Imported birthday gifts
Xiluo Te's birthday party was quite lively, with all the prominent ladies in Hangzhou in attendance. Summer is boring, so why not go out for a drink, a play, and some gossip?
Among these ladies of similar rank, Lady Xiluo was the youngest. Based on age, she should have had a daughter eligible for the nomination. However, she was fortunate, as her earliest births were all sons. Daughters were born later and were not old enough, so there was no need to worry about their daughters not being able to marry. The other ladies were all about the same age as Lady Shilin, so even if they had daughters, they would have been married long ago. Of course, the probability of having daughters born later was too small to count.
So, no one was in a hurry. They were just discussing who had the best chance of being selected this year. They also said that this batch of beauties were truly blessed. Lady Mahada said, "Think about it, it's been ages since the last beauty pageant. The masters in the capital, the imperial clan, the Jurchens... Oh, there will definitely be many lucky ladies this time." Then they talked about the wedding, and then the dowry... Xiluotai's concerns were touched upon, and she looked at her two daughters. Shuxian was born out of wedlock, but she was the elder, turning ten this year. Some dowry preparations had to be started. Shujia was a biological daughter, and the legitimate daughter of an earl's family was treated even better, so she couldn't be neglected.
I wonder what kind of girls will be chosen this time? The unsuccessful girls always have some flaws, but if they're over the age limit, even a year or two isn't a big deal. My brother-in-law's wedding is coming up, and I need to give him a gift. The Earl's Mansion belongs to Shi Wenbing, so there's no need to worry about dividing the family estate, but I can't skimp on the inheritance for my brother-in-law. And my sons are grown up, too, and they need to marry too. Saving for a wife is more urgent than saving for a dowry...
Since the Ming Dynasty, it had been a common practice among the literati to keep a troupe of opera performers at home—mostly female. The Shi family had only recently arrived, so they still hired them from outside. They ate melon seeds and chatted, discussing the passing of spring and the arrival of summer, everyone's plans for summer vacations, and what kind of clothes and jewelry looked good.
Shujia leaned against Shi Lin's wife, listening gloomily. Rather than listen to their gossip about the talent show, she'd rather go to Shi Wenbing's study and, uh, carefully flip through some secret documents. Shi Lin's wife was in good spirits today, explaining the troupe's characteristics to Shi Weihan's wife. Shi Weihan was originally from Songjiang Prefecture, where Kunqu opera was very popular. Mrs. Shi, nearly sixty, remained robust, though her bound feet meant she needed the support of her maids and servants.
Shi Weihan entered officialdom early and had been in the capital for quite some time, so Mrs. Shi spoke the official language quite well and there was no problem in communicating with her. She even said to Mrs. Shi Lin, "This troupe is quite interesting." After the opera was over, she talked with Shuxian and Shujia.
At this time, Mahada's wife said to Xiluo, "My sister-in-law has been here for a while. What business can you start to make money for your daily life?" Xiluo said, "We have all the property in the capital. We are just doing something here. We bought a few acres of small land and collected rent." Mahada's wife said, "This is a safe business. The income is small, but there is no future trouble."
Madam Shi Lin lowered her head and asked her niece, "You haven't slept all afternoon. Aren't you tired? Go with your sister and get some rest." Shujia blinked and said, "Okay." Shuxian had already stood up, and the two girls said goodbye to the ladies. Shujia muttered to herself, wondering what she was going to say that the children couldn't hear.
Mrs. Mahada, with a hint of meaning, casually remarked. Eight Banner soldiers, upon reaching adulthood, received a state subsidy, essentially ensuring a secure living. They were known as "iron-clad farmers," the same meaning as the "iron-hat king": our title was hereditary, and we couldn't afford to lose it. Bannermen stationed in Beijing had it a bit harder, as the capital was home to many powerful figures. For those stationed abroad, the mere status of a bannerman allowed them to do many things.
Arriving in Hangzhou, a strategic location, the initial arrivals were almost entirely soldiers and their families. Well, many of the Bannermen were combat-capable. Then, with some spare cash, they decided to lend money at high interest rates. This led to people borrowing money, and those who borrowed couldn't repay—that's usury. These idle soldiers, with the ability to collect debts, eventually caused considerable trouble.
Xiluote was new and didn't know much about the situation. The Mahada family arrived earlier than the Shi family and already knew everything about it. Hers was just a friendly reminder.
Xiluo Te thought to herself, "I've heard about this too. I would have been caught up in it by the time you reminded me." She even said, "Thank you for reminding me."
This is what socializing is all about.
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Not long after Xiluo Te's birthday, it was Shi Lin's birthday. As a nephew, of course, he had to make his uncle proud. So, of course, the four of them went to Shi Lin's residence to volunteer. Shi Wenbing, dressed in casual clothes, led Shi Lin's housekeeper to help greet the guests. After a while, he was called in by Shi Lin. A second-rank provincial governor asking a second-rank deputy governor to greet guests was a bit arrogant.
When Shi Lin saw that the Governor, the Provincial Governor, and Mahada had arrived, he immediately called Shi Wenbing back and left Shi Lin's "disciple" outside to greet the guests.
The harem was still the domain of the ladies. Every time they went to the theatre or drank, the same old routine followed: offering seats to each other, pushing and shoving the order of the play. Shujia thought, "These social events are so annoying. A bunch of middle-aged women speaking in official language, and not a single pretty girl." She then went back to drinking her water shield soup.
Fortunately, her own birthday was not so extravagant. She just celebrated it at home without any opera performance or banquet.
Shujia’s sixth birthday is called her seventh birthday here.
At the age of seven, boys and girls sit at different seats.
Nonsense! They hadn't even seen many men before they were seven years old!
After she turned seven, Mr. Jiang remained her teacher. Shuxian had already been seven for a long time, and she also attended Mr. Jiang's classes. However, it is true that both of them were accompanied by a nanny and a maid during their lessons. After Shujia had her roommate make her a set of boys' clothes, she found them much more convenient to move around in than small cheongsams, so she asked for several more. One time, she boldly wore them to class. Mr. Jiang was surprised, but he didn't understand the Shi family's intentions, so he didn't immediately object.
After class, he sent his servant, Xiao Si, to inquire about the matter. Xiao Si swiftly ran to the laundry, using the excuse of picking up the laundry. He was clever, but after hearing the calls of the aunts, aunties, and sisters, he learned that the second daughter was wearing boys' clothes to show filial piety and comfort her parents who felt the absence of their son. Mr. Jiang felt a pang of relief and stopped caring.
We're not talking about her schoolwork here; her studies continued. Mr. Jiang continued to lecture on the Four Books for Women, teaching them the arts of music, chess, calligraphy, and painting. Shujia continued to diligently learn three languages, read books, embroider, and act as a filial daughter to her father.
Now, let's talk about her birthday. A little girl's birthday isn't that big of a deal. No guests were invited, but quite a few came to curry favor. Compared to last year's Shuxian birthday, Shi Wenbing was more established in Hangzhou and had more property, so naturally, the filial piety this time was more upscale. Furthermore, a shrewd person had learned that Shujia was a legitimate child, so the gift was even more generous.
There were differences. For example, Mrs. Shi Lin only gave two huli to hold a few small items and gold and silver ingots. Mrs. Mahada, upon meeting her, urged for four pieces of cloth, a necklace and two bracelets, and even removed a ivory hairpin from her hair. The gifts from the merchants in which Shi Wenbing had "invested" were much more substantial—Shujia didn't see them, as most of them were stored in the storeroom by Mrs. Xiluo.
I'm saying all this just to say that Mrs. Xiluo has been quite busy lately. Since Shujia's birthday falls in the summer, she felt tired and asked a doctor to come and see her. The doctor congratulated her and said she was two months pregnant.
Six years after Shujia was born, the Shi family had another child.
This wasn't the first time, so everyone was relatively calm. Shi Wenbing's bedding was moved from Xiluo's room to the study. Xiluo had two more wives to look after her, and a small kitchen was set up to take care of her diet. A maid was also assigned to watch over the stove and boil medicine to maintain her pregnancy.
Shujia felt a bit surprised. After all, having traveled through time from a place where family planning was a fundamental national policy, and being the youngest child, she hadn't consciously thought of having any siblings. This feeling was quite novel. Pregnant women were protected animals no matter where they were, but due to national policy, this was even more pronounced in later times.
Pregnant women in later generations might not have the good fortune of being waited on by over a dozen people, but the whole family's care and concern were undeniable. The Xilut clan had material resources, but the attention... wasn't that high. This was her fifth child, so everyone, calm down.
Only Shujia was extremely curious. Whenever she had a free moment, she would saunter over to Xiluotai and gaze at her belly with awe. Even though Xiluotai tried to remain calm, she felt embarrassed by her gaze. She sent her off to read from the household income and expenditure book, gritting her teeth and saying, "You little girl! What's there to be interested in? It's too early."
Since she wasn't pregnant yet, she didn't have to give up everything and continued to manage the household. Thanks to the knowledge explosion of the era, Shujia had a good understanding of obstetrics and gynecology. In later generations, families with a little means treated pregnant women like pandas, and Shujia was no exception. So, Shujia said to Xiluo Te seriously, "Mother, please make sure you get enough rest. Don't overwork yourself when you have nothing to do, and don't worry too much when you have something to worry about. If you have any account books, I'll tell you about them after noon..."
Xiluo Te laughed so hard she almost fell over. "You're just a little old, and you're acting like an adult." She was touched, but then she thought, since her daughters were precocious, she might take this opportunity to help them learn more about household chores. In the end, she let her two daughters do some needlework together in the afternoon, and then they would listen to the household chores.
Shujia felt that Xiluo Te would be tiring to explain things to them while handling household chores, and she objected strongly. She also suggested, "Mother, summer is a time for grouchiness. Why don't we take some time to come over in the morning?" Xiluo Te said, "She's really grown up." She also murmured with Shi Wenbing, "How did the second girl suddenly become so sensible? She used to be just a little older, but now she's become a housekeeper, even taking care of Mother."
Shi Wenbing smiled and said, "It's a common thing. When you were pregnant with Qingde, Fu Dali became a lot more sensible all of a sudden." Xiluote smiled and said, "That's right. In that case, let's do as she wishes. She was also annoyed that I was tiring myself in the afternoon, so she asked me to finish my work in the morning so that I could have a rest." Shi Wenbing also smiled. He was proud of his daughter's sensibleness.
Shujia desperately recalled all the precautions pregnant women should take, urging Xiluo to stop staying cooped up in her room and move around more. Xiluo refused, "How can I move around like this?" He then proceeded to lecture Shujia, telling her not to be too outgoing. Shujia paused, then realized she was in the wrong era. These days, women valued quietness, and the boredom of it ruined their health. Only then did she realize, belatedly, that she, Shi Shujia, was a preschooler and had never taken physical education classes. Neither had her older sister, Shuxian, an elementary school student! (You just realized that?! You nerd!)
Such a body... would definitely be weak! Not exercising means many things, especially poor physical condition, easy to get sick and die, and eating a little more will make you fat! Tragedy! Shujia lowered her head and said: "I just feel stuffy in the house. The flowers and plants outside are so beautiful, and I feel comfortable looking at them. My brother and sister want to be beautiful. Isn't it said that they look like whatever they see now?"
Xiluo burst into laughter. "Where did you get that?" Finally, she agreed. Her daughter was filial. She walked with her in the garden in the morning and in the yard in the evening to enjoy the cool air. As a mother, she naturally gave her face. Shujia also secretly made up her mind to exercise. If running wasn't her forte, she could do some gymnastics. She still remembered a little of the eighth set of radio gymnastics, and sit-ups wouldn't be a problem for her.
Just as the pregnant woman's life was back on track, another unexpected thing happened.
It was a rare day off. During the Qing Dynasty, the ten-day workweek was far worse than the seven-day workweek, and it was unclear what they were busy with all day. Shi Wenbing rarely had to get up too early, and the summer sun rose early, so Shujia was up early and headed to her mother's yard.
Then, he saw Shi Wenbing walking out of Aunt Wang's room with a beaming face, and Aunt Wang followed behind him with a smile...
It turns out that creatures like concubines have other uses besides being used as curtains for decoration.
Shujia: ...
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