Returning to Pei Che's yard, the maids following behind him placed the things they had obtained today on the table and then left.
The gifts given by others were obvious, nothing to look at. The two purses given by Grandmother Pei aroused Jiang Miao's interest. He took one, untied the string, took out the contents, and immediately widened his eyes.
"There is a land deed in this purse!" Jiang Miao looked carefully and found that the location of the land deed was in the east of the city, about 30 or 40 miles away from Liang Jing, and it was a farm with more than 200 acres of land. It seemed that it was quite close to Jiangjiawan.
Pei Che opened another purse, and there was also a piece of paper inside. Jiang Miao came over to take a look and found that it was a house deed with the address written on it being Minghua Street.
"Minghua Street, is it the street where the Plum Garden is located?" Jiang Miao asked. He was not familiar with the upper city. Apart from the street where he set up a stall to sell lanterns last time, he had only been to the Plum Garden. He vaguely remembered that the place seemed to be called Minghua Street.
Pei Che said, "Yes, it's that street. I didn't expect that grandma would give us the shop there." His expression seemed a little incredible.
“Is there anything special about the shop there?”
"Minghua Street can be said to be the busiest street in Upper City. All the shops there have powerful backers, and the things they sell are extremely luxurious and are beyond the reach of ordinary people." Pei Che said, "My grandmother's shop sells colored glassware and ornaments. Not only the wealthy families in Liangjing, but also people from other places often come to buy. The business is very prosperous, and it is not an exaggeration to say that it makes a fortune every day."
Jiang Miao shed tears of envy and asked, "What was your grandmother's background?" He had heard Pei Che talk a lot about his grandmother, and he didn't know where such a person came from.
Pei Che smiled: "Bai family, have you heard of it?"
"The Bai family?" Jiang Miao thought about it carefully and asked tentatively, "Is it the Bai family with two phases?"
Pei Che said, "That's right. The current head of the Bai family is my grandmother's great-nephew. My grandmother was the only great-aunt of her generation in the Bai family. She was deeply loved by Prime Minister Bai. Her mother was a daughter of a wealthy family, so my grandmother was very wealthy. It can be said that the entire Duke's Mansion is now supported by her business."
"Was the Duke's Mansion so dire before?" Jiang Miao asked, then felt something was wrong.
"Yes, not long after my grandmother got married, my great-grandmother died of illness. After she left, my great-grandfather lost control and indulged in brothels and drinking all day long. Later, he became addicted to gambling. Not only did he squander all the savings of the family, he also sold most of the extra real estate deeds. If the Duke's Mansion was not a residence bestowed by the emperor, I'm afraid he would have taken it away for money." Pei Che sighed. He was not unhappy about anything. It was just a fact and he was not afraid of what others would say.
Because of this incident, his grandparents hated gambling so much that no one in the mansion, from the master to the servants, dared to gamble. Unexpectedly, after his second uncle took over the family, gambling revived.
Jiang Miao was silent for a while. Gambling is indeed harmful to people.
"And what happened next?"
"Later?" Pei Che laughed sarcastically. "Later, he won a lot in the casino. In excitement, he died without catching his breath. After he died, my grandfather took over the position of Duke. The account of the mansion was empty. At that time, it was all supported by my grandmother's dowry to maintain the last dignity of the Duke's Mansion. Later, my grandmother's business was getting better and better. Most of the property in the mansion today was purchased by her."
That was why his uncles were so respectful to his grandmother. Even when his second uncle became a Duke, he didn't dare to act recklessly in front of his grandmother, and only dared to do some tricks behind her back. Before, they plotted against Pei Che and the princess, but they succeeded by relying on the power in the palace and accidentally attracting the attention of Emperor Liang Ping. After that, Grandmother Pei took back some of the property, and the people in the Duke's Mansion had a very hard time during that period.
Jiang Miao nodded to show his understanding. Without Grandmother Pei, the Duke's Mansion was just an empty shell. No one could support the entire mansion on their own and maintain the dignity that the Duke's Mansion should have.
"Now that she has given this shop to us, I know nothing about doing business, so I'll leave it to you." Pei Che stuffed the property deed into Jiang Miao's arms without saying anything.
"Hey!" Jiang Miao hurriedly took out the deed. This thing is very valuable. What if it is torn? He unfolded the deed and took a look. He was relieved when he found that it was not torn.
"you-"
"A Miao, should we go pick up Xiao Shitou?" Pei Che interrupted Jiang Miao, not letting him say no.
"I-"
"We have to go early and come back early. Little Stone will be sad if we spend too much time on the road." After saying that, Pei Che stood up and walked out of the door, leaving Jiang Miao behind, who had been interrupted twice and had forgotten what he wanted to say.
Pei Che took Pei Mu and Jiang Miao with him and left the Duke's Mansion and returned to Jiang's residence on the first day of their wedding.
Since Jiang Miao started riding yesterday, Xiao Shitou has not had a single smile on his face. No matter how Uncle Jiang and the others tried to persuade him, or how Jiang Xin made faces to tease him, it didn't make him feel better.
This morning, he sat directly on the steps outside the gate, holding his face with his hands and looking into the distance with worry. When Master Yu learned that his brother was getting married, he specially gave him a few days off, but judging from Xiao Shitou's current state, it would be better for him to read to divert his attention.
"Brother Shitou, why are you always outside?" Jiang Xin ran out, sat next to little Shitou, and asked in confusion.
"I'm waiting for my brother."
"But Brother Miao said he would come today." Jiang Xin still didn't understand. "Let's go in and play. The fish in that big garden are so fat and colorful!"
Little Stone looked at his greedy face and immediately became alert: "Brother said that there are koi fish in there, which will bring good luck to people. We can't eat them."
"Brother Shitou, what's wrong?" Jiang Xin also stood up and looked towards the alley, but saw nothing.
"My brother is back!" Little Stone said excitedly, "The sound of their carriage is different from other carriages. Listen, that's my brother back!"
Jiang Xin frowned, as if he really heard the sound of wheels rolling, but how did Shitou hear the difference? However, he understood it very well, because he could also hear the sound of his father's footsteps among many other footsteps.
The carriage turned into the alley, gradually approached this side and stopped. The curtain was lifted and Jiang Miao and his group stepped out.
"Brother!" Little Stone rushed forward and hugged Jiang Miao. Although they were separated on weekdays, Little Stone vaguely understood in his heart that things were different before and now.
Jiang Miao caught him and smiled: "I'm here now, aren't I? I've been waiting here since early morning. Have you eaten?"
Little Stone buried his head in his arms and shook his head. Because of his lack of security, he was particularly clingy today.
On the other side, Pei Che took Pei Mu out of the car. Pei Mu saw the sturdy little boy at a glance. When he saw him, Pei Mu thought of the eels tangled in the wooden basin, and his face changed.
But Jiang Xin couldn't see it, and he moved closer to him and called him "Brother Mu", then looked at Pei Che, tilted his head and thought for a while, then called him "Brother".
Pei Che was delighted when he heard this. He took out the red envelope he had prepared in advance and handed it to the chubby kid in front of him: "You are Xin'er, right? This is a meeting gift from my brother-in-law. Please accept it."
Jiang Xin shook his head and said, "I already took a lot yesterday, so I don't need any more today!" Yesterday, when his brother-in-law came to pick up the bride, he put the copper coins in a basket and scattered them all the way from the entrance of the alley to the inside of the alley. He also threw handfuls of them to those who blocked the door to welcome the bride.
Although Jiang Xin was small, he was very agile. He kept moving among the crowd and picked up a large number of copper coins, about 20 to 30. His fourth sister picked up even more, about 50 to 60. His father and mother said that they would keep the money and would not take it away. Jiang Xin was so happy that he laughed in his dreams at night.
He actually didn't know that Pei Che was even more generous in giving red envelopes to his relatives and friends, and all of them were silver ingots. Before he even had time to warm the money in his hands, it went into his parents' pockets.
"Yesterday is yesterday, and today is today. Take it. Everyone has one." Pei Che stuffed the red seal directly into his arms.
Of course, Xiao Shitou, the legitimate brother-in-law, was also present. After receiving the gift, Xiao Shitou called him "Brother-in-law". It was obvious that he still had some complaints about this brother-in-law who had taken his brother away yesterday.
Several people walked in, and Uncle Jiang and Aunt Jiang were helping housekeeper Wu pack up. They were restless, and they were served with good food and drinks these days, and they looked a little depressed.
Because today was not the day for the three emperors to return home, Jiang Miao and the others could not stay here for too long. They just waited for Pei Che to send out the greeting gifts, chatted for a few more words, and then left.
After returning to the Duke's Mansion, Chan Yi and Wen Jing immediately came up to them and told them that Grandma Gao had just come here and said that Grandmother Pei would serve lunch at noon and asked everyone to come over.
It was almost noon, Pei Che and Jiang Miao took the two children to change their clothes and headed to the backyard. When they arrived, most of the others had already arrived.
Pei Qi saw that the boy who beat him together with Pei Mu last time was also here. He immediately snorted again, and then his mother quickly pulled him over to cover his mouth.
"Brother, sister-in-law." After Pei Che and the other two greeted the elders, the younger generations also greeted them one after another. No matter what they thought in their hearts, they all looked respectful.
When serving tea in the morning, they each sat behind their elders. Jiang Miao only took a quick look at them at that time and didn't see them too closely. Now standing with them, he realized that the genes of this Duke's Mansion were quite good. The men were handsome and the women were beautiful. Although they were not as good as Pei Che and Pei Mu, their looks were far above average.
The most noteworthy one is Pei Ya Ge. It was this girl, who was known as "the most beautiful woman in Liangjing" by the people, who aroused Jiang Miao's interest in the Duke's Mansion. This girl looked a little cold and beautiful. When she looked at him, although there was a smile on her lips, there was no warmth in her eyes, which made people clearly feel the alienation around her.
"Don't call him sister-in-law from now on, just call him Brother Miao." Pei Che glanced at the group of brothers and sisters in front of him and instructed lightly.
"Brother, this doesn't make sense, does it?" Pei Pu from the second house questioned with a smile.
Pei Che stared at him, and the fierce aura in his eyes made Pei Pu stop smiling, and his eyes unconsciously avoided a little.
"You do what I say. I have the final say on whether it is reasonable or not."
Everyone was a little surprised when the slightly arrogant words came out. Since the death of the late master and his wife, Pei Che's temperament has changed. He has become gentle, elegant, and polite, as if he is a replica of the late master. Almost no one remembers that his temper when he was a child was actually a bit overbearing.
(End of this chapter)