Chapter 143 Complaints
Late at night, a small passenger ship docked at Qingzhou Wharf.
Sheng An felt as if she were walking on clouds as Xu Jinnian helped her slowly off the boat.
After standing on the shore for a while, she breathed a long sigh of relief in the cold wind: "Finally ashore! I still need to buy two good horses so I can ride them on long trips in the future!"
Traveling by boat is such an ordeal.
Xu Jinnian helped Sheng An walk forward: "After the New Year, I will ask Brother Fang and Brother Yun for help to see if they can buy two good horses."
Sheng An raised both hands in agreement: "As long as we can buy a good horse, it doesn't matter if we spend more money."
There was a curfew in Qingzhou City, and the dock was some distance from Shengyuan. There were no oxcarts soliciting passengers on the streets at the moment, so the couple found an inn to stay at along the river.
Perhaps because she was back in familiar territory, Sheng An felt much more at ease and slept soundly in Xu Jinnian's arms that night.
When they woke up the next day, it was already broad daylight. The couple quickly packed their bags and took an oxcart back to their small house.
Today is only the fourteenth day of the first lunar month, and the shop will not open until the sixteenth day. Right now, the two elders of the Sheng family and Xu Chenglin are at home.
The three elders were quite surprised to see the young couple suddenly return home. They looked them up and down, worried that something might be wrong with them.
Grandma Sheng asked with concern, "Didn't you say you were going to play until after the Lantern Festival? Why did you come back early?"
Not wanting her elders to worry, Sheng An quickly came up with a perfect excuse: "It's not fun outside, and it's really tiring to play. I didn't find it interesting, so I came back early."
The three elders had no doubts after hearing this. Grandma Sheng touched her granddaughter's face with heartache: "You've lost weight. You must have been eating and sleeping poorly these past few days."
Upon hearing this, Sheng An pinched his cheek, which felt as good as ever.
Seeing the old lady's distressed expression, she felt a warmth in her heart, and finally understood what it meant to be "thin only because your grandma thinks you are thin".
The couple slept well last night and didn't feel sleepy at all. They stayed on the first floor and told the three elders about what they had seen and heard in Pingzhou, only omitting the experiences of the Chi family and the Zheng siblings.
Xu Chenglin, being knowledgeable, listened to the lively conversation. Grandpa and Grandma Sheng were very interested, asking questions every now and then with expressions of curiosity on their faces.
Grandpa Sheng sighed, "It's good to travel more while you're young, otherwise when we get this age, we won't be able to walk around even if we want to see the world."
Sheng An felt a pang of sadness, but smiled and said, "Grandpa is still young. Let's go out and play together next time."
It's just that transportation in this era is too backward; otherwise, in their previous lives, the two elders at that age could have gone wherever they wanted.
Grandpa and Grandma Sheng thought their granddaughter was just trying to make them happy, and their faces, etched with the marks of time, broke into big smiles.
After the family had a happy lunch, Sheng An went to the large kitchen in the front yard alone.
Seeing the kitchen door open, she assumed Bao Lan and the others were making lunch and was about to walk straight in when she heard Li Daya's complaining:
"Those girls are too much of a party animal. All they do is go out and fool around with men all day long. We have to cook our own meals. I really don't know what the master sees in them."
These words were too harsh, and Granny Sun, who was usually taciturn, couldn't help but speak up in rebuttal:
“It’s the New Year, they have permission from their master to go out and play. Why are you scolding them because you’re unwilling to spend money? Besides, they’re not your kitchen maids. If you want to eat, just cook for yourself. The ingredients are all ready-made.”
Li Daya was surprised that Granny Sun dared to talk back to her, and immediately felt uncomfortable, so she started throwing and hitting things.
"Grandma Sun, don't be ungrateful! They may not be my kitchen maids, but they've always been the ones doing the work in the kitchen. Now they're just playing around, and I can't even say anything? You're sucking up to them like this, but you haven't seen them do you any favors!"
Granny Sun frowned, her gaze towards Li Daya filled with disapproval: "On their first day out, they brought us a bag of osmanthus sugar, and yesterday they gave you a bag of roasted chestnuts. You've already forgotten all about it after just one night?"
Li Daya pouted: "What's so special about these little things? If I had as much monthly salary as them, I could buy even better things."
At this point, she started complaining again: "We're all working servants, so why do they get several taels a month while we only get one tael? It's so unfair!"
Granny Sun's expression changed: "One should be content. The maids in other households only get five qian of silver a month and can't eat meat all year round. We have one tael of silver a month, which is more than enough."
Seeing that Granny Sun was contradicting her at every turn, Li Daya was worried that she would speak ill of her to Sheng An in secret, so she dared not continue and silently scooped a ladle of water into the pot.
Every word of their conversation reached Sheng An's ears. She frowned and recalled Li Daya's usual behavior. Apart from asking to settle the monthly allowance for the twelfth lunar month in advance before the New Year, there was nothing else wrong with her.
It's also possible that she was too busy and didn't notice Li Daya's inappropriate behavior. She'll ask the four kids when they get back later.
Sheng An stood outside for a while, then went directly to the front yard.
Seeing that the courtyard was clean and tidy, with no dead branches or leaves, and that none of the private rooms had been closed, Sheng An knew that Bao Lan and the others had not been lazy during the few days he was away.
Not long after, a noise came from the direction of the main gate; Bao Lan and Shu Qi had returned.
Upon seeing Sheng An in the courtyard, the eight people were initially taken aback, then excitedly jogged over.
"Master, you're back? Did you return this morning?"
The most lively Baoxiu was the first to rush up, her hands full of various snacks, which rustled as she moved.
Sheng An knew she was a little foodie, so she wasn't surprised to see her buy so much food. She smiled and replied, "I got home this morning. I saw you all coming back with your purchases. You must have had a lot of fun outside."
Baoxiu chuckled and immediately stuffed her two favorite bags of roasted chestnuts into Sheng'an's hands: "Master, these chestnuts are delicious, but eating too many can cause flatulence, so please don't be greedy."
He stuffed his arms full, and upon hearing this, he was both amused and exasperated: "Not everyone is like you."
Baoxiu, thick-skinned enough, stuffed another bag of roasted peanuts into her arms: "Master, please stop talking, give this servant some face~"
Sheng An accepted the little girl's "bribe" and looked at the other seven people: "Tomorrow is the Lantern Festival. I'll give you one last day to play. Starting the day after tomorrow, we'll start making glutinous rice wine. Try to stock up on as much as possible."
The eight people responded in unison, "Yes!"
After the eight people put away their purchases, Sheng An called over the meticulous Shuqi and Baoyun separately and asked them about Li Daya's usual behavior.
Shuqi didn't hide anything and told the truth: "Aunt Li is quite diligent, but she's a bit cunning. I often see her slacking off and pushing the cleaning duties she's responsible for onto Grandma Sun."
At this point, he glanced at Sheng An's expression and lowered his voice: "She envies Bao Lan and the others for the monthly allowance they receive, and always asks them to buy her delicious food."
Bao Lan and the others weren't stingy, and their monthly allowances were quite generous, so they usually wouldn't refuse Li Daya's reasonable requests.
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