Although the value of the fourth elder brother's gift is not high, it is quite rich, in addition to a few colors of needlework, silver locks, silver collars, silver bracelets, and many exquisite baby toys, all of which are made inside, and there is a box of them. When it was brought in, many customers let out a sound of admiration.

Tong was actually very happy in his heart, but in front of others, he still looked low-key and modest, and just smiled kindly and said: "Fourth Elder Brother is really so merciful, this is really a blessing for our Brother Ming." ”

Shuning couldn't help but laugh and watched her mother pretend, but she had already seen that she was too proud in her heart, and glanced at her sister-in-law Zhenzhen, who hid her smile and lowered her head to coax the child. When Shuning turned her head, she inadvertently saw the expression on her aunt's face change, and she couldn't help but worry a little about whether the fourth elder brother's gift would be too conspicuous?

After the banquet was over, the Tong family asked the people below to pack up their things, and then asked Duanning Zhenzhen and his wife to go back to the Mei Courtyard with Mingrui, who was sleeping soundly. Back in Huaiyuan, Shuning quietly reminded her that there was something wrong with her eldest aunt, Nala, and she nodded, indicating that she understood.

Sure enough, the Nala clan came to the Tong clan within two days. She talked about how decent the banquet that night was, how generous the gifts from the guests were, how likable Brother Ming was, and so on. She also mentioned that Chengning's wife Wan Liuha was seven months pregnant but slipped the fetus, maybe it was because the second room did not accumulate yin virtue on weekdays, so she suffered retribution. And Sanfang has always been kind to people and happy to help others, so it is more blessed than others.

Tong frowned when he heard this, and said lightly: "I also received a letter from Baoding about Brother Cheng's daughter-in-law, because the three girls and sisters-in-law were not suitable to come forward at that time, so I asked the housekeeper to send her some things to make up for her body." She is still young in the end, she has raised her body well, and she will not worry about having no children in the future. As elders, our nephews and daughters-in-law should care more about her when they encounter this kind of thing. Sister-in-law thinks this is not the reason? ”

Nala stumbled, squeaked in response. Tong Shi saw it. He sneered in his heart, and pretended to be inadvertent: "Speaking of which, I paid five hundred taels to the account for the full moon wine before, and I calculated the account yesterday, and there were more than one hundred taels left, but the account room did not hand it back." I remember that he was an old man under his sister-in-law. I also asked my sister-in-law to help urge me, and I am still waiting for the silver. ”

Nala's face turned white, and he whispered that he would go back and urge. Tong thanked her, and started a family affair with her. Nala chatted for a long time, but finally couldn't hold back. "That day...... The gift given by the fourth elder brother is really generous, I remember that when Brother Duan got married, he also came to drink the wedding wine in person. Looks like he's on good terms with your family. ”

Tong Shi paused and smiled: "Isn't this all on the ground of the eldest brother and sister-in-law?" Nala was stunned: "Huh? I saw Tong Shi smile and said: "When Brother Duan married, the fourth elder brother was looking at the face of his relatives. He is familiar with Brother Duan'er, and there are nephews of the Tong family who are instigating, so he came. It's just a human relationship. But the night before was different. Gave so many gifts, naturally it is for the sake of our second girl's family, isn't this the face of the eldest brother and sister-in-law? ”

She saw that Nala's face was red and white for a while, and she was secretly amused, and sighed again: "The matter of the second girl, no matter what we think, has become a foregone conclusion, and she will be in the inner courtyard in the future." All the glory depends on her own ability, and we, the mother's family, are afraid that we can't help much. The only thing that can be done is to let the men in the family earn a good future, and let the second girl have some confidence in Baylor's Mansion. But at the end of the day. The affairs of this inner courtyard still depend on herself. It's a shame to say. Sister-in-law. ”

Nala was speechless for a long time, and later saw Shuning come to talk to her mother about housework, so she left under the pretext that she had something to do. Tong raised the corners of his mouth slightly behind his head, and he didn't mention it when he talked to his daughter.

From the end of June to the beginning of August, the emperor appointed a number of local officials one after another, and there were also great personnel changes in the imperial court. Among them, there are three things that stand out the most.

First, the long-lost pearl of the Holy Favor Land has returned to the court, although the official rank is still not as good as it was at the beginning, but for the officials of his faction, this is already an excellent signal.

The second is Chen Liangben, the minister of the upper study, because of his meritorious service in fighting disasters, and during the emperor's expedition, he assisted in handling government affairs, and performed very well, so he was crowned a scholar of Wuyingdian University, and also got a third-class baron's title, as well as a grange. His second wife died in childbirth last year during his trip to fight the disaster, and the emperor was also very merciful to seal a five-grade pleasant land. As a result, Chen Liangben once again became one of the leading figures of Hanchen after nearly two years of low tide.

The third one happened in the military department. The basic officials have not changed much, but several of the five pins have been dismissed, and several chief officials have also been replaced. Among them, Shang Shu Sono and were dismissed from his post because of a mistake in the military quartermaster, and were replaced by the original right attendant Lang Kaiyinbu.

Jin Bao's squire position was also taken by other officials, but he himself made a lot of contributions, so he was reappointed as a minister of scattered ranks, promoted to deputy commander, and was crowned a first-class male and a cloud cavalry captain. The emperor rewarded 20 taels of gold and a string of coral pearls, and also rewarded a Zhuangzi located in Liangxiang, which is 30 hectares of land, which can be said to be quite rich.

However, Rong Bao is more glorious than him. He became a general from the first rank of Chengdu, and was crowned a second-class man, although he had no land, but he had almost overshadowed the light of the eldest brother.

No one knew what Jin Bao thought in his heart, he just happily congratulated his younger brother on his ascension, and when he learned that they had passed the Mid-Autumn Festival, he went to take office, and immediately said that he would put a few tables of wine for them to practice, and then instructed Rong Bao to say a lot of words, before returning to his room, sitting behind closed doors for a long time, and when he came out again, there were a few strands of gray hair mixed between his temples, and he was already a lot haggard.

He had a conversation with his two sons, and then he summoned the butler and instructed them to take care of the Zhuangzi of the Imperial Gift. Seeing his white hair and look, and knowing that he was sad, Nala cried and said to him when there was no one: "Master, I know that you have been wronged, you must take care of yourself." ”

Jin Bao waved his hand indifferently and said: "Madame is too careful, the emperor's grace is vast, not only let me be promoted to the second grade, but also added a knight, and there is a Zhuangzi, we are decent and affordable, and we are more idle than before, isn't it very good?" ”

Nala kept crying, and her husband was desperate and injured. But he could never exceed the second grade, but he lost the errand of the waiter. Although the minister of the scattered rank is a second-rank official, he looks similar to a squire, but in fact he receives a third-rank salary; The deputy capital is decent, but unfortunately in the capital, it is almost a false position; The first-class male and the cloud cavalry lieutenant are only one rank higher than the original. is still four levels behind the original second-class uncle, and it is still a second-class uncle. The four-room Rong Bao has already risen to the first grade, and Jin Bao is looking forward to being promoted to this autumn wind post. I've been looking forward to it for several years, but I didn't expect it to be taken over by my younger brother, who is nearly ten years younger.

As for the other things to reward the land, the gold is only two hundred taels of silver, what can it do? Although the pearl is good, you can only wear it yourself. And although that Zhuangzi is good, what they and their husband and wife want is to go further in their official titles. They may seem decent, but this result is far from their goal.

Jin Bao listened a little annoyed. Then he said, "Why are you crying?" That's actually pretty good. The minister of scattered rank is a close minister of the Son of Heaven, if he is not trustworthy, he can't be on this errand. I have a lot of free time than before, and I also have kung fu to tease my grandson. You cry like this, and others hear it, and they think what's wrong with me. ”

Nala choked up and stopped crying, but still sobbed from time to time. Jin Bao said: "Quickly wipe away your tears." I have something to tell you. ”

After the Nala clan sorted out his appearance, Jin Bao asked: "I heard that last month, Brother Duan'er's son invited the full moon wine, and the third brother and sister handed over the silver to the account office, and you asked someone to deduct more than 100 taels of money until the third brother and sister asked." You just asked someone to pay it back, didn't you? ”

Nala was stunned. Squeaked, "This ...... There is a shortage of money in the house...... Anyway, they often pay money and come back......"

Jin Bao said: "I also heard that you are now sending things to the Sibeile Mansion to Wanning every few days, which contains food, clothes, medicine, and a lot of property, right?" ”

Nala lowered his head and muttered, "This ...... I also feel sorry for my daughter, she has never suffered since she was a child, and her money for twenty or two months a month is less than half of what she has at home, so how can she live? Jin Bao snorted coldly and said, "Hu Tu! If the daughter marries, she is from another family. Not to mention that people didn't treat her badly, even if they really didn't treat her well, what could we do? You send things twice in three days, and people who don't know still think that Wanning is so sad, what do you think about your name Sibeile Sifujin? Don't you think Wanning is even more ignorant?! ”

Nala didn't dare to speak, and Jin Bao continued: "What's more, we spent a lot of silver for Wanning before, and now the family is not enough, but you still have to give her the silver to flowers, what's the benefit to her?!" Are you willing to starve your sons and grandchildren to death for her sake? The brothers are willing to pay money to the public middle school, because it is for the sake of the family, not for you to use it on your married daughter! It's still not good for the family at all. You have the cheekiness to withhold money from your brother's family, what do people think? You shouldn't be in charge anymore, don't meddle in these things anymore, if you really want to spend money, take out your own private house! ”

Nala was a little scared, and wanted to respond immediately, but when he thought of his daughter's situation, he still hesitated.

Jin Bao didn't pay much attention to it, but said: "From now on, you are only allowed to send things to Wanning on festivals, and the value of each gift should not exceed twenty taels." If she becomes pregnant in the future, it's not too late. She is only allowed to take her home twice a year to save her relatives, and each time it cannot exceed two days, and the amount spent at home, including accompanying people, is not allowed to exceed 50 taels. ”

Nala shuddered and burst into tears. Jin Bao said to her coldly: "You patronize your daughter, you probably don't know much about your sons, right?" Do you know that Qingning has missed the opportunity to be promoted to Lang Zhongdi twice in a row, and Shunning's father-in-law said that he had little hope of being promoted, and suggested that he seek a foreign position, and then try to be promoted after a few years of training. ”

When he saw Nala's eyes widen at him, he sneered: "Madame is too derelict in her duties, let's take care of my sons more in the future." I have no hope of going up, and our family business can only be pinned on our sons. If you have kung fu, you should help them more. There are also the third and fourth brothers, so they should be polite. The third brother does not rely on the family, and he has climbed to the current son, and the family business is becoming more and more prosperous; The fourth brother became a general, and his future is limitless. You are kinder to your two younger siblings, and you are also a little attentive to a few small places. There is also the second room, you don't think much about what people owe you. If you want your daughter to live better, I'm afraid you have to ask the four girls for more help. ”

He gasped for a moment before continuing: "I have free time now, An Ning and the upbringing of several grandchildren, I will personally take care of it, so as not to teach another unfilial beast and affect the family!" ”

Nara silently wiped away her tears and nodded slightly.

Shuning and her mother didn't know what was happening in the big house, and they were discussing a deal. Changgui just got a letter, saying that on the other side of the North Juma River, there is a piece of land for sale, about eleven or twelve hectares, the soil is good, not far from the river bank, there is also a small village, the price is only three thousand taels.

After they discussed, they sent Changfu to look at the land, and learned that it was not bad, but the location was a little off. However, Changfu revealed a piece of news, that land was originally a new field that had been cultivated for six or seven years, and the landlord had just died, and the unfilial son who inherited the property was a gambler, and he sold the land to raise money for gambling. Tong was not polite, and discussed with his daughter, asking Changfu to talk with Quansheng and try to reduce the price.

As a result, Changfu insisted that the fertile land was a medium field on the grounds that there were hundreds of acres of sandy land that could not grow grain, and there were only a few village houses in Xiaozhuang, which had to be repaired separately, and complained that the location of the field was too partial, and finally bought it as ten hectares, and only paid 2,000 taels. The other party was in a hurry to use the money, and he didn't care, but the old steward of his family was loyal, and insisted on asking for delivery after the autumn harvest, but the little master said that it was troublesome.

After Shuning and the Tong family learned of this result, they were not only happy that this transaction was a good deal, but they were also very ashamed of the loser, but they admired the old housekeeper very much. However, Shuning didn't have the time to pay attention to other people's family affairs, so she only discussed with her mother that after the field was delivered, she would hurry up and plant wheat first. It's a pity that she didn't buy it earlier, otherwise she could have planted a round of beans to fertilize the land first. As a result, he was laughed at by Tong's family, saying that if it wasn't just in time for this time, where could I buy good land cheaply? Shuning thought about it too, and smiled embarrassedly.

In September, the emperor toured the outside of the Saiwai, which was later and longer than in previous years. Jingzhong heard the news that the emperor had received a number of Mongol princes outside the fortress and rewarded them richly. In October, the great general Feiyangu was taken prisoner, but unfortunately he failed to capture Galdan, allowing him to escape with a few cronies. But in November Galdan sent an envoy to surrender, but the emperor was unmoved, and only said: "Seventy days later, the army will be marched after this." ”

Entering Layue, the emperor finally returned to Beijing, and this time Tongying also returned. Because he made great contributions in the pursuit of Galdan, and personally cut down Kaldan's cronies Lan Heli to serious injuries, the emperor, together with his previous merits, decided to reward him with a mansion and two granges, as well as 5,000 silver, and countless treasures.

After Shuning learned the news, she breathed a sigh of relief, and turned her head to see the words she had just written on the case: "In the past, I was in the past, and Yang Liu was still there; Now I'm coming, rain and snow. He smiled slightly.