Chapter 1057
New 8 hexagrams
Chapter 1057 New Gossip
When Jiang Xiaozhu and Xiao Fubao saw them, they immediately pulled Qin Jingyi along and insisted on going: "Grandma Qin, let's go too. We haven't spoken to Grandma and Aunt Guan for many days."
Qin Xiaogu and Guan Lao Madam both loved them and often played with them. But after Qin Xiaogu became pregnant, Guan Lao Madam and Qin Xiaogu stopped going out. They only met once when the Qian and Yang families had trouble and Guan Lao Madam came out to take charge.
Grandma Qin didn't want them to go. She was afraid of revenge from the mountain people. After all, the mountain people were different from the villagers. They knew how to fight and use poison.
Qin Xiaomi pleaded with the children, "Grandma, let them go. Locking them at home won't help. The only safe way is for them to learn skills and fight their way out."
"Okay, go, go, but you can only stay for a quarter of an hour and be back. The Guan family is busy too." Grandma Qin agreed and arranged for someone to escort them, instructing them: "Don't linger on the road for too long. If you meet a stranger who speaks to you, run away as soon as you can. And remember..."
"Call for help, General!" Jiang Xiaozhu and Xiao Fubao said in unison. They had memorized this instruction long ago.
Grandma Qin glared at them: "Are you tired of being an old woman? Okay, okay, I won't talk to you anymore... Erlang, take them away."
"Hey, Grandma Qin, don't worry. I'm good at martial arts and I will protect them." Jiang Erlang called the four little guys, took the freshly cooked New Year's food, and ran to Guan's house.
When Mrs. Guan saw them, she was so happy: "Oh, you clever little guys, you finally came to see Grandpa Guan. Grandpa Guan must have missed you."
"Guan Azu, we miss you too."
"Little Yunping wanted to come too, he was screaming for it, but he's too young, and today I'm just bringing snacks to your house, it's not something important, so I didn't bring him along."
"On the first day of the Lunar New Year, we will definitely bring Xiao Yunping to your house to pay New Year's greetings and let him feel the shock of the New Year. He hasn't even celebrated the New Year yet!" Jiang Xiaozhu and Xiao Fubao chatted, and the old lady in charge was so happy that she couldn't see her teeth or eyes.
"Haha, you brought Xiao Yunping here to earn lucky money on the first day of the Lunar New Year, right?" Old Madam Guan teased them. Seeing Xiao Fubao lower his head in embarrassment, she laughed and said, "Alright, give him lucky money, give him lots of it. This is Xiao Yunping's first New Year since he was born, so we must give him a shock."
Jiang Xiaozhu and Xiao Fubao's eyes lit up... Xiao Yunping is going to get rich!
They also want to be shocked again, but they have grown up and have more dignity to protect, so they are embarrassed to ask for generous New Year's money openly.
"Hahaha, you guys really make me happy. Just standing there and making a few expressions can make me happy."
Jiang Erlang: "..."
The Guan family was indeed too quiet, which was why Old Madam Guan was so bored that she was so happy to see the children.
"Erlang, Xiaomai, you're here." Guan Shuli heard the voices and came out of the room with Qin Xiaogu, carrying two boxes. "Spring Festival couplets, red with gold characters and designs. One box is written, and the other box is blank. Take them back and divide them up."
"Hey, thank you, Uncle Guan." Jiang Erlang accepted it.
As soon as he took the box, before he even opened it, he smelled a clear and crisp fragrance of cold osmanthus. He sighed to himself that the Guan family was such an elegant family that they even put scented powder on the paper of the Spring Festival couplets. It seemed that they were living too rough.
Guan Shuli and Qin Xiaogu talked to Jiang Erlang and the others for a while, and let them eat a bowl of stewed bird's nest. After a quarter of an hour, Jiang Erlang got up and said goodbye, took more things and went home.
After arriving at the Qin family's shop, Grandma Qin saw the things they brought back and said helplessly, "What did your Grandpa Guan give you again? It smells delicious."
"These smell wonderful! Please open them so we can see them!" Little Fu Bao urged, already curious about what the fragrant couplets looked like. "Alright, alright, I'll open them for you right away," Grandma Qin said, feeling pleased with the increasingly lively and talkative Little Fu Bao.
With a creak, the box was opened, and rolls of Spring Festival couplets came into view. Grandma Qin unfolded the couplets and was surprised: "These couplets are too exquisite. Each roll has a pattern, and the patterns are different. There are pictures of a roc spreading its wings, red plums welcoming spring, magpies climbing branches, and persimmons blooming like rue..."
"It smells good." Little Fubao praised, looking at Grandma Qin with sparkling eyes and anticipation, his eyes full of "I want it so much, when will you give me some?"
Grandma Qin was amused by his eager look and immediately started to distribute the couplets: "Come, each of you bring two rolls of written and unwritten spring couplets."
The rest belongs to the Qin family.
"Oh, you are so kind, thank you." Little Fubao thanked him happily, but did not make the decision himself. Instead, he ran to the backyard and pulled Aunt Xu and Aunt Qiao to choose: "Grandma, Grandma Qiao, please choose quickly. Each family can choose four volumes."
Xu Qiao is the only child in both families. Both families love him and finally let him choose.
Little Fubao selected four volumes of written and unwritten Spring Festival couplets in an orderly manner.
After hearing this, the other families also came to choose. Qin Ertao came to choose from Qin Dashi's family. There was no other reason, just because she was the most literate person in the family and had the best eye for beauty.
The strange thing was that Xiao Fubao had already chosen everything for the Qiao family, but Qiao Songguo was still standing in front of the two boxes, leaning towards Qin Ertao.
Body language is the worst at lying. Qin Xiaomi had to gossip and whispered: I didn’t expect that Qiao Songguo would have such thoughts about Ertao?
Did the two of them make it clear?
Why don’t you make it clear?
If I don't make it clear now, after the New Year, Ertao will probably be promised to someone else.
Qin Ertao has reached the age of marriage, and because of the Qin family's prosperity, her status as a member of the Qin family has also risen. Many families are eyeing her and want to marry her.
But Qin Ertao did not respond, thinking that those people came to marry her with ulterior motives and that they could not share her suffering, let alone let go of her experience of escaping from the wilderness and being almost kidnapped by evil people.
Even if she is innocent, nine out of ten good families can't withstand a single word of gossip from others.
"What gossip are you looking at?" Aunt Qin passed by and saw that she looked like she was watching a play. She followed her gaze and saw that she was looking at Qiao Songguo. She was shocked: "You, you are not..." Have you taken a fancy to Qiao Songguo? That Dalang is back, won't he go crazy?!
Qin Xiaomi gave her a look and said, "Second Aunt, if your IQ has declined, just eat some walnuts to replenish it. Our family can afford it."
Aunt Qin heaved a sigh of relief, feeling relieved. She read the gossip with her and soon discovered the truth: "Tsk tsk, it really is new gossip. No wonder you're willing to spend time reading it."
The two were watching with great interest when Qin Ertao turned around and walked towards the small door at the back of the house.
The nephew and aunt then withdrew their gossipy gazes, pretended nothing had happened, and pulled Qin Ertao to continue making New Year's goods.
Because the Qin, Jiang, Xu, and Qiao families have a large number of people, money, and sufficient supplies, they have been preparing for at least five days of New Year's goods every year for the past two years.
Even though most of the New Year's goods were made by the servants this year, the Qin family shop was busy for three days, making a lot of yellow rice cakes, fried meat/vegetarian meatballs, fried meat, braised meat, fried Sanzi, sugar melons, as well as steamed sticky rice dumplings, steamed New Year's buns, refined winter melon candy, lotus root candy, etc. from their hometown in the Central Plains.
But Jiang Xiaozhu, Qin Xiaomai, Qin Jingyi, Xiao Fubao and other children were so happy that they only ate New Year's goods for the past three days and didn't have any proper meals.
Fortunately, I watched them drink digestive tea every day, so they didn’t get stomach upset.