Chapter 89 Chapter 89 Two Chapters in One
Madam Bao loves to eat goose, so she has all kinds of geese here, including the crystal goose sent by Madam Tian, the roast goose sent by Madam Jin, and the stewed goose soup sent by Madam Qi. Every time at this time, she was the happiest. She would eat goose while crossing her legs and looking at the gift list.
The tailor outside sent three sets of clothes, all of which were the best gold-sprinkled clothes. Bao Niangzi immediately asked someone to pay the tailor for his work, tried them on happily again, and then withdrew money from the account to have someone make hairpins and earrings for her. As if that was not enough, she took out thirty taels of money from her private money and had four gold bracelets made for her.
It was only after she made the gold bracelet that she realized there were only a few pieces of silver left in her purse.
"Madam, why did you take out all your private money?" Qiao'er, as Bao Niangzi's confidant, was bent on making plans for her.
Mrs. Bao treated Qiao'er differently from others, so she naturally spoke her mind: "You don't know, the newly appointed Tongpan's wife invited us to appreciate plum blossoms. After Tongpan's wife's flower banquet, Zhijun's wife's daughter came of age. I can't wear the same pair of gold bracelets every day."
Her dowry was meager, just two shallow boxes filled with some "watermelon clothes", all maid's attire, a light red skirt, an emerald green jacket, which was not suitable for going out.
Qiao'er also thought so, and the master and servant discussed the return gift. Bao Niangzi thought that the cloth given by others could be taken directly from the dowry box, but she had to buy it with money from the public treasury.
As to whether Mei County Wei had money, he often arrested criminals and collected taxes for the chief clerk, so he naturally had money. But most of the money was in the hands of Meixian Wei himself. Part of it was used for gifts in the government, and the rest was used for food, clothing and other expenses for his mistress and concubines. But these were not money, and it was not easy to save some private money.
Mrs. Bao was obsessed with the day when she would be in the limelight, so she made plans early on.
As for the betrothal gift for the second daughter of the Gu family, Jinniang went there again. She received a total of 400 taels of silver, two loads of tea cakes, 16 pieces of fashionable satin, four boxes of spices, two old codonopsis roots and two boxes of emerald flowers.
Jinniang first packed all the things into boxes, then took out eight strings of cash and bought a pair of leather boots for Jiang Xian and herself. Leather boots would prevent water from getting into shoes easily when walking outside in the winter.
Jiang Xian's leather boots were decorated with lake blue crane patterns, while Jin Niang's leather boots were decorated with bright red peony brocade. They fit Jiang Xian very well. He asked about the price and said, "My wife always thinks of me."
"I also bought a pair. I'm going to attend the plum blossom banquet hosted by the new Tongpan's wife this year." Jinniang said with a smile.
She had a plan. The land in Wu County was fertile, and each mu of good farmland cost three strings of coins. If she bought a hundred mu, it would only cost three hundred strings of coins. The money she got from being a rich woman was actually enough for her, but she couldn't spend all the money she had. When Jiang Xian's salary came next year and the rent from Bian Jing came, she might as well buy a farm.
However, she was unfamiliar with the place and could not buy it rashly, as even if she bought it, there would be problems with management. So we have to search slowly, whether it is fields or people.
In Wu County, a dou of rice costs about sixty wen, and an acre of good farmland can yield about two to three dan per acre, which means an annual income of sixty thousand coins, or about sixty strings of cash. If a disaster strikes Bian Jing, the rice and flour here can be transported there so that people won’t starve.
But if I am not an official here in the future, it is impossible for me to travel back and forth for sixty strings of cash. It is better to save more money and buy more in the future.
At least it's an income.
Thinking of this, Jinniang calmed down her joy at the money and continued to embroider Guanyin.
Jiang Xian was drinking tea when he saw Jinniang still embroidering Guanyin. He couldn't help but say, "Madam, you should do less needlework now and watch your eyes."
"Now I only do it in my free time every day. Usually, the two little brats are bothering me and I don't have the time to do it." Jinniang said with a smile.
The couple might exchange a few words, but mostly went about their own business. It was not until lunch time that Jinniang put down her needlework and kissed the children. Speaking of which, Yunjie is smart and has a good memory, but her younger brother Ningge'er has an even better memory. However, he is only one year old, but he can read the picture book that Jinniang taught him after just looking at it, which really surprised Jinniang.
But compared with the two siblings, Sister Yun’s personality is more likable, and Brother Ning has his own personality.
"Mom, I want to hear the story of 'Yanzi's Mission to Chu' again." Ning Ge'er begged.
Jinniang nodded: "Okay, I'll tell you later."
He was over one year old and could speak so clearly. She touched her son's head. The stories she told the children were "A Stunning Young Man", "Yanzi's Mission to Chu" or "Sun Jing Closes the Door". Children as young as Ning'er were taught "Jijiupian" and "Taigong Jiajiao" in elementary school.
She would write a lesson plan first and explain it in a simple and easy-to-understand way. This is why Jiang Xian admires Jinniang very much. She really lives a very fulfilling life.
After spending some time with the children in the afternoon, Jinniang found the clothes she was going to wear to the flower banquet and asked Aying to iron them and then fumigate them. She then picked out the jewelry and asked Aying to put on her makeup.
Soon it was the day of the Plum Banquet. Madam Qi agreed on a time to go out. She had to wear a crown when she went to the government office to attend the banquet. Madam Jin had a crown when she got married. Later, after Jiang Xian passed the imperial examination, she made a silver crown in the shape of a ruyi cloud. The silver base was engraved with patterns in gold and silver. The base was thin and light and would not press on the neck. At the same time, it was much cheaper because it was made of silver.
Fashionable silk flowers are pinned on both sides of the crown, a gold comb is used in front of the bun, and gold hairpins with flowers are inserted in the back of the bun.
After her hair was combed, she changed her clothes. She wore a white silk bodice with plum blossom pattern, a middle garment of the same color, and then a silk padded jacket with sky-blue satin embroidered with camellia branches. On the outside, she wore a soft pink plain brocade sable fur sleeve. Around her waist she wore the flower and bird jade pendant that Zhang Jiulang had given her, and on her wrist she wore the jade bracelet that her mother-in-law Liu had given her.
There was no other way. Jinniang only had two fur coats, and sable was too expensive, so she only made short ones, which saved half the money. She would have to wear it again when she went to Zhijun's wife's house in a few days, so she wore the raccoon sleeves today.
After putting on the headdress and clothes, she finally put on the newly bought madder-colored gold-cut sheepskin boots.
After she was dressed up, she went to wait for Madam Qi. Madam Qi was wearing a crown with gold and silver threads today and a thick fur coat. The next was Madam Tian, who was wearing a golden crown with a Ruyi cloud pattern and a purple lynx fur coat.
They both wore Ruyi Cloud Crowns, but Jinniang's was made of silver and hers was made of gold. Jinniang didn't mind it, and instead asked, "Sister, did you also have it made at the Shen family shop in Bianjing? It looks good."
Madam Tian smiled and said, "No, I did it in Lin'an Prefecture."
"Ours look the same, except mine is made of silver, and my sister's looks better." Jinniang thought that a gold crown was ten times more expensive than a silver crown, so there was no need to waste that money, so she just smiled and passed it off.
Madam Tian has a very high emotional intelligence and quickly said, "I think yours looks better. The gold engraving makes it look even more sparkling."
As the three were talking like this, they saw Madam Bao coming last. She was wearing a golden crown and her clothes were gorgeous, a long brocade jacket sprinkled with gold and a goose yellow long skirt.
It had snowed in the past few days and some of the snow on the ground had melted, so shoes got wet easily. Jinniang was glad that she had the foresight to wear leather boots, otherwise her shoes would have been completely soaked.
When Madam Bao saw that Madam Tian and Madam Jin were both wearing the same Ruyi Cloud Crown, one of them was gold and the other was silver, she laughed and said, "You two are going together."
Jinniang said, "We have similar vision."
Madam Tian felt a little apologetic after hearing what Jinniang said, but she smiled and said, "Yes, no wonder my sister and I get along so well."
Madam Bao was on good terms with Jinniang, and she realized that what she said was inappropriate, so she stopped while she was ahead and changed the subject. After Madam Qi had packed everything and saw that everyone was present, she immediately asked everyone to get into the sedan chair or carriage and go to the government office together.
Of course, officials from other county offices generally did not have the opportunity to frequently interact with the officials and their families from the government office. However, Wu County was the capital county, and it was much cheaper to live in the same city with the officials and their families from the government office.
However, the county government office in Wu County already has a garden which is quite magnificent, and the government office is even more magnificent.
In the snow-covered land, dots of yellow wintersweets look like new buds. The wife of the magistrate, Miss Wei, was about thirty-six or thirty-seven years old. She was well-dressed and well-informed about both modern and ancient times.
After Madam Qi led Jinniang and the others over to pay their respects, although it was freezing outside, there was a row of goose-wing-shaped braziers burning brightly inside. Instead of going out to admire the flowers in the snow, people would look through the diamond-shaped windows, hold a cup of hot tea, and watch the snow falling on the wintersweets.
Of course, the focus is not on appreciating the flowers, but it is more important for everyone to keep in touch.
Jinniang and others naturally followed Madam Qi to flatter the magistrate. Madam Bao thought that she was dressed very beautifully and others would look up to her today, but the result was contrary to her wishes.
They were all here, and they didn't say a word at all. They just played tossing pots and backgammon and had a feast, and they all had to give gifts.
When Bao returned home, she complained bitterly. Her shoes were soaked through. Qiaoer carefully took off her crown and said, "I'll keep it for you, so that no one can touch it."
"Well, after we go to Zhijun's house, please return it to the pawnshop for me first. Don't let anyone see it." She did have a silver crown, but after wearing it once, it was surpassed by Madam Tian, so naturally she had to borrow a gold crown from the pawnshop. Anyway, they are officials, so the pawnshop owners don't dare to come and ask for the money at will.
Of course, she returned it after wearing it for fear of gossip.
Afterwards, she went to Zhijun's house again. This time, Jinniang wore the gilded silver crown with flowers and Ruyi given by her in-laws when she got married, and a satin sheepskin coat with a pink and purple edging and a light purple broken branch plum blossom pattern. This time, I just sat and chatted with him, but I couldn't say much.
Jinniang was not in a hurry and said to Aying: "This is the cold bench. It will be fine once you warm it up."
Mother Fang smiled and said, "You are right. Since they have also sent you a message, it means that they also know you. If we deliberately show it, it will be too explicit and they will make fun of you. Madam, this is how a wife of an official should act."
In addition to the wife of the military governor, there were also the wife of the prosecutor and the local wealthy families. They did not try to show off and took out the Cuihua given by the Gu family and put it together as a set to wear. There was also a set of gold filigree jewelry in her dowry from her previous marriage, which she also took out and wore.
Of course, Jinniang also saw a lot of tricks. Some people used banquets to socialize, some people moved around to help people act as matchmakers, and some people just wanted to make friends and expand their network.
The games of touhu and backgammon that Jinniang had learned on the boat came in handy. The other women in the family played these games, or played mahjong. Of course, she would also extract information from it, like the fresh lotus roots and pickled late cabbages that she ate at the magistrate's house were all produced on her own farm. Her family even had a citrus orchard, growing the most famous Dongting oranges from Pingjiang Prefecture in the Song Dynasty. When they were expensive, one orange cost a hundred coins, which was several times the price of the well-known Baba oranges today.
Seeing that she loved eating tangerines, the magistrate's family gave her a bottle of yellow tangerine wine. After Jinniang came back, she immediately took note that if she bought the land, she could not only grow crops, but also some cash crops.
Jiang Xian came back from outside and saw Jinniang wearing a peach pink jacket and a tender green half-sleeve coat, writing something seriously at the desk. She was so charming and charming that he hurried over.
Jinniang heard the noise, put the book aside and said, "It's so cold outside, how are you today?"
"The government office is not so bad." Jiang Xian dragged a chair and sat next to Jinniang. He found his official duties boring, so he rarely told Jinniang about them.
The two chatted for a while, mainly about Jiang Xian acting like a coquettish child and Jinniang teasing him, and the two of them made a lot of noise, filling the room with warmth.
On the other side, it was a miserable scene. Mrs. Bao had also been out for some time. Her feet were soaked every time. She caught a cold when she came back and felt dizzy.
Mei County Magistrate came back from outside to visit, and Bao Niang smiled and said, "They say that if you marry a man, you get clothes and food. How can my man love me? Others wear leather boots and leather coats, one every day, but I have nothing."
However, seeing that she was crying more and more pitifully, the Meixian Lieutenant just smiled and said, "I'll help you sweat a little, and then I'll ask the leather boot shop to come to your door."
After saying that, he pressed her down and did something.
Mrs. Tian from next door and the wife of Yang Dutou gave Yang Dutou a blue silk jacket with a slanting collar and a jade-colored skirt with embroidered branches and piled flowers, and said, "If you don't have anything you want, just come to me. I can't let the child suffer with you."
This Yang Dutou is really a shameless person. His wife and children cannot even keep warm and don’t have decent clothes, but all his money is spent outside.
Yang Dutou's wife was usually confused, but she always accepted Madam Tian's kindness and said, "Madam, you are the only one who treats me the best." After that, she told Madam Tian another thing: "Madam Bao's gold crown was borrowed from a pawnshop. I saw Qiao'er go to the pawnshop when she was pawning something."
Mrs. Yang Dutou had been ridiculed by Mrs. Bao before, and she had been holding a grudge against her for a long time. She wanted to tell everyone about Mrs. Bao's embarrassing stories.
But unexpectedly, Mrs. Tian was not a gossiper. Her marriage was not easy to come by. After marriage, she lost a son, and then gave birth to a son, Dong. Her husband also got promoted to an official position through favor and loved her very much. On such a good day, she feels like she is living in a honey pot. What does she care about what others do?
But when Yang Dutou's wife saw that Madam Tian did not accept the challenge, she knew that she was a kind-hearted person, so she had to play the bad guy herself. She told everyone about it, and even Jinniang heard about it.
Ah Ying said sarcastically: "This man is really too vain."
Jinniang thought that if she didn't know how to make money, it would be the same even if she married into a rich family with her beauty. Men are generous to women they haven't gotten yet, but are reluctant to spend a penny on the ones they bring home. This lady's dowry is not generous, she has to pay for everything, and anything she wants to buy is not cheap.
By analogy, Jinniang now understood many things that she didn't understand before.
A bodhisattva-like person like Madam Tian has everything, so she doesn't want to get into trouble with other people. Naturally, she is unwilling to lower herself to fight for things that can be settled with a little money. She can also win a good reputation, so why not do it?
Just like Bao Niangzi, who is so aggressive, she has nothing, so she has to make a fuss and seek a sense of existence, from inferiority to self-conceit.
This New Year was the first time to spend it away from home, and Jiang Xian's office was closed. Jinniang was okay at other household chores, but she was not as good as Jiang Xian in cooking. Jiang Xian hadn't cooked for a long time, so he made a few side dishes.
"My dear, it would be great if you could cook for me every day. I like your dishes the best. They are just the right amount of salty and delicious." Jinniang was very flattering.
Jiang Xian was still a little embarrassed, so he had to say, "My lady, I plan to come here this year to crack down on beggars. Nowadays, some people specialize in trafficking women and children, some sell them to other places, and some blackmail them. So, I'm afraid I can't spend the New Year with you."
Jinniang smiled and said, "It's nothing. If you do it well, it will definitely be your political achievement."
"I thought so too. You don't know that the county magistrate will enroll students personally for the county school examination next year, and He Gong also likes to interfere. I can only find another way. When I have some achievements, we won't have to endure his anger all the time in the future." Jiang Xian said.
Jinniang agreed with this, but she was a little worried: "These kidnappers are not alone, do you need to bring enough people?"
"Don't worry about that." Jiang Xian said with a smile.
The first reason why he beat the beggars was to achieve political achievements, and the second was to be able to curry favor with the local wealthy families. After all, the women stolen by those kidnappers were all those who were beautiful, but those who could be well supported were mostly girls from wealthy families. He did not tell his wife the latter reason in order to avoid ruining her good impression of him.
In his wife's heart, he is a handsome, talented, kind-hearted, and caring husband!
During the New Year, Jiang Xian was seldom at home, and Jinniang rarely did not have to socialize, so she stayed at home reading and doing needlework, and found the quietness quite comfortable. Anyone who has ever attended social events will know that the first time you go out from home, you will feel particularly excited, but after going out several times, the dishes at the banquets are almost the same, and gradually you will feel that it is better to stay at home.
Because she had so much time to spare, Jinniang could devote all her time to embroidering the statue of Guanyin sitting on a lotus. In her spare time, she would chat with the children. The two children are good companions together. The elder sister can tell stories to the younger brother, and the younger brother is also very dependent on his elder sister.
Sister Yun is really her little helper. Sometimes when Brother Ning yells, she will put her index finger on her lips and say, "Shh, our mother is doing something important. Don't disturb her."
"Sister, I'm a pig, and I can hum." Ning Ge'er made a strange face.
No matter how sensible Yun Jie'er was, she was still a child. She and her brother imitated the barking of dogs and cats, which made Jin Niang's head hurt. She asked the wet nurse and the maids to take them somewhere else to play so that she could calm down.
The embroidery lasted until the Lantern Festival. This kind of lantern festival was the time when kidnappers were most active. Jiang Xian had already set up an ambush and caught thirteen kidnapping cases in a row, from the daughters of officials to the girls of gentry, and even boys who accidentally got lost, almost all of them were caught by Jiang Xian.
The last time Jiang Xian took more than three hundred taels from Jinniang, he was just making arrangements. He had a group of people under his command, and the Mei County Magistrate in the yamen wanted to rely on him, so several captains listened to him.
After handling such a big case and conducting an all-night interrogation to obtain a confession and comfort the relatives, Mr. Song hired some idle people to spread the word of Jiang Xian's achievements in the market. When Magistrate Hou heard about this, he was even more furious.
Is it good to beat a kidnapper? Yes! Is it right to comfort the relatives of the victims? Yes!
But only I, Hou Gong, can do these.
Therefore, he immediately called Jiang Xian over and gave him a severe scolding.
If it were in the past, Jiang Xian would have been submissive, but now he first admitted his mistake and then said with a smile: "County Master, the safety of Wu County is originally my responsibility. When I came here, my uncle told me to do some things well, otherwise he would never forgive me."
Previously, Jiang Xian had always behaved like a helpless scholar from a poor family. Magistrate Hou had inquired about him and learned only that Jiang Xian's father and grandfather were both commoners, and that only he and his brother passed the imperial examination in the same year, but they were also just starting out. It is said that he studied under Master Huang, but Master Huang had long since resigned and returned to his hometown. His wife was also from an ordinary family. Even his maternal grandfather was once a Hanlin, but has long since passed away.
Therefore, County Magistrate Hou did not take him too seriously.
Seeing Jiang Xian's attitude, County Magistrate Hou couldn't help but ask, "Who is the county lieutenant's uncle?"
"My uncle is the Three-Division Envoy, which is far inferior to Jixian. However, the daughter-in-law of the new Jixian Xiang is the sister of my own sister-in-law." Jiang Xian smiled slightly.
This is how the officialdom is. Even if you don't have a backer, others will want to steal your credit. But others won't be so excessive. County Magistrate Hou is too arrogant.
You are a Jinshi, and so am I. Your backer is the current Prime Minister of Jixian, and I, Jiang Xian, have been running the business for many years and I also have people under my wing.
County Magistrate Hou looked at Jiang Xian again. Unlike his previous docile self, he now had the temperament of a first-class official. He was always serious and felt a little embarrassed.
Then Jiang Xian said, "County Master, I just want to make some achievements and return to Beijing as soon as possible."
I don't care about what you do, but don't get in my way. You, Hou Gong, have made a lot of money here and you don't want to leave, but I have my own pursuits.
What I want is power, what you want is money, and we should not interfere with each other.
Officialdom rules prohibit bullying the elderly but not the young. Although Hou Gong was quite resentful, he was not stupid. He thought that if Jiang Xian wanted to achieve some results and leave as soon as possible, it would be a good thing for him.
Therefore, Hou Gong felt aggrieved and endured it.
…
The families of those who were rescued came to express their gratitude, but Jiang Xian had to "reluctantly" return all the generous gifts they sent. Just like what his wife said, he accepted bribes in the first year and thought he was being careful, but if he was caught by the censor, he would be a stain within a stain in the future.
Jiang Xian also followed the clues and found the leaders of these kidnappers, and rescued more than 20 people from a den. The kidnappers who escaped were issued arrest warrants.
This matter made people very happy, and Jinniang was also very happy.
Naturally, there were also some funny things. The person rescued by Jiang Xian was the daughter of a wealthy businessman. The businessman wanted his daughter to be his second wife, to serve Jiang Xian and Jinniang, and also to bring a generous dowry and a body.
It is said that Jiang Xian took a step back on the spot and said, "Old man, are you repaying me or harming me?"
The rich businessman was puzzled. Isn’t this a good thing?
Jiang Xian came back and said to Jinniang, "It was clearly a good deed to save someone, but you added some romance to it, which ruined my reputation."
Jinniang thought that this man was a career-minded person. What Jiang Xian wanted in this matter was the evaluation. If some romantic affair really happened and others made a big fuss about it, it would be bad.
Jiang Xian looked at his wife's face and breathed a sigh of relief. Fortunately, she believed it. Otherwise, if she didn't believe it and felt that he was only indulging in love, what should he do?
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