Chapter 92 Chapter 92 Two Chapters in One
After the Dragon Boat Festival, after two months of practice, Jinniang's double-sided embroidery has gone from a rough outline to a lifelike fan. Yunjieer likes this fan very much, and Jinniang helps her make some tassels on the fan handle.
"Mom, thank you for doing this for me." Sister Yun couldn't let it go.
Jinniang smiled and said, "You can't fan it every day now. It's not that hot yet."
After having breakfast with her, Yunjieer went to read a book and trace Chinese characters by herself, while Jinniang took care of the housework first, as the beginning of summer was coming soon. She ordered someone to dye a piece of coarse silk that she had obtained from the last wedding ceremony for Hou Sanjie. Half of it was dyed lake blue and the other half was dyed water red. The total cost was one string of silk and four cents. She then distributed the silk to the servants to make clothes.
People in the mansion usually ask Minzhi to make clothes, so that Minzhi can also earn some money, or they can go out and find a tailor to do it. This can be considered a welfare benefit given to everyone in the mansion. Jinniang herself has worked as a worker. Every time the Zhou family or the Wenxiu Courtyard gave them some small gifts, they were very happy, thinking that their hard work was not in vain.
Within a few days, all the servants in Jinniang's house were renovated. When Huang Yasi's wife saw it, she immediately told Bao Niangzi. She and Bao Niangzi were like-minded, but she only passed on the message and refused to take the lead.
"The servants of the Jiang family have all changed their clothes. I don't know where they got their fortunes from."
Mrs. Bao sneered, "What else can you say? It's nothing more than corruption. Pah, a corrupt official."
Huang Yasi's wife pretended to be surprised: "You can't say that. It is said that County Magistrate Jiang never accepts gifts from others."
"That's just what happens on the surface. Who knows what happens in secret?" Mrs. Bao spat.
In fact, she and Jinniang had no grudges in the past or present, but there are often many such people in the world who, just because others are better than themselves, do not think about how to improve themselves, but instead want to suppress those who are making progress.
In the past, the person she hated was Madam Tian, and now it is Madam Jin.
Therefore, Madam Bao's relationship with Madam Tian improved. Madam Tian had always been trying to please her and was always afraid that she would be mean to her. Now that Madam Bao and her had reconciled, she was relieved and even gave Madam Bao a set of top-quality brocade clothes.
Madam Bao also helped Madam Tian paste a pair of shoe uppers and said, "We should avoid Madam Qi's place. I heard that the higher-ups have started investigating. If they are serious, we will be punished."
Madam Tian also sighed: "I really didn't expect it."
"What's so unexpected? Since she's been occupying the toilet and refusing to leave, naturally someone will punish her. Isn't this known to everyone?" Madam Bao explained clearly.
Madam Tian was about to say something when she heard that the teacher that Han Zhubu had invited for his son was coming, so she hurried over. So Madam Bao went back.
Mrs. Bao thought that it was not that she was incapable of having children, but she didn't know she was pregnant last time, caught a cold, and had sex, so she had a miscarriage. Fortunately, she kept it a secret and no one knew about it.
She didn't want children, but when she saw Madam Tian like this, she thought it would be better if she gave birth to a child.
It was also said that the matter of the river works of County Magistrate Hou had been reported to the higher authorities, and that there had also been cases of malpractice in Lianxian County's school. The military governor was asking the inspector of Liangzhe Road to conduct an investigation. The post of county magistrate is now being taken over by Jiang Xian, and even his former superior, Han Zhubu, has to listen to him.
This made Han Zhubu at home say to Madam Tian: "It would be better if our Dong Ge'er could become a Jinshi in the next two exams. If he is like me, I don't know how much humiliation he would have to endure."
Madam Tian smiled and said, "Now that the teacher has been invited here, our Dong Ge will definitely study hard."
Han Zhubu sighed: "Our officialdom is really not peaceful."
The reason why he didn't compete with Hou Gong was that he expected that Hou Gong would definitely encounter this kind of thing. As a yamen official, he might not study very hard, but he still had the ability to judge people.
Mrs. Tian's family was originally very wealthy, but because her father was punished while in office, her mother made a prompt decision to go to her aunt's house. At my aunt's house, my uncle coveted my mother, and in order to find shelter, the mother and daughter had no choice but to endure it. Fortunately, her mother remarried later, and her stepfather was also wealthy. She lived a good life for two years. However, she never expected that her stepfather would pass away again, and the people in his house swarmed like locusts.
Although her mother escaped with her with rich boxes and cages, they still could not escape without a man to protect them. It happened that her aunt's daughter was sick, and she wanted her to take care of her for a few days.
It was during those days that she had an affair with her brother-in-law Han Zhubu. She even deliberately did not want her cousin to get better, otherwise she and her mother would have to run around again. If she died, she could marry Han Zhubu with her dowry.
Later, when her cousin passed away, the Han family wanted to marry her, and her aunt naturally scolded and doubted her. But after all, because she treated her cousin's daughter well and they had lived a peaceful life for so many years, she usually helped everyone just to atone for her sins.
Therefore, she was like a frightened bird when she heard these things: "Will this matter implicate us?"
Han Zhubu held her shoulders and sat down: "No, don't worry. Many things have nothing to do with me. Let's just live our own lives."
Since her husband said so, Madam Tian was relieved. She smiled and said, "I heard that County Magistrate Jiang is now acting as the county magistrate. We should send something to congratulate him."
"That's fine, but don't be too extravagant. It would be bad if someone catches you. Besides, if Hou Gong is really demoted or dismissed from office, the court will send another county magistrate." Han Zhubu was familiar with the rules of officialdom.
It is impossible for a large county like Wu County to allow a young man in his early twenties to be qualified from the beginning, but after going through this period of experience, if he has connections above him and can become an official in the future, it is very likely that he will be able to rise to the top.
Mrs. Tian understood what her husband meant.
When Jinniang heard about Jiang Xian's current appointment as the county magistrate, she couldn't help but warn him, "You are a hundred times more capable than me in your work and administration. I'm just saying that although Hou Gong is in custody, he is not completely finished, and there is a possibility that a new county magistrate will come. You must be careful about the situation."
"My lady, you are so cautious and careful. Ordinary people would have been arrogant if they had those rights, but you still want to persuade me." Jiang Xian smiled and joked, but he also took Jinniang's words to heart.
Jinniang said, "Although our family is not that wealthy, we have enough food and clothing, and we have both sons and daughters. How happy it is to be together as a family. I am very satisfied. Now my husband is working for the court. I just hope that you will not work too hard for the court and sacrifice yourself."
Mother Fang was listening in and couldn't help but think that her wife was really good at talking. She was clearly worried that Shiliu Lang would take up too much power and abuse his authority, but she also said that she was afraid that he would go too far for the affairs of the court.
After the couple finished talking, Jiang Xian went to the government office.
As for Jinniang, she also had things to do. The farm sent over a basket of duck eggs and twenty goose eggs. Duck eggs were easy to deal with, and they were very good when pickled into salted duck eggs.
Since goose eggs are rarely eaten, Jinniang was discussing with Juxiang how to prepare them. Juxiang said, "Make a stewed egg for my sister and brother."
"Not yet, they should eat eggs first. Goose eggs are rare, one cent each, don't let anyone break them. But isn't Minzhi pregnant? Cook one for her. I heard that goose eggs can remove fetal toxins. Put the other nineteen in the box first, and I'll ask other families how they make them, and then we can do the same, don't waste them." Jinniang said.
Ju Xiang smiled and said, "You are right."
Juxiang sent Minzhi some stewed goose egg custard. Juxiang also said, "My brothers and sisters didn't give me any, so I cooked one especially for you. My wife is so good to you."
"What should I do?" Minzhi's belly was big. Usually, Madam gave her red dates and longans as gifts directly. Now she gave this to her. She was a little flattered.
Juxiang is not as smart as Aying, and she doesn't know how to say nice things, but she is a very honest person. She is not like others who are afraid of others knowing when they receive benefits. She just said, "My wife is a good person."
Minzhi was at a loss whether to laugh or cry after hearing this.
However, after Jiang Xian took over as acting county magistrate, he consulted the military commander on everything. Knowing that the flood season was approaching, he paid great attention to the river works.
He was such a clean person, but when he came back from river work, his shoes were covered in mud and there were spots of mud on his trouser legs. Jinniang knew that he loved cleanliness, so she immediately arranged for him to wash and change into clean clothes, and asked the maids to set the table for dinner. She also said, "I have been asking about how to cook goose eggs these days. Some people say pickled ones are better, while others say fried goose eggs with Chinese toon are delicious. I heard that goose eggs can prevent colds, calm the mind, and coriander promotes ventilation, so I asked Juxiang to fry goose eggs with coriander. You can try it."
When Jiang Xian heard that the scrambled eggs were fried with coriander, he was a little resistant, but when he saw Jinniang staring at him, he ate a few chopsticks. Hmm, it seemed different from the usual scrambled eggs.
Jinniang smiled and said, "This is done by boiling a goose egg first, chopping it up, and then adding the boiled and chopped goose egg to the stir-fry. The texture will be very soft and chewy."
"Then I'll eat more." Jiang Xian finished his fried goose eggs, drank a bowl of stewed chicken soup, and had some seasonal vegetables, feeling very satisfied.
When County Magistrate Hou was arrested, his cronies had already taken two thousand taels of silver to the capital to smooth things over. However, because County Magistrate Hou was a man of the Prime Minister Jixian, he was attacked desperately by the censors instead. Hou Gong accepted bribes and embezzled river engineering funds, and also implicated his relative-in-law, the Tongpan, the Yan Tuiguan, and even the Inspector of Liangzhe Road.
Even Jiang Xian was interrogated several times. Fortunately, Jiang Xian arrived late, and people from all walks of life in the county government said that Jiang Xian was being marginalized and could only catch thieves to handle cases. Even the credit for catching the thieves was almost taken away by Hou Gong.
Hou Gong was sentenced to prison, and it was said that he would be caned, tattooed on the face, and exiled. The Hou family dispersed in a panic. The former housekeeper of the Hou family was usually submissive to Hou Gong, but when Hou Gong was in trouble, the housekeeper took several thousand taels of silver and ran away. The third sister of the Hou family was also broken off from engagement, and wanted to follow her sister-in-law, but Madam Qi ignored her. Now that she was pregnant, she had asked Hou Gong to write a divorce letter in order to save the child, and returned to her parents' home.
Hou Sanjie was taken into the music school and became a slave.
Jinniang naturally sighed as she watched. Jiang Xian shook his head: "Hou Gong doesn't know when to quit. Now he's dragged himself into the party dispute, which is really a disaster for his family."
Because of Hou Gong's mistakes, Jinniang even gave up the job of Quanfu and just stayed at home doing needlework, reading books, or teaching her two children.
Jiang Xian put all his energy into the river work. Jinniang also called on the servants in her family to make straw sandals and gave them to the river workers to wear, which was considered as a way of showing her dedication. Because this time, when the flood season came, not a single part of the river was broken. Shen Zhijun was deeply impressed by Jiang Xian and said that he was a capable official. He also said, "I heard that your wife not only sent oilcloth when it was raining heavily, but also made straw sandals for the river workers herself. This is also a good story."
Moreover, Shen Zhijun also investigated and heard that Jiang Xian’s wife was just a girl from the market. Later, when Jiang Xian became rich, he remained consistent, which shows that he has excellent character. Although some people reported that Jiang Xian's family was rich, he also checked and found that Jiang Xian did not accept bribes. It was his wife who would take care of it.
Furthermore, if the water is too clear, there will be no fish. It is already good enough to be able to achieve this on a large scale.
Even he himself occasionally collects some writing fees.
In the blink of an eye, it was July and the rent for Tianshui Lane arrived, a total of two hundred and forty strings of cash. The farm also sent over one season's rent, seventy-five strings of cash in total, as well as two baskets of vegetables and fruits, a basket of eggs, three baskets of fish, and a bag of water chestnuts.
Jinniang gave six fish to Madam Tian and Madam Bao respectively, and also gave one fish to the attendants and clerks with whom she had a good relationship, and kept a basket for herself to eat.
Mrs. Tian came back with a box of rose biscuits. Jinniang gave one third of it to Juxiang, knowing that it was not easy for her to cook in the summer. He gave some to Yun Jie'er and Ning Ge'er, and kept a few for himself. Then Mrs. Bao brought over a tray of sour vegetables. Vegetable dumplings are easy to spoil in summer, so Mrs. Jin simply distributed them to Liu Douer, Chen Xiaolang and two attendants who had big appetites.
The things Jinniang sent were not particularly valuable, so she didn't ask everyone to be grateful. At least having half of the people know the good and the bad is better than anything else. Mrs. Tian had the fish fried that day and then stewed it with tofu, which tasted delicious. Mrs. Bao said to Qiao'er, "She sent such a small gift, but she asked us to return the favor."
When the Meixian lieutenant heard this, he said, "This Taihu white fish has tender meat, and a six-tail fish costs two hundred coins. Don't say it's small. They have everything. It's just a normal transaction."
In fact, what Mei County Magistrate said was the truth. On ordinary days, when there are no festivals, the generous gifts given by others are mostly local food. This is the way to establish a long-term relationship. But the Meixian lieutenant said, "I have everything," which made Mrs. Bao angry and embarrassed.
Even so, there were people like Yang Dutou's wife and Jiang Liujie who remembered kindness. Jiang Liujie even sent some snowflake cakes, and Yang Dutou's wife sent some homemade rice cakes.
Before the Mid-Autumn Festival, Jinniang accompanied Old Madam Shen to the Woxue Temple, as a reward for the Buddha statue she had given them.
The formerly known name of Woxuean was Guzi'an. When it snowed, the temple looked like it was lying down from a distance, so it was also called Woxuean.
Jinniang went there in a horse-drawn carriage. Because Minzhi was about to give birth, Liu Douer was the driver. Liu Dou'er has a good personality. Jinniang and the others are going to the mountains, and they are afraid that Liu Dou'er will be hungry while waiting here, so they ask Aying to bring some snacks to her. There are two kinds of snacks in total, one is camel hoof and the other is pork.
Shengrou is made by mixing finely chopped mushrooms, fresh bamboo shoots, walnut kernels and pine nuts into a stuffing and then frying it, similar to a vegetarian pan-fried bun. Camel hoof is made by mixing cooked fat goose meat, pork fat and mutton fat into a stuffing and wrapping it in dough in the shape of a horseshoe, then frying it with oil boiled from pork and mutton fat, similar to a meat pan-fried bun.
Ah Ying saw that he was in a dilemma and just covered her mouth and laughed: "You are so stupid, why not just pick a few of the same kind?"
Liu Douer was not annoyed either.
Jinniang gave him another ten coins and told him to buy a drink if it was too hot.
Although it was a scorching hot summer, there were still many people in Woxuean, most of them were women who came in groups. Although Madam Shen was old, she was in high spirits and looked energetic. She even said to Jinniang, "Just now I saw that you were very considerate of the servants. This is very good. The servants were also raised by their parents, so you should be nicer to them."
Jinniang nodded in agreement. In fact, there was no need to brag about such things. Although they were servants, they lived together for a long time and were no different from family members.
She accompanied Madam Shen in. Madam Shen was able to raise such an honest and upright son, and she herself did not want to disturb the place. They were not asked to clear the area, but came in with the pilgrims.
They lit a few incense sticks. Madam Shen was old, so she went to have a rest first. She would listen to the abbot talk about Buddhism later. Jinniang then rested in the Zen room on the west side. A nun brought some tea over. After drinking the tea, they felt much more comfortable.
Jinniang felt it was too hot inside again, so she asked Qingrong and Fang Mama to stay in the room while she took Aying out for a walk on the corridor to get some fresh air.
Coincidentally, I met a familiar face, it was Rong Niang.
At this time, Rong Niang dressed completely differently from before. When she was at Feng Sheng's house, although they were not from a wealthy family, she wore fine cloth and coarse silk, and even had hairpins and rings in her hair. Because of her outstanding appearance, she looked like a lady from a noble family.
Now she was seen wearing an autumn-scented linen bodice, a moon-white silk shirt, a woolen blue bellyband, an indigo apron, and a linen headscarf.
But the whole person was smiling, which was completely different from the way he looked when he was with Feng Sheng before.
Jinniang had someone arrange an empty room for Rongniang to come over and talk. When the two met again, they were surprisingly speechless.
It was Jinniang who spoke first: "Big sister, how are you? I only found out later that you were still alive."
After she arrived in Wu County, she did not talk about these things with Jiang Xian, nor did she go out of her way to look for anyone. Now that she has changed her ways, if I go back to her, I'm sure I'll embarrass Rong Niang.
It's like someone has a shameful past, and you insist on exposing it.
Now that they met by chance, Jinniang put aside the past and started to care about her.
Rong Niang was a little dazed: "Those days in Bianjing seem like a dream to me now. Later I thought Feng Sheng must have planned this long ago, but I can't blame anyone. If I hadn't jumped in, what could they do to me? Second sister, how are Lin Ge'er and Guan Ge'er?"
"Well, they both have famous teachers. When I came to Wu County last year, I heard from Lou Si Niang that they were highly praised by the teacher." It was not that Jinniang was talking nonsense. Lou Si Niang had indeed taught her children very well. Even the most picky person could not find fault with her.
Even Feng Sheng's clinic is run by Lou Si Niang. She is truly a capable and kind person.
Rong Niang used to be muddle-headed, but now she is very sensitive when she hears Jin Niang mention "Lou". "Could Feng Sheng have married Lou Si Niang?"
She said this not because she still cared about Feng Sheng, but because she felt she was being fooled, especially by Lou Si Niang. Feng Sheng had always been very close to the Lou family.
Although she had guessed in her heart that it might be Feng Sheng who set up the trap, she had no evidence. Now that she heard Jinniang say that Feng Sheng had married, she was certain.
Of course Jinniang would not hide it from her: "Yes, he married Lou Si Niang a few months after you left."
"A man who harms his wife will be struck by lightning, and he will definitely lose his money." Rong Niang said hatefully.
Seeing her like this, Jinniang gave her some advice: "Big sister, do you still remember the couple you played cards with before? Where are they from? If you want to investigate, you can start with them."
Rong Niang was completely confused: "I don't know where to find it. Besides, second sister, I'm married now. Although my life is a little poor, my parents-in-law and your brother-in-law treat me very well."
"What is my brother-in-law doing now?" Jinniang asked when she saw that she had no intention of revenge.
Speaking of her brother-in-law, Rong Niang smiled sweetly: "Your brother-in-law has bought a boat now, and he usually boats people across the river. I cook some food for him to sell." Because she was beautiful and afraid of being teased, she made food at home to sell.
He also mentioned that they had a son who was extremely handsome. "I came to Wo Xue An today to ask for a lucky charm for him."
Jinniang couldn't help but ask, "I heard that Feng Sheng asked my sister to bring back a dowry. Did she spend all the money?"
Two hundred strings of cash was not a small sum. At that time, more than a dozen of them hired a boat and it only brought back three hundred strings of cash. For two individual travelers, it would have brought back fifty strings of cash at most.
Jinniang had worked at Zhou's embroidery workshop for six years and had only saved over a hundred taels of silver. She could easily open a shop and there was no need to live on the boat.
Rong Niang was originally a casual person, and so was her current brother-in-law Shang Dalang. Shang Dalang's family still had ten acres of land, so they could make a good living. After Shang Dalang's sister got married, she brought money back to help renovate her parents' home. Rong Niang had food and shelter, and most of her time was spent doing housework with her mother-in-law. Although they were not rich, they were really comfortable.
"The money has not been all used. There are still more than 50 strings of cash left, waiting for your nephew to use when he goes to school in the future." Rong Niang explained.
However, Jinniang also reminded her: "Sister, I told you something when you and Feng Sheng were getting divorced for the first time. I still say the same thing now. Although Brother-in-law Shang treats you very well and the Shang family treats you well, if one day Shang Dalang is gone, you will always have to stand up for yourself..."
Even if the support you choose is fine, what if this support is no longer there?
Unexpectedly, this sentence made Rong Niang very angry. She looked at Jin Niang and said, "I don't have such great ability as you. Now I have met your brother-in-law Shang, and we live our lives peacefully. This doesn't bother you, right? Why do you hope that I am not good? My brother-in-law is an official, but if he really sets a trap to harm you one day, do you think you are better than me?"
She thought that nothing was wrong with her, but Jinniang always reminded her that she was incompetent and therefore did not deserve happiness. Don’t all women in the world take care of their husbands and children like this? Why is she not worthy?
Jinniang suddenly thought of a sentence, "Whenever you want to criticize others, remember that not everyone in the world has such good conditions as you."
She knew in her heart that Rong Niang was actually running away. She didn't dare to retaliate against Feng Sheng, nor did she dare to think about the future. She just wanted to muddle through. But this was her life. Why should she force others to be the same as her?
"Big sister, it's my fault." She thought that she had advised him before, so she didn't say anything more from then on.
Seeing Jinniang like this, Rongniang could not get angry anymore. Jinniang took out a ten-string note from her purse and handed it to her: "Big sister, I haven't seen my nephew, so these are my gifts to him."
According to the custom in Anlu Prefecture, relatives would give money when they saw a newborn baby.
Rong Niang looked at the money in her hand with a wry smile. This money was probably someone's way of buying out the sisterhood, and she really should be more tactful.
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