In the military camp, Liu Yanjing saw He Xiyuan staring at him and raised his eyebrows.
"Let's make a pair when you get married." Liu Yanjing said.
"..." He Xiyuan didn't want to talk. It would take several years for him to get married. He thought for a moment and said, "It depends on whether Sister Lian likes it. Maybe she prefers something else."
He Xiyuan felt a little sad that he couldn't marry Sister Lian yet. Fortunately, Liu Yanjing was married, so Sister Lian wouldn't have to worry about so many things, and she wouldn't have to deal with those things anymore. He could pay more attention to Sister Lian and divert her attention to himself.
Liu Yanjing's two children now have Princess Zhaoyang as their stepmother, so they don't miss their sister Lian all the time.
"Go back quickly." He Xiyuan said, "I'll go a few days before your wedding."
"My younger sister may not be able to come over for a while." Liu Yanjing said deliberately, "I've already gone back."
"I'll go back." He Xiyuan said, "I can go back."
Please stop saying these things, my future brother-in-law. He Xiyuan doesn’t want to hear any more of them.
"Let's go." Liu Yanjing said.
“…” He Xiyuan looked at him and decided to leave. No need to say more, he would be able to go back sooner or later.
Women all marry, and since Sister Lian couldn't stay in the Liu family forever, He Xiyuan thought he should save some money for a wife. Some soldiers in the barracks worked hard to save money for a wife, saying it was for future marriages, and some also saved for their children.
In the Liu family's main house, Liu's mother prepared a lot of betrothal gifts, but they were still not impressive enough. Some of the unmarked items given by the emperor could be used as betrothal gifts, but there weren't that many of them.
When Liu Yanjing and Da Huo got married, Liu's mother prepared even more things. Back then, their home hadn't been ransacked, so they had a lot of stuff. But now, after the house was ransacked, they simply didn't have that many good things.
"That's all." Mother Liu showed the betrothal gift list to Liu Yanjing.
Liu's mother thought she had to let her son see it and see his attitude. After deducting the money for the banquet, the family still had several hundred taels of silver left. There were also maids and servants in the house, and everything cost money, so it was impossible not to have money left.
This was because the family was not in the capital, so there were not so many maids and servants, which saved money. The Jingning Marquis's Mansion in the capital also had few maids and servants, and was mainly looked after by the housekeeper.
Mother Liu had thought about this for a long time before making these preparations. The remaining several hundred taels of silver would at least last until summer. The family shop had some income, but it wasn't particularly large. They didn't have as many shops as before. Some shops only made a few dozen taels a month, not even a hundred.
For servants like those, since this wasn't the capital, they could be paid slightly less. For example, Xie Pozi, who had always followed Liu Mu and even traveled all the way to the northwest after the Liu family's misfortune, Liu Mu gave her a monthly stipend of one and a half taels of silver. Other servants and maids earned at least a few hundred wen, and after adding up, they earned quite a bit of money each month.
Liu's mother, the head of the household, naturally knew all this. If her son felt it was too little, she could still give him more than one hundred taels of silver, but she had no more.
"That's all." Liu Yanjing knew the family was in financial difficulty, "No need to borrow money from my little sister."
Liu Yanjing had told his mother not to borrow money from Liu Yulian for the betrothal gifts, but to use the family's money and buy whatever betrothal gifts the money could afford.
Liu Yanjing really didn't want to wrong Princess Zhaoyang, but that wasn't a reason for him to spend his younger sister's money carelessly. She had other things to spend, and she spent it quickly, so they shouldn't bother her.
"I didn't borrow from her," said Liu's mother. "Your younger sister doesn't have much money either. She bought some wasteland a few days ago. It's almost time to cultivate the land this season. She also took out two hundred taels of silver, which is rare."
"Yes." Liu Yanjing nodded. Who would ask his little sister to deal with those things when his brother gets married?
Mrs. Xu, whom Liu's mother asked to be the matchmaker, had to behave properly and not treat Princess Zhaoyang too badly.
Let Madam Xu be the witness, and the Liu family went to Princess Zhaoyang to offer the betrothal gifts.
Princess Zhaoyang had been married before and had seen the account books. When she saw the list of betrothal gifts, she knew that the Liu family had worked very hard to prepare betrothal gifts for her. Liu Yanjing even shot a pair of wild geese for her.
Princess Zhaoyang was very satisfied and did not think the betrothal gift was shabby at all.
After the betrothal gifts were paid, some other procedures were followed, and the next step was the wedding banquet of Princess Zhaoyang and Liu Yanjing.
The Liu family's eldest branch sent invitations to some people, but they didn't invite everyone who lived far away. As for those in the capital, they could invite them to a banquet when they returned to the capital.
In Shiyuan Village, Liu Yanqing received an invitation from the eldest wife's family. The eldest wife also sent an invitation to Village Chief Zhang, saying there was no need to prepare gifts. Some people in the village simply didn't have that much money, and the eldest wife of the Liu family didn't lack for gifts. As long as they could get by, there was no need to accept them.
"This separation is also good. If you are in front of the princess every day, you will be so unruly..."
"What?" Lin Xiaowan was holding a kitchen knife in her hand. She had just come back from the vegetable garden after cutting a vegetable.
"I mean...if the family hadn't split up, you could still serve tea and water to the princess." Liu Yanqing didn't dare to say anything bad about his wife. "We should be harmonious and happy."
"You think the princess doesn't have any maids around her, so why do you need me to do these things?" Lin Xiaowan didn't think about trying to please Princess Zhaoyang. They didn't live together. "Princess Zhaoyang should have a good temper."
Lin Xiaowan met Princess Zhaoyang seldom, but Princess Zhaoyang spent quite some time in the town. The eldest wife of the Liu family should be very satisfied with Princess Zhaoyang.
"I don't know whether it's good or not." Liu Yanqing said, "I just want to know whether you have a good temper or not."
Other people's wives had little to do with him, and Liu Yanqing didn't care whether Princess Zhaoyang would treat Liu Jia and Liu Qingyun well. They still had to live their own lives well. Princess Zhaoyang was not someone they could get.
"Be careful in the future." Liu Yanqing said again.
"Why haven't I heard you say this before?" Lin Xiaowan wondered.
"Don't they say things are different when you get married?" Liu Yanqing said, "That sister-in-law before was very particular, and she didn't like us very much."
But Liu Yanqing couldn't possibly care whether Da Huo liked him or not. He could get his monthly allowance every month, and as long as he didn't get any less, that was fine. Da Huo didn't like them, but it was impossible for him to touch the allowance either.
"Speaking of which, it's such a pity for our family," Liu Yanqing said. "Those people go out to lend money at high interest rates. That's a life-threatening job, and they also embezzle and accept bribes."
This dynasty takes usury very seriously and does not allow people to lend money at high interest rates. Lending money at high interest rates usually involves human lives, and some people are forced to die because they cannot repay the money.
The Emperor's initial ruthless actions against the Marquis of Jingning were intended to serve as a warning to others, and others might have thought it was a warning to those who took sides. However, Liu Yanqing believed that the issue of usury, with its associated loss of life, was not so easily resolved.
For others, lending money at high interest rates would basically risk their lives, but when it comes to the Liu family, how could they not risk their lives?
Father Liu didn't manage the family well, so it was normal for his property to be confiscated. People were using the name of the Marquisate to lend money at high interest rates. How many people were forced to death behind this?
This was also the reason why Father Liu never hated anyone. He had indeed failed to manage the mansion well, and felt sorry for those who had died because of his family's loan sharking. Father Liu couldn't explain it, couldn't completely shirk it, and could only bear it.
"When we have many children, it's better to separate the family early, so that one person won't make a mistake and the whole family will be dragged down." Liu Yanqing said, "No, it's usually the mistakes of several people that bring disaster to the whole family."
If Liu Yanqing wanted to wait until something happened to divide the family, it would be too late.
"Why are we talking about dividing the family?" Lin Xiaowan thought Liu Yanqing's idea was a bit jumpy.
"It's not about dividing the family, it's about living a good life." Liu Yanqing said, "If you want to live a good life, there are many things to pay attention to."
Liu Yanqing said that he was absorbing various life experiences so that when they have children in the future, they will be able to live a prosperous life and not get worse and worse.
"Also, don't be like the second and third wives." Liu Yanqing nibbled on a strawberry. "You have to get the pension money, no matter how wealthy your family is."
"..." Lin Xiaowan frowned, because the eldest wife didn't continue to ask for their pension money.
"The eldest wife is a bit foolish. Even if they don't need the money, why don't they take it?" Liu Yanqing said, "It's a lot of money, and it's not expensive. It all comes from legitimate sources. If they don't take it, they appear generous, but it also makes people think they're easy to bully."
"Why do you always have these thoughts?" Lin Xiaowan didn't understand. This man sometimes acted so mature, but her husband was really not that smart.
"Aren't you just bored and can't find anything to talk about?" Liu Yanqing explained, "I'll talk to you more for free."
"If you have this much time, you should go work in the fields." Lin Xiaowan rolled her eyes.
"The work in the fields is difficult, and the weather is cold," Liu Yanqing said, "You can't blame me for this."
"You only know how to eat." Lin Xiaowan said.
"You can live without eating anything," Liu Yanqing replied.
Finally, Lin Xiaowan called Liu Yanqing to the kitchen to light the fire. Liu Yanqing didn't know how to light the fire before, but now he has become proficient in it and can even steam an egg custard and bake an egg for himself from time to time.
In the county town, after Su Qiuya and her husband learned that the eldest wife of the Liu family had already given a betrothal gift to Princess Zhaoyang, they thought that the eldest wife must be living a good life.
"I don't know what they have prepared." Aunt Qing thought that the eldest wife should have prepared a lot of things, and they would definitely not let the princess down.
Liu Yanjing had to prepare a lot of things for his two marriages, but his father didn't know how to give more things to his other sons.
"Once Princess Zhaoyang marries them, they will become even more arrogant," said Aunt Qing.
"If we don't go over there, they won't be able to act arrogantly in front of us." Su Qiuya thought about it and decided that they would talk less about the eldest wife's affairs in the future. If they had to talk about it, they would do so behind closed doors and not outside.
If people outside heard what they said, they would probably spread it everywhere. Then, those words would be heard by the eldest wife, and the people in the eldest wife would blame them.
Su Qiuya thought that the second wife had not said that at first, and those who spread the word spread it that way, so what did it have to do with the second wife. But the first wife would always blame all the problems on the second wife, as if they were the culprits.
"How could they not be so arrogant in front of us?" Aunt Qing sighed, "They are not that good."
“…” Su Qiuya was silent.
"Yanbo wants to go to the provincial capital. Has the teacher decided yet?" asked Aunt Qing. Liu Yanbo would have to go and meet people first, and only after he passed the imperial examination could he study in the provincial capital.
"It's settled." Su Qiuya said, "It just costs a little more money."
Su Qiuya thought that those teachers were not very good people. Some of them just wanted more money, so they didn't introduce them. But now, they spent more money and a teacher gave them a letter of introduction.
Although she didn't know if it would work out in the end, Su Qiuya thought this was an opportunity. Perhaps the teacher in the city also wanted more money. Although some scholars seemed noble on the surface, their lives were different. Food, oil, salt, sauce, vinegar, and tea all cost money, and better pens, inkstones, and paper were even more expensive.
"We don't mind spending more money, as long as we can solve the problem." Aunt Qing said, "As long as we are still here, we can always earn the money back."
"My husband and I have agreed that we will move to the prefectural capital in two months." Su Qiuya didn't want to stay in the county town any longer and didn't want to be too close to the Liu family's main house. "The things and banknotes my grandfather sent are enough for us to buy a shop in the prefectural capital."
Su Qiuya never thought that Liu Yanbo would not be able to pass the examination to become a scholar. At most, she just wondered whether Liu Yanbo could pass the examination to become the top scholar.
"It's good that you have a plan." Aunt Qing likes people like Su Qiuya who have a plan.
The Liu family's first wife didn't send an invitation to either the second or third wife. Father and Mother Liu weren't afraid of losing face; they were just afraid these people would cause a scene at the banquet, which would be embarrassing.
In the Liu family's main house, Liu Yulian was in the kitchen, boiling sugar and making all sorts of candies. Some were soft candies with stars, and some were shaped like stars, in different colors, and dotted with white sugar. Besides the stars, there were also several kinds of hard candies.
Since the family didn’t have enough money to buy so many good things, Liu Yulian thought about making some at home.
Now that the weather is cold, things like candy can be kept.
"What is this?" Xiao Liujia ran out of the kitchen and saw something outside. It was something soft, not sweet, and didn't look like candy.
"Jelly." Liu Yulian said with a smile. She was still wearing an apron. "Eat slowly. Don't take big gulps at once. You'll choke easily."
"Does it mean that every time father gets married, he can eat more?" Xiao Liujia asked, "If he gets married more times, he can eat more times?"
"How can there be so many times?" Liu Yulian said with a smile, "If you want to eat it, just ask the kitchen staff to make it for you. These jellies are filled with some fruits, which looks good and is also nutritious."
Liu Yulian also had canned fruit pulp made so that it could be used during the banquet.
Their family had already prepared a lot of fruits. In addition to the ones they grew themselves, they also bought a lot of other fruits.
"It turns out that you don't have to get married before you can eat it." Xiao Liujia patted her chest and breathed a sigh of relief. If you have to get married before you can eat it, then would she have to let her father and Princess Zhaoyang get married a few more times?
"Of course not." Liu Yulian said, "It's just that I haven't made it for you before."
In order for Liu Yanjing to have a decent wedding, the Liu family's main branch prepared various things.
Liu Yulian also made purple sweet potato noodles, which could be considered a dish later. Those people had never tasted this purple sweet potato noodles before, and they thought it was new, so it wouldn't be too bad. In her later life, when she went to a banquet, in addition to peanuts and melon seeds, the first dish was vermicelli.
Liu Yulian had never prepared a banquet before, but she had been to many, so she knew what to prepare. Rich families had plenty of meat, and the Liu family's wedding banquet didn't require a lot of meat, so the meat had to be delicious.
Fortunately, the Daliang Dynasty had a lot of seasonings. The founding emperor of the Daliang Dynasty attached great importance to these and sent many people to other countries and to go sailing. This is also one of the reasons why the Daliang Dynasty had corn and other things.
Liu Yulian prepared some spices, including chili peppers, bay leaves, etc., and some were bought outside.
"Can I eat it a few more times?" Xiao Liujia thought the jelly was really delicious.
"Okay." Liu Yulian said, "From now on, let the kitchen staff cook for you. But you can't just eat these things and not eat. You still have to eat, understand?"
"There is food." Xiao Liujia replied. These things are really delicious and she likes them very much.
When Liu's mother came, she saw Xiao Liu eating jelly like a little hamster. "You've eaten so much now. You won't have to eat later."
"There's not much of this stuff," Liu Yulian said. "It's easy to digest. I still have to eat soon."
Mother Liu looked at the food on the sieve and thought that only her daughter could come up with so many different dishes because she had read so many books. She had been worried that they wouldn't have enough exquisite dishes. Even if they hired a chef from the restaurant, the ingredients would still be the same.
When Mother Liu saw the things made by Liu Yulian, she felt much more at ease. At least there were still a lot of exquisite and delicious things.
"We can make these things and sell them later," Liu Yulian said. "Maybe people will find them delicious and buy more."
Mother Liu knew that Liu Yulian was not doing this for money, and she wasn't afraid of being misunderstood. Fortunately, her family understood. Mother Liu said, "Don't work too hard. Just tell those people what to do."
"I don't know if I can do it, I have to try it to know." Liu Yulian prefers to do it herself. Others can learn faster by watching her. If she just talks about it, not everyone will understand what she is trying to do.
"You just like to do things yourself." Mother Liu said, looking at her granddaughter, "Come on, let's go somewhere else and let your aunt do her work."
"Food." Xiao Liujia stared at the food.
"Bring it to you." Mother Liu gestured to the maid to take some food away, so that her granddaughter wouldn't get in the way of others. Her son was getting married, and the family had a lot of things to prepare. The house here wasn't as big as the one in the capital, so Mother Liu didn't want her granddaughter to stay in a crowded place, lest she get bumped into.
In the county town, Liu Yanbo knew that Liu Yanjing was getting married soon, but the eldest branch of the Liu family hadn't sent out invitations yet, and no one had come to say anything, which made him feel uneasy. What exactly did the eldest branch mean? Were they going to be invited?
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