Chapter 230: Scared of being poor
"Miaomiao, why don't you give it a try..."
"Little girl...don't run..."
Jiang Miaomiao ran in front and Liu Yuniang chased behind.
I saw the little girl running forward with her short legs. Although she looked like a little meat ball, she ran quite fast.
Can't catch up anymore.
Liu Yu Niang was breathing heavily. She took the small stool handed to her by her daughter, sat down, and drank some tea.
He looked at his daughter with a depressed look on his face, "What's wrong with Miaomiao? She doesn't like such a beautiful coat?"
Jiang Qiao'er pursed her lips, took the jacket and folded it, then said to her mother, "Miaomiao... doesn't like anything too fancy."
It was okay in the past, but now she doesn't like fancy clothes either, as she always feels they are a bit tacky.
Besides, mother wants Miaomiao to wear it at her wedding banquet, it would be strange if the little one is willing to wear it.
"Fancy? Don't all little girls like flowers and things? You liked them very much when you were a child." Children nowadays start to be picky when their lives are easy. Liu Yu Niang sighed helplessly.
Jiang Qiaoer: ...
How could she not like it?
At that time, if you got a piece of clothing without patches, you would be happy for several days, let alone one with flowers on it.
"Mom, Miaomiao can wear this coat..." But she will never wear it when there are many people around.
The little guy still loves face.
Jiang Miaomiao looked at the flowery jacket and couldn't say no, so she could only run away.
It’s okay to wear it at home on weekdays, but forget about it when you’re at a banquet. There are so many people around, you’ll become the center of attention if you’re not careful.
It will steal the bride's thunder.
Listening to her aunt's chattering, Jiang Miaomiao just felt lively.
Ever since my aunt and Princess Rong'an returned to the capital, the house has become much quieter.
While my mother and aunt were busy running Baihuazhai, my brothers still went to class every day, regardless of the cold or heat, day after day, year after year.
Studying is not easy, and to have a teacher like Master Cui, a famous scholar, is almost like being favored by God.
So my brothers cherish it very much.
Even my eldest brother, who didn't like studying, never dropped out of school and was very serious.
It is said that studying was much more difficult in ancient times than it is now.
Books are a very precious and scarce commodity. People who have the opportunity and books to read usually have some wealth.
For example, if an ordinary family wants to support a scholar, they have to mobilize the entire family, or even the entire clan.
Once you study hard and become an official, it will bring honor to your family.
So even though their scumbag father did not repay their uncle's family after becoming an official, they endured it and never thought of ruining his reputation.
One very important reason is that they are also indirect beneficiaries.
Anyone who passed the examination to become a scholar could be exempted from the land tax of fifty to eighty acres, and could also be exempted from the corvée and the poll tax for two people.
I guess that stingy grandmother thought that she could use these to pay off the debt owed to her uncle's family.
It has been paid off long ago.
But that's not how debts of favor are calculated.
This time, my uncle and aunt came to Jiangzhou and brought two large carts of gifts to our home.
All of them were brought by the villagers of Taoxi Village. They were fruits, vegetables, chickens, ducks, ham, bacon and so on that were grown by themselves.
Two large cars were full, no doubt about it.
There would be one or two truckloads of gifts like this every holiday.
Naturally, my mother and brothers also have to reciprocate.
My mother would find seeds of various fruits and vegetables for my uncle to take back, and my brothers would ask my uncle to take the books they had copied back to the village private school and give them to the children.
Then every time my uncle came to send something, he would not only bring fruits and vegetables, but also a box of letters, all of which were letters from the children in the village to their brothers.
Some of the handwriting was sloppy, some was crooked, some was neat, and there were even some who could only write the two words "brother".
The elder and second brothers were so happy after watching this that they were happy for several days.
So these few days, the eldest brother, who was originally not very happy, also smiled like a fool.
The reason why the eldest brother was unhappy was that his godfather Mu Yunji left quietly without taking him with him.
But he left him a letter and a sword manual, saying that his elder brother was still young and not tall enough, so he had to be sixteen before he could join the army.
Mother patted her eldest brother's head and said, "It's okay. Practice more. This sword manual is your godfather's treasure. It should be his collection of martial arts secrets. If you practice hard, you will be able to fight alongside him in three years."
When the eldest brother heard this, he smiled happily.
It’s not that we don’t allow him to go, but he’s not old enough.
Jiang Miaomiao: ...
The eldest brother was easily controlled by my mother again.
My godfather is a general. Whether I can enter or not is up to his words. I am a little young, but it does not mean I cannot enter.
After all, my mother is worried about my eldest brother because he is still young.
Not only was my mother worried, everyone was worried, especially Princess Rong'an, who even secretly talked to my mother about this.
Jiang Miaomiao was reluctant to let her elder brother go. That was not anywhere else. The battlefield was full of ruthless swords and it was very dangerous.
Miaomiao felt relieved that her elder brother didn't make the trip.
In fact, that sword manual was not a martial arts secret book at all. It was drawn by my godfather himself. It was not a random drawing, but a compilation based on what he had learned.
But my eldest brother treated it as a treasure and practiced it every day.
We had guests at home today, so we slaughtered a sheep.
Aunt Xiuxiu cooked by herself and my aunt went to help.
The maids and servants in the kitchen just stared blankly. They had never seen any master cooking by himself while the servants just stood there.
I'm going to lose my job.
They looked at their master with some trepidation.
"If you have nothing else, go to Baihuazhai across the street to help." Lu Qingyao.
There aren't many servants in the house, and they all have their own duties, but sometimes they also do other things.
In my daughter's words, we just move bricks wherever there are bricks.
"Sister-in-law, you have such a big mansion, why do you only have these few servants?" Liu Yu Niang was very puzzled.
She understands that Xiuxiu cooks for herself, and Xiuxiu’s cooking is delicious.
But she had seen that other ladies were surrounded by servants, while her sister-in-law's family only had so many people. However, they seemed to work very efficiently and were very obedient.
Unlike those in her family who are always sneaky and deceitful.
Lu Qingyao smiled and said, "We are not those wealthy families with deep pockets. We all live our own lives behind closed doors. There is no need to worry about those things. There are only so many chores to do at home. Just enough is enough. It would be a waste of money to keep too many servants, right?"
Therefore, Lu Yuan does not keep idle people, but the monthly salary is also very generous.
"Sister-in-law, you don't know that there are many impoverished nobles in the capital who only care about appearances. They have a large number of servants at home, and they even specially opened gardens to support opera troupes and set up Buddhist temples to support nuns and monks. In fact, they have long since lived off their wealth and have no substance left."
"Really?" Liu Yu Niang widened her eyes. It sounded like something from a play.
Jiang Miaomiao ate walnuts and listened with her ears perked up.
She felt that her mother was using this incident to teach her aunt Qiao how to manage the household.
Because Sister Qiao had complained about her aunt in front of them, saying that her mother was stingy, greedy, and liked to save money, so she bought a lot of useless servants.
Either they are old, still children, or they are lazy and like to eat.
There are few who can really get things done.
My uncle has dealt with this several times, and his method is to sell it and buy it again.
The new ones I bought were much better, but I still heard the servants complaining: "The lady couldn't bear to throw away the leftovers, so she heated them up and ate them, and then heated them up and made everyone sick..."
Madam doesn't like bathing, it smells...
The lady withheld their monthly wages...
After hearing this, Qiao'er felt a headache.
Qiao'er knew that her mother was afraid of being poor and was used to being frugal.
She couldn't say anything, so she could only tell them: Madam can do whatever she likes, just go along with her. As for cooking, just make enough food and don't leave any leftovers for her.
She secretly paid the monthly allowance.
…
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