Chapter 118 Chapter 118
When Shen Mo first took over the family, the first thing he encountered was the problem of charcoal. Experienced families would usually buy some in advance. Yao Niang's family also bought a lot in advance, and they were afraid of fire, so they asked the night watchmen to patrol every day.
If you buy coal in the snowy weather now, firstly, the price is very high, and secondly, there are fewer people selling coal.
"Sister-in-law, the price of charcoal has increased fivefold and it's still not available. I really have no other choice, so I want to ask you what to do?" When Shen Mo encountered a problem, the first thing she thought of was her mother's family. For no other reason, just because her brother in her mother's family only had three people, with few people and abundant production, so naturally he could spare some for her.
Yao Niang laughed when she heard this and said, "Why didn't you buy some earlier? Every winter, as the charcoal fire gets closer to the end of the year, the villagers in Zhuozhou and nearby areas will no longer go into the mountains to chop wood. This is your first year, so it's normal that you have no experience, but you can't let others show your fear. Even though it's so expensive, you have to buy some first, and everything will be fine when the new year starts."
She is not stupid and would not lend charcoal to others so easily. It would be fine if she gave the charcoal to Shen Mo openly. It would not be worth doing such a good deed in private for Shen Mo.
Because Shen Mo is not someone who will side with you just because you are nice to her or you are a good person. She will only look up to you if you are better than her.
Shen Mo thought to herself that she knew that all the kindness Yan had shown her was fake. She had deliberately given her six loads of dowry in front of Pang Qian, as if she was treating her very well. But now that she wanted to borrow some charcoal, Yan refused to help.
So, Shen Mo made it clear: "Sister-in-law, you also said that it's hard to buy this year, so I thought of taking some from our house and giving it to me first, and then I'll return it in the spring. What do you think, sister-in-law?"
"If there were any extra, I would have given them to my sister long ago, so why would I mention returning them? Even I bought them for emergency use. Now that your brother has been promoted to lecturer, we should have held a banquet at home, but my belly is getting bigger, so we won't be holding it this year, and naturally I won't buy more." Yao Niang said.
The reason was reasonable, Shen Mo pleaded: "Isn't there a little more? I'm waiting for it. This is my first time as a housekeeper, I'm afraid people will say I don't know how to manage the household, which will bring shame to the Shen family."
Seeing her like this, Yao Niang finally gave in and said, "How about this? Your niece used to have five catties of charcoal a day. I'll let her live with me, and I'll take out her share and give you one hundred catties."
In fact, Sister Fu uses Silver Frost charcoal at night, so her share will certainly not be reduced. Yao Niang just wanted to test whether Shen Mo is willing to pay more to buy the charcoal himself, or would rather take his niece's share than buy it himself?
When Shen Mo heard that Yao Niang was willing to give her 100 kilograms, she said sweetly: "How can I ask for Sister Fu's share? However, I touched Sister Fu's hand, and it was really warm. I usually see her and my sister-in-law are close, and I have never seen a mother and daughter so close."
"You are a busy person, so I won't keep you here any longer. You can send a car to get the 100 kilograms of charcoal when the time comes." Yao Niang said.
Shen Mo said he was sorry and felt guilty, but he never said no. Yao Niang originally thought that Shen Mo was just average to her, and she didn't care. After all, her sister-in-law was an outsider to her, and even Yao Niang wouldn't treat Li Shi the same way as her own parents. But she didn't expect that she was sweet-mouthed and treacherous to her niece, and now she was just average to Shen Linfeng.
Since it was given as a gift, Yao Niang would not be disgraced, but instead prepared a few supplements and said they were for Madam Pang. She did this for a reason, as she was a good sister-in-law to Madam Pang, but she couldn't let Shen Mo shirk the blame.
Shen Mo had not expected this. Although she felt that the charcoal her sister-in-law gave her was too little, it was enough to last for a while. Besides, these supplements would also make her proud in her husband's family.
As she left, Yao Niang said, "No matter how rich a person is, they all love to take advantage of others."
Shen Mo had learned this kind of housekeeping from Madam Shen at home. She claimed to know a lot, but she knew there were many problems in the actual implementation. Pang Qian was also the eldest son of the family. Sacrifices and other things were always done by the wives of the clan. Not everyone was like Madam Shen, who didn't like it or not, but she taught everything carefully.
Mrs. Pang was originally somewhat dissatisfied with her mother-in-law for intervening in her duties and arranging a marriage for her son without authorization. Despite Shen Mo's sweet words, Mrs. Pang was very happy to hear them, and was even happy to receive the supplements sent by Yao Niang. But mother-in-law and daughter-in-law are naturally incompatible, not to mention that Pang Qian has three sisters, all married in Beijing. Mrs. Pang had no problem at first, but she was provoked.
Especially during the Chinese New Year, Shen Mo's family did not invite in-laws to the house because her sister-in-law was pregnant. Mrs. Pang thought it was nothing at first. But the eldest aunt of the Pang family said, "It's fine if you don't invite others, but our family is the in-laws of the Shen family. I heard that her family also invited the Yan family. Isn't this just looking at people?"
"You said the Yan family passed away?" Mrs. Pang frowned.
Aunt Pang nodded and said, "That's right. I met Mrs. Zhen from the Yan family at the home of Chief Minister Zhao yesterday. She said it herself that the Shen family took them over and there was a lot of fun all day."
Madam Pang said sourly, "The Yan family is a prime minister's family, a famous family in Jiangnan, so they are naturally different from us."
"You can't say that. My sister-in-law married into our family and always told us how great the Shen family is. But now it seems that she is acting quite arrogant. Mother, don't be fooled by her. You have to think of a way." Aunt Pang said.
It was said that Yao Niang did not hold any operas or feasts this New Year and lived a very quiet life. However, on the fifth day of the New Year, Shen Mo sent an invitation to invite the Shen family to the Pang family for a feast.
"I saw on this post that it says it's the eighth day of the New Year. I don't plan to go out, so you have to go." Yao Niang said to Shen Linfeng.
Shen Linfeng shook his head: "It just so happened that I had something to do that day."
Yao Niang couldn't help but ask, "What's the matter? If it's a small matter, just put it off. You should at least go to your sister's house."
"I have been concentrating on writing Qingci at home these days. Fang Sui Zheng has found a man of great talent to help me. Since I was born as a poet, I naturally want to focus on this matter." Shen Linfeng was afraid that if he missed it, it would be difficult to find someone else.
Yao Niang also agreed, but she still said, "How about this, you send some gifts first, and then you can say you have something urgent to do and leave. Then others won't say anything."
Shen Linfeng smiled and said, "Okay, that's a good idea."
The couple always had discussions together, so Shen Linfeng naturally knew that Yao Niang had allocated 100 kilograms of charcoal for her younger sister, and also sent supplements to Madam Pang, which could be said to be very thoughtful.
They didn't know what the Pang family meant, and Mrs. Pang wouldn't make it public. When Shen Linfeng went to the Pang family, he also met several of Pang Qian's brothers-in-law, and everyone greeted each other.
Pang Qian did not dare to neglect his brother-in-law. Although Shen Linfeng was humble and polite, he had been an official for several years and often dealt with the Prime Minister, cabinet ministers and officials from the six ministries. His aura was no longer comparable to that of an ordinary young man.
"Brother, our family invited someone to sing "Linjiangxian" today. It was really lively. It was sung entirely in Wuyu." Pang Qian said.
Shen Linfeng smiled and nodded, but then he saw Rong An coming in. He frowned and said, "Ms. Pang, I'm sorry. I have something urgent to do. I'll come to your house next time."
Pang Qian really thought something had happened and even saw him out. Shen Linfeng quickly got on the carriage and left.
But Madam Pang was very dissatisfied and felt that the Shen family did not give her face. She even said to Pang Qian, "Why do you have to be so humble in front of him? I think the Shen family does not take us seriously. Your daughter-in-law is just an old maid. If it weren't for your grandmother's arrangement, would she be able to enter our house so smoothly?"
It is said that Pang Qian also noticed that the Shen family did not really value the marriage with the Pang family.
But now Shen Linfeng's career is going well, Pang Qian had no choice but to persuade her mother, and Madam Pang also complained to Governor Pang at night. Governor Pang said: "The young man of the Shen family has a good future, but he is so careless, I am afraid he won't go far."
Little did they know that because of a Qingci poem, Shen Linfeng was appointed as a daily lecturer by the emperor, and a daily lecturer was also called an imperial teacher. Although the emperor rarely attends court now, the meaning is completely different.
This was also the first time that Shen Linfeng did not put his family members first. He used to be the perfect eldest son of the Shen family, but now he has been reborn. Just as Yao Niang said, how could a sister arrange her brother's marriage for her own status? How could a mother arrange a marriage just based on family background?
Even Shen Linfeng thought Yao Niang was generous. Not only did she give Shen Mo six sets of dowry after his marriage, she also gave all of Fu Jie'er's charcoal to Shen Mo to save face in her husband's family.
What's wrong with this? She didn't even know that the Pang family disliked Shen Mo. Shen Mo was also upset. She felt that she had done everything well in her husband's family, but her mother-in-law and several sisters-in-law still found faults. When her brother married his sister-in-law, she never made trouble.
Before giving birth, Yao Niang was overjoyed when she heard the good news from her husband.
"Did he really become an official?" Yao Niang asked.
Shen Linfeng smiled and nodded: "That's true. It seems that I have a lot to learn in the future when I enter the officialdom. Although I can't be a flatterer, what my father-in-law said makes sense. If I want people to see my opinions and talents, I must report them to the emperor and let the emperor know that there are people like me."
"It's so rare to see you look so proud." Yao Niang said, holding his hand.
In order to write Qingci, Shen Linfeng studied until midnight every day, and prepared for almost half a year. Now that he has reaped the rewards, he does not deny that he is proud: "I passed the imperial examination at the age of 19, and also passed the imperial examination. I am 25 years old this year, and my age is already 27. I always felt that I had to wait for my qualifications, but now I think, why do we have to endure hardships? Although I am young, it does not mean that I am not as good as others."
Yao Niang praised: "If age is the only factor, how come there are young people who pass the imperial examinations and old people who fail. But being too proud is not necessarily a good thing, because I'm afraid people will set up traps for you. But I love my husband the most."
Shen Linfeng felt a little embarrassed: "You always praise me..."
Yao Niang was about to say something when her stomach started to move. It looked like she was about to give birth. This time the birth was much smoother than the last time. The baby was born before she even finished dinner.
Shen Linfeng breathed a sigh of relief when Ruofu gave birth to a little brother. All the good things he bought could finally be used. His wife would not have to suffer the pain of childbirth in the future, and the couple could enjoy the joy of love.