Yang Haiyan led the Qin family to the tidied courtyard. She divided the general's mansion very carefully, with the east side being the owner's courtyard and the west side being the guest's courtyard.
The General's Mansion used to be a royal mansion, so there are many courtyards. But the Qin family has just arrived, and they are definitely not used to settling in a courtyard. So Yang Haiyan plans to settle Qin Xiaoya in Qin Siya's courtyard. The two sisters have a good relationship when they are at home. Arranging them together will not make Xiaoya feel lonely, and Qin Siya can also take her to play. She thinks this arrangement is very good. However, because Qin Siya is not here now, Yang Haiyan is only planning this in her mind. Even though Qin Siya is still a ten-year-old girl, she cannot bring Qin Xiaoya into her courtyard without her consent.
Then she settled Qin Shouye in Qin Shoucheng's yard, so that the brothers could chat. She arranged this first, because according to Qin Shoucheng's personality, he would definitely be happy to know that Qin Shouye was here.
Then Uncle Qin and his wife and Uncle Qin and his son lived in the same courtyard, with the east and west wing rooms in each courtyard. Then Grandpa Qin, Grandma Qin, Father Qin, and Mother Qin were settled in the same courtyard. Their courtyard was one of the larger courtyards in the general's mansion, and it was where the master family lived.
Qin Siya and Qin Shoucheng's courtyards had maids from the beginning, so the other two courtyards were also assigned maids for them to use. She didn't assign servants to the Qin family, because they were definitely not used to having servants after working all their lives. Of course, as their lives got better and better, they could have servants, but they had to take it slowly and let them get used to it first.
After Yang Haiyan settled them down, she continued, "Grandpa, grandma, dad, mom, this old woman is called Aunt Meihua. She is at your disposal. She is usually responsible for cleaning the yard and doing rough work. You can ask her anything you want."
Grandpa Qin nodded.
Grandma Qin said: "Yan Yan, you really think carefully. The mansion is so big, if no one guides us, we will really get lost."
Yang Haiyan smiled and said, "Grandma, you got lost because you just arrived. You will be the old lady and ancestor in the future. You will not get lost after walking more often." What she meant was that she planned to let Grandma Qin live with them for a long time.
Even though Grandma Qin didn't plan to live with them for a long time, she was very happy to hear that her granddaughter-in-law had made such an arrangement. When she got older, she naturally hoped to have many children and grandchildren, especially her eldest grandson who had the most promising future. The eldest granddaughter-in-law's attitude affected the younger brothers and sisters, but she knew that Yang Haiyan was smart, so she didn't worry that she would mistreat her younger brothers and sisters.
Grandma Qin was coaxed into laughing. She grabbed Yang Haiyan's hand and patted it gently: "It's really a blessing for Ah Fang to marry you."
Yang Haiyan smiled and held Grandma Qin's hand, saying playfully: "It's the Qin family's good fortune that allowed my husband to marry me."
Grandma Qin was amused by the joke again.
Yang Haiyan said again: "Grandma, you must be tired from traveling, why don't you wash up, take a bath, and then have some porridge to fill your stomach? Because I didn't know you were coming today, the food in the kitchen is not ready yet, so you can only drink porridge."
They were exhausted from the journey and it was already afternoon soon. They probably hadn't eaten yet.
Grandma Qin immediately said, "Okay, okay, I'll follow your arrangements, Yanyan."
Yang Haiyan said to Aunt Lian, "Aunt, ask someone to bring some hot water so that the old lady and the old man can wash up first. Then ask the kitchen to serve some porridge quickly so that the old lady and the old man won't be hungry."
Aunt Lian: "I'll do it, old slave."
Yang Haiyan nodded, and said to Grandma Qin: "Grandma, you two take a rest first. I'll go check on my father and mother first."
Grandma Qin: "Hey, you go ahead."
After Yang Haiyan left, Grandma Qin said to Grandpa Qin: "Fortunately, Afang's wife was given by the court, not found by us in the village. Otherwise, Afang would be a general now, and if his wife didn't have some experience, she wouldn't be able to hold the fort and be the head of the family."
Grandpa Qin nodded: "Afang's wife is a good one."
Grandma Qin nodded.
The old couple said that it was their personal matter, so Yang Haiyan went to visit Qin's father and mother.
Mother Qin was looking around the small courtyard. It was just a small courtyard, much better than their rural house. Seeing Yang Haiyan coming over, Mother Qin said in a daze: "It's such a big place. It must be tiring for you to take care of it. You have lost a lot of weight compared to when you were young."
Faced with the kindness of Qin's mother, Yang Haiyan took her hand and walked to the front: "It's not tiring, it's all taken care of by the servants. Now my husband and I both have salaries, and our salaries added up are not small, so we have to support the scenes that are suitable for the family's status." Yang Haiyan's words have two meanings. One is that the family buys servants for status needs, after all, Qin Fang is now a general. The second is that she has a salary, not a woman who asks her husband for money.
Mother Qin didn't know if she understood, she said: "It's the truth, we lost the fight but not the battle. With Ah Fang's status, we must hold on." After thinking for a while, she said, "Is your salary enough? Didn't the emperor confer an imperial decree on me? The county magistrate said that I can only get a salary of more than four taels of silver per month. If you don't have enough, I will give you my salary."
Yang Haiyan said quickly: "You can save your mother's salary for pocket money. I get a salary of over a hundred taels of silver every month. Our family doesn't have to worry about money."
Mother Qin was shocked. She had always thought that a monthly salary of four taels of silver was enough. She had never thought that her daughter-in-law had a salary of over a hundred taels of silver. "Why do you have so much? Is the court willing to spend so much money on your salary? A county magistrate shouldn't have that much, right?" According to the lawyer, her salary was half of that of a seventh-rank official in the court, so a county magistrate's salary should be more than eight taels of silver per month. Why did her daughter-in-law have so much
It's not that Qin's mother looked down on women, but that's the way women of that era thought. Generally speaking, men are responsible for the outside world and women are responsible for the inside world, so they all subconsciously believe that men are more capable than women. So in terms of salary, men naturally have more than women. But now, Yang Haiyan's salary is higher than that of the county magistrate, and it's so much higher. How can Qin's mother not be surprised
Yang Haiyan helped Qin's mother sit on a stool at the side, and then slowly explained to her: "I am a fifth-rank county lady, a title, different from a seventh-rank county lord. According to everyone, the fifth rank is a watershed for officials, and those above the fifth rank and below the fifth rank are all in the same circle." In fact, her monthly salary was 185 taels of silver, but she only told Qin's mother conservatively that it was over 100 taels.
Mother Qin was puzzled: "But isn't Afang a fifth-rank official? How come you are a high-ranking official?" Isn't it said that a wife's imperial decree follows her husband's? Then the daughter-in-law is a high-ranking official, so doesn't that mean she is a higher official than Afang
Yang Haiyan said: "It's all thanks to you, sir. When we first arrived, we didn't have much money, and we had to support thousands of soldiers in the barracks, and you might have to subsidize all the expenses yourself..." After all, I don't know how long I have to wait for the money from the court, "so I thought of a way to solve the problem of food for the soldiers, and then I made a contribution to the court, and the emperor conferred me a high-ranking imperial decree."
Mother Qin was shocked: "Yan Yan, you are really amazing." At this moment, Mother Qin couldn't help but think of the nun's words. The nun said that this daughter-in-law is a blessing. Now it seems that it is true. She even thinks that her son's current situation may be due to the blessing of his daughter-in-law.
Yang Haiyan said: "It's not that I am good, I can make achievements, but it is related to my husband's achievements. Mother, you don't know, my husband is very good, he discovered two kinds of minerals, which are useful to the court and the whole Qi country, and I just found some uses of minerals. So, if it weren't for my husband's discovery of minerals, I wouldn't have made any achievements. If you ask me, my husband is the best." Yang Haiyan knew that in front of her mother-in-law, she should always praise her husband. No matter how bad her mother-in-law said about her son in front of her daughter-in-law, the daughter-in-law could not say a word. In a word, no matter how bad my son is, I am the only one who can say it.
Qin's mother was not an unreasonable person. She had always acknowledged her daughter-in-law's excellence. In her heart, she felt that her son had married a daughter-in-law who was above her station, so she was sincerely praising her daughter-in-law. However, she was naturally happy to hear her daughter-in-law praising her son like this.
However, Qin's mother didn't understand one thing. If Qin Fang hadn't been there, Yang Haiyan would still be a maid. If Qin Fang hadn't been there, even if she hadn't been implicated in the affairs of the Yang Mansion, she would probably have been just an ordinary citizen, and then find a place to live. Maybe she would marry a good man, but no one knows the result. Only with Qin Fang, her life would be so smooth. In Yongzhou, no one dared to touch the soldiers of Yonghe Marquis. The prince was a reasonable man. He knew that the honor of the Marquis' Mansion was already the highest, so he gave the soldiers a chance, and Qin Fang seized such an opportunity.
If Qin Fang had not brought Yang Haiyan to Renzhou, Qin Fang would still have discovered the sulfur mine and saltpeter mine, but Yang Haiyan would not have thought of the military camp land, and would not have thought of making ice from saltpeter so quickly and so appropriately.
Yang Haiyan has always known that she is a lucky person because she met Qin Fang.
Mother Qin was overjoyed by Yang Haiyan's praise. Hearing her son's praises was sweeter than hearing her own praises. However, she still tried to keep a straight face and said, "Yanyan, men can't be spoiled. You have to control them."
Yang Haiyan couldn't help laughing: "But I'm not as old as my husband. But now that you're here, if my husband makes a mistake in the future, I'll tell you secretly and you can take care of him. That way he won't know that I've secretly told you, mother."
Mother Qin tapped her forehead and said, "You're such a clever girl." To be honest, neither her son nor her daughter would be so intimate to hold her hand and chat with her. Mother Qin didn't expect that her daughter-in-law could be so close to her. She was really happy.
The two chatted and talked about the house. Yang Haiyan asked, "Mom, why didn't Auntie and Auntie come?"
Speaking of this, Mother Qin told the Qin family's affairs again, and mentioned the matter of the severance letter: "... So your aunt's meaning is like this, she felt that Niu Dan had no future in his hometown, so she let Niu Dan come with him. Yanyan, frankly speaking, it is better for Niu Dan to come with you than for your uncle's family to come over. I don't know what will happen to Niu Dan in his hometown. Even if your uncle wrote a severance letter, he is a member of the Qin family after all. If Niu Dan is not taught well, something may happen in the future, and it may even implicate A Fang. Now that Niu Dan has come with you, we will teach him well. Even if he will not be a help to A Fang, at least he will not cause trouble for A Fang. What do you think?"
That was the reason why Qin's mother did not object at the time. Besides, Niu Dan was a good person, not a bad kid.
Yang Haiyan was still shocked by Grandpa Qin's behavior. Oh my god, the old man had lost his mind. Not to mention the ancient times when family affection was valued, even in modern times when family affection is weak, people may not be the same kind of people as the old man.
Needless to say, the old man truly loves Qin Fang. At the same time, he is also very far-sighted.
"Yanyan?" Seeing her daughter-in-law was silent, Qin's mother called out. She thought her daughter-in-law would not agree, so her brows were a little nervous.
Yang Haiyan said quickly, "I've heard what you said, mother. I naturally have no objection. Grandpa has considered so much for Afang. Niu Dan is your grandson. For the sake of your friendship, we should train Niu Dan well. We can't have everything to do with us. In the end, if the family is not doing well, we will have to give others a handle to blame us."
Mother Qin nodded: "It's just a principle, but you can't think clearly." She only thought of her son at the time, but didn't think of anyone else. And the daughter-in-law thought of the old man, needless to say, the daughter-in-law was still thinking clearly.
The old man was righteous, so Yang Haiyan naturally couldn't pretend not to see it. Did the old man not care about the second house? It was impossible. He just made the best choice for the Qin family. However, he cared about the second house. If the second house failed and Niu Dan was a failure, the old man would definitely be sad.
In this kind of sadness, there will be self-blame. If they had brought Niu Dan out, educated him well, and given him a chance, and Niu Dan had no future, then that would be Niu Dan's problem, and the old man would not blame himself or be sad.
So for the sake of the old man's kindness, Yang Haiyan was indeed willing to take Niu Dan in and educate him well. Moreover, there was another point. Niu Dan was still alive. Was he afraid that Aunt Qin would make trouble
Yang Haiyan had a plan in mind, so she said, "Mother, I will arrange for Niu Dan to go to a private school. Let's see if he has the talent for studying. If he does, we will support him to study. If not, let him learn to read in the private school first, and then let the private guards teach him kung fu when he returns home. He is still young, so let him learn what he needs to learn first."
Mother Qin heard that she had only one arrangement, and she was relieved: "I'll follow your instructions. The cost of the beef eggs..."
Yang Haiyan said: "Let the child come from our youngest room, not the eldest room, but my husband. My husband is the eldest brother, it's not a big deal for him to take care of his younger brother and support his studies." Considering their current financial situation, taking care of a kid is indeed not a big deal.
Mother Qin thought about it, and when she remembered her daughter-in-law's words that her monthly salary was hundreds of taels of silver, she did not object. Raising a cow only cost a few taels of silver a year at most, which was really nothing for the eldest son and his wife. If the eldest son and his wife were in difficult circumstances, she would certainly not agree.
The two chatted for a while, and then Qin's father finished his bath, and it was Qin's mother's turn. Yang Haiyan said, "Mom, I'll be busy now. We'll be together as a family and have a good meal tonight." There was only her father-in-law in the yard, so she couldn't stay.
Mother Qin said, "Hey."
Yang Haiyan returned to her own yard and told Nanny Lian to ask the kitchen to prepare dinner in the evening. She also called Kun Shi and said, "Captain Kun, send someone to wait at the foot of Beast Mountain. When the general comes down the mountain, tell him that everyone from his hometown has returned. Let the general know." As for going to Beast Mountain specifically to notify, that was not necessary. After all, there was nothing serious about the people coming from his hometown.
Kunshi: “Yes.”
The Qin family took a warm bath. Although they were still tired, they felt refreshed. After a while, they ate and drank the shredded pork porridge prepared by Yang Haiyan in their own small courtyards. Because of the urgent time, they could only cook porridge. In addition, they had been traveling for several days in a row and had to eat dry food on the road, so it was more appropriate to eat porridge to nourish their stomachs.
However, the rice porridge is also served with a few refreshing side dishes.
Grandpa Qin and Grandma Qin ate with Qin's father and mother. Uncle Qin, Niu Dan and Qin Shouye came over and ate in the yard next to the big house. Uncle Qin and his family ate in their own yard.
In the courtyards on both sides, everyone was eating and chatting.
Aunt Qin was usually a quiet person. She felt inferior because she couldn't give birth to a son, so she was always quiet, for fear of saying something wrong and being disliked by men. But today, she finally spoke up: "The general's mansion is really big. Ah Fang and his family must be very powerful to be able to live in such a big general's mansion."
Uncle Qin was very happy when he heard this, and there was a hint of satisfaction in his tone: "Afang has always been smart, and he is willing to endure hardships. He has worked hard to get to where he is today." After all, he is his own nephew, and the pride in Uncle Qin's tone is understandable. He has given up on having a son, and is now looking for a son-in-law for his daughter. However, in his heart, Qin Fang is his support for the rest of his life, so deep down, he regards Qin Fang as his son. Of course, I am happy that my son is excellent.
Aunt Qin smiled and said, "Master, from now on, we will just follow Ah Fang?"
Uncle Qin said, "Since we are all here, we naturally want to follow Afang. We don't want to cause trouble to him and wait for him to settle us. In the future, let Da Ya and Si Ya go out more often. Si Ya is Afang's biological sister, and Afang's wife will definitely take care of Si Ya. Da Ya and Si Ya can meet more people and mention their status. We don't ask her to be rich, but only ask her to find an honest and reliable son-in-law so that she will have a good support in the future."
Aunt Qin was worried when she heard the man mention her daughter. She thought for a moment and said, "I think Huang Huzi, who brought us here last time, is a good guy."
Uncle Qin couldn't help but frown after hearing this: "What do you want? She's my daughter-in-law."
Aunt Qin explained hurriedly: "I don't mean that. What I mean is that Huang Huzi is Afang's subordinate. If there are still such young men among Afang's subordinates who are not married, then what do we say about them?"
Qin Xiaoya ate quietly and listened to what her parents said in front of her. In the past, her parents would not say such things in front of her, but now that she was going to find a son-in-law, her parents would call her to listen when they discussed things.
When Uncle Qin heard this, he felt that what his wife said made sense. If someone follows Ah Fang and is Ah Fang's subordinate, then there must be no problem with his character, and those who can follow Ah Fang are quite good. If the other person marries me, Ah Fang will definitely give me more advice for the sake of being my brother-in-law, and the other person will not treat me badly for Ah Fang's sake. "I think it's a good idea." Uncle Qin had an idea, "But it depends on your opinion. What do you think?"
She was ten years old this year, and she knew that it was very important for a woman to find a good man, not to mention that she was the one who wanted to find a son-in-law. If the husband she found was not good, it would make her parents suffer. She said, "I believe in my parents." The people around her brother must be right. Thinking of Huang Huzi's appearance, she felt that it would be good to find a strong man like him, who could work and do things by himself.
Uncle Qin saw that his daughter had no objection, so he said, "That's fine, I'll talk to A Fang about it some other day and see what he thinks."
Aunt Qin said, "You can't ask Afang, you should ask Afang's wife. I will talk to Afang's wife about it some other day and see what she thinks." Afang is a man, how could he care about his cousin's affairs? These are matters that should be taken care of by women.
Uncle Qin said: "Yes, yes, yes."
The family was chatting in a good atmosphere. It might be because Qin Xiaoya's marriage was about to start. The heavy things in their minds were relieved and they felt more relaxed.
Yang Haiyan naturally had no idea what Uncle Qin and his family were thinking. After giving instructions to Kun Zhang in the kitchen, she began to ponder the names of the Qin family's maids.
She sat in the study and looked through some poetry collections. The girls' names should be nicer, but not too complicated. Because the Qin family girls were illiterate, they would probably have difficulty even learning complicated names.
Qin Siya was named after Qin Siya, so what about Daya Yaya? Daya's name, Daya? It doesn't sound good. Yang Haiyan decided to wait and see what the name should be. She first thought of Daya's name. Ya should be changed to Ya, which means sprouting. It is very suitable for girls. It's good... Er, Erya, this name is good. Yang Haiyan wrote down the name Qin Erya and asked Uncle Qin to bring it back to her.
As for Qin Xiaoya's name, it's... Shanya? Isn't Shanya more complicated? Much more complicated than Siheer. What about Shan? Shan? In the end, Yang Haiyan decided to call Xiaoya Shanya. But Shanya sounds a bit like a cliff. So, let's call her Shanya. Shanya doesn't have a good meaning, so why not call her Shanya? It's simple and easy to understand.
I have thought of two names for now, and I will let Qin Xiaoya choose one when the time comes.
The last one is Daya, and the first one is Da Ya, so let’s call her Yiya.
After choosing the names, she wrote down Yiya, Shanya and Xiaoya, and asked the Qin family to refer to them during dinner.