Zhan Chun

Kapitel 34

Having been influenced by Madam Qian for a long time, Xiao Tongqian didn't take the two strings of cash seriously and pushed it back, saying, "When I was in the Qian family, the old master's concubine would spend five hundred coins for a meal. Young mistress, don't be too frugal."

The Cheng family was already extravagant, so they didn't spend that much money. The cook asked, "Which concubine eats gold?" Little Copper Coin replied, "She eats goose, but only the wing tips. She eats wild game, but only a few legs. The rest is thrown away. Five hundred coins are barely enough for her."

This is not just extravagance, it's waste. Xiao Yuan hurriedly warned the cook not to do the same as the Qian family, and then asked Cai Lian to bring the few notes she had just written and read them to Xiao Tong Qian.

Little Copper Coin dared not trouble the young mistress's head maid. She took the invitation and read it herself: Second Aunt Cheng and her daughter-in-law, Eldest Sister Cheng, the three sisters-in-law of the He family, and Madam Xin of the Qian family. She neatly arranged the invitation and put it back on the table. She smiled and said, "The young mistress is very considerate. I'll go tell Madam."

Xiao Yuan nodded slightly. She asked A Yun to see her out. She then asked A Cai to summon the wives of the heads of the four departments and six bureaus to come and collect their tasks. Cai Lian put away the box of coins and took out the account book to record the accounts: "Little Copper Coin will have to praise the young mistress well in front of Madam again after this trip."

Xiao Yuan said, "She's a grateful girl. Just because I found her a good family, she always speaks up for me." After saying that, she sighed, "It's easy for me to find families for other girls, but it's difficult for my own. Why don't you go and deliver these invitations and see if they have anyone suitable?"

Cailian blushed. She quickly took out the invitation and had a maid give it to the gatekeeper. Xiaoyuan was just teasing her. Seeing her shyness, she hurriedly said, "I was just joking. Quickly get my family's invitation back. Have Axiu send two maids to deliver it directly to the backyard. There are too many of them. If it's delivered to the gatehouse, who knows when it will reach the sisters-in-law?"

The He family's accounts were managed by Madam Jiang. They discovered a shortfall of 100,000 strings of cash. Unable to easily demand payment from Li Wu Niang, they had no choice but to cut expenses. The servants' monthly wages were reduced by nearly half, naturally causing them to work less diligently. Cai Lian understood the situation perfectly. She quickly stopped the maid and asked her to deliver the He family's land deed to A Xiu.

A moment later, the little maid returned, panting, and said, "Young Madam, Sister A-Xiu is busy. She asked you to find two people to deliver it." Although A-Zhu was somewhat reckless, she was always diligent, and there must be a reason for her excuse. Xiao Yuan asked, and sure enough, there was something wrong. The little maid looked frightened, her body still trembling slightly: "Young Madam, it was terrifying! Sister A-Xiu is hitting Cheng Fu on the back with a club as thick as an arm, and she won't let him make a sound. If he accidentally shouts, she'll hit him again."

Cheng Fucheng was always up to no good, and he would get beaten up every day. But why would Axiu neglect her work for such a trivial matter? Xiao Yuanxin was in a hurry and ordered a maid to deliver a letter to the He family. She then took the maids who had accompanied her to Azhu's residence.

They passed through the alley and turned into the courtyard where the servants lived when they heard Cheng Fu shouting in a hoarse voice, "Young Madam, save me! Sisters, save me!" Ah Xiu and her husband were both in charge, and this small courtyard was separated from theirs. At this moment, apart from the crowd gathered at the gate, only Cheng Fu, kneeling on the ground, and Ah Xiu, wielding a wooden mallet, were in the courtyard. Xiao Yuan coughed lightly twice, and the servants hurriedly dispersed. Ah Xiu dropped the mallet and bowed, saying with shame, "My husband is useless. Not only has he made me neglect my duties, but he has also brought shame upon the Young Madam."

Xiao Yuan helped Cai Lian inside and scolded, "It's not a big deal to discipline a man, it's not about tarnishing his reputation, but Cheng Fu has always been all talk and no action. You can just give him a couple of slaps, but how can you let it interfere with important matters?"

Cheng Fu, soaked to the bone as if doused with cold water, shivered in the still-warm spring breeze: "Young Madam is wise. She usually only hits me a few times, but she hit me dozens of times, and even made me kneel all night." Shuo Zhu forced a smile: "Good wife, I deserved to be hit. If I also caused you to delay Young Madam's important work, wouldn't that be even more sinful? Why don't you go and do your work first, and I'll hit you later?"

The group laughed and urged Ah Xiu to stop. Ah Xiu jumped high, waving her club: "Young Madam, you underestimated him. This time he not only has the heart of a thief, but also the guts. Look what's behind that tree over there."

Xiao Yuan shaded her eyes with her hand and looked around: "I think it's a figure." A Yun was impatient and ran over before she could see clearly. She pulled a woman out from behind a tree and brought her to Xiao Yuan. Xiao Yuan saw that the woman was not very old, but she had her hair styled like a married woman. She was surprised and said: "Cheng Fu, how dare you keep a mistress? Don't blame A Xiu for hitting you."

Cheng Fu hurriedly explained, "Young Madam, you have misunderstood me. She was a slave sold into slavery. Young Master Gan won her over and gave her to me. Because she was a young widow, she was dressed as a married woman. I swear to God, I have never even touched her hand."

A-Zhu picked up the stick and hit him again, angrily saying, "You can't even make your lie convincing! Young Master Gan went to the examination hall yesterday, where did this Young Master Gan come from to fool this servant?"

Yesterday, Cheng Fu went out with Cheng Mutian. Xiao Yuan remembered the basket of Yongjia tangerines and pointed at the young widow, asking, "Was this also won by throwing darts?" Since the servant girl had nothing to do with Cheng Mutian, Cheng Fu confidently replied, "No, this was won by Young Master Gan by throwing darts."

The maids all exclaimed "Oh!": "So, besides throwing money, you can also throw darts in the gambling den." Xiao Yuan, seeing them so easily veer off-topic, was both amused and exasperated. She turned and shooed them all out, then asked Cheng Fu, "Young Master Gan didn't enter the examination hall?"

There was not a trace of surprise on her face, presumably because she knew Gan Shier's character well. Cheng Fu quickly added a word of praise: "Young Madam is very resourceful. Young Master Gan said that he would wholeheartedly manage the toy store for Young Madam and not think of anything else."

Xiao Yuan laughed and scolded, "You little monkey, are you trying to pin the blame for his not going to the exam on me?" Cheng Fu quickly said he wouldn't dare, and seeing the smile on her face, he took the opportunity to get up. Xiao Yuan glanced at him, "Kneel properly. A-Xiu doesn't allow you to get up; you have to kneel." After saying that, she turned to A-Xiu and said, "If you don't tidy up the house, how can you do my work? I'll give you a few days off to clean up the house before you go back to work."

Cheng Fu was so frightened that he collapsed into a lump of mud and cried out, "Young Madam, this servant was given to me by Young Master Gan. He will soon be our son-in-law and also my half-master. How could I dare not accept a gift from my master? If you don't believe me, go ask Young Master."

Xiao Yuan, who had already reached the door, turned back upon hearing this: "What you said makes some sense. Ah Zhu, let him off for half a day. I'll deal with him after I've asked the young master." She returned to her room, but didn't want to call Cheng Mutian back for such a trivial matter, so she first took care of the various matters related to the darts auction. There were all kinds of cakes and cookies available in the shop, and the cooks at home who were preparing the banquet could start cooking at any time. Only a few pounds of fresh fruit were missing. Cai Lian wrote down the missing items in her notebook and suggested, "Why don't we sell some fruit at the auction? We won't charge any money, and whoever wins can have it." Everyone praised this as a brilliant idea. Ah Yun, who was concerned about the darts game, quietly asked Xiao Yuan, "Young Madam, if Young Master Gan really didn't enter the examination hall, why don't we ask him to come back and make some darts for us to play? Otherwise, just throwing money around will get boring after a while."

Xiao Yuan watched as Cai Lian finished counting the number of fruits and said, "We need to call him back and give him a proper explanation about what happened to the young widow in Cheng Fu's courtyard."

When Cheng Mutian returned in the evening, he had drunk some alcohol at a social gathering and was so drunk that he couldn't speak coherently. He only mentioned that Gan Shier was staying at an inn near the examination hall. Xiao Yuan helped him drink some hangover soup and lay him down. She then ordered people to search the area around the examination hall and to bring Gan Shier back at all costs.

The inns around the examination hall were already full of candidates taking the exam. The servants searching for him thought they were looking for a needle in a haystack, but Gan Shier, afraid that others wouldn't know he had taken the exam, specially registered with the innkeeper. They found him after making a few inquiries.

Gan Shier thought his truancy for the exam had been exposed and refused to return. The servants comforted him, saying, "Young Master Gan, our young mistress just wants to ask about the background of the young widow from the Cheng family." It turned out to be about Cheng Fudi. Gan Shier's courage returned. He was already feeling uncomfortable staying at the inn, so he simply had Gan Li pack his belongings and secretly moved back to the Cheng family's residence. After bathing and changing, he came to see Xiao Yuan looking refreshed: "Sister-in-law, that concubine was given to Cheng Fudi by me."

Xiao Yuan pointed to A Xiu, who was still holding a club, and said, "She was already angry when she heard that you sent Cheng Fu a maid. You still dare to say that you are a concubine. I'm afraid Cheng Fu will get hit a few more times. You should just stay away from the test. Why did you have to go and gamble with the widow to send Cheng Fu?"

Gan Shier glanced at the thick club, and out of a sense of loyalty, didn't mention that Cheng Fu had paid for the concubine himself. Instead, he said confidently, "Do you know that giving someone a concubine is a very elegant thing?"

Chapter Ninety-Eight: Using a club is also a refined thing

Scholars who have learned a few characters all like to talk about elegance, and Xiao Yuan has heard of them exchanging gifts with each other. Ah Xiu, however, is a rough man. He picked up the wooden club and waved it in front of Gan Shier, laughing, "Do you know that using a wooden club is also a very elegant thing for me?"

The room erupted in laughter. Gan Shier, caught off guard by the wind from the blows of the club, staggered and swayed, when he suddenly caught sight of Cheng Fu dangling at the door. He rushed over, pulled him inside, and complained, "Since your wife forbids you from taking a concubine, why did you buy a servant girl, causing me to be implicated as well?"

Only then did everyone realize that the maidservant was actually bought by Cheng Fu himself, merely using Gan Shier's name. A Xiu became even angrier, hitting Cheng Fu's leg several times. The pain made him grab Gan Shier as a shield and run around the room. Cheng Mutian was awakened by the noise and, reeking of alcohol, lifted the curtain to see his personal servant dragging his soon-to-be brother-in-law, who was staying as a guest, as a shield. This was outrageous! He roared, "Cheng Fu!" startling all three of them who were chasing each other.

Cailian reached for the club in Azhu's hand, but Xiaoyuan stopped her, saying, "Let Axiu give Gan Shier a couple of whacks too, just to discipline Third Mistress in advance." Cheng Mutian was extremely displeased with this, but with outsiders present, he had to give his mistress face no matter how angry he was, so he could only keep a dark face. Axiu, however bold, dared to hit her master. She put away her weapon, grabbed Cheng Fu's ear, and took her leave, saying she would deal with him properly when she got back.

After the parties involved left, Gan Shier assumed the event was over and, after straightening his crumpled robe, prepared to retreat.

"Gan Twelve, is it really such an elegant thing to give away concubines? Why don't you ask your Brother Cheng to give you two too?" Xiao Yuan asked Gan Twelve, but her eyes were on Cheng Mutian.

Cheng Mutian had always believed that he wouldn't take concubines, but he didn't care whether others did or not. However, the man before him was his future brother-in-law. Even if he didn't like his sister, sending a few concubines to her before they were even married would be a disgrace to his family. So his face darkened even more. He couldn't say anything about his wife in front of outsiders, but his future brother-in-law was a junior, so it wouldn't hurt to say something. He found a chair, took the strong tea that Xiao Yuan handed him, and scolded Gan Shier: "Who taught you that giving concubines is a refined thing? You don't learn the good things, only the bad. You're thinking about these things before you're even married. Third Sister is so weak-willed. If she marries into Quanzhou, won't she only be divorced?"

Gan Shier calmly sat down opposite him and reached for tea: "Brother Cheng, you are an honest man and do not know the ins and outs of this. Giving away a concubine is elegant, but accepting a concubine given by someone else is troublesome. Besides, I am not going back to Quanzhou. My sister-in-law has a good toy shop. I will make toys to make a living. Isn't that wonderful? It's better than going home and being nagged by my father-in-law."

As long as he didn't take a concubine before the wedding, Cheng Mutian thought everything was fine. He didn't care whether he returned to Quanzhou or not. He waved him away and then, embracing his wife, did some things while drunk.

Since Cheng Fu bought the maid himself, it was his family matter and no one else should interfere. Everyone thought that was the end of it. Unexpectedly, early the next morning, Azhu led the maid to the small round room and said, "Young Madam, I want to see Young Master Gan."

Xiao Yuan was busy with the fair's affairs. There were a bunch of housekeepers in the house, and no one had time to deal with her household matters. So she randomly pointed to a little maid and asked her to take A Zhu to Gan Shier's residence. Although Gan Shier lived in a house belonging to the Cheng family, it was partitioned into separate units. The little maid, leading A Xiu and the other girl, circled half of the Cheng family mansion before finally arriving at his door.

His courtyard didn't even have a gatekeeper. A-Zhu was worried about not finding anyone to go and announce their arrival when she saw Gan Twelve carrying a large pile of novelties. He strode towards the gate with Gan Li. Before she could speak, Gan Twelve saw them first and greeted them warmly: "I just made some new things. I'm going to take them to Wu-ge to play with. Do you have a boy at home too? Pick a few to take home."

As the saying goes, one doesn't hit a smiling face. Ah Xiu couldn't bring herself to scold him for his grinning face. So she shoved the maid forward and said, "I'll also try to be refined. I'll give you a concubine." Without lingering, she grabbed the young maid who had led the way, turned, and left. In an instant, she circled the wall and disappeared from sight.

Gan Shier looked at the maidservant before him with a troubled expression. For the first time, he truly understood the meaning of "Do not do to others what you would not have them do to you." If this were a young maid, he could easily keep her for himself; if it were a senior maid, he could send her to Cheng San Niang to show his loyalty; unfortunately, the one standing before him was a young widow. He couldn't touch her, and she was truly a troublesome person.

Seeing that he still hadn't left, Gan Li knew he was in a dilemma. He quickly leaned over and whispered a few words. Gan Shier clapped his hands in approval of his idea and told him to take the young widow inside and settle her in. He then took the pile of trinkets and went to find Brother Wu as usual. When he arrived at Brother Wu's room, he changed his teething toy and carried him to the main room, asking Xiao Yuan, "Sister-in-law, I heard you're going to hold a sale. Why don't you take my new trinkets to sell?"

Xiao Yuan buried her head in the fruit list. She shook her head and said, "This time, everyone here is a relative. It's not appropriate to bring some homemade items to sell." A Yun placed a cup of tea next to Gan Shier and asked him to make a dartboard. Gan Shier readily agreed. He then taught them a method of shaking lots: "Find a bamboo tube with bamboo sticks inside. The sticks are engraved with the numbers one to nine. The gambler must shake three sticks in a row. If the sum of the numbers on the three sticks is greater than fifteen, you win. Otherwise, you lose."

Ayun turned around and went to look for a divination stick container, but none of the Cheng family had one. She had to find an unused, empty, carved chopstick holder to make do, and she also whittled a handful of bamboo sticks and carved numbers on them with a knife.

Gan Shier was busy. After playing with Ziwu for a while, she went back to help with the sales event. After A Xiaoyuan finished checking the orders, she ordered someone to bring up the fresh fruits for her to see. There was a basket each of pears, tangerines, green apricots, and pineapples. She thought it was too little because there were only four kinds, but the purchasing agent said that it was not yet summer and they could not buy more varieties, so she had to give up.

Ren Qingsong personally delivered a new variety of cakes, decorated with buttercream frosting and filled with candied fruit; there were also cream-filled cookies and scallion-fried crispy cookies. The girls had never seen these snacks before, and they stared longingly at the food box. When Xiao Yuan nodded, they eagerly grabbed some to try, and all said they were delicious. Xiao Yuan picked out a scallion-fried cookie and tasted it; it was indeed delicious. She quickly told someone to save a few for Cheng Mutian, and also asked Sister-in-law Yu to take a piece of the soft cake to feed Wu Ge.

Ayun ate five cookies in a row, but when she wanted to take more, there were none left. She pouted and said, "Manager Ren is too stingy. He knows that no one in our kitchen knows how to make this, so why doesn't he send a few more?" It turned out that for the sake of business secrecy, Xiaoyuan did not keep any cooks who knew how to make cakes at home. The four leading ladies of the cake shop were all arranged to live in the same secluded place. Therefore, if family members wanted to eat cakes, they had to go to the shop from afar to get them.

After listening to A-Yun's complaints, Xiao Yuan discussed it with Cheng Mutian that evening: "Brother Wu is a child, he loves cake, and it's too much trouble to go to the shop to get it every day. Why don't we let Cai Lian learn a few tricks from him?" Cheng Mutian listened without saying anything, only smiling at her. Xiao Yuan thought he didn't trust Cai Lian, so she quickly said, "She's tight-lipped and clever, she won't let anyone steal her skills." Cheng Mutian picked up a salty biscuit and chewed it: "The biscuit tastes good, and Ren Qingsong is good too."

Xiao Yuan's thoughts were completely seen through. Embarrassed and annoyed, she reached for the plate of cookies in front of him, but Cheng Mutian grabbed her hand and pulled her into his arms. The couple played a game of sweet talk for a while, then Cheng Mutian, biting her earlobe, asked in a muffled voice, "I looked at the seating arrangement you arranged for the auction, why isn't your birth mother listed?" Xiao Yuan laughed and dodged him, saying, "I know your ship and shop are still hidden with my aunt, so I always forget about her. Don't worry, I've secretly written to her, asking her to bring a few of those ships and shops to auction."

Cheng Mutian gently pressed her down and laughed, "That little bit of stuff was just something I did when I was young and impetuous. It's really not worth much. I'd forgotten about it if you hadn't mentioned it." Xiaoyuan pecked him on the lips, "I know you really care about my aunt, but the Xue family isn't well-off. If she were to sell her private savings, the eldest and second wives would inevitably gossip." Cheng Mutian nodded, "You're very thoughtful. If we send her an invitation, she'll be in a difficult position, whether she comes or not."

Xiao Yuan praised him for his cleverness and rewarded him handsomely. Even when she went to pay her respects to Madam Qian the next day, she still had some back pain. Seeing that she looked tired, Madam Qian assumed that she was exhausted from organizing the auction and quickly asked Xiao Tongqian to bring her a bottle of deer blood wine, saying, "Daughter-in-law, this is made from the blood between the deer's antlers and mixed with rehmannia root. It's specially for replenishing qi and blood. You've been working hard these past few days. Take this home and have a few cups to nourish your body."

Xiao Yuan blushed and quickly told Cai Lian to accept it, saying, "Mother, the weather is still a bit cold, so we didn't prepare any cold drinks at the market, only milk and soup."

Madam Qian nodded in agreement and then asked what the specific items were. Xiao Yuan took the list from Cai Lian and replied, "The milk includes goat's milk and cow's milk; the soup includes honey-soaked orange soup and honey-soaked taro soup; and we also have tea, which is honey seed tea and pine nut tea."

Cow's milk and goat's milk are favorites of the people of Lin'an. Candied orange soup made with candied orange peel is a common soup served to guests. Honey seed tea is a flower tea that young people love to drink. Pine nut tea is an ancient tea made by brewing walnuts, pine nuts and tea cakes together. It is probably because Aunt Cheng was one of the guests that this preparation was made.

Madam Qian understood all the other teas, but she had never seen the Honey Sweet Soup before. She asked, "Daughter-in-law, what is Honey Sweet Soup?"

Xiao Yuan laughed and said, "I read this in the 'Classified Materia Medica' when I was bored. Honey licorice is actually licorice. Take its root, dry it in the sun for ten days, and then boil it into soup. It's very fragrant."

Mrs. Qian glanced at the poetry collection beside her but remained silent, surprised that her daughter-in-law was reading such miscellaneous books.

Seeing that her mother-in-law had no objections to the tea and drinks served to the guests, Xiaoyuan then explained to her the three methods of gambling: tossing coins, throwing darts, and shaking the divination sticks.

Mrs. Qian was determined to buy some good things at the fair, so she listened very attentively, almost asking Little Copper Coin to bring her a piece of paper to take notes.

Xiao Yuan sat in her room for half a day, finally finishing her report on all the matters of the auction. She then took the bottle of deer blood wine back to her room and drank with Cheng Mutian.

Chapter Ninety-Nine: The Selling Club

The family's auction house had invited Aunt Cheng and her daughter-in-law, but only Aunt Cheng came. She only wanted to adopt her youngest son to the wealthy Madam Qian, offending her eldest son's family. Now, Fang Shiniang refused to go out with her mother-in-law anymore. Of the three sisters-in-law from the He family, only two came. Liu Qiniang was busy managing the household for Madam Jiang and was afraid of being robbed, so she stayed home to do the accounts. Only Li Wuniang and Qian Shisanniang came together. Madam Xin was old and unwilling to go out, so she didn't come in person, only sending a stack of coins to her daughter to make an appearance.

From the day she received the invitation, Li Wuniang was busier than Xiaoyuan. She cleared out several boxes of unused old items from her home. On the day of the auction, she was the first to arrive at the Cheng family with a large cart. She unloaded and moved goods, and was busy from start to finish even before the auction started.

Usually, Sister Cheng was the most enthusiastic about anything, but this time she was the last to arrive. Xiao Yuan greeted her at the door, smiling as she asked why she hadn't brought her "own people." Sister Cheng replied, "I hit her yesterday, and she has a bruise on her face, so she didn't want to come." Xiao Yuan hurriedly waved her hand, telling her not to raise her voice, otherwise Madam Qian would hear and cause trouble. Sister Cheng didn't seem to care, swaggering into the hall, giving a perfunctory bow to the two elders, and sitting down next to Cheng San Niang, asking her, "Do you have any money to play with? I'll give you some." Cheng San Niang secretly showed her several exquisite needlework items hidden in her sleeve, laughing, "Sister-in-law also said she would give me money, but I didn't take it. I came to see if anyone would like these needlework items."

As they spoke, the girls set up the animal-shaped dartboard, arranged the fortune sticks, and counted out the first coins. Ah Yun solemnly took a small gong and struck it, officially starting the auction.

There were seven people in the hall, but only Li Wuniang and Cheng Sanniang had brought goods. Li Wuniang was delighted to see that there was little competition, and she directed several servants to carry up three large chests, placing one in each area. Everyone was playing the game of selling goods for the first time, so they all crowded around to take a look. They saw that one chest contained cosmetics, another contained new clothes for all four seasons, and the third contained children's clothes and toys.

Xiao Yuan, who had a son, went straight to the last box and saw that most of the clothes and trousers in it were still new. She guessed they were gifts from someone else, which Li Wu Niang didn't want to keep for her son born to a concubine, so she brought them here to sell. She sighed inwardly, picked up a small shirt embroidered with gold thread, and walked to the plate of coins. She asked Li Wu Niang, "Third Sister-in-law, how much for this?" Li Wu Niang held up five fingers and waved them, laughing, "How could I possibly make money off my relatives? It's just for fun. Five irons for one round, use as much as you want."

Upon hearing this, Xiao Yuan took three coins and tossed them eleven times before finally getting a "complete" hand. She called Cai Lian over to give her fifty-five coins and laughed, "Third Sister-in-law's gold-threaded shirt is so expensive!" Second Aunt Cheng's youngest son, who also had only a little money, was also interested in this box of children's clothes, but she didn't choose any herself, only asking Madam Qian which kind she liked. Madam Qian knew exactly what she was thinking, so she stood in front of the cosmetics box without moving, constantly calling for the maid to bring darts, throwing them round after round, almost winning the entire box of goods.

Cheng San Niang hesitated over her needlework in her sleeve, too embarrassed to lay it out herself. Although Cheng Da Jie loved her younger sister dearly, she couldn't stand her timid manner. She snatched the work away from her, called over a maid, and started a game of divination on her own. Except for the dart game, which had to be abandoned because they couldn't find a second disc, they laid out the divination sticks and the first bet, and dutifully shouted a few times for her.

The atmosphere in the hall was extremely lively, with even the maids with money joining in, leaving only Qian Shisan Niang standing alone on the side. Xiao Yuan, being the mistress, couldn't help but ask her a few questions. It turned out that Qian Shisan Niang had neither items to sell nor enough to gamble, so she could only watch helplessly. Sister Cheng, eager to help her sister sell her wares, saw Qian Shisan Niang dawdling and said impatiently, "Where can you buy such cheap things normally? Hurry up!" She then called to Xiao Yuan, "Fourth Sister, don't waste time with her, you go first."

Xiao Yuan felt a pang of pity for Qian Shisan Niang, who had married into her family, which was so disreputable. She couldn't help but ask, "Even if you were in a panic that day, you should have chosen someone decently dressed. My second brother looks like someone who frequents brothels. How did you fall for him?" Qian Shisan Niang, now married to someone else's second sister-in-law, was too embarrassed to admit that her real target that day was Cheng Mutian. Blushing, she simply said it was her "fate" with He Lao Er.

Suddenly, Sister Cheng held out a sachet: "Look at this stitching. It's no worse than Fourth Sister's birth mother's embroidery. Since you're destined to meet He Lao Er, why not gamble for one to take back as a gift?" Qian Shisan Niang was embarrassed and at a loss for what to do. Xiao Yuan quickly and quietly slipped her a one-stringed coin, pushed her in front of the divination box, and asked Sister Cheng to play with her.

Madam Qian saw that wherever Xiao Yuan went, everyone was laughing and chatting. Looking around at herself, she saw only the troublesome Aunt Cheng. She felt extremely resentful. After hesitating for a long time, she secretly went to Xiao Yuan for advice, asking her how to get rid of Aunt Cheng.

Xiao Yuan laughed, "Second Aunt wants to bet on children's clothes. Why don't you play with her, Mother? Although Fourth Aunt can't wear those clothes, they'll fit your grandson perfectly." Madam Qian understood. Smiling, she went to take Second Aunt's arm. Together they tossed the dice and won half a chest of children's clothes.

Without asking her a single question, he instructed the maid to send them all to Brother Wu.

Over here, Madam Qian and Second Aunt Cheng were secretly competing. Over there, Thirteenth Sister Qian was gambling with other people's money without a care in the world. In the blink of an eye, Fifth Sister Li and Third Sister Cheng's goods were mostly gone. Many people lamented that there was nothing left to gamble with. Xiao Yuan remembered the four baskets of fresh fruit. She quickly ordered them to be laid out so that they could gamble and eat them.

Li Wuniang and Sister Cheng had been busy all day and were parched. When they saw fruit for sale, they dropped what they were doing and joined in the gamble. Li Wuniang won two large pears in one go, tossed them to her maid to peel and slice, and smiled at Sister Cheng, saying, "There's not enough. Next time, we'll have to gather more." Sister Cheng, however, complained, "If it weren't for you, sister, I wouldn't do this chore. It's more tiring than having an argument."

The four baskets of fruit were quickly gambled away, and everyone was wondering what to gamble with when suddenly a voice came from the doorway: "I have some things to sell here, ladies, would you like to gamble?" When the person turned around the screen, Cheng San Niang cried out in surprise and hid among the maids. Everyone knew that it was Gan Shier who had arrived.

Xiao Yuan thought he was trying to sell toys and scolded, "Are you here to do business or to show off your skills? If you're here to do business, go to a toy store. If you're here to show off your skills, just give us a few for free." Gan Shier laughed heartily, pulled the young widow behind him in front of her, and said, "Sister-in-law, do you dare to take this craft?"

Madam Qian, being his future mother-in-law, scolded him, "We're having a proper auction, don't fool around. Quickly take this girl away." Gan Twelve bowed to her, led the young widow to the center of the arena, and laughed, "Madam, you've misunderstood me. I'm not here to cause trouble, but just to join in the fun and auction off this maid." He then pointed a dart: "Hit the swallow and you win." Next, he pointed to the divination sticks: "Three sticks, less than fifteen, you win." Finally, he pointed to the first coin: "Throw the 'back' and you win."

He did everything against the proper rules, clearly intending to force the young widow out. Everyone was overjoyed and said to Xiao Yuan, "Your relative is really interesting."

That young widow was wearing a bright red dress that only geisha would wear, and she looked like she wasn't a respectable person. Therefore, even though Gan Shier's threshold for being sold was low, not even Sister Cheng was willing to take the plunge.

Cheng San Niang hid in the hall and watched. Gan Shier dared not take the young widow back no matter what. Seeing that no one wanted to gamble, he hurriedly bowed repeatedly. Madam Qian had been annoyed by Cheng Ershen for half a day and was looking for an opportunity to retaliate. She smiled and beckoned to Gan Shier, calling him over. She said to Cheng Ershen, "Sister-in-law, you dragged me to gamble for children's clothes, but it all benefited Wu Ge. I feel really bad about it. How about I gamble for Gan Shier's maid and give her to you?"

Gan Shier was very clever. Without waiting for her instructions, he took out three coins. It was difficult to get a "complete" result from these coins, but it was easy to get a "back" result. Madam Qian didn't even look at them. She casually tossed them and won from the young widow. She handed them to Aunt Cheng with a smile and thanked her repeatedly for giving Wu Ge new clothes.

She spoke so eloquently that Aunt Cheng couldn't refuse, so she could only grit her teeth and thank her, then led the young widow away in a huff.

Seeing that the auction was nearing its end and that only the younger generation remained, Madam Qian asked Xiao Yuan to accompany them to the banquet, while she herself, supported by a young maid, returned to her room to rest. Since Xiao Yuan had helped her that day, Xiao Tongqian, as usual, wanted to speak well of her, but Madam Qian seemed somewhat dejected: "Since she's so wonderful, why don't you go with her?" These words silenced Xiao Tongqian. Although somewhat resentful, Madam Qian had to maintain appearances and ordered someone to send the cosmetics she had won at the auction to Xiao Yuan.

In less than half an hour, Xiaoyuan finished her meal and saw off her guests. She walked back to the courtyard with a smile and said, "These older sisters and sisters-in-law are in such a hurry to go back and show off that they don't even enjoy their drinks properly. They keep asking me when the next sales fair will be held."

Since they had already discussed during the banquet that the next gambling event would be held at the He residence, Ah Yun said, "Young Madam, you must take me next time. Today I wanted to gamble for two boxes of ointment, but I lost dozens of coins and still didn't win."

Everyone laughed at her bad luck. But when she entered the room, she found a table full of all kinds of ointments. Ah Yun cheered and rushed over, holding one in each hand, and said with a smile, "These must have been sent by the madam. I saw her win by gambling."

Xiao Yuan looked at Madam Sun, and after Madam Sun gave an affirmative answer, she smiled and said, "You can choose whatever you like."

The maids rushed forward, each picking one, but instead of keeping it, they gathered together to discuss how to use these boxes of ointment to continue selling.

Xiao Yuan thought they had gone mad with their cultivation, so she picked out six boxes of face-rubbing tea oil. She gave one box to Madam Sun, sent two boxes to Third Sister Cheng and Aunt Ding respectively, and ordered three boxes to be sent to the Xue residence and given to Aunt Chen.

Chapter 100: Third Sister's Dowry

When Aunt received the tea oil, she was deeply impressed by her daughter's thoughtfulness. Even the eldest and second sisters-in-law of the Xue family had sent oil before. The next day, she asked her mother-in-law for leave and took her little daughter, Yu Niang, to see Xiao Yuan.

Xiao Yuan was opening a chest and rummaging through clothes when she saw her birth mother come to thank her. She quickly handed the whole pile to the maids, stepped forward to take the clothes from Yu Niang, and said with a smile, "Yesterday at the auction, the maids won several dresses, but they didn't have any to match them. I was just opening the chest and taking out a couple of my own to give to them to wear."

Aunt Chen brought a bundle of small garments to show her, saying, "I made a few small garments for Brother Wu, I don't know if they're big enough." Xiao Yuan, holding Yu Niang in one arm, took the garments with the other and looked at them, praising, "Yesterday my mother-in-law won a bunch of small garments from Third Sister-in-law and gave them all to Brother Wu. The stitches are nowhere near as fine as Aunt's." Cai Lian laughed, "Aunt Chen's embroidery is renowned throughout Lin'an City. It's fortunate that she stopped making them in recent years and switched to making small garments for her grandchildren and daughters, otherwise, where would those embroiderers put food on the table?" Aunt Chen laughed, "I only knew you were steady, but it turns out you're also a master of flattery."

Xiao Yuan told Sun Shi to put away the baby clothes, and asked Sister-in-law Yu to take Yu Niang to play with Wu Ge. She also asked Cai Lian to bring over cream-filled cookies for Aunt Chen to try. Aunt Chen picked up a piece, looked at it, and laughed, "A few days ago I went to the cake shop and got a box of cakes to share with the children, but I didn't dare say that I had a share in that shop. Otherwise, my sisters-in-law's boys would be clamoring for cakes every day and could empty your shop."