Chapter 145 Chapter 145 Two Chapters Combined into One
When her daughter came back, Jinniang put down her needlework and asked the kitchen to prepare her favorite food.
Fried small yellow croaker, vinegar-fried spinach, delicious cold broad beans, and roasted chicken legs were all placed in front of Sister Yun. After finishing the meal, Yunjie gave all the colorful satin supplements and black chicken slices she brought back to Jinniang.
Jinniang was so confused that she didn't know whether to laugh or cry. After finishing her meal, she and her husband went back home.
Jinniang didn't think there was anything wrong with these things, but Wei Qilang was very touched. Madam Wei lived a life of luxury, and even though she loved her son, she only sent servants over, and was not as intimate as the Jiang family.
They were all made stitch by stitch, and the colors and embroidery patterns were similar to those made by both of them, but not identical. When they wore them together, they looked like a couple.
"My mother-in-law is such a nice person." Wei Qilang thought of the purple-robed Guanyin, who had once saved his life.
Sister Yun smiled and said, "Needless to say, my mother is very good. You know what? No matter what our children do, as long as it is right, my mother will support us and hold up the sky for us. As long as we live with my mother, we feel very, very at ease. She is like a real Bodhisattva, always blessing us."
Wei Qilang suddenly realized: "Now I understand why I felt at ease when I went to your house."
In fact, Jinniang thinks that her children are very good: "I always thought I was a person with no good luck, but I didn't expect my children to be so filial. It's really unexpected."
Jiang Xian thought that Sister Yun cried because she saw the clothes given by her mother, but she herself seemed to have no reaction in the same situation.
He wondered if he should squeeze out some tears too...
In a blink of an eye, it was the day for Wei Balang to get married. The couple had separate drinks. Jiang Xian went to Shen's house, and Jinniang went to Wei's house. Zhang Pingjun and Luo Yu'e also went with her. They were all dressed in new clothes. Jinniang came to the Wei family more often than the other two. She first went to the main room to see Madam Wei and then went to the second room.
When she saw Madam Wei, Jinniang said, "Congratulations, congratulations. When Balang's wife comes home, our family will be prosperous."
Madam Wei Er pulled Jinniang aside and said, "Madam Sangu, please help me welcome the guests."
"Of course. Not to mention me, which of your nephews' wives won't come? It's okay if other people don't come, but if Sister Yun doesn't come, I will definitely beat her." Jinniang smiled.
After a few jokes, they went to sit in the flower hall. Zhang Pingjun discovered that Jinniang was really very familiar with the people of the Wei family. She only knew that her family was related to the Wei family in Hebei before, and thought that they were just trying to curry favor with them. She didn't expect that they really treated her like the Third Aunt.
"Sister, what help do we need later?" Zhang Pingjun asked.
Jinniang smiled and said, "Why do they need our help? They have made their own arrangements. There are three daughters-in-law in the first house, including Yunjieer, and there are also people in the third house. You just sit down, and when the bride comes to pay her respects, we will give her the gift."
Zhang Pingjun kept it in mind and noticed that many people were talking to Jinniang specifically.
In fact, it’s not that Jinniang is so good at socializing. It’s simply because Jiang Xian is the prefect of Kaifeng Prefecture and holds a high position, so someone can carry him in the fancy sedan.
By the time Shen Qiniang got married, Jinniang was already very sleepy. She kept her eyes open and waited for the bride and groom to come. She presented them with a pair of jade disks before saying goodbye and going home.
About half a month after Shen Qiniang entered the family, it was already June, and Miss Sun next door was already very pregnant. When Madam Meng brought her over to talk, Jinniang asked, "Why did you bring your Sanlang's wife here? How can a pregnant woman walk around?"
But they came in from the corner gate on the other side of the garden, which was quite far away.
Madam Meng smiled and said, "She said she asked the doctor and he said that pregnant women shouldn't sit or lie down for long periods of time and should move around a bit. So I brought her here."
Although Madam Meng was not a good person, she would not bother a pregnant woman. However, Madam Sun did not want to stay at home all the time, so it would be a good thing for her to move around and become familiar with other people.
If you want to get ahead, you can't rely solely on your royal relatives. The civil servants may not buy into your ideas.
The ladies gathered together and talked mostly about their children. Madam Meng asked Jinniang, "It's been a few months since your daughter got married. How is she doing?"
When this topic was discussed, Miss Sun also listened with her ears pricked up.
I thought I would hear Jinniang spitting, or whitewashing the situation, but I didn't expect it to be neither. She said, "There is nothing to say about life. It's always like that. It's a good thing that I haven't heard of any major events."
Mrs. Meng suddenly realized: "That's the reason."
"Children nowadays are smarter than we were back then. They are all good at handling things. We just need to be our daughters' supporters. When they want us to take the lead, we help them. When they can handle it themselves, we should not interfere." Ever since Jinniang bought this house, her children can live there whenever they come back.
As they were talking, black chicken soup was delivered from home. Jinniang invited the women of the Meng family to drink it together, and said, "This was sent by my daughter when she and her husband came back a few days ago. They said it can replenish blood, nourish the skin, strengthen the body, and nourish the liver and kidneys."
Unlike the black-bone chickens that you can buy at any supermarket today, black-bone chickens were still very rare in ancient times.
Madam Meng smiled and said, "Only your family has everything."
"The fish maw chicken you gave me last time was also very good. Let's stop flattering each other." Jinniang said.
The two of them chatted for a while, and then talked about the Jiang family next door moving away. Jinniang was still puzzled: "They just moved away when everything was fine. I don't know why."
Mrs. Meng was even more unhappy: "Yes, she often came to me to talk about this and that, and I thought we had a good relationship, but she left without saying goodbye."
Miss Sun who was standing by knew, of course, that this was all because of Jiang Song. It was really unbelievable that Jiang Song had such a good family background and a good dowry, but she was always trying to be so desperate for a man. The key point is that they have already been engaged, so it is wrong for you to do this.
In the end, the network of relationships that I had worked so hard to build was just abandoned.
After Mrs. Meng went back in the afternoon, Mrs. Zhou came to visit her daughter. She and Mrs. Meng exchanged greetings for a while before she could talk to her daughter.
"How are you?"
"My daughter is fine, don't worry."
Mrs. Zhou Si said happily, "Your father's position is finally going to be promoted. He was directly promoted two levels to the position of Zuo Zuo Lang."
Miss Sun was also very happy to hear this: "That's good. Dad has been promoted. You should hurry up to arrange my sister's marriage. If you are short of money, please tell me first."
In the Meng family, the young lady received a monthly allowance of five strings of silver. She had no other expenses and saved almost all of it. That’s about sixty strings of cash a year.
In addition, sometimes Concubine Qiao in the palace would also reward some high-quality colored satin and gold and silver ingots, which was also a source of income.
Mrs. Zhou Si smiled and said, "Your money is not needed. Your father is now a fifth-rank official, and his salary is higher than before. I have also laid off some servants in our family. We will be able to save money slowly."
After hearing what her mother said, Miss Sun asked in confusion, "Mom, how did Dad get promoted so quickly?"
No one knows whose father is whom. When he was the magistrate of a big county, her father failed to suppress the rebellion several times and almost caused a civil uprising. He was also mediocre and timid in Beijing. How could he be promoted so quickly?
Zhou Si actually told the truth: "You don't know, it's because of your uncle's face. Now that Prime Minister Shen needs someone, your father is one of them, so naturally he will be promoted quickly."
Sometimes even a pig standing in the wind can be blown away, not to mention that they have a close relationship with Jiang Fang.
Miss Sun nodded slightly: "If you really want to be cautious, you might as well be like my father-in-law and not express too many of your own opinions on everything."
"Of course, your father supports whatever the emperor orders." Madam Zhou Si thought that if one was not in officialdom, one would not be able to understand how difficult it was to advance to a higher level.
As long as you want to move up, there will be countless people eyeing your position, trying to pull you down.
The competition among people behind the scenes is also very fierce.
Of course, if you have someone above you, you will be promoted quickly, and the people below you will not dare to offend the people above you, so this is safer.
Miss Sun held her mother's hand and said, "Then you should take advantage of this favorable situation and quickly arrange a marriage for your sister."
Madam Zhou Si wants to get married. No one would want to marry the daughter of a poor official. The dowry cannot be worse than her sister's. It should be at least one thousand strings of silver.
It will take at least three or four years to save up this money, so wait at least two years.
It will only take two years.
While Mrs. Zhou was worried about money, Mrs. Xu was not so worried. Six hundred acres of farmland was not a small amount of money. The rent she collected was already a lot. What's more, she was very frugal and had saved quite a bit now.
But if she had no one to compare with, she would be satisfied with this money. But she had her younger brother and sister-in-law to compare with. They had even more money and were said to have bought a house. She also had Yunjie's dowry, which was 120 loads of dowry, full to the brim. Who wouldn't praise them and who wouldn't envy them?
They are cousins, one is a rich girl and the other is a poor girl? The contrast is too strong.
But she felt it was not worth it to give so much money to her daughter. This kind of trend is not good and she would never blindly follow it. However, she was really upset when people in the clan secretly praised her daughter-in-law Xiao Wu for her virtue and said she was stingy.
Mother Ge, despite her age, still offered advice: "Madam, our daughter is still young, why do you worry about this."
"I'm not worried. Her father is not at home now, and her brother is still studying hard. How can she find a partner?" This is what Xu was most worried about.
Mother Ge added, "This year our Xuan'er will get his exam results, and he might pass the exam. By then, you will be both the wife and the mother of a Jinshi."
After hearing this, Mrs. Xu felt a little comforted.
Little did he know that when Jiang Xian mentioned Xuan Ge'er, he felt sorry for him. He said to Jin Niang, "That child was very hardworking in his early years. The eldest sister-in-law almost sat at the desk with a bamboo whip in her hand. Now that he has grown up, the eldest sister-in-law flatters him and indulges him, and no longer supervises him."
Who is born studious? Look at Ning'er, he often needs to be urged. Ding'er is even more so, he often wants to skip school whenever it is windy or rainy. His wife is not afraid of being disliked, she always beats and scolds him to send him to school.
When they were at home, Mrs. Jiang Liu was very strict with them. He was the youngest, and although he was favored, he was meticulous in his studies.
Jinniang said, "Let's see if he can solve it this year. If not, we'll talk about it later."
Look at Wei Dalang, he was appointed as an official at the age of 27, and only passed the examination at the age of 30 to get a job. Of course, he was a sixth-rank attendant right from the start, which was equivalent to Jiang Xian having passed the imperial examination and had to wait more than six years before he was able to take this position with the support of someone in the court.
But Wei Dalang's father was a high-ranking official, and Jiang Xuan's father had resigned. Even if Jiang Xian could give his son a favor, it would definitely be his own son, not his nephew.
Jiang Xian said, "It's better to study hard than to keep looking for ways. Big brother is really something. When he was an official, he said he didn't have time. Later, he resigned and left. Big sister-in-law didn't care about his studies, and he didn't pay attention to it either. I really don't know what he will be like in the future."
The qualifications of ordinary people are actually not that different, what they lack is persistent learning.
Compared with his younger brother Wei Yang and Chen Xiaolang, Wei Yang had famous teachers found by Jinniang and Jiang Xian, and parents who accompanied him and provided him with money for his studies no matter how poor they were. In addition, he was hardworking, so he was able to succeed. Chen Xiaolang has no one to supervise him and cannot afford to go to school, so it is a great achievement for him to become a manager now.
Even Jinniang can only be said to have a talent for embroidery, but she is not a complete genius. She needs to keep learning and honing her skills, so even now the clothes she makes will never be out of style.
Every piece of clothing she makes is the most fashionable at the time, and the patterns are not at all outdated.
Jinniang couldn't help but ask: "Doesn't the eldest wife have a good relationship with your adopted second brother? I wonder if your second brother will make arrangements?"
Speaking of Jiang Fang, Jiang Xian sneered, "My second brother only admires talented people. Those without talent, ability, or money are dead in his eyes. Don't think he associates with our family. It's because I still do that now, not because of any brotherly love. His generosity is only for outsiders. It has nothing to do with people like us."
Jinniang thought that there are always people better than you, and if Jiang Fang was like this, no one would be able to get close to him in the future.
It is also said that the Shen and Wei families are getting married. Shen Qinnan is particularly uncomfortable in the Wei family, while the entire Shen family does not restrict girls at all. The Wei family has strict rules. No matter how gentle the Second Lady is, she still has to follow the rules of the Wei family. She has to visit the emperor every morning and evening, and serve the emperor the food.
Shen Qinnan was very knowledgeable. She took the poems written by Wei Balang and started discussing them. At first, Wei Balang listened to a few words, after all, they were newly married. However, after a month or so, he became a little annoyed with the pointing and preaching.
The two of them inevitably had a quarrel, and Mrs. Wei II scolded her son and told him and her new bride to stop fooling around.
Seeing that her mother-in-law was helping her, Shen Qinnan became more and more arrogant and felt that everything she did was right. Seeing her like this, Yun Jie'er, who was standing by, thought to herself, my mother warned me that a mother-in-law would never really treat her daughter-in-law as her own daughter, so she was only helping out for the sake of family harmony. If she did something like Shen Qiniang, she would most likely lose her husband's favor and offend her mother-in-law at the same time.
Madam Wei has built up such a good reputation, which shows that she is not just kind and gentle, but also has her own ways.
But she did not comment on these right and wrongs, she just thought that she had to summarize and reflect on everything. Just like her mother said, making mistakes is not terrible, the most terrible thing is not changing after repeated admonitions and not learning lessons.
June was Jinniang's birthday, so the family invited singers and also invited several in-laws to come over for the fun, including the Wei family, the Zhang family, Wei Yang and his wife, Zhen Erlang and Dou Yuan, Jiang Xuan from the old house, Jiang Yan from the clan and others.
Jinniang was talking to everyone: "This is not a birthday party, I just want everyone to get together and have relatives get closer."
"Who said it wasn't, cousin? Our Ding'er's birthday is next month, and Ning'er's birthday is the month after next, right?" Dou Yuan was a thoughtful person and asked specifically.
Jinniang smiled and said, "That's right. However, Ding'er is still young, so I asked the waiter to make some snacks that he likes to celebrate his birthday. When he turns ten, we can have a big celebration. You don't know how easily children are distracted, especially my little one, who is very delicate. He is afraid of thunder when it thunders, and he is in a bad mood when it rains. He doesn't want to go to school."
Dou Yuan smiled and said, "Ding'er has his cousin's wife to teach him, so he will definitely be a good kid in the future."
"I don't know whether it's good or not, but at least you have to study when you are old enough to study." Jinniang thought like she was a screenwriter. Don't listen to others telling you to put on value. The most popular scripts are those with lovers flirting with each other, and the writing style is comfortable. Either of the two can make it a small hit. The same is true for being a human being. No matter how good your character is or how kind you are, if you have no social value as a human being, people will still look down on you, right?
No matter how good Jinniang's character was, Mrs. Jiang Liu would not look down on her if she did not have a dowry worth several thousand strings of cash. And no matter how handsome Jiang Xiansheng was, Jinniang would not marry him casually if he did not have the status of a yamen official.
To put it very utilitarianly, if Ning Ge'er and Ding Ge'er, the children of officials, fail to pass the exam, their social class will fall seriously from then on.
Zhang Jiulang's father held a high official position in his past, and now he has to rely on Jiang Xian to help him get an assignment, otherwise he will just have an empty title. Yinguan is not a Jinshi, and has no peers or teachers. It is difficult for him to make progress in the officialdom unless he is arranged by his elders.
Dou Yuan nodded secretly.
Yun Jie'er made a set of clothes for Jin Niang with her own hands, and also gave her two bottles of rose water, a load of longevity noodles, two boxes of spices, and a piece of jewelry. Of course she was trying to save face for her mother. Just as her mother had said before, she was very generous with outsiders but very stingy with her family, which was disheartening.
Except for her, other members of the Wei family, such as Mrs. Fan and Shen Qinnan who had just married into the family, all came. Mrs. Wang did not come because she was pregnant, but her mother, Mrs. Wu, came.
Several people sat down again and chatted. Since Yun Jie'er came as the daughter-in-law of the Wei family, she was also the daughter of the Jiang family, so she naturally acted like the host and helped out with everything. Madam Zhang watched Zhang Pingjun catch up and breathed a sigh of relief. In such a family of powerful officials, if her daughter didn't take some time off, she wouldn't know how to cope with the situation in the future.
The banquet was placed in the flowerbed. In the middle of the table was a bamboo basket filled with light pink lotus flowers and lilies. These flowers, covered with dew, gave a unique sense of coolness.
Although Jinniang did not come from a large family, she had been an official's wife for more than ten years and was quite experienced in arranging banquets. When she had dinner at home, she would use a rotating table, but when guests came over, the maids would pick up the food for her, so this was not necessary.
Anyway, the order of serving dishes is nothing more than dried fruits, fresh fruits, side dishes, main dishes and soups. Juxiang will cook what she can, and if she can't, she will just ask the chef outside to cook.
Madam Wu smiled and said, "Every time I come to your house, I have to go back full."
"Oh, that's because you're doing me a favor." Jinniang and she were acquaintances. It was best not to offend someone like Madam Wu. At least it was enough to keep everyone's face.
Mrs. Zhang also added, "I just saw Ning Ge'er coming over to toast. This child is getting better and better. I wonder how many girls he will charm in the future."
Jinniang waved her hands and said, "This child is not as handsome as his father and brother. He looks very powerful. If you want to say he is good-looking, I am just bragging. My son-in-law is still the most handsome."
This was referring to Wei Qilang. Madam Wei laughed and said, "No wonder Qilang has said since he was little that he likes Third Aunt the most. It turns out that you like him the most, too."
Everyone laughed at this remark.
Who wants to be on edge? Some bright spots in a happy atmosphere are better than anything else.
For example, Jinniang is now saying, "I recently embroidered a new Guanyin with a Pure Vase, and used the same needlework throughout. It is full of brilliance, especially under the sun, like flowing water. Although it cannot compare with some embroidery masters, I will show you my work, please don't laugh at me."
Everyone watched as the two maids slowly unfolded the embroidered image of Guanyin, which was based on their daughter's portrait. In the image, Guanyin was holding a pure bottle, had a gorgeous headdress, and a compassionate face.
Sister Yun felt that this Guanyin looked familiar, but then she changed her mind and realized that Guanyin Bodhisattva was naturally compassionate.
Guanyin stood on the lotus platform, pouring out the jade dew. Everyone came closer to watch and found it incredible.
Jinniang smiled and said, "I heard that this Guanyin in the Pure Bottle not only represents compassion, benevolence and wisdom, but can also cure diseases." After that, she had someone put it away.
After looking at the portrait, everyone started to eat, but unexpectedly, Yun Jie'er kept retching. Jinniang suddenly had an idea and asked someone to help her down, and then asked Aying to call a doctor. Dou Yuan was very considerate and said that she wanted to stay with Yun Jie'er. Zhang Pingjun regretted that she was a step late.
Everyone continued to eat, and when the meal was finished, they listened to another play. Aying hurried over and whispered something. Jinniang smiled and looked at Madam Wei: "Congratulations, you will have another grandchild soon. Just now I saw that Sister Yun was not feeling well, so I asked the doctor to come over. He said that she was pregnant and it has been more than two months."
Mrs. Wei thought that this was truly a blessing. Every time she was with Mrs. Jiang, everything would get better.
Wei Qilang has come over to Yun Jie'er. He still doesn't believe it: "Is it true?"
"Well, the doctor just said it, so it shouldn't be false." Sister Yun actually knew what was going on, but it was not easy to invite a doctor at her husband's house, especially if there was no child, then it would be a false alarm. Today, after returning to her parents' home and talking to her mother, she was able to successfully find a doctor.
Wei Qilang scratched his head and said childishly, "My mother-in-law's embroidered image of Guanyin is really magical."
When Jinniang was about to leave, she said to Yunjieer, "Go back and take good care of your baby. Don't worry too much."
It would be best if the daughter can get pregnant and give birth to a child smoothly. If she has a miscarriage or something goes wrong, we can say that the Bodhisattva has blessed the family and take the daughter home to recuperate. This will be good for her health.
Sister Yun was better. She understood her mother's thoughts and felt much relieved. Mrs. Wei was a little disappointed when she saw that Jinniang did not give the embroidered Guanyin portrait to Yunjie'er. She secretly said to Wei Qilang, "In the future, you should come to your parents-in-law's house more often. We always turn danger into safety when we meet them."
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