Chapter 83 Chapter 83 Two Chapters Combined
After passing the imperial examination, according to custom, a banquet had to be held. Jinniang always put a hat that matched her head, thinking that she still had a lot of life to live, and she would not go crazy and hold a grand banquet with ten strings of coins per table just for the sake of face.
However, the house in Tianshui Lane was too small and the whole house was full, so Jinniang discussed with Jiang Xian whether they should book a floor in Huixian Tower specifically for the banquet.
It's prestigious to hold a banquet in Huixianlou, and they also have a corresponding menu, so the guests won't be too shabby.
"I asked around, and they're willing to rent the second floor to us. There are a total of twenty-six tables of guests, and each table costs four strings of coins and three cents, including drinks. Each table also comes with six fruit plates. In addition, I've prepared a souvenir, a box of Fanlou snacks, which aren't expensive, eighty cents a box." Jinniang calculated that it would cost more than a hundred strings of coins.
Jinniang also showed the menu to Jiang Xian. Jiang Xian saw that there were six plates of fresh fruits, six plates of dried fruits, not to mention salty and sour snacks and candied fruits, ten main courses, including lamb, chicken, shrimp, crab, and six side dishes.
Jiang Xian naturally agreed, drafted the invitation himself, and asked Liu Douer, Luo Da and Chen Xiaolang to help him deliver it.
Of course, the Zhou family was the first to receive the invitation. Jiang was very happy. After her father passed away, her brother was only appointed as a minor official by imperial favor and was not interested in being an official. The Jiang family fell into decline. But now, her family had two Jinshi candidates at once.
Of course, her son-in-law Sun Shichen also passed the exam this time, but Jiang Xian was ranked eighth in the first class, Jiang Yan was ranked fifth in the second class, and Sun Shichen was ranked fourth, almost falling to the fifth class and becoming a Jinshi.
Thinking about it this way, my mother's family is still reliable.
Jiang was just calling her daughter-in-law Zhang over. The mother-in-law and daughter-in-law put aside their past grudges and began to prepare gifts.
Not to mention Jiang Fang's home. Jiang Fang's adoptive mother, who is also Jiang Xian's cousin, immediately sent someone to ask Miss Zhou Si to come back and prepare to go to Tianshui Lane to help together.
However, Miss Wednesday was talking to Miss Thursday about having a wedding banquet: "We definitely need to have one. We need to invite our brother-in-law's classmates, teachers, and our relatives from our mother's side."
Miss Zhou Si had never held such a banquet before, so she had to prepare to invite people from the four departments and six bureaus. Just then, she heard from the third lady's mother-in-law that someone came to say that Jiang Xian planned to hold it in Huixian Tower.
"Huixianlou?" She couldn't help but be amazed. It shouldn't be cheap.
Miss Zhou seldom went out on weekdays. At most, she would visit officials' families. She only knew that restaurants like Fanlou and Huixianlou in Beijing were big places and definitely not cheap.
Miss Zhou San smiled and said, "It's better to go to Huixianlou. Tianshui Lane is too small and I'm afraid the hospitality there won't be good enough."
After the banquet, Jinniang received many gifts. Liu Jixiang sent her a rosewood screen, and Jiang's uncle sent her a java mat, which is a top-quality mat that is as cool as jade when you sleep on it. One mat costs about fifteen strings of cash. She also received various top-quality spices, high-quality silk, tea, pepper, and so on.
Jinniang, Aying and Minzhi spent half a day packing before they were able to register.
Little did they know that everyone was also deeply impressed by this banquet. In the middle of the red wood was a large bamboo basket filled with various flowers that could be worn. People in the Song Dynasty loved flowers the most. Jinniang took one of her jackets from old years and traded it with the flower seller.
And each flower basket is different. Some are filled with okra, gardenia, lily, magnolia, pomegranate, hollyhock, etc., which look beautiful and warm. Some of them have cherry blossoms, white peonies and hydrangeas placed in black rattan baskets, which are fresh and elegant.
There was also a wide variety of dishes and drinks, and everyone was well fed and satisfied, and even took souvenirs back home.
Jiang Xian only invited guests for a dinner party as he did not want to steal the limelight from Jiang Yan, but Jiang Yan was going to host a three-day buffet banquet, so Jiang Xian and Jinniang had to go there to help.
This time, Jiang was very affectionate to Jinniang and even asked with concern, "Have you prepared the money for the gathering?"
“It’s ready.”
The collection fee is not cheap, but it has to be paid anyway, Jinniang said with a smile.
Jiang praised, "I knew you were capable and you manage everything in the house and outside in an orderly manner."
You didn't treat me like this before, but like Jiang Xian said, I still have to keep it to myself. She said, "You're really flattering me. I'm still young and I still need to ask for advice on many things."
"Stop saying that. You organized that banquet very well." Jiang suddenly became very eloquent.
Xu spent a lot of money on this buffet, but she felt very uncomfortable when she saw that everyone at the banquet was talking to Jinniang. Of course, Miss Zhou Si also saw all of this. Her husband Sun Shichen and Jiang Yan were both Jinshi in the same imperial examination, and they were relatives from the Jiang family's side, so she came with her stepmother.
Miss Zhou Si saw that Jinniang was still quite calm and did not do anything to slap Jiang. Instead, she said, "Thank you for giving me a certificate of ordination."
A certificate of ordination was worth more than 130 strings of cash, which was a valuable security in the Song Dynasty.
"That's nothing." Jiang was really generous.
Jinniang thought that after her husband became a Jinshi, everyone around him would become a good person. In fact, the fourth girl thought so too. Her husband failed twice, but this time he became a Jinshi in one go. Probably only she could appreciate the feeling.
However, this time he met Xiang Ming who came with Zhang. The two looked at each other and found an opportunity to talk in private.
Xiang Ming smiled and said, "Sister, you are so lucky. The sixteenth son of the Jiang family has passed the imperial examination and will be the wife of an official when he is appointed to an official position in the future."
She was truly very pleased. It was the first time she saw someone change his fate on his own.
Jinniang said, "Thank you for that. By the way, how are you?"
"I, I'm fine." Xiang Ming lowered her head and said nothing.
Jinniang held her hand and said, "Don't lie to me, what's going on?"
Xiang Ming smiled and said, "Sister Jinniang, what's good or bad about being a concubine? I was originally a maid who signed a death contract, so going to the Second Master is also a way out, and he protects me quite a bit."
"That's good. You should also take care of your body. If you give birth to a child, you will have someone to rely on, just like Lu Xiaoniang." Jinniang was also thinking from Xiangming's perspective. For concubines or maids who have no children, the servants would treat them differently based on their status.
Not to mention the servants, even the superiors were the same. She knew exactly how they treated her when Jiang Xian was still a nobody, and how they treated her now.
Xiang Ming listened carefully: "Okay, I'll keep Sister Jinniang's words in mind."
Jinniang thought about the many doctors she had been looking for in the backyard, but she didn't know anyone. She thought Lou Siniang had good character and excellent medical skills, so she said, "I relied on a female doctor named Lou Siniang from Jinliangqiao for my postpartum care. If you need care in the future, you can go see her."
After all these years, Sister Jinniang is still like this, very thoughtful. Xiangming had been sold to the Zhou family a long time ago, and it was Sister Jinniang who always cared for her like a sister and taught her the craft. Now, I have become a concubine, and there is such a huge gap between our statuses, but Sister Jinniang still thinks so thoughtfully about me.
"I don't know how to thank you, sister." Xiang Ming said.
Jinniang smiled and said, "I didn't really help you. I just said a few words. You still have to walk your own path. Don't let anyone catch you in the future. Be patient for a while. You have to live well and live strong. As long as you are alive, there is hope. No matter how difficult the situation is, you have to live so that there will be a turnaround."
She had been thinking about Yanhong, who was very kind to her when she was in Zhou's house and gave her many advices. Unfortunately, later...
Xiang Ming also talked about the old people in the sewing room: "Qin Shuang'er couldn't stand the days of being a widow. Madam Xi San saw that she couldn't stand it, so she sent her away. I heard that she became a concubine of a cloth merchant."
"She actually has quite good skills. Why doesn't she find a place to do needlework?" Jinniang thought of Zhu Xiu Niang, who worked in her own embroidery shop. She had saved up nearly a hundred strings of cash in the few years she had worked there, and she earned it entirely with her own hands.
Xiang Ming said disdainfully: "She once told me that what she hated most was sewing. She only wanted to live a life of luxury, to be served by others, and to have a life of flowers and willows."
This kind of life is actually what Xiang Ming longs for, and Sister Jinniang's life is what she wants to copy.
"Let's not talk about her. I may have to be sent out to other places after my husband is demoted. You know my parents at home. If you have any trouble, just go find them." Jinniang said, holding her hand.
Xiang Ming nodded, "You are the only one who has been thinking about me."
Over the years, their common topic was still the Zhou family, so they talked about the Zhou family. Xiang Ming said with some pity: "The eldest girl's health is not very good. I heard that she doesn't have much time to live. The Wang family is preparing to choose a second wife, and the first lady is very angry. The second girl has been polished and become more smooth in the past few years. Her letters are becoming more and more polite. The third and fourth girls have become the winners and are living a good life."
Jiang almost emptied the Zhou family's money for the sake of her eldest and second daughters, but she only gave the third and fourth daughters a few thousand taels of silver. However, their fates were completely different after they got married.
But Jinniang said, "The eldest daughter married into the prime minister's residence. I heard that she almost died during childbirth. It was only after the Zhou family had someone bring old ginseng and Tianshan snow lotus that she recovered. Ten years later, she recovered. The second daughter also had a bad temper, but she married into my aunt's family. People always forgave her. In fact, they are already very good."
There is the cost of trial and error.
Jinniang thought that if she had a difficult delivery, her family would not be able to afford such expensive medicinal herbs. Even if they took out all their money to buy them, their family would probably be ruined, and the baby might not be saved. Even if the third girl was like this, Jiang wouldn't take it so seriously. In fact, the eldest and second girls were very lucky.
Xiang Ming thought about it and agreed.
The two were about to say a few more words when Ah Ying said at the door, "Madam, Sister Yun has just woken up and is anxious to find you."
Jinniang then said goodbye to Xiangming. Yunjie was already three years old this year, and she had been taking care of her since she was weaned. She was afraid that her daughter would get anxious waiting for her, so she hurried out.
At this time, Xi Qiu was holding Yun Jie'er in her arms. Yun Jie'er was wearing a purple gauze dress today. There were ready-made butterflies sewn on her right shoulder from the neck to the hand. Various patterns were embroidered on the dress, just like a butterfly in love with flowers, which was very cute.
"Mom." Sister Yun rubbed her eyes.
Jinniang squatted down and said gently, "What's wrong? Did an eyelash get stuck in your eye?"
Children are always inexplicably childish. Jinniang coaxed her for a long time. Her tone was gentle and full of maternal nature. Jiang Xian was talking to Zhou Cunzhi and Jiang Fang, and when he heard his wife's voice, he secretly thought something was wrong.
It's not that he is paranoid, it's just that his wife is so attractive. She looks as pure as a dewdrop, but her personality is extremely considerate. However, she is not weak and has her own opinions but is not overbearing.
"Mom, the kitten fought with me." Sister Yun said suddenly.
Jinniang looked at Xiqiu, who waved her hands and said, "Madam, I haven't even touched a cat before."
Children of this age will take their dreams and other people's words seriously, so Jinniang gave Xiqiu a comforting look and then looked at her daughter and said, "So who won between you and the kitten?"
Xi Qiu breathed a sigh of relief. She was originally a servant serving Jiang Xian. Later, she came to Tianshui Lane. She was not good at needlework and cooking, and was far inferior to Minzhi. It was with great difficulty that her mistress arranged her to be with the young lady, and said that she would be the young lady's companion in the future. This was a way out for her. If she couldn't even take care of the young lady, then she would have lost all her ways out.
"The cat became very big and rushed towards me meowing. I started fighting with it. It scratched me with its claws and I scratched it back. I even scratched it until it bled." Sister Yun sounded more and more serious as she spoke.
Jinniang did not expose her daughter, but gave her a thumbs up: "My daughter is so good, she can even beat a cat."
Just as she finished speaking, she saw Jiang Xian coming over, and Jinniang looked at him in surprise again: "Why are you here? I thought you were drinking in front."
Jiang Xian of course left the other two behind and asked them to leave first before coming here. When he saw Jinniang asking this, he quickly held his forehead and said, "I drank too much and have a headache."
"Then let's go back early today and I'll give you a head massage." Jinniang also felt sorry for him.
Jiang Xian curled his lips and smiled: "That's great."
After their own celebrations and before the Wenxi Banquet, the Jinshi scholars would attend various gatherings, which were large banquets and small banquets, to get to know each other. This money was huge, so Jinniang directly packed 200 strings of cash for Jiang Xian to take. As for the brocade clothes he was wearing, she had enough to wear one set a day because she made a lot of them.
Of course, there were also people who came to borrow money to participate in the periodical gatherings, because there were thresholds for the periodical gatherings. For example, there would be a Qushui Liushang Banquet in three days, and each Jinshi who attended the banquet would have to pay 60 strings of cash.
Even Luo Yu'e was shocked by the amount of money she spent: "Why do you need so much?"
"Yes, that's why it is so difficult for ordinary poor children to make a name for themselves." Jinniang shook her head.
It is because Jinniang knows all this that she has never stopped making money. With money in hand, she is not worried.
The last batch of goods she is making will be delivered before the Dragon Boat Festival, so she is not taking any more orders for wedding quilts. She also needs to sell all the previous goods at a discount. She has also found an agent to start renting a shop, preferably to a cloth store or embroidery shop, as this way the shop will be cleaner.
We also invited Madam Fang, who used to serve my mother-in-law Liu, back home. An old lady with so much experience knows a lot and is much better than the inexperienced ones bought from outside.
When Mother Fang was serving Liu, her word was almost always law. Later, after she was driven out by Zheng, fortunately she had some savings over the years and bought a few acres of land in the city. But how could the life of ordinary people be easy? With taxes and the powerful still having to make a living, life was very difficult.
Now, after Jinniang and Jiang Xian discussed it, they asked her to come over, and Mother Fang came over quickly. The old lady had a granddaughter at home, but she didn't bring her with her. Jinniang couldn't help but nod her head, thinking that this was the sensible thing to do.
This Fang mother has been serving Liu since she was a child, so her knowledge is extraordinary. Jinniang is not from an official family, which is her shortcoming. If she rashly goes to ask for advice, she will easily be taken advantage of. What's more, every thing that everyone encounters is different, and it is impossible to follow a script.
It just so happened that after Minzhi and Chen Xiaolang got married, a room was vacated for Fang's mother to rest temporarily.
Mother Fang wiped away her tears and said, "If Sixth Madam were still alive, she would be so happy to see Shiliu Lang and you have a son and a daughter."
"Yes, my husband can now pass the imperial examination and become a Jinshi, thanks to the cultivation of your mother-in-law." Jinniang said.
After the Wenxi Banquet, the Ministry of Personnel began to select and appoint officials. Jiang Xian was appointed as the county magistrate of Wu County, and his brother Jiang Yan was appointed as the judicial officer of Taiping Prefecture. Wu County belonged to Pingjiang Army, which is now Suzhou. Liangzhe Road was the most populous place in the world with a prosperous economy, so it was a good place to go.
"Once you get this job, we'll have to sell our store quickly," said Jinniang.
Jiang Xian nodded: "We don't need to bring too many people with us on the road. We can rent a house and hire people when we get there."
"Okay, I think so too." Jinniang said.
Jiang Xian asked Uncle Luo's family of four to stay behind. Uncle Luo and his wife helped look after the house and guard the warehouse. When Wei Xiong and his wife were not at home during the day, the front room was rented out, so there was no guarantee that someone would not steal. As for Uncle Luo's son Luo Da, he was in charge of the family's two farms and the rent collection from two shops.
The family's servants included Aying, Juxiang, Chen Xiaolang and Minzhi, Fang Mama, Xiqiu, Liu Douer, and Ning Ge'er's wet nurse, as well as two attendants who were said to be very skilled in martial arts.
From Kaifeng to Wuxian, it’s such a long road, someone must be there to protect it.
Furthermore, Jiang Xian had never served as an official close to the people, so he had to hire a legal advisor who was familiar with criminal law. This was also because Jiang Xian, a son of an official family, was familiar with these things and had the connections to hire enough people.
However, Jiang Xian had just started his official career and his salary was not high, so his family might even have to pay for it.
A county lieutenant had two hectares of permanent land, two hectares of official land, an annual salary of 52 dan of rice, a monthly salary of one guan, a monthly food allowance of 250 wen, two attendants each of whom received more than 400 wen per month, and miscellaneous expenses of 200 wen per month.
Fortunately, the couple has now built up some family business. Zhu Xiu Niang originally wanted to take over Jin Niang's shop, but she had no capital and still wanted to use Jin Niang's shop name and give dividends to Jin Niang in the future. However, Jin Niang disagreed. Although she was very familiar with Zhu Xiu Niang, from a business perspective, the embroidery shop had reached its current state entirely because of her craftsmanship and creativity.
No matter how good your embroidery skills are, the popular styles are different every year and you have to adapt from time to time.
Zhu Xiu Niang felt very sorry, but Jin Niang could only apologize, so she rented the three storefronts through a middleman to a boss who wanted to open an embroidery shop, and also transferred all the embroidery frames and containers in the store. Her shop was near the Daxiangguo Temple. Business was good and the location was also good. She agreed to rent it for 20 strings of cash a month, and the total amount of money for the items in the embroidery shop was 80 strings of cash.
She signed a three-year contract, with payment to be made annually. The person who rented her shop was quite willing to pay for one year first, a total of 320 strings of cash.
In addition, there were gifts from Liu Dalangjun, Jiang Zhuangyuan, Han Xiao, Zhang Jiulang, Zhou Cunzhi, Jiang Fang and others, totaling one hundred taels.
The family now has more than 5,000 taels of cash in total, as well as spices, tea, wax strips, pepper, and so on.
It is naturally inconvenient to transport this money. You have to know that there are so many boxes piled up in Jinniang's bedroom, which is so big, and they are all filled with gold, silver and copper coins. She had no choice but to ask Jiang Xian to exchange the money for Fei. Jiang Xian thought his ears were not working well, so he hurriedly asked, "Madam, how much money do we have?"
"Didn't I tell you? Five thousand strings of coins. Two hundred strings of coins will be used for travel expenses, and another one hundred strings of copper coins and two hundred taels of gold and silver will be carried on our bodies. The rest of the money will be exchanged for Feiqian and we will take it out when we arrive at Pingjiang Army. I have already sent someone to ask, and there are many places in Pingjiang Army that specialize in exchanging coins." Jinniang said.
Jiang Xian was shocked: "Do we have so much money?"
But he had never expected this, because his wife often told him that the harvest was not good, and she was always very frugal and never showed off her wealth. No one expected that they had such a large sum of money, not to mention the two shops and two farms. Jiang Xian suddenly wanted to lie down.
Jinniang pinched him and said, "I worked day and night to make these. We each have five or six boxes of clothes. We don't need to make new ones for the next year or two. We have to rent a house and run errands. This money is not enough."
The reason why she told Jiang Xian about her family's financial situation was because she was afraid that he would become greedy after gaining some power when he first became an official, which would then be a stain on his life.
Jiang Xian didn't dare to say anything. He listened to Jinniang and took the money to the Pingjiang Army's Jinzouyuan to exchange it for a half-lease certificate, and then cashed it in when Pingjiang Army settled down.
It is also said that Jiang Xian went to hire a boat, while Jinniang had people pack their luggage at home, telling everyone to only take the most important things, and asked Juxiang to prepare pickles, cakes, salted duck eggs, cured vegetables, etc.
They were almost ready, and just before leaving, they saw Luo Yu'e coming over. Jinniang smiled and said, "Just come over. I have something for you."
Since Jiang Xian passed the imperial examination, many of his relatives and friends have given him colorful silk as gifts. Jinniang has already prepared eight pieces to give to her mother, and said, "If you don't want them, you can exchange them at the pawnshop. They are worth more than 30 strings of silver. Also, I gave 80 of the candles I bought to my brother so that he doesn't have to buy any more."
"I'm not here to say these things. I'm here to talk about your elder sister." When Luo Yu'e heard that her son-in-law was going to be an official in Wu County, she thought of Rong Niang.
Jinniang asked what happened, and she heard Luo Yu'e say, "That year, when you were in confinement after giving birth to Yunjie, your elder sister was caught cheating by your brother-in-law, and your brother-in-law asked us to bring her home. But your elder sister is beautiful and has cheated on her several times. She had an affair with a minor official before, and was later caught. She couldn't even explain herself, so how could I dare to let her live in our house? Therefore, your brother-in-law said that he had sent the adulterer away, and that we just needed to divorce your sister and let her marry someone else, so that she would not have children who would ruin her reputation and let everyone know that Lin'er and Guan'er were born to women of bad reputation. If we didn't agree, he would just divorce your sister..."
Jinniang was stunned: "Why was Feng Sheng so anxious that day? Was it to marry Lou Si Niang?"
"Maybe, but how could we know at the time. We were more afraid that he would divorce your elder sister, and then all of our reputations would be implicated, and we would be forced to adopt her. So, your father and I discussed with Rong Niang, and we pretended to agree to Feng Sheng's request to marry her off, but in fact sent her back to Anlu Mansion. In this way, she could get the 200 strings of cash for dowry returned by Feng Sheng, and she would have the money even if she remarried." Luo Yu'e and Wei Xiong also had someone write a letter to bring to Wei Xiong's comrades in Anlu Mansion, so that they could be taken care of in the future.
Jinniang thought that this was indeed a solution. In order to marry Lou Si Niang, Feng Sheng was unwilling to argue. It would be best if Rong Niang took the money and left. Of course, this might also be a trap set by Feng Sheng, but then again, if you don't take the bait, he can't do anything about it. Or even worse, if Feng Sheng saw that Rong Niang didn't take the bait, would he drug her and murder her...
The main thing is that Rong Niang herself couldn’t refute how she was caught cheating?
Feng Sheng's threats and inducements were truly moving.
Then I heard Luo Yu'e say, "I don't know why my mother asked me and your father to find the minor official she had been in love with before. The minor official was so infatuated that he even quit his job and said he would take your sister back to his hometown, Wu County. As the saying goes, the first marriage brings the couple together, the second marriage brings freedom. We are just her uncle and aunt. She was determined to marry, and we had no choice. After seeing her credentials and status, we agreed. Your father and I spent two cents of silver to buy her some food for the journey, and brought her some bacon from home, and then sent them away."
Jinniang thought to herself, no wonder her mother felt uncomfortable talking about Rongniang's death in recent years, but what she didn't understand was: "Why didn't you tell me?"
"If I tell you, what if you and Feng Sheng have a quarrel? If even a word of this matter leaks out, how will the Jiang family look at you? Although I, your mother, have a bad temper, I am not stupid. We also promised Feng Sheng that we would never mention this matter again. Besides, Feng Sheng is also very good to Lin'er and Guan'er. If you were not going to Wu County now, I was afraid that you would meet Rong Niang who was surprised. That's why I told you all this." Luo Yu'e was relieved to tell the secret that she had kept for several years.
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