Chapter 728 - 730: Reading the Letters
Chapter 728: Chapter 730: Reading the Letters
Gu Yuanjin wasn’t annoyed by their lack of trust. He unhurriedly handed out the letters to the respective families. "If there’s anything you don’t understand, go find Scholar Zhou."
Letters in hand, everyone was impatient to head home. After saying their goodbyes to Li Cuicui, they all filed out.
Li Cuicui suddenly slapped her thigh. She chased them to the door and shouted after them, "We have another batch of letters to send back three days from now! If you have anything to tell them, remember to send your letters over early so we can mail them out together."
Upon hearing this, the crowd sprinted right back. "Dashi’s wife, is that true?"
If they could communicate like this, then as parents, they would have nothing to worry about. Receiving news every few days was better than anything else.
"Of course. Why would I lie to you about this?
"You better act quickly and bring your letters over as soon as possible, lest they get left behind."
Li Cuicui always preferred getting things prepared in advance to avoid the frantic rush of forgetting something at the last minute.
Tugen’s mother hurriedly said, "I’ll have my husband go find Scholar Zhou to write a letter right away. We definitely won’t delay your schedule."
The others also quickly chimed in, terrified that if they spoke a second too late, their children wouldn’t receive their replies.
By the time Li Cuicui returned to the courtyard, Gu Yuanjin had finally finished reading both letters. In truth, they were mostly just words of greeting, primarily meant to inform the family that they had arrived in Ping’an safely and that there was no need to worry.
"It’s never easy being away from home. I’m sure they’re just reporting the good news and hiding the bad," Li Cuicui said, eyeing a few unopened letters still on the table. "The rest of these must be written by our own children. Why don’t you read them too?"
This time, Gu Yuanjin flatly refused. "These were written by the kids for their own parents. It’s best to wait until they get here to open them.
"As their eldest uncle, I shouldn’t overstep my bounds.
"Mother, didn’t Old Seventh’s wife bring back some dried mushrooms from Yi Province? How about we divide those things up first? I can conveniently take my share back when I leave later."
Gu Yuanjin’s eyes drifted toward the pile of local specialties. If they weren’t top-tier goods, Old Seventh’s wife wouldn’t have bothered sending them home.
Having eaten so much dried seafood recently, it would be nice to switch to some mountain delicacies for a change of taste.
The letter had just mentioned a few recipes for these ingredients, and he was already getting impatient to try them.
"All you do all day is think about food. I’ll give you the stuff this time, but don’t come eyeing my stash anymore.
"I don’t know what’s wrong with you brothers. When you were younger, you’d stuff anything into your mouths. Now that you’re older, you’ve somehow become increasingly picky eaters."
"Well, wasn’t that because we were poor back then? Even if we wanted to eat well, there was nothing to be had. Isn’t a person’s whole life just about food and clothing? Now that our living conditions have finally improved, if I don’t eat well now, how much will I be able to enjoy once my teeth fall out?"
Li Cuicui glared at him. "You always have your crooked reasoning. Even if we have good things, you can’t just consume them so recklessly.
"Everything needs to be budgeted and planned. If Old Seventh and the others hadn’t sent these things, would you just stop eating altogether?"
Gu Yuanjin walked behind his old mother and began gently pounding her back. "Mother, our family’s circumstances are much better now. You shouldn’t be so stingy anymore.
"Eat what you should eat, drink what you should drink. Could it be that your sons can’t even afford to support their old mother?
"Just look at your storehouse—it’s so full you can barely fit anything else inside, yet you still can’t bear to use any of it. Are you planning to wait until the goods spoil before clearing them out?
"That would be a reckless waste of God’s gifts, and it’d be a disservice to the filial piety Old Seventh and his wife showed by sending these things from so far away."
Li Cuicui found herself momentarily at a loss for words. She knew that her ’hoard everything, use nothing’ mindset wasn’t right. But she had lived in poverty for almost her entire life; if she didn’t have goods stockpiled, she would always feel a lingering sense of panic.
Having budgeted carefully for a lifetime, asking her to be lavish with her spending was something she simply couldn’t do.
"Alright, alright. I can’t eat all this by myself anyway, but don’t I have you all to help me? What exactly have you set your sights on? Go grab it yourself in a bit."
Rather than letting it rot and eventually feeding it to the pigs, it would be much better to distribute it among the children and grandchildren at home.
"Mother, see, you’ve misunderstood me again. I just want you and Father to eat better.
"Old Seventh always includes our shares every time he sends something. Why would we covet what belongs to you two elders?
"Also, don’t always feed Father such bland meals. You still need to give him nourishing food when appropriate."
Gu Yuanjin’s voice grew smaller and smaller toward the end, and he cautiously cast a glance at Li Cuicui.
Li Cuicui rolled her eyes at him. "I haven’t been mistreating your father. I’ve consulted the doctor, and there are indeed certain things he simply cannot eat. It’s just that he always assumes I’m deliberately being harsh on him.
"I know he’s been complaining to you boys in private, but why don’t you use your heads? Can he really eat those inflammatory foods?
"He dreams of feasting on meat and fish every day, but can his old bones even handle it?"
Gu Yuanjin was rendered speechless.
「Meanwhile.」
Aside from keeping an eye on the progress of the shop construction, Jin Qianqian also instructed her subordinates to purchase dried mountain goods from the area.
She had already put together a rudimentary new escort team here. Since the escort agency was newly established, it inevitably lacked the trust of the locals and hadn’t received many jobs yet.
Jin Qianqian wasn’t in a hurry, however. With so many businesses under her control, even if the escort agency only handled their own family’s transport needs, they would still be plenty busy.
She planned to collect the local mountain goods and transport them to Shangjing or other parts of the country. They could be sold in her own shops or delivered to the various Tianfu Restaurant branches, which would also allow them to introduce several new dishes.
Today, however, she had a much more important matter to attend to. Her three original senior maidservants were all getting married tomorrow.
She needed to hand over the dowries she had long prepared for them.
Each received one hundred taels of silver as bottom-of-the-trunk money, along with two jewelry sets and several bolts of fabric.
Lichun, Li Qiu, and Lidong came together to express their gratitude. Well before today, they had already finished training Ming Yue and the others. Now, Madam’s capable assistants had been replaced by the four of them.
"From now on, you will be women with your own families. Aside from working for me, you must also manage your own little households well." Looking at these young girls, who were only eighteen years old and about to step into a new Chapter of their lives, Jin Qianqian couldn’t help but say a bit more, repeatedly reminding them of a few things.
"If you ever feel wronged at your husband’s home and you are in the right, I will naturally stand up for you."
Lichun and the other two knelt in unison, kowtowing deeply several times. Meeting Madam was the greatest fortune of their lives.
Not only had they learned a wealth of skills, but she had also transformed them from helpless orphans into people with family and friends.
"There’s no need for any more words of thanks. You’ll be brides tomorrow, so you can’t let yourselves look disheveled.
"Go down and get some rest early. If you live your lives well, I will be happy too."
The new senior maidservants standing nearby, led by Ming Yue, quickly stepped forward to help Lichun and the others up.
"Sister Lichun, this is a joyous occasion. Tomorrow, us sisters will definitely head over to ask for a cup of wedding wine," Ming Yue said with a smile as she supported Lichun.
"All of you sisters are more than welcome to come." Lichun’s face was flushed a deep red. Because the three of them were marrying out at the same time, the estate’s main kitchen would be preparing several tables of banquets for them—a true testament to the dignity and face granted by their master.