The county magistrate watched the eunuch and Grandpa Qin come out together. Seeing that the eunuch had a kind smile on his face, he thought that Grandpa Qin must have given him a lot of benefits.
The county magistrate stepped forward and said, "Sir, Mr. Qin."
The eunuch nodded. He was a little arrogant when facing the county magistrate. Although he was not a very prestigious eunuch in the palace, those who could announce the imperial edict had some backers. As everyone knew, those who announced the imperial edict could get a lot of benefits, so if you didn't have connections, you wouldn't get this job.
Besides, it is not easy for eunuchs who find it difficult to leave the palace to come out of the capital and take a walk outside.
Eunuch: "Let's go. Mr. Qin, I'm leaving now. Please stay."
Grandpa Qin said, "This old man will see you off, Mr. Wang and the county magistrate."
So the Qin family sent him off together. Not only the Qin family, but also the people who were eating the buffet went to send him off. Everyone was curious. The people in the imperial palace in the capital city probably only saw this one person in their lifetime, a eunuch. To them, he was a great figure. At this time, who would care that he was a eunuch? There was no such thing.
The Qin family escorted the eunuch and the county magistrate to the village gate. The eunuch said, "Please stay, old man. Please stay, everyone." The eunuch was really surprised. He didn't expect the people of Baili Village to be so enthusiastic. They all came to see him off. In his life, because he didn't have that thing, he actually felt inferior in front of normal people. Not only him, there was no eunuch who didn't feel inferior in front of normal people, but today, he was particularly happy.
The county magistrate saw the eunuch's attitude again and thought, Qin Fang must be doing well, otherwise the official who delivered the imperial edict would not have such an attitude. Who doesn't know that people from the palace are the best at judging by the situation? So the county magistrate's attitude became more gentle: "Old man, I have to accompany the official to leave first, so I won't stay. I want you to stay and talk to you about the imperial edict."
Grandpa Qin said gratefully: "Thank you, sir."
After watching the eunuch and the county magistrate leave, Grandpa Qin invited the lawyer to his home for a buffet. The lawyer naturally knew that the county magistrate kept him to establish a good relationship with the Qin family. Although the county magistrate was a local official and a local boss, how could he compare with someone like Qin Fang who had shown his face in front of the emperor? The county magistrate felt that Qin Fang must have done something remarkable to make the emperor confer two imperial edicts on the Qin family. Therefore, the county magistrate was very willing to befriend Qin Fang and the Qin family.
Today's Qin family's buffet is not just a buffet. Before the county magistrate came, everyone didn't realize that the Qin family was different. But now, after the county magistrate left, everyone knew completely that the Qin family was truly different.
The buffet was still very lively. After everyone finished their meal, they stayed back to help.
Inside the house
The master informed the Qin family of some matters related to the imperial edict, and also said: "The imperial edicts of this dynasty are accompanied by salaries. For example, the two ladies can get half the salary of a seventh-rank official, which means that each person can get about four taels of silver per month."
"Is this so much?" Aunt Qin exclaimed in a lost voice.
Suddenly, everyone looked at Aunt Qin. Aunt Qin smiled awkwardly: "I am not surprised." But in her heart, she thought, let's not talk about the salary of the first house, the second elder is now under the first house, then the old lady's salary is given to the first house, right? That's 10 taels of silver a month. Thinking of this, Aunt Qin felt a little uncomfortable.
Mother Qin and Grandma Qin were also shocked. They really had never thought about the salary.
Seeing this, Qin's mother asked, "Master, how do my mother and I get our salaries?"
The lawyer explained: "The salary in this dynasty is collected every six months, at the end of each year and in June. The two ladies will not be able to collect it until June of this year, and they can only receive one month's salary in June, which is for the first half of the year. Before the New Year, they can receive six months' salary for the second half of the year. The place to collect the salary is the Ministry of Revenue's office in the county." Traditionally, local officials have collected their salaries at the Ministry of Revenue's office in the county, which is equivalent to the Ministry of Revenue's local office in modern terms.
Mother Qin and grandmother Qin understood and thanked the master. The master talked with the Qin family for a while and then left.
After the master left, the banquet was over, and some villagers left. The ones who stayed were Qin's relatives, such as Qin's mother's relatives, Qin's second aunt's relatives, Qin's third aunt's relatives, and Qin Daya's husband's family.
All the relatives were invited to today's buffet.
For example, Qin Daya had some face in her husband's family. A woman's face is given by her parents and brothers. When Qin Daya was at home, her father and mother treated her not as well as the eldest son Qin Fang, but they did not treat her badly. She took all her betrothal money with her. In addition, she had three brothers, so her husband's family gave her a lot of face.
This time, her eldest brother became a general, and her mother and grandmother received imperial decrees. From now on, Qin Daya will be the number one person in her husband's family.
Qin Daya's husband's surname is Liu, and her husband's name is Liu Wentian. Liu Wentian said: "This is the first time I have seen such a powerful situation in my life. I used to think that the county magistrate was an unattainable figure, but after seeing him today, I found that it was not the case."
Mother Liu rolled her eyes at him and said something clever: "That's because Daya's eldest brother is promising. If it were someone else, what would you think of the county magistrate's attitude?"
Everyone knows this.
Qin Daya said, "My family will be going to Yunxiang County in a few days. I don't know when we will meet again."
Liu's mother was sensible and said, "If you want to, call Wentian and you can go to Yunxiang County to see them at any time. It's just that the road is not close and you will be tired on the way." She was happy that her daughter-in-law had a good relationship with her family. Although they were not the kind of people who coveted the benefits of the Qin family, it was a good thing for their Liu family that their daughter-in-law's family had an elder brother who was an official.
The Liu family is indeed good. When Qin Daya and Liu Wentian proposed marriage, Qin Fang was still serving in the army. The Liu family did not expect that the Qin family would be like this today. If Liu Wentian proposed marriage to Qin Daya now, it would definitely not work out. Daya became a lady of an official family, and their stupid son was not worthy of her. Thinking of this, Liu's mother was even more satisfied with Qin Daya.
The Liu family sat for a while, said some nice things to the Qin family, and then went back. Such a big thing happened today, the Qin family must be very busy, so they didn't bother them. However, the Liu family kept Qin Daya and her husband.
After the Liu family, the people from Aunt Qin San's family also left, leaving only Qin's mother's family and Aunt Qin Er's family.
Aunt Qin's biological mother was called Lady Lu. Lady Lu secretly called Aunt Qin into the room and said, "My daughter, the Qin family is really rich. Your eldest nephew has become a general, and your sister-in-law and mother-in-law have both been granted titles. They will all enjoy a good life in the future."
Aunt Qin said, "That's right. Fang is already a general. Whether my sister-in-law gets an imperial decree or not has nothing to do with us. Anyway, my sister-in-law is the general's mother. Shouldn't we respect and curry favor with her?" Aunt Qin didn't really think much about Qin's mother getting an imperial decree. She was happy that her mother-in-law got an imperial decree. "Mother, did you hear what the lawyer said? My mother-in-law got an imperial decree and she gets more than 100 taels of silver every month. That silver must have a share for Niu Dan, right?"
Mrs. Lu's eyes flashed, "You have all split up the family, and the two elders are with the eldest wife, so how come you have a share of the silver? The silver must be for the eldest wife. In my opinion, you have to split up the family again."
Aunt Qin snorted, "Mother, please don't think of any bad ideas." Re-dividing the family? She would never do it even if she was beaten to death. If she dared to mention re-dividing the family, her mother-in-law would dare to kick her out. What's more, the eldest nephew gave them ten acres of high-quality land. Would they be able to get ten acres of high-quality land if they re-divided the family? Besides, she was counting on Afang to take Niu Dan with him and find a good job for Niu Dan. She would not offend the eldest wife.
Seeing this, Mrs. Lu said angrily, "Don't you want the money? Your mother-in-law gets 50 taels of salary a year. That's 50 taels a year. Are you just giving it to the first wife for nothing?"
Aunt Qin said, "My eldest sister-in-law also has a salary of fifty taels a year, and Afang's official position is higher than that of my eldest sister-in-law and mother-in-law, so his salary is even higher.
Besides, what is fifty taels? Ah Fang bought ten mu of prime land for our second wife, which is worth more than fifty taels. We can rent out the land in the future, and the annual rent will be quite a lot. "Of course, she said it nicely, but she still envied her mother-in-law's annual salary of fifty taels. She would not ask for it, but she could let her son spend more time with her mother-in-law.
Moreover, Second Aunt Qin was not a fool. In the eyes of her parents-in-law, the eldest grandson was the one that no one could surpass, but they still treated the other grandsons equally. Now that Ah Fang had become a general, why would he care about the fifty taels of silver? The old couple were saving the salary of the mother-in-law now, and when they were old, wouldn't they share it among the grandsons
So, Second Aunt Qin is not annoying.
Mrs. Lu was stunned: "What did you say? Qin Fang bought you ten acres of first-class land? Why didn't you tell me about this?" Ten acres of first-class land? That's one hundred taels of silver. Isn't this nephew too filial
Aunt Qin rolled her eyes and said, "This is a gift from my eldest nephew to his second uncle and second aunt. What does it have to do with you, mother? Why should I tell you?"
Mrs. Lu: "You... you are so unfilial. I am your mother."
Aunt Qin: "A daughter who has been spilled is like water that has been married off. You should ask my brother to be filial to you. Just like me, I don't expect Erya to be filial to me in the future. I only expect my Niu Dan to be filial to me."
Mrs. Lu: "... My dear, your nephew is now a general, but his wife hasn't given birth yet, right?"
Aunt Qin stared at her mother warily: "What do you want to do?"
Mrs. Lu smiled and said, "What can I do? Think about it, which high-ranking official doesn't have three wives and four concubines? You want Qin Fang to take care of Niu Dan, but there must be someone around Qin Fang who can speak for Niu Dan, right?"