Jiang Shaoqin and Mu Xuan went to the school in the village of the county town to learn the craft from scratch.
As for their marriage, it has been put on hold for now.
Jiang's wife was anxious about Chu Tong's marriage, but she had no connections.
Moreover, the children's father forbade her from interfering in the children's marriages, as he did not trust her.
In the prefectural city, Shao Ming and Shao Yun, along with Shao Ning, studied together at the school.
Every morning, the children in the family get up to exercise, and even Shao Ke, who doesn't like to move, practices diligently.
I don't know if it's the effect of the goat milk, but Shao Ning has grown taller and gained some weight recently, and no longer looks frail.
June is almost here, and Mu Yi'an asked Mianhua to have people make summer clothes.
After Mianhua and Wei Dongcheng got married, the two had a good relationship, and Wei's family was also easy to get along with.
Cotton has a gentle personality, which complements Wei Dong's. The two already have two children, with their newborn daughter being only a few months old.
With many newborns in the family, Mu Yi'an had a large room prepared separately in the back of the east courtyard, and transferred Wei Pozi and a few other older women there to take care of the servants' children.
Mu Yi'an thought that these children would be helpers in the family in the future, so she would raise them from a young age.
In this way, young wives like Mianhua and Yunduo don't have to worry about whether there's anyone to look after the children at home, or struggle with whether to quit their jobs and stay home to take care of them.
Mu Yi'an didn't want her newly trained helper to return to her family.
She recalled the state-run nurseries of the 1960s and 70s, and after discussing it with Jiang Shuyun, they started one at home.
This is a happy thing for everyone; the child has someone to look after him, and the family can rest assured.
No one wanted to quit their jobs, otherwise they would lose their status when new people came.
Mu Yi'an now has someone taking care of both her family and external affairs, which makes things much easier for her.
“Madam, someone has delivered an invitation outside the door; it’s for the master.”
Sister Fang handed the invitation to Mu Yi'an; it was from Manager He of Xinyuan County.
They have kept in touch over the years.
During holidays and festivals, they would exchange gifts. They also maintained contact with Manager Zhou from the prefectural city, and still sold their watermelons and cantaloupes to Manager Zhou.
"Send the reply over."
Mu Yi'an took Jiang Shuyun's post and replied to it.
Mu Yi'an couldn't understand why Manager He had suddenly sent her a visiting card; she wondered what it was about.
That evening, Mu Yi'an told Jiang Shuyun about Manager He's visiting card.
"I can't guess what Manager He's intention is either. We'll know when they arrive after the day after tomorrow, when we're off work."
"Yes, I was a little surprised by the sudden invitation to visit."
Soon, it was time for a break.
After breakfast, the children went to the village; all of them, young and old, went.
Master Zhao and Master Liang went with them, along with Yun Duo and Li Mei, so Mu Yi'an wasn't worried.
Manager He came with his wife, and Mu Yi'an warmly received them.
"Manager He, it's been a long time."
"Mr. Jiang, it's been a long time."
We were all old friends, so we greeted each other and weren't too reserved.
"Mr. Jiang, I apologize for your unauthorized visit."
"Manager He, what are you saying? We've known each other for so many years, we're old friends."
"If you hadn't stayed in Xinyuan County, we would have seen each other much more often."
Manager He looked much younger than Jiang's father. When Jiang Shuyun was studying at the county school, she often went to Jixian Pavilion to copy books.
Even later, when he and Yi'an unexpectedly arrived, they still troubled Manager He quite a bit.
"At that time, Mr. Jiang was the most virtuous among the scholars I knew."
"Shopkeeper He, you flatter me."
Jiang Shuyun was a little embarrassed; she blushed slightly at being praised to her face.
"I'm telling the truth. There are quite a few book lovers who come to the bookstore to buy and copy books."
However, not many people can bring the money home like Mr. Jiang.
I've seen too many educated people who, instead of studying diligently, spend their families' hard-earned money in the county town, socializing and indulging in eating and drinking.
Manager He was telling the truth. He had been in Xinyuan County for so many years, and Jixian Pavilion was the largest bookstore in the county, with scholars coming and going every day. He had seen it all clearly.
“My husband always mentions Mr. Jiang when he comes home, saying that he is talented in literature and, most importantly, responsible.”
Mrs. He chimed in; she had a rather plump appearance, which made her seem quite approachable.
"Mrs. He is too kind. My husband does a very good job in this respect."
Mu Yi'an also chuckled and praised her, which made Jiang Shuyun's ears turn red.
"Hehe... Okay, let's stop praising each other."
"Getting back to the main point, we've come here to ask you both something."
"Manager He, please speak freely."
Jiang Shuyun was also curious about why they had come, and why it was so formal, with the couple coming together.
"Well, I have a young son who is eighteen years old and just passed the prefectural examination this year."
I ran into Mrs. Jiang on the street before. She was with a girl, who was my niece. She looked about the same age as my youngest son. I wanted to ask her if they were engaged yet.
Our two families are quite close, so I took the liberty of coming over to ask, without using a matchmaker.
Mrs. He explained her purpose: she had come to find a spouse for her grandson.
"I never expected you came for this!"
Mu Yi'an looked at the two of them, this was truly unexpected.
“My youngest son is a late-life child, born when I was almost thirty, and he is about ten years younger than his two older brothers.”
Mrs. He smiled. After giving birth to her daughter, she thought she wouldn't have any more children; two sons and a daughter would be fine. Unexpectedly, when she was twenty-seven or twenty-eight, she became pregnant again and gave birth to a son.
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