Chapter 69 Chapter 69 Two Chapters in One
Mrs. Jiang Liu still did not live to see the day her sons were born, and she did not even make it through the Mid-Autumn Festival when families reunite. Jinniang was still pregnant, and she knew that she could not get too emotional. If the baby was lost, it would be a greater blow to her body.
Jiang Xian had already turned over in bed. Seeing that he had put on his clothes, Jinniang helped him get his cloak and said, "Don't worry. It's already the beginning of autumn. The nights are as cold as water. Put on your cloak and go take a look. I'll follow you right away."
"Okay, no, ma'am, I'll go over there first. Come over here slowly, you're still alive."
Even at this time, Jiang Xian still cared about Jinniang very much, which made Jinniang very touched.
The lights in the six rooms of the Jiang family were lit up one by one. Xu really didn't think that she had planned everything, except that her mother-in-law would die early. She was extremely disappointed. She is the eldest daughter-in-law and the family depends on her to take care of things. Now that it has happened, she has to think of a solution.
The funeral letters for Madam Jiang Liu were also sent to various places in the middle of the night, including her natal family, the Liu family, her in-laws, the Wei family and the Xu family, as well as her clan members and many distant relatives and in-laws.
It was already dawn when the Zhou family received the letter. Someone in Jiang's family had just died, and now hearing the mourning letter, they couldn't help but frown and asked, "Did you tell the Second Master?"
Xiang Ming said, "I told you that the Second Master has already planned to go to the Jiang family in person."
"Go in person? Just send someone else." In Jiang's eyes, the Sixth Branch of the Jiang Family didn't hold any official position, so why should she let her son go in person.
Xiang Ming didn't say anything. Jiang couldn't sleep at night these days and felt uncomfortable all the time. One of her sisters had been carried out through the back door. She had to be more alert, otherwise she would be the one to be carried out.
A cold can kill someone. Who would stand up for a slave?
Zhou Cunzhi came here in person. He was also in Xiaozhong and no one would say anything if he didn't go, but for some reason he wanted to go and take a look. However, Zhang advised: "Let's send a funeral gift first and then go there on the seventh day."
"Okay." Zhou Cunzhi calmed down.
The Jiang family was preparing coffin supplies and burial clothes, which were originally supposed to be handled by Master Jiang Liu, but he was really not familiar with household affairs, so the brothers Jiang Yan and Jiang Xian went to find the coffin shop first. According to their idea, they wanted to buy a lacquered coffin for a total of one hundred strings of cash.
"One hundred strings of cash?" Xu was stunned when she heard the news. How could there be so much money in the account? Thirty strings of cash would be enough for a nice coffin. They really were.
Jinniang was standing aside and listening. She also felt that thirty strings of cash was already a good coffin. But why were the Jiang brothers still able to move around in this upper-class circle? It was because they still had some respectability, which proved that they still had connections.
These connections could not be bought with any amount of money. Moreover, Madam Jiang Liu had devoted all her energy to the sixth branch of the Jiang family. She had taken care of the expansion of the garden and the marriages of the Jiang family's children despite her illness, so that none of them had fallen into lower class.
Jinniang knew that Xu might not have enough money, so she said, "Sister-in-law, mother's room still needs ice, and there are funeral clothes to prepare. Leave these to me, which will be regarded as a filial piety to my husband and me."
Xu immediately opened her mouth to agree, but somehow changed her mind: "Sister-in-law, you don't need to rush around with your big belly. I'll find someone."
After saying this, he asked the steward to buy ice and funeral clothes on credit.
When Jinniang returned to her room, Ah Ying said, "I was afraid that Madam Xu would ask you to take out the money, but luckily she didn't."
"She is not that kind of person." Jinniang found it strange. You know, since the last division of property, even the money for Jiang Xian's study was rarely paid on time. The ice was bought by Jiang Xian himself, and even as a gift, Xu secretly only gave their share. It was Jinniang who accidentally found out and gave them their share.
Now he would rather buy on credit than let her pay. Is he afraid that she will come to the fore or is he planning something?
Ah Ying said, "My dear, please don't worry about it. The fetus is the most important thing."
"I'll go back and lie down for a while. You still have to take care of the shop. I have already made the cassia skirt. You and Xiaolang should take care of the business." Jinniang suddenly said to Aying.
But Ah Ying was worried: "Once I leave, you will have no one close to you. Minzhi and Xiqiu are good, but they are not ours after all."
Jinniang thought so too. After her mother-in-law passed away, if she continued to do business, people would probably say that she was heartless. The ancient times were not the modern times. She immediately said, "Okay, then let Xiaolang deliver this laurel skirt to the customer. We can't break our promise to him. Let him close the shop and post a notice saying that the boss has something wrong and will be closed for a few days."
Originally, Mid-Autumn Festival should be the most profitable solar term, but now the store has to close, and Jinniang is helpless.
Her family arrived quickly, including Feng Sheng, Rong Niang, and Ying Niang and her husband, but they all looked a little restrained. After offering incense, the male guests were introduced by their clansmen, and the female guests all came to Jinniang.
Luo Yu'e had handled funeral affairs before, and was asking, "Is the cemetery ready?"
"There is land, but the tomb still needs to be built," said Jinniang.
Yingniang said, "That would cost a lot of money. Even the charity cemetery that was built a few days ago required a kind person to donate thirty acres of land. We had to level the land, build a wall, and hire guards. The two bone towers, the cremation platform, and the gate all cost more than a thousand strings of cash."
In ancient times, unlike modern times, once a death certificate was issued, people could go to the crematorium and use a special crematorium for one or two hours.
But there was no such advanced technology in ancient times, so it was like this. However, Jinniang said: "I am not very clear about these. I think that with so many members of the Jiang family, there should be a special cemetery."
"Since your sister-in-law is in charge of these matters and your brother-in-law is also helping, you should just focus on taking care of your pregnancy." Luo Yu'e said.
Jinniang rubbed her belly and said, "My daughter knows. But the shop has to be closed for a while. Let Juxiang stay at home and help with cooking and washing. The house over there is almost built. When it rains, you can help me close the door. When it's not raining, just open it and let the air in."
"Okay." Luo Yu'e agreed.
Jinniang knew that her mother was not a patient person, so she asked Aying to bring an ingot of pine soot ink to Luo Yu'e: "This is a gift from my husband's friend. I originally planned to give it to Yang Ge'er during the Mid-Autumn Festival. Now that my family is in mourning during the Mid-Autumn Festival, please help me give it to my brother."
Luo Yu'e was still thinking about how smooth her daughter's life would be this year. She got married smoothly, had a good business, and got pregnant not long after the marriage. She heard that her son-in-law was very knowledgeable and had a good chance of passing the imperial examination. But she never expected that her relative-in-law would die.
Jiang Xian was busy until the evening before he returned to visit Jinniang. His eyes were still red. Jinniang wrung out a hot towel to wipe his face and said softly, "I brought a small stove over to heat up some side dishes. Do you want some?"
"Okay." Jiang Xian and his brother had been running all day, and in the evening they specially thanked the people in the tribe, so they were really hungry.
Originally, Jinniang thought that he would be extremely grief-stricken and she would need to comfort him, but she didn't expect that after Jiang Xian lost his composure for a moment, he quickly regained his composure and said to Jinniang, "I have to go to the vigil in a while, you can rest first."
"Let me keep vigil with you." Jinniang said, holding his hand.
Jiang Xian shook his head: "Don't try to be so stubborn."
Jinniang lowered her head and drank another sip of water, then asked, "Today I was thinking of asking my mother for ice and burial clothes, or I could just take out the money. I didn't even touch the betrothal gift your family gave me back then, so I don't have to owe money to others. But my sister-in-law said she would take care of it, so I couldn't insist."
"Really? Let her be. All the public money is with her. Since she said so, you don't have to take it out. The betrothal gift is yours once it is given to you. How can our family use your dowry?" Jiang Xian glanced at his wife and held her hand.
Jinniang hugged him and said, "If you are very sad, just cry."
Jiang Xian smiled and said, "I'm waiting to cry in front of the coffin." He sighed again, "Actually, my mother wanted me to get married last year because she was not in good health. She had been taking medicine for my brother and me, and suffered a lot from illness. Now I am relieved."
"If it weren't for my mother-in-law, there would be no marriage between you and me. I will be grateful to her all my life. She was still thinking about our children before she died. My dear, we should also take better care of Mother Fang, Meng Dong and Guiyue who serve mother in the future." Jinniang stroked his cheek.
Jiang Xian was much stronger than she had imagined. When he heard Jinniang talking about family matters, he relaxed and said a lot of things from his heart.
"My mother is recognized by the clan as a blessed person. She speaks and acts openly. There are always many people around her. Her close friends are officials in Guangnan East Road. People come from far away to help her with the earth ceremony. But after my elder sister got married and my elder brother got married, our family was not as good as before. My second brother went to Hangzhou to study, so my cousin's mother said she wanted to adopt my second brother. My mother disagreed, but the clan said that my mother was ignorant. She had three sons but was unwilling to adopt one to her own family. My mother still insisted, but she fell seriously ill when she knew that my brother volunteered to go to his family."
"Later, although she got better, she was not as good as before. Especially in recent years, my father failed the exams many times, and so did my brother. My mother worked hard to run the family, and she was exhausted. People who used to be around my mother behaved like birds and beasts. Even her family members were afraid that our family would get close to her. Some even showed disgust for her, fearing that she would get sick..."
At this point, Jiang Xian looked at Jinniang and said, "It's clear that people are indifferent to each other."
After saying that, he lowered his head and finished eating in silence.
Jinniang went out and called Liu Dou'er over, saying to him, "You must serve my husband well. This is his favorite snack, and this is hot water. Although it is still hot outside, it will be cool at night. We cannot let my husband get windy, so bring a blanket with you."
Ah Ying hung the things on him one by one, and said, "My wife also prepared a box of small things for you."
"Thank you, my lady, and thank you, Sister Aying. I will definitely take good care of my husband." Liu Dou'er smiled naively.
Jiang Xian had just finished his meal. Seeing Jinniang admonishing Liu Douer and looking at him with concern, he finally understood what a husband and wife meant.
At night, Rong Niang, who had just returned from Jiang's house, was talking to Feng Sheng: "Jin Niang is really polite. She just asked her parents to help look after the newly renovated house, and she still wants to give gifts. Why bother?"
She felt distant from Jinniang from the beginning because she thought she was too polite and always gave her gifts.
Feng Sheng said, "So what if they are your parents? You can let someone from outside take care of your house and they will give you some benefits. Wouldn't it be better to give it to your parents and brother?"
Rong Niang suddenly realized that since she stopped going to the perfume and powder shop, she didn't have to get up early. After a day of tossing and turning at the Jiang family, she fell asleep immediately, but Feng Sheng didn't seem to have made any decision.
He met many nobles and even officials at the Jiang family today. Because he was Jiang Xian's brother-in-law, they all treated him with courtesy. He even heard that Jinniang had acquired five large storefronts in Jinliang Bridge without any effort. He lived near Jinliang Bridge and was always envious when he saw that place.
If a wealthy family like this just gives away a little bit of money, it would be enough to last them a lifetime.
Look at the woman next to me, she lies comfortably anytime and anywhere, enjoying everything she has without doing anything, and she even despises herself for making money.
Thinking of this, Feng Sheng's eyes dimmed.
The next day, the people who made the funeral clothes came. Jinniang was not a gorgeous type, but after putting on the mourning clothes, her appearance was even more beautiful than before. It was strange to say that she looked pure and gentle, graceful and charming, but also had the delicate and charming feminine charm. Especially after she got married, it was easy for people to be moved and have a good impression of her.
She herself didn't notice anything. After changing her clothes, she asked Mother Luo to help guard the yard: "I'm afraid there will be a lot of people coming today. I'm afraid someone will break in here."
Mother Luo patted her chest and said, "Don't worry, I will definitely take good care of the yard."
Jinniang took the maids to the place where the coffin was placed. When they arrived, many men there lowered their heads, while some took a quick glance and couldn't help but take another look. Jiang Xian saw this scene and quickly left the person he was talking to and walked over.
"My lady, didn't I tell you to rest more? We have my sister, sister-in-law and so many other women in the family, why would I want you to come here?"
Jinniang said, "It's not good if I don't go."
My mother-in-law has passed away, but I am hiding away to rest every day. What kind of thing is this?
Jiang Xian said, "We will prepare for the burial on the seventh day. You will be required to attend the funeral procession, and it won't be too late to go then. You should go back and take care of your pregnancy and have a good rest."
Seeing him persuading her like this, Jinniang had no choice but to say, "Okay then."
Jiang Xian held her hand and said, "I'll take you back."
Why are you holding hands suddenly? Jinniang knew Jiang Xian. Although he had a high EQ and even washed her hair in the room, he was rarely so intimate with her outside. Both of them were not used to being mushy. What was going on today...
But before she had time to think, Jiang Xian sent her back to her room.
Jinniang lay in bed and couldn't help thinking that making these funeral clothes didn't actually make much money. The real money was made from weddings, and all kinds of wedding quilts, wedding clothes, veils and door curtains were sold as if they were free.
Yes, there was no time to arrange it before, so she has to think about the planning of the store while the store is closed.
During these days, Xu treated her very well and kept telling her that she was pregnant and asked her not to work too hard. It was not until the seventh day after the funeral that they met again. Xu had lost a lot of weight.
Seventh Aunt was naturally dissatisfied with Jinniang. She kept vigil with Xu's aunt and sister-in-law, ate and lived together, and she didn't see Jinniang anywhere, so she was indifferent and distant to Jinniang. Fortunately, Jinniang didn't care about these things.
Just as she was thinking about it, the wind started to blow outside, and Jiang Xian came over immediately, pulling her aside and saying, "When we go out later, just pretend to faint, okay?"
"What?" She still remembered when she pretended to be fainted to deal with the second sister of the Zhou family. There was no need to do that now.
Jiang Xian said distressedly, "It's windy outside. You had your period last time. What if you catch a cold again?"
Jinniang was relatively honest and immediately shook her head: "I, I don't know how to do it."
You're so old now, and you still have to pretend to be faint. What if someone finds out?
"Then just lean on Aying, and leave the rest to me." The mother's funeral is important, but the wife and the baby in her belly are also important.
Jinniang naturally felt a little guilty. She returned to her seat and listened to her seventh aunt jokingly say, "Xian's daughter-in-law, what did Xian say to you? You newlyweds are just different."
Everyone made some jokes after hearing this.
Only the seventh aunt's daughter-in-law, Deng, was dissatisfied. She saw Wei slacking off all day these days, but no one in the clan said she was lazy. Instead, they said she was capable. She was really dissatisfied.
Soon it was time for the funeral. As Jinniang just walked out of the door, she saw Jiang Xian staring at her. She quickly closed her eyes, supported her forehead and leaned against Aying. In less than a moment, she saw Jiang Xian rushing over.
"My wife, my wife, wake up. You have been busy with the funeral for so many days, I hope nothing happens to you..." Jiang Xian shouted.
Everyone looked at them. Jiang Xian held Jinniang horizontally and said to Jiang Yan, "Brother, I'll send my wife back first. Wait for me for a while. She fainted..."
Jiang Yan immediately said, "Send him back quickly and call a doctor."
Jiang Xian nodded heavily.
Mrs. Xu's face turned pale in the front. She had been keeping vigil over the casket for several days. Now with Jiang Xian's shout, Mrs. Wei became the great hero?
Being carried all the way back by Jiang Xian, Jinniang didn't dare to open her eyes, for fear that others would ask her more questions. Jiang Xian was calm and composed. After putting her on the bed, he said to her, "Have a good rest."
Jinniang grabbed his sleeves, and Jiang Xian patted her body: "We may come back tomorrow, you don't have to wait for me."
After saying this, he put down the tent for her before leaving.
Originally Jinniang didn't want to sleep, but she was afraid that people would say she was pretending to sleep, so she forced herself to close her eyes. Unexpectedly, she actually fell asleep.
When I woke up at night, Xi Qiu had already brought some dishes. Ah Ying said beside me, "My husband treats you so well."
But the better he is, the harder it will be for her to leave him. She will want too much and become more anxious about gains and losses. If one day he has another woman, I'm afraid I won't be able to bear it.
After thinking about it for a cup of tea, Jinniang drew a pattern for the quilt cover and asked Aying to take it to Zhu Xiu Niang and ask her to start making it from now on.
"Although the door is closed, the embroidery shop still has to operate. I will pay the wages as usual." Jinniang said.
Ah Ying thought that if the girl were a boy, she would probably be extraordinary. Even if she had some romantic affairs, they would occupy very little of her mind. Most of her time was spent thinking about her shop and how to make money.
He is so ambitious that it is terrifying.
But she is not the kind of person who talks about how to be a woman all the time; she actually practices what she preaches.
On the seventh day after Mrs. Jiang Liu was buried, Jinniang designed several sets of clothes with chrysanthemum patterns for herself, waiting to sell them when the store reopened in September.
One is orange-yellow with chrysanthemums embroidered with gold thread, which gives off a sense of wealth; one is a light blue jacket with a collar embroidered with chrysanthemum patterns, which is elegant and charming; and the other is a tube top with chrysanthemums embroidered on it, which is also shaped like petals.
She personally went to Donghuamen to select the most fashionable materials, brought them back, and made them at home. The Jiang Xian brothers missed the results of this year's exam and are both staying at home studying.
However, the food at home is getting worse and worse. Today we ate tofu and cabbage, and the rice also tasted stale.
Jinniang was about to ask Chen Xiaolang to go out and buy some food, but unexpectedly she saw Madam Ge from Xu's side coming over. Madam Ge was saying, "Madam Wei, our madam is asking everyone to come over to discuss this."
"This month, thanks to my sister-in-law who has been taking care of everything, I couldn't do anything to help." Jinniang said.
Mother Ge smiled wryly and said, "What are you talking about? We are all family."
Jinniang didn't know what Xu wanted them to do, but she knew it was probably related to the debt, and they would accept it if they could share some of the debt.
Unexpectedly, what Xu said was another solution: "The debt collector just came to our house and almost came to Dad. He said that if we don't pay, he will make trouble in the clan. Look at this..."
The truth of this statement is questionable. How dare a businessman fight against aristocratic families?
The seventh day hasn't even come yet, how could they come to ask for money? Jinniang found it strange, but she heard Master Jiang Liu agree, "Yes, your mother owed the pharmacy a lot of money for medicine. This year, Shiliu Lang got married, and the family was already short of money. Now with the funeral, there is even more money."
"It just so happens that there is an official from Qizhou who is working in Beijing and is looking for a house. He is very fond of elegance and is willing to rent our garden." Xu said.
Master Jiang Liu said, "Yes, this really solves our urgent need."
After saying that, Master Jiang Liu looked at Jiang Xian and Jin Niang again and said, "I just want you two to bear the grievance a little and move to the east wing."
"Your brother and I are also very embarrassed. It's all our fault as incompetent brother and sister-in-law." Xu sobbed.
Seeing that Jiang Xian didn't say anything, Jinniang said, "But there are only two rooms in the east wing of the second courtyard, both of which are study rooms. How can the two of us live there?"
At this time, Jiang Yan spoke up: "Why don't we let Xuan Ge'er move in with us, and you and your wife move to the east wing of our third courtyard, that would be perfect."
"No need for that. Xuan'er is already so old, how can he still live with you?" Jiang Xian already understood what they meant.
Of course Jinniang also heard that Xu deliberately borrowed money for today, so as to prevent Master Jiang Liu from selling the 100 acres of land. She took the opportunity to win over Master Jiang Liu and let her aunt move in early, so they had nowhere to go.
After a moment, Jinniang made a decision: "Yes, there is really no need for the myna. I am pregnant, and if the child is born, we will need a bigger place. Why don't we move to Tianshui Lane? I am afraid that Shiliu Lang will come to visit me there every day, so I built a study for him."
Both Mr. Jiang Liu and Mr. and Mrs. Jiang Yan strongly opposed it, but nothing could be said about it.
"How can you do this? Once you go out, people outside will think that your brother and sister-in-law can't tolerate you." Master Jiang Liu did have his own selfish motives. Although Mrs. Jiang Liu was gone, he still had the rest of his life. The hundred acres of land was his retirement money, and he couldn't ask his son and daughter-in-law for all the money in the future.
But he also hoped that his sons would live together, as this would be a sign of the family's prosperity.
Jiang Xian smiled and said, "Dad, what are you talking about? Even if we move out, we are still a family."
Xu also tried to persuade him: "Shiliu Lang, if you move out, you will blame your sister-in-law."
"Sister-in-law, we know very well how you treat us. We are just going to stay away for a while. It won't be too late for us to get together again when our family's debts are paid off." Jinniang said.
"Then it's settled. You can come back after paying off the debt." Xu said sincerely, holding Jinniang's hand.
Jinniang and Jiang Xian repeatedly assured that they were just staying temporarily in Tianshui Lane, and only then did Master Jiang Liu and Jiang Yan and his wife relent. Jinniang thought to herself that these people were really good at hypocrisy.
…
After returning to the garden, Jinniang ordered the maids to start packing up the boxes and her dowry also had to be dragged back. She also suggested that she should imitate modern home textile stores and put a bed and cover it with wedding quilts so that people would want to buy it at first sight. Now was the perfect time to pack up and take it back home.
Seeing Jiang Xian sitting aside, a little absent-minded, she went forward and hugged his head: "What's wrong?"
Jiang Xian smiled bitterly, "I really didn't expect that Eighth Sister-in-law would come up with this idea. After Mom died, our relatives are no longer like family, and this family is gone. I heard that someone has come to Dad's house to discuss marriage, and we have to give up our new house. The world is really unpredictable."
"From now on, I will be your relative and your family. Everyone will change, but I will not change towards you." Jinniang looked at him worriedly.
She thought Jiang Xian would be sad for a while longer, but he stood up and bowed to her, "I'll leave everything to you in the future."
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