Chapter 98 Chapter 98 Two chapters merged into one
By the time Zi Teng had almost learned all the rules, it was already the twelfth lunar month. Qing Rong, Min Zhi and Pei Lan, who were good at sewing, all helped A Ying sew bedding.
Jinniang was making three coats for Ning Ge'er: a double-layer silk-cotton jacket, a bright red double-breasted sheepskin coat with a gold-printed Ruyi pattern, and a turquoise-green raccoon sleeve coat. There is no way. This child used to wear his sister's clothes, but now he is three years old and has started to be sensible. He needs to wear some proper clothes of his own.
As for Yunjie, Jinniang had to spend more time embroidering for her. Besides, she had last year's jacket to wear, so Jinniang put it aside for later. "Mom, I have memorized this piece of Yuefu." Sister Yun brought the book over.
After Jinniang listened to her recitation, she asked Aying to serve her almond yogurt: "Moisten your throat. Do you want to eat anything else?"
Sister Yun shook her head: "My daughter wants to do needlework with me. Please help me draw a little rabbit."
Jinniang of course agreed to her daughter's request, but she also secretly wondered where Jiang Xian's transfer order for next year was. She had to find a teacher for her daughter. She couldn't just teach her by herself, a half-baked person.
The mother and daughter worked together, and when Jiang Xian walked into the house in the wind and snow in the afternoon, she felt the room was full of warmth. Jiang Xian took off his crane cloak again, Qingrong put it aside, and Zi Teng looked at the tea.
"As the year draws to a close, there are more thieves. The Meixian lieutenant has been much more diligent lately. He just told me that he would go over to stake out the thieves at night." Jiang Xian took a sip of hot tea and felt much more relaxed.
Jinniang bit off the thread and couldn't help saying, "I heard from Madam Tian that Zhaoxuan passed away. If he didn't work harder, I'm afraid I don't know where he would be rotated to."
The Song Dynasty has always valued civil officials over military officials, and the Meixian Wei was not one of those people who came from a regular military background. He usually secretly made some gray income. Now that he has lost his backing, he wants to make some achievements, hoping to serve another term so that he can make more money.
Seeing that Mei County Magistrate was afraid that he would steal the credit, Jiang Xian simply returned home first. After all, he had handled several major cases while in office, and his teaching in the county school had also achieved remarkable results.
"I asked the kitchen to prepare some hot soup today. Let's eat it while it's hot." Jinniang said with a smile.
Jiang Xian rubbed his hands and asked Ning Ge'er to come over. The child didn't like being led by others and came over by himself. Today he was wearing the sheepskin coat that Jinniang had just made. The outside was bright red. Jiang Xian looked very happy and held his son on his knees.
In the past, Jiang Xian also held his daughter on his knees, but his daughter was seven years old now, and it was time for a grown-up girl to avoid her father, so he could no longer do that.
"Brother Ning, what did you learn today?" Jiang Xian asked.
Jinniang handed the book to Jiang Xian, who asked him to flip through it himself. He picked a picture of peach blossoms and listened to Ning Ge'er reciting: "Fisherman's Song" by Zhang Yong, Tang Dynasty. In front of Xisai Mountain, egrets fly, peach blossoms flow in the water and mandarin fish are fat. Green bamboo hat, green raincoat, no need to go home in the slanting wind and drizzle."
Listening to his son's childish voice, Jiang Xian stroked his son's head and said, "Next year, when the transfer order comes, I will hire a teacher for them."
"Okay. But isn't Ning'er too young?" In Jinniang's opinion, a three-year-old kid should be in the kindergarten class.
Jiang Xian shook his head: "He will be four years old next year. If we wait another two years, who knows where we will go? Besides, Ning Ge'er will take the imperial examination in the future. I started learning at the age of three."
Jinniang said unhappily, "Why don't you talk about this here, my daughter?"
"It's not that I don't want to tell you, but even if you hire a teacher, he can only teach you things like The Book of Filial Piety for Women, Admonitions for Women, and Rules for Domestic Use. It's better for you to study with Ning Ge'er and read the same books as men." Jiang Xian said.
It was not known whether these were Jiang Xian's excuses, but Jinniang knew that women could not take the imperial examinations nowadays, and if women did study, they would indeed be taught these things.
This time, Jinniang didn't care about it. After finishing her meal, she talked to Fang's mother about Xiqiu: "She is two years older than Aying. I wonder what she thinks?"
In everything, what is worrying is not the lack of it but the inequality. Xi Qiu is preparing to be Yun Jie'er's companion. Although she is not very capable, she is still honest.
Mother Fang said, "I'll go ask and find out."
Xi Qiu certainly wanted to get married, but there were too few men in the mansion, and she herself was not particularly outstanding. She was not as quick-witted and quick-handed as Minzhi, so she could only sigh.
Seeing this, Fang's mother smiled and said, "If you are willing, I will help you advocate."
Xi Qiu was naturally willing. Jinniang thought of the nephew of Fan Zhuangtou, the head of the village. If the head of the village had not known that he had some abilities last time, Fan Zhuangtou was old, and the trivial matters under him were taken care of by his son and nephew together.
So, Jinniang asked Aying to ask Liu Doer about Fan Silang. When Aying asked, Liu Doer told her everything he knew, saying that he was a capable man, but his parents had both passed away and his family was poor, so he couldn't afford to marry a wife.
Chen Xiaolang would have to go to the village and ask Mr. Fan how to bring up this matter again, which at least gave Xi Qiu some peace of mind.
Aying got married on the day before the New Year. She usually served Jinniang personally. Jinniang knew that she was not generous, so she forced her to save. Over the years, she had a monthly salary and bonus of 50 strings of cash, three boxes of clothes, a box of cloth, a box of jewelry, two boxes of silk flowers, not to mention shoes and socks.
The next day, the young couple came together to kowtow. Jinniang saw that Liu Dou'er had also tied up her hair with a towel and her clothes were neater than before. She saw Aying smiling brightly.
Jinniang smiled and asked them to get up. Aying still came here to serve during the day and went back to rest at night. There was no big change. Although Zi Teng can enter the room to serve, she still has to start by doing the rough work.
Madam Bao had also heard about the excitement here. She won once again in the backyard, but she was just one step short of winning. When the little whore was about to be sold, she turned out to be pregnant. Mei County Magistrate still has no children, so naturally he is reluctant to give birth. Mrs. Bao touched her belly, thinking it would be great if she was pregnant.
Qiao'er brought the medicine soup and said, "Madam, the tonic is here."
Mrs. Bao pinched her nose and finished drinking, then said, "It's useless to drink when your man is not at home."
After saying that, he thought of the little boy from the Jiang family and couldn't help saying, "Look how that child was born so well. Dong, the child from Madam Tian's family, was sickly, but Ning, the child, was plump and strong, and he rarely catches a cold. Last time I saw him in the garden, he saw a bug and stepped on it. He looked so majestic."
After such a long time, Mrs. Bao's resentment towards Jinniang has decreased a lot. It's not because she is kind and generous, but simply because she really can't beat her.
Wei Jinniang is not like Madam Tian who spends money recklessly. She has money and means, so who wouldn't be afraid of her?
After the Little New Year, Aying returned to work. She was no different from before, except that she remembered to take a portion of the snacks given by Jinniang back to Liu Douer, now she had one more person she cared about.
Seeing that the charcoal fire was warm and her hands were not cold, Jinniang continued to embroider her daughter's collar and told Fang Mama, "I'm sorry to bother you this time when we go to Yangzhou."
Dou Yuan, the daughter of Aunt Dou from Yangzhou, got engaged last September. She will be sent from Yangzhou to Damingfu to get married at the end of this year. It is freezing cold, and Jinniang cannot leave, so she plans to ask Mother Fang and Chen Xiaolang to send gifts together.
Mother Fang smiled and said, "You are too polite, ma'am."
At that moment, Aying opened the boxes and took out the wedding gifts that had been prepared long ago. Mother Fang saw that there were signatures on each gift box and knew that her wife was thoughtful. He went out to look for Chen Xiaolang again, and brought the guards hired by Jiang Xian in Wu County, and went to Yangzhou together.
These gift lists were brought over, and the words on them were made known to Yun Jie'er. He then took out several different pieces of paper and taught her: "Look, these are in the shape of doors. Some are made of red silk with names embroidered with gold thread; others are made of precious brocade with words embroidered with bright red wool thread. They are usually used by minor officials to greet senior officials, and most of them are used by people with lower official positions than your father to greet your father. Look at the words used above, they are also 'late born' and 'late learner'."
Sister Yun secretly took note of it, then pointed at the white one and asked, "Mom, what is this?"
"This is an invitation, used to invite people to dinner. You see, you can use ordinary white paper for the cover, make it about half a foot wide and one foot long, paste it into the shape of an envelope, and then stick a red paper strip vertically in the middle of the cover, with the name and title of the person being invited written on the paper. Then open the envelope, and there will be a smaller piece of white paper inside, which is the invitation. The content can be long or short, but it must state the reason for the invitation, the time, the place, and the polite words of reception and attendance, and the signature should be one's own name and title." When Jinniang came out of Bian Jing, she didn't understand many things in the officialdom, but in these two short years, she studied very hard, and now she knows it all.
Naturally, I would teach my daughter all these things. I couldn't let her be like me, knowing nothing.
"Let's not do needlework today, but just write this visiting card, okay?"
Sister Yun nodded heavily, and listened to Jinniang's simulated scene and asked her to write it out. While doing it, she complained to Jinniang about her brother: "When Ning Ge'er saw the snow, he wanted to step on it, but was stopped by me and my foster mother."
"He is really brave. I took him to the garden to play before the Mid-Autumn Festival. He saw a caterpillar and stepped on it to death." Jinniang felt that her son and her husband were completely opposite. Her son was brave since he was young, while her husband was a little timid.
However, she smiled and said, "Don't let him step on the snow, otherwise he will catch a cold."
Sister Yun acted like a little adult: "If you catch a cold, you will have a headache and a runny nose."
"Yes, our sister Jun knows more." Jinniang praised with a smile.
After Yun Jieer finished writing the visiting card, Jin Niang circled the parts that were not in the right format and asked her to rewrite one. She then showed it to Jiang Xian during lunch. Jiang Xian also praised his daughter and said to Jin Niang, "We have a pair of well-behaved children."
Jinniang thought that this was because she only gave birth to two children. If she had given birth to more, she might not have the energy to take care of them.
On the third day of the New Year, Mother Fang and Chen Xiaolang came back from outside. They were very happy because they received money as reward from Aunt Dou. Chen Xiaolang brought some toys for his son. Minzhi is now working as a needleworker in the Jiang family, and Chen Xiaolang is in charge of going out. The two of them have a high status in the mansion.
Minzhi laughed and said, "How can you buy so many things?"
"You don't know that he was selling them at the ferry, and his face was red from the wind. I felt sorry for him, so I bought him a few pieces." Chen Xiaolang's life is much better now than before, and Minzhi is considerate and caring, so the couple's lives are getting better and better.
Minzhi then said, "Don't forget about Xiqiu."
Xi Qiu and Min Zhi were originally Madam Jiang Liu who served Jiang Xian. However, Min Zhi was later promoted by Jin Niang because she was good at needlework. Xi Qiu's cooking skills were not as good as Juxiang's, and she was not good at needlework either, so she had to serve Jie'er instead, which was considered as another way out.
But now her marriage is undecided, so she naturally comes to Minzhi for help. Minzhi, out of consideration for the relationship between the two sisters, asks her husband to help her sister investigate.
Chen Xiaolang smiled and said, "Don't worry, I will definitely not forget it. Even if you don't tell me, my wife has told me to do it."
Originally, Minzhi also intended to let Xi Qiu marry Liu Douer. After all, they both came from the Jiang family together. Unexpectedly, the matchmaker just didn't tie the red string between the two of them. Besides, such matters of matchmaking are decided by the wife, and they dare not take the initiative.
Xi Qiu's affairs had to wait until the New Year was over. Chen Xiaolang still had to reply to Jinniang and talk about the situation of the Dou family: "I met the eldest son of the Dou family. He is now with the eldest master. The eldest master helped him find a marriage and disciplined him very strictly. But he seemed to be very depressed and his face was full of depression."
"Okay, I understand. You've worked hard." Jinniang asked Chen Xiaolang to go down.
Mother Fang was in the inner house, so she had no idea what was going on outside. Fortunately, Chen Xiaolang was there, but the inner house of the Dou family didn't seem to be peaceful. "Miss Yuan is marrying into the Zhen family, which is undoubtedly a marriage of advancement, so the dowry is very generous and filled two ships."
"It's nothing. When my aunt from the Dou family got married, her dowry was very generous. The Dou family is also a famous family. These are not surprising." Jinniang didn't think there was anything wrong.
Mother Fang said, "The only one in the Dou family who is an official is the eldest master. The second master has not made much achievements in these years. Although the family is rich, there are many people in the family, so not much is distributed to each person. I can't ask privately, but I'm afraid that the lady is counting on her son to be adopted, so she gave all the money of the second house to Miss Yuan."
Jinniang secretly thought that the eldest lady of the Zhou family seemed to have done the same thing. Later, the dowries of the third and fourth daughters were less than a quarter of that of the eldest daughter.
Jinniang told Jiang Xian about the Dou family's affairs again, and Jiang Xian also said, "Fortunately, I didn't meet the eldest master of the Dou family back then. It seems that Dou Dalang is indeed not a big deal."
"It's hard to say. According to the order, he is the first, but whether he can keep the family business is another matter. I just think that we should just be relatives. We can help if we can, and refuse if we can't. But the interests are too deeply involved. Even if we get the benefits for a while, we can't get rid of them in the future." Jinniang said.
Jiang Xian nodded: "My lady, this is teaching me to walk the straight path."
Jinniang smiled and said, "It is better to take it in the straight path than to seek it in the crooked path. It is not designed for golden fish, but only for kings and marquises."
Jiang Xian smacked his lips for a few times, savoring the taste more and more, and then looked at his wife: "My wife, do you think I can be the prime minister?"
People in the Song Dynasty are not aware of "The Investiture of the Gods", but Jinniang feels that it is just right for Jiang Xian. If it is really used in the right way, it may not be a problem.
However, Jinniang smiled and said, "I definitely believe that you have the talent to be a prime minister. However, if you really become a prime minister, many things may not be smooth sailing."
"What do you mean, madam?" Jiang Xian thought Jinniang would be very envious.
Jinniang smiled and said, "Just like when I was fat, I ate without restraint, and I could go out to eat and drink with my parents every month. Apart from making money, I didn't have to worry about anything else. Although I have become an official's wife and my life is very good now, I still miss the joy of the past. For example, you now feel that being a small official has many constraints and your ambitions cannot be realized, but when you are really at the center of the storm and many people are watching you, everything you do may be overly concerned."
Jiang Xian suddenly realized: "That's right."
"However, since ancient times, there has always been gain and loss. If a man has great power, a few minor flaws will not matter." Jinniang said.
Jiang Xian knew that his wife was comforting him. When he saw Jinniang finish her words, she went back to reading. He wanted to speak, but his wife stopped him immediately: "I want to read a book."
"Oh." Jiang Xian went out silently to make tea.
After the tenth day of the first lunar month, the eldest daughter of the Gu family gave birth to a son. Jinniang sent some third-day bathing rituals over, but she herself did not go. During the Lantern Festival, a family of four went to the Lantern Festival in disguise. Ning Ge'er wore a red brocade jacket with a front opening made by Jinniang, with turquoise sleeves, and a bright red hood with cloud and goose patterns on his head. He insisted on kissing Jinniang. The elder sister, Yunjie, wore a jacket with a gold and peach-red hibiscus pattern, with yellow sheepskin sleeves on the outside, and a hood of the same color on her head. She looked lively and pretty. She would not allow her younger brother to kiss her with saliva, and kept pushing him away.
Jinniang smiled and said to Jiang Xian, "Daddy, can you win a few lanterns for us today?"
She was just shouting like the kids, but she didn't know Jiang Xian looked at her with a meaningful smile and said, "Okay, Daddy will win the lantern for you."
With his ability, he won three lanterns at once. Ning Ge'er got the goldfish lantern, Yun Jie'er got the pomegranate lantern, and Jin Niang won the most gorgeous Bodhi leaf lantern.
Jinniang was the happiest. She bought jade plums, night moths, bees, snow willows and other accessories and gave them to Yunjie and the maids. She waited until a strong wind came before taking her children home.
After the Lantern Festival, Jinniang rested well for a few days, but she heard that Mei County Magistrate was accused of monopolizing lawsuits. Shen Zhijun was a strict person, so she reported it to the supervisor and sent people to investigate.
Jiang Xian was also investigated, but he was fine. Although he was a county lieutenant, he had solid evidence in every case since he took office and he investigated the cases very thoroughly. Moreover, this case was handled by Mei County Lieutenant when Jiang Xian was on a business trip outside, so he could not be blamed.
Jiang Xian said to Jinniang, "It's nothing more than Zhao Xuan's death. His backer has fallen. No one has dealt with him before, but now he has to be stepped on. Sometimes in the officialdom, people make trouble out of nothing. What's more, the Mei County Magistrate is not innocent to begin with. There must be something wrong with him."
Therefore, no matter how hard the Meixian County Magistrate tried, it was useless.
When the Mei County Magistrate was arrested, Madam Bao was at a loss. She went to Madam Wen, but she ignored her. Naturally, Jin Niang would not pay attention to her either. If she was involved in a case like this, it would be no joke.
"What should I do?" Madam Bao really didn't know what to do.
Of course Shen Zhijun had to handle the case when the imperial envoy came, even digging deep into the ground. Meixian Wei usually got along well with his brothers in the yamen, so he asked his servant to take the two thousand strings of cash he had saved over the years to find someone to smooth things over.
At this time, Jinniang could only interact with the family of Yan Tuiguan, who had been selected to serve as an official elsewhere. Yan Tuiguan himself went to serve as an official elsewhere, and his wife and children were all in Wu County. Yan's wife was very good at taking care of things, and Jinniang would often visit her to learn from her.
Besides, her youngest daughter is of similar age to Yunjie'er, and there is not as big an age gap as with Shen Wujie. Jinniang will also bring her child to socialize.
For the Yan family, a county magistrate is not as good as the current manager. Although Tui Guan Yan is still an official, he can go to serve as an official elsewhere. With Jiang Xian in Wu County, her family is naturally willing to make friends with him.
The wife of the official Yan was talking to Jinniang about the land: "If you are an official, it's fine. If you are not around, some powerful people will occupy the land, and I am afraid you will be sued."
"Sister is right. I think so too." This was also the reason why Jinniang was only willing to buy two hectares of land at the beginning. The cost was not too much and she could have a fixed income. However, by chance, she bought three hectares of land and could only take good care of it. But if you buy too much, you might be afraid that someone else will take it away, after all, there are people who are more powerful than you.
However, salt, tea, wine, vinegar, alum, and frankincense were all banned and monopolized by the government, and ordinary people were not allowed to operate them.
Even merchants rarely travel far to do business, because there are too many "blocks" and taxes are collected every time they pass a block, which is not cost-effective.
The wife of the official Yan Tuiguan gave instructions: "When we came to Wuxian from Qinfeng Road to take office, we brought dates, walnuts and other sundries to Wuxian to sell as a payment for our travel expenses. If you go somewhere else in the future, you can also sell some raw silk and satin from Wuxian, so you don't have to pay for the journey."
"You're right." Jinniang had thought about it before, but at that time Jiang Xian said that Wu County had everything, so she didn't think about it anymore.
Tui Guan Yan now has mulberry fields and orchards as cash crops, so he has a lot of experience. The two of them talked for a while before saying goodbye.
When they left Yan's house, Yun Jie'er said, "Mother, Miss Yan doesn't know as many words as I do."
"Then what do you play with her?" Jinniang asked with a smile.
Sister Yun smiled and said, "We played the game of pushing the date mill, and she also had clay figurines at home, and we played the game of grinding and drinking. But she always said that someone in her family was the best, and my daughter was not convinced."
"Spring will be here in a few days, let's go fly kites, okay?" Jinniang said.
Sister Yun nodded heavily.
It is also said that at the end of February, the magistrate of Mei County was demoted, and the two thousand strings of cash he sent worked to get him dismissed from office. After he got out, he sold his wife Bao and several concubines, and ran away with only the pregnant concubine after getting the money.
The female broker was coming to deliver hairpins and rings for Jinniang. These were her old jewelry that Jinniang had refashioned and given to Xiqiu as a dowry. She heard from her that the Meixian magistrate wanted to sell her to a brothel so that she could get more money, so she asked her to handle it.
Even though Jinniang didn't like Bao Niang, she felt that Mei County Magistrate was a piece of shit, so she said to the broker, "You should find a good man for Bao Niang, which will be considered as a good deed."
The female dentist smiled and said, "You don't have to tell me, I can do it too."
Jinniang was stunned and very relieved. Perhaps only women can understand how difficult it is to be a woman. This is what is meant by "sympathy for one's own kind".
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