Quick Wear: Passerby A's Daily Life of Eating Watermelons

When we were having breakfast this morning, there was no egg custard to eat. How could we eat egg custard every day after we recovered from the illness? This treatment was only given to us when Jiang's father came home, or when women were giving birth, or at worst, to replenish the body when we were sick. My grandparents were also reluctant to eat it.

In fact, with the Jiang family's financial situation, it is no problem to eat good food, but they can't save money. Just like this time, how can they hire a doctor when they are sick because the family has no money? And Jiang's father has to go out to take an exam. Not to mention other things, the travel expenses are a problem. They can only relax when he passes the exam and is appointed as an official, or gives up the imperial examination.

However, with Jiang's father's current status as a juren, he can make a lot of money by opening a school. If he is lucky, he can even become a minor official in the county government. But this requires connections and relationships, and ordinary people don't have this opportunity.

After dinner, the aunt and her friends went to wash the pots and dishes. Jiang Yue continued to coax her brother to talk: "Come, learn from your sister, call me sister~"

"Ahhh!"

"Sister~"

“Ahh~?”

"Call my sister."

"what!!"

Although he didn't learn to call sister, he still had some feedback, unlike Jiang's mother who was too lazy to pay attention when she taught him. After a while, the little guy felt sleepy. There was nothing she could do as the child was still young and only woke up for a few hours a day, and spent the rest of the time sleeping.

A few days later, the snow outside melted and the ground was no longer as muddy as before. In addition, the weather was good, so Jiang Yue went out for a walk after a long time. She walked along the familiar path in the village and saw the children in the village gathered together to play.

Her brothers were also inside. Some of them were waving homemade wooden swords, as if they were imitating martial arts heroes. When the brothers saw Jiang Yue coming, they sent their youngest brother to look after Jiang Yue. The others were busy acting as heroes and could not take care of her at this time.

After playing for a while, they went to the center of the village. There were still a lot of people idle in winter, and several adults in the family were also here. When grandma saw Jiang Yue, she called her over. Many people did not understand why their family liked a little girl, and many people said sour words at the beginning.

As soon as they said that, they were scolded by Jiang Yue's grandmother. She scolded them so many times. Now Jiang Yue is four years old, and everyone is used to it. Although there are still people who can't stand it, no one comes to her to provoke her anymore. At most, they will complain about it behind her back.

Grandma tidied Jiang Yue's clothes and told her to be careful when playing and not to sweat too much, or to be careful not to catch a cold again. Just as Jiang Yue was about to leave, she saw dust flying on the road leading to the village, accompanied by the sound of horse hooves and the noise of gongs and drums.

People who were basking in the sun nearby stood up and looked into the distance to see what was going on. As time passed, some smart people reacted and asked, "Auntie, did your third son pass the imperial examination?"

As soon as these words came out, everyone realized that this was the case. This scene had happened once before. Grandma, the eldest aunt, and the second aunt were also excited. When the person announcing the good news came over, the leader was still the three people. After getting off the horse, he bowed to grandma and said, "Congratulations, old lady. Your master Jiang Xuan passed the provincial examination and ranked 17th."

Afterwards, he brought the person who brought the good news back home. When he arrived at the door, there were already many people there. Jiang Yue took a look and saw that most of the villagers had come. As the grandfather, the head of the family, came out, firecrackers popped. Because this had happened before, Jiang Yue's grandfather quickly took out the red envelopes and gave one to each of the people who brought the good news.

My second uncle and eldest aunt moved the table out, and many people went to their own homes to carry tables and chairs. Grandma brought some food and drinks and put them on the table so that everyone could share in the good cheer. All the food that was originally prepared for the New Year was taken out. After today, the Jiang family would be "bankrupt."

The people who brought the good news ate something to enjoy the good news and then said goodbye. Before leaving, my grandfather asked about where Jiang's father was going. He was relieved to learn that he went to the capital to take part in the imperial examination. After they left, everyone relaxed a little. The villagers were a little restrained with them around.

After the bailiff left, everyone started chattering and flattering Grandma Jiang and the others. They had to say a few good words, as the Jiang family was about to become successful and would have the first juren in the village or even the county, and maybe more than one. If they said a few good words now, in case they could ask for help from her family in the future.

The crowd did not disperse until it got dark in the evening. After the family entered the house, the eldest and second aunts went to cook. Mother Jiang wanted to help but was sent back. When the meal was served, tears came to the children's mouths. There was no choice but to eat fine grains, meat and scrambled eggs. It was almost like Chinese New Year.

Grandpa and second uncle also brought out half a jar of wine. After they got on the kang, they didn't rush to pick up their chopsticks. They were waiting for the grandfather, the head of the family, to speak. Since we were all family, the grandfather didn't say anything else. He just said, "I'm happy today, so eat as much as you want."

After saying that, she picked up a chicken leg for Jiang Yue, and then everyone started eating. Jiang Yue had a small stomach, so she was full after eating a chicken leg and a few bites of eggs and rice. She watched everyone eat and chat. Jiang's mother's eyes had been curved since morning, and of course the same was true for the others.

There's nothing we can do about it. The Jiang family has harmonious relationships. Grandpa and grandma know how to behave and have good taste in people. The wives they married for my eldest and second uncles are not the type to cause trouble. Of course, there were quarrels and fights before, but that was within an acceptable range. Which family is really free of conflicts?

After dinner, grandpa took out a silver note. Jiang Yue ran over to take a look. It was a fifty-liang note. Before anyone asked him, he started to explain its origin. It turned out that it was given to him by the yamen runner who came to deliver the victory news today. He said that it was sent by the county magistrate to sponsor Jiang's father to take the exam and to cover travel expenses.

"Dad, is it okay for us to take this money? It won't affect the third brother, right?"

The second uncle asked Grandpa a question, and the others turned their heads to look at Grandpa. Grandpa was very calm: "Don't worry, it's okay, you can accept it. It's a good thing for the county magistrate that the third son passed the imperial examination. This is his political achievement."

"That's good."

"I want to send this money to the third brother. He is alone in the capital. If he encounters any problems, he will not be panicked if he has money in his hand. The money I brought for him before is probably already spent."

"Then we have to wait for the third brother to write back. We can send him to wherever he is now."

"Well, as long as you have no objection."

"What can we say? The money is not for us. Besides, I know the seriousness of the matter."

After the formal discussion, it was time to deal with miscellaneous matters. Grandpa asked grandma to get some money for second uncle and asked him to go to the county early tomorrow morning to buy some food and drinks. The matter of passing the imperial examination was not over yet. Some relatives who lived far away had not come yet, such as Jiang Yue's grandparents and uncles. The news would probably spread tomorrow, and they would definitely come to congratulate after knowing about it.