After the birthday banquet for the old lady of the Zhao family was over, the next day, old lady Wei hurriedly urged Wei Nian to bring Wei Jin home, and asked Li to go to the market to buy the best mutton to bring home. Old lady Wei was distressed, "You all saw the birthday banquet yesterday. In our family, the whole family eats at the same table. Even when we have a banquet at home to entertain people, I have never asked my daughters-in-law to stand and serve. What era is this? It's a new era, and only the Zhao family still puts on such a show! They only know how to be mean to their daughters-in-law! Look at your eldest sister, she has only been back to the Zhao family for a few days, and she has lost a lot of weight! Hurry up and bring her back to me, I can't let my daughter suffer like this anymore!"
Wei Nian went to pick someone up as Mrs. Wei asked.
Wei Jin had packed his bag early. When he saw his brother coming, he went to ask for permission from Old Lady Zhao. Old Lady Zhao was worried about her two daughters-in-law eating all the good meat and dishes left over from the birthday banquet. When she saw Wei Nian coming to pick up Wei Jin, she nodded and said to Wei Jin, "Go ahead. Your old lady is also worried about you. I know she can't leave you for even a moment. Go and serve your old lady."
Wei Jin immediately said, "Well, Mom, I'll go then."
When Wei Nian saw his elder sister being so humble and speechless in front of Old Lady Zhao, and heard Old Lady Zhao's tone of being ungrateful, he said with a smile, "Oh, don't do that, Auntie. My mother just mentioned it to see if you are free. If you are busy here, Auntie, my elder sister will marry into your family and become a member of your family. It is her duty to serve you. It doesn't matter when she goes back to her parents' home. My mother has two daughters-in-law to serve her, so there is no shortage of people to serve her. Auntie, you are a proper mother-in-law, even my mother has to come after you."
Wei Nian was handsome and had a good tongue, so Mrs. Zhao usually liked him. She didn't get angry when she heard this, but smiled and said, "Forget it. What's the first and the last? Your mother and I are old sisters. Let your eldest sister go. No matter how filial a daughter-in-law is, she can never be as filial as a daughter. Your mother is lucky to have two daughters around her, but I have two bald boys. I am not as lucky as your mother."
"Just treat my elder sister as your daughter, it's the same." Wei Nian said a few words, not to compete with Mrs. Zhao, and smiled, "Try the butter date paste cake I bought for you. My elder sister said you like it. I bought it at Daoxiang Village when I came. It's the first batch of snacks this morning. It's delicious." He opened the oil paper packaging of the snack, took a piece of the still warm snack and handed it to Mrs. Zhao. Mrs. Zhao took it, tasted it and praised it for its good taste.
After a few words, Mrs. Zhao asked Wei Nian to stay for dinner. Wei Nian said he had things to do in the shop, so he took Wei Jin and his two nephews with him. As soon as he got home and put his bag on the kang, Wei Jin started to scold Wei Nian, saying, "What do you mean by that? Don't you want me to come back?"
Mrs. Wei was very happy to see her eldest daughter and grandchildren coming home. When she heard this, she hurriedly asked, "What's wrong?"
Li, Chen Xuan and Wei Yin were all knitting sweaters in the old lady's room. When they saw Wei Jin coming back, Chen Xuan put down the sweater in her hand and poured two cups of hot water, one for Wei Jin and one for Wei Nian. Wei Jin refused to drink the water and started complaining about his brother to the old lady.
Wei Nian took the water and warmed his hands. When Wei Jin said that he had stopped Wei Jin from going back to her parents' home, he was speechless. After Wei Jin finished his accusation, Wei Nian said to his sister, "You are just a bully at home. You are so powerful at your parents' home, but you can't say a word at your husband's home. Can't you hear that I am being polite? Your mother-in-law asked you to come and serve our mother, and it doesn't matter to her. Shouldn't I be polite to her? If I didn't want you to come back, I wouldn't have taken you back at all!" Putting the teacup on the table on the kang, Wei Nian stood up and said, "I'm going to the shop. I don't have time to talk to you." He walked away.
Wei Jin sighed twice, but didn't call Wei Nian. He probably woke up from his boredom by now, and muttered, "After all this talk, it's my fault."
"Okay, you two are brothers and sisters, why do you have to argue about who is right or wrong?" Mrs. Wei smiled, "I'll ask Ming'er's mother to buy some good mutton early in the morning, and we'll make mutton patties for lunch."
"Okay! Mom, you don't know, I haven't had a hot meal in these days since I returned to my husband's house." Then she started complaining about her husband's family again.
Li, Chen Xuan, and Wei Yin were knitting sweaters nearby. Yun Jie'er was also knitting with two bamboo needles and a small ball of wool, listening to Wei Jin's complaints. Chen Xuan was really something. She didn't even say a word to provoke Wei Jin, but Wei Jin found out about her. Wei Jin asked, "Sister-in-law, did you drink with a man on my mother-in-law's birthday?"
Even though Chen Xuan was honest, she still felt that this was not nice to hear. She lowered her head to knit a sweater and said, "It was Brother Anian who asked me to come over. Many of his friends have never met me. They offered me a toast. If I don't drink, it will embarrass Brother Anian."
Wei Jin showed a look of disapproval and taught her seriously, "As a woman, why do you care about men's affairs? Anian has always been unruly. Even if he asked you to come over, you shouldn't drink with a man. This is not our duty as women."
Wei Yin said, "Big sister, stop using those old tricks. This is the first time that my second brother's friend has met my second sister-in-law. They are toasting me to show my respect for my second brother. How can my second sister-in-law refuse?"
"Even if she answered it, she could have asked Ah Nian to drink it for her, wouldn't it be the same? Why didn't she think differently?! Those bad boys always play tricks on people. If you are so easy to talk to, what will they do if they play tricks on you again in the future?"
Chen Xuan said honestly, "I listen to Brother Anian. I will do whatever Brother Anian says."
Wei Jin was so angry that he slapped his thighs. "You listened to him, you might as well listen to me."
"That's not possible. As the old saying goes, a woman should obey her husband after she gets married. That is to say, once you get married, you have to listen to your husband. I listen to Brother Nian." Chen Xuan's stubborn answer almost made Wei Jin angry to death.
Wei Jin privately told her mother, "My second brother's wife is too stubborn."
"You don't know her yet. She's an honest girl who has been subdued by A-Nian long ago. When A-Nian tells her to go east, she dares not go west." As Mrs. Wei said this, she was actually quite proud of herself and felt that her son was capable.
"Then you say mom, she will listen to A-Nian alone."
"Oh, why are you so serious about this? The couple don't listen to Anian, but listen to you."
Wei Jin shook his head. "This country boy is stubborn and has no way of thinking."
However, when Wei Jin knew that knitting wool sweaters could make money, she no longer cared about Chen Xuan's disobedience. After asking her sister how to sell the sweaters, Wei Jin immediately joined the sweater knitting army. Seeing that the women in the family knew how to make money, Mrs. Wei was so happy that she took Yun Jie'er and her two grandchildren to the theater to watch plays every day.
On the day of Mr. Wen's salon, Wei Jin heard that Chen Xuan and Wei Yin were going to the salon with Wei Nian. Because she was busy knitting sweaters to make money, she didn't have time to complain. Wei Yin was wearing a brand new pink cotton cheongsam with fur trims and a white fox fur shawl with tassels. She looked so noble. Wei Nian said hurriedly, "Too gorgeous. Wear something simple and elegant."
Wei Yin no longer needed the white fox fur cape, and wore a dark woolen coat instead, which made Wei Yin very satisfied. Seeing that Chen Xuan was still wearing the same outfit as last time, Wei Nian said, "Don't wear this coat all the time. The woolen coat I made last year is perfect for wearing now that the weather is cold."
Chen Xuan felt that it was not time to wear a big fur collar yet. "Then I will take off the big fur collar and wear it like Ah Yin."
Wei Nian nodded, and after the two of them changed their clothes, he said, "When you go home today, go to the clothing store and make two sets of clothes for outdoor wear. You have too few clothes."
Wei Yin liked making clothes the most, so he agreed immediately. Chen Xuan was a little hesitant, "That would cost a lot of money, right?"
"You've made five or six dollars this month, right?"
"No, I weave slowly, so I only earned four dollars." These four dollars were saved by Chen Xuan to pay off her debts.
"It's okay. If it's not enough, I'll fill it up for you."
"Second brother!" Wei Yin was unhappy when she heard this, and said to her second brother with a stern face, "How can you ask Second Sister-in-law to use her own money to make clothes? Second Sister-in-law's clothes should be paid by you!"
This was a careless remark, and Wei Yin found fault with it. Wei Nian quickly made amends, "Yes, yes, your second sister-in-law and I were just joking."
Chen Xuan had an idea in mind, and discussed with Wei Yin, "Yin, let's not go to the clothing store to make clothes. In a clothing store, the material costs one dollar, plus the labor, it will cost two dollars. We are not without skills, so we can buy the material and make it at home to save money."
Wei Yin didn't object to this idea. He thought that it was not easy for his second brother to make money, so he couldn't always ask him to pay. Wei Yin said, "That makes sense. Then let's go buy some good materials and go home to make it."
Chen Xuan made up her mind and decided to do one.
When they arrived at Mr. Wen's salon, Chen Xuan personally introduced Wei Yin to Mr. Wen. Chen Xuan repeatedly praised Wei Yin, "Yin heard me talk about your style last time and was particularly envious of your knowledge. She now studies with me every day. And my brother Anian, I used to persuade him to study but he didn't listen. After coming to Mr. Wen's place twice, he picked up the book without any persuasion. I always say that the feng shui here is good and there is a spirit of learning."
Wei Yin was quite surprised when he heard what Chen Xuan said. He thought that his second sister-in-law never talked much at home and didn't want to go out and talk like this.
Mr. Wen also liked Wei Yin. Wei Yin had a very eye-catching appearance. When seeing Wei Yin, people would think of a poem, but they would think that makeup would stain her color. Wei Yin had such an appearance. The Wei family members were born with white skin. Wei Yin was in her prime years, seventeen years old. She was so dazzling that even Mr. Wen couldn't help asking Wei Yin a few more questions. Wei Yin was not like Chen Xuan, who was a little shy and introverted. She was born with a natural attitude, neither humble nor arrogant, and a little bit of girlish naivety. "I have read the novels written by you, and I was very inspired."
Mr. Wen laughed, "It's amazing that a girl as young as you is willing to read my novel."
Wei Yin mentioned the names of two novels. "Both of the novels I read are tragedies. Tragedies are not as joyful and funny as comedies, but tragedies can give us more to think about. Mr. Wang wrote tragedies in order to help more people avoid such tragedies in reality. I felt bad after reading them, but I still wanted to read them. I rarely go out and don't know much. Mr. Wang's books can guide the way for young people like me who are not well-versed in the world."
Wei Yin's natural intelligence and wit were clearly revealed when she first entered the social scene. In order to prepare for this salon trip, Wei Yin not only started learning English, but more importantly, she heard of Mr. Wen's reputation and borrowed a novel written by Mr. Wen, and prepared just the right compliments. Mr. Wen smiled, "It's rare. I thought that young girls like you would prefer Mr. Yun's poems."
Wei Yin smiled, "My second sister-in-law likes poetry. She recites a poem every day. Her favorite is the one by Su Dongpo, 'A man of culture is naturally elegant.'" Actually, Wei Yin didn't know who Su Dongpo was. She remembered it the last time Chen Xuan mentioned it to her. Now she recites it casually, and it is really wonderful.
Even Wei Nian couldn't help but secretly thought that he had thought Chen Xuan was already extraordinary, but he didn't expect that his sister was also very capable. These women are all very smart.
Mr. Wen nodded with a smile, "You and your sister-in-law are both very smart women." The last time Chen Xuan came, Mr. Wen even introduced Chen Xuan to Ms. Chen to take care of Chen Xuan. When she came to Wei Yin's place, there was no need for Mr. Wen to introduce her. Several young men in long gowns or suits came over and greeted with a smile, "There are new people today."
Mr. Wen introduced, "This is Wei Nian's sister, the second daughter of the Wei family."
Wei Yin's education was limited, but this did not affect his popularity in the salon. Wei Nian was a modern person and did not mind Wei Yin talking to these men, but he still quietly told Chen Xuan to stay with Wei Yin, after all, it was Wei Yin's first time to attend such an occasion.
Wei Nian, on the other hand, did not need to rush to chat with others this time, as several scholars and professors who ignored him showed their goodwill to him. Even Chen Xuan, Professor Wu, who had invited her to Peking University last time but failed, showed his enthusiasm again this time and invited Chen Xuan to visit Peking University.
Chen Xuan thought that Wei Nian had told him that in social situations, many things should not be taken seriously, and Professor Wu might just be being polite, so Chen Xuan didn't take it seriously.
The author has something to say: ps: The first update is here, good morning everyone, there will be another update in the afternoon~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~