Yingbao was thinking in her heart:
Two more people are needed to tend the kitchen at home, two maids are needed in A-niang's room, there is also a housekeeper who is responsible for handling the internal affairs, and a flexible butler for the outer door.
The driver also needs two drivers, and the younger brother needs two servants and a legal advisor.
With this calculation, there will be more than a dozen servants. Not only will I have to pay them monthly wages, but I will also have to make clothes for them all year round, provide them with all kinds of daily necessities, and three meals a day are the basic requirements.
Yingbao suddenly felt that the money she had saved was not enough.
She slapped her forehead in distress.
By the way, my second cousin also needs to be accompanied by two servants. These servants cannot be too old and must be raised by their master since childhood so that they will not betray their master when they grow up.
"My dear, the food is almost ready. Shall we start eating now?" asked Cook Liu with a smile.
Yingbao nodded: "Okay, let's serve the dishes now. I'll go to the backyard to invite people."
Originally, these matters should have been reported by the servants in the backyard, but the cook couldn't leave, and the two little girls still had to serve tea and water in the backyard, so Yingbao had to go to the kitchen to check in person.
Soon the guests took their seats at the banquet, with men at one table and women at another.
The vegetables, drinks and other items on the table were all produced in the cave, as were the fish and shrimp. Only the pork and mutton were purchased by Jiang Quan in the market.
Everyone ate the dishes and found them to be delicious, much better than what their own chefs cooked.
In particular, the fruit wine and juice were deeply loved by Master Luo. He couldn't help but drink a few more glasses and got a little drunk.
He laughed and patted Jiang Jie's shoulder, who was sitting next to him, and said with a big tongue: "Ajie, I, I have high hopes for you. When the results are announced, I will betroth Zhao, Zhao'er to you!"
Jiang Jie blinked, and a blush gradually spread across his face.
Luo Zhao, who was sitting at another table, also heard it and smiled.
But Luo Yue beside him looked pale, with tears welling up in her eyes.
Mrs. Luo was very embarrassed when she heard her son's drunken talk. She coughed lightly and said something else: "Mother Chun, where do you buy this juice from? I feel refreshed all over after drinking it."
Chunniang smiled and replied, "This is homemade. If you like it, I'll cook a few more jars for you to try."
"Oh, that really troubles my sister-in-law." Wu Jiang quickly responded, secretly cursing her husband for being nosy.
How can a girl be the first to ask for marriage? If the boy's family is not interested, wouldn't it ruin the reputation of the girl
Well, now that my husband has brought it up, I have to think it over carefully no matter what.
After all, Jiang Jie is such an outstanding child, and the Jiang family is deeply trusted by the emperor, so he will definitely have a bright future.
It would be much better for my daughter to marry into such a future noble family than to marry into those aristocratic families of the previous dynasty.
Wu Jiang looked at Yingbao again.
The beautiful girl is like a painting just sitting there. I wonder which wealthy family she will marry into in the future.
It's a pity that my son is still young, otherwise...
Just as he was thinking about it, he suddenly saw his concubine's daughter about to cry, and he couldn't help frowning.
This little girl, wouldn't she have any inappropriate thoughts? She acted like this in someone else's house. Am I trying to be nice to her
I'll give her a good beating when I get home.
Is she really dreaming of a boy like Ajie
Wu Jiang took a sip of juice and said to Ying Bao with a smile: "Ying Bao, when Ajie announces the list, let's go to Xiangshan to worship Buddha and fulfill a wish. The temple there is very effective. Every September, even saints will go there to observe."
"Okay." Yingbao nodded.
In September, my mother and I will go to the surrounding scenic spots to enjoy the scenery. When we return home, we can also talk about it with my father and others.
If her younger brother stayed in Beijing to work as an official, she would bring her grandparents over so they could see what the capital was like.
After the meal, everyone said goodbye and went home. Yingbao gave some flowers to Madam Luo and Manager Luo, and invited Mr. Wu and the old lady to stay at her home.
Mr. and Mrs. Wu readily agreed, because they wanted to see if there were any houses for sale nearby so that they could visit them conveniently in the future.
Soon it was the day for the results to be announced.
Jiang Quan took Li Xu and Jiang Jie to see the list.
There was a huge crowd of people outside the Imperial Examination Hall, all of them were there to see the list.
Among them were many wealthy businessmen and families of ordinary officials, and some of them planned to find a son-in-law from the list.
When the auspicious time arrived, the gate of the Imperial Examination Hall opened, and several yamen runners came out carrying a yellow notice to post it.
Immediately the crowd became excited. The reporters who were squatting at the entrance of the Imperial Examination Hall, wearing red flowers on their heads and red silk around their waists, took the list of names secretly stuffed into their hands by the yamen runners, and then ran out like the wind.
The more stores they visit, the more reward money they can get.
This good business only comes once every three years, so you must make enough money.
Jiang Quan saw that his cousin's name was ranked third in the first class and couldn't help but exclaimed: "Ajie! You are the third in the first class! Third place!"
His shout attracted the attention of all the people who were looking at the list.
Immediately, two or three people in brocade robes came over and greeted him: "Young man, who is the third place winner?"
Jiang Quan hugged his little cousin and laughed: "You are the third place winner!"
Jiang Jie awkwardly broke away from his second cousin and pointed at the list, saying, "Let's see how much Mr. Li got."
Li Xu has good literary talent and with the guidance of Mr. Wu, he has made great progress.
Since Jiang Jie got third place in the first class, Li Xu must not be far behind, and should be sure to get second place.
As expected, Li Xu won fifth place in the second class.
Jiang Jie was overjoyed.
My younger cousin got third place in the first class, so he will be able to stay in Beijing and be an official. I can also benefit from it, and it will not be a problem for me to settle down and buy a house in Beijing.
but... ...
Why did these people keep grabbing my cousin and Li Xu? Did they want to snatch them away
"Hey, hey! What are you doing? Why are you pulling my Ajie?" Jiang Jie pushed them away desperately, put his hands on his hips and said angrily: "What does it mean to pull and tug like that? This is not the way to treat a guest!"
Several people smiled and said, "I am from the household of Zhang, the head of the Ministry of Revenue. I would like to invite you to my home as a guest."
"I am from the family of Mr. Wang in the east of the city. I would like to invite you gentlemen to my home to appreciate the chrysanthemums."
"I am from the Zhao family in the west of the city..."
Jiang Quan waved his hand proudly: "I'm busy for now, and we have guests at home."
"That's fine." One of them stuffed the name cards in his hand into the hands of Jiang Jie and Li Xu respectively. After thinking for a while, he stuffed another one into the hands of Jiang Quan: "Please come and visit me tomorrow or the day after tomorrow. I have three young ladies waiting to be married, all of them are as beautiful as flowers..."
Before he could finish his words, he was pushed aside by two people next to him.
The two men also stuffed the invitations in their hands into the hands of the three people, "Please come to our home as a guest..."
Finally, Jiang Quan and a servant managed to pull Jiang Jie and Li Xu out of the crowd and immediately ran to their own carriage.
Only after getting in the car did they breathe a sigh of relief.
Emma is so scary!
It turns out that there really is a practice of catching a son-in-law from a list.
Among those who came to capture a son-in-law, there were many aristocratic families, and among them was the steward of a third-rank official's family, who also came to invite the newly-promoted Jinshi to visit his home.
Of course, they also selected people. First, they chose young Jinshi with high rankings, and second, they chose young and handsome Jinshi. Even if they were the same Jinshi, it didn’t matter as long as they had handsome faces.