novelaction Chapter 115 Ancestor Worship
Chapter 115 Ancestor Worship
It was already late in the afternoon when they arrived in the town. Zhang Laoer took a detour to Liu's house to drop off his eldest son-in-law.
When Butcher Liu saw his relatives coming back, he laughed and walked over to them, saying, "Fellow relatives, I've been waiting for you to come back. I figured you should be here in the next couple of days, so I haven't been going to the countryside to collect pigs yet. I've been waiting for you!"
Liu Sanlang had been away for more than ten days and had been missing his home and children. After saying hello to Liu the butcher, he went home to find his wife and children.
Zhang Pingan stepped forward and saluted, "Hello, Uncle Liu!"
"Okay, okay," Liu the butcher responded, patted Zhang Ping'an on the shoulder, and turned to Zhang Laoer and said, "I said your son has great potential. He has become a successful scholar. Yesterday, the town government just went to the village to announce the good news. Your third son specially drove to the town to cut two pieces of meat and took them back, saying that he wanted to prepare a banquet. He was also going to go to the county to find you, but I stopped him. I said I didn't know if you had returned from the provincial capital for the exam, so he didn't go."
Xu was surprised and asked, "What? We haven't even returned yet, and everyone in the village knows about it?"
Zhang Pingan continued, "The government office must have passed the results to the county office first, and then the county office passed it on to our town through the post station. The town then went to the village to announce the good news. We wasted a lot of time on the road, so the government office spread the news faster than us."
Zhang Laoer hesitated a bit and said, "Well... I haven't decided whether to set up a banquet yet. I was thinking of taking my son back to the village to worship our ancestors and ask for their blessings."
Zhang Ping'an suggested, "Dad, Mom, why don't we just have two tables for our relatives? Being a Tongsheng isn't a proper academic title yet, and we don't have any special identity documents. We can wait until we're through with the academy exams. If we're lucky enough to pass the exam and become a Xiucai, we can do it later. Passing the exam will at least exempt us from corvée labor and part of the land tax, reducing the burden on our family. For so many years, we've been using silver to pay for corvée labor, and the expenses are really not small."
Zhang Laoer nodded: "Okay, I'll do as you say!"
After that, he said to Liu the butcher, "My dear, we are in a hurry to come back this time, so let's set the banquet for tomorrow. You must come early tomorrow to have the banquet and bring everyone with you. I will also cut another 20 pounds of meat and give you two pig's trotters. You can calculate the price for me and I will take them back now."
Butcher Liu smiled even more when he heard this. This was a big deal. After calculating the price, Zhang Laoer paid for the meat promptly.
At this time, Liu Sanlang dragged Daya, Donkey and Cat out. He had bought a lot of things for them in the city and needed to unload them. The two children cried out in joy at the sight of so much food and play. Daya smiled and said angrily, "You're wasting money again!"
Zhang Pingan called out, "Sister, I bought a lot of cotton cloth in the city. The patterns and colors are pretty good. Please pick out some to make clothes for my nephews."
"This is too expensive, how can I accept it?" Daya frowned and refused.
Liu Sanlang also kept waving his hands beside him: "No...no...no...no!"
Zhang Pingan didn't want to argue, so he just picked up the cloth and put it on the stall: "Sister, if you don't want to pick, then I'll just give it to you. Remember to come to the banquet tomorrow."
"Hey, what are you doing?" Daya couldn't stop him, so she could only smile and say, "Then I would like to thank you on behalf of Ludan and the others!"
Zhang Lao Er also advised: "Keep it. This trip is also thanks to Sanlang. He has put in a lot of effort."
After hearing this, Liu Sanlang scratched his head embarrassedly.
"Okay, let's go. Daya, remember to tell Sanya as well. We're in a hurry, so I won't go over," Zhang Laoer said as he sat on the mule cart and waved.
Xu and Zhang Ping'an also waved goodbye.
Butcher Liu is now more and more satisfied with this marriage. With such a well-educated uncle, he will surely have two grandsons in the future. No, he has to let Sanlang have more children while he is still young, so that there will always be one who is smart and well-educated.
Liu Sanlang didn't know that his father was planning for him to have a few more boys.
He took out the silver rings he bought from the capital and gave one to his wife and mother respectively. The envious Liu Dasao and Liu Ersao's eyes were red, but now was different from the past. The Zhang family was coming, and they didn't want to say anything offensive. They could only suppress their sour thoughts and complimented them against their will: "Mother and sister-in-law are so lucky, and Third Brother is really caring!"
Daya smiled without saying anything. In the past few years, she has come to understand more and more that whether she is respected in her husband's family does not depend on how much work she does, but on her husband, son and her parents' family. These three things are her confidence. As long as these three things stand, no one can bully her.
Well, my man has good taste. This silver ring looks really good on him. Daya is very happy.
It wasn't until the mule cart left town that Mrs. Xu started complaining, "That was fine cotton cloth you just gave to Daya, a whole bolt of it. You two are so extravagant! We can't live like this. A married girl is like water spilled. Giving her a few feet is just a token of your gratitude. But this bolt can make so many clothes that the little girls won't be able to wear them all."
"Mom, be willing to give. Only by giving can you gain. My eldest sister's wife is a good person. She has also made a lot of efforts this time. In a few months, I will go to the imperial examination and maybe I will have to ask my eldest sister's husband to accompany me. It would be too distant for us to give her money. Giving her a piece of cloth is the best and most practical. Please don't feel bad about it," Zhang Pingan analyzed carefully and comforted his mother, otherwise his mother would be so heartbroken that she wouldn't be able to sleep for several nights.
"That's right, listen to your son. This is my plan as well. Let Sanlang accompany me to the next college entrance examination. I feel more at ease with him around. What's a piece of cloth compared to him?" Zhang Laoer also said in a deep voice.
Xu's temper suddenly disappeared. Since her husband and son both said so, there must be a reason. Ever since she learned that her son had become a Tongsheng Master, Xu suddenly felt that her status was different. No wonder the ancestors always said that you must give birth to a son, because giving birth to a son is the only way to have hope!
After leaving the town, Zhang Laoer went back to his father-in-law's house and told him about the banquet tomorrow. Old man Xu and his wife were so happy that they nodded their heads and promised to go there early the next day.
Zhang Ping'an took the hairpins he bought for his grandparents, as well as some local specialties, and left them behind. Old Lady Xu took Zhang Ping'an's hand, wiped her tears, and said, "I never thought that one day I would be able to enjoy the blessing of my grandson. My good boy, your mother is also a blessed one."
Xu's eyes also turned red due to the infection, and she picked up a handkerchief to wipe the corners of her eyes.
After a few pleasantries, Old Lady Xu said, "You still have to go back to the village. It's getting late, so I won't keep you here any longer. You should leave quickly. We can talk again tomorrow when we have dinner."
"Oh," Xu replied.
Zhang Laoer then drove the carriage back to the village. Perhaps because he was anxious, he drove much faster on the road and arrived at Zhangjia Village in less than an hour.
As the mule cart entered the village, Shuanzi from Erzhu's family was among the children playing under a tree. Seeing his second grandfather and his family return, he hurried forward and shouted, "Second grandfather, second grandmother, little cousin, you're back?"
He was sniffing his nose while talking, and then wiped it with his sleeve. The sleeve was scabby from wiping his nose for a long time. Zhang Ping'an seemed to see Jin Bao of the past, and could not bear to look at him. It was Zhang Ping'an who helped to choose the name of this kid, Zhang Chenyang, which was totally unworthy of the name.