Chapter 9 Chapter 009 Zhang Family's Feiyi
Since its establishment, the Great Yong Dynasty has had a strict hierarchy. Officials must come from a prominent family and be recommended by teachers or relatives. If Qin Yuan knew this, she would probably understand that this is called the system of recommending filial and honest officials. No wonder Qinjia Village is so big, but no one there can study. It's simply because the Qin family is not a clan, nor a prominent family, so how could they have the opportunity to study?
County Magistrate Zhang was not well-known at the beginning. He was so far away from the main branch of the Zhang family that it was shameful for him to say that he was a member of the Qujiang Zhang family. However, although County Magistrate Zhang's father died early and his widowed mother raised him alone, he was a sensible and civilized lady. She raised her son by teaching the daughters of wealthy families. Later, because of illness, she met Jin Wan's grandfather, who spent a thousand gold coins to buy ginseng to save County Magistrate Zhang's mother.
To repay this favor, County Magistrate Zhang got engaged to his current wife, Jin Wan. At that time, he was also from a poor family. If he had talent one day, it would not be impossible for him to join the main branch of the Zhang family. However, for the sake of his widowed mother, County Magistrate Zhang was willing to marry a merchant girl.
This almost ended County Magistrate Zhang's path to success, but for the sake of his mother, he was willing to do it.
The Jin family is a real big merchant family. Now that their daughter can marry such an outstanding person, they try every means to spread the good name of County Magistrate Zhang through the trade routes, and pass on County Magistrate Zhang's political views and articles to the outside world, directly to the Zhang family, the main branch of Qujiang.
Not only that, the Jin family also greatly praised County Magistrate Zhang's reputation for filial piety and brotherhood in the spread of the news. He was willing to lower his head and marry a merchant girl in order to treat his widowed mother. With such good character and good writing skills, it only took two years for County Magistrate Zhang and his wife to truly enter the main vein of Qujiang for the first time. From then on, he became an official through the recommendation of Qujiang, and then slowly rose to the position of county magistrate and was sent to Ming County.
The news about the Xie family was also sent by the Zhang family in Qujiang, in order to maintain a certain relationship with the Xie family.
To put it bluntly, there is someone behind every official in the Dayong Dynasty, either a teacher or a family member. This is the Dayong Dynasty.
After seeing off the young lady of the Xie family, the couple looked at each other and sat there for a long time without moving. Then Jin Wan waved her hand and asked the servants to leave.
Soon, only the two masters of the Zhang family were left in the banquet hall.
"My husband, this girl from the Xie family is truly extraordinary. Her elegant speech is even better than the female teacher that Grandpa hired for me, and I don't even dare to say much."
Except for the time when she went to Qujiang that year, this was the first time that Jin Wan felt that she was somewhat afraid of someone from the bottom of her heart.
Women from aristocratic families always seem to have an indescribable nobleness and indifference that makes people dare not offend them.
"Alright, don't talk too much about these noble people's affairs, and don't think too much about them."
Magistrate Zhang was clever. His eyes wandered directly to the wooden box placed on the table by the servant. He then discovered that the box was actually made of precious pear wood. The exquisite carvings on it were also dragons and phoenixes. It was definitely not an ordinary item.
"See what the young lady brought."
As she said this, she couldn't help but feel that she was indeed a girl from a noble family. She used yellow pear wood, which was not something that ordinary people could use.
Mrs. Zhang also nodded, and then saw her husband carefully bring the pearwood box over and place it between the two of them. Then he carefully opened it, revealing the white porcelain hand warmer inside.
Just the sight of this jade-white color made Jin Wan's eyes widen.
You know, there are white porcelains nowadays, but it's impossible to achieve such a bright color. Most of them have a slight yellow tint. And seeing the lifelike bamboo forest on it, the painting has a natural and indifferent beauty! It is worthy of being a product of a noble family!
And after it was opened, a faint pear fragrance wafted out of the hand warmer, which seemed to be similar to the one on the young lady.
"As expected of the Xie family, this kind of white porcelain probably needs tens of thousands of pieces to produce this color. The painting on it is even more ingenious. Such a precious item is actually just a Xie family hand warmer..."
Jin Wan couldn't help but reach out her hand and gently picked up the lid of the hand warmer. Sure enough, she saw that it was empty inside, but there was a fragrance. Then when she put it down again, she heard the sound of the white porcelain colliding, which was even more pleasant to the ears. Even in winter, it made people feel happy after listening to it.
County Magistrate Zhang looked at the bamboo forest with special meaning for a while, and remembered what the young lady of the Xie family said, praising himself for caring about the people.
“Hahahahahaha!”
He couldn't help but burst into laughter, which made Jin Wan beside him confused and she glared at her husband.
As it turned out, the county magistrate was unrestrained and looking at his wife's face which was a little weathered due to her care for him, he boldly leaned over and slapped his wife on the face. Jin Wan was startled and immediately glared at her husband fiercely. Fortunately, the servants were no longer there, otherwise how could it be said that she was committing adultery in broad daylight?
"My dear wife, this young lady sent me this gift to tell me that your husband will be promoted soon!!"
Bamboo is a noble thing. Poor people have never seen it in their homes. Only wealthy families can afford to grow it, as it symbolizes continuous growth.
The young lady of the Xie family personally sent this bamboo forest to us. Isn’t this a hint?
Jin Wan's eyes immediately fell on the bamboo forest, and she couldn't help but feel happy for her husband.
"Then congratulations in advance, sir."
After she finished speaking, she remembered that she had met the young lady today. She had given them such a good gift, and it would be extremely rude if they did not return the gift.
"I heard that the young lady has a daughter who is very pampered and has never left the Qin family since she was five years old. And today, I saw that all the men in the Qin family were wearing coarse linen clothes. The young lady is really suffering in the Qin family, but no matter how hard it is, the child must not suffer. Now that the first snow of winter has arrived, we don't know what will happen next. I will arrange for people to quickly prepare a gift to repay the young lady's kindness."
Jin Wan reacted immediately and knew that she had to prepare Feiyi well this time. She came from a merchant family, and if she gave gold or silver as a gift, it would be considered inferior. It would be better to give something that the Qin family needed.
Especially the five-year-old daughter of the Xie family, she must need some good things, right?
"Madam, you are so virtuous. I feel at home with you. I will leave this matter in your hands."
County Magistrate Zhang bowed with a smile. He respected this lady the most. His widowed mother did not come to Ming County with him, and it was all thanks to his father-in-law and mother-in-law for their help. Naturally, County Magistrate Zhang loved his wife the most.
Jin Wan waved her hand and got up to leave without mentioning the hand warmer. It was wonderful that this precious item fell into the hands of her husband and would also fall into the hands of her son in the future.
After quickly instructing the maid, she found some Feiyi and had them quickly sent to the Qin family. Many of them were directly picked up and delivered by people from the Zhang Mansion to the shop she opened.
It was not the New Year yet, so she needed to greet her father in advance and ask him to find some things that the children would like and send them to please the young lady of the Xie family.
The Zhang Mansion became busy, and everyone in the Qin family was silent on the way back. Xie Yaer had eaten her meal and was now sitting in the sedan chair wrapped in a white fox cloak. In her hand, she held the peony brass hand warmer sent by the maid from the Zhang Mansion, which made her feel very warm.
She said nothing, but just thought that the white fox cloak was nice. She would turn it into a small cloak for her daughter and then a small fox jacket. Xie Yaer never thought about selling this thing for money.
Even when Xie Yaer was still a boudoir dweller, a white fox cloak would probably cost five thousand taels of silver. These were purchased by merchants from all over the country. However, merchants would never allow such precious things to be worn. Mrs. Zhang is really a smart person.
The Qin family members didn't know that Xie Yaer was thinking about their daughter, and they all looked solemn. In the past, they knew that Xie Yaer came from a prominent family and married into the Qin family because of adversity, so they usually treated her with respect. But today, when they saw how County Magistrate Zhang and his wife treated Xie Yaer, and Xie Yaer was even more cold and only said a few words that they could hardly understand, but she had already made the Zhang couple happy. The brothers suddenly became more afraid of Xie Yaer.
They didn't understand why they were afraid, but they respected Xie Yaer even more in their hearts.
A deeper understanding confirmed that Xie Yaer was a completely different person from the farmers of the Qin family.
Xie Yaer slept for a while in the sedan chair and opened her eyes again. She was almost home. In fact, thinking of the attitude of County Magistrate Zhang and Mrs. Zhang, Xie Yaer understood that her parents and brothers must be fine. Even if they were exiled, the main branch would definitely protect them. That's why County Magistrate Zhang treated her like this. Even though they couldn't meet now, Xie Yaer knew that her family was safe. She believed that one day in the future, she would be able to see her parents and brothers and sisters-in-law again.
And Yoyo, if your parents see the baby you gave birth to, they will definitely be very happy, right?
After a while, Xie Yaer was carried back home. When the sedan chair was put down, she was about to get out of the ground, but her legs were already weak. Qin Shu knelt directly in front of his wife, then picked her up, nodded to his brothers, and went back to his room first.
Liu Chunhua, who heard the noise in the house, wrapped herself in a down jacket and went to the main house with Yoyo in her arms, and heard the report from her eldest son.
"Mom, my sister-in-law was carried back to the house by my third brother. I guess her legs are numb." Qin Shan said, and kept a distance from Liu Chunhua, fearing that the cold air on his body would rush to Youyou in her mother's arms.
Several people from the Qin family also noticed the strange clothes on Liu Chunhua, but since their mother didn't say anything, they couldn't ask as her sons.
Qin Yuan showed a pair of big eyes from the zipper of her down jacket. She couldn't help laughing when she saw the uncles coming back. The other women who were in the house also hurried out to see their husbands, helped them take off their deerskin boots, and cleaned the snow off them.
Naturally, the children wanted to help, and the hall suddenly became lively. However, not long after, they heard noises outside.
Qin Shan went out immediately, but he didn't expect to see the housekeeper of Zhang Mansion.
"Brother Qin, this is the Feiyi gift from my master to the young lady. Please tell me how to arrange it and I will have someone carry it in."
That’s right, behind the housekeeper of the Zhang Mansion was a series of donkey carts, all of which were carrying Feiyi. These were all quickly arranged by Jin Wan.
"This...I'll go ask my sister-in-law."
Qin Shan didn't dare to agree and went back to tell his mother about it. Liu Chunhua looked down at her granddaughter and knew that her daughter-in-law was also tired, so she said directly.
"Just tell the housekeeper that my daughter-in-law has gone to bed and put all the things in the west room."
Qin Yuan blinked her eyes, extremely curious about what her mother had brought back! But she didn't know that her mother was very grand and ostentatious. Wherever she sat, people would eagerly offer her gifts within a few words.
Qin Shan went out and told the news to the housekeeper of Zhang's house. Naturally, the housekeeper did not dare to complain and immediately said that he would start unloading the things.
Several men from the Qin family also came to help. It took two incense sticks of time to transport Feiyi, who was loaded on nearly a dozen donkey carts, to the west room. After everything was put away, the housekeeper of the Zhang Mansion left.
In Qin Yu's room, Xie Yaer was sitting on the bed with her legs pinched by her husband Qin Yu. She didn't care when she heard the noise outside.
Although she disliked Qin Yu, she also knew that if she had really married a famous young man, would she have been treated like this? And if she hadn't married Qin Yu, where would she have gotten the Yoyo?
"Okay, it's no longer numb. Help me out."
Xie Yaer retracted her legs, but Qin Yu pulled her feet to help her put on shoes. He knew that his wife was a phoenix, but she ended up in a family like theirs, so he should be nice to her in every way.
After that, the two of them went to the main house. They were surprised to find that all the Qin family members were there. When they saw Xie Yaer coming, they all looked at her eagerly.
“Daughter-in-law, come here, Yoyo wants to see those Feiyi, why don’t we go together?”
Liu Chunhua's face was wrinkled from laughing, and Qin Dali, who was silent beside her, was even more so. He felt that the greatest luck in his life was to marry his own wife, give birth to children for him, and find a good daughter-in-law. Who wouldn't like that?
Xie Yaer noticed the brown clothes on Liu Chunhua at a glance as if she had never seen them before. When she saw her daughter blinking her eyes, she understood where these things came from.
"Okay, mother, why don't we go and take a look together as a family? If there are any good things, we can share some with my brothers, sisters-in-law, and children."
In the past, these matters were all taken care of by the maids and old women, and Xie Yaer would never take anyone to see Feiyi, and sending gifts would have to be arranged before delivery.
But now, after being married into the Qin family for five years, Xie Yaer knows that the Qin family members are of one mind and do not have so many bad intentions. Xie Yaer remembers how good her two sisters-in-law are to her daughter.
Everyone in the room's eyes lit up. Some men were curious, but Qin Yuan saw that her eldest aunt Wang Pandidi's eyes were shining, and her second aunt Zhou Yan's eyes were almost the same.
Speaking of it, my aunt Wang Pandi was also miserable. It was said that her family favored boys over girls, and she was almost beaten to death by her family. After being rescued by my grandmother Liu Chunhua, she married into the Qin family. From then on, she almost cut off all ties with her family and lived wholeheartedly in the Qin family. After my cousin was born, her name was given by my grandmother.
Everyone went to the west room. The west room was the emptiest room in the Qin family. It was usually used to store things and no one lived there. But when everyone went in, they found that the originally empty room was full of boxes. The Feiyi sent by the Zhang family was all inside.
Qin Yu received his wife's gaze and stepped forward to start opening the box. The others immediately followed suit, and the women stood there waiting.
Soon all the boxes were opened, and Qin Yuan, who was in her grandmother's arms, looked at the things in the boxes curiously. She didn't know much about the family affairs, but these things were exchanged for her daughter's white porcelain medicine jar!!!
Xie Yaer went over to check and found that Mrs. Zhang Jin Wan was indeed a smart person.
Among these fine items, there are two boxes of ramie cloth, two boxes of linen cloth, two boxes of silk and cotton quilts, one box of rabbit fur satin, one box of sable fur, one box of gold-woven brocade, one box of heavy lotus silk, one box of Zhang velvet, one box of duck fur, one box of sheepskin, and one box of mouse skin. These are all cloth.
Then came two large jars of mutton, three large jars of some popular winter dried fruits, a jar of salt, a jar of sugar, a jar of honey, two large jars of wine, and a lot of other food that made people drool.
In addition to these, a cartload of silver charcoal was unloaded in the woodshed, enough to last the entire winter.
But Xie Yaer didn't care about these. When she saw the remaining two boxes, the things inside made her eyes light up.
I saw that the two boxes were filled with small toys for children.
Xie Yaer picked up the nine-linked jade ring and shook it towards her daughter. The nine-linked ring made a tinkling sound, which immediately attracted Qin Yuan's attention.
Liu Chunhua hurriedly carried her granddaughter over and heard her daughter-in-law smiling.
"Hey, this is the Nine Rings Link. I loved it the most when I was a kid. Can I play with you?"
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