Chapter 86 Chapter 86 Two Chapters in One
After returning to the boat, Jinniang asked Mother Fang to teach the three maids the rules first, and then assign them to different places. She quietly called Aying over and gave her a pair of gold earrings.
"I haven't been on the boat these few days. Thank you for your hard work." Jinniang said with a smile.
Ah Ying quickly shook her head: "I didn't do anything."
Jinniang talked about the maids she had brought from the Dou family, and said, "Although our family is not an official family, we are always short of manpower when something happens. Now that Madam Fang has recovered, you can each have less work to do."
It is easier to manage when there are fewer people, but it is more difficult to manage when there are too many people. In this case, we need to let specialized people manage it.
On the way from Yangzhou to Suzhou, Jinniang sorted out the finances again. She was looking at the things that Madam Dou had sent her. In addition to a set of headgear, there was also a gift of twenty taels of silver, two jars of salted duck eggs from Gaoyou, six boxes of snacks, six boxes of dried fruits, and two handkerchiefs.
It was the hottest time of the year and snacks could not be left out. She gave one box to the boatmen, gave two boxes to the servants as rewards, and sent another box to Master Song. She kept two boxes for her family.
"Jinniang, we will be there in a few days." Jiang Xian's tone was a little excited.
Jinniang also breathed a sigh of relief: "The past two months have been really tormenting, but now we finally see the light at the end of the tunnel. I'll let them pack up in the next few days, so they don't have to act so panicky when the time comes."
She also said that the three servants from the Dou family had been taught some rules by the Dou family before, and now Madam Fang was telling them the rules of the Jiang family, and asked them to remember: "Our wife is a good person and a very reasonable person. You don't have to keep watch at night when you serve her, and the monthly salary is two cents. The wife also promised that when she gets married in the future, she will help buy a dowry. There is only one thing, you must be more responsible and not act on your own behind the wife's back."
This is extremely important. Jiang Xian is an official now. If the servants around him secretly accept bribes, it will endanger Jiang Xian himself.
"Also, those who are assigned to be with the brothers and sisters and have some patience will receive two cents a month's salary. When the brothers and sisters grow up, you will benefit from it."
Before getting off the boat, a girl who was good at sewing and looked introverted and steady was assigned to Jinniang, who changed her name to Qingrong. She also assigned a gentle and considerate maid named Jiaoxing to Yunjie'er, and finally assigned a beautiful and cheerful maid to Ningge'er.
Mother Fang smiled and said, "My wife has chosen a very good person."
Qingrong and Aying complement each other, but neither of them likes to steal the limelight and they both have good abilities. Jiao Xing and Xi Qiu both serve Yun Jie'er. Xi Qiu is not a strong person to begin with, and if she is paired with someone with a hot temper, the young lady's room will be in a mess before it even starts. Besides, Ning Ge'er is just a baby less than one year old, and Ma Yangniang has to take care of him alone. If there is a cannon next to him, she will also have some concerns.
If the servants are dissatisfied with each other, they will easily cause trouble. Once there are too many troubles, they can be suppressed when the mistress is around, but if something unexpected happens, problems may easily arise.
"Mom Fang, now that the luggage has been almost packed, let them clean up the dirt on the floor in the room and put the tables, chairs and benches in place." In her previous life, Jinniang would stay in a hotel and pack her things when she left.
People's reputation is accumulated day by day.
It is also said that after they got off the boat, the county magistrate of Wu County sent people to greet them. Jinniang and others got on the sedan chair first, and then they heard people outside paying their respects to Jiang Xian. These people introduced themselves. Jinniang only heard that there were two captains here, one infantry captain and one cavalry captain, and there were dozens of archers on horseback escorting them.
But when they entered Pingjiang City from the ferry, they found out that Wu County and Pingjiang Prefecture were both in the same city. The magistrate of Wu County, Hou Zhixian, even stood at the door to greet Jiang Xian. These welcoming parties naturally had nothing to do with Jinniang. They were about to enter the inner house. The corridor was paved with stone slabs. After passing through the second hall, they arrived at the place where the county lieutenant's family lived.
She wore a veil the whole time, so it was not easy for Jinniang to look around in front of others. Fortunately, the county magistrate's wife sent an old maid over, who enthusiastically introduced: "Madam, this place was renovated two years ago. The front porch has eight rooms, the east and west pavilions are study and tea room, and the main house has a total of five rooms."
When Jinniang entered the main room, she found that the windows were bright and the room was very bright. She couldn't help but praise, "It's quite bright here."
The old lady also laughed and said, "There are many clam shells in our Jiangnan area. These clam shells can be ground into thin sheets, which are very durable. Not only are they light-transmissive, but they are also fireproof, waterproof, and windproof."
Jinniang thought it was better than paper-made ones, and looked inside the room. It was really well furnished. Next to the curtain was an amber lace flower table, a black lacquered Luohan couch, a marble screen, and a small table inlaid with black wood and marble...
As soon as she saw this place, she fell in love with it.
"Mammy, who lives in the yard next to ours?" Jinniang asked.
The old nanny clapped her hands and said, "That's where our grandfather and his wife live. Our two houses are separated by a corridor."
Jinniang asked about Zhubu and others again, and the old nanny said, "Zhubu Han's family lives in the east, and the eldest lady of the Han family is just like you, she is the most kind-hearted."
The two talked for a while, and Jinniang rewarded the old maid with an exquisite purse containing dozens of coins. The old maid was delighted and went back to report.
Only after she left did Jinniang order people to start cleaning and tidying up.
The three main rooms were naturally where they lived, while their son and daughter lived in the side rooms next to them. Three of the eight corridors in front were small kitchens, so Jinniang let Juxiang live in them. The other five rooms were given to the servants: Mother Fang had one room, Aying and Qingrong had one room, Xiqiu and Jiaoxing had one room, Chen Xiaolang and his wife had one room, and Liu Douer had one room. Besides, Ma Yangniang and Pei Lan both live in Ning Ge'er's room, so there is no need for further arrangements.
As for Mr. Song and his two attendants, they would most likely be arranged to live in the clerks' quarters, so there was no need for Jinniang to make any arrangements for them.
As for their main room, Jinniang had a bamboo mat laid out, and the soft pillows were covered with white crane and white magnolia pillowcases. The tents were also made of gauze and magnolia of the same color. The curtains at the front door were replaced with Xiang bamboo curtains, and those in the inner room were replaced with jade-colored gauze curtains.
Their house also had a rosewood screen given by Liu Ji, as well as a mirror table and a dressing box.
Over the years, Jinniang's jewelry has increased by three boxes compared to before, plus a set of head ornaments given by Madam Dou Er, and those she bought before her marriage, a total of six boxes of gold and silver jewelry.
As they were packing up, they saw two maids wearing green satin jackets with white trim coming in from outside. They claimed to be sent by Han Zhubu's wife.
"Our wife said it was getting late today, and was afraid that the county lieutenant's wife hadn't had dinner, so she sent a few dishes to add to the meal."
When Jinniang saw Qingrong taking it, two maids helped to put it on the eight-immortal table outside. There were exactly six dishes and one soup, including red fermented rice wine shad, roast goose, spring plate side dishes, fat cured duck, stir-fried wolfberries, cold-mixed shepherd's purse, and a serving of golden chicken soup.
I wasn't hungry at first, but when I saw the food on the table, I became hungry. She thought that this Han Zhubu's wife was really considerate. Jinniang smiled and said, "I should have come to visit you sisters today, but I just arrived and have too many things to do. I can't leave for the moment. Thank you for sending the banquet. I will go to visit you in person tomorrow."
After saying this, he rewarded each of the two girls with a string of money, and the two girls left.
Ah Ying smiled and said, "Madam, this chief clerk is quite good."
"This is only the first day. You will know their true character only after you get to know them for a long time." Jinniang said with a smile.
Just as he finished speaking, he saw the kitchen sending in food, saying that it was sent by the county magistrate. There were a total of 40 dishes, tea, fruits, sweets, steamed pastries, delicate fried cakes, and other side dishes.
Jinniang personally picked out some edible food and sent it to Yunjie, and asked Mother Fang to distribute it to the servants. She continued to go to the study and her son and daughter's place to look at the furnishings.
Peilan, the new servant of Ning Ge'er, had already cleaned the room tidy, and Jinniang praised her a few words.
She was busy here, and several senior ladies in the government office were secretly inquiring about her. The county magistrate's wife was listening to the old nanny saying, "The county lieutenant's wife has dozens of boxes and cages. She wears a skirt made of woven gold gauze with lily flowers embroidered on the hem, a jacket embroidered with twisted gold thread, a headband with a row of lily flowers on her head, and a crystal necklace on her chest. She looks very impressive. There are not many servants in her house, but they are all well-behaved and there is no one who is sly and stingy."
After saying that, she took out the purse that Jinniang had given her as a reward.
The county magistrate's wife saw that the purse was also made of satin, and she knew what was going on. "I heard from the official that County Lieutenant Jiang is very young and a talented young man. Now that you are talking about it, she must be the daughter of an official. Otherwise, she wouldn't be so impressive."
The old lady also agreed, "You are right."
"However, you didn't reveal the fact that County Magistrate Mei robbed the east yard, did you?" The county magistrate's wife frowned.
The old lady waved her hands quickly: "How dare I say that?"
It turned out that Wu County was a large county, so there were usually two county lieutenants, one civil and one military. The civil lieutenant was usually a Jinshi who passed the imperial examination and had high requirements. He had to be literate and familiar with the law to reduce false and wrongful convictions. The military lieutenant was mostly held by military officers who could suppress local rebellions, arrest criminals, patrol the area, and hunt down thieves.
Mei County Magistrate was taking over his uncle's job, so he was very familiar with the yamen. He knew that the county magistrate's inner residence on the west side was adjacent to the houses of the minor officials, while the courtyard on the east side was adjacent to the courtyard of the chief clerk and the magistrate. So he pretended not to know and directly asked the servants to move the furniture to the east courtyard.
In this dynasty, the status of civil officials was generally higher than that of military officials. Moreover, County Magistrate Jiang was a successful Jinshi, so naturally he should live in the East Courtyard. But in this situation, it would not be a good idea to ask him to move out, because there was no clear stipulation as to which county magistrate should live in the East or West Courtyard.
The county magistrate's wife asked again, "What do you think of the temperament of this county lieutenant's wife, Jiang?"
The old lady thought for a moment and said, "He speaks clearly and to the point, and he is very graceful and elegant."
"Okay, I got it. Since she said she would come tomorrow, let's wait and see." said the county magistrate's wife.
Compared to the county magistrate's wife, the chief clerk's wife also inquired about it, but she inquired about how to make friends. I only heard her maid say: "The county lieutenant's wife has a red sandalwood screen in her house, the bed is covered with a high-quality mat, and the clothes she wears are also expensive. It looks unusual."
The wife of the chief clerk nodded and said, "I understand. I was just wondering what to give as a return gift tomorrow. Seeing her like this, I took my pair of peony-shaped hairpins and put them in a mahogany box."
Before he could finish his words, a slender-waisted woman came to the door. She had dark eyebrows, a cherry-like mouth, and was wearing a blue shirt and an apricot-yellow skirt.
The chief clerk's wife stood up and said, "It's Madam Bao who's here."
This Madam Bao is the wife of the Mei County Magistrate. Their courtyards are adjacent, both on the east side. The wife of the chief clerk has always been generous, and the two have a good relationship.
Mrs. Bao smiled and said, "It's hot today, I'm too lazy to go out, I heard there's a new person coming."
"Yes, the county magistrate is welcoming County Magistrate Jiang, and he has brought his wife and children with him. In the future, we officials' families will also be able to move around and have some fun." The wife of the chief clerk looked very happy.
In this county government, the only ones who can be called officials are the county magistrate, the chief clerk and the county lieutenant, and the rest are minor clerks. Clerks have considerable power, but there is a world of difference between them and officials.
Madam Bao sat down, fanned herself a few times, and said with a smile, "I wonder where the new county lieutenant's wife came from?"
"You'll see him tomorrow." The wife of the chief clerk smiled gently.
Jinniang was also asking Qingrong to iron and burn the clothes she would wear tomorrow, and she sent Chen Xiaolang to ask someone to find out who was going to deliver the water. She learned that there were only seven wells for drinking water in the city, and a hectoliter of water cost only seven or eight cents. She immediately gave twenty cents and asked Chen Xiaolang to have someone deliver the water quickly.
There was a stove at home. After she boiled the water, she filled two iron soup bottles with water.
I also heard that there was a special hot water delivery service in the big kitchen, so Jinniang asked Minzhi to handle it. Now that she is a woman, it is more convenient for her to do it than for the girls.
Juxiang was in charge of the kitchen before, and now she is still in charge of the three small kitchens. In addition to clothes and money, she also brought an iron pot in her suitcase, as well as some firewood, rice, oil, salt, sauce and vinegar, for fear that it would be inconvenient to buy things for the first time.
There were two banquets at home, and she put all the good leftovers in the cupboard one by one, because her wife once said that they should not be wasted. If her wife was hungry later, she could heat them up.
The lady actually asked her if she wanted to get married, but she didn't want to, because there was nothing good about getting married. If the man is not good, where will she go in the future? It’s better to just follow my wife.
She had no worries about food, clothing, housing and transportation, and her wife gave her plenty of money. She was a foodie, so she had no worries about food and clothing in the kitchen, which was better than working anywhere else outside.
Besides, my wife is now an official, and if she follows me, she will have a brighter future.
However, the kitchen is still missing some things. She still has to wash the iron pot and go shopping for groceries tomorrow. She has to ask her wife for all these. After hearing this, Jinniang said, "I'm worried about you going out alone in this unfamiliar place. Tomorrow morning, you can cook some porridge, pickles and salted duck eggs, and the delicious leftovers for breakfast. After breakfast, I will go visit the county magistrate and the wife of the chief clerk and ask them for advice. By then, we will also buy a horse and a donkey cart. Then, Chen Xiaolang can take you to buy vegetables in the donkey cart."
Ju Xiang smiled and said, "I understand. I just saw that the water in the furnace takes a long time to boil, so I wanted to boil some hot water in the kitchen and send it to my brother and sister's room."
"But we haven't bought the firewood yet?" Jinniang said.
Ju Xiang smiled foolishly: "I brought it here."
Jinniang naturally praised her for her thoughtfulness, and Ju Xiang's voice was as sweet as honey.
At home, Jinniang doesn't allow anyone to drink raw water, for fear that it will give people a stomachache, so she always boils it.
After everything was ready, Jinniang waited for the hot water to be delivered, then she took a shower, washed her hair, and changed into her pajamas. Only then did she feel much more comfortable. Mother Fang also came over after washing up and discussed the gift-giving matter with Jinniang.
"You mean the amount is the same, but there are slight differences?" Jinniang asked.
Mother Fang nodded: "Although the county magistrate's wife has the highest official position, it is not easy to offend the chief clerk and the other county lieutenant's wife."
Jinniang thought so too. If one is suspicious, he will be suspicious. This time, the gifts include a piece of jacquard silk, a piece of top-grade crepe, two boxes of top-grade flowers, two jars of Huixianlou Yujiu wine, a cake of dragon and phoenix tea, a bag of bird's nest and a bag of Nanxiang for each person.
It’s not a good idea to give a gift that’s too generous when meeting someone for the first time.
She asked Aying to bring the gift and wrote on it specially.
When they had almost finished their work, Jiang Xian came back drunk. A new official must drink when he takes office. She personally mixed the honey water, gave it to him to drink, and asked someone to bring hot water.
So Fang's mother and others went downstairs first. Jiang Xian also washed up and saw that the house was decorated very well. He felt relieved. He then pulled Jinniang aside and said, "Today I saw that the county lord is a bossy person. He treats his subordinates like servants. The lawyers around him are all arrogant. I'm afraid I have to be humble for a while."
"My dear, is the county lord a child of aristocratic family?" Jinniang asked.
Jiang Xian shook his head. "I also asked someone to find out. This county magistrate was originally the son of a timber merchant. Later, his family became wealthy and supported his children to study. He passed the imperial examination and served in Wu County for four years, but he has not been promoted for a long time. There is also a chief clerk named Han, who was appointed to the government by patronage. There is also a county lieutenant named Mei, who is a military officer in this county."
Hearing this, Jinniang kept it in mind and took the list that she and Fang's mother had prepared to show Jiang Xian. Jiang Xian looked at it and felt that there was nothing wrong with it, so the couple went to bed.
In the morning, Juxiang prepared breakfast and Qingrong brought it over. The light porridge and side dishes were more delicious.
Jinniang then talked to him about buying a horse: "It will be more convenient for us to go in and out in the future."
Jiang Xian said with a smile: "Let Cao Da go and look at the horses. They have even ridden war horses before, so their vision is extraordinary."
"That's possible." Jinniang said.
Since his wife took care of everything at home, Jiang Xian didn't have to worry about anything. After rinsing her mouth and changing her clothes, Jinniang went to pay her respects to the county lord's wife.
The county magistrate's wife's surname is Qi. She has an oval face, a high forehead, wide eyes, watery almond eyes, and a rosy mouth. She looks dignified and steady.
Jinniang asked Aying and Qingrong to present their gifts together, and also wrote a gift list, saying, "Thanks to you for sending someone to show me the way yesterday, we didn't have to go blind."
Madam Qi was very satisfied with the gift lists. She also saw that Madam Jin was wearing a blue-collared double-breasted jacket with small silver-white chrysanthemum flowers. She had a slender figure and exuded the air of scholarliness. She looked elegant and refined, with outstanding temperament.
Not only that, she is not innocent, but is very good at talking and is quite considerate.
After a few words, Madam Qi waited for her to leave and asked the old nanny to come over and prepare her favorite jewelry and clothes as a return gift.
It is also said that Jinniang went to see the chief clerk's wife again. This chief clerk's wife had a gentle temperament. Her maiden name was Tian. She looked like a lychee beauty, with crystal clear skin and curved eyebrows.
Compared to Madam Qi just now, this Madam Tian is obviously easier to get along with.
Jinniang thanked her first and said, "Thank you for the wine and food yesterday."
"If you like, you can come to my place often in the future. Anyway, we live in the same place and it is convenient for us to visit each other." Tian said this because she had her reasons.
Her husband was an official appointed by imperial favor. Officials who were Jinshi graduates were promoted every three years, while officials appointed by imperial favor had to wait for four years before they could be promoted. Even their promotion channels were restricted, because officials appointed by imperial favor were not allowed to serve as censors, officials in the two systems, officials in the imperial lectures, historians, or diplomats.
Therefore, Tian helped her husband to make friends with people from all walks of life, hoping to gain a good reputation so that he could get promoted in the future.
Finally, Jinniang went to see Bao Niang, the wife of the Meixian Wei. Bao Niang was well-dressed, had a charming figure and was quite charming. When she saw Jinniang, she pulled her hand in. The two of them talked about their ages. Bao Niang was one year older than Jinniang, so she called Jinniang, "Sister Wei, I was supposed to visit you, how could I let you come here?"
"I'm new here, so I need your guidance." Normally, the civil county lieutenant should be higher than the military county lieutenant, but since Mrs. Bao knew that and still waited for her to come, Jinniang knew that she was strong-willed, so she gave her the upper hand.
Since you don't know anything now, don't make enemies everywhere.
Mrs. Bao served tea and started chatting with Jinniang. She was very eloquent and said a lot: "Our Wu County is rich, and the officials who came here are reluctant to leave."
This seemed to be referring to County Magistrate Hou's family. Jinniang's eyes moved and she smiled again, "My sister and I are both married to county lieutenants, so we should get along well in the future."
After hearing this, Bao Madam felt respected. Seeing that Jin Niang was not acting pretentiously, she had a favorable impression of her. She said to her, "I won't keep you any longer. In a moment, the wives of the bailiffs, recorders, and captains will all kowtow to you."
Sure enough, after Jinniang returned, the wives of the two captains presented her with water gifts. The captains were direct subordinates of the county lieutenant, and the two of them were very eager to curry favor with her. When she asked about Pingjiang City, she told her everything she knew.
While they were talking, the wife of the county magistrate and the wife of the chief clerk came over with return gifts.
When Jinniang looked at the gift list, she saw that the county lady had given her a set of narrow-sleeved jacket with lake cyan silk and magnolia pattern, a pleated skirt with round flowers in the same color silk gauze, a tube top and a single garment, as well as a pair of vase hairpins. The wife of the chief clerk presented a pair of solid gold flower-shaped hairpins, a fan with a mud-gold handle, a piece of eight-halo jacquard brocade, and a basket each of white fish, silver fish, and white shrimp.
After a while, Mrs. Bao brought two trays of steamed food, one tray of red bean paste dumplings, the other tray of steamed buns with mushroom stuffing, as well as a piece of silk cloth and a pair of gourd purses.
Jinniang gave a handkerchief and two cents of silver to everyone who came to give a gift.
Madam Qi even sent someone to say that in the next two days several of their families would come to welcome Jinniang one by one. Jinniang did not shy away and just said that it was fun for sisters to have fun together. Her behavior made the other ladies in the county government think that she was born into an official family.
But Jinniang has already decided to make friends with Bao Niangzi first.
Ah Ying didn't understand: "What's the excuse? The wife of the bailiff said that Madam Bao is not easy to get along with. She said that she likes to form a clique, treats her subordinates harshly, and is jealous of talented people. She often bullies Madam Zhubu because she has a good temper."
"I have my reasons. First, her husband is the Magistrate of Wu County. If she is such a troublemaker and causes discord among officials during work due to discord among the female family members, there will be endless troubles in the future. Secondly, if I can make friends with her secretly, then she won't be able to harm me even if she is in the dark." Jinniang said lightly.
Ah Ying suddenly realized that her wife's identity had changed. No wonder she could be the head embroiderer in the Wenxiu Academy and the leader in the embroidery team. It was all because of her insight and courage. Being an official's wife and having an imperial edict were the goals that people strived for, and even the Sixteenth Young Master could demand things from her because of her social skills.
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