Quick Wear: Men Farming and Women Weaving

There is a plaque hanging at the door: Li’s House.

The study in the front yard was unattended and quiet, with the man reading a book and drinking tea.

Li Changgui leaned on the desk, flipping through a book of poetry.

There was a knock on the door.

"Come in"

"Sir, the old house has been simply repaired, and the hundred acres of land have been rented to nearby villagers." Sanbao is now more mature and steady, and he has just returned from the Li family's old house in Shanghe Village.

After hearing what Sanbao said, Li Changgui said he understood and asked Sanbao to give him 10% less grain than other landlords and not to be too harsh on the villagers. After all, that land was not good farmland but only third-class good farmland.

He had been to the Li family's old house once, and he had already put the things there into the space.

He didn't expect that his father Li Jinrong would secretly hide a batch of valuables and secretly hide them in the old house.

His father only saw him once before he died. At that time, he seemed to feel that he could not survive, so he told him in advance what was hidden in the old house and asked him not to tell his eldest brother.

After the funeral, she was buried in a cemetery ten miles away from the capital. Neither the stepmother, Madam Zhao, nor the eldest brother knew that the housekeeper was handling the funeral of the master, and according to the master's private last words to him, the remains of Aunt Qian were placed in the master's coffin and buried together.

Even Li Changgui didn't know that his mother's body had been buried with his father.

Li Changgui met the village chief in Shanghe Village and gave him some gifts, letting him know that someone was living in the Li family's old house and asked the village chief to take care of it.

The village chief knew that the Li family had not lived there for more than 20 years and did not expect anyone to come back.

Ever since the young man from the Li family passed the imperial examination and became a Jinshi, he has never returned.

We also arrived at Qian's family, my mother's hometown, in Shiqiao Village, not far from Shanghe Village. The person already living there was the second son of Qian's third uncle.

When they came to explain their purpose of visiting, which was to pay homage to their grandparents, the elderly Third Uncle, supported by his two sons, squinted his eyes and stared at the young man in front of him.

“Like…really like”

"You look so much like your mother," said the old voice of the third uncle, recalling Qian Jiaolan's appearance.

"Your grandmother's family is unlucky. It's a blessing that you, their grandson, care about them."

"It's good that you're back now. You can live here in the future. We, the Qian family, have a lot of people here so you can have a say. Come and tell us if you have anything." The third uncle pointed at his eldest grandson and asked him to take Li Changgui to the cemetery outside the village to pay homage to Qian Laoer's family.

They went to the cemetery together, bringing candles, paper money and other offerings.

He came to his grandparents' grave to pay homage, took out a purse from his arms which contained his mother's hair and buried it under his grandparents' tombstone, reuniting his family.

My cousin next to me didn't say anything either. He just helped burn paper and only started chatting after we left the cemetery.

"Since you are Aunt Qian's son, I will call you Changgui," Qian Minghai said in a restrained voice.

"Cousin, you can call me whatever you want." Li Changgui nodded in agreement.

"Are you going to live in the Li family compound in Shanghe Village from now on?"

“I occasionally live in Shanghe Village, but usually I live in the house at the north gate of Suzhou City.”

They got to know each other along the way, and their conversation became much smoother.

Although Li Changgui was not wearing very nice clothes, that cotton-padded jacket was something he could not wear, and his scholarly temperament made Qian Minghai feel a little restrained and he did not dare to speak. But when he learned that his cousin had a kind personality, he relaxed and talked about many trivial matters in the village.

After saying goodbye to Third Uncle's family and returning to the Li family's old house, Sanbao was driving the car and waiting for a long time.

"Sir, why don't you wait for me? Go out by yourself." Sanbao hurried forward to check if Li Changgui was injured.

"I just went to visit the village chief and went to the Qian family in the neighboring village to pay respect to my grandmother's family. It's not far away."

Back at Li's residence in the city, the doorman, Old Man Jia, saw the young master coming back, and hurried forward to lead the carriage to the stable next to the back door.

Old Man Jia's wife, Nanny Zhou, told her son to notify the kitchen to prepare hot water and send the food to the front yard.

I went back to the bedroom, took a shower, changed into clean clothes, and returned to the study to read and write.

In his previous life, he had studied for imperial examinations, so he was familiar with most of the text books. He practiced calligraphy every day, but he was not good at poetry. He could only read more poems by literati to improve his poetry level.

I plan to take the imperial examination for the title of scholar this year, which will improve my status, exempt me from land taxes, and save me from annual corvee labor. I am preparing to take the examination for the title of student in March.

The master chef in the kitchen was cooking with his two apprentices. They were Suzhou dishes with a lighter flavor, and he was instructing his apprentices in how to cook.

Nanny Zhou taught her son to be smarter so that he could please the master.

Jia Mu, who was standing next to him, felt like his head was going to explode as he listened to his mother's words, and she kept nagging.

Jia Mu cleverly saw that the chef in the kitchen had already cooked the food, and immediately answered that the food was ready and he was going to deliver it. He quickly left Zhou Mama and headed towards the study in the front yard.

"Sir, the meal is ready." Jia Mu arrived outside the study room and spoke in a low voice timidly, living up to his previous cleverness.

"Come in"

Li Changgui could see that Jia Mu was not used to the new environment.

After finishing his meal, Jia Mu packed up his dishes and walked out the door.

"Master, I'm back." Sanbao had just returned from outside dealing with some things.

"The land near Suzhou City is basically controlled by officials or landlords."

"I bought 50 acres of dry land outside Suzhou from the government."

Sanbao reported the situation truthfully, and the situation of the dry land was also explained.

"Hire farmers to plant 40 mu of millet, sorghum and drought-resistant crops, and the remaining mu of land to plant watermelons"

"If you don't have enough money, tell me again"

Sanbao likes his current life very much. He works hard outside every day and feels good to be valued by the young master.

"Sir, your birthday is coming up in a few days. Do you need to invite some acquaintances to attend?"

“No need, we in the Li family can just have a meal together then.” He didn’t want to waste money and refused to celebrate his birthday.

Five days later.

The chef in the kitchen made a bowl of plain noodles, using chicken broth to make the soup.

A table full of delicious food was set in the main hall in the front yard, and Li Changgui asked Sanbao to sit down.

"Sanbao, you sit down and eat with us."

"This is not appropriate," Sanbao wanted to refuse.

"We have been together for ten years, we are not strangers"

After hearing this, Sanbao was somewhat touched that the young master did not treat him as an outsider.

There was also a table of food in the kitchen. The Jia family of three, as well as the chef and his apprentice ate the sumptuous meal together. It was lively and full of laughter.

Seeing his family eating happily together, old man Jia was very grateful to Li Changgui for buying them. He could work here safely and get a monthly salary. When his son grows up, he will marry a wife and wait for his grandchildren.

Master Wang, who was drinking wine next to him, was in a very good mood as he watched his two apprentices fighting over the meat.