A daughter becomes someone else's family once she gets married, but a son has to support the family and be the head of the household, which naturally creates an irreconcilable conflict of interest with his stepmother.
Therefore, Mother Li also felt that her young lady should be patient and wait until the two young ladies got married.
She had prepared herself mentally before coming. No matter what the tempers of the two young ladies of the Zhou family were, even if they spit on her face, she would have to smile, endure it, and respect the two young ladies without complaint.
She had never thought that the two young ladies were both well-bred ladies from wealthy families. They were very generous and polite in their words and deeds. No wonder the master was willing to marry the young ladies into the family. Just based on the two young ladies' demeanor, they were more cultured than the young ladies from ordinary juren and jinshi families. This made her feel a little emotional.
After hearing what Madam Li said, Mrs. Li hurriedly said, "Of course. But I don't know what the two young ladies like to eat. You can ask Ma Fushan's wife later. She has been dealing with the two young ladies for many years. I'm afraid she is the one who knows the two young ladies best in the Zhou family." After saying that, she thought for a while and said, "When you go over, bring two gold hairpins with you. The more gifts, the less blame."
The Li family was very satisfied with this marriage. The dowry alone was 20,000 taels of silver, not to mention the 3,000 taels of silver that Li's father gave her every year as private money - Li was never short of money, and this time when she came back, she minted 500 taels of silver just for rewarding people.
Mother Li understood and went to Ma Fushan's home.
So after Zhou Chujin and Zhou Shaojin were settled in and washed up, candied pears were sent over from the kitchen.
"The kitchen said," Chun Wan, who came in with rock sugar and snow pears, "It's too late today. We're afraid the two young ladies won't be able to digest other dishes. We'll switch to lotus seed, lily and red bean soup tomorrow night."
Zhou Chujin nodded.
Zhou Shaojin picked up the bowl and took a few sips.
She has been feeling a little dry in her throat these days.
Rock sugar and snow pear are sweet and have a moderate temperature.
"It tastes good!" Zhou Shaojin praised. Seeing that his sister was sitting there without moving, he said, "Sister, drink it quickly. If it gets cold later, it won't taste as good as it does now.
Zhou Chujin pointed a finger at Zhou Shaojin's forehead and said angrily, "What a silly girl! You have a smart face for nothing."
Hey!
Zhou Shaojin hasn't heard her sister talk about her like this for more than ten years.
In her previous life, if she did something wrong, her sister would always say this to her.
What did she do wrong this time
Zhou Shaojin recalled what happened today carefully. Except for the fact that when she arrived at the second room, she looked around the room like a country girl entering the city, she seemed to have done nothing wrong!
Seeing that she still looked confused, Zhou Chujin sighed and shook his head. Seeing that there was no one else in the room except Chixiang who made the bed for them, he whispered, "Think about it, we just came back and the kitchen knows what we use every day. If the wife hadn't come back with my father, it wouldn't be surprising for Ma Fushan's family to be in charge. But now that the wife has come back with us, Ma Fushan's family can't make the decision, but the kitchen reacted so quickly... I'm afraid our new wife is not simple."
Zhou Shaojin put down the bowl and said with a smile, "Sister, please relax. As long as father is on our side, Madam won't cause any trouble. Even if she does, with only two of us, are we afraid of her? Maybe Madam just wants to get along well with us? A harmonious family is the foundation of everything. Who wants a family full of uproar? She's good to us, and we just need to accept her kindness. When sister goes to Zhenjiang, I will stay at home for two or three years at most. I believe Madam is an understanding person."
Zhou Chujin was stunned when he heard this, then he laughed and said, "I don't know if you are really stupid or just pretending to be stupid. You are right, we are only with her for a few days anyway, so we just need to save face. Otherwise, father will be sad."
"That's right, that's right." Zhou Shaojin smiled and urged Zhou Chujin to drink rock sugar and snow pear. "This rock sugar is very good. Maybe it was brought by my wife from Nanchang!"
Zhou Chujin took a sip and found it sweet but not greasy. It was indeed a top-quality ingredient.
She told Chixiang, "I remember that grandma asked my uncle to pack two boxes of Suzhou-style snacks for us. Go give them to Madam and tell her that we sisters thank her."
Chixiang left with a smile.
Zhou Shaojin and his sister rinsed their mouths and went to rest.
The next day, before dawn, I was woken up by Ma Fushan's family: "We have to go to worship our ancestors. The two young ladies should not be late."
Zhou Shaojin and Zhou Chujin got up and got dressed.
Zhou Zhen’s grandfather bought a piece of cemetery at the foot of Qinglong Mountain in the east of Jinling City and moved the graves of his great-grandparents, grandparents, and parents there. It is also considered the ancestral tomb of the Zhou family.
They had to first take a sedan chair to Baixia Bridge, and then take a boat from Yanque Lake to Qinglong Mountain.
After breakfast, it was already dawn. Zhou Shaojin and his sister went to the study to pay their respects to their father and Li.
Zhou Zhen had already prepared, and was waiting for the sisters while chatting with Ma Fushan in the flower garden in front of the study. When he saw the sisters, he immediately laughed and said, "You are wearing so many clothes, be careful not to get hot later."
It is now cool in the morning and evening, and hot at noon.
One of Zhou Shaojin's sisters wore a green lotus-colored jacket with a four-persimmon pattern, and the other wore a moon-white jacket with a honeysuckle grape pattern.
Zhou Chujin smiled and said, "My sister is weak and can't stand the cold. We also brought a vest and changed into it when it gets hot at noon."
Zhou Zhen nodded and said, "Come, I have something for you two sisters."
Zhou Shaojin and his sister followed Zhou Zhen to the study.
Zhou Zhen took out two small boxes, carved from yellow pear wood, very exquisite.
Zhou Shaojin thought of the gift that Li gave her and her sister yesterday—a set of ruby jewelry and a set of sapphire jewelry, and couldn't help asking, "What is this?"
Zhou Zhen's eyes flashed with cunning, and he said, "Guess what!"
Like a naughty big kid.
Zhou Shaojin suddenly felt that his father was very amiable, and the distance between them was shortened in an instant.
She weighed the box lightly, thought for a moment, and then said, "Could it be a seal?"
In her previous life, she didn't know who she had heard from, but her father seemed to like collecting seals and was good at seal carving.
Zhou Zhen saw her tilting her head, her big black and white eyes flickering, just like Zhuang when she was thinking about something. He was already very happy. When he heard that she guessed correctly, he thought of Zhuang's love of antiques, and he was even happier. He hugged Zhou Shaojin and said, "You are so smart that nothing can stop you. It is indeed a square seal, which I carved for you and your sister. One is printed with Duan Yi and the other is printed with Xi Yan. I will give it to you for future use."
Zhou Shaojin had never been hugged like this in her two lifetimes. Her body was stiff, her face was red, and she dared not move.
Fortunately, Zhou Zhen soon realized something was wrong.
Shaojin is already twelve years old, not two.
He put Zhou Shaojin down.
Zhou Chujin looked at them and laughed, then happily opened the box.
The chicken blood stone seal has bright color as if it was splashed on, and the seal button is carved with auspicious clouds. The two words "Duan Yi" are engraved in Qin Li. The handwriting is majestic and magnificent, yet fluent and graceful. Whether it is a seal or a seal carving, it is an extraordinary piece and very rare.
Zhou Chujin liked it very much. He thanked Zhou Zhen repeatedly and looked at it again and again in his hand.
Zhou Shaojin's was the same as Zhou Chujin's, except that it had the words "Xi Yan" carved on it.
She didn't like bloodstone very much, as she thought its color was as red as blood and a bit scary. But the seal was only three centimeters square and two inches long, which reminded her of the private seal that Liao Zhangying wore on his body. She thought that if she ever published a calligraphy copybook like Liao Zhangying, it would be nice to use this private seal on it. She happily thanked her father.
Ma Fushan's wife came in and said, "Madam has already had breakfast."
Zhou Zhen said: "Then let's set off!"
Ma Fushan's family went to pass on the message, and Zhou Zhen led his two daughters out of the study.
Li was supported by her mother and stood under the veranda. When she saw Zhou Zhen and his father and daughter coming over, she hurried forward to salute Zhou Zhen.
Zhou Zhen supported Li and did not let her bow. He said, "There is no outsider here, so you don't have to be polite."
Li responded with a smile, greeted Zhou Shaojin and her sister, and followed Zhou Zhen to the sedan chair hall with her head lowered.
Zhou Zhen was in office all year round. Although the Zhou family had a sedan chair, it had not been used for many years and was in disrepair. He originally wanted to hire a few sedan chairs, but Cheng Mian had already thought of it and considerately suggested that the sedan chair from Jiuru Lane be used to take them back and forth.
Ma Fushan gave rewards to the sedan chair bearers.
Zhou Zhen asked Zhou Chujin and Zhou Shaojin: "Are you going to sit together or separately?"
"Of course we'll sit together!" the two sisters said in unison.
Zhou Zhen laughed again and told Ma Fushan: "Put the savings box I asked you to prepare yesterday in the sedan chairs of the eldest and second young ladies."
Ma Fushan's family responded with a smile.
They got into the sedan chair.
After the sedan chair was lifted up, Zhou Shaojin opened the box, which contained crispy candies, winter melon strips, candied dates, rice cakes, persimmons, rose cakes... The box was full of Qi Fangzhai's things.
Zhou Shaojin felt that his father was genuinely... very nice.
She lifted the curtain of the sedan chair and looked forward.
Her father's green velvet sedan swayed in front of her, but it made her feel at ease.
After getting on the boat, Zhou Zhen pointed out the scenery along the way and told them some stories. Not only the Zhou sisters, but also Li listened with great interest.
Zhou Shaojin asked his father, "Did you see Uncle Chi when you went to the eldest house yesterday? Why didn't he come over for dinner this afternoon?"
Zhou Zhen was a little surprised that his little daughter would ask about Cheng Chi, but then he thought that his little daughter had been copying scriptures in Hanbi Mountain House these days, and she must have had a lot of contact with Cheng Chi. He didn't think much about it, and smiled, "I did see Fourth Master Chi, but Fourth Master Chi seemed very busy. I said a few words to him and left. I didn't expect you to stay in the main house for so long. I heard that you also saw Madam Guo?" He deliberately praised his daughter in front of Li, and smiled, "Madam Guo stopped having guests for several years. It seems that I came back this time because of Chu Jin and Shao Jin! Otherwise, how could I have such a good boat to ride?"
The boat they were on also belonged to the Cheng family.
Zhou Chujin saw what his father meant and smiled.
Zhou Shaojin was wondering why Cheng Chi did not attend the banquet at Jiashutang, but her father did not tell her clearly, so she did not dare to ask... No wonder Cheng Chi was like an invisible man in her previous life. She had lived in the Cheng family for more than ten years but had never met him.
Doesn’t he also worship his ancestors
Zhou Shaojin thought about it and felt ashamed.
The Cheng family's ancestor worship seemed to have nothing to do with her, so she naturally didn't know whether Cheng Chi showed up or not.
By the time they finished offering sacrifices to their ancestors, it was already past noon. Zhou Shaojin and the others had a quick lunch on the boat, and it was sunset when they returned to Jinling City.
※
Sisters, today’s extra update!
O(∩_∩)O~
※(To be continued)