Chapter 15
At fifteen, this year could be considered over. Going further, it entered February.
When startled in early spring arrives, warm spring breezes send warmth, and spring returns to the earth. Inside and outside the village, in front of and behind houses, patches of new green, fragrant flowers everywhere.
There is a poem that says: "Unknown who cut out the delicate leaves, the spring breeze in February like scissors."
Another poem says: "Late spring mountains beautiful, spring breeze, fragrant flowers and grass..."
From ancient times to the present, whether literati or common people, they have some bias towards spring among the four seasons.
Because spring is the season of hope.
After being startled in early spring, villagers began to repair farm tools, dams and ditches, preparing for the upcoming spring plowing.
The Jiang Family people prepared farm tools while busily preparing luggage for Jiang Wenyuan who was about to go to the capital for the imperial examination.
Jiang Yuqing was already eleven months old. She could yell Dad, Mom, Grandpa, Granny, and some simple words. She was trying hard to practice walking.
Her little short legs were a bit out of control, and she wore a lot, so walking was staggering, stumbling like a clumsy penguin.
The clumsy penguin had a good temper. She didn't cry or make trouble when she fell down. Even if she fell over, she still got up and continued walking. She was an extremely easy-to-care-for good baby.
In the words of her granny, "This child came to repay kindness."
A couple of days before leaving, when there were only parents in the room, Jiang Yuqing pretended to take out a pile of boxes and bottles from her clothes pocket.
These were medicines. In addition to the cool oil from last time, there were also medicines for colds, fever, diarrhea, and even traumatic medicines like Yunnan Baiyao and gauze for first aid.
"Medicine, Dad, no, sick." Her undeveloped little body struggled to speak.
In fact, Jiang Wenyuan and his wife both knew that their daughter's clothes pocket was empty.
But seeing the "magical medicine" piled up like a hill out of thin air, although not the first time they had seen their daughter's skills, the couple still felt terrified.
Jiang Wenyuan stroked his daughter's soft little head with a complex expression and asked worriedly, "Good baby, is it hard for you to conjure up so many things? If it's difficult, don't make them.
Dad doesn't want you to hurt yourself to make things. Even without these, Dad can still take good care of himself. Don't worry, good baby, okay?"
Jiang Yuqing felt warm inside. Seeing these "treasures", her parents' first reaction was not joy, but concern that she might be hurt as a result.
She once again felt that children with parents were so fortunate. Such parents, she was willing to love them with her life.
"A lot of medicine. Dad, no, worried!" The original owner had a lot. Use it, Dad, don't worry!
She took out some food. Milk, bread, instant noodles, self-heating hot pot and self-heating rice.
There was also a variety of beef jerky, spicy sauce like Lao Gan Ma that was easy to carry.
Even peanut melon seeds cookies and other snacks were available. Eat on the way, convenient and delicious, just change the packaging and who would know.
"Eat food!" Seeing his precious daughter's innocent soft little face, Jiang Wenyuan felt both happy and worried.
He was happy that his daughter had such great abilities, and worried that he could not protect such a capable daughter.
He swore in his heart more than once that in the future he would definitely pass the imperial examination and embark on an official career. Only when he became an official and had power and influence could he better protect his daughter.
Jiang Yuqing also prepared several pouches of spiritual spring water. Although this water could not reach the point of bringing the dead back to life and rejuvenation, it could still strengthen the body.
In addition, there were several hundred-year-old ginsengs, at least five hundred years old, which could be called a natural treasure.
This stuff was hard currency. Even with money, there was nowhere to buy it.
"But absolutely do not bring my sweetheart there. Young children have unstable souls and are prone to collisions. I will take her to the Tan Family at Lotus Pond."
Old Lady Hu only said the Tan Family, without mentioning the word "aunt" at all, showing that she had no feelings whatsoever for the sister-in-law.
"Okay, Mother, I know. I have already agreed with my sisters-in-law to go together tomorrow."
"That's good. With your sisters-in-law I'll feel at ease."
After settling the important matters, Old Lady Hu briskly sent the family members off to rest. "Eldest son's family, come with me for a moment..."
In the spring of the south, because of the affectionate rain, it is always more hazy than sunny. The drizzling rain has been falling since last night until this morning.
After breakfast, Old Man Jiang took his second son to the fields. The seven sons of the Jiang family still went out to school as usual.
The eldest Jiang Yujiang walked in front, followed by the sixth and seventh sons. The second son Jiang Yuhe brought up the rear. They wore the same azure scholar robes, headbands, and similar style school bags.
Walking with their heads held high and chests out, the vibrant young scholars were always a very bright sight, often arousing envy from passersby.
Jiang Wenkang and Lin went back to Lin's maternal home, Lu went to the county town to meet up with her sister-in-law's family, and then took her mother-in-law and little niece to the Tan family in Lianhua Village.
In fact, the Tan family was not very close with the Jiang family.
Old Lady Hu's birth mother died early. Her father later married another woman. The stepmother brought a daughter with her when she married in.
The daughter was sweet-talking and eloquent. She later coaxed her father and also took the Hu surname. She became little Mrs. Hu.
Little Mrs. Hu was very calculating and aggressive. Relying on her stepmother's support, she tried to overwhelm Old Lady Hu and her siblings in everything. Fortunately, the stepmother didn't have any children after marrying in, so the lives of the siblings weren't too miserable.
They lived bumpily for a few years. When it was time for Old Lady Hu's brother to get married, the stepmother withheld the family money and refused to provide a dowry.
At that time, Old Lady Hu's father was still alive. He cared a lot about his only son. Seeing his wife being so unreasonable, he was so angry that he threatened to divorce her. Only then did he scrape together money for Old Lady Hu's brother's wedding.
After the wedding, the stepmother still took advantage of her status as mother-in-law to torment her daughter-in-law.
It wasn't until the second year of Old Lady Hu's brother's marriage that her father passed away.
The siblings had accumulated a lot of resentment. Therefore, as soon as their father's coffin entered the ground, Old Lady Hu's brother decisively seized control of the house and improved the lives of the siblings.
The stepmother wanted to make trouble but didn't dare after thinking it through.
In the ancient society with strong clan concepts, she was just a stepmother with baggage and no children of her own. Offending her stepson could easily get her kicked out of the house with no place to go or help.
Her stepdaughter was capable. Knowing that she lost her backing, the stepbrother and stepsister didn't like her and her daughter either.
Before Old Lady Hu got married, she had tried every means to attract the son of a newly widowed small landlord surnamed Tan from the neighboring village.
With her superb skills, she married into the Tan family as a stepmother ahead of Old Lady Hu.
Although little Mrs. Hu was a stepdaughter, she still bore the Hu surname. It was unreasonable for the younger sister to marry before the elder sister.
This infuriated the Hu clan members, who scolded the mother and daughter for being shameless.
Later, after little Mrs. Hu married into the Tan family, she successively gave birth to three sons and a daughter. Old Lady Hu's life was hard after she married into the Jiang family. So she was often mocked by little Mrs. Hu when she returned to her maternal home.
It wasn't until Jiang Wenyuan passed the imperial examination and became a scholar that little Mrs. Hu stopped looking down on them. She thick-skinnedly brought gifts to visit.
They were guests when they came to visit, so Old Lady Hu didn't feel good about driving them out even if she disliked them. She just gave customary return gifts indifferently.
With such visits going back and forth every year, they could never be considered close, not even compared to ordinary members of the Jiang clan. It was just superficial formality.
This time, it was for little Mrs. Hu's daughter's wedding.