Chapter 17 A Great Kindness Needs No Words of Gratitude
Although the Changshou Ward where the Li family lived wasn't exactly a gathering place for the extremely wealthy, it was still home to people with some means of livelihood. However, there were no families who could afford to travel by carriage with a dozen or so servants accompanying them.
So much so that when Qian Langjun and his party arrived at the entrance of the herbal medicine shop, the neighbors around the Li family came out under the blazing sun, carrying palm-leaf fans, to watch the spectacle, forming a dense crowd.
However, the neighbors were still very polite, just standing aside and watching, whispering among themselves about whose family this was, that they could afford to ride in a carriage and have servants. They wondered what great thing the Li family had done that would attract such people to come to their door with so many gifts.
Yes, each of the dozen or so servants was carrying a gift: exquisitely carved, multi-layered pastry boxes, and fabrics that looked very valuable. As for the contents of the remaining wooden boxes, no one knew, but they were all probably precious items.
Looking at this scene, Li Sanniang was deeply moved. In ancient feudal society, there was indeed a natural divide between ordinary people and aristocratic bureaucratic classes.
The two families quickly exchanged greetings. Li's father urged them to go home, while Li's eldest and second brothers bowed to the surrounding neighbors, reminding them to be careful and not block the way, as it would be difficult to explain if the street patrol came later.
Thus, under the persuasion and the intimidation of the street patrol, the crowd dispersed one by one. Some of the more familiar and bolder ones even asked Brother Li who was making such a grand entrance and bringing gifts to the Li family for what purpose.
Brother Li could only smile and instruct everyone to keep a close eye on the child and prevent him from getting hurt.
After Qian Langjun and his party sat down in the main hall, they had their servants put down the gifts they had brought and then followed the carriage back, agreeing that the carriage would come to pick them up again at a later time.
After all, the Li family is not very big, and they did not know in advance that they would have to receive so many people. Fortunately, these servants came to give gifts, otherwise Li's mother really would not know how to deal with them.
While Li's father was exchanging pleasantries with Qian, Qian said that since Li San Niang had saved his young master, given this relationship, Li's father should call him by his name, "Yuan Wu".
"How can this be? Young Master Qian, this is absolutely unacceptable."
“Uncle, what’s wrong with that? It’s not just about calling her by name. If you agree, I’d even like to recognize Third Sister as my younger sister!”
Upon hearing Qian Langjun's words, the Li family members were surprised. They looked at each other, somewhat puzzled.
Although he did save a young man, bringing generous gifts to express his gratitude would have been enough. Why did he have to add the family reunion?
Recognizing relatives these days isn't something you can just talk about; it's a serious matter that involves going to the ancestral hall to tell the ancestors and then adding the name to the family genealogy. It's a real matter where you'll share any sins or honors in the future.
This is no child's play!
Although Brother Li was a member of the Imperial Guard, he was still at the bottom, so his information wasn't particularly well-informed, not to mention the rest of the Li family.
Why did Qian Langjun value Li San Niang's saving of his young master so much?
This is because his branch of the family truly only has this one heir!
Qian Langjun was the second son in his family. He was born when his mother was nearly forty years old and pregnant. He was weak from a young age, and they were afraid he would not survive, so they named him "Yuanwu" in the hope that he would grow up healthy.
Perhaps due to the blessing of his name, Qian Langjun gradually became no different from ordinary people. He later married Su Niangzi and had a son named Qian Xiaolang.
Originally, Qian Xiaolang might have had younger siblings, but when he accompanied his father to Jiangnan to investigate a case, they encountered bandits on the way. Whether it was genuine bad luck or an ambush, he was stabbed and barely survived, but he could no longer have any children.
Given this premise, the importance of Qian Xiaolang, who is the only male heir, is self-evident.
In ancient feudal society, there were still people who were carefree and didn't care that they had no male heir to inherit their surname and that no one would come to burn paper money and offer incense at their graves in the future, but they were very few. At least Qian Langjun was not that kind of person.
Therefore, the Qian family valued Li San Niang's rescue very much and was willing to use the title of "adopted sister" to express their gratitude.
Of course, these words could not be shared with the Li family.
“Young Master Qian, what virtue or ability do I, Li San Niang, possess to do such a thing? It was just a coincidence that I helped Young Master Qian. I believe that if others were in this situation, they would not hesitate to help if they could.”
"But only you, Third Sister, truly saved my young master!"
Every time Madam Qian thought of Qian Xiaolang's face turning from red to pale, she would break out in a cold sweat. During the past few days at home, she would wake up in the middle of the night every day to touch Qian Xiaolang's nose and feel his warm breath before she could feel at ease.
"Third Sister, it's not easy for you and Erlang to acknowledge your kinship, so how about you acknowledge mine? That way there won't be any obstacles, right?"
Li San Niang really felt like a duck about to be sold.
“Madam Qian, I just divorced my ex-husband a few days ago and returned home with my son. However, I encountered you and Qian Xiaolang on the way and by chance saved him. It seems that Qian Xiaolang was not destined to die and will have good fortune in the future! It is already inappropriate for me to accept these gifts from you, but I have shamelessly accepted these generous gifts as a token of my gratitude. However, there is no need for the kinship acknowledgment. Please do not say anything more, Madam Qian. I feel ashamed to accept them.”
“The Qian family will forever remember Third Sister’s great kindness! This gift is just a small token of our appreciation, please don’t worry about it. I will not bring up the matter of recognizing relatives again, but the young man should kowtow to Third Sister to thank her for saving his life!”
As Qian Langjun spoke, he made Qian Xiaolang kneel down in front of Li Sanniang. Li Sanniang was caught between a rock and a hard place, unable to leave or hide, and had to endure Qian Xiaolang's actions.
Brother Li then introduced the four little ones in his family and Little Dewdrop, presumably because the Qian family had inquired about them beforehand. Young Master Qian then had the little maidservant he had left behind present a wooden box containing writing brushes, ink, paper, and inkstones as a gift.
Lady Qian gave Lu Zhu'er a delicately embroidered purse, but she was too embarrassed to open it to see what was inside.
Li Sanniang was well-prepared for Qian Xiaolang's situation. She had anticipated that these bureaucratic intellectuals would engage in such practices, so she went to a gold and silver shop in advance to have ten taels of silver ingots with auspicious patterns made, and also bought a more exquisite purse. She then presented these to Qian Xiaolang.
The trip was finally over. Li's father, elder brother Li, and second brother Li invited Qian Langjun to have tea and chat. Li San Niang led Qian Niangzi, Li's mother, and Li's sister-in-law to a side hall to talk and drink tea. She also introduced Xiao Luzhu to Qian Langjun. Neither of them were shy. They let a maid who had stayed behind take them to see Xiao Huang.
Sister-in-law Li went to the kitchen and told the chef she had already hired that they could start cooking. Upon hearing this, Chef Wang instructed the cook to start the fire. As soon as the oil was heated in the wok and the scallions were added, the aroma of scallions filled the air.
This pot doesn't belong to the Li family; it's their own. They even built the stove themselves beforehand. Seeing this, Sister-in-law Li immediately felt that the money wasn't wasted. The aroma alone was enough to make her mouth water, even before it was cooked.
The lunch was served at two tables. Li's father and Qian Langjun sat at one table, where they also opened a pot of mint wine that Li's eldest brother had mentioned wanting to drink when they celebrated Li San Niang's divorce. The four little ones were also at this table. Except for Li Da Lang, who managed to get a cup of wine, the other three little ones didn't get any.
At the table where Li's mother and Qian's mother sat, because Qian Xiaolang and Xiao Luzhu were still young, they all sat with their respective mothers.
Li San Niang thought the chef she had invited made a delicious meal, the best she had ever eaten in all the time she had traveled through time. She couldn't say it had all the perfect color, aroma, and flavor, but the taste was definitely top-notch.
However, given their daily preference for fine and elaborate meals, Qian's family probably didn't find it particularly delicious, but their refined manners made them pretend it was very tasty.
It was probably the first time Qian Xiaolang had eaten at someone's house who wasn't a relative's house with his parents. He also met Luzhu, who was the same age as him, and played with Xiao Huang. He was very happy and ate quite a lot.
After finishing their meal and drinking a cup of tea, Qian Xiaolang and Xiao Luzhu were so sleepy they could barely keep their eyes open when the carriage from the Qian family finally arrived to pick them up.
Li's mother was really at a loss as to what to give in return. Li San Niang said directly, "Just send over the pastries, wine, sugar, and tea that you've prepared. There's nothing shameful about it. Our family is not as well-off as others, so there's no need to hide it. Just do whatever you want."
Li's mother agreed, so she returned the four gifts she had prepared in advance. She saw the Qian family off at the door and watched them get into their carriage before returning home.
You can't underestimate the backward entertainment industry of ancient commoners. It created a level of attention to and dissemination of gossip that was comparable to the Internet age, growing exponentially.
In fact, there were quite a few entertainment industries at that time, including storytellers, singers, dancers, and acrobats, but these were not affordable for ordinary people; only families with surplus money could afford them.
So, before the clinic's doors were even closed, neighbors were already peeking out from under the door, wanting to ask Li's mother for information.
Father Li instructed that a "rest" sign be hung up, indicating that the court would not be open in the afternoon. He had drunk alcohol at noon and was feeling very tired and sleepy.
The whole family finally saw off their distinguished guest, and with that, they could finally relax. Having no worries and having just eaten a full meal, it was no wonder they felt sleepy.
After catching up on their sleep, the entire Li family gathered in the main hall, everyone from the oldest to the youngest, full of energy as they watched Li's mother and sister-in-law unwrap the gifts!
Yes, it was a gift from the Qian family.
As Li San Niang suggested, these gifts should be opened and distributed to everyone. After all, she and Lu Zhu'er are living at home now, so it's just a nice bonus for everyone.
As soon as the pastry box was opened, a fragrant aroma wafted out, and the pastries even looked better than those in the "Perfect Ten" gift box that the owner of Xiang Gui Ji had sent a couple of days ago. They must have been made in the Qian family's own kitchen; they were quite generous with the oil.
Li's mother took two layers, gave one to each person, and then put the lid on, saying that she would save them for later.
Li San Niang was given a mung bean pastry. The outer crust was crispy, and the inside was filled with fine, sandy mung beans. It was sweet but not too sweet, with a rich texture. It was really delicious!
The cloth was clearly made for adult men, so it was distributed to Li's father and the others to be used for making clothes later.
Sister-in-law Li opened another wooden box, which almost blinded everyone, because it was full of silver ingots, with two layers, ten in each layer.
Li's mother picked it up and looked at it, then counted it again, "Official mint, fifty taels, twenty pieces, this is one thousand taels of silver!"
The whole family was shocked!
This is a huge sum of money for each of them!
Oh no, apart from Dewdrop, Dewdrop wasn't shocked at all. She was playing with Little Yellow and the wooden chick from one of the wooden boxes.
With a "snap," Li's mother slammed the wooden box lid shut, causing the dazzling silver-white color to disappear from everyone's sight.
"This is a thank-you gift from the Qian family to your little sister, not for our Li family. We'll give it all to your little sister later, so don't be envious!"
Li's mother looked at her eldest brother Li and her second brother Li and said.
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