Ma Fushan's family was startled when they heard this.
Before, she always asked the eldest daughter for instructions, and the second daughter never spoke. Now that the eldest daughter is about to get married, and the wife has to entertain several old An people, she came to ask the second daughter. She didn't expect the second daughter to act so cleanly and neatly. She had underestimated the second daughter in the past.
Ma Fushan immediately put away his vague indifference and said, "I will do as you say."
Zhou Shaojin nodded.
A maid in charge came over and said, "Second Miss, Madam said earlier that the Cheng family might come with seven or eight maids and a dozen maids, so Madam Li arranged them at Liufang Pavilion. But I didn't expect that the Cheng family would come with more than a dozen maids and twenty maids today, and there was not enough space..."
Zhou Shaojin had sent someone to ask before, and the people in Jiuru Lane said that except for Grandma Guan and Grandma Guo, no other elders would come. But he didn't expect that Grandma Tang and Grandma Li would come at the last minute. As a result, the number of people who came suddenly increased a lot, and the place originally arranged to entertain them for lunch was not big enough.
She said, "Then separate the maids and the servants. The maids will still stay in Liufang Pavilion, and the servants will stay in the waterside pavilion next to Liufang Pavilion. Fortunately, it is spring and the peach blossoms over there are in full bloom. Eating there will be quite interesting."
The maid seemed relieved and smiled happily, saying, "Second Miss is really thoughtful. I will go and order the table to be set up in the waterside pavilion."
Zhou Shaojin also breathed a sigh of relief.
Fortunately, my elder sister instructed the maid at home to clear out the tables and chairs for the banquet in advance. Otherwise, even if the banquet was held in the waterside pavilion today, there would be no chairs and tables. If the maids from wealthy families like Jiuru Lane saw this, they would probably laugh at the Zhou family's decline.
But before she could turn around, another little maid ran over and said, "Second Miss, Madam Ma wants you to go to the front hall to talk."
Most likely it was her good uncle who made a fuss.
Zhou Shaojin felt exhausted, but he could only go and take a look.
She whispered a few words to Chunwan and followed the maid to the front hall.
Old Madam Guo, who was sitting in the flower hall, stared at Zhou Shaojin silently.
After a long time, Mrs. Guan discovered that something was wrong with Mrs. Guo.
She smiled and said, "What are you looking at?"
Old Mrs. Guo sighed and said, "You are so lucky! Shaojin is gentle and capable, and your good days are still ahead. Unlike me, I raised three granddaughters, but in the end, none of them were around when I got old."
Old Lady Guan laughed and said, "This really proves the saying 'other people's things are good'. You see me enjoying my grandchildren, but I envy your family members who are officials and support the family. It shows that nothing in this world is perfect."
"That's right!" Old Madam Guo smiled. Seeing that Old Man Tang and Old Man Li were showing off to Mrs. Li, she whispered, "When will Shao Jin go to Baoding? This child has served me well once. When she leaves, I must give her some good things so that she can remember her forever."
Old Madam Guan glanced around quickly, and seeing that no one was paying attention, she lowered her voice and said, "I want her to continue living in Jiuru Lane like before. After Chu Jin gets married, it will be Gao'er's turn to get married. By then, He will be free, and it will be a good opportunity to teach Shao Jin how to manage household affairs."
Mrs. Guo nodded without saying anything, but a hint of disapproval flashed across her face. It was obvious that she disagreed with what Mrs. Guan did, but she didn't want to meddle in other people's business and say anything.
Mrs. Guan always admired Mrs. Guo's eyes. She couldn't help but feel a little nervous when she saw it. She thought carefully about what she had just said. She really didn't know where she had said it wrong. She couldn't help but ask, "Why? Do you think it's inappropriate?"
Mrs. Guo smiled and said, "That's fine! After all, I'm going to marry into your family, so it's better for me to adapt sooner." Her tone was very reluctant.
Old Mrs. Guan felt even more uneasy and said angrily, "We have been sisters-in-law for so many years. Is there anything you can't just say?" She had to get to the bottom of it.
Mrs. Guo then said, "I think that if my niece-in-law came to tell Shaojin about the chores, it would be fine if she got married, but if she stayed in your house, I'm afraid the new wife would be a little sad when she found out. Besides, Yi Ge'er and Shaojin grew up together. Others who know about it say that it's because Shaojin was raised in the Cheng family since she was a child. Those who don't know think that Shaojin is a child bride... It's not a good reputation for Shaojin!"
Old Mrs. Guan was so frightened that she broke out in a cold sweat.
Sometimes the conflicts between sisters-in-law are caused by a very small matter.
This rope has to be twisted into one strand to be strong. She originally hoped that the two brothers Cheng Gao and the two sisters-in-law could help each other so that the fourth branch would have a say in Jiuru Lane one day. If He Fengping and Zhou Shaojin had a rift because of this, wouldn't she be self-defeating
We can hand Zhou Shaojin over to the Li family for upbringing... If anything goes wrong, they will have to clean up the mess.
The most important thing is that Zhou Shaojin grew up under her care. She is well-behaved and gentle, and she is at the age when she is full of thoughts and worries. If she lives in Baoding Prefecture for a long time, with Li whispering in her ear, who knows if she will become estranged from the Cheng family
That would be a waste of time.
Mrs. Guan asked Mrs. Guo sincerely, "Then how do you think we can do this?"
"Each one is different." Mrs. Guo smiled and said, "Who can make decisions for your family on matters like this?"
Old Mrs. Guan couldn't help but feel worried. She was still thinking about this matter until she came out of Pingqiao Street and returned to Jiashu Hall in Jiuru Lane.
Mrs. Mian came in to help her mother-in-law to rest, and then Mrs. Guan took her daughter-in-law's hand and told Mrs. Mian what Mrs. Guo had said.
"No way?" Mrs. Miao hesitated, "Feng Ping shouldn't be that kind of person!"
"People involved in this matter are not worried about scarcity but injustice." Old Lady Guan listened to her daughter-in-law's hesitant tone and felt that Old Lady Guo was right. However, she was a little worried about letting Zhou Shaojin go out for a few years. She sighed, "It would be better if Li was a literate person, or if Shaojin had a capable person to supervise him."
Mrs. Miao laughed and said, "If there was such a candidate, why would Master Gu send the two young ladies to Jiuru Lane?"
"I know that too." Old Mrs. Guan sighed.
Mrs. Miao's eyes lit up and she said, "Mother, what do you think? How about we hand Shao Jin over to Old Madam Guo? I see that Old Madam Guo likes her very much and even took her to Mount Putuo. I think Old Madam Guo will agree to this, right?"
Old Mrs. Guan thought about how Old Mrs. Guo had been staring at Zhou Shaojin when they were on Pingqiao Street, and she felt that this matter seemed to be plausible.
She said, "I'll think about this carefully."
Mrs. Miao didn't dare to say anything more.
The more Mrs. Guan thought about it, the more it made sense.
And this is also good for Zhou Shaojin.
The little girl who was personally taught by Old Madam Guo had the same upbringing as Cheng Zheng from the capital, and was considered more valuable by others.
Old Lady Guan took the Lushan clouds and mist that her youngest son Cheng Yuan had brought back to Hanbi Mountain House.
Mrs. Guo, just as she had prepared, politely rejected Mrs. Guan's request after knowing her purpose: "... I am old, and I don't have the energy to raise another little girl! However, I really like Shaojin. If she has any questions in the future, just let her ask me."
"She is not a little girl of seven or eight years old. She is smart and clever. Why does she need you to take charge of her?" Old Madam Guan pestered Old Madam Guo for the whole morning. Old Madam Guo had no other choice but to say, "As long as your uncle is at ease, you can keep her here with me!"
Old Mrs. Guan was overjoyed and thanked Old Mrs. Guo repeatedly.
※
Pingqiao Street, as the wedding date approached, Zhou Chujin, who was always calm and composed, suddenly became nervous. She asked Chixiang to count the shoes and socks she brought to the Liao family to see if there were any missing. She asked Dongwan to show her the menu for the dinner. She called Ma Fushan in and asked her, "Have you explained everything clearly to the old wives? When I spread out the dowry, I asked them to keep an eye on my jewelry boxes. Some of the things in them were given by the old lady and Mrs. An in Jiuru Lane. They are all old items that cannot be bought with money now. If someone touches them, how can I have the face to go back to Jiuru Lane and kowtow to the old ladies and Mrs. An in the future."
Ma Fushan's family laughed and said, "Don't worry! Even if we don't keep an eye on it, the Liao family will send someone to keep an eye on it - the new bride has lost her dowry before she even got married, and the Liao family can't afford to lose face like this!"
Although Zhou Chujin nodded, his brows were still filled with worry.
Ma Fushan's wife saw that she was in a bad mood, thought again and again, and went to see Zhou Shaojin: "The eldest lady is used to being the head of the family. Now she suddenly lets go. I'm afraid she is not used to it for a while. There is a wife at home anyway. Why don't the second lady go to the eldest lady's place more often when she is free."
Ever since the day when Zhou Shaojin asked Ma Fushan to scare away the uncle from the Zhuang family with her father's business card, Zhou Shaojin has been asked more and more things for no apparent reason. This one comes to ask what kind of incense to put out, and that one comes to ask what kind of bowl to use. She was very annoyed, and seeing that Li was also busy with matters concerning her sister's marriage, she had to patiently give instructions to the maids in charge.
Now, hearing what Ma Fushan's family said, her heartstrings suddenly tensed up, and she dropped all the messy things in her hands and went to Zhou Chujin.
There were clothes everywhere on the bed, chairs, and tables in Zhou Chujin's room. She was choosing clothes with Chixiang: "I still think that I should wear the bright red Aquarius peony jacket when I recognize my relatives the next day. But butterflies through flowers are too frivolous. But this butterfly through flowers is carved silk, which is better than Hangzhou silk..."
It was the first time that Zhou Shaojin saw such hesitation due to fear of loss.
My sister also feels overwhelmed sometimes.
She couldn't help but burst out laughing, walked forward and picked up the big red peony jacket, and said, "Sister, you have a dowry of 12,000 taels of silver, which is clearly written on the dowry list. Even if you wear a piece of fine cloth, the people in the Liao family will only praise you for being frugal and managing the family thriftily. Sister, don't worry, it's better to be prudent."
Zhou Chujin suddenly realized.
This is a truth that everyone knows, so why didn't she think of it
She vaguely felt that she had been too impatient these days, so she simply kept Zhou Shaojin to accompany her. If there is anything wrong, you remind me and I remind you. Her mood slowly calmed down and she returned to her original smart and capable self.
※
Sisters and brothers, I didn’t expect that I would come back earlier than expected. Today is still a double update. I will post the extra update first and the update will be around 12 o’clock in the evening.
PS: I just remembered that today is Women’s Day when I received the text message from the merchant. I was so busy that I didn’t understand.
Happy holidays to all the sisters!
O(∩_∩)O~
※(To be continued)