The uncle added: "I, your uncle, don't have much ability either. I hope you don't despise our family and come to visit us more often in the future."
"Okay." Jiang Jie had no choice but to nod.
As they were talking, a few more people came in. It was Xu Qiuniang and her husband who came back with their child.
"Oh, the house is really lively."
Xu Qiuniang walked in carrying a bag of snacks, glanced at everyone with a smile, and cast her eyes on Jiang Jie.
"So it's Wenquxing who has come. No wonder."
Jiang Jie bowed respectfully to Xu Qiuniang, "Aunt."
"Oh, I don't deserve it." Xu Qiuniang pulled him up and called her daughter Qian Yu over: "Yu'er, come and meet your cousin."
Qian Jinqianyu stepped forward together: "Cousin."
Jiang Jie bowed to the two again: "Cousin, cousin."
Xu Qiuniang chuckled and said, "Look, look, our brother Jie is becoming more and more like an adult. He is much more stable than your cousin. If you don't know, you would think you are her brother."
Jiang Jie glanced at his fourteen-year-old cousin Qian Yu, who was a whole head taller than him. How could he look like her brother
Seeing this, Jiang Sanlang frowned and said to his son, "Jiang Jie, go out and play with Jiang Wu."
Jiang Jie took the opportunity to say goodbye to his two uncles. At the door, he met his uncle Qian Jiu who had just entered. He bowed to him and ran out.
Yingbao and her brother Jiang Wu were watching a group of children playing outside the yard. When they saw Jiang Jie running out, they whispered, "Why didn't you drink tea with them?"
"I'm still young and don't drink tea." Jiang Jie said listlessly.
Xu Daniu's four-year-old daughter Xinghua ran over and looked at the three people eagerly.
Yingbao took out a piece of winter melon candy from her small bag and gave it to her, asking, "Why aren't you with your mother?"
Today is the second day of the Chinese New Year. Daniu should have taken his wife and children to visit his mother-in-law's house for New Year's greetings, but somehow Daniu and Xinghua are at home instead.
Xinghua bit a piece of winter melon candy and said, "Daddy brought me back. Mom wanted to stay at grandma's house for dinner and not come back."
It turned out that Daniu took his wife and children to his father-in-law's house to celebrate the New Year early in the morning, and then came back with his daughter, while his wife stayed at her parents' home to celebrate the festival.
As they were talking, Xu Lan came out and asked them to go in and take a seat.
There were two tables in the main room, where Jiang Sanlang and his two sons sat together with his elder brother-in-law, two uncles, his brother-in-law Qian Jiu, and his nephew Xu Daniu.
Chunniang, Yingbao, Xu Qiuniang and her son, Xu Lan, Xu Erniu, and Xu Laonian were sitting at the table with apricot blossoms in their arms.
Mrs. Xu was still busy in the kitchen and had no time to come and sit down.
At the dinner table, Xu Qiuniang kept picking up food for Yingbao and asked with a smile, "Yingbao, I heard that the specialty shop in the county town is your dowry, is that right?"
Yingbao blinked, picked up a large piece of chicken and stuffed it into her mouth, without having time to talk.
Xu Qiuniang smiled and said to Chunniang, "Sister, why don't we become closer relatives?"
Chun Niang said coldly: "The child is still young, don't say these nonsense, eat your food quickly."
Xu Qiuniang seemed to not understand her sister's excuse and said to Yingbao, "Yingbao, what do you think of Brother Qianjin?"
Yingbao glanced at Qian Jin, a boy of about sixteen or seventeen with a face full of sweat pimples, just like his father.
But this is not a matter of appearance, it’s just that I don’t have this idea at all.
And even if I look for a husband myself, it is impossible for me to find a family like Xu Qiuniang.
"Qiu Niang!" Chun Niang suppressed her anger and glared at her sister: "What nonsense are you talking about on New Year's Day?"
Old Lady Xu was also angry, but she couldn't bear to see the two sisters throwing tantrums on New Year's Day, so she had to pull Chun Niang and ask her to be patient.
Yingbao swallowed the chicken in her mouth and said, "Mom, let's go back after dinner." She didn't want to see Xu Qiuniang for a moment.
Chun Niang nodded: "Okay."
Xu Qiuniang's face darkened, but when she thought of her future glory and wealth, she immediately smiled again: "Oh, sister, you are so stingy that you can't even take a joke. Eat your food."
Chunniang turned her head away and ignored her, and put all the dishes piled high on the plate in front of her daughter into her own bowl.
The meal was dull. After the meal, Chunniang took her daughter back to Xu Laoniang's room.
The men at the table were still drinking, and from time to time they could hear the sound of Qian Jiu slapping the table.
Xu Lao Niang followed in and whispered to the eldest daughter, "Your sister is always gossiping, why bother to get angry with her? Just treat whatever she says as if it were nothing."
Chun Niang: "Mother, don't you know? She is a very selfish person. You can't be sure that she will do something disgusting in the future."
She stroked her daughter's hair and gritted her teeth, "How dare you set your sights on my Bao'er? You're blinding her eyes!"
Old Lady Xu sighed and glanced at Yingbao secretly. Seeing that she had no expression on her face, she felt relieved.
She naturally didn't want her two daughters to have any conflicts, but since things had come to this, she had to express her stance, otherwise her eldest daughter would definitely feel resentful.
"Chun Niang, I will talk to your sister later. She can talk nonsense in front of the children. What will it look like if outsiders find out?"
Chunniang was speechless.
After Jiang Sanlang finished the party, he said he wanted to go home early.
So, Jiang Sanlang took Jiang Jie to his two uncles' homes to give them holiday gifts, and said that he had to go back home for something.
My uncle tried to persuade Jiang Sanlang to stay several times, but seeing that he was so persistent, he had to give up.
After sending her eldest daughter and her family away, Old Lady Xu called her youngest daughter, Xu Qiuniang, into the house and began to scold her: "Why are you becoming more and more irrelevant? What are those words you said at the dinner table?"
Xu Qiuniang said indifferently: "What did I say? She is just a wild girl I picked up. You treat her like a treasure. If Jiang Jie hadn't passed the imperial examination, I wouldn't have liked her."
Xu's mother was so angry that she hit her a few times, but after putting on her winter clothes, Qiu Niang didn't feel any pain.
"Mother, look at how you protect her. Is my Jin'er not as good as a wild girl you picked up? Who is your blood relative?" Qiu Niang said dissatisfiedly.
Mrs. Xu pushed her away and said angrily, "I don't want to listen to your nonsense. Go home quickly."
Xu Qiuniang snorted, "Why don't we get rid of that girl? Go tell my elder sister to marry Qian Yu to Jiang Jie. It would be great if we could become even closer relatives."
"Get lost!" Old Lady Xu picked up the broom and hit her daughter. "I think you've gone crazy. You dare to say anything. If I hear you say something like this again, don't come to see me again!"
···
Chunniang returned home, sent her three children away, and whispered to her husband, "Sanlang, Bao'er is already eleven years old now, and you should really pay attention to other people. I think Wei Zhan from Madam Wang's family is not bad, why not..."
"What nonsense!" Jiang Sanlang frowned and said, "Bao'er is only eleven, and Erni is already fifteen and still hasn't found a husband. Why are you so anxious? Besides, how can a woman be so anxious to choose a son-in-law? Our Yingbao is not allowed to talk about these things before she is fifteen."
Chunniang sighed: "I don't want Baoer to find a husband so early, but..." There are too many people coveting her, and her daughter is silly and doesn't know how to avoid suspicion. What if she is plotted against
"You and I don't need to worry about this matter." Jiang Sanlang said, "Her master and Mr. Wen are watching, so it won't delay Baoer."