With excitement and nervousness, Huang Wanzhen tore open the envelope. There were two pieces of paper inside, one was a reply letter, and the other was a seal for collecting the manuscript fee.
"Oh! Ten dollars, Shirley! I made ten dollars."
Huang Wanzhen hugged Xiulan and laughed and screamed with joy.
"I'll go tell my wife and make her happy." Xiulan said happily.
Huang Wanzhen: "Yes, let's go together."
Auspicious Hall.
Huang Dongshi was illiterate, but she looked at the seal again and again and could not get enough of it.
"Did my son really earn ten dollars?"
Huang Wanzhen nodded. "Well, I wrote 10,000 words. I get one dollar per thousand words, so ten dollars in total."
Huang Dongshi felt dizzy as if she were in a dreamland. "Oh my goodness, your article is in the newspaper?"
Huang Wanzhen handed her the letter. "Yes, it's in the Xinmin Daily. It will be published over three days."
Mrs. Huang Dong: "Buy it for me and let me see it."
Huang Wanzhen: "Yes, I'll buy it for you."
Huang Dongshi took the seal and said, "Give this to me."
Huang Wanzhen: "Ah? Mom, this can't be used as money. I have to take my household registration certificate to the post office and exchange it for money."
Huang Dong wiped the tears from the corners of her eyes and said, "What's exchangeable? Mother will give you ten dollars."
Huang Wanzhen: “…”
"I don't need a lot of money for that. Just give me some calligraphy and paintings from your dowry."
Huang Dongshi: "All for you, all for you. Your sister can't read, so it would be a waste if I leave it to her."
"My son is a promising man. His article was published in the newspaper. Isn't this the same as being an official?!"
Having said that, Mrs. Huang Dong quickly stood up and called Xiuzhu.
"Xiuzhu, take out my set of gold filigree and kingfisher feather jewelry. I haven't been back to my parents' home for a long time. I miss them and I have to go back to see them."
After saying that, seeing Huang Wanzhen standing still, she snatched the letter from her hand and said, "Go, go, go and do your thing. Mother doesn't need you here."
"I have the best relationship with your second aunt. When she married into the Dong family, I was still unmarried. We got along very well for a while. I'm going back to see her today."
Huang Wanzhen wondered, "Didn't we stop seeing each other?"
Mrs. Huang glared at her and said, "What nonsense are you talking about? It's because your aunt is unfilial to her parents-in-law and looks down on my Huang family that we have less contact."
"Your second uncle was driven out of the old house by them. He bought a house in Sanlihe years ago and lives alone. I'm going to go see how they are doing."
Huang Wanzhen: "Before the New Year? It's already been half a year. Don't you feel embarrassed if you go now?"
Mrs. Huang continued to glare at her. "Get lost, what do you know? We were just being intimate. Even if the bones are broken, the tendons are still connected. What's there to be embarrassed about?"
"When your sister is looking for a husband, you'll have to ask your second uncle to come over and take charge."
After saying that, he handed her a key and said, "The west room has all the calligraphy and paintings I brought as a dowry in it. Take whatever you like, but don't touch anything else!"
Huang Wanzhen's attention was immediately diverted. "Okay, thank you, Mom."
Huang Dong touched her head lovingly, "My son is the God of Literature who has descended to earth. He is destined to be extraordinary."
Huang Wanzhen opened the copper lock and pushed the door open.
A damp and ancient aroma greeted me.
"What's that smell?"
"It's the scent of sandalwood." Xiulan replied.
Huang Wanzhen looked around the room curiously and saw that it was mostly filled with locked wooden boxes. The northeast corner was mostly filled with porcelain bottles and jars, while the northwest corner was piled with some calligraphy and paintings and books.
She walked over, leaned over to take a closer look, and saw that many of the books inside were damaged. She immediately frowned.
"Xiu Lan, go back and help me find a wooden box to store the books in."
Xiulan: "Then here..."
Huang Wanzhen: "I'll take care of it."
The next day, Huang Wanzhen wrote a letter asking for leave and asked Axiang to deliver it to the Shen Mansion.
It took her a whole day to move Huang Dong's calligraphy and paintings into Furongju and pack them into wooden boxes according to categories.
Then she found all her jewelry, wrapped it carefully, and put it in her handbag.
Tomorrow is the day of the operation. If these jewelry are not enough, I can only sell some calligraphy and paintings.
When Huang Wanzhen woke up early in the morning, the sky was very gloomy and she couldn't help feeling a little worried.
"Miss, Miss, the old man wants you to come over."
Huang Wanzhen frowned and asked, "What's wrong?"
Xiulan: "Guiyuan didn't say."
Huang Wanzhen sighed and said, "Xiu Lan, next time can we hold Gui Yuan back and ask one more question?"
Xiulan lowered her head and said in a low voice, "Yes, Miss."
Huang Wanzhen waved her hands irritably, "I know, I'll be there in a moment."
After hiding her handbag, Huang Wanzhen hurried to Rongyangtang, but unexpectedly, Huang Dongshi was also there.
"Greetings to Grandfather and Mother."
As soon as Huang Wanzhen leaned over, Mrs. Huang Dong grabbed her hand and said, "My Wanzhen has grown up."
Huang Shuhuai stroked his beard and said with relief, "The Zheng family has already compared your horoscopes with that of their eldest young master. It's a match made in heaven."
"The Zheng family will come over tomorrow to deliver the betrothal gifts. Zheng Yusang will most likely come over. You should dress up nicely so that you can meet him then."
Huang Dongshi: "Well, I have discussed it with your grandfather. Now it is a new society. Blind marriage is not popular anymore. It would be fine if we could meet once."
Huang Wanzhen almost forgot about this. Recalling the original text, the two did not get engaged so early. It should have been when Huang Wanzhen was sixteen years old, which was in May next year.
How come this is almost a year early?
Did she accidentally push the plot forward?
What should she do? She is not ready yet.
"Wanzhen? Wanzhen?" Mrs. Huang's voice sounded beside her ears.
Huang Wanzhen nodded hurriedly and said, "Okay."
Huang Dong held her hand and whispered, "Don't worry, mother is here."
Huang Wanzhen nodded slightly at her.
Old Master Huang gave some instructions about the rules for tomorrow, and only let Mrs. Huang and Huang Wanzhen leave after they nodded in agreement.
"Mother is going to pawn those useless porcelains to buy you some clothes and jewelry."
Huang Wanzhen disagreed, "Don't worry about that. Pawnshops are places that eat people. When you sell it, you can't get much money. When you need it, you have to buy it again, and it will cost a lot of money."
Huang Dongshi: "Fool, if you don't use it, others will."
"Don't be afraid. I'm not asking you to be the boss. Let Mrs. Wang go. She's familiar with the place."
As they were talking, they arrived at Jixiang Hall.
"Mom, why don't we let Axiang go this time?" Huang Wanzhen suggested.
Huang Dongshi: "No, I asked around. He came from a rural area in Ji Province. His parents are gone, and his two older brothers kicked him out."
"He came here to make a living. He was hungry and cold before. He should be willing to marry into my family. After all, he has two older brothers to carry on the family line."
"Let him know that our family relies on selling things to make a living. What if he looks down on your sister?"
Huang Wanzhen: "If he marries into our family, we can't hide this. It's better to let him know early. If he is willing, he can agree. If not, he can find someone else."
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