did not arrange marriages for them quickly. In fact, if they did not marry, she could just give them certificates of ordination. Anyway, the old lady had already given them certificates of ordination when they got married.
But my daughter doesn't seem to think so. She is envious of the Liu family's daughter's marriage, and she is also envious of the Jiang family's sister's engagement...
The snow was heavy, so the servants got up early to shovel the snow to create a passage in the middle. In addition to Chunxian, Juxiang now has two women who do manual labor under her. Both of them are widows in their forties or fifties. After her mistress inspected the farm, she took pity on them and offered them a meal, then brought them back.
Of course, it was also announced that if these two people acted sneakily and disturbed the family, they would definitely be brought to the village.
Juxiang is no longer the same Juxiang as before. She uses both kindness and force to deal with the two men. She is the manager of the kitchen, so the two men dare not act rashly. She cleans the second courtyard thoroughly early in the morning.
After the snow was cleared, the maids and servants from each room came to bring food. Because the wind and snow were too strong, the mistress asked the girls and boys to eat in their rooms and not to come out.
Today's morning was simple. Jinniang had a boiled egg, a palm-sized sauerkraut bun, and a bowl of almond drink. Except when they have a banquet or guests and the meal is more sumptuous, they really waste very little on other days.
Of course, this is how she eats. As the children grow, they will eat more heartily.
After breakfast, Aying came over first. As a master and servant, they had been used to dealing with things as quickly as possible.
"Madam, I have already sent rewards to the three outstanding servants you selected this year." Aying said.
Jinniang smiled and said, "That's good. I can't let them all sit here to listen to the lecture in such a heavy snowstorm. You can just write their names on red paper and stick them on the wall outside the second entrance."
Ah Ying wrote it down.
Then, Jinniang said, "Although the master is not coming back this year, we still have to have a good New Year. I won't go to the old house. Please ask Steward Luo to go to the old house and tell them that the master is not at home and I have to guard the door."
Little Wu from the eldest house is in confinement this year, and Xu's face didn't look very good after the third-day bath that day. As for Master Jiang Liu and Zheng, she sent the holiday gifts to them on time, and they usually didn't say anything when they received the generous gifts.
Ah Ying nodded, and she continued, "There is another official named Jin who wants you to be his concubine. I declined according to your instructions."
"Well, there's such a heavy snowstorm this year. You see, it's getting heavier outside. I'll just stay at home during the winter. Otherwise, if I really fall ill from going out and being exposed to the wind, I don't know how much money it will cost to treat the disease." Jinniang said.
Ever since Jinniang sold the two embroidered portraits and became a married woman in the Liu family, she felt that she had far exceeded her expectations. She is no longer at the age where she can earn money regardless of weather conditions. Now she has to focus on her health first.
There were several charcoal basins burning brightly at home. After finishing the housework, Jinniang waited until her hands were warm before continuing to do needlework. She had already written to Manager Yao of Wu County, asking him to bring some Wu County's Qingqiao gauze when he went to Beijing. Then she could embroider green poles and white jasmine on the Qingqiao gauze, which would be extremely beautiful.
She embroidered the quilt cover for the whole morning, took a short nap at noon and read a book. In the afternoon, she embroidered Guanyin for another hour. When she was tired, she rested.
She once had the type of person who had used up all her strength but still persisted. She had many minor illnesses and pains, so of course she needs to take better care of herself now.
Later, I heard that the Jin family had invited another happy man. Unfortunately, on the day of the engagement, the shed that accommodated the guests collapsed under the weight of the snow, and the happy man also fell and almost broke his coccyx.
Ah Ying couldn't help but admire Jin Niang's foresight.
During the Chinese New Year this year, because Jiang Xian was not at home, Jinniang couldn't invite anyone over. Ning Ge'er happened to be reading in the library and couldn't come out, so Yun Jie'er and Jinniang jointly embroidered another quilt cover.
After the Lantern Festival, Jinniang asked someone to go to Xiuxiang to find someone to make a bed for her children and grandchildren. She also went to the Gold Embroidery Shop to have someone embroider gold on a bright red silk to make a gold-embroidered tent. As for Sister Yun herself, she finished making the chair covers, table curtains, and door curtains. Minzhi was not idle either. At the end of the year, she received a reward and naturally made patchwork clothes and patchwork quilts with great care. These were all for Yunjie'er's future children. Qingrong also made six pairs of shoe uppers.
The dowry cannot be prepared in one or two years like the Zhou family did before, otherwise the family would be ruined.
February was Yunjie'er's birthday, and the Wei family sent her two sets of heavy brocade clothes, a load of longevity noodles, a box of makeup powder, and a pair of jade pendants with auspicious cloud patterns.
Jinniang sent them to her daughter's room and said, "Please keep these jade pendants carefully and don't lose them."
"Yes, my daughter knows." Sister Yun followed Jinniang's example and kept a close eye on her belongings.
As for the clothes, she didn't ask her daughter to put them away. She just said, "These clothes are a bit bulky, so they can be worn even after a few years. They are perfect for you to wear when you go out to visit guests. I bought some good leather last summer, so I'll make a few more leather coats and leather boots."
It is said that Mrs. Wu's son was holding a hundred-day party and had specially sent an invitation to Jinniang. Jinniang was happy to go as the weather had warmed up a lot recently. It was also here that Jinniang met her daughter's future sister-in-law, Shen Qiniang.
When I first met Shen Qinniang, she didn't look like her father and was quite pretty.
Seeing her again today, she is wearing makeup and eyebrows, and is dressed very fashionably.
Madam Wu was indeed a virtuous woman. She held the child out for everyone to see, and also specially brought her concubine's daughter out to introduce her to everyone. As a mistress, she was impeccable.
Jinniang thought that this was also a way of dealing with the world, using magic to defeat magic. Aren't you people always finding fault? I will first make myself appear to be a person who follows the three obediences and four virtues, so that whatever you say will sound virtuous and make yourself invincible. I will keep silent about those who offend me, and will strike them again and then I will hit them.
"Sister Wei, please hold the child." Madam Wu said with a smile.
Jinniang put away her thoughts and held the child in her arms. Her forehead was round and full. She took out a jade pendant from her waist and gave it to his foster mother. "This child has a blessed appearance. I think he will be an official in the future. He has the potential to be one."
Madam Wu smiled and said, "Sister Wei, you really flatter me."
"I'm not praising you too much. I think this child is very extraordinary." Anyway, Jinniang found that sometimes praising other people's children was even more beneficial to them than praising adults themselves.
After lunch, Jinniang listened to a play in the theater for a while. Sitting next to her was none other than the Su Madam from before. Her little daughter was sulking, and she was trying to persuade her in a low voice: "You know that Shen Qiniang has always been a bad mouth and is a python. Why do you have to be angry with her when you can be angry with anyone else? It's really a shame."
"She doesn't get along well with your sister, so she's trying to make trouble for you." Mrs. Su curled her lips.
The mother and daughter were whispering, and Jinniang heard it all, but she did not completely believe what the mother and daughter of the Su family said, so she had a bad impression of Sister Shen Qi. But after coming back, I will also remind my daughter.
Sister Yun said, "Does my daughter know why she is like that?"
"Ah?" Jinniang was surprised.
Yun Jieer said, "You don't know that Shen Qiniang was originally betrothed to her seventh cousin. I even saw her write a poem at that time, which meant that she was the seventh child and her seventh cousin was also the seventh child, and the two of them were destined to be together. Unexpectedly, her uncle and father betrothed her to Wei Jiabalang. Isn't this unacceptable?"
"How did you know?" Jinniang didn't even know that Shen Qinnan was still brooding over this matter.
Sister Yun lowered her head and said, "My seventh cousin told me. When I mentioned that poem, my seventh cousin immediately said that he was not a fickle person."
It turned out that it was Wei Qilang who said that. Jinniang smiled and said, "It's good that you two can discuss it."
"What do you mean by discussion? It's just a few words occasionally." Sister Yun said with a smile.
In my daughter's current environment, it is even more difficult for her to fall in love freely than it was when she was young. After all, Jinniang is the head of the family, and it is not a wealthy family. People don't say much about small families, but for my daughter, a lady from a wealthy family, it is difficult for her to go out of the house on weekdays. Official families have their own set of rules. Jinniang also likes Wei Qilang's high emotional intelligence and his knowledge and taste. No matter what, such a person can resolve awkward situations, speak well, and will not disgust others.
By March, Jinniang began to miss her husband. After all, it was his birthday and she was not by his side, so she didn't know how he was spending it.
Fortunately, there is always work to do. Manager Yao and Village Head Fan have gone to Beijing. The year before last, Liu Doer was asked to go to Wu County to bring money, so they were not allowed to go to Beijing. This year, when they came here, they heard that there was a happy event in the mansion, so they each brought gifts.
Jinniang also gave them ten cakes of tea each, which she had earned from being a wealthy woman, and a few feet of brocade cloth, two sets of silk clothes each, and a year's wages, and asked Luo Da to settle them down. The last time Manager Yao saw Jinniang sending people to Wu County for inspection, he became nervous. This time he brought 750 strings of silver to the capital, as well as the green gauze that Jinniang asked him to bring.
This year, Mr. Fan sent five hundred strings of cash as a gift because he bought an extra hundred acres of mulberry fields and orchards, which brought him a lot of profits.
Now that the Qingqiao gauze had been delivered, Jinniang began to embroider jasmine flowers and asked Yunjie'er to take care of the local specialties sent by Fan Zhuangtou, including a small jar of crab sauce made from hairy crabs from Yangcheng Lake, white fish, silver fish and white shrimps raised in buckets, and ten jars of jam. Sister Yun gave three white fish, two cans of jam, and a can of crab paste to Mr. Jiang Liu. She also gave a basket of silver fish and a basket of white shrimp to the Wei family and a can of jam to the Liu family respectively. In addition, the Zhang family sent a jar of pickled water shield, three white fish and three silver fish.
It's not a good thing, just something new to eat.
Madam Xun came to the door in person. She said, "Everything you sent is good. The old man has wanted to eat fish and shrimp since he came back from Quanzhou. He said that what you sent is fresh."
"As long as he likes it." Jinniang said with a smile.
Madam Xun obviously didn't come to talk about this matter. She whispered, "How are your interactions with the Zhou family going recently?"
Jinniang shook her head: "We don't interact that much. We do visit each other, but after all, we are all relatives from the older generation, so we don't interact much. How is that?"
"Let me tell you first, something might happen to the Zhou family. Zhou Cunzhi was originally a member of the Jixian Prime Minister's faction. Later, Jixian Prime Minister fell. Although he was promoted, the people in the court would not tolerate him. I don't know if he wrote something in private and was reported by someone." Madam Xun knew the relationship between Jiang Xian and Liu Jixiang. They were both relatives and disciples, so of course she came to inform them.
Jinniang hadn't gone out for these days and didn't know what was going on outside. She knew that party struggles were all about uniting against dissidents. Even if you were a broad-minded person, the people in your party might not be able to tolerate it.
After Madam Xun left, Jinniang just claimed to be sick and could not go out. Before the Cold Food Festival, she heard from Luo Da that Zhou Cunzhi's family was exiled to Lingnan. Zhang Jiulang and his wife had come to visit, but when they heard that Jinniang was ill, they did not dare to bother her anymore. When the Jiang family heard that Jinniang was ill, they did not want to ask her to go to the Liu and Wei families to help.
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