Chapter 38 Chapter 38 Two chapters merged into one
"Your father wanted to borrow a carriage from your brother-in-law Feng, but I refused." Luo Yu'e complained as soon as Jinniang got on the carriage.
Jinniang looked at her mother with appreciation and said, "You are right. We are not saying that we want to break off the relationship, but we should not trouble others if we can. If we keep owing small favors like this, we will have to pay them back in the future."
Luo Yu'e nodded: "That's the reason."
After exiting the Suzaku Gate, they walked forward to the Longjin Bridge, crossed the Zhou Bridge and headed south. This was the night market street. Jinniang lifted the curtain and saw a sea of lights. She couldn't help but want to get off the carriage. Luo Yu'e stopped her and said, "Why are you in such a hurry? You can come here every day after you come back."
In the bustling place, various vendors were selling porridge, braised meat, dried meat, and all kinds of cooked food in front of the Jade Tower. The Cao family shop had a dazzling array of food displayed in layers.
After passing Zhouqiao Night Market, they arrived at the entrance of Choushui Lane. Luo Yu'e gave the driver fifteen cents and they moved Jinniang's luggage in.
This was the first time Jinniang returned to her home in Bian Jing. Candles were lit in the room. Her room was furnished with a set of furniture. There was a bookcase next to the desk, a satin quilt on the carved bed, and a top cabinet next to the bed. She sat on the bed, lay back, and rolled over, wishing she had to get up.
It was Luo Yu'e who said, "Do you like it? I picked this color. It suits you girls best."
Jinniang nodded in satisfaction, then stood up and hugged her mother: "Mom, I am very satisfied. I don't know what to say."
"Then change your clothes quickly and go to the kitchen with your mother to light the fire." Luo Yu'e couldn't be separated from her daughter for a moment.
God knows how much more she wants to say to her daughter. Wei Xiong is not good at speaking and his son is still too young. Only his daughter can talk about anything and stand on his side.
Jinniang smiled as she changed into a green silk jacket, grey cotton trousers and a goose yellow bellyband. She first put her books and clothes into the bookcase and wardrobe, put away the money box, and took out the rest of the toiletries. Then she looked at the empty space under the window of her room and placed the embroidery frame there.
very nice.
The kitchen was not very big, and there was only one stove. Luo Yu'e said quickly, "It's a good thing I brought the iron pot from home, otherwise it would be expensive to buy another pot."
Iron was not cheap in the Song Dynasty. Unlike today when you can buy a pot for dozens or hundreds of dollars, an iron pot cost about three to five strings of cash, which was an important asset. Some families split up and fought over an iron pot until they were bloody.
Jinniang rolled the straw into a small bundle and put it into the stove, which started to burn brightly.
In the past, she liked to make fire with her mother, which kept her warm in winter. Her mother would put beans and bacon in a small black clay pot and put it into the stove before taking it out. It was so delicious.
Luo Yu'e cooked six dishes, also roast goose, mutton bone soup, fried tofu with green onions, braised fish, steamed radish and Chinese cabbage with rice flour, and stewed pickles.
In front of Jinniang was a bowl of mutton bone soup. She lowered her head and took a sip. It was warm. She looked at her mother and said, "I'll fry some meatballs in a few days. I'll fry some carrot meatballs and some meat meatballs. I'll put them in a winnowing basket and put them on the beam."
Compared to Jinniang who is not picky about food, Yangge'er is a picky eater. Home-cooked dishes and rice are like chewing wax to him, and he only eats roast goose bought from outside. He didn't talk much, but he knew that he was the elder sister and would look at her all the time. Jinniang scratched his nose and said, "Yang Ge'er, how is your study going?"
Yang Ge'er nodded, smiled, and handed her the wooden bird in his hand.
Jinniang was surprised to see the lifelike bird: "What is this?"
Luo Yu'e smiled and said, "Your brother carved it himself. Before you came to Bianjing, your father and I helped your uncle at his house. We bought him a wooden toy. He bought it as a toy at first, but later he often took it apart and put it together himself. You see, he is so young, but he has strong hands."
Seeing the calluses on her brother's nails, Jinniang was surprised and touched his head again: "Yang brother is really smart, how is his study going?"
"He had many playmates in Jiangling and attended elementary school in Bianjing. He spoke with a local accent, but the teacher was okay." Luo Yu'e said.
Jinniang said, "It's nothing. We will settle down here now. Yang Ge'er will get familiar with the place slowly. After we finish elementary school, we can take the boy's exam before we turn ten. If we fail, we can find a better academy to study in. In short, studying in Bianjing is definitely better than Jiangling."
Wei Xiong and Luo Yu'e both listened to their daughter regarding their son's studies, but Luo Yu'e said, "Brother Yang is young and can't get used to the food in Bianjing. Many parents of Gou Xiucai's students send their meals there."
"If the place is nearby, send it. If the place is far, let your brother get used to it. Otherwise, it will be difficult for you to send it when you do business in the future. He will have to adapt." Jinniang likes the atmosphere of her own family and they discuss everything together.
The food was delicious. Dad specially saved the goose leg for her. Jinniang couldn't finish it, but he stubbornly asked her to eat it. Jinniang laughed. Family members are like this. No matter how old you are or how independent you are, they are afraid that you will not eat enough or well.
Under the light of the beacon lamp, the family ate everything up. Jinniang washed her hands and feet with the hot water left in the pot, then fell asleep with her pillow. When she got up in the morning and was about to call "Si'er", she found herself at home. She even laughed to herself.
In the morning, there was snow outside. Jinniang gathered her clothes. She heard her mother going to the back door to find someone and buy a load of firewood for sixty cents. In winter, charcoal and firewood are necessities, and the New Year is coming soon. If you don’t prepare them, you won’t be able to buy them when the New Year comes.
There was bean porridge cooked in the pot, accompanied by a small dish of salted duck eggs. Jinniang ate until her belly was full.
It just so happened that my father had just returned after sending my younger brother to school. The couple had been busy with this house for two or three months, so the matter of finding a shop was delayed. What's more, the weather was too cold and there were many places where they could not find a place to stay. Take the Zhouqiao Night Market near them, for example. The stalls are all packed tightly together and there is no room to move out, so the couple decided to find another place to do business in the early spring of next year.
Jinniang agreed with this: "Anyway, apart from Yang'er's studies, we don't have any other expenses now."
My parents worked hard for my uncle from dawn to dusk for a year before they were given the right to run the business for one year. They saved money for two years and were in a hurry to go to Bian Jing, so they needed to rest for a while. Not to mention them, even I, too, was eager to rest at home for a few days.
Jinniang is a little uncomfortable with the free time she has now after working all day. Her parents doted on her very much, so she didn't have to do housework. She went out to the street to find a carpenter and ordered two embroidery frames, and then went to Cheng Ya Ren to ask about the situation at the Wenxiu Academy.
However, it is too troublesome to hire a car here all day long.
Wei Xiong also thought so: "Why don't we buy a donkey? We can buy a high-quality donkey for twelve coins."
"Okay, we can't afford a carriage, and a mule costs a hundred strings of cash, but a donkey is fine. It will be convenient for our family to go wherever we go in the future. However, I have to pass the entrance exam to the Wenxiu Academy first." After I have the income, I can talk about buying a car.
Wei Xiong nodded: "That's right."
Jinniang knew that her parents had sold the family's carriage and horses to come to Beijing. Anyway, they would need the money for doing business and transporting things, so why save it? Isn't the purpose of having money to improve one's life? But now she had just returned from Zhou's house and was temporarily unemployed, so she could no longer take money out of her capital and live off it.
It is said that Jinniang brought out another iron soup bottle from Zhou's house, so there is a pair of them in the house now, one iron soup bottle is used for drinking hot water, and the other is used for bathing.
At this time, she was sitting in the main room drinking a cup of hot tea, and she felt very comfortable just sitting there.
But she didn't feel comfortable for long when there was a knock on the door. Luo Yu'e welcomed them in. It turned out to be her third uncle's family and grandma. Yes, her third uncle also did the steamed bun business near Choushui Lane, but she had forgotten about it.
I heard from my mother that after they moved in, my third uncle wanted to make friends with them and personally taught my father how to make the steamed bun recipe that the people of Bian Jing loved to eat. In this case, Luo Yu'e had nothing to say.
Jinniang also went out to call people: "Grandma, Third Uncle, Third Aunt, Sister Yingniang."
Yingniang smiled and said, "Second sister, grandma has always wanted to see you."
"I'm thinking about grandma, too. Come, come, come and sit in the main room. I'll go get some tea." Jinniang took out a coarse porcelain bowl filled with loose tea foam, and started chatting outside when she came out.
My mother and my third aunt have always had a bad relationship and they had even quarreled before, but now they can still talk to each other. Jinniang feels that this seems to be the case in China. In order to save face, everyone will deliberately ignore past unpleasantness.
In fact, Third Uncle took all the advantages. On the surface, they said they were honoring grandma and even brought her with them to Bian Jing. But in fact, it was grandma who got up in the middle of the night to help them light the fire and cook, because Third Uncle was not good at cooking and had a very bad temper.
Uncle San came to talk about the New Year. He said, "Why don't you all come to our place this year? Mom is with me anyway. We'll cook the food and you can just come over."
Luo Yu'e subconsciously looked at Jinniang's reaction. Jinniang knew that Third Uncle might really think so, but Third Aunt was stingy, so she smiled and said, "Third Uncle, I'm afraid of the cold. Bianjing is not like our Jiangling. It only snows for a few days. When the time comes, you will have to wash a table full of cups, bowls, chopsticks and dishes. That's too much suffering. When the weather is fine, you can come to our house and have a meal together. That would be great."
Luo Yu'e was happy to hear that her daughter was against it, because the third room was the type that didn't have any plans, and every year they would buy food on New Year's Eve. They were incompetent but loved to make decisions, and it was easy for them to quarrel during the New Year. It would have been fine if she didn't have a house to live in, but now that she had one, she refused: "Yes, not to mention Jinniang, I don't want to go out either. The wind gives me a headache."
Uncle San was stunned for a moment, and then talked about Yingniang's plan to buy a house after her engagement. Yingniang also said: "The Anping family can come up with 160 strings of cash. We found a housekeeper, and the housekeeper said that he could lend us 900 strings of cash. I borrowed more than 400 strings of cash from the temple. Now I have to come up with more than 200 strings of cash myself. After all, it's in my name, but I only have more than 30 strings of cash. My eldest sister (Rongniang) has lent me more than 50 strings of cash, so I still need more than 100 strings of cash..."
Jinniang often heard that her third uncle loved gambling, that is, he liked to make a small bet for a big win, and when doing business, he liked to find a corner or the cheapest rent. She never expected that her cousin was actually planning to "take out a loan" to buy a house in ancient times.
Tsk tsk, who is the time traveler?
But Jinniang said quickly, "I only have one guan a month. My parents mortgaged this house a few months ago, and I gave them more than a year's salary. I really don't have any. If I did, I would definitely lend it to you."
Wei Xiong looked at Yingniang and said, "Why not ask your father to give you some?" If he had money, he would definitely give it to Jinniang.
Of course, Uncle San was unwilling to borrow money, so he came to the Second House.
When Uncle San and the others heard that no one was going to lend them money, they couldn't sit there any longer and left in a large group.
As soon as they left, Luo Yu'e was shocked: "This third girl is really getting something for nothing. The money was all borrowed, and she even had to put her name on it."
"There's really no such thing as a free lunch in this world. We have to be treated to a meal." Jinniang was speechless.
Although Wei Xiong looks honest, he actually has quite a few conspiracy theories: "Could it be that they saw that we mortgaged the house and rushed to buy it? They want to compete with us."
Jinniang laughed: "Anyway, our family doesn't have any money to borrow, so let's just ignore it."
But soon, Jinniang reminded her father again: "I heard that if you want to borrow money, you can use land or gold and silver as collateral. If you don't have collateral, you can get it if three people guarantee it. When the time comes, you must not be the guarantor."
"Yes, yes, my daughter is right." Luo Yu'e was afraid that her husband would be tricked into acting as a guarantor.
Wei Xiong immediately said, "Of course I won't be a guarantor, but why doesn't your Third Uncle give money to Yingniang? He has been doing business for all these years and hasn't bought a house or a car. He has so much money."
Jinniang spread her hands and said, "Who knows? Not to mention taking out the money, even if I go to her house to have an extra bowl of rice, Third Aunt will start to raise her eyebrows."
However, this incident gave Jinniang an inspiration. It turned out that in the Northern Song Dynasty, people could also take out loans to buy houses just like in modern times, and could even borrow money from temples. This was another good thing. Even the "Miscellaneous Orders" cited in the "Song Dynasty Criminal Code" clearly stipulates: "All public and private property pledged shall be based on private contracts, and the government shall not be involved. The monthly interest shall not exceed 6%, and even if the accumulated period is long, it shall not exceed 100%. "It is also quoted from the Ministry of Revenue's edict: "For private pledges throughout the country, the interest shall be 4%, and the government shall charge 5% of the original capital."
Thinking back to the down payment she made on the modern house, she bought it at the highest point, and the loan interest rate was almost 6 percent.
Then I heard Luo Yu'e say, "How can they pay back so much?"
Jinniang thought for a moment and said, "I heard that Yingniang was introduced by Brother-in-law Feng to work in a herbal medicine shop, where she specializes in selling ready-made medicines. Do you think selling medicines is profitable? Many women are ashamed to see a doctor, so they buy ready-made prescriptions. Sometimes she carries a basket and goes door-to-door to sell them. Naturally, her business is good and she makes a lot of money."
Before, Yingniang worked as a waiter making rice wine, earning a high monthly salary. But when she heard that she was being molested by a customer, she went to ask Brother-in-law Feng for an introduction to a job.
Whether being a doctor or selling medicine, both are relatively lucrative professions, but they require connections.
Wei Xiong looked at his daughter and said, "Jinniang, why don't you do it too? Ask your brother-in-law to introduce one or two. Ten or twenty strings of cash a month is not a small amount."
"Dad, I still want to do what I want to do, without relying on others, and I don't owe them favors." Jinniang always felt that if she relied on others, she would be inferior.
Wei Xiong knew that his daughter was opinionated and he couldn't convince her, so he went to Jinniang's room to help her make the bed and sweep the floor. He even wiped the quilt that Jinniang used to rinse her mouth clean, and asked Jinniang to do housework during this time.
But Jinniang knew that her father only talked about it, and it was often the couple who helped her clean the room, and she didn't need to do anything.
At noon, Luo Yu'e made fried meatballs. She personally carried a basket to Gou Xiucai's house to deliver the meal, and also gave a bowl of meatballs to Gou's wife. When he came back, he went to Zhouqiao with Jinniang. Jinniang quickly changed into a pair of old shoes and put on a felt hat.
As soon as Luo Yu'e came out, she said, "You don't know how much your father talks. If I spend a penny more, he'll say I'm a spendthrift. It's better for my daughter to come back. I'll have someone to keep me company."
"Mom, Dad is just like this, he only says that. Next year you can find a shop and do business well. Once you have a promising future, Dad won't nag you anymore." Jinniang advised.
In fact, women of her mother's age have many inner troubles that they cannot confide. Their husbands may not understand, their sons are too young, and their relationships with relatives are not harmonious. Fortunately, she came back and was able to accompany them for a while.
Jinniang walked and looked around, and finally felt at ease: "Mom, do you know why I am so happy today? Even Uncle San and the others can't affect my mood. Because I am a free person, it's really good."
There were many words of comfort, but Luo Yu'e understood them in her heart, but could not say them. She was a rough person, so she could only say: "Jinniang, didn't you see the food from the Cao family yesterday? Mother bought some for you."
Jinniang laughed: "Mom, you said it's better for your daughter to be thinner, but you let her eat the most."
The Cao family sold rotten dried fish and pancakes, which Jinniang liked, so she had some packed. She also saw various kinds of jerky and bought some for twenty cents. Luo Yu'e also bought two dried chickens to eat during the New Year.
After buying some food, they saw a special shop selling various hair ornaments. Jinniang pulled her mother and said, "Let's go in and take a look."
Here you can find combs, earrings, head ornaments, silk flowers, velvet flowers, necklaces, and necklaces of all kinds, and the prices are very cheap. The most expensive one is thirty cents, and they are all He Lou items.
Luo Yu'e was cautious at first, but then she tried each piece one by one, and Jinniang said, "Mother, you look good in these long beads, and these lotus earrings are also nice, buy them."
"I'm just wearing it for fun. Where can I buy it for real?" Luo Yu'e struggled for a long time, but finally put it down. After all, the two of them had no income now.
Jinniang advised: "It's only ten cents, just buy it, I'll pay for it."
Luo Yu'e shook her head again, so Jinniang had no choice but to say to the shopkeeper directly: "I want this pair of 'pearl earrings', shopkeeper, please pack them for me."
She bought it directly for her mother. Her mother was of course happy but also cautious, which made Jinniang feel very sad.
Before Laba Festival, Cheng Ya gave her a document and asked her to go to the Wenxiu Academy for an on-the-spot assessment. This meant that her previous embroidery works had passed and now it was the final.
Cheng Yaren also said: "This time the Wenxiu Academy only recruited ten people, but it is said that there were hundreds of people participating in the selection, and only thirty people were selected in the final re-selection."
This means that she has to stand out among the thirty people, and Jinniang feels a little pressured.
This assessment was supervised by officials sent by the Shaofujian. Everyone in the family was very nervous, but Jinniang was the kind of person who became calmer when faced with important matters. She took a deep breath to calm herself down, and her father hired a car to take her there.
Wei Xiong was not good at speaking, so he just pointed at the carriage and said, "Dad is waiting for you here."
"Well, my daughter has gone in." Jinniang took another deep breath and stepped in.
Wenxiuyuan is indeed a place responsible for embroidery for royal clothing, supplies and guests' sacrificial needs. It is extremely luxurious. I heard that there are also Lingjinyuan, Dyeingyuan and Wensiyuan here. The Brocade Bureau specializes in producing clothing for the royal family, nobles, and dignitaries, as well as for military supplies. The Dyeing Bureau's main task is to dye silk, ribbons, threads, ropes, leather, paper, and rattan. In addition to weaving gauze and silk for annual gifts, the Literary Bureau is also responsible for making exquisite items made of gold, silver, rhinoceros horn, and jade, as well as gold-painted and plain ornaments, for use in carriages, imperial seals, sacred objects, and all other utensils and clothing.
The guides were all wearing official uniforms and marching in square steps.
After entering, they saw several eight-foot-long mahogany tables with the test items on them. The supervisor said, "Each of you has three items on the table. The first is a torn piece of clothing. You have to mend it so that there is no flaw. The second is to embroider the corresponding scene on the purse given. The third is to use the engraving to make a collar with gold printing. You have to complete it within two hours. No one will be accepted after the time is up."
After listening to the inspector's introduction, Jinniang breathed a sigh of relief. She could do all three, especially the gold printing and applique, which she learned from Chen Niang.
After three years in the Zhou Mansion, it feels like I just finished the college entrance examination. Now I am so strong.
First she took the torn hole, found a similar color, then began to divide the longitude and latitude, propped up the hole with an embroidery frame, and began to embroider quickly. It took her almost half an hour just to embroider this hole, which was still fast. Looking at the purse again, it was the color of mud. Jinniang had never seen such an ugly color before. Looking up at other people's purses, they also had purses of a particularly eye-catching color.
It is better to treat it as muddy ground instead of earthy mud color. Yes, embroidering snow in June, Jinniang quickly drew a pattern with charcoal, so that it would have the meaning of being untainted by the mud.
Jinniang watched the embroiderer next to her mending holes with double-sided embroidery, and she thought that this place was indeed full of embroidery masters, and she must not be careless.
When embroidering this June snow, she did not dare to be distracted at all. After finally finishing it, she hid the thread ends herself and put them aside.
Finally, she started to make the collar plaster. This gold-plating and printing is a craft, and Jinniang is weakest in this area, but she was able to complete it. It seemed that some people around her were whispering: "How do you use this to make a collar plaster? We don't know how to do it..."
Who would tell others at this time? Everyone was rushing in. Jinniang did it very carefully. The trick to gold printing was to apply the glue three times and then print it. If it had been ironed, it could not be ironed again.
After painting, use a small brush to quickly brush it, and then start outlining the color. You must not shake your hands in this step.
Jinniang reminded herself to be careful, careful, and careful again.
When the last stick of incense was lit, everything was done and she stood up: "Supervisor, I'm done."
When the inspector saw the embroidery she handed in, he nodded secretly and said, "Go sit in the corridor for a while and let me know the result immediately."
"Yes." Jinniang breathed a sigh of relief.
Before she had even finished a cup of tea in the corridor, she heard the supervisor come out and call out the names. Jinniang ignored the previous names and finally heard that her name was the eighth.
"Wei Jinniang from Jiangling Prefecture is selected!"
Jinniang was delighted. From then on, she started working at Mao time (6 or 7 in the morning) and finished work at You time (5 in the afternoon). She had one day off every ten days, which made a total of sixty days off a year. I heard that during the hot summer (from the first day of May to the first day of August in the lunar calendar), the workload of embroiderers is reduced by half as usual. They also have holidays on New Year's Day, Cold Food Festival, Winter Solstice, St. Valentine's Day, and holidays for requests for clothing, food, and gifts!
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