Liu Ya had never seen the eldest lady, but from the annual gifts that the mistress gave her, she knew that she liked her very much. Liu Ya smiled and said, "It's true. The servant came first to report the news. The eldest lady should be in the backyard by now."
Zhulan really hadn't seen Xuemei's family for a few years. When she left, the twins were less than a month old. Now they are three years old. She kept muttering, "Should we bring all the children here?"
A few minutes later, Xuemei brought Jiang Miao and the other children into the house behind Xuehan. Xuemei's eyes were filled with tears as she said, "Mom."
Xuemei was afraid that she would miss her mother's delivery, so she left early on purpose. However, the journey was not smooth. The twins had never left home before and she was too excited. It was also a cold spring day, so she caught a cold on the journey and stayed in Huaizhou City for quite a while. Unexpectedly, her mother gave birth after all her efforts. Fortunately, her mother was fine. God knows how panicked she was for a moment when she entered the backyard and learned that her mother had given birth.
Zhulan held her eldest daughter's hand. After not seeing her for three years, Xuemei had changed a lot and became much more mature. In the past, in Zhulan's eyes, Xuemei was just a student who had not graduated from college and was too young.
Zhulan looked at her grandchildren. The eldest grandson did not come in. Jiang Du was seven years old this year. He was a little adult and it was not suitable for him to enter the delivery room. Zhulan took the six-year-old Jiang Du with her. When she left, the little guy's hair was not very long yet, but now he could wear jewelry.
Finally, there are the three-year-old twins. These two children look really alike.
Xuemei saw her mother looking at the children and said with a smile, "Look at me, weren't you guys clamoring for your grandma? Now that you see someone, why don't you call her?"
Jiang Miao blinked, still remembering, "Grandma."
Zhulan touched Miu Miu's hand and asked, "Do you miss grandma?"
"I did."
She didn't lie. In her memory, her grandmother gave her delicious food and taught her to read.
The twins stepped forward and tilted their heads. The fatter one said, "Grandma, I'm Jiang Ping, and I'm the older brother."
The thinner one said, "I'm Jiang An, the younger brother."
When Zhulan and Xuemei heard the names, they hoped that the twins would grow up safely. Twins are not easy to raise, and safety is the parents' greatest hope.
Zhulan smiled, "Okay, okay."
Xuemei felt relieved when she saw that her mother looked good, "Mom, where is my little brother?"
"At this."
Zhulan turned sideways. The child was sleeping in the bed. She stood up and blocked the child's view. She picked up the child who was still asleep and handed him to Xuemei.
Xuemei took it carefully. This was her parents' precious child. She looked at the boy carefully and said, "My little brother will inherit the best qualities of my parents."
This child is not light at all!
Jiang Miao also came forward, "Mom, is this my uncle?"
The twins thought, "Uncle, uncle."
Zhulan, "... ..."
Yes, her son was born into a higher generation. When she thought about growing up and being called uncle and uncle by a group of children older than him, she couldn't help laughing.
Xuemei carefully put her brother down and asked, "Mom, have you given your brother a name?"
Zhu Lan was silent. Before the child was born, she and Zhou Shuren had thought of a name a lot. After the child was born, she and Zhou Shuren were entangled again. Neither of them felt good. "I'm still thinking."
Xuemei didn't think much about it and said, "We should really think about it more."
This youngest brother is the most blessed. Even his younger sister is not as lucky as him. His younger sister was a village girl for several years. But this young brother was born as the son of a prefect. When he grew up, his father's rank became higher, and his status also became higher.
Xuemei looked at her little brother and thought of Changzhi, "Mom, we went to look for Changzhi when we came here, but Changzhi went to study with his master, so he didn't come back with us."
Bamboo orchid, "... "
She was not disappointed. Really, it would be strange if this kid could stay at home obediently.
Xuemei felt that her younger brother was unstable, and he was not young anymore. "Mom, my younger brother is sixteen years old, so he is not young anymore. Shouldn't you arrange a marriage for him? Then he can feel at ease at home."
She felt that her younger brother should be taken care of by someone.
Zhulan, "I would like to arrange a marriage for him, but there is no suitable one."
Xuemei thought of her younger brother's temper and felt sympathy for her future brother-in-law.
As they were talking, Mrs. Li and Mrs. Dong knew that the news had come. Mrs. Li was afraid of waking up the child, so she lowered her voice and said, "Big sister."
Dong: "Sister."
Xuemei was stunned for a moment. She was her father's eldest daughter and would receive generous gifts from her mother's family during every festival. She was very famous in her hometown and had met many wives of merchants and officials in the county, but few of them could compare to Li.
Xuemei sighed, saying that the environment can really change a person. Then she thought that her mother was the one who knew how to teach people, and she could even teach her sister-in-law to improve her temper.
Xuemei stood up, "Sister-in-law, sister-in-law."
Then he asked a few children to call for help.
Li now has a headache when she sees a boy. Her daughter is better. She is gentle and quiet. She took Jiang Miao's hand and said, "I haven't seen you for a few years. Miao Miao is getting more and more beautiful."
As she spoke, Li took out the prepared jade pendant from her sleeve and handed it to Jiang Miao, "This is given by my aunt, don't despise it."
This jade pendant is the dowry she prepared for her daughter. Since last year, she would prepare some if she met a good man. She is not planning to have a baby, and she only has one daughter in the first wife's family. Naturally, she hopes that her daughter will be more confident.
When she heard that Xuemei had returned today, she took a while to choose a gift and took the jade pendant.
Then he took out two purses and handed them to the twins who were greeting him, "These are given by my aunt."
The money inside was silver, and the two children were still young, so it was appropriate to give them silver.
Xuemei was really surprised. Her eyesight had also been improved. This jade pendant was worth twenty taels. She gave it to her sister-in-law immediately. "Sister-in-law, it's too precious."
Li smiled and said, "It's not expensive, it's rare, no, I like my daughter, it's not expensive."
Li let out a sigh and almost told the truth. It was not easy for her eldest sister to come here, and the money was not given every year. After careful calculation, she regarded it as making up for the New Year's money she had received over the years, so she was willing to give it up.
Zhulan, "... ..."
She knew what Li was thinking and laughed in her heart. She was surprised at how generous she was just now.
Xuemei had practiced Tai Chi with the officials' wives over the past two years, and she understood her sister-in-law's slip of the tongue instantly. She couldn't help laughing. Her sister-in-law had changed so much that she was almost unrecognizable, but some things hadn't changed. This time she felt more intimate with her. "Thank you, sister-in-law."
Jiang Miao and his brothers thanked their aunt.
Mrs. Dong also prepared gifts. The one she gave to Jiang Miao was a hairpin. Mrs. Dong had no children and no jewelry for girls, so she could only take out the jewelry she wore when she was a teenager. Jiang Miao was to keep it for future wear. She also gave the twins silver and money.
Xuemei asked, "Mother, where is my second sister-in-law?"
Zhulan just remembered that Xuemei had just arrived and didn't know the situation yet. "Your second sister-in-law had a difficult childbirth and was injured. She is now in confinement. You can go over to take a look later."
Xuemei saw that her mother looked tired and needed to recover from giving birth. "Mom, I'll take the baby over now. You should also get some rest."
Zhulan was indeed tired, and when she saw Liuya coming in, she asked, "Is everything arranged?"
Liu Ya nodded, "The yard has been cleaned up, and the eldest lady's luggage has been sent over."
Zhulan hummed and said to Xuemei, "If you have any questions in the next few days, go to Xuehan. Xuehan is in charge of the yard now."
Xuemei said, "Mother, I've got it. You take a rest first."
Zhulan waited until Xuemei took the child out, and then said to Mrs. Song, "Go to my room and give the eldest lady a set of gold jewelry inlaid with rubies. Also, ask Butler Ding to go to the jewelry store and order four jade pendants."
Xuemei came suddenly and without any prior notice, so she didn't have time to prepare any gifts. Just now when the child came to pay his respects, she was thinking about what to give!