Chapter 58 Rumors Jiang Zhenniang held the house deed in her hand, initially still unconscious…
Jiang Zhenniang held the house deed in her hand, initially still in a daze. She glanced at the deed and instinctively said, "Didn't you say it would be in a couple of days..."
Before Jiang Zhenniang could finish speaking, she felt her daughter tug at her sleeve, finally snapping her out of her daze. She quickly corrected herself, saying, "Oh dear, look at my memory! I forgot about the things I left at the government office. I'm so sorry to have troubled you to bring them to me."
After saying this, Jiang Zhenniang hurriedly took out her money bag from her bosom, took out some paper money, and stuffed it into Master Duan's hand.
Mr. Duan repeatedly declined, saying, "It was my oversight that I didn't notice. How could I possibly accept your money?"
The two pushed each other back and forth for a while, finally stopping as more and more people around them began to look at them. After seeing Mr. Duan off, Jiang Zhenniang quietly asked her daughter, "What's wrong? He looks like a completely different person."
Not only was Jiang Zhenniang puzzled, but even Wei Yaren's eyes widened, his mind completely blank.
He often dealt with government officials, especially these officials in charge of various documents. Although they were minor officials, they held lucrative positions and always looked down on others.
New brokers who are new to the business and have no connections are often harassed. Even brokers who frequently treat others to drinks and food and give gifts to curry favor will be criticized when the broker is in a bad mood.
Wei Ya was speechless for a long time before his gaze returned to the mother and daughter. His eyes flickered, unable to understand the reason.
Unfortunately, Jiang Zhenniang couldn't figure it out either, which left Wei Yaren unsure how to ask her any questions.
Su Zhihan had some guesses, but she didn't say anything. She just took her mother's leave of Wei Yaren and led the servants to the house she had bought.
Because they had plenty of money, the mother and daughter bought a two-courtyard house with a shop front. The area of the back building in the courtyard had been demolished and converted into a restaurant by the previous owner.
Aside from being a bit old, the layout here is quite good. The kitchen area even has a brick stove and a wooden cabinet that can be used directly after a renovation, saving a lot of money.
Stepping out of the shop, there is a gate leading to two courtyards. Next to the gate is a room, which is just right for the male servant Uncle Chai to live in, and it will also make it easier for him to manage the shop business in the future.
The group walked further in and arrived at the inner courtyard.
The inner courtyard is a standard courtyard house. From the main house to the east and west wing rooms, and then to the side rooms and open space, everything has been cleaned by the previous resident. They are just waiting for the furniture and belongings to be moved in so that they can move in.
Passing through the small gate from the open ground, one can reach the back room. This room was originally intended for the servants to live in and store things, but Jiang Zhenniang found it too far to go to the front and, since her family was small and quiet, she simply moved the entire area out to use as a storeroom, letting the servants live in the side room.
The remaining task is to purchase furniture and home furnishings.
Su Zhihan and Jiang Zhenniang made a list and handed it to the three of them, instructing them to go to the market to buy things, and to use the remaining money to buy some daily necessities and items for their own rooms.
Then Su Zhihan went to the market to find decorators. Jiang Zhenniang listened to the quotes and calculated the money, feeling very distressed: "Sister Han, isn't this decoration a bit too expensive? I think it would be better to ask Uncle Hu to do the carpentry work, so as to save some money."
The "Uncle Hu" mentioned here refers to Grandpa Hu.
Su Zhihan shook her head: "Grandpa Hu is already this old, and he had a serious illness before. How can he work so hard?"
More importantly, after witnessing the sudden change in the officials' expressions, Su Zhihan recalled another hardship she had suffered in her previous life.
Unless you don't want your relatives and friends to do your home renovation, never hire them!
In her previous life, Su Zhihan's family also owned a restaurant. When they first renovated it, her father didn't hire a professional company but instead asked a relative for help.
The price was cheaper, but a whole host of problems followed. What's worse, the other party claimed they didn't make much money off the Su family at all, and that Su's parents were always complaining and were really inhuman.
When Su Zhihan took over the restaurant and renovated it, that relative still shamelessly came to her door wanting to take over the business.
Aside from that, there was another thing that made Su Zhihan harbor resentment. She still remembered that when Grandma Chen heard that she was a servant in the Zhongyong Marquis's mansion, her attitude changed. Later, she not only went to Granny Xu to inquire about her background, but also tried to get information out of her several times, wanting to teach her to let Xiao Hong come and work in the Zhongyong Marquis's mansion as well.
There's an old saying: you can't see into someone's heart.
Su Zhihan's time with them was both long and short. She felt it was better to be cautious and leave professional matters to professionals to avoid problems later that would cause everyone distress.
After hearing this, Jiang Zhenniang also felt that it made sense. However, after glancing at the price list given by the craftsman, she couldn't help but clutch her chest: "I thought we had enough money to live on, but I never expected... In just two days, most of our savings have disappeared. We have to be more frugal from now on to make ends meet."
This was only because Madam Zhao only received one hundred strings of cash for selling herself. If it had been three or four hundred strings of cash as they originally calculated, they would be in a terrible state of worry now.
“Mother, then we won’t buy a house like this.” Su Zhihan couldn’t help but chuckle upon hearing this.
There are ways to live when you're poor, and there are ways to live when you're rich. If the mother and daughter had spent three or four hundred strings of cash to redeem themselves, they would have rented a house to stay in, opened a small inn or a stall to make a living, and then opened a restaurant once they had saved enough money.
“That’s true.” Jiang Zhenniang thought about the two courtyards she had bought, and the three servants she had hired, and felt very happy.
Having your own house feels completely different from living under someone else's roof. The feeling of being down-to-earth is much better than going with the flow.
"Speaking of which, we should prepare some gifts."
“Indeed.” Su Zhihan originally wanted to treat Cao Mama and the others to a meal before leaving, but now that the mother and daughter were guests of the Marquis’s mansion, it would be inappropriate to treat the servants to a meal.
She and Jiang Zhenniang went to the market again, picked out some things and bought them. Then they tidied up the chests and trunks in the house. Finally, Su Zhihan asked Xue Ge'er to invite a few people to sit in the house and gave them the prepared gifts one by one.
"Aunt Cao is here?" Jiang Zhenniang smiled as she looked at Aunt Cao and Cao Daya, who had come over first. She waved for the servants and maids in the room to leave, and then told the two women to come over quickly.
Jiang Zhenniang held Cao Daya's hand and looked at her wearing a light yellow embroidered jacket, a pea green pleated skirt, and a red silk belt tied around her waist with a tasseled handkerchief hanging from it: "Look at how our Daya is dressed today, so beautiful, much more beautiful than usual... By the way, you and Han'er used to work in the main kitchen."
At this point, Jiang Zhenniang rolled her eyes at Su Zhihan again: "Sister Han is the same. She used to complain about the fumes in the kitchen and didn't like to dress up. I had to coax her a lot these past two days before she finally agreed to wear new clothes."
Upon hearing this, Cao Mama glanced up and saw Jiang Zhenniang and Su Zhihan sitting upright, dressed in new silk clothes and skirts, looking just like the wives of officials. Her feelings were very complicated.
When word spread throughout the household that Jiang Zhenniang had contacted her son and was preparing to redeem herself and leave, many people said that Jiang Zhenniang hadn't been fooled once and wanted to be fooled a second time.
Some people believe that Jiang Zhenniang was deceived and blinded by a fraudster, while others think that Jiang Zhenniang was greedy for fame and fortune and was blinded by the title of "official's wife".
"It was the same last time, and it will be the same this time."
"She's just a soldier, and it's one thing if she can't come back safely, but she'll probably just be a low-ranking official, or even a nobody, making a meager living on a few dozen strings of cash a year. Let's see how she cries then."
The servants and maids in the Marquis's mansion looked down on those minor officials of the eighth or ninth rank.
Last time, when Cai Mama's daughter heard about Jiang Zhenniang, she made a fuss about canceling the marriage—that man was a scholar studying at the Imperial Academy.
The students at the Imperial Academy were not like the scholars that Jiang Zhenniang married back then. Apart from the sons of officials who entered the Imperial Academy through hereditary privilege, the rest were all talented people from all over the country.
Everyone in the manor thought that the Jiang mother and daughter would regret it, and Cao Mama thought so too, which is why she came to persuade them.
Who would have thought that a few days ago, word came from the main house that the Jiang family mother and daughter had been personally sent by Li Mama to stay in the side courtyard where guests were entertained. After some inquiries, some people learned that the eldest son of the Jiang family, who was far away on the frontier, had become a fifth-rank official!
That's a fifth-rank official!
Although the servants in the Marquis of Zhongyong’s mansion did not say it to his face, they all knew in their hearts that the Second Young Master had climbed up for so many years and was still a sixth-rank official. It was only by stepping on the corpse of the Third Young Master and using the merits accumulated by the Third Young Master that he became a fifth-rank official.
Now, all the servants in the mansion understood why the Jiang family mother and daughter had redeemed themselves. After all, everyone knew that the mother of a fifth-rank official was already a noblewoman, entitled to the title of county lady, and even receive a salary from the imperial court.
Su Zhihan, having become the wife of an official, no longer needed to do chores like cooking.
Madam Cao tried to bring her thoughts back and replied respectfully, "How could I accept such a gift from you, Miss?"
Cao's mother straightened her attitude, pinched Cao Daya's hand, and taught Cao Daya to follow her in bowing.
Jiang Zhenniang was startled by Cao Mama's actions and quickly got up and went forward with Su Zhihan. One of them grabbed Cao Mama, and the other grabbed Cao Daya. Jiang Zhenniang said anxiously, "Sister Cao, there's no one else here. Why are you bowing to me like this?"
Cao Mama felt a lump in her throat and lowered her head, saying to her, "I know you mean well, Madam Jiang, but we... will be on different paths from now on. You'd better not say nice things to us servants, or it will be bad for you if word gets out."
Not to mention Jiang Zhenniang was dumbfounded, even Su Zhihan couldn't keep her expression straight: "Aunt Cao, what are you saying?"
Jiang Zhenniang and Su Zhihan took turns speaking, while Cao Mama held back her words. However, the young Cao Daya couldn't help but shed tears and sobbed out the speculations about the household.
For Jiang Zhenniang and Su Zhihan, it was like a bolt from the blue. The mother and daughter looked at each other, not knowing whether to laugh or cry. They never expected that the rumors outside would become so exaggerated, that it was now said that their eldest son was a fifth-rank official.
Jiang Zhenniang, holding her belly, laughed heartily: "If he really manages to come back with a fifth-rank official position, I'll have to treat Sister Cao and Daya to a grand feast to thank you for your kind words!"
Upon hearing this, Cao's mother and Cao Daya were stunned. They looked blankly at Jiang Zhenniang and then at Su Zhihan.
"We've managed to get in touch."
"But that's not how it is. Who spread this rumor? It's such an exaggeration!"
Jiang Zhenniang still remembered what the mother and daughter had discussed, and then chimed in, "My eldest son did a good deed and brought back some money."
"It was Madam who, upon hearing that my eldest son was working under the Marquis, felt so sorry for him that she arranged for us to stay here."
Madam Cao believed half of it. The Marquis had tens of thousands of troops under his command, and every single one of them could catch his eye and be taken care of by the eldest daughter-in-law.
She was instructed to say that perhaps because Jiang's eldest son was working for the Marquis, the eldest daughter-in-law was so clear about Jiang's eldest son's future.
Cao's mother secretly glanced at Jiang Zhenniang, but instead of saying what was on her mind, she went along with what Jiang Zhenniang was saying and never mentioned Jiang's eldest son again.
After the mother and daughter saw off Cao's mother, they welcomed Qiuyue and others. Finally, Pearl and Yinghong arrived together.
Compared to the restraint of the previous people, Pearl appeared exceptionally poised and graceful. She covered her mouth and curtsied, saying with a smile, "Congratulations to both ladies."
"This matter..." The mother and daughter, after explaining several times, had no light in their eyes.
Seeing their reaction, Pearl chuckled softly, then explained to them, "I know the rumors outside are wrong, but I deliberately didn't explain it to anyone."
"My lady, I don't know."
"Some people in this courtyard have such foul mouths, it's really unbearable." Pearl curled her lip, showing great disdain for that group of people: "They can't stand seeing others have good fortune, they wish they could all be thrown into the mud before they'd have their way."
"This rumor is good, it will keep people from disturbing us."
"When your eldest son returns, life will surely get better day by day."
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
