Chapter 47 Chapter 47 Two chapters merged into one
Fortunately, she had learned it on a whim before, and now she really used it, and everyone exclaimed in amazement.
After getting the base map, she began to choose the warp and weft. Suddenly, Jinniang thought that if she didn't learn embroidery, she could actually learn weaving.
Zou Yue'e couldn't help but look at her: "Jinniang, I didn't expect you to have this skill."
"I just learned it randomly." Jinniang said with a smile.
Everyone was full of admiration.
Jinniang looked around and couldn't help but curl her lips. Only with real skills can one be invincible! Xu Sanjie failed to frame him. She was not the kind of person who could endure hardships, and she felt ashamed, so she used the excuse of protecting the fetus to terminate the contract.
At the same time, she did not get the reward money. Before the New Year, everyone received a reward of two or three strings of coins. Jinniang had someone exchange it into copper coins, strung them together herself, and distributed them to everyone one by one. Everyone was very happy.
Of course, for Jinniang, the happiest thing was that Jinxiu Pavilion was reopened. Although the customer flow was not as good as before, Jinniang finally had a place to send the clothes she had made in the past two months. However, she missed the season, and although these clothes were sold, she only earned 12 strings of cash at the end of the year.
Luo Yu'e didn't know how much money she made, she only knew that her daughter said that what she did was too little. She couldn't help but say, "No matter how much or how little, the opening of Jinxiu Pavilion is a good thing for you."
Jinniang shook her head and said, "Mother, just like the shop you rented, it will raise the price when it sees that your business is good, Jinxiu Pavilion will close at any time, and even the job in Wenxiu Courtyard may not last long. If we have our own house and our own shop, we will not be controlled by others."
It has been almost three years since they mortgaged the house. If the landlord wants to redeem it, they will have to give it up and find another place to live.
"Everyone knows this truth, but no one in our family dares to think about it." Luo Yu'e didn't even dare to think about it.
Jinniang just smiled.
The third sister's wedding was scheduled as planned. It was said that the An family borrowed money from relatives and friends, even pawned things, and borrowed money from banks to get the money together.
Lian Rongniang even said to Luo Yu'e: "Why do this? When the third sister gets married in the future, they will have to pay back the money. They are in debt for no reason."
"Of course not. Besides, Anping also paid for the house." Luo Yu'e was cracking melon seeds, feeling somewhat happy in her heart. So what if she was a villain? The third brother’s wife had previously laughed at her daughter for not being able to get married, and now her daughter’s marriage is so troublesome.
Rong Niang did not intervene in the dispute between the second and third houses. She smiled and interrupted the conversation, and casually asked Jin Niang: "I wonder how the second sister is doing? I don't know anyone."
Luo Yu'e was not stupid either. Jinniang had told her long ago that it would be better if Rongniang and her husband didn't care about her. No one asked them to care about her, but they were unwilling to really put in any effort and even liked to ask about other people's private affairs.
So, she said, "I won't count on anyone else. I'll just let Jinniang's marriage take its course. I think she's doing pretty well now. She earns as much as others, and she's comfortable at home. If she's happy, we're happy too."
Although her daughter's marriage was like a heavy stone weighing on her heart, she no longer showed it to everyone she met. She even slowly began to ignore the matter of her daughter's marriage. After all, she felt that her daughter's character and talents were not worthy of an ordinary man.
Thinking of this, she felt much calmer.
After Rong went to her mother's house, she told Feng Sheng: "My third sister is about to get married, and our second sister is already 18 years old (in lunar years), but my second aunt is not worried at all. Why do you think this is?"
She didn't understand, but Feng Sheng thought he knew it all: "Jinniang can earn ten strings of cash a month in Jinxiu Pavilion, and the deputy embroiderer in Wenxiuyuan can earn six strings of cash a month. Your second uncle and second aunt-in-law think she is a cash cow, so they keep her at home to save some expenses."
"Impossible? How could this happen between a biological mother and daughter?" Rong Niang felt that Feng Sheng thought too darkly of people.
Feng Sheng said: "Isn't this obvious? Although the money Jinniang earns is not much, it is a lot for the second house."
Although Rong Niang gave birth to two sons, she still had a slender waist and was very beautiful. But Feng Sheng couldn't help asking, "Why didn't you go to the wedding of Mr. Xu's son the other day?"
"Why should I go? I don't know any rich man." In Rong Niang's view, her husband was just a doctor, and it was enough for him to do his job well. There was no need to socialize too much. She didn't like it when she had to get close to strangers and act like a curry favor.
Feng Sheng explained, "Mr. Xu is from a family of doctors, and his ancestral home is in Jiangnan. You may not know that Prime Minister Zhao has invited several new doctors here, and I don't know if there will be a role for me in the future. If I can build a good relationship with Mr. Xu, it will be beneficial to you and me in the future. Besides, Rong Niang, you are not as weird as Jin Niang. You can obviously do a good job, so why don't you do it?"
It would be fine if Rong Niang was not good at speaking and had limited abilities. In fact, she was capable. No matter where she went, she could immediately liven up the atmosphere. She was enthusiastic and attentive, and there was nothing she couldn't do.
She is more outstanding than her two younger sisters. Jinniang is arrogant, sharp-eyed and has a strong personality. Yingniang is two-faced and smiling, but she is a person who shirks responsibility and is jealous of others' talents.
But this most capable person always habitually stops at the right point and is unwilling to really do anything for this family.
He was very grateful to her. It was Rong Niang who took care of his mother when she was ill for three months. His brother and sister-in-law also liked this younger sister-in-law, but she was not very enthusiastic about socializing.
"I do what I can in daily social interactions, but I don't want to always go to strangers' homes." Rong Niang felt that she had a bottom line.
She can handle normal social interactions, but she can't curry favor with others.
Feng Sheng pressed his solar plexus: "Just go and give the gift as I said, and say a few more words to them. This won't be considered as humiliating you..."
The couple refused to give in to each other, but on Yingniang's wedding day, they still came to the wedding together as harmoniously as before.
However, Rong Niang hadn't seen Jin Niang yet, but Luo Yu'e and her husband came with their son. Rong Niang asked about it, and Luo Yu'e smiled and said, "She has something to do, so she can't come, right?"
In fact, Luo Yu'e did advise her daughter to go out and relax, but Jinniang said that she was old and unmarried, and if she went out, she didn't know how many people would hold her hands and talk nonsense. In that case, she might as well stay at home, warm herself by the fire, and draw some flowers.
So she covered up for her daughter.
However, Rong Niang felt that Jin Niang was too willful. People like her would suffer a lot when they get married in the future and might even dislike her mother-in-law. Unless you find a son-in-law to live with, but a man who lives off his wife is probably not a good person.
Thinking of this, she felt a little afraid of Jinniang. A person who doesn't fit in is more powerful than those who are aggressive and aggressive.
Jinniang was having a comfortable time. She bought some of her favorite food at the alley at noon, and went back to read a storybook. It's really strange that she was very rational in real life, but sometimes the contents in the storybook made her feel very empathetic, and she even cried once. This was probably because it was difficult for her to believe that there was true love in the world, so all the true love was left in the book.
Fortunately, when Luo Yu'e and the others came back, Jinniang had recovered.
"Isn't it bizarre? Yesterday the sun was shining brightly, but today your third sister got married and the wedding tent collapsed under the weight of the snow."
Jinniang was a little surprised. Although she didn't believe it, the collapse on the wedding day was a bad omen. She quickly changed the subject: "Why did you come back so late?"
Wei Xiong said: "The An family came from Xiangfu County to pick up the bride. There will be a wedding banquet at the An family tomorrow. Today, they need to arrange for the man to stay. I sent him off several times by myself."
Although Wei Xiong did not express any dissatisfaction, Luo Yu'e said: "Your Third Uncle really makes the best use of his resources. He specializes in calculating with relatives. He dare not calculate with your brother-in-law Feng. He bullies your father for being honest. The wedding was held today, and the vegetables were bought yesterday. Your father took care of the firewood, vegetables, and people. In the end, he gave your father a glass of wine, and he was very happy."
Because Wei Xiong has always had a very low self-esteem and felt that he was insignificant, when others asked him to do something, he thought it was a sign of respect for him.
Jinniang said calmly, "Dad, I bought the donkey cart, not just for you. Third Uncle has so many friends, and he has a good relationship with his eldest brother-in-law. He usually doesn't invite you to dinner, but he sends you when he has a difficult task. Even if you do something with me, I will still treat you to a meal."
Only Jinniang dared to say such things in the family. She did not blame anyone for being right or wrong, but only spoke objectively.
Wei Xiong was a soft-hearted person, and after hearing Jinniang's words, he was stunned for a moment.
Luo Yu'e couldn't say such words. She was always the one making a big fuss. After hearing Jinniang's comparison, she felt that her daughter had spoken out what was in her heart. She sneered again and again: "The third brother is also a swindler. Now the An family has to bear the 200-guan betrothal gift. When Yingniang enters the family, she will have to bear a lot of debt again."
"Okay, Mom and Dad, we've had the wedding wine and given all the gifts. How other people live in the future has nothing to do with us." Jinniang stopped talking quickly because if she continued like this, she would never be able to finish what she was saying.
Speaking of the money, Luo Yu'e felt even more uncomfortable: "Your father and I gave a hundred yuan as a share, and gave Yingniang and Anping five cents each. But later I remembered that when your grandfather died, your third uncle and third aunt didn't even give a share."
Jinniang thought that complaining all the time was not a solution, so she could only cut her losses in time, so she said, "Next time if his family invites us to dinner, I won't send it off."
In the past, Jinniang was also very fond of regretting, but her greatest characteristic was that she could admit her mistakes and correct them, and she would constantly review them, so her path became more and more stable.
Indistinctly, Jinniang has become the mainstay of the family.
After the third wife's wedding was arranged, during the New Year, since gambling was not banned, it was said that the third uncle won a lot of money by gambling.
Jinniang thought that what her mother said was true: it is difficult to change one's nature.
The rent of my parents' shop has increased. Although the business is better than at the beginning, most of their expenses are still spent on my younger brother. It is not easy for a poor family to support a scholar. Pens, ink, paper, and inkstone, as well as tuition from the teacher, all cost money.
In fact, she regarded herself and her parents as two families. She paid half of the family living expenses, but she had to save most of the dowry by herself. Her parents could only give her a dozen strings of cash at most to buy some bedding and buckets for the children and grandchildren.
After the New Year, Jinxiu Pavilion's business picked up. Even Jinniang felt that the clothes she made sold much more this year, and she earned nearly 40 strings of cash in extra income in just three months.
March had just passed, and Yingniang had just moved into a new house. She brought a box of maltose and prepared some wine and drinks for them to stay in her new home.
This was the first time that Jinniang came back to the two-story house that Yingniang bought with two thousand taels. Yingniang was very happy to see Jinniang coming. She pushed open the red painted door, pointed to the three rooms next to it and said with a smile: "This is the guest room, or it will be used when the family needs servants."
My mother looked over curiously and couldn't help asking, "This house is really new. Did you rebuild it after you bought it?"
Yingniang's husband Anping smiled and said, "This house was built only a few years ago. Except for the furniture inside, which we bought ourselves, everything else is ready."
After Anping finished speaking, he went to the front to talk to the men again. He heard his third aunt saying to Luo Yu'e, "This house belongs to our Yingniang. It should be written in Yingniang's name alone."
Luo Yu'e whispered to Jinniang, "Yingniang's money was used to pay off debts, and Anping's money was used for expenses. In the end, all the names were written in Yingniang's name alone."
Jinniang found it funny and pointed forward again.
The area between the back house and the second gate is where the carriages and horses are placed. The second gate is the traditional main house with three rooms, and east and west wing rooms. The east wing is next to the kitchen, and the west wing is next to the toilet.
"We just bought some simple furniture, please don't think it's too simple." Yingniang said.
Jinniang smiled and said, "I think it's pretty good. Such a neat house has a good location."
Yingniang grinned, obviously very happy: "In fact, although we have many houses, each one is very small, and there are several good elementary schools outside here." After that, she sighed: "In order to buy this house, we don't know how much debt we have taken on."
"Don't give me that. You guys are making a lot of money selling medicine for Mr. Zhang now."
Selling medicine has always made a lot of money throughout history.
Yingniang was very pleased to hear this. Although it was Brother-in-law Feng who showed her the way, she would not be able to gain a foothold if she did not have real ability. In fact, her father also gave them money secretly, but that was the money he had lent out and could not pay it back. So her father gave them the IOU and asked them to collect it. If they could collect it, it would be theirs, but if they couldn't, then there was nothing he could do.
When Anping and her were not selling medicine every day, he would take a dry biscuit that was so choking that it could cause choking to death to collect debts. The sadness in his heart was naturally unknown to outsiders.
They said they were going to prepare a banquet, and at noon, Uncle San cooked mutton. After Jinniang took a few bites with her chopsticks, she saw Rongniang taking out a housewarming gift. She gave two pieces of fine cloth, one piece was indigo, the other piece was light red, and she also gave Yingniang an envelope of two hundred coins.
Jinniang looked very puzzled as to why her elder sister did not turn the copper coins into silver. When she was at Zhou's house, she had mostly seen gold and silver ingots, or silver beads. Later, when she went to the silver shop to take out some silver, she realized that the silver was not necessarily so heavy that she could not carry it. It was from an extremely wealthy official family. Therefore, she asked her parents to take out five cents and eight cents of silver last time and put it in her purse to give to others, which was still very decent.
Logically speaking, the eldest sister has been the mistress for so many years, and the eldest brother-in-law often has to see some important people for medical treatment. Why do they seem to be ignorant? It is certainly rich to just grab the money, but it is a bit disgraceful.
Jinniang's parents decided not to send money to the third uncle in the future. However, Yingniang had married and had a new family, so their family prepared a basket of fresh fruit, two boxes of dried fruit, three pots of crabapples, and four persimmon-shaped coarse porcelain cups. The cups were filled with various fifty-cent coins strung together with red silk thread, which were extremely exquisite.
"It's so beautiful. Where did you buy this persimmon cup?" Yingniang was very happy.
Luo Yu'e smiled and said, "It was your second sister who bought it at the ghost market. It's not an expensive item, but it has a meaning, and may everything go well for you."
Although Yingniang and Jinniang don't get along, she admires Jinniang's vision very much. She wants to give gifts in the same way in the future, as they will be beautiful and have good meaning.
In fact, the price of the gift from Jinniang's family was not as high as that from Rongniang's. Rongniang's two pieces of cloth cost one guan, while a basket of fresh oranges from Jinniang's family was only thirty-five wen, two boxes of dried fruits were sixty wen, and three pots of crabapple flowers including the pots were only sixty wen. As for the persimmon-shaped coarse porcelain cups, they cost one wen for two, and without the gift money, there were only more than one hundred wen.
Qian Shao was better than Rong Niang, and Feng Sheng couldn't stand it. After three rounds of drinking, he asked Jin Niang, "Jin Niang, you make about 200 strings of cash for embroidering a screen now, right? The last time I went to see a doctor, she was also a little girl. Her family had no money, but she made several hundred strings of cash by selling an embroidered screen. How about you?"
"How can I earn so much? It's just enough to make a living." Jinniang sneered in her heart. This brother-in-law was just suppressing her. Embroidery requires capital. The embroidery frame, silk thread, wool thread and various tools must be used. All kinds of flower catalogs and paintings must be read. Why is he pretending to be so big?
If it were in the past, Jinniang might have argued and exposed it, but now she used her strength to slap him in the face.
Feng Sheng raised his eyebrows and smiled, pretending to be drunk, and raised his glass to his uncle, saying, "Uncle, your lamb is getting better and better."
Uncle San naturally wouldn't speak up for Jinniang. When the family returned, he said to Jinniang and her family, "In fact, your eldest brother-in-law is also confused. He treats those nobles. If he does a good job, it's fine. But if he doesn't, he will be punished. There are always high-quality tobacco leaves and raw silk in his carriage all year round, which are used to bribe those wealthy families."
"There are so many tricks to treating illnesses." Jinniang was amazed.
Uncle San couldn't help laughing: "Otherwise, with so many doctors, why would they choose you? You didn't come from the palace."
Jinniang disagreed.
Her eighteenth birthday passed in such an uneventful way. After three months, Jinniang found that she had four hundred strings of cash in her hands. She began to go to the dental clinic frequently during the ten-day break, and her parents would of course accompany her.
Because the market system was broken, houses could be used as both storefronts and residences.
She took a city map and looked at it. Her mother couldn't help but persuade her: "Jinniang, are you planning to do the same as Yingniang? If I were to ask you to buy a house, the man would also have a house in the future. Wouldn't that mean you would have an extra house? Besides, don't we have this house? If the owner of this house doesn't come back after the lease period, sooner or later our house will be your dowry."
Jinniang smiled and shook her head: "Mom, the water in Choushui Lane is not only not drinkable, but the yard is too small, and you and your brother have to divide one room into two. The environment here is not good either, and there are thieves everywhere. We have to move to a better place. I also plan to turn the front into a storefront, and maybe open my own shop in the future."
Some of the embroiderers in Wenxiuyuan never had the courage to leave until they were old, so although they seemed to be royal embroiderers, in fact their income was not as good as that of the nuns in Xiuxiang.
She originally wanted to go to Xiuxiang to take a look, but Xiuxiang was so crowded that she couldn't get in at all.
Luo Yu'e worriedly asked, "Will you be able to pay it back by then?"
"Then I have to go and take a look." Jinniang said with a smile.
The first place we went to was Fan Fangya’s. This Fan Fangya’s place was quite big and the address of his mansion was quite good, but the price was too expensive.
Jinniang smiled and said, "I only look at the first one in."
"Girl, you will have to earn more than 1,600 strings of cash this time," said Fan Fangya.
Jinniang put it down immediately. She heard Fan Fangya say, "The nobles all live in Nanxunfang. We are close to Jinming Bridge, so the location is pretty good."
But Jinniang still shook her head. Ten days later, she went to two more places. Nowadays, many people in Bian Jing bought houses near Nanxunfang, but the houses there cost at least two thousand taels.
She had no choice but to put it down awkwardly, but Fang Ya reminded her: "Actually, you can also buy the land first, and then build the house when you have money."
Jinniang went of course to find out about the market price of wood and found that it was not expensive. As long as it was not fir or something like that, ordinary miscellaneous wood would cost no more than 600 wen each. Bricks and tiles were not expensive either. If bought from the official kiln, a brick would cost about 13 wen. If bought in large quantities, she could bargain. Bricks for paving the floor were less than 10 wen, and stone pillars were two guan each.
Of course, there are so-called back decorators in Fangya, which are now called decoration workers. Jinniang originally decorated her own house in her previous life, and now she designs it herself.
"Look, I'm going to turn the back house into a storefront first, dividing the first entrance into two, separating them with a moon gate, and building a wall. I won't build a wing on the west side, but a long corridor directly. I'll build a kitchen and toilet on the east side, and then build a two-story building with three ridges at the back..."
She found three back-installers, and their quotes were all around 120 guan (about 120 strings of cash) excluding furniture, and more than 200 guan (about 200 strings of cash) including custom-made furniture.
Jinniang had four hundred strings of cash in her hand, but could only take out a loan of three hundred strings to buy the land. Her current monthly salary was six strings of cash, and the general loan term was said to be eight to ten years. If Jinniang took out a loan for eight years, the price of the land would have to be around nine hundred strings of cash.
Nowadays, many people would like to directly buy someone else's house and live in it without going through the hassle because they are all in a hurry to move in. However, Jinniang is different. Her family already has a house to live in, so she has more time to spare.
She uses her monthly salary to pay off her monthly loan, and the extra money can be used for decoration.
The land worth nine hundred strings of cash is easy to deal with. There is such a piece of land in Tianshui Lane near Xiu Lane. The owner of the land has no money to build a house and wants to sell it quickly. This land was cleared behind Xiu Lane last year. In front of it is Daxiangguo Temple and it connects to Xiu Lane in the east. There are beautiful apricot flowers planted in front of the lane, and this place is densely populated.
Fang Ya also smiled and said: "Miss Wei, why don't you go home and think about it for a while? Generally three days -"
"No, I want it now, but I want to borrow money on credit. And you can give me the first three steps as well." Jinniang said firmly.
Fang Ya opened his eyes wide, thinking it was too careless, but Jinniang knew that behind this carelessness, she had already put in a lot of effort.
Through the manor's agent, Jinniang took out three hundred strings of cash and delivered them to the owner. With the help of the agent, she found a store and used the "Zhenjibo" as collateral to get another six hundred strings of cash. The interest was four cents per month, which was about six strings of cash a month.
In the Song Dynasty, if one pawned a house or land, one had to sign four contracts: one for the lender, one for the owner, one for the commercial tax bureau, and one for the Kaifeng government.
For example, Jinniang now pays a tax of 40 yuan per thousand. Only after paying the tax can the official stamp a red seal on the deed, which is called a "red deed". Some people are short-sighted and simply do not pay the tax in order to avoid paying the tax, but Jinniang will not do that.
She locked the red deed away, took a deep breath, and soon she would own a house!
She clenched her fists and breathed a sigh of relief. She had finally bought her own house before the New Year. She could start decorating it after the New Year. Perhaps the house would be completed when she was nineteen years old. That would be the best birthday gift for her.
During this year's New Year, Jinniang could see that her parents were able to hold their heads high. Third Aunt was asking Jinniang, "What have you been busy with recently? You didn't even go to the marriage I told you about last time."
Jinniang said calmly, "It's nothing. We just bought a piece of land and started building a house after the New Year. Although we handed it over to the builders, we are still worried."
"Bought land? Did you buy the land in Choushui Lane?" Yingniang asked hurriedly. She looked down on Rongniang because Rongniang relied on her husband, while she bought the house on her own, so she immediately belittled her.
Jinniang smiled and said, "No, it's from Tianshui Lane."
Feng Sheng then looked at him seriously: "Are you talking about the area near Daxiangguo Temple?"
Jinniang nodded: "Yes."
Yingniang said in disbelief, "Then, second sister, have you mortgaged the house in Choushui Lane again?"
Jinniang shook her head: "How could that be possible? This is the money I saved myself."
"The Tianshui Lane you mentioned is not the one with the old buildings, right? I remember that there were all kinds of signs there and people couldn't walk in. The ground was full of water and mud." Feng Sheng frowned.
"Brother-in-law, this is all old news from many years ago. There was a big fire in front and everything was burned down. Later, apricot flowers were planted at the entrance of the alley. The well is also new, and small paths were opened. The military patrol shop is right in the front. Many people who live there sell pearl flowers and head ornaments, and there are scholars living there too. It's a quiet place in the midst of noise." Jinniang looked straight at Feng Sheng and refuted his points one by one.
Feng Sheng didn't know why he felt that she was a bit fierce, and he was a little afraid in his heart. Jinniang seemed to know what he was going to ask, and continued: "I have even taken the red deed, so don't worry, brother-in-law."
Feng Sheng's face immediately turned ugly, but Jinniang was very happy and ate another bowl of rice. Rongniang looked at her cousin and felt that she was really unstoppable. It was the first time she saw Feng Sheng defeated.
Originally Yingniang arranged two meals, lunch and dinner, but who knew that Brother-in-law Feng left after lunch and didn't even have dinner.
On the way back, Luo Yu'e looked at Jinniang's face and said, "I think your brother-in-law is going to buy a house too, and he will definitely buy a bigger one."
Jinniang curled her lips and smiled: "Isn't this my purpose? I'll let him compete."
She said that she bought a two-story house, and Feng Sheng must buy a three-story house. She had looked at at least twenty houses, and a three-story house must cost at least five thousand taels. If she didn't cheat him out of all his money this time, she would write her name upside down.
It is never too late for a gentleman to take revenge. Feng Sheng, just wait.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
