Chapter 238: Happy Occasion at Home
The family ate a lively meal. A Wu carried several large bamboo baskets into the kitchen and, together with Mei Jie and Yu Ting, hung up the various foods to be hung and pickled what needed to be pickled.
Li Xiaonan re-brewed tea and handed it to Eldest Sister and Second Sister, then poured herself a cup.
Li Jinzhu pointed to the account books on the low table in the main hall and smiled:
“One of those two account books was given by Eldest Uncle. He said you asked him to see how many cotton seedlings were planted, and he checked everywhere he went, and it’s all written down there.
“The other one was given to you by Hong Family Master. Hong Family Master, whom we met the day before yesterday, said he wasn’t going anywhere else and was heading straight back to Kunshan County for the New Year. This was copied for you by your Third Brother-in-law overnight.
“And another one is the number of students enrolled in each of our schools. Our schools are truly excellent.”
Li Jinzhu couldn’t help but laugh when she mentioned the Weaving School.
There were many women in the Weaving School who were as struggling as they were back then, and when they spoke to her timidly, their eyes shone with light.
“This New Year, A Nan will be buried in account books,” Li Yuzhu said, reaching out to stroke Li Xiaonan’s cheek.
“This is just a little bit! A drizzle! I can finish it in a day, no, at most two days. I’ve already agreed with Ai Ye that we’re going to watch ten big operas this year!” Li Xiaonan said proudly, tilting her chin up and smiling.
“I told you not to talk nonsense, and you’re talking nonsense again!” Li Jinzhu leaned over and slapped Li Xiaonan.
“Maybe it’s not an empty promise. A Nan is very smart. Let’s see, if she can’t finish it in two days, we’ll punish her by scrubbing toilets until New Year’s Eve,” Li Yuzhu said with a smile.
“Three days, three days!” Li Xiaonan hurriedly held up three fingers and shouted.
“Look at this!” Li Jinzhu leaned over to hit her again, and Li Xiaonan jumped up and hid behind Second Sister.
“Eldest Sister, Hong Family sent a message saying Third Sister seems to be pregnant!” Li Xiaonan, hiding behind Second Sister, quickly changed the subject.
“Seems to be? Is it too early in the pregnancy, or…” Li Jinzhu didn’t dare to finish the sentence.
“It’s very good, it’s just too early in the pregnancy!” Li Xiaonan quickly replied.
“Third Sister wrote a letter saying her period has always been very regular, but this time it’s twenty days late. She doesn’t feel uncomfortable, just that something isn’t quite right. She secretly asked a doctor to check her pulse, and the doctor said her pulse was strong and vigorous, saying she was very healthy.
“Another ten days passed, and her period still hadn’t come. Third Sister then said that Hong Family had invited several doctors to check her pulse together, and they all said her pulse was strong and vigorous, that her complexion was excellent, and she had no symptoms of thirst or fever. Her tongue coating was also fine, and they said she was likely pregnant, due to abundant qi and blood. They said her pregnancy pulse could be detected in another half a month,” Li Xiaonan said in one breath.
Li Jinzhu and Li Yuzhu both let out a breath, looked at each other, and then looked at Li Xiaonan. Li Xiaonan was bewildered by their stares, “What’s wrong?”
“I heard that noble families like the Prince’s Estate have very smooth childbirths. They say they have secret recipes and are very particular from the beginning of pregnancy. Can you ask the Prince’s Estate for some pointers?” Li Jinzhu said directly.
“Okay!” Li Xiaonan immediately nodded, but was extremely surprised.
Eldest Sister had always been wary of her relying too much on that Young Lord… Well, this matter concerned the lives of Third Sister and her child. When it came to life and death, Eldest Sister was never rigid. Nothing was more important than the lives of her sisters and brothers.
“There’s no need to tell the Young Lord about this. I’ll just tell Wan Jing. Wan Jing is very capable.”
As soon as Li Xiaonan understood, she immediately added, facing Eldest Sister’s furrowed brow, and quickly added again, “I’m not talking nonsense this time. Wan Jing is a second-rank official and manages over a dozen people under her.”
Seeing that Eldest Sister’s brow hadn’t relaxed, Li Xiaonan immediately changed the subject: “Mei Jie said four families have come to propose marriage for Second Sister? Second Sister doesn’t know yet, does she?”
Li Yuzhu was stunned for a moment and quickly looked at Li Jinzhu.
“There are indeed four families,” Li Jinzhu said with a laugh.
Li Yuzhu was momentarily dazed, picked up her cup, and looked down at the tea in the cup.
“Eldest Sister, tell me quickly!” Li Xiaonan dragged a small bamboo chair and sat next to Li Jinzhu.
“All four families are good,” Li Jinzhu said, her eyes full of smiles. “One is the Wang family from Fuxing Tower on Fuzheng Street. Fuxing Tower is a renowned large restaurant in our Pingjiang City. The Wang family is very wealthy. It’s their third son. He’s been studying since he was young and is said to be very handsome. He’s just two years younger than your Second Sister, no, one year and five months younger.”
“Is he smart in his studies? Which school does he attend? Character is the most important,” Li Xiaonan chimed in with a smile.
“He’s said to be quite smart and is studying at the Prefectural School. I haven’t had a chance to ask your brother yet. Perhaps your brother knows him.”
“What about the second family?”
“The second family’s Master works at the Pingjiang Weaving Bureau, holding a task of the eighth rank. He is the eldest son and is the same age as your Second Sister. He just arrived in Pingjiang City. He failed to pass the Xiucai exam in his hometown, so his father sent him to study in our Pingjiang City. I don’t think much of this one; their family is from out of town, and I can’t bear to part with your Second Sister.”
“I can’t bear it either, but this depends on Second Sister’s wishes. If Second Sister fancies this family, then we should listen to Second Sister,” Li Xiaonan quickly nodded.
“Your Second Sister isn’t like you, acting on impulse,” Li Jinzhu said, lightly patting Li Xiaonan’s head. “There are two other good families, but they are quite inferior to these two.”
Li Jinzhu finished describing the other two families in one breath, and Li Xiaonan nodded in agreement, indeed they were quite inferior to the first two.
“Even the worst family is much better than our family. They are all proposing marriage because of A Nan,” Li Yuzhu said, looking down.
Li Jinzhu laughed. “I said the same thing. Eldest Aunt Tang said: When arranging marriages, it’s always like this. First, you look at the clan and family, and only then do you look at the person. When the Hong family married into our family, wasn’t it because of A Nan? It was all because of A Nan.
“Even now, Eldest Aunt Tang says that even up to this point, marrying into the Hong family was worth it.”
Li Jinzhu gently patted Li Yuzhu and continued: “Eldest Aunt Tang said that now when people come to propose, they not only look at A Nan, but also at Yinzhu, at Xuedong, and at our Li Family Market.”
“Eldest Sister speaks so well!” Li Xiaonan quickly applauded.
Li Jinzhu turned to look at Li Xiaonan, sighed, and reached out to stroke Li Xiaonan’s head.
Eldest Aunt Tang said A Nan’s marriage prospects were the most difficult, and she felt the same. Whenever she thought about it, she couldn’t sleep. Alas, fortunately, A Nan is still young, and she can afford to wait a few more years.
The next morning, Li Yuzhu rushed to the Preserved Egg Workshop to check on things. Li Jinzhu got up at dawn and, with Mei Jie, busied herself packing and cleaning everywhere, preparing to return to Li Family Market for the New Year.
Li Xiaonan slept until she woke up naturally. She spent a long time picking and choosing from the various pastries and fruits brought back by Eldest Sister and Second Sister. She picked two kinds, ate them with tea, and then, carrying a stack of account books and an abacus, went to the side room to check and reconcile the accounts.
In the center of the side room was a long table with a chair on each side. Li Xiaonan and her brother Li Xuedong shared this long table, each occupying one side.
Li Xiaonan put down a stack of account books and the abacus, then went out again to bring tea and water. She brought in her small bamboo basket containing writing brushes, ink, paper, and inkstones, arranged the paper and inkstone, and turned the small bamboo basket upside down, but couldn’t find a single small ink stick.
She remembered clearly that the small ink sticks were placed in a corner of the small bamboo basket, there were four or five of them!
Li Xiaonan turned the small bamboo basket upside down and looked carefully again, but they were still not there.
Where did they go?
Mei Jie is illiterate and afraid of throwing away useful things, so she never throws away her belongings. She doesn’t even throw away crumpled waste paper, let alone ink sticks. Throwing away ink sticks and paper edges is wasteful!
Where did her ink sticks go?
In the evening, Li Xuedong returned early and stood at the doorway of the side room, peeking inside. Li Xiaonan quickly waved him over and, pointing to her bamboo basket, asked, “In the corner of this bamboo basket of mine, there were four or five ink sticks piled up, and now they’re gone. Did you take them?”
The ink she used was all obtained from the Prince’s Estate Villa. If Li Xuedong needed to write any important essays, he would borrow ink from her.
“I didn’t take them. If I needed them, I would have told you. The ink sticks in my basket have also been lost several times. Perhaps Mei Jie took them to dye something?” Li Xuedong peeked inside.
“It’s definitely not Mei Jie. That’s strange!” Li Xiaonan rested her pen holder on her chin, puzzled.
