Chapter 22 The Two Mentally Deranged Couple
Unaware of the neighbors' wild imaginations, Sheng An rushed up and hugged Grandma Sheng as soon as he got off the carriage, unable to contain his excitement as he whispered in her ear:
"Grandma, your granddaughter has made something of herself! I've earned so much money! Now I can buy you meat every day to show my respect. Aren't you happy?"
The hundred taels of silver hadn't arrived yet, but the cartload of gifts that followed were real.
Sheng An didn't examine the gifts closely at the Ding family's house, but given the Ding family's wealth, he could imagine that these gifts were quite valuable.
Grandma Sheng had no interest in listening to her granddaughter's ramblings. She pulled the girl aside and examined her carefully from head to toe, making sure that not a single hair on her head was missing. Only then could she help but pat her granddaughter lightly.
"Why are you only getting back now? This old woman was almost worried to death!"
Sheng An chuckled and quickly coaxed the old lady, "It's a bit far and I was delayed on the way. I'll make you something delicious for lunch to make up for it, okay?"
Seeing her granddaughter's charming and obsequious manner, Grandma Sheng couldn't help but chuckle: "Alright, alright, Grandma won't scold you. Hurry up and go inside to rest."
As he spoke, he looked at the two large carriages behind his granddaughter and warmly invited the two drivers into the house for a cup of tea.
The two coachmen repeatedly declined, then stepped forward and respectfully asked Sheng An, "Madam Sheng, where should we put the things in the carriage?"
Sheng An turned around to speak, but was startled to see a group of neighbors gathered in front of the carriage.
An eager, gossipy old lady asked, "Mr. Xu, what's the deal with this carriage? Does it belong to a relative of yours?"
The Xu family had lived here for over a decade, but they had never seen such a grand horse-drawn carriage arrive.
Sheng An wasn't familiar with these neighbors and had no intention of revealing the Ding family to them, so she politely replied, "They're not relatives from my maternal family. I helped them out, and they kindly sent a carriage to bring me back."
Everyone was greatly disappointed upon hearing this.
Then they became curious about which wealthy family in the city it was, and what help Sheng An had given them.
However, seeing that Sheng An seemed unwilling to say more, they didn't dare to pry and just watched as the back door of the car was opened, revealing a car full of thank-you gifts.
These gifts were all packed in fine mahogany boxes, and their contents were not visible to the naked eye.
Seeing that the two drivers were struggling to lift it together, they guessed that the contents inside were quite valuable.
Moreover, even if all that stuff is just bulky rice, flour, and cooking oil, it would still be worth several taels of silver.
The two coachmen carried the carriage full of gifts into the main room, and without even drinking a sip of water, they bid farewell to Sheng An and drove away.
Grandma Sheng, relying on her age and seniority, gave a few perfunctory words to the neighbors who wanted to come in and see, and then closed the courtyard gate, blocking those envious or jealous glances from outside.
Sheng An didn't rush to open the box. Instead, he went to Xu Chenglin's room and briefly explained why he had been invited to the Ding family by Master Ding.
Xu Chenglin suddenly realized: "So it really is the Ding family from the shipyard. When your grandmother came back and told me about it, I thought it was some family with the same surname."
Sheng An asked curiously, "Father, do you know about the Ding family?"
Xu Chenglin nodded: "My father used to work at the docks, managing the goods coming in and out of the timber mill. This timber mill belonged to the Ding family's shipyard, so the Ding family was my employer."
Sheng An smiled and said, "What a coincidence."
Xu Chenglin also laughed: "It's quite a coincidence. I had heard before that the young master of the Ding family was not in good health, and the old master of the Ding family was seeking medical treatment everywhere. I didn't expect that he had nausea and vomiting, not the lovesickness that is commonly known."
lovesickness?
Sheng An's eyes lit up, her gossip-loving spirit burning brightly. She quickly asked her father-in-law, "How does this lovesickness spread?"
Xu Chenglin was a little embarrassed to speak, but seeing his daughter-in-law looking at him expectantly, he couldn't bear to leave his words unfinished, so he coughed lightly before saying:
"Rumor has it that Young Master Ding was in love with a girl, but the girl publicly disliked his fatness and said that it would be better to marry a pig than to marry him. From then on, Young Master Ding lost his appetite and became thinner and thinner."
This rumor spread widely and was quite detailed, so most people believed it and secretly laughed at Young Master Ding.
Was Young Master Ding very fat before?
Sheng An was somewhat surprised, after all, Ding Tianci, who was now skin and bones, showed no trace of obesity.
Xu Chenglin nodded: "Young Master Ding came to the lumber mill before. I took a look from afar and his figure is exactly the same as Master Ding's."
At this point, he added, "I heard that Master Ding's son is the same."
Sheng An understood.
It turns out that the Ding family, spanning three generations, all have a tendency to gain weight easily; their slender, Buddha-like figures are purely hereditary.
Rumors say that Ding Tianci is lovesick, which seems to have nothing to do with anorexia, but upon closer examination, the two are related.
Probably provoked by his sweetheart's words, Ding Tianci couldn't face his own body and decided to lose weight.
As a result, he overexerted himself and developed anorexia. Eventually, his condition worsened, leading to his current stick figure appearance.
Ding Tianci should no longer be obsessed with love. In the end, compared with his own life, so-called love is nothing.
After hearing Ding Tianci's gossip, Sheng An didn't intend to use it for anything. Instead, she went to the main room and happily opened the blind boxes.
Grandma Sheng helped out from the side.
When the first mahogany box was opened, a box full of fabrics of various colors, which looked very expensive, came into view.
"This...this is all silk!"
Grandma Sheng was so shocked that she took a step back, not daring to touch it, for fear that the calluses on her hands would tear the expensive fabric.
Sheng An'an was not afraid and carefully felt the coolness and smoothness of the silk with the back of her hand.
Wow, this is all real silk! In my previous life, a single piece would have cost at least ten thousand.
Sheng An counted them and found there were eight bolts of cloth in total, the colors of which were suitable for three generations of the family.
Among them, the dazzling yellow-red horse was her favorite.
After admiring the eight bolts of silk, Sheng An opened the second box, which contained a box full of identical bottles and jars.
A faint aroma of tea wafted out; it turned out the container contained tea leaves.
The Ding family is in the tea business, so they naturally have no shortage of all kinds of good tea.
There are more than ten cans of this tea, which is far too much for just a few people in my family to drink, but it would be a very presentable gift.
Then, the other boxes were opened one after another, containing dried seafood, fine vintage wines, high-quality leathers, and dried fruits and pastries.
The two most valuable gifts were a substantial solid gold headdress and a fragrant set of writing implements.
Sheng An thought this set of writing implements was very expensive because he compared it to the set that Xu Jinnian often used.
The total value of the gifts sent by Master Ding was definitely over one hundred taels of silver.
Sheng An panicked a little.
She wants to save up capital to open a small restaurant, but Master Ding won't give her any real money. Instead, he's offering these things as payment. So, she'll have to sell these things.
Sheng An considered it in his mind and realized that selling that set of pure gold jewelry would be enough.
She has to run the restaurant, and wearing gold and silver would be a real hindrance. She might as well sell it; she never really liked wearing them anyway.
Sheng An was instantly in a great mood, stroking the golden headdress with a look of infatuation: "Just wait patiently, I'll exchange you for real gold and silver soon."
Hearing her granddaughter's mutterings, Grandma Sheng urged while packing up the gifts, "Jin Nian will be back soon, hurry up and cook."
Sheng An's face fell, and she looked at her grandmother with resentment: "Grandma, you don't love me anymore."
Now it was Grandma Sheng's turn to coax her: "Jin Nian's cooking skills are not as good as yours. Grandma loves your cooking!"
Sheng An was speechless. Was she a three-year-old child?
It's true that the old lady likes her cooking, and it's also true that she hopes she will be a virtuous wife and loving mother.
It's not that the old lady didn't care about her; it's just that women in this era think this way.
They aspire to be virtuous wives and loving mothers, and they also expect the same of other women in their families.
With a sigh, Sheng An went to the kitchen to prepare lunch.
When Xu Jinnian returned home, he saw the busy figure in the kitchen, turned around and strode in.
"I'm back."
Sheng An greeted them and pointed towards the main room: "Go help Grandma and see how to put those things away. They're too conspicuous if they're piled up in the main room."
Xu Jinnian assumed she had gone on a shopping spree that day, and subconsciously said, "I'll send those books to the bookstore this afternoon once they're copied, and I'll give you all the money for the settlement."
Sheng An was baffled: "Why would I give it to you? You can keep your own money."
Xu Jinnian's expression darkened, and he silently gazed at her.
My aunt kept all the money that my uncle earned.
If her uncle forgets to give it to her one day, her aunt will chase after him to ask for it back.
The same was true of other couples he knew.
His wife, however, never inquired about the family's finances.
The only time he asked for money was on the second day after the wedding, when he bought something for his family.
She spent the rest of the money on the items needed for her stall.
Now that he has voluntarily handed over the money he earned from copying books, she has actually refused!
This was Sheng An's first time being someone's wife, and she had no idea how husband and wife should get along, let alone Xu's little schemes.
Seeing Xu Jinnian staring straight at her, she couldn't help but suspect that something was wrong with him: "If you're blind, flowers won't grow on my face. Hurry up and go to the main room to help Grandma, lest she hurt her back."
Xu Jinnian: "..."
An An's mind may be a little different from that of a normal person.
Should he try a different approach to interacting with An'an?
At this moment, the couple's brainwaves miraculously resonated.
Yeah, they both think the other is mentally unstable.
Xu Jinnian entered the main room and fell silent upon seeing the mahogany chest that occupied most of the room.
Did An'an use all the money she earned from her stall to buy boxes?
Just as Xu Jinnian was trying to figure out Sheng An's thought process again, Grandma Sheng came out of the guest room: "Jinnian, come quickly and move these boxes inside. I think these boxes are very sturdy; they can fetch a lot of money if sold to others for storing clothes."
Upon hearing this, Xu Jinnian realized he had misunderstood and hurriedly asked what was going on with the boxes.
Grandma Sheng said with a smile, "They were all sent by the Ding family. An'an went to the Ding family to cook a meal for the sick young master Ding, and they sent so many gifts as a token of their gratitude..."
Through Grandma Sheng's narration, Xu Jinnian finally learned what great things his wife had done in just one morning.
He had naturally heard of the Ding family.
Last year, Mr. Ding posted a large sum of money to find a master chef with superb culinary skills, which caused a great deal of rumors about the Ding family.
He thought everything was settled long ago, but he never expected that one day he would be involved with his own wife.
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