Transmigration: A Farm Girl’s Brocade
Chapter 495 - 261 Benben_3

Chapter 495: Chapter 261 Benben_3

Qian Sangui had not realized how wise it was to wait until he had met with Brother of Wu before completely dealing with the Wong family; those waiting to die were, after all, more tormented than those about to die.

Another thing that made Wang Shoushi miserable was that last month, his eldest grandson was jointly sued by several victims to the County Government Office. They had used a lot of silver, but the grandson was still sentenced to fifty heavy blows and two years in prison.

He had always liked this eldest grandson the most, feeling that although the grandson was prone to stirring up trouble, he was smart, good-looking, and most importantly, had strong health. His second and third grandsons were not in good health; one had tuberculosis, and the other was blind in one eye from birth.

Now, this eldest grandson too was in prison.

Ever since the Qian Family had prospered, there had been nothing but misfortune for his own household... With a sour heart, Wang Shoushi took the two large carts of New Year gifts, untouched, back to Wen County.

On the thirtieth day of the last month of the year, the Qian’s third wife was to go to Qian’s Main Courtyard in the village for the New Year’s gathering. It was customary that Cheng Yue didn’t attend; Qian Sangui and his wife took their four children, including Qian Yeejin.

Since Ming Wa and Jingjing were still young, their two wet nurses also had to go.

Upon arriving at the eldest brother’s place, they saw Qian Sigui’s family from the provincial city and Qian Manchuan’s family from the county town had returned as well. The siblings, Qian Yixiu and others, were warmly reunited with Qian Manting, Qian Manpo, Qian Yishan, Duo Duo, and Jin Wa, whom they hadn’t seen for a long time.

As Qian Mandua was not returning to her husband’s family, she also was called to join the Qian Family for the New Year’s gathering.

Before, Lady Wang had somewhat looked down on Qian Mandua’s family. But ever since hearing that Li Shuanzi had become an official, she had become more courteous and also showed them smiling faces.

However, Li Ahcao still didn’t dare to join the gathering inside the house, nor did she dare to sit at the table, staying instead in the kitchen to help with the cooking. Nowadays, the daughters-in-law of the Qian Family no longer had to do kitchen work, as it was taken care of by Sister-in-law Lu and the worker’s wives.

It was Qian Yixiu who went into the kitchen and led Li Ahcao to the table.

Today was also the first time Qian Yixiu saw Qian Ergui’s newly acquired concubine—Lady Xiao. At twenty-eight, Lady Xiao, who could not bear children, was divorced by her former husband’s family. Although she was of average appearance, she had fair skin and looked delicately pretty. Qian Manhe had agreed to Qian Ergui taking a woman, but refused to call any other woman mother, so Lady Xiao entered the family under the title of concubine. Even though she was called a concubine, without a primary wife in the house and the man doting on her, she too had her way in the household.

During the meal, Lady Xiao was not qualified to sit at the table with the Qian Family. She was given a separate small table to dine alone.

Lady Xiao was quite astute and first stood behind Old woman Qian to attend to her before eating.

Old woman Qian had initially intended to make Lady Xiao serve a little longer. But as Qian Ergui was continuously looking at her pitifully, Old woman Qian felt uncomfortable and said irritably, "Go and eat on your own, if you keep standing there, my second son’s eyeballs are going to fall out."

Blushing, Lady Xiao went to eat, while Qian Ergui laughed nonchalantly, a couple of he-he’s.

Qian Yixiu found it rather amusing; Qian Ergui remained a man of deep affections. He had indulged Lady Tang in the past, and now he was indulging Lady Xiao.

Before the meal, Old man Qian as usual gave a New Year’s speech. He first talked about the Qian Family ancestral hall. The hall had been built, and next year Qian Sangui would contribute fifty taels of silver to allow Qian Liang to make a trip to Xiangxi to update the Qian Family genealogy.

The position of the family patriarch would be held by Qian Sangui. Since he was not in good health, the specific affairs of the family would be handled by Qian Dagui and Qian Ergui.

He then summarized the achievements of the Qian family this year, with emphasis on praising the third wife’s household and commending Qian Manhe for his smart mind.

Last, he said that now was the time for Qian Yishan and Qian Yeejin, the younger generation, to discuss their marital arrangements, and it was also the time for Qian Manting, Qian Yixiu, and Qian Yiduo, the three daughters, to do the same. He set a standard for these individuals in matters of marriage.

The young men in seeking marriage should find gentle, courteous, and virtuous young women whose families were acceptable, unequivocally rejecting the kind of troublemaker represented by Lady Tang.

For the three daughters in their marital arrangements, it was essential to find well-off families with good backgrounds. Marrying into such families, they would not only fall into a nest of fortune but also be a support for their brothers.

He also said, "Those wealthy families are particular about marrying daughters from higher-status families and taking wives from lower-status ones. Now that our Old Qian Family has official rank, we should also adopt this consideration."

Qian Sangui rarely chimed in but added, "Father speaks truly; those big households do indeed value marrying daughters from higher-status families and taking wives from lower-status ones. However, when it comes to choosing a son-in-law, we must also look at the character. If the character is poor, marrying into such a family means children suffer. Like in the past with Auntie Mei marrying into a family like Yang Laokou’s, both father and mother felt pity, didn’t they?"

Old man Qian nodded and continued, "A few days ago, there were some families proposing marriage for Shan Wa and Jinwa, and I think they were not bad."

PS: Thank you for your rewards and monthly votes, my dears—I appreciate it! Some readers have raised questions about the age of Old man Qian in the story. After some thought, I have decided to reduce Qian Sangui’s age by three years. There will be some changes in the earlier parts of the text. I apologize for any confusion caused to the readers.—Qing Quan.