Chapter 145 [VIP]
The meal didn't end until after 1 p.m. Qin's two older brothers had both drunk too much and were helped home by the servants.
Several students from the academy also got drunk, and Liu Changyi had them taken to an inn for accommodation.
The women didn't drink alcohol, only some iced drinks. Qin Furong helped Li and the others onto the carriage, holding onto the carriage shaft and saying, "From now on, we're family. You don't have many relatives in the prefectural city, so treat us like your own family. If you need anything, just let us know."
"Hey, don't worry."
"Whenever Wang Ying has free time, she brings Qingyun and Lin Sui to her house to play, along with Xiao Yuanbao."
"Okay, Auntie, please go back and rest."
Qin Furong waved her hand, "Take care on your journey, and come again often."
Er Shun cracked his whip, and the carriage clattered along. Sitting in the carriage, Madam Li sighed, "My in-laws are such kind-hearted people, and they have such good personalities."
Fang Ling nodded, "That's true. I met quite a few wives of officials during my years in Laizhou. Most of them were sycophantic and looked down on the weak. Those people had their own little circles, and those of lower status had no say. There are indeed not many people as approachable as Madam Qin."
Madam Li then instructed Qingyun to carefully keep all the gifts given by the elders, as these items were part of her dowry.
At the restaurant, Liu Changyi and his father were still seeing off guests, and only after seeing all the guests off did they get into their carriage.
Mr. Liu was in a good mood today and drank a few more glasses of wine. He is feeling a little dizzy now and is leaning against the carriage with his eyes closed.
Once Qin Furong got into the car, she let him rest his head on her lap and massaged his head. "You can't hold your liquor, so drink less next time."
"My eldest and second eldest brothers dragged me into drinking, so I couldn't very well refuse them."
Qin Furong knew her brother's character well. "Those two drunkards, do you think you can outdrink them?"
"So I ran away after drinking half of it." The couple couldn't help but laugh.
Lord Liu mentioned Magistrate Zhao, saying, "Today he inquired about his in-laws, so I guess he's still bothered by the fact that the marriage didn't happen before."
"By the way, I haven't asked you why you didn't let your son go on a blind date with the Zhao family's daughter?"
I've met Qin Furong, the daughter of the Zhao family. She's pretty and has a slightly eccentric personality, but it's not a big problem. The two families are well-matched. I wonder why my husband is unwilling to marry into the Zhao family.
Lord Liu pinched the bridge of his nose and said, "Zhao Ju is a corrupt man. People say in private that he amasses wealth everywhere and does all sorts of things. If we marry into such a family, we're afraid that they might drag us down with them someday."
Qin Furong sighed, "So that's what kind of people they are. The Chen family is really good. Our Yi'er studies with the Chen brothers and actually got sixteenth place in this month's quiz. It really proves the saying that you become like those you associate with."
*
In July, letters were sent from Shanzhou and Longquan County.
My fourth uncle's letter described the recent situation in Shanzhou. Official business was still very busy, and the imperial court planned to reopen the ancient tea and salt road in Longxi.
This trade route has a history of more than 300 years. It starts from the capital, runs through the entire Shanzhou, and extends all the way to the outside world, including Loulan, Silla, and Kucha.
Because the trade route was interrupted for more than 20 years due to war, if it could be reopened, the entire economy of Shanzhou would be revitalized.
However, the court is now divided into two factions: one advocates reopening, while the other is unwilling.
Those advocating for reopening the trade route were mostly officials from the north, as the south has historically been economically prosperous due to its well-developed waterways. In contrast, the north only had this one trade route, and reopening it would undoubtedly boost the northern economy.
The opposing side argued that reopening the ancient tea and salt trade route would inevitably open the floodgates for smuggled salt and iron, making it only a matter of time before the northern barbarians rose up.
With both sides expressing their own opinions and reaching a stalemate, His Majesty was also in a dilemma, and Chen Jing had no choice but to wait.
Besides official business, the letter also mentioned the two children. The younger one, Chen Qingying, is eight years old this year and is a clever and mischievous little girl.
I caught a cold a while ago in early spring and took medicine for more than half a month. I recovered, but I still have a cough. I remember there is an old doctor in Laizhou who has a prescription for treating coughs. I wonder if I can get a copy of it.
Upon reading the contents of the letter, Fang Ling burst into tears, lamenting that her young children were too young for her to care for.
Li patted her back gently to comfort her, "Just two more months and you'll be done. After the provincial examination, you can go back to Shanzhou."
Fang Ling wiped away her tears with a handkerchief and continued reading. Her son, Qinglan, had started his formal education this year. The little guy turned six after the New Year, the age when he should be studying. He could now recognize more than a hundred characters.
At the very end of the letter were a few words he wrote in clumsy handwriting: "When will Mother return home? Your son longs for you." He even misspelled the character for "think."
Fang Ling covered her mouth, laughing and crying at the same time. This child has really grown up. She was still wetting the bed when she left, and now she can write in the blink of an eye.
After reading the letter, he called Chen Guang over and asked him to go to Laizhou to find the doctor who treats coughs and get a prescription. His daughter's illness was a serious matter and he couldn't let it become a chronic condition.
Chen Guang rode alone, a fast journey, and arrived in about ten days. He took the prescription and had a courier deliver it to Shanzhou.
The other letter was written by Chen Rong, mainly to announce the good news that Lin Qiu had given birth to another child on June 18th, which means she conceived in October of last year.
The delivery went very smoothly; I didn't suffer much before the baby was born, a big, healthy boy weighing five pounds and six ounces.
You can tell how happy Chen Rong is from the letter. She had been treated badly by her husband's family for more than ten years because she had given birth to two sons. The long-term oppression made her develop a preference for sons over daughters.
Now that his son has finally given birth to a boy, he can finally breathe a sigh of relief. At least Lin Qiu will not suffer the same fate as him.
The letter said that since we live far apart, we shouldn't go back for the full moon celebration. We should meet again in the autumn when Qingyan and Qinghuai pass the imperial examination and return home.
After discussing Lin Qiu's matter, the conversation turned to Lin Sui, asking how he was doing in the prefectural city.
Chen Rong was most worried about her second son. After what happened, she couldn't help him at all. Fortunately, her sister-in-law's family was there for her.
The letter instructed him to listen to Li and Wang Ying while he was there, not to cause them any trouble, and to be diligent and help with chores. It also told him to come back early if he didn't like the accommodations, as a room had been prepared for him.
Finally, she asked Wang Ying to help look for a suitable family in the prefectural city to find a marriage partner for Lin Sui.
When Lin Sui returned from the shop that evening, his eyes reddened after reading the letter. He had been away for so long, how could he not miss his family?
Xiaomai probably forgot about him by now. She didn't expect her older brother to have another child. She hadn't heard him mention being pregnant before. She guessed that she had just had a miscarriage and her older brother was afraid that telling him would upset him.
However, Lin Sui did not plan to return to the county town. After seeing the world, she realized that young men did not necessarily have to stay at home to be good wives and mothers; many of them went out to do business.
Take the prefectural city for example, the owners of four or five clothing shops are all young men and women, and no one dares to look down on them.
Lin Sui was thinking of saving more money so that she could open a shop in the future and bring her mother, brother, and brother-in-law to live with her.
Although Chen Rong said there was no need to go back, the proper etiquette could not be neglected. Taking advantage of their day off, Wang Ying and Chen Qingyan discussed it and decided to prepare a gift for their nephew, just like the gift given to Xiaomai at his one-month celebration.
Wang Ying also bought two bolts of brightly colored silk fabric. This fabric was soft and would be the most comfortable for making clothes for children. She asked Lin Qiu to make new clothes for her two nephews.
Lin Sui also took out ten strings of cash from her savings, exchanged them for silver, and had them sent back.
*
Mid-July.
The new house is almost ready, and Wang Ying is relieved that Uncle Chen is helping to look after it.
I came to check on it a few days ago. The yard has been cleaned up, and the broken bricks on the ground have been replaced with new ones.
The eight sea jars remained untouched; only the water and mud inside were rinsed once. Wang Ying planned to buy some lotus roots and bury them in the jars in a while, so that new lotus flowers would bloom next spring.
Many of the roof tiles have been replaced, and the beams and pillars have all been painted to prevent insects and rot.
The house has also been freshly painted white. Although it's not as smooth as modern walls, it's still clean and bright.
The new house only has a set of mahogany furniture in the main room; the other rooms are empty.
Wang Ying simply turned all the bedrooms into heated brick beds, and only had wooden beds made for a few guest rooms.
Other furniture, such as chests of drawers, kang cabinets, and dressing tables, all had to be remade. Wang Ying found the carpentry workshop that made Qingyun's dowry to have them made together, which cost more than eighty strings of cash in total.
It should be finished in about ten more days. We'll pick a good day to move in then.
After the start of autumn, the business of ice shops gradually slowed down.
Wang Ying would occasionally go over during the day, but Lin Sui usually looked after the shop by herself most of the time.
He was a young man who often stayed alone in the shop. He was good-looking and had a youthful face, which inevitably attracted people's attention.
The owner of the incense and candle shop diagonally across the street is surnamed Wei. He is a man in his thirties. He often comes to the shop to visit and sits there for most of the time.
At first, Lin Sui greeted him politely and made tea for him every time he came. But this man took advantage of her kindness and today he even started asking about Lin Sui's marriage.
"Why haven't I seen your husband all this time?"
Lin Sui always wore his hair in a bun, so Manager Wei tacitly accepted that he was married. This was because only married men wore their hair in a bun; unmarried men mostly wore their hair in a phoenix tail (low ponytail).
"Dead." Lin Sui said coldly before returning to the counter and looking at the ledger.
"Dead? So young to die, was it an accident or an illness?"
"What's it to you? If you're not buying ice, please leave."
"I was just asking, it's pitiful that you're widowed at such a young age. Why don't you come with me? I can't guarantee anything else, but I'll give you at least five strings of cash a month..."
Lin Suiteng stood up and angrily shouted, "Don't you know how old you are? You're older than my father! You may not care about your reputation, but I do!"
"Hey, you're getting impatient. I'm only mentioning it because I think highly of you. So many people want to get into my bed, but I'm not interested in any of them."
"Get out!" Lin Sui was furious. How could there be such a shameless person? She grabbed the door latch next to her and threw him out.
Just then, an acquaintance passed by and saw Wei Changgui clutching his back and cursing. "Oh, what's wrong with Manager Wei?"
"Pah, I've run into a shameless little hussy."
The man assumed the two were in that kind of relationship and chuckled, saying, "Try to appease them and don't get angry."
Wei Changgui waved his hand and turned to leave, thinking that the matter was over and done with, but somehow it reached the ears of Wei Changgui's wife.
This woman was also clueless; she thought Lin Sui had seduced her husband, and the next day she made a scene at the shop.
When she arrived, Wang Ying and Lin Sui were in the shop checking accounts. Business had been slow lately, so Wang Ying only checked accounts every three to five days.
The two were counting their money when a shout of abuse suddenly came from the doorway: "Shameless slut! Your husband died and you seduced someone else's! Don't you even know your own worth? Who would want a used shoe that someone else has worn out!"
A note from the author:
Lin Sui's true love is about to arrive.
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