By the time Jiang Yu and Li Ping's marriage was settled, it was already December. On the fifth day of December, Li Ping came to Jiang's house with a silly smile on his face to make the engagement. Jiang Yu sat in the house, her eyes full of girlish shyness, and she smiled very sweetly.
The elders of both sides decided to hold a banquet for them after the Lantern Festival next year. During this period, Jiang Yu would embroider her and the groom's wedding dresses, and her uncle Jiang and aunt Jiang would prepare the dowry for her.
First of all, they returned the betrothal gifts sent by the man without taking any money. The silver that Jiang Yu had given to Second Aunt Jiang since she started working was also put into the dowry box intact. In addition, there was also the land left by Uncle Jiang, which was converted into silver by Second Uncle Jiang as a dowry for her. They also paid for all the items that were to be used as dowry out of their own pockets. They did not treat Jiang Yu unfairly just because she was their niece. They had raised her for so many years, and she had already been married to her.
With these things, plus the dowries from the Jiang family's relatives, the total dowry was twelve loads, which was considered a very respectable family in the countryside. As a younger brother, Jiang Miao naturally had to do his best. The most eye-catching set of silver headgear in Jiang Yu's dowry was provided by Jiang Miao.
The dowry was so decent that the Jiang family members who went to see it naturally praised it after returning. After these words spread, everyone was inevitably surprised, and at the same time, it also attracted the envy and jealousy of some people, so that for a period of time, the whole Jiangjiawan was talking about this matter.
There were those who were so thoughtful that they went out of their way to find relatives who lived near Li Ping's home to pass on the message, hoping to use them to spread the news to the Li family that Jiang Yu was a mute and had been rejected by someone.
Unfortunately, her plan did not work, because Li Ping already knew about this matter before the marriage was discussed. When Jiang Miao brought Jiang Yu to the store, he had vaguely revealed it. At that time, Li Ping only felt that the woman in front of him was very unfortunate. Later, after more contact, he found that Jiang Yu was good in every way, and naturally fell in love with her.
After the Chinese New Year, it was Lantern Festival. After eating the white, tender and soft glutinous rice balls, it was the day agreed upon by the Li and Jiang families. Amid the sound of firecrackers and blessings, Jiang Yu stepped onto the oxcart of the Li family to pick up the bride, and unfolded a brand new picture for his life.
After the banquet, Jiang Miao returned to the city and hired a few craftsmen to connect the two rooms in the backyard of the Jiang family's shop to make a large wing room for the couple to live in. After the shop opened, they still had to come back to work.
However, although Li Ping is now a relative, Jiang Miao still decided to let Zhou Lin be the shopkeeper of this store. Everyone has different strengths. If you insist on making random arrangements, not only will you not be able to play to everyone's strengths, but you will also mess things up.
Before the closing of the business, Jiang Miao paid everyone wages and generous bonuses, and took out the newly drafted work contracts, and extended the work period for one year. Naturally, everyone had no objection, from the shopkeeper Zhou Lin to Aunt Wen who was in charge of odd jobs, they were all full of confidence in this small shop. The business of this shop has never been quiet. No matter what new dishes or snacks their shopkeeper has, they can always capture the hearts of customers in the shortest time, making them wish they could have three meals a day in this Jiang's shop.
Jiang Miao had no intention of cooking new dishes recently. He asked Zhou Lin to remind him to start shopping on time, and then he went back to the Imperial College without stopping.
Although the school has not started yet, Pei Che's teachers are already there. The Imperial College has set up a separate class for these students who have passed the imperial examination and will take the imperial examination in March this year, preparing for a intensive training before the exam.
The imperial examination is different from the provincial examination. Although there are more candidates, the opponents are no longer from the capital of Liang, but from outstanding students from all over the country. If you can't concentrate on studying, it is common to fail the imperial examination.
Pei Che has been studying hard since December last year, waking up at the crowing of the cock every day and finishing at dusk. In fact, he studied until late at night in the first two days. Jiang Miao couldn't stand it, so he told him a long story about the disadvantages of staying up late, and then let him delete this time from his plan.
Xiao Shitou and Pei Mu, who were wielding wooden swords outside the door, surrounded Jiang Miao when they saw him coming back. After growing a year older, they also grew taller, gradually shedding their childish appearance and galloping towards the direction of the young boy.
"Here, this is what you want." Jiang Miao handed over the candied fruits and pastries he brought back from the mountain.
The two little ones were happy when they saw it, and they took the things and went out to find their friends. Jiang Miao did not stop them, because the children of officials from the Imperial College lived in the back mountain, and even if there was a conflict, it would just be a few words.
He went to the kitchen and was surprised at first, but then he was moved. The children had grown up and would take the initiative to help. They had already helped to pick the vegetables that needed to be picked, and the other vegetables had been washed and put aside.
Saving time, Jiang Miao naturally worked faster. In less than two quarters of an hour, he prepared five dishes and served them on the table. After the two children came back, Pei Che also came back to eat with a tired look on his face. The exam was approaching, and both the teachers of the Imperial College and the students attached great importance to it and did not dare to relax for a moment.
As a family member, Jiang Miao was also nervous. He couldn't help with Pei Che's studies, so he worked hard on his diet and daily life, trying to get Pei Che to participate in the examination in the best condition. Pei Che also saw Jiang Miao's considerate care, and he never took it for granted. He thought about giving Jiang Miao a surprise after the examination.
As time passed, the day of the imperial examination soon arrived. The examination was scheduled for the 9th, 12th and 15th of March. Each session lasted three days, which was similar to the rules of the provincial examination.
With the experience of preparing examination supplies for the provincial examination, Jiang Miao was very familiar with preparing the things he would carry into the examination room for the imperial examination. He stuffed a lot of things into a small basket, each of which was useful. In order to prevent them from being messed up during the inspection, Jiang Miao put a lot of effort into making them look clear at a glance, and there was no need to use his hands to turn them over.
On the ninth day of March, Jiang Miao sent Pei Che to the designated area just like last time and then went back. Pei Che watched him leave, took a deep breath, and turned to walk towards the examination room.
A few days passed in a flash, and when the bell for handing in the papers rang after the last exam, it also meant that it was time to test whether Pei Che and the other students had studied hard over the past decade.
Pei Che handed in his paper and walked out of the examination room with steady steps. Outside, Jiang Miao was standing at the nearest entrance to the examination room, looking forward to it...
(End of this chapter)