She Became A Downfall Noble Lady
Chapter 335 - 334 Before the New Year

Chapter 335: Chapter 334 Before the New Year

Having received the ingredients sent by others, it was naturally necessary to prepare for the reception of His Highness and Magistrate Sir. Qi Younian asked, "May I ask the young man, has Sixth Master mentioned when he will come over? We should prepare in advance and must not delay in serving the two masters. The old man thinks that if there is nothing pressing in the county town, they could come over earlier and simply stay here. Daily living would be convenient, and with Master Guan here to accompany them, going out for diversions would be quite entertaining."

Hongzhi laughed and said, "That won’t be necessary. I’ve heard Sixth Master mention that during the New Year festivities, everyone should gather with their own families. On New Year’s Eve and the first day of the lunar year, Sixth Master and Lord Jiang plan to have drinks and casual chats at our mansion. They probably won’t come to bother Old Master until the second day."

"No need," Qi Younian waved his hand, "even if all the family gathers, it will be me, Ye Zi, and Brother Jia going to the old residence. Our house here with Master Guan, Wusi, and Ah Qiao has plenty of excitement already. Young man, when you go back, ask Sixth Master again. If he has handled the affairs of the county, he can come straight here. After all, the New Year is lively only when everyone gets together."

When Hongzhi left, he not only took the fermented coarse tea that Ye Xinyan had bought by chance but also some special local items from Yuyuan City that Qi Younian and Nanny Jin had brought.

The food delivery by Hongzhi was followed by his return with Shi Yu in just two days, bringing Jinrong and Jiang Yifan’s festival gifts for the Qi family. Jinrong’s gifts need not be discussed, as they were all the usual items such as clothes, wearables, decorations, utensils brought back from the capital by Wan Yan and even included an assortment of ice tops for Qi Jiaer.

The festival gifts from Jiang Yifan were not local items from Yuyuan Prefecture either, and were likely sent by the Jiang Family headquarters. Although the gifts were not many, each was rare and exquisite.

All those many items were taken out one by one by Hongzhi and Shi Yu, who then settled each one with Qi Younian and Nanny Jin. The garments and food were available for the entire Qi family, young and old, as well as for Cheung Wusi, Wong Qiao, and Guan He. However, the porcelain decorations and such were directly given to Nanny Jin and Nanny Liu, letting them arrange their use.

Nanny Jin arranged and placed each set of teapots, tea sets, and dinnerware, feeling indescribable emotions. Last year before the New Year, she and the young miss were trapped in Miyi County, barely managing to maintain their meals. It was only thanks to the young miss, who bought off-cuts and a few yards of red silk satin from a tailor shop to make some exquisite accessories, that they managed to earn some silver.

She could still recall the joy of putting several hundred large coins into the purse each day. Although the young miss was always reassuring her that they would get through the hard times and would surely live well in the future, she did not say it out loud, but she did not believe in her heart, nor did she dare to hope that they could live a life of affluence again.

But, in just a short year, their lives had indeed improved. Even someone like her, who had served others as a servant for most of her life, was now able to earn a handful of silver herself.

Those from Anshun’s Household were people close to the Duchess, and when she was at the Duke’s Mansion, she had to greet Nanny Qiao from Anshun’s Household with great respect and honor. Now, she still respected those from Anshun’s Household and would courteously call her Nanny Qiao, but the sentiment behind this respect was very different from the past. The respect wasn’t out of helplessness due to lower status but because of her own generosity and knowledge of courtesy.

Since Nanny Qiao from Anshun’s Household came to serve the young miss at the Qi family residence, Nanny Jin often saw envy in her eyes. She knew it was envy of her good fortune, of following the young miss—a good master—and of the young miss entrusting her with an entire shop that made money, never reproaching or directing, instead leaving everything to her discretion.

Now, seeing these precious porcelains, she felt as though she was reliving the bustling days in the capital city. And today’s prosperity was all earned by the young miss herself, a prosperity that feels entirely different from enjoying the wealth inherited from one’s ancestors.

Nanny Liu deftly organized various items while smiling at Nanny Jin, "It’s perfect timing for the gifts from Sixth Master and Lord Jiang for the festival. Tomorrow we’ll polish all the doors, windows, and furniture in both the front and rear courtyards again. Then we can put out and use these things, waiting for a splendid celebration of the New Year."

While Hongzhi was delivering the festival gifts, he also took the opportunity to inform Old Master Qi that Sixth Master and Lord Jiang, upon Old Master Qi’s invitation, would be spending this New Year at the Qi family. Both gentlemen would arrive on the evening of the twenty-ninth, supper would be simple and immediate, and a more formal meal would be prepared on the thirtieth.

Qi Younian, Nanny Liu, and Nanny Jin were overjoyed and readily agreed, assuring that the two gentlemen need only come without any worries and that they would take care of everything else.

Ye Xinyan was also open-minded about it. After all, Old Master Qi was part of the Qi family, and such holidays should be spent together with the Qi family’s main branch and the third branch. The main branch was one thing, although Lady Han was a troublemaker, with Lady Wang keeping her in check and the three sons to think about, she should show some restraint. The third branch, however, was full of meddlesome folks. Now that the Second Branch was influential, they would not dare to stir up trouble, but if they shamelessly tried to ingratiate themselves, it wouldn’t do to have people thrown out during the festivities.

If there were influential individuals like Jinrong and Jiang Yifan at home, it would be tremendously advantageous. With guards on watch around the courtyard, ordinary people would not even be able to get close, which would naturally save them from many unnecessary troubles. Being stopped by Jinrong’s guards, the villagers would not think ill of the second branch of the Qi family; instead, they would consider the guests of the second branch noble and might even hold the second branch in higher regard as a result.

Besides, she couldn’t stop other people from coming, could she?

......

Ancient people took the New Year very seriously, even the poorest farmhouses did so; although their daily lives might be burdened with poverty, they would still make every effort to celebrate the New Year properly.

Moreover, this New Year was different from previous ones. Earlier this year, Old Master Qi’s younger brother returned home from a foreign land. There were also others from nearby villages who came back decked in finery, but no matter how richly clad they were, that was their family’s affair and had nothing to do with others.

But it was different with the second branch of the Qi family. Not to mention when they were just running a small stall – an endeavor meant to make ends meet. Soon after, Qi Ye from the second branch of the Qi family started a cattle farm for the nobles in the north of the village.

With the establishment of the cattle farm, the villagers not only had the opportunity to earn wages by working there but also to sell grass to the farm. The straw, previously worthless after the autumn harvest and only good for burning, could now be sold for some large coins. Then the construction of that workshop for delicate gourmet ingredients also employed many villagers.

All these developments significantly improved the lives of the farming families in Clear Water Village and the surrounding villages. Therefore, the New Year brought an unprecedented liveliness, with everyone opting to purchase extra fabric and hang more strings of firecrackers. The food prepared from New Year’s Day to the fifteenth of the first month was much more abundant than in previous years, no longer limited to just two festive meals—one on New Year’s Eve and the other on the first day of the lunar year—with meat dishes.