After returning from the garden, Chunniang was stunned for a long time.
At this time, all the children had gone to school and she was the only one left at home.
Chunniang went to see the peonies, roses and wood hibiscus planted by her little girl.
These flowers and trees not only grow lushly, but also have buds.
Originally, she didn't pay much attention to the growth of flowers and trees, but today she happened to see other people's flower seedlings, which were also planted this spring and were only as long as chopsticks.
Looking at these at home, I can’t help but sigh that they are so magical.
"Chun Niang, what are you doing?"
Zhou came in from outside the yard and saw her third brother's wife squatting in front of the flower bed in a daze, so she asked.
Chunniang stood up and said with a smile: "I didn't do anything, I just smelled the fragrance of Mudan."
Zhou also came over to smell it, and the fragrance was overwhelming. "Oh, this wood pill is really fragrant, the more I smell it, the more I want to smell it."
Chunniang smiled, picked a few flowers from the wood dan branch and handed them to her sister-in-law: "Take them and sew a sachet."
The wood dandelion flower sachets were originally only available in the Five Poison Month. Now that they have bloomed, I can use them to make a few sachets for the children to wear.
Zhou accepted the bouquet without any hesitation. "Mrs. Chun, I want to ask you for advice today."
Chunniang: "What's the matter?"
"It's our Dacheng." Zhou sat down under the grape trellis in the yard. "Yunniang helped Dacheng find a girl in the county town. We agreed to go and see her tomorrow, but Dacheng refused to go."
Chunniang: "Why not go?"
"Who knows?" Zhou was troubled by her eldest son's marriage. "He just said that he doesn't want to get married for the time being and asked us not to worry about it. Oh, how can I not worry? He is seventeen this year, and Erquan is fifteen. It seems that Erquan also wants to see a date, but his eldest brother is still unmarried. How can he skip the eldest brother and arrange it for the younger brother first?"
Zhou was so anxious that she wanted to cry. "His father doesn't care about anything either. He just said let it be. Chunniang, tell me, can this matter be left to fate?"
Chunniang was also at a loss.
Ever since this nephew was harmed by the girl from the Chu family, he has avoided all other girls like the plague. Not to mention letting him go to see one, even if adults casually mention that a certain girl is pretty, he will run away and no one can pull him back.
Zhou continued, "Dacheng listens to his uncle's advice. I would like you to talk to his uncle and ask him to persuade Dacheng. How can all girls in the world be as ignorant as the girl from the Chu family? Don't be afraid of the rope after being bitten by a snake once."
"Okay, I'll tell him when Sanlang comes back in the evening."
Chunniang comforted her, "Don't worry, sister-in-law. Dacheng is only seventeen. There are still people in our village who get married at the age of twenty." For example, Chen Zhu, the youngest son of the clan leader, got married at the age of twenty.
The two chatted for a while before Zhou took a bunch of magnolia flowers and left.
In the evening, when Jiang Sanlang came back and heard his wife mention Dacheng, he said nonchalantly, "If Dacheng doesn't want to meet me, then let him. I guess he hasn't met his destined match yet. There's no rush for this."
Chunniang said angrily, "Although I'm not in a hurry, my elder sister-in-law brought a letter to me. She has chosen one and said she will go to see him tomorrow. If I break the appointment, I'm afraid it will be difficult to explain to my elder sister-in-law."
Jiang Sanlang: "If you break the appointment, then break the appointment. What's the point of explaining it? It's such a long journey, who can guarantee that you will be there tomorrow?"
Eldest sister Yunniang is really something. She does things without thinking. She just sent a letter and asked Dacheng to go to the county town to meet a girl. She didn't even say what the other party's family does. No wonder Dacheng refused to go.
Seeing that she could not persuade her husband, Chunniang gave up, fetched him a basin of water to wash his face, and asked casually, "Why did Chen Changsheng from Xicun call you to do it today?"
"It's all about growing golden ear. Many families in their village want to grow it and want to buy mushroom strains from me." Jiang Sanlang picked up a face towel to wash his face. After washing his face, he poured the water in the basin into the foot basin and began to take off his shoes and wash his feet.
Chunniang handed him a foot cloth and asked, "Do you agree?"
Jiang Sanlang shook his head: "I would like to agree, but I don't have any fungi."
The golden ears we grow are all top quality and we will never sell them to others.
At the end of February, Manager Zhou came and took away all the fine golden ears of the Jiang family, but he never asked about the golden ears in the hands of other villagers. He probably didn't care much about those ordinary golden ears and snow ears.
Before leaving, Manager Zhou told Jiang Sanlang that there were many vacant houses for sale in the county town, and if he was interested, he should hurry and buy one, otherwise it would be too late to buy it.
Jiang Sanlang did give it some serious thought, but because he was too busy, he forgot about it.
Later I thought about it and a month had passed. It might be a bit late if I went to buy it myself.
But the little girl kept urging him to go to the county town, saying that if Xiaojie and Huzi wanted to take the imperial examination, they must go to the county town to study, otherwise it would not be easy to pass.
After wiping his feet, Jiang Sanlang went out in his clogs to pour water.
He went to check on his two sons' rooms and saw that they were already asleep. He turned back and glanced at his daughter's room, seeing that she had also turned off the lights and gone to bed.
He went back to the room and lay down on the kang. After thinking for a while, he said to his wife, "Chun Niang, let's go to the county town and buy a house."
Chunniang's eyes lit up: "Are you serious?"
The family still had more than 300 taels of silver and originally wanted to buy some paddy fields, but the little girl disagreed, saying that if there was a flood in the future, those fields would be worthless, and buying paddy fields at a high price now would be a waste of money.
Chunniang and her husband always listened to their little girl, so they didn't buy it.
But with so much cash saved at home, she always felt uneasy, fearing that a group of thieves would suddenly come and steal all the money.
"Of course it's true." Jiang Sanlang rested his hands on his pillow and said leisurely, "Let's buy a house in the county town, so we don't have to stay in an inn when we go back and forth. Besides, Xiaojie and Yuanbao are going to the county town to study, and it may be inconvenient to take care of them without a house."
Chunniang asked expectantly, "When are you going to buy it?"
"The day after tomorrow, I'll go to the town and hire a car to go to the county town. If everything goes well, I'll buy a horse carriage and bring it back." It's really inconvenient to not have a car at home. Going to the market or visiting relatives all depends on a pair of feet. It's no problem for adults, but children can't bear it.
Moreover, mules and horses can plow fields. He also wants to reclaim the wasteland near the orchard. With mules and horses, it would save a lot of time and effort.
"It's time for the family to buy a car." Chunniang suddenly remembered what her sister-in-law said and asked, "Then will you take Dacheng with you? You have to tell your sister-in-law."
Jiang Sanlang: "It's up to him whether to go or not. I'll talk to my elder sister."
The sister-in-law is really something. She is just worried that her son won’t be able to find a wife.
Not to mention anything else, just looking at Dacheng's handsome appearance, good figure and good character, there is no need for him to lack a wife. Maybe in the future he will be like his second uncle and find a good wife to bring home.
"That's fine." Chunniang felt relieved when she saw her husband agreed to take the lead.
I'll tell my sister-in-law about this tomorrow and agree to her request.
The next morning, Chun Niang got up to check on the chicks.
I saw a lot of furry little chicks crawling around under the wings of the three hens.
Chunniang quickly picked them up and put them into a large basket padded with chopped grass, and then covered them with a small quilt.
There were still a few eggs under the hen's belly that had not yet hatched, but a small hole had been pecked in them.
Chunniang peeled the eggshell bit by bit, took out the wet chick inside, and stuffed it back into the hen's belly to cover it.