Life in the village is much better now, and the villagers are more aware of the importance of their children's education. However, everyone is still worried that their children will not learn anything and that a lot of money will be wasted, so they are all waiting and seeing.
The village chief made up his mind that after sending Xichun back, he would call together the elders of the village who were of high seniority to discuss the children's schooling.
The Fu family held a grand banquet to celebrate Fu Changfeng's passing the imperial examination and becoming a scholar. The whole county heard about it. The Fu family's banquet was so large that even lazy people on the street could have a meal. So on this day, people on the street were moving towards the Fu family. Those who knew how to behave would bring some things and bring their whole family to eat and drink.
The Fu family of Fucheng also caught up with the occasion, and this time there were even more people than before, including young men and women.
The eldest aunt, second aunt, and others were no longer as aloof as before. When they saw Madam Fu, they smiled before even speaking, offered their congratulations, and called over their younger relatives, telling them to quickly pay their respects.
"Hehe, third sister-in-law, you are so lucky. We all envy you. You must teach us how to raise such a good son. By the way, you may not have enough people. It's okay, we sisters-in-law will help you greet the guests."
They automatically assumed the role of the hostess, helping to greet the guests. Madam Fu didn't want to embarrass them or tarnish her son's reputation under the watchful eyes of so many guests, so she had no choice but to let them be. Fortunately, they were quite sensible this time and dared not cause any more trouble.
With the help of her fourth and fifth aunts, Madam Fu arrived at the inner courtyard. Upon seeing Xichun, she stopped tormenting her this time and praised her for her success, which surprised Xichun.
"These are all Changfeng's girls. Changfeng's wife, you should look after them too. They haven't been engaged yet." After the old lady finished speaking meaningfully, Xichun understood. She had her eye on Fu Changfeng's classmates and probably wanted her to be a matchmaker.
"Madam, don't worry, I'm at ease with my sisters sitting here with you. I still have to greet other guests, so please ask Fifth Aunt to help us greet the guests here." Xichun wasn't about to take on this hot potato, so she made an excuse to go and greet the others.
My sister-in-law is still in her postpartum period, so she's been quite busy all by herself.
The Wang family, the village chief's family, and Uncle Zhang's family all came, along with the people who helped out at the restaurant. However, they didn't come in; instead, they went to the outdoor banquet, saying that it was too formal here and they were afraid of embarrassing Xichun.
"There are so many people, and quite a few of them are ladies and daughters of wealthy families in the county. In the past, we would never have been able to sit on equal footing with them. We are really benefiting from this." Mo Xiaoling held the child's hand. Today, she was wearing a silver hairpin, which she bought with the money she earned from setting up a stall in the village.
She thought she was already quite presentable, but who knew that everyone coming and going here was even more presentable than her, and now she felt a little less confident when she spoke.
“Xiaoling, let’s sit at the same table. I’m a little nervous too. There are so many more people here than when Azhao had her full moon celebration. We country folk are really nervous seeing this kind of scene.” Zhou Xiaoxue also brought her child today. She stood with Aunt Zhang and called the village chief’s wife over. The group of them sat at the same table.
"Who would have thought that Xichun would become the wife of a scholar? It's true what they say, good people are rewarded." The village chief's wife looked at the poised and composed Xichun and couldn't help but sigh with Aunt Zhang.
"Who can disagree? With this air of authority, who would dare say that Xichun is just a country girl and not worthy of Master Fu? Times have really changed. The old Chen family is nowhere to be found now, and Xichun is living a good life."
“Mother, a kind person like Xichun deserves to live such a life. If it weren’t for her, would our whole village be like this now? By the way, Aunt, I heard that the village is going to set up a private school. I wonder if it will be able to be done?”
"This matter still needs to be discussed by your uncles. I think it's a sure thing. You can just wait to send the child to school."
“That would be wonderful. Once it’s built, I’ll send my children there. They may not be as clever as Master Fu, but if they have even half his intelligence and can pass the imperial examination, our family will be incredibly lucky.”
When the others were talking about Xichun's past suffering, Mo Xiaoling didn't know how to speak up, since the Ma family had also "contributed" to that suffering. However, when the topic of a private school came up, she became very enthusiastic and hoped that one would be established so that her children could go to school in the future.
"Many families in the village think this way. At least they won't be as blind as we are. Like Taozi, they can learn accounting from the accountant, which will benefit them for life. It's better than us having to toil in the fields to make a living."
Xi Chun didn't hear their conversation. There were quite a few guests coming and going, many of whom had never had any dealings with the Fu family before, but now that the Fu family's status had changed, they came to show goodwill.
After a busy day, Xichun finally managed to send all the guests home. She collapsed into a chair, feeling utterly exhausted.
"Xichun, you should go and rest. We'll sort out the gifts tomorrow. There's no rush. I've already arranged for someone to take care of the old lady and the others, so you don't need to worry about it," Madam Fu said, seeing Xichun's state.
"Mother, you should rest early too. You can't overwork yourself. I'll help you tidy up tomorrow." Xichun didn't say anything more polite, after all, she was really tired.
The next day, Fu Changfeng got up to go for a run. Unexpectedly, as soon as he reached the courtyard, he saw a girl standing there as if waiting for someone. He didn't know anyone from the prefectural city, so he didn't dare to go up and greet her. He turned around and left.
The girl had originally seen Fu Changfeng and wanted to go up and pay her respects, but he ran away as if he were being chased by a dog, making her wait for so long in vain. The information she had spent money to get from the maid was all for nothing.
"Xichun, I just saw a girl at Changchun Garden. I don't know which branch of the family she belongs to in the prefecture. It's really strange that she's there so early in the morning. Go and ask her about it later. I'm afraid they might have some bad intentions."
"Oh, I haven't even had a chance to get to know the girls who came from the prefectural city yesterday. You don't even know you?"
"I don't think I've seen them before. I wonder if it's because they've changed so much in the past few years." Fu Changfeng didn't dare to say directly that they didn't seem to be his cousins. He was afraid they were after him, which would only make Xichun worry. He suggested that she investigate herself.
"Alright, don't worry about it. My mother and I will meet them in a little while. Now that there are more girls in the house, you should run around in our yard first, so you don't bump into anyone."
Having spent so much time with him, Xi Chun knew exactly what he was thinking. She didn't confront him this time, at least he knew to avoid suspicion.
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