In Shiyuan Village, Lin Xiaowan asked her husband to return home and not to poke around in the second and third wives' houses. Otherwise, if there really was a problem with the second and third wives' houses, they would have no way to explain themselves.
The people from the second and third rooms have a good relationship and are close.
Lin Xiaowan didn't plan to rush forward, nor did she think about getting a share of the pie. She knew that as long as the fourth room bowed their heads, Su Qiuya would still be willing to lead the fourth room. Su Qiuya was a businessman, and she also liked to be superficial and liked a good reputation.
The people in the second house mainly dislike the people in the first house. It was the second house that first suggested dividing the family property, and they were firm in their attitude.
Lin Xiaowan didn't feel the need to go in front of the people from the second house. No one outside would want to eat the food she made. If they sold food, they would have to control costs, which was not easy.
"Why do you always go to town?" Lin Xiaowan asked. She went to town every day without feeling tired.
"Now I have a bicycle." Liu Yanqing was a little proud.
Lin Xiaowan bought a bicycle a few days ago, and Liu Yanqing learned to ride it after a few lessons. Liu Yanqing liked going to the town even more, wanting to see how the third wife was doing and whether there were any new things to do in the town.
Liu Yanqing didn't like staying in the village all the time. He didn't miss the married widow, nor did he think about other women.
The bicycle is so good that Liu Yanqing just wants to ride it more often. When he has to busy himself with farm work in the future, he can't go to the town all the time.
"Let's go to the town and have a look," Liu Yanqing said, "to see if there are any new things, new seeds, or saplings."
Lin Xiaowan didn't believe Liu Yanqing. It was impossible that her husband was thinking about seeds and saplings.
"Don't be like that. If I see anything, I'll definitely tell you." Liu Yanqing thought it was just a side thing. "When the strawberries are grown, I might not be able to go every day to sell them."
Lin Xiaowan couldn't let Liu Yanqing sell the strawberries alone, fearing that he wouldn't check the scales and sell them carelessly. Sometimes, someone would take a few extra strawberries, and then she wouldn't make any money.
Besides, if Liu Yanqing had money, wouldn’t he go gambling?
Lin Xiaowan couldn't let Liu Yanqing hold onto the money. "Father doesn't want pension money, but we still have to prepare the annual gift."
"What are you preparing for?" Liu Yanqing asked. "Last year, it was easy to prepare. This year, they're all so kind, it wouldn't look good if we just gave them a pound or two of meat."
"..." Lin Xiaowan certainly knew that it would not look good to give a pound or two of meat as a gift, but that was the condition of her family.
"How about another woolen sweater?" Liu Yanqing asked, "or a down jacket? But these are all made by my younger sister, so father doesn't need any."
"They don't lack anything." Lin Xiaowan twitched her lips slightly. "According to what you said, there's no need to prepare anything."
"Okay." Liu Yanqing nodded, "Just take something with you."
Lin Xiaowan was too lazy to talk to Liu Yanqing and turned to go into the house.
"I'm not wrong, it's so real." Liu Yanqing muttered. He really didn't think he was wrong. They didn't have enough money to prepare such a good gift, so it was just something ordinary.
Before, when Liu Yanqing mentioned sending dried fruits, he thought Lin Xiaowan would agree.
"I'll take it," Liu Yanqing said. He had his bicycle anyway, so he went back to the house to grab some dried fruit and pack up the other things. That would be enough. There was no need to wrap things up nicely; people would know what they looked like once they opened them.
They wrap things beautifully, but that's just to deceive outsiders.
The next day, Liu Yanqing went to the Liu family's main house to deliver New Year gifts.
Father Liu let Liu Yanqing in. Father Liu occasionally saw his son. His son did not always run to him, nor did he think about asking for anything, which made Father Liu very satisfied.
"We didn't have much at home, so I made all these dried fruits myself," Liu Yanqing emphasized. "Some are made from wild fruits from the mountains. The roads there are difficult to walk on, so I brought a hatchet."
Of course, the main reason is Lin Xiaowan.
Lin Xiaowan is very strong, and with Lin Xiaowan around, Liu Yanqing doesn't have to worry about encountering ferocious wild beasts in the mountains.
"Okay." Father Liu didn't say that these dried fruits were bad.
"It's just some dried fruit as a gift for the new year. Please don't despise it." Liu Yanqing said, "We are really poor. The one or two coins I hid were all taken away by your daughter-in-law."
Liu Yanqing thought that what he said was correct. Lin Xiaowan had indeed taken a lot of his private money. He was not crying poor, he was telling the truth.
"That's fine. You spend money lavishly and don't know how to manage the household." Father Liu nodded.
Liu Yanqing looked at his father. He wished his father would have some pity on him and give him some silver, a piece of silver or a few cents.
"Father..." Liu Yanqing opened his mouth, but still didn't dare to ask his father for money, for fear that his father would be unhappy and that he would be thrown out. "If you like these dried fruits, I will send them to you another day."
Woohoo, these dried fruits can be sold for money!
Liu Yanqing was also thinking of selling the dried fruits to save some money. If Lin Xiaowan asked him, he would say that he had eaten the dried fruits.
"No need, as long as you have this intention." Seeing Liu Yanqing's hesitation, Father Liu did not ask any more questions. Father Liu believed that if there was a serious problem, Liu Yanqing would speak directly.
In the end, Liu Yanqing didn't get any pocket money from his father, but he did get some cakes and other things from the main house. Those were prepared by Liu's mother. No matter how many years these people from the other houses had prepared for the gifts, Liu's mother had no intention of letting them go home empty-handed.
Mother Liu knew that these other houses were not as good as the big house, so it would be better if the big house was a little more generous, at least to make Father Liu feel comfortable. As the mistress of the house, Mother Liu knew a man's mind too well.
Mother Liu can ignore concubines like Aunt Qing, but she cannot ignore the illegitimate children who are related to Father Liu by blood.
"It's cold, so I gave them two rolls of cotton cloth." Mother Liu said in front of Father Liu, "Making money isn't easy. Even Sister Lian's shop is doing so badly, let alone theirs."
"Their shops don't sell those things. It's okay if they sell food." Father Liu had seen the shops of the second and third wives from a distance. There were quite a few people in the shops, so they should be able to make some money.
If they were not making money, how could the people from the second and third houses continue to run shops and sell food?
Food is the most important thing for people, and a gourmet food shop should be able to make some money.
"It's all hard-earned money." said Liu's mother.
"Lian Jie'er also worked hard to earn her money." Father Liu couldn't just think about the hard work of the other families. If he were to tell him, their youngest daughter had worked the hardest. "Since each family is sending two pieces of cotton cloth, then send them. You don't have to send so much in the future. One piece is great. If you don't send it, that's fine too. They earn money, and when they're cold, they can buy cloth themselves."
"Yes." Liu's mother responded.
"It's not easy for my daughter to earn money. She works so hard." Liu's father sighed, "And she has to support so many people. We have to save as much as possible. We gave them enough in the past. Now that we are old, it is time for them to respect us."
What Father Liu meant was that they didn't need to prepare so many things for the other families, just a token of their appreciation would be enough.
"My Lord, don't you feel sorry for them?" asked Liu's mother.
"They have hands and feet, why should I feel sorry for them?" Father Liu said, "They didn't feel sorry for us at the beginning."
Father Liu still remembers what happened back then, so it is impossible for him to be so nice to the other families.
The people from the third house had spent a few days in the county town learning new dishes from the people from the second house. Su Qiuya taught them very seriously. Su Qiuya didn't want the people from the third house to think she was hiding something, so if she wanted to show her favor, she had to let them taste the sweetness.
"The New Year is coming again. Have you thought about what kind of New Year gifts to give?" Feng Guanjing asked while kneading dough.
"Originally, I wanted to send him a set of clothes." Su Qiuya said, "But then I thought about it and gave up. My younger sister runs a woolen shop and also makes down jackets. The clothes we sent are not that good, and it is unlikely that father will wear them."
Su Qiuya didn't want to give Liu Yulian's things to Liu's father. It would be bad if they gave it to someone else if they already had it at home. They sold it to someone else and then gave it to someone else. How could that be?
"Why not make some exquisite pastries at home that can be kept for a longer time?" Su Qiuya said, "The fourth room must have been sent separately. If they were sent together, the three families could have bought them together. But it's a pity that's impossible for the fourth room."
Su Qiuya didn't need to ask the fourth room, she knew what the fourth room's attitude was.
"How about we go and ask?" Feng Guanjing said.
"No need to ask." Su Qiuya said, "The fourth house helps the first house look after the house. Maybe the first house will give it to them one day. They also farm and buy culture medium from the first house. They must be thinking of sending something better to the first house."
Su Qiuya never thought that Liu Yanqing would send some dried fruits to the main house. If Su Qiuya knew, she would never send dried fruits.
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Although the dried fruits and pastries are all made by them, the feeling is still quite different.
"You're right." Feng Guanjing nodded. "What kind of cakes do you want to give as a gift? Take us to make some."
Feng Guanjing thought that there was no need for the third house to bypass the second house, and there was no need to give more than the second house, as long as it compared with what the second house gave.
Father Liu never expected the people from these families to give him any good things. At most, he just thought it would be a great blessing if these families didn't make trouble.
When the third wife was still learning to cook at the second wife's place, something happened in the second wife's place.
Liu Yanbo had a conflict with a cynical scholar in the academy. The scholar, upon learning that Liu Yanbo had proposed a separation when his brother was injured, told others about it and he looked down on Liu Yanbo.
How could Liu Yanbo allow anyone to say that? He absolutely would not allow anyone to ruin his reputation.
"I am just a bastard. You don't understand the hardships of a bastard."
"Isn't it enough that I've done so much?"
"It's not my fault, it's someone else's fault."
…
Of course, Liu Yanbo didn’t say it this way, but that’s roughly what he meant.
The scholar disagreed. He believed that there were differences between legitimate and illegitimate children, and between wives and concubines. The Liu family's eldest branch was willing to split up at that time because it was forced by the other branches. These people simply took advantage of their exile and treated the family rules as mere decoration.
The scholar thought that people like Liu Yanbo were not good people at all, and that if Liu Yanbo became successful, others would not be able to live well either.
Liu Yanbo naturally started arguing with this person. During the argument, someone made a move and the scholar fell to the ground. Coincidentally, his head hit the table and he bled profusely.
The people in the academy quickly found a doctor and asked the doctor to take a look at the scholar.
The scholar was from a wealthy family in town, and his family had ties to some officials. There was no way that family would let Liu Yanbo off so easily. Regardless of whether Liu Yanbo was the illegitimate son of Marquis Jingning or not, they would seek justice.
There is also such a thing in the original book.
It’s just that in the original novel, the first branch of the Liu family was in decline, while the second branch was on the rise.
"I didn't push him." Liu Yanbo got angry when he thought about this. He didn't know how someone knew all those things about him and even talked about them in the academy.
Liu Yanbo couldn't let the scholar keep talking. Previously, the incident with Miss Xu had made life difficult for their family in the county, and even Liu Yanbo's studies in the academy were affected.
This time, someone was talking about the Liu family's division.
It has been more than a year since the Liu family split up.
Liu Yanbo thought that these people should not talk too much about this matter. He had to explain it. He couldn't let his classmates think that he was heartless and ungrateful, nor could he let his teachers think that he was a bad person.
"I'm afraid someone did it while the chaos was going on." Su Qiuya said.
"Fortunately, they are unlikely to end up in court." Liu Yanbo said that there may be some conflicts between classmates, but no one has ended up in court.
The scholar didn't die, he just bled more. Fortunately, the corners of the tables in the academy weren't particularly sharp. If they had been sharp, it would have been hard to say.
"What should we do now?" Su Qiuya asked.
"His family is quite wealthy," Liu Yanbo said. "I heard some of his relatives are officials."
This meant that this matter was not so easy to resolve, even if the person's life was not in danger, even if the person did not sue them. Liu Yanbo was afraid that this matter would affect his participation in the imperial examination, and he wondered who had pushed that person.
"There were quite a few people there at the time," Liu Yanbo said. "There was no way of knowing who pushed it."
"Did anyone see it?" Su Qiuya asked.
"I don't know." Liu Yanbo frowned. "Even if someone saw it, they might not tell anyone."
"It doesn't matter. Tell us who is there and we will look for them one by one. There are also people standing outside the school. Maybe someone saw it." Su Qiuya thought that as long as Liu Yanbo didn't do this, they would always find a way to solve this matter.
"Or, should we go find someone from the first house?" Liu Yanyuan said.
"It's better not to bother them." Liu Yanbo said, he couldn't bring himself to say that.
"If the eldest wife takes action, they will definitely not be able to say anything more." Liu Yanyuan said.
"Will the eldest wife take action?" Liu Yanbo sneered. "What if they say that what those people said is true?"
Liu Yanbo was not so confused as to not understand this point. They had indeed taken advantage of the fact that the eldest wife was in trouble to split up the family.
Before the second and third houses had even given gifts to the first house, the people of the Liu family's first house had heard about Su Qiuya and Liu Yanbo's experience in the county town. Students being injured in the academy was no small matter, and someone would inevitably spread the news.
After Liu's mother learned about this, she even went to Liu's father and asked, "Do you want to take care of this?"
"No need." Father Liu said, "He's married now, and he should be able to stand on his own feet."
Father Liu didn't intend to ask any more questions. Since it wasn't life-threatening and didn't go to court, it shouldn't be a big deal. He believed the second wife would be able to resolve it on her own. Hadn't the first wife resolved so many issues on her own?
When Princess Zhaoyang learned of this, she had no intention of addressing it. She was marrying into the first wife's family, so there was no need to solve the second wife's problems. She believed the second wife should handle the situation on her own. If the first wife ran away, it would be bad if someone accused her of something later.
In the yard, Princess Zhaoyang was watching Liu Yulian making a big fat fish.
"I'm just making some small animals." Liu Yulian said with a smile, "My eyes are getting tired from embroidering all the time."
Liu Yulian was afraid of her eyesight problems, so she didn't dare to embroider all the time, nor did she dare to embroider at night. She thought of glass. If she had a glass cover, it would be easier to use the lamps.
Unfortunately, glass has not yet been invented, and they cannot produce glass on a large scale.
"It's good to do these." Princess Zhaoyang nodded. As long as they are not made in human shape, it will be fine. Human-shaped puppets are easily associated with witchcraft.
No matter which dynasty, the imperial court disliked witchcraft, and witchcraft was also a crime.
"It looks pretty good too." Princess Zhaoyang said, "I don't see you keeping a pet."
"I don't have time to look after it." Liu Yulian replied, "If I let the maids take care of it, the cat won't even be close to me, so what's the point of raising it?"
Liu Yulian thought that if that were the case, she would be raising a cat for someone else, not for herself. She would never do such a thing. She did not covet the beauty of cats at all.
Liu Yulian still felt a little reluctant to wait for a while before raising the baby.
When Princess Zhaoyang saw Liu Yulian's expression, she knew that Liu Yulian still wanted to keep a cat.
"What kind of cat do you like?" asked Princess Zhaoyang.
"Orange cat..." Liu Yulian thought orange cats were good, and rural cats were also good. She couldn't tell what breeds those kittens were anyway. "A simple one, no need for a fancy breed."
In ancient times, cats could not be vaccinated, and people were not allowed to get too close to cats. However, the pets of wealthy families were always taken care of by their owners.
"Let's raise him next year." Princess Zhaoyang said with a smile. She will marry into the family next year.
The Chinese New Year is just half a month away, but He Xiyuan and Liu Yanjing have not returned to the Liu family yet. They have to wait until two days before the Chinese New Year to come back.
Beside the tent, He Xiyuan looked at the campfire.
In the evening, they did not rest so early, but sat by the campfire. This required that there was enough firewood, otherwise, they could not light a fire casually.
"It's been a bit quiet lately," said He Xiyuan.
He Xiyuan hadn't been in the barracks long, having only arrived last year, so he didn't have much experience. When he arrived last year, he'd always heard rumors of sneak attacks or other problems, but this year it was much quieter.
It is always quiet before the storm, and He Xiyuan and others are worried that something big will happen later.
If something big breaks out, not being able to go home for the New Year is a minor matter, the main thing is that war is not a good thing.
On the grasslands, people in several tribes were happier than in previous years. They had more food this year and didn't have to fight in battles. They also enjoyed woolen sweaters, as they were sure wool was truly useful, and they could raise more sheep.
The tribal leader has been there in person, so it must be true.
"The wool is growing a little slowly." Some people are keeping an eye on the sheep, hoping they'll make a lot of money next summer. They all want the sheep to grow more wool, and grow better, so they can sell it for more money.
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