Chapter 271 Decision
With such attentive service, Sheng An's life became quite easy.
Aunt Gui's cooking skills are not as good as a master chef's, but they are much better than Aunt Niu's. She is good at many dishes and can also make some simple snacks.
Sheng An enjoyed the food and was completely at ease leaving the kitchen to her.
The other six each had their own duties, and if they had anything to say, they would talk to Aunt Niu, so they would hardly bother Sheng An.
However, Aunt Niu was very sensible. She would tell Sheng An everything that happened in the house, big or small, and she would also teach him how to manage the servants.
Sheng An learned very humbly, which pleased Aunt Niu greatly. She thought that he could go back after staying for at most ten days or half a month.
On the third day after moving, the Tan siblings and Song Zhihang, as if by prior arrangement, brought gifts to congratulate the couple on moving into their new home.
At noon, the three of them stayed for a meal, which served as a housewarming party.
After they left, five guards approached the couple and said that they had been away from home for half a year, and now that the couple had settled down, it was time for them to return to Qingzhou.
These guards all had relatives and friends in Qingzhou, and even though the capital was more prosperous than Qingzhou, they never thought of staying.
Li Tian had no family, so he was happy to stay in the capital and continue serving the couple.
After all, it's not easy to find a homeowner who is easy to please and has plenty of money.
Sheng An understood the five guards' homesickness and longing for home, so he didn't say anything to persuade them to stay. He instead sent his maid, Hong Liu, to fetch a hundred taels of silver from the room.
Seeing the five people breathe a sigh of relief, Sheng An said gently:
"Thank you all for escorting us along the way. Now that you are returning to Qingzhou, my husband and I will cover all your expenses along the way."
After saying that, he gave each person twenty taels of silver in ten small silver notes.
The boat ticket from the capital back to Qingzhou by water costs five taels of silver, and food, drink and lodging will cost extra, but five taels of silver will be enough at most.
The remaining ten taels of silver were considered compensation from Sheng An for their six months of separation from their families.
"Thank you, Madam!" The five people hadn't expected such a good thing and immediately expressed their gratitude.
Xu Jinnian had already been granted an official position, and Sheng An had become the wife of an official; such a form of address was not inappropriate.
The five men put away the silver notes and went to the dock that day to buy boat tickets to Qingzhou. The next morning, they made a special trip to the main courtyard to say goodbye to the couple.
Watching them leave happily, Sheng An couldn't help but miss her relatives and friends back home. She pressed her forehead against Xu Jinnian's chest and asked, "I wonder if Grandpa and Grandma received the letter..."
Grandpa and Grandma Sheng, who live far away in Qingzhou, are also thinking about their granddaughter and grandson-in-law whom they haven't seen for half a year, as well as their great-grandson who is not yet born.
Yesterday, Fang Qingzhou and Ye Yunhua arrived in Qingzhou safely. After a short stay at home, they brought letters and gifts to visit the three elderly people at Shengyuan.
Grandpa and Grandma Sheng were overjoyed to learn that their grandson-in-law had achieved the highest rank of scholar in the imperial examination and had stayed in the capital to take up a post.
The thought of their granddaughter staying in Beijing and possibly not seeing her even once a year instantly dampened the couple's spirits, and they tossed and turned all night, unable to fall asleep.
This morning, the two elderly people decided not to open their shop for business and were discussing whether to go to Beijing to visit their granddaughter.
Seeing that his wife was hesitant, Grandpa Sheng said, "Let's go. She's our only granddaughter, so of course we'll go wherever she is."
Grandma Sheng hesitated: "The journey is long, can our two old bones withstand the arduous journey?"
She's already this old and isn't afraid of dying, but she's afraid of dying on the way, and then An'an will live with self-blame for the rest of her life.
Another reason is that when people get old, they want to return to their roots. If they go to the capital and die of old age or illness within two years, their two children will have to go through the trouble of bringing them back.
She really didn't want to cause trouble for the children.
Grandpa Sheng noticed his wife's concerns and comforted her:
"Don't worry about these things. The two children said in their letter that as long as we go to the capital, the Fang and Ye families will send people to escort us."
Even if our health fails us in the future, and we cannot be sent back to our ancestral home in time, please instruct our two children to cremate us and bring our ashes back to Huai Shu Village for burial.
Grandma Sheng was somewhat persuaded by Grandpa Sheng. After hesitating for a moment, she said, "Let's ask our in-laws what they think when they come back."
Xu Chenglin didn't go anywhere else; he got up early and went to the Zhang family to deliver the letter.
The three Zhang brothers separated their household last year, but before that, the whole family still lived together.
At the beginning of this year, Zhang Zhaodi and Zhang Daikui took a fancy to a courtyard house and bought it as their new home for the four of them.
Zhang Daikui was the eldest son, so Xu Cuilian and Butcher Zhang naturally lived with the young couple in their more spacious new home.
Zhang Zhaodi had money and wasn't stingy; the day after moving, she bought several maids and servants.
Xu Cuilian and Butcher Zhang didn't need to take care of their grandsons at all; they just needed to keep an eye on them while the maids and servants looked after the two grandsons.
Upon learning that her nephew had achieved the third-highest rank in the imperial examinations and would remain in the capital as an official, Xu Cuilian, without even reading the letter, slapped Zhang the butcher on the back:
"Did you hear that? Jin Nian passed the imperial examination! My nephew passed! He's the third-ranked scholar, personally selected by His Majesty! Our Xu family finally has someone promising!"
Zhang the butcher was photographed grimacing, but he still had to force a smile and agree with the situation.
"Yes, yes, our Jin Nian is the most amazing. He became an official at such a young age. He will definitely have a bright future."
"That's right! Hahahaha—"
Xu Cuilian laughed so hard her eyes disappeared, as if she couldn't feel the pain, and kept slapping her thigh to vent her excitement.
Xu Chenglin was afraid she would be too happy to think straight, so he quickly waved the letter written by his son and daughter-in-law in front of her: "You're a grandmother now, and you're still so immature."
Xu Cuilian ignored her spoilsporting brother and enjoyed herself for a long time before opening the letter and having Xu Chenglin read it to her.
Upon hearing that her nephew and niece-in-law had invited her and her husband to visit Beijing, Xu Cuilian's eyes welled up with tears.
"These two kids, they've come all this way and they still care about us. If we really go there, wouldn't we just be causing them trouble..."
Butcher Zhang was also very touched, and blushed a little. He felt that he hadn't been particularly good to his nephew in the past, but his nephew and his wife had kept him in their hearts and hadn't forgotten him, their uncle, even after he had become very successful.
After the couple calmed down, Xu Chenglin continued reading.
The letter was short and was read quickly.
Xu Chenglin then folded the letter, put it in an envelope, and handed it to Xu Cuilian:
“Your grandnephew is about to be born. If you want to go to the capital to see him in person, make a decision as soon as possible. Uncle Sheng, Aunt Sheng, and I will definitely go.”
Wherever his son and daughter-in-law are, that's where this old man's roots lie.
Being a left-behind elderly person? Impossible!
Xu Cuilian has lived to this age without ever having the chance to go out and see the world.
Now that the opportunity was before her, she naturally wanted to go to the capital to broaden her horizons, take care of her niece-in-law during her postpartum period, and do her part as an aunt and great-aunt.
This was no small matter, and Xu Cuilian needed to discuss it with Butcher Zhang. She didn't give Xu Chenglin a definite answer on the spot: "Okay, we'll tell you when we've decided."
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