ushernet Chapter 54, Year 2
Chapter 54, Year 2
The second day of the Lunar New Year is the day for daughters to visit their parents' home. Early in the morning, Old Mrs. Xiao began preparing gifts for her daughters-in-law to bring back to their parents' home.
"Mom, how do we get back to Grandma's house?" Xiao Siyue had been to her grandma's house before, but it was farther than going to town, and it took two hours to go there and back.
“Your father found an oxcart, we’ll take the oxcart there,” Lin Qin said.
"That's great." Xiao Siyue was happy. It was good that she didn't have to walk, otherwise it would be too difficult for her small arms and legs. However, shouldn't her family buy a horse-drawn carriage or an oxcart? This is too inconvenient.
Because the family was doing well this year, Mrs. Xiao prepared a very generous New Year's gift, with chicken, duck, fish and meat all included, and the oxcart was loaded with a huge pile of them.
The family of four boarded an oxcart and headed to Dahe Village, where Lin's maternal grandmother lived.
Xiao Siyue's maternal grandfather was a student who passed the imperial examination before he passed the first level of the imperial examination. He devoted himself to the examination for the lowest level of the imperial examination until he was thirty years old, but he failed due to his lack of talent. After that, he gave up and focused his attention on his family.
After marrying Lin's maternal grandmother, Xiao Siyue's mother, Lin Qin, had two sons and two daughters. Lin Qin was the third child in the family, with an older brother, an older sister, and a younger brother.
In his early years, because Grandpa Lin devoted himself to reading, the family lived a very frugal life. Eventually, Grandpa Lin took a job copying books, and the family's situation gradually improved. However, not many years later, Grandpa Lin passed away from a cold.
The family is just getting by, but not too well. We live about the same as ordinary people; we don't go hungry, but the food isn't very good either.
Following Xiao Siyue's thoughts, the oxcart entered Dahe Village.
The village is called Dahe Village because as soon as you enter the village, you can see a four-meter-wide river lying in front of the village. To enter the village, you have to cross this river.
Soon the oxcart stopped in front of Grandma Lin's house, and the group got off and took down the gifts they had brought.
"Little sister, let me carry it, it's very heavy." Xiao Siyu took the small basket that Xiao Qinian handed her.
"Alright then." Xiao Siyue didn't insist. It was only a few steps away, so it didn't matter if she didn't take it.
"Grandma," the two siblings greeted Grandma Lin as soon as they entered the house.
"Grandma's darlings are all here," Grandma Lin said, pulling Xiao Siyue into her arms and giving her a loving kiss on the forehead.
"Mother, elder brother and sister-in-law." Lin Qin and Xiao Qinian then came in carrying their things.
Uncle Lin was very happy to see his sister's family, and a slight smile appeared on his face: "Come in quickly."
However, from the moment the group entered, the eldest aunt's eyes were fixed on their baskets, as if she wanted to possess all the gifts. Xiao Siyue, leaning against her grandmother's chest, took in this scene and found it somewhat amusing.
Auntie doesn't have any bad intentions, but she loves to take advantage of others and bring things from her husband's family to her own. Before Lin Qin got married, she treated her normally, but ever since Lin Qin married Xiao Qinian, a scholar, her attitude towards Lin Qin has completely changed, and she's become exceptionally warm towards her.
"Oh dear, little sister, why are you carrying so much stuff? Quickly put me down and sit down to rest. You must be tired after walking such a long way. Let me get you a glass of water." As he spoke, he hurriedly took the basket off Lin Qin's back and fawned over her with a water bottle to pour her some water.
"Thank you, sister-in-law. I'm not tired. We came by oxcart, we didn't walk." Lin Qin's words caused her aunt to pause in pouring water. Xiao Siyue chuckled to herself; her mother really knew how to talk.
"Oh dear, riding in an oxcart must be tiring too." Aunt handed the water glass to Lin Qin, then turned around and poured another glass for Xiao Qinian.
"Little sister, you must have made a lot of money this year from opening your shop, right?" Her tone was full of envy. Why didn't she have such good luck? She knew about the Xiao family's shop in town. She had been to town before and had seen how well the business was doing.
"It's alright, I don't know anything about what's going on in the shop either," Lin Qin said dismissively, knowing her sister-in-law's personality.
"Did your eldest son open the shop himself?" Auntie asked again.
The Lin family didn't know that the shop was opened by Xiao Siyue. They all assumed it belonged to Xiao Qiren's family, since Xiao Siqi was the shopkeeper, and that's what they assumed from the start.
"No, it's run by my parents-in-law." Lin Qin's statement makes sense; the shop belongs to the Xiao family and is not owned by any single branch of the family.
Upon hearing this, the eldest aunt's eyes lit up and she said, "You haven't separated the family yet, so..." but before she could finish, she was interrupted by Uncle Lin.
"Is your brother-in-law planning to take the exam again this year?" Uncle Lin interrupted his wife and asked Xiao Qinian. He knew his wife's character; if he didn't interrupt her, she would probably say something inappropriate.
The aunt, who had been interrupted, pursed her lips and didn't say anything more. She still listened to Uncle Lin.
“Yes, I plan to take the imperial examination in March this year.” Xiao Qinian had a good impression of his brother-in-law. He seemed taciturn, but he was extremely opinionated and upright.
"Are you confident?" Uncle Lin asked.
"Yes, I will strive to pass the imperial examination and become a Jinshi," Xiao Qinian said modestly.
"Well, it's good that you know what's going on." Uncle Lin didn't ask any more questions. His brother-in-law never spoke without reason, so if he said that, it meant he was very confident.
"Mother, where are my younger brother and the others?" Lin Qin had been looking for a long time, but her younger brother hadn't come over.
"They went back to their parents' home," Grandma Lin said in a flat tone. She didn't like this younger daughter-in-law. Not long after she entered the family, she started urging her son to separate from the household. When he refused, she started making a scene. Finally, Grandma Lin got so angry that she simply separated the two of them. Over the years, her son and her younger daughter-in-law had become quite estranged.
Lin Qin didn't say anything more after hearing this. She knew that her mother was still angry, but she had grown up with her younger brother since childhood and they had a deep bond, so she didn't want to say anything to him.
Just then, a loud voice came from outside: "Mother, I'm back."
Xiao Siyue knew this was her aunt. This aunt and her mother, Lin Qin, were completely different in personality. Her mother was gentle and virtuous, while her aunt was feisty and kept her younger siblings in check at home. After getting married, she also kept her husband in check. Xiao Siyue liked this aunt very much.
Aunt Xiao Siyue rushed out to greet her.
"When did Yue'er arrive?" Lin Shu asked with a smile, picking up Xiao Siyue in his arms.
Yes, my aunt's name is Lin Shu. My maternal grandmother said that my maternal grandfather named her Lin Shu in the hope that she would grow up to be a gentle and virtuous young lady. But as he raised her, she went astray. He couldn't help but try to raise her as a young lady, so he carefully raised her after Lin Qin was born. As expected, she did not disappoint her maternal grandfather and eventually became a gentle girl.
"Auntie, we just arrived a little while ago." Xiao Siyue got down from Lin Shu's arms and took Lin Shu's hand to enter the house.
Lin Shu glanced around after entering, frowned, and asked, "Where's my little brother?"
“They’ve gone back to their parents’ home, don’t worry about them, let’s prepare a meal,” Lin Qin said quickly when she saw her eldest sister’s expression. It wasn’t a good day to get angry.
"Alright, let's go." Lin Shu's tone was unfriendly. They had agreed that she would go back to her parents' home on the second day of the Lunar New Year, and they would go back on the third day, and then change it next year. But her younger brother's family wasn't there.
After having dinner at Grandma Lin's house, Xiao Siyue and her family took an oxcart home.