123: Chapter 123 Her cousin was reborn (10)

After Xiao Yanci left and the Jiang Family had shooed away the nosy villagers, everyone stared blankly at the items in the main room.

The thank-you gifts had been delivered by a separate carriage; it took several trips to unload everything, which was now piled onto the table in the main room.

There were a dozen or so neatly folded bolts of fabric. The indigo coarse cloth was durable, the moon-white fine silk was soft, and there was even pomegranate-red patterned satin that shimmered with a soft luster under the window.

On the empty table beside it sat several oil-paper parcels. When opened, they revealed osmanthus cakes, almond crisps, chestnut crisps, and other pastries no one recognized, all of which looked delicious. The sweet aroma mingled with the starchy scent of the fabric, permeating the main room.

Besides all this, there was actually grain! The snowy-white rice was a sight to behold.

These gifts were excellent, all things the family lacked.

The Jiang Family looked at these items with exceptionally bright smiles on their faces.

With so many things, everyone should get a share, right!

Several young girls excitedly discussed the beautifully colored fabric, agreeing that it would surely make lovely clothes.

Blah blah blah...

Of course, since the heads of the household, Grandpa Jiang and Grandma Jiang, hadn't spoken yet, everyone stood to the side and didn't reach out to grab anything.

"These fabrics..." Grandma Jiang rubbed the piece of patterned satin with her fingers, then pulled out two bolts of coarse cloth.

"There is so much fabric. Although each branch of the family has a different number of people, Xiao Wan was the one who found him, and Xiao Ju and Xiao Chun also helped pull him up. The eldest son carried him down, and the second son delivered the message. Every branch contributed."

"So, I plan to distribute these fabrics equally; any extras can be handled by you yourselves. The pastries will be the same, all distributed equally."

Grandma Jiang finished speaking and looked at everyone.

"Do you have any objections to my arrangement?"

Everyone looked at each other, unsure of what the others were thinking, but they still answered in unison.

"No."

"No, Mother, your arrangement is very good."

Everyone agreed, and afterwards, the fabric and pastries were divided up.

As for the rice, it was, of course, kept by Grandma Jiang.

Before every meal, Grandma Jiang would scoop out the amount needed. If she didn't keep it, who would?

In the end, only the silver in the box remained. Three hundred taels! How many years would their family have to work to earn that amount?

Grandpa Jiang had already thought it through.

"As for this silver, I've decided. Next year, the fourth son will go for the examinations, so we'll keep some aside for that. Then, we'll buy an ox so that the farm work can be a bit easier."

"The rest will be used to buy fields. With an ox and more fields, the family will have more grain. Money will always run out one day, and rather than leaving it at home to be coveted by thieves, it's better to spend it. Don't you all agree?"

Everyone had actually expected this; the money definitely wouldn't be divided up. Buying fields was fine too; with more fields, they could harvest more grain, and life would be more secure.

Uncle Jiang nodded: "Father, I agree. The family really does need an ox."

A few days later, Grandpa Jiang tucked the silver ingots away and went to the village head's house to ask about land. When he returned, he had a land deed in his hand, the ink still wet.

Grandpa Jiang smiled and said he was lucky to have come across some good land and had quickly secured it.

Afterward, Grandpa Jiang took Uncle Jiang and the second uncle out, and when they returned, they were leading a sturdy ox.

With more fields, the family indeed harvested much more grain than in previous years.

The matter of the Jiang Family saving a noble and receiving a large thank-you gift was discussed in the village for a long time before being replaced by the latest village gossip.

Jiang Zhu felt that Mother Zhou's gaze toward her was no longer as sharp and critical as before; whenever they met, she would even greet her with a smile.

As for Third Brother Zhou, seeing how considerate Jiang Zhu was toward him, he was quite pleased and felt that being with Jiang Zhu wouldn't be bad at all.

Seeing the Zhou family's attitude, Jiang Zhu took the opportunity to tell her mother that she favored Third Brother Zhou.

Eldest Aunt was initially against it, as Third Brother Zhou had studied for so many years and hadn't even managed to pass the examination for a child scholar.

Besides, studying was too expensive, and if he couldn't pass, he would just keep trying. Every exam required preparing a large sum of money; what good was there in marrying him?

But after hearing Jiang Zhu assert that Third Brother Zhou was very learned and would surely pass with high marks next year, or at the very least, being so learned, he could be an accountant like the fourth uncle, which would still be a better life than an ordinary family!

After this analysis by Jiang Zhu, Eldest Aunt consulted with Grandma Jiang and agreed.

In truth, Jiang Zhu's ideal husband was the young master they had saved that day, but they were destined not to be together.

The Zhou family also had thoughts of marriage; the Jiang Family had saved a relative of the county magistrate, regardless of whether that Zhang family still had dealings with the magistrate's family or not.

But in the eyes of outsiders, this was a connection, and a golden thigh to cling to at that! Perhaps they could ask for their help in the future.

Just like that, Jiang Zhu successfully married Third Brother Zhou.

After Jiang Zhu married, life for the Jiang Family continued just as it had before.

After Jiang Zhu married, Jiang Wan also slowly added some food items to the household.

There was no help for it; the food here was simply too monotonous. It was either steamed or boiled, and stir-frying was rare since oil cost money. Jiang Wan felt she had become skin and bones.

In fact, there were quite a few things to eat here. The river had plenty of fish, shrimp, and river snails, and the paddy fields had loaches and yellow eels; there was plenty to eat.

When there was no meat, these were also meat!

But not many people caught them because everyone felt it was quite troublesome to prepare, and if done poorly, they would taste muddy and fishy when eaten.

Jiang Wan didn't mind the trouble; she just wanted to satisfy her own appetite. After she saved Xiao Yanci, her status in the family had noticeably improved.

The most obvious sign was that the portion of rice she received was the same as Grandpa Jiang's.

Every day, whenever she was free, Jiang Wan would take her younger siblings to the river to fish. Being bored at home was just being bored.

Fortunately, common seasonings like green onions, ginger, garlic, and chili peppers were all available here.

The family was reluctant to use oil, so she would steam things; if done well, the taste of steamed fish was actually quite good.

Once, Jiang Wan made this steamed fish, which drew endless praise from the family, and they asked Jiang Wan to be responsible for this steamed fish dish from then on.

Jiang Wan agreed, but even a clever housewife cannot cook without rice; to eat delicious fish, one needed to have fish first.

After finishing her morning chores, Jiang Wan brought people to fish.

Perhaps today was her lucky day; it didn't take long before Jiang Wan had caught two fish, both the size of a palm. It wasn't enough; she had to keep fishing.

Fishing was a very boring task, and the two younger siblings couldn't sit still, so Jiang Wan let them go home; she could handle it alone.

When Xiao Yanci came across the bridge, he saw Jiang Wan fishing there and walked toward her.

"Little girl, fishing? You certainly have a good mood for it."

Jiang Wan was surprised to see Xiao Yanci: "You're still here? I thought you had left!"

Xiao Yanci smiled: "I've been recovering from my injuries. They are mostly healed, and it is time for me to go back, so before leaving, I wanted to come over and say goodbye to you."