nucmednet Chapter 127 Come to Xu's House
Chapter 127 Come to Xu's House
Si Muyan glanced at the man, smiled slightly, and said nothing.
The wife of the village head, who was standing nearby, saw this and immediately started scolding him: "How dare you say that, Zhang Dafu? You're the laziest person at work. My husband was thinking of finding you a job because your family isn't well off, but you're just slacking off and thinking everyone else is a fool!"
As soon as the village head's wife spoke, no one else in the village dared to act rashly.
"Don't worry, Yan girl. I'll definitely choose someone who's both hardworking and smart. You all only care about the wages, and don't even think about how hard they work. What about you?"
In one sentence, everyone was left feeling dejected.
When Si Muyan returned, she saw Si Xingzhi sitting under a tree outside the door, surrounded by a group of children.
There were boys and girls, all squatting on the ground with branches, writing and drawing.
"Dad, what are you doing?"
Si Xingzhi looked at the children with a loving face. When he heard his daughter calling, he looked up and said, "Look how good they are at teaching the children to write. I thought that when I have time, I'll get some sand and spread it here. It will be much more convenient for the children to write."
Brushes, ink, paper, and inkstones were too expensive for children from poor families to afford. That's why Si Xingzhi came up with this idea.
Si Muyan looked at the children's hands and faces that were frozen red, but they were very excited. Even though their handwriting was crooked, they still practiced calligraphy very seriously.
Among them, Lai Di is the most serious and hardworking one.
She also became happy and said after thinking about it.
"Dad, it's very cold outside, and if you leave the sand outside, it will be washed away by the rain."
Si Xingzhi also became worried: "What should I do then?"
Si Muyan said, "The back of our house is quite far from the vegetable garden. Why not build a shed, put tables and chairs inside, and then make sand tables where everyone can practice calligraphy. It's sheltered from the wind and rain, wouldn't that be nice?"
"That's a good idea!"
Si Xingzhi does what he says.
Now he was the one with the least time at home. Apart from taking care of Xiaoxia when Mrs. Zhu was busy, it seemed that the only physical work he could do was fetching water. Even Xiaoan had to take care of the chickens and ducks, so he didn't have to do anything.
He was so bored that he would hold Xiaoxia and lead the children in the village to recite poems and learn to write.
The day to go to the Xu family arrived in the blink of an eye. The Si family members woke up early and got ready. After all, they were going to visit guests, so they had to look presentable. Everyone wore new and appropriate clothes.
Si Muyan had just finished cleaning up when she heard the argument between her second and youngest sisters.
"Little sister, how can you wear such thin clothes? Don't freeze in this cold winter. Put on your inner jacket!"
"The Xu family's carriage is here to pick you up. Besides, the Xu family is a wealthy family, so the charcoal stove in the house must be well lit. You don't need to wear such thick clothes."
Si Muyan went out to see her younger sister, wearing autumn clothes, her only silk dress. If she wore a padded jacket underneath, her graceful figure would definitely not be revealed. Her hair was tied up, with the front strands draped over her cheeks, making her look very graceful and soft. Braids dangling on both sides added to her delicate look. She also wore two wooden hairpins and a silver hairpin in her hair.
The silver hairpin should have been given to her by Mr. Xu Si.
Moreover, my sister's cheeks and lips are particularly red today, she must have put on rouge.
Si Muyan sighed softly, pushed her little sister into the house, and found her some ordinary winter clothes: "Wear this set, and I'll have my second sister come over to re-do your hair later. Just wear one silver hairpin, the two wooden hairpins are not necessary."
"But big sister..."
"We're going to visit someone today, to see Fourth Brother Xu's mother, not to go to a performance," Si Muyan said calmly. "The elders don't like anything too striking to wear. You'll look really awkward dressed like this."
The younger sister was speechless and immediately did as Si Muyan said.
The second sister came in to tie her hair and glared at her: "You really make me worry. You have to learn those low-brow styles for no reason."
The younger sister's mouth curled up, as if she was about to hang an oil bottle, and she muttered: "Our family has money, but the eldest sister doesn't buy us some nice clothes..."
The second sister straightened her head and said, "Don't talk nonsense. Our family has money now, so don't we have many places to spend it?"
It wasn't that Si Muyan was stingy and didn't want to buy her nice new clothes. It was just that at this time, she had to choose between coarse linen or silk brocade. Compared to the other two, coarse linen was definitely warmer.
Besides, they all have to work. Coarse linen clothes are easy to wash and they don’t feel bad if they get dirty. Silk clothes wrinkle easily and are difficult to clean when they get dirty, which is much more troublesome.
Si Muyan leaned against the door frame, thought for a moment and said, "You're right. How about this: next spring, let's make a nice set of clothes for each of us."
The second sister objected: "Why make it if there is no chance to wear it?"
Si Muyan said: "We make one every season. If we don't wear it, we can just put it away. Everyone will be happy."
The second sister deftly combed the younger sister's hair and put the silver hairpin on her. She was about to say it was a waste to leave it alone, but then she remembered how many clothes she had worn as a child were too small to wear once, and how many clothes she had worn once and never wore again.
She closed her mouth silently.
A carriage arrived to pick up the five members of the Si family: Si Xingzhi, the three girls, and Xiao An. Si Muyan had already arranged everything at home and at the shop. She had the He family help out at noon, so they would definitely be finished by the afternoon.
Originally, I thought that Mr. Xu Si would come to pick them up, but he didn't.
It was not until the carriage arrived at the Xu family's door that we saw Mr. Xu Si looking at everyone with a happy face.
"Uncle, eldest lady, second lady, third lady, and younger brother."
When the third girl was mentioned, there was nothing special about her. The younger sister didn't know why, but she felt a little unhappy. She looked at her two sisters. Although their clothes were different, they were similar. She didn't stand out at all.
The Xu family seemed to treat the three of them no differently, as if today was not her home ground.
Fourth Master Xu said, "My mother is hosting a banquet in the dining hall, and I'd like you all to come with me. My eldest brother was supposed to come back today, but he had something urgent to do and couldn't make it, so my eldest sister-in-law came back instead."
Not long after entering the yard, I saw a woman in her thirties standing next to a hanging flower gate. Although her face was full of smiles, she did not seem particularly enthusiastic.
"Sister-in-law, the Si family is here."
Mrs. Xu looked at everyone, and except for staying in front of her second sister for a moment, she did not show any impoliteness.
"The old lady has been complaining all morning, saying the driver is ignorant and so slow." Mrs. Xu laughed, "I tried to persuade her that the journey wasn't short and that rushing her too much wouldn't be appropriate. Now I've been waiting for you to come..."
She looked at the three girls again, and affectionately pulled Si Muyan and said, "You are the eldest daughter of the Si family, right? The old lady told me that she liked you very much, and it was like old friends at first sight."