Today is Chinese New Year's Eve, and a few Pian Pian have not come to Cuibai Garden so far, presumably busy in the mansion.

Under the New Year, Jin Niang couldn't sit still, so she hurriedly went out with a thick cloak wrapped in breakfast.

Sure enough, as soon as I got out of Cuibai Garden, I saw Xiao Yu'er directing the maids and ladies in the house to hang lanterns and paste window flowers.

Seeing this, Jin Niang asked, "What about your sister and little aunt?" ”

Xiao Yu'er saw that it was her mother who came over, and she smiled happily, and straightened her small waist without a trace.

She is also a big girl now, and she can handle a lot of things in the house. Look, she watched people clean and take care of this house, the trees she watched people prune, the silk flowers hanging on the flowers were arranged by her, and now even the lanterns and window flowers are also stared at and decorated by herself.

She's not easy, she's so capable.

Xiao Yu'er replied reservedly, "My sister and little aunt are staring at today's Chinese New Year's Eve dinner in the kitchen, and the other is explaining that my grandmother is giving people monthly and New Year's benefits, and they are all busy." ”

Tonight for Chinese New Year's Eve dinner, some big dishes should be gathered early in the morning, otherwise I am worried that I will not be able to catch dinner.

In addition, the owner of the New Year is happy, and he also wants to add some color to the next person, such as moon silver or something, this month is more than a little more hairy, that is, new clothes and new shoes, etc., and everyone has a share, everyone is happy together.

Jin Niang was comforted when she heard this, and sighed again, it is really good that there are a few little girls who have grown up in the family, and they are about to replace her as an elder. When they are a few years older, they will be able to carry all the things in the house, and then she will be fine.

But then I thought that when the little girls were waiting for the big event, they would also be at the age of getting married. Speaking of children, they are all raised for others, which is sad.

Jin Niang flattened her mouth and patted Xiao Yu'er on the shoulder, "Xiao Yu'er continues to be busy, my mother will go to the kitchen to take a look." ”

Xiao Yu'er looked at her mother's chic steps and walked away, unhappy. She is so capable, and her mother didn't even praise her, so disappointed.

Jin Niang approached the kitchen, and saw Pian Pian and Li Hehui standing together talking from a distance. There are two maids and two mothers-in-law standing next to them, although they are standing opposite each other, they are not close to each other, and they are very measured.

Jin Niang was far away from the two of them, and she couldn't hear what they were talking about, but looking at the two of them with a smile on their faces and eyebrows, she also knew what they were talking about.

Jin Niang thought about it and still didn't want to be annoying, but she had to turn around and knock on the side to see when Li Hehui was going to come to the door to propose.

In addition, his family affairs are not completely in charge of his own affairs, and he has to get the approval of the princess of the old county. They didn't know how the princess of the old county was, but they only pieced together the information leaked by Li Hehui that it was an old man with strict rules but who loved his grandson. There is no direction at this point, so Jin Niang doesn't know what kind of temper this old man is, and whether she can please the princess of the old county.

As for Princess Zhuangjun, this person will not consider it. She doesn't even like her son who crawled out of her womb, can she expect her to love Li Hehui's daughter-in-law more? The sky is blue, and the sky is white, or don't dream.

The relationship between Princess Zhuangjun and Li Hehui's mother and son is estranged, but there is no need to think much about her temperament, because Li Hehui had inadvertently told Xu Erlang earlier that if they got married, they would find a way to separate the family.

If this is the case, there is no mother-in-law in the past who marries in the past, and this marriage is not bad.

And now the most important thing is to talk about the old princess......

Jin Niang thought about it in her heart, and she didn't know when she went around the path into the big kitchen.

The cooks in charge of the kitchen and the mothers-in-law who do the chores are busy with their feet on the ground, but even when they are busy, their faces are full of smiles.

After all, all year round, this is the day when you can let go of eating and drinking. The Lord is generous, and the banquet for the upper and lower people tonight is also good. Not to mention the complete range of chicken, duck and fish, even the relatively rare beef and mutton are not lacking.

If you don't have to be on an errand tonight, and you can still get a few sips of wine to drink, it will really be no better day.

When everyone saw Jin Niang come in, they were all frightened, and they hurriedly put down the work in their hands and got up to salute. Jin Niang waved her hand and let them do their own thing.

She's just inspecting the situation, and she's not here to pick on the situation, so there's no need to be so panicked.

Jin Niang went out after a circle in the kitchen, the key is that she is uncomfortable with everyone doing work here, and everyone is tied up, and even the chef can't master the heat when cooking.

Instead of getting in the way here, look elsewhere. It seems that the couplet at home has not been posted yet, she has to stare at Xu Erlang and write it for someone to paste.

Here in Hezhou, the couplet is posted on the afternoon of the 30th, and this custom is somewhat different from that of the capital and Binh Duong. But they all say that they follow the customs of the locals, so they still follow the customs here.

Jin Niang went to Xu Erlang's study.

Mohe was guarding outside, and when he saw Jin Niang coming over, he quickly opened the door of the study for her, and said to Xu Erlang, who was reading the letter inside, "Madame is here." ”

Xu Erlang was reading the letters sent by Suqian and Lin's father. The letter arrived this morning with the New Year's gifts of the two families, and when Jin Niang was still sleeping, Xu Erlang didn't wake her up. At this time, seeing Jin Niang coming, Xu Erlang beckoned to her, "Father-in-law's letter, you can take a look." ”

Xu Erlang said and continued to look at Suqian's letter.

In the letter, Su Qian talked about some movements in the court, and also emphasized that he was very envious and jealous of his triplets. This idea was expressed in the last letter, and this time he mentioned it again, and Suqian's extreme envy of this can be seen. In addition, he also said how the two boys of Chang'an and Changping are in the academy, and whether Xu's father and Xu's mother are healthy. It can also be seen from these that during their absence from the capital, Suqian really took care of their family. Not to mention taking care of the children in the family a little more, even the second elder in the family must go over to say goodbye every time they are resting.

This is love, Xu Erlang remembered. Therefore, after reading the letter, I sighed, "Go back and take an old ginseng and send it to Suqian." His parents are also elderly, and the house has old ginseng in case of emergency. ”

Jin Niang responded casually, she didn't read Suqian's letter, but just listening to Xu Erlang's meaning, she knew that Suqian must have done something for the family. People take care of their homes for them, and it is their proper meaning to send old ginseng in return. Isn't that what human relations are all about, this comes and goes, and the feelings become more and more thick. Otherwise, if you only point to one side of paying, you will break up sooner or later.

Although there are only five or six wild old ginsengs in the family, two of them only need to be sent back to Pingyang to Father Lin, Aunt Shen and Shifu's grandfather, and Xu's father and Xu's mother will also send one, and Mr. Chu and Mr. Xia's will have one, and they will keep one here just in case, and then give one to Suqian, and there will be no one at home.

But what should be given, Jin Niang will not be stingy, so she should come down smoothly.

Her mind was on the letter in her hand, and this was the first letter sent by Father Lin and Aunt Shen after she successfully gave birth to triplets.

Judging from the date of the letter, they received it a few days before the full moon of the triplets. The mood was so exciting that words could hardly express it. This can be seen from the fact that Father Lin wrote several "good" words in succession in the letter, and Father Lin was really ecstatic about this matter.

Of course, there are also some fears and worries...... Father Lin mentioned in the letter that Aunt Shen was overjoyed and then shocked when she learned that she had given birth to her third child, and she had several nightmares one after another at night. If it weren't for the fact that the child in her womb had been born and was all healthy, I am afraid that my aunt would have to live a life of trepidation. Fortunately, she had successfully given birth, and Father Lin had a reason to appease Aunt Shen, so that her worried mood improved slightly.

The letter is about Aunt Shen, but this is not Father Lin's thoughts. After thinking about it, after the initial excitement, he was also afraid of his daughter's pregnancy. This is the blessing of the Bodhisattva, the smooth delivery, if there is a case, I really dare not imagine......

Xu is this mood has affected Father Lin to some extent, so Father Lin muttered a lot of words in the letter to make Jinniang pay attention to her body. As an introverted father, Father Lin, like most fathers, is not good at expressing concern and consideration for his children, and he is also very verbal in this matter. But this time, he emphasized it over and over again, and told it over and over again, which made Jinniang feel sad.

She saw how red her eyes were, and even lowered her head to wipe her tears, and when her emotions calmed down slightly, she handed the letter in her hand to Xu Erlang, "Hezhou and Pingyang are separated by thousands of mountains and rivers, and I don't know if I can see my father and aunt in this life." ”

There was a lot of sour nostalgia in the tone, which made Xu Erlang inexplicably worried.

He quickly read the letter handed by Jin Niang, and also figured out the reason why Jin Niang had this feeling, and couldn't help chuckling and teasing her, "Why do you say something frustrating?" You are the daughter of your father-in-law, if you want to go home, can I stop you? ”

Jin Niang hated him, and he deliberately misinterpreted her meaning. Did she say that he stopped her from going to Pingyang? Her meaning is clear, she is reluctant to let him go, so she is not willing to travel alone. What's more, there are still one, two, three, four or five leg pendants, three of which are even smaller, and they can't help but be exposed to the wind and sun, and a little toil. It's for their good, and it's impossible to go far in the short term.

Jin Niang sighed, and her mood became more and more depressed. Seeing this, Xu Erlang hugged her over, "Wait for two more years, and let you see your father-in-law and aunt in two more years, do you think it's okay?" ”

Jin Niang looked at him suspiciously, "What do you mean?" ”

"Silly! I will definitely return to Beijing to report on my work after I have been in Hezhou for three years, and it is not impossible to bring you back to Beijing with me at that time. It's just that I can't help myself in the officialdom, at most I will take you back to Beijing, but I can't send you back to Pingyang. At that time, if you really miss your father-in-law and aunt, I am afraid that you will have to drive the two elders from Pingyang to the capital to see you. ”

Jin Niang immediately retreated, "Then don't want it." ”

Father and aunt are not young now, and it is already unfilial piety for children not to visit them, and they have to bother them to travel and travel to come to visit, so what have become of them?

Besides, returning to Beijing to report on work is a matter at the end of the year, and it is even more difficult to go far away when the weather is cold and freezing. So don't bother the two elders to run around, otherwise there will be some accidents on the road, and they will regret it.

Xu Erlang saw that Jinniang was still a little depressed, so he talked about the article made by Qing'er to change the topic.

After Qing'er arrived in Hezhou, she saw the humanistic customs of Hezhou, and also visited several local Confucians, and got some guidance, so the article as a whole has improved a lot.

The most important thing is that the article has become "steady and down-to-earth".

"Qing'er's previous articles were somewhat detached from reality, but now they are more pragmatic and practical."

This is also a common problem in many young articles, because they see little and are full of idealism, so the articles they write cannot be based on reality, and they are full of buoyancy. Now that Qing'er should be aware of this problem, the article has become pragmatic, and the content is more substantial and layered.

This is a good thing, which can show that he has grown as a person, and it can also prove that he has made progress in his thinking.

Xu Erlang said this, and Jin Niang immediately became happy.

What is the purpose of being an official, isn't it just to do practical things for the people? If you only write about some things in the air that have nothing to achieve, you will not be able to be an official for a long time. Only by having the people in our hearts and the people in our hearts can we make political achievements and have a lofty career.

But for Qing'er, it's too early to say something about being an official, after all, he is just a showman, and he is not even a person.

And from Xiucai to Jinshi, each step in the middle is more difficult to climb than the previous one. And every time there is a scientific examination, the style of writing preferred by the adults who read the papers is also different, and it does not necessarily focus on pragmatic articles, so is it appropriate for Qing'er to write these articles with only one mind?

Xu Erlang rubbed Jinniang's hair and laughed at her, "Qing'er is much smarter than you." He understands the way of scientific research, and he also knows how to be flexible. What style of writing do the adults who read the paper like, and in which direction they approach when the time comes. I said that Qing'er is pragmatic, but he is not only pragmatic. He's got a flexible mind. ”

In other words, this matter is not a matter in Qing'er's opinion. If he doesn't pay attention to it, you don't have to worry about it.

When Jin Niang heard the meaning of the words, she glanced at Xu Erlang, then jumped off his lap, pinched the handkerchief and walked out of the door.

Xu Erlang chuckled behind her and followed, holding her hand and going to the backyard together.

If it weren't for the fact that these two letters were kept in the study, and that he still had an official document that he hadn't dealt with, he wouldn't have come to the front yard.

For the New Year, who doesn't want their wives and children to have hot kang heads. Now that the matter is done, there is naturally no reason to stay in this cold study, so Xu Erlang chuckled and pulled Jin Niang back.

In the evening, everyone gathered again for Chinese New Year's Eve dinner.

This Chinese New Year's Eve dinner was also lively, after all, even the triplets were carried to the flower hall.

There are three more small cribs in the flower hall, and it feels like the space that was quite spacious is instantly crowded. But I have to say that with the addition of a few heads, this festive atmosphere is even more sufficient.

Because there are not many people, and they are all considered to be their own families, there is no separate table, and everyone still sits at the same table to eat.

Pian Pian, Changle, and Xiao Yuer have small appetites, and they are full after a few bites. But the elders were still at the table, and they were embarrassed to get off the table, so they sat bored and listened to them.