Chapter 108

Chapter 108

The incident with Cheng Wenyuan and Fan the Butcher did not affect Jiang Chun's good mood. She exclaimed, "Hurry up and get familiar with mahjong. Once you do, we can play for money next time.

Hmph, I'm going to make sure to win all your monthly allowances!"

The Song family was very generous to the young ladies, with a monthly allowance of ten taels of silver, totaling thirty taels for the three young misses.

Upon hearing this, Zhong Wenjin immediately covered her money bag at her waist and said with righteous words, "Second Young Master forbids me from gambling. I definitely won't participate in games for money."

Among all the household members, only the two daughters-in-law kept money bags at their waists every day, without needing the maids to manage their money.

Knowing Zhong Wenjin's financial constraints, Jiang Chun didn't push her, and said with a smile, "Alright, I'm such a kind person, I wouldn't want to stir up trouble between you and your husband."

Song Shirui, who was being blamed, found Zhong Wenjin's cautious behavior increasingly endearing.

If she weren't a miser and hadn't saved money like a squirrel, she wouldn't have been able to afford a doctor when he was seriously injured.

He would have died.

Song Shian looked at his younger brother, who was staring intently at Zhong Wenjin, and couldn't help but cover his forehead with his hand.

Fortunately, Zhong Wenjin had a good character; otherwise, with his naive nature, he would be taken advantage of and still help others count the money.

He might even ask if it was enough and offer to be sold again.

Luckily, none of the four nephews inherited his lack of intelligence; they were all smart and excellent at studying, or the Song family's future would be bleak.

After playing mahjong for over an hour, the main kitchen delivered the hot pot.

There was a large pot of bone broth and a small pot of mushroom broth.

The side dishes included sliced lamb, lamb offal, lamb blood, wood ear mushrooms, rehydrated mushrooms, rehydrated seaweed strips, frozen tofu, meatballs, winter melon, radish, cabbage, yam, lotus root, and mung bean sprouts.

It was winter, and leafy greens were scarce. It was quite an effort for the main kitchen to gather so many side dishes.

In addition to the side dishes, there were seven dipping sauces prepared according to Jiang Chun's instructions, containing sesame paste, aged vinegar, and scallions.

Six of the dipping sauces used bone broth, while the seventh used mushroom broth.

She smiled and said to everyone, "This is a foreign spice given to me by Second Daughter-in-law. You can add some to your dipping sauce according to your taste; it will greatly enhance the flavor of the hot pot."

After a moment of thought, she added a friendly reminder, "Add a little at a time, not too much all at once, or it will be too spicy."

As she said this, she glanced at Song Shiqian.

He hadn't returned to the mansion when she made spicy stir-fried tripe, so he didn't know the power of chili.

Song Shiqian nodded obediently, "Alright, Eldest Sister-in-Law."

The hot pot in the Great Zhou dynasty was similar to the modern Beijing copper hot pot, also made of brass.

High-quality red rose charcoal was placed underneath.

This was even better than silver frost charcoal, producing almost no smoke when burned, making it a divine tool for copper hot pots and barbecues.

Once the pot was boiling, Jiang Chun personally picked up a plate of paper-thin lamb slices and added them to the bone broth base.

Jiang Chun replaced her chopsticks and added several pieces of vegetables that took longer to cook, like mushrooms, lotus roots, yam, bean sprouts, and radishes, into the mushroom broth pot to cook first.

On top, she placed some easier-to-cook frozen tofu and cabbage leaves.

Then she smiled at Song Shian and said, "I'll just put in a little bit for now. Husband, try everything and tell me what you like. I'll cook more of it for you."

After a moment of thought, she added with a grin, "If you don't like something, just put it in my bowl. No need to force yourself."

As the original author, she was more than familiar with the dietary preferences of this handsome but tragic male supporting character. After two years together, she knew everything.

But that wasn't the point.

She was deliberately showing off.

Wasn't it only natural to flaunt their affection while eating the hot pot she had spent a tael of silver to prepare?

That was only fitting.

Song Shian smiled faintly and nodded, saying gently, "Thank you, my dear, for thinking of me so thoughtfully."

Jiang Chun winked at him. "No need to be formal. We're husband and wife. If I don't think of you, who should I think of? Think of Yin'er? She doesn't deserve that much attention."

Song Shiying protested loudly, "What's going on here? You two are showing off your love, and I'm just sitting here quietly, not saying or doing anything, yet I felt a stab in the heart. Am I not wronged?"

Jiang Chun scooped a ladle of the cooked lamb slices into her bowl and asked with a slanted glance, "Still upset?"

Song Shiying immediately changed her tune. "Not wronged, not wronged."

Jiang Chun smiled smugly.

Hmph, see? Handling a foodie sister-in-law is so simple.

Jiang Chun served everyone a ladle of broth, giving each person a ladle of lamb slices, just enough for six.

She scooped a bit of chili powder into her own bowl, stirred it, and then picked up a chopstick of food to put into her mouth.

Her eyes squinted in contentment.

Indeed, spicy hot pot reigned supreme!

It was a pity that the chilies Zhong Wenjin gave her were all powdered. Otherwise, adding dried chilies directly to the broth would have made the flavor even more intense.

Song Shiqian followed her lead and added chili powder to his dipping sauce.

After one bite, he was immediately overwhelmed by the spiciness, gasping and yelling, "Water! Water! Water!"

Zhong Wenjin quickly said, "Water won't do much good. Why not try this foreign drink I have?"

She had the maids pour a bowl of beer for Song Shiqian and everyone else present, including Song Shian.

Yes, a bowl, not a small cup.

Zhong Wenjin believed that beer should be drunk in large gulps to be enjoyable. A small cup wouldn't be satisfying enough.

Song Shiqian lifted the bowl and took several large gulps.

Then he suddenly turned his head and spit it all out.

Coughing, he complained, "Second sister-in-law, are you sure this is foreign liquor and not just some swill from somewhere? It's too awful to drink!"

Jiang Chun picked up the bowl and took a big sip, then smiled and said, "I think it's quite good! It has a unique flavor, much better than the spicy and sour liquor from our Great Zhou."

Upon hearing this, Song Shirui picked up the bowl and took a large gulp.

A look of confusion appeared on his face, as if he was somewhat skeptical of Jiang Chun's statement.

Still uncertain, he took another mouthful, and then another...

Only after finishing the entire bowl of beer did he nod and say, "The taste is a bit strange, but after a few sips, it doesn't taste bad."

Influenced by the two of them, Song Qian began to doubt his own judgment and asked a maid to pour him another bowl, deciding to bravely try it again.

The delicious combination of beer and hotpot was hard to resist, and naturally, the more they drank, the more intoxicated they became.

Even Song Shian, who rarely drank alcohol, ended up having three bowls.

After they had eaten and drunk their fill, Jiang Chun, emboldened by the alcohol, said to Zhong Wenjin, "Second sister-in-law, I'm addicted to these foreign peppers. Do you know if the foreign merchants still have any in stock? If so, can you help me buy a hundred pounds? I'll store them for gradual consumption."

Any leftover peppers could have their seeds extracted next spring and planted in the estates.

Zhong Wenjin smiled and said, "There are some, but these peppers aren't cheap. One pound of peppers costs as much as two pounds of pork. Are you sure you want to buy a hundred pounds?"

In Pinduoduo Market, a pound of good quality spicy peppers costs around fifteen yuan. Selling them to Big Sister Jiang at forty coins per pound should be considered fair, right?

Ahem, after all, I need to earn some commission too.

If I kept helping Big Sister Jiang bring things back for free like I did with the corn oil, when would my purse ever fill up?

With the Winter Solstice approaching, the family will be hosting guests, starting with relatives and then outsiders.

Outsiders are fine, as I'm of a younger generation and can only receive gifts, not give them.

But it's different with relatives. Being of a higher generation on the main branch side, the oldest among my peers is fifty this year.

When they come to pay their respects, addressing me as 'aunt' or 'great-aunt,' how can I not give them a gift?

Moreover, these are family members, not maids or old women. I can't just give them cheap silver rings or small silver trinkets to send them away.

Although Song Shirui will receive his salary before the Winter Solstice and an additional gift from the court, since he was recently transferred to the Jinyi Guard and is currently only a deputy commander of the fifth rank, his monthly salary is six ounces of silver. Including the Winter Solstice gift, it amounts to at most ten ounces, about the same as my monthly allowance.

With both of our allowances combined, it's only thirty ounces. What can that cover?

It's barely enough for the gifts to family members, not to mention other household expenses.

So, if I want to get money quickly, ahem, I'll have to take advantage of Big Sister Jiang, the wealthy lady.

Hearing this, Jiang Chun readily took a pre-weighed piece of silver out of her purse and said with a smile, "Here, this is four ounces of silver. Get me a hundred pounds."

It's a bit expensive, but these are 'foreign spices.' Considering that pepper costs forty ounces per pound, forty coins per pound for peppers is very reasonable.

The best part is that I can save the seeds, plant them in the spring, and by summer, I'll have my own home-grown peppers. It's a great deal.

Zhong Wenjin happily put the four ounces of silver into her purse and said with a smile, "By the day after tomorrow, I'll bring the peppers to you, Big Sister."

Jiang Chun laughed and said, "No rush, no rush. I still have some chili powder left, enough to last another three to five days."

The three brothers were sitting nearby at a tea table, drinking tea. Seeing this, Song Qian couldn't help but click his tongue in disapproval. "Big Sister and Second Sister-in-law are already doing business like this?"

Song Shirui glared at him with a look of disgust and said, "What are you talking about, Third Brother? When did Second Sister-in-law start doing business? She's just helping First Sister-in-law with some proxy shopping."

The term "proxy shopping" was naturally something they had heard from Zhong Wenjin.

Song Shian lowered his voice and whispered, "I don’t believe for a second that Second Sister-in-law is helping First Sister-in-law out of the goodness of her heart. There must be some benefit for her in this."

Song Shirui glared at him angrily, on the verge of shouting.

Fearing he would disturb the two sisters-in-law nearby, he lowered his voice to reprimand him, "Don't judge others by your own mean standards. Second Sister-in-law is kind-hearted and has a good relationship with First Sister-in-law. She's just running errands for her every few days, which doesn't take much effort. How can you accuse her of profiting like a middleman?"

Song Shian: "..."

Song Shian: "..."

The two brothers, one having guessed the truth and the other knowing it well, reached an unprecedented unity in their thoughts at that moment.

That is: this second brother’s mind is truly hopeless!

＊

Seeing that Zhong Wenjin needed money, on the third day after the snowfall, she delivered a hundred jin of chili peppers that Jiang Chun had requested.

Similarly in need of money, Jiang Chun didn’t sit idle. On the same day, she left the mansion and went to the largest shop excluding the Foreign Goods Store and the Fabric Store.

After wandering around the vacant shop in the prime area of the West Market, she placed the items from the list she wrote for Song Shian into the shop's warehouse.

Once she returned the key to Song Shian, he could send people to move these items out and help her sell them. It couldn't be more convenient.

Unfortunately, the locations of these shops in her hands were too good. It was a pity to leave them vacant and it might arouse suspicion.

But of course, there was a solution. She could rent a house in a less prominent area to use as a warehouse. Or, once she had the money, she could simply buy a house to use as a warehouse.

Song Shian quickly had the items moved and, just before the Winter Solstice, brought back twelve hundred taels of silver to Jiang Chun.

This genuinely shocked Jiang Chun, "So much? I thought it would be at most four or five hundred taels."

After all, among the furniture, the most valuable purple sandalwood and huanghuali were items that Song Shian had forbidden her to sell, and she herself was unwilling to part with them.

Song Shian rolled his eyes at her and said with a smile, "Four or five hundred taels? Just the pair of intricately carved stone lions sold for five hundred taels."

"Ah?" Jiang Chun’s mouth gaped open wide enough to fit a goose egg.

The pair of stone lions, which she assumed wouldn’t be worth much and took up space, turned out to be so valuable?

Song Shian explained to her, "Only officials of the seventh rank and higher are allowed to use stone lions. With each higher rank, the lions have more tufts of hair on their manes.

A first-rank official's stone lion has thirteen tufts of hair on its head. They are jokingly called the 'Thirteen Taibao' in folk terms.

The pair of stone lions you, my lady, obtained are precisely the 'Thirteen Taibao' lions.

Such finely carved 'Thirteen Taibao' stone lions are highly sought after by both first-rank officials and second-rank officials aspiring to first-rank.

Who wouldn’t want such finely carved lions?"

If I weren't concerned about drawing too much attention, sending it to an auction house could easily double the price.

Great Zhou officials firmly believe that stone lions can bring them good fortune in their official careers. They are always generous when it comes to this, even if they are reluctant to spend on other things.

Jiang Chun suddenly understood. "So that's how it is."

This is really enlightening.

This detail wasn't mentioned in the original novel, so she hadn't looked up any information on this topic at all.

Song Shian went on, "The Four Treasures of the Study have never been cheap. You have quite a number of brushes, inks, papers, and inkstones, and among them are three fairly good jade paperweights. It's no surprise they can fetch seven hundred taels."

Regardless, Jiang Chun was very pleased to be able to sell them for twelve hundred taels.

She flung herself into Song Shian's arms, clasped her arms around his waist, and rubbed her face against his chest.

She said with a playful smile, "My husband is so impressive! Thankfully I had your help; if I had tried to sell them myself, I wouldn't have received that much money."

Song Shian couldn't help but smile proudly, but he calmly replied, "Just a small matter, it's not difficult for me."

Jiang Chun giggled, "My husband is the best in the world! There's nothing that can challenge you!"

Hearing this, Song Shian's expression darkened.

Was there really nothing? The issue of conceiving a child was a major concern for him!

If Jiang Chun still couldn't conceive next year, he might have to send someone to find a divine doctor specializing in infertility.

He would ignore the Imperial Medical Bureau; each time they examined the pulses of him and Jiang Chun, they said both were very healthy.

Given their health and frequent marital relations, why hadn't Jiang Chun conceived yet?

They must be completely incompetent!

Unaware of Song Shian's plans to seek treatment for infertility, she was quite busy over the following days.

First, there were the clansmen who relied on the Song family for support coming to pay their respects.

As Song Shiyue had mentioned before, there were seven or eight clansmen living on the back street. They all came today.

The men went to the front courtyard to pay their respects to Song Zhen Ting, the clan leader, while the women took the young ladies and young masters to pay their respects to Madame Zhou.

The young ladies and young masters called her "Ancestral Grandmother" one after another, which made the usually stern lady Zhou Shi smile from ear to ear.

She gave each of the younger generations two silver ingots as a reward.

After paying respects to Madame Zhou, everyone moved to the main courtyard to greet Madame Zhuang, the head wife.

Madame Zhuang gave each person a pouch. The young ladies' pouches contained small accessories like earrings and rings; the young masters were given two silver ingots.

The amount was exactly the same as what Madame Zhou had given.

Jiang Chun, waiting in Dangui Courtyard for the clansmen to arrive, heard about this from Gui Ye and couldn't help but raise an eyebrow.

Madame Zhuang had given the same amount of reward as Madame Zhou.

When Madame Zhou heard about this, she would surely be furious, feeling that her daughter-in-law Madame Zhuang had not given her any face.

Jiang Chun pouted. Who could she blame? Wasn't it because Madame Zhou was too stingy? She clearly held a large amount of dowry but acted so miserly.

If Madame Zhuang reduced the gift money compared to what her mother-in-law gave, the clan members would be unhappy, and if outsiders found out, they would say that the mistress of the household was being stingy.

But if she gave too much, it would seem like she was slapping her mother-in-law in the face.

In the end, she could only match Zhou Shi's amount.

This led to the amusing situation of both mother-in-law and daughter-in-law giving the same amount of gift money.

After a moment’s thought, Jiang Chun said, "Change the gift money for the young ladies and young masters to two pairs of silver ingots as well."

Since both the great-grandmother and grandmother were giving two pairs of silver ingots, she would give two pairs as well.

What? She had also prepared silver hairpins and silk flowers for the young ladies and Xuan paper and pine soot ink cakes for the young masters?

That wasn’t significant.

Cultivate oneself in poverty, and help others in prosperity.

Jiang Chun had originally held one thousand taels of silver, and now she had received another twelve hundred taels, which made her feel more confident.

She decided to be a generous benefactor again, letting the clan members have a happy and joyful Winter Solstice festival.

This news quickly reached both the main courtyard and Pine Crane Courtyard.

Madame Zhuang didn’t care about Jiang Chun's trivial matters. Jiang Chun had money and wanted to be a generous benefactor to earn a good reputation among the clan members. That was her choice.

She could manage the heavens and the earth, but could she control how her daughter-in-law spent her own money?

Anyway, since her eldest son said it was Jiang Chun's money, then it was Jiang Chun's money. Was she going to argue with her eldest son over this?

However, Zhou Shi was furious and immediately said to the maid serving her, "Go and bring Shian’s wife here."

Back at Dan Gui Courtyard, after seeing off the clan members, Jiang Chun took a nap and woke up to the news of Zhou Shi summoning her.

That's right, a summons to appear.

Jiang Chun wasn’t a fool. It was obvious why Zhou Shi had summoned her—it was all because of the meeting gifts given to the clan members today.

Gui Zhi looked worried and said, "Given Old Lady Zhou’s temper, plus the fact that the masters have returned, you’ll likely face trouble, Madam."

Jiang Chun was unconcerned and said, "What is there to fear? Your mistress has a thick skin. If I’m scolded, I’ll just let it go in one ear and out the other."

Gui Zhi asked, "What if you're beaten?"

"Ha." Jiang Chun laughed out loud.

Gui Zhi realized she had said something foolish and blushed with embarrassment.

With her immense strength and training under Coach Yu, let alone the ten or so maids and old women in Old Lady Zhou’s quarters, even if all the household guards joined them, they wouldn’t stand a chance against her.

Still, better safe than sorry, though.

Jiang Chun sent Gui Ye to the main courtyard to inform Madame Zhuang that she had been summoned to Song He Courtyard by Old Lady Zhou.

She should be ready to intervene at any time.

Otherwise, the "reconstruction" would cost Madame Zhuang’s silver, and wouldn’t that break her heart?

Upon receiving the message, Madame Zhuang was speechless with frustration.

Madame Zhuang wanted to take the opportunity to challenge her mother-in-law and take advantage of the Winter Solstice gift-giving to severely embarrass her.

Who would have thought that halfway through, a meddler like Jiang Chun would appear and ruin her plans.

If Jiang Chun were the type to take responsibility for her own troubles, Madame Zhuang wouldn't be worried. But Jiang Chun was the type to cause trouble and then vanish when it came time to face the consequences.

In the end, Madame Zhuang had to clean up the mess.

What options did she have?

She had no choice but to follow Jiang Chun's wishes. Otherwise, she was genuinely worried that Jiang Chun might tear down Pine Crane Courtyard or anger the old lady into poor health.

Her husband and two sons had just returned to their official positions; they couldn't afford to mourn now.

Thinking of this, Madame Zhuang let out a long sigh.

She must have been unrighteous in her previous life to end up with such an odd daughter-in-law. This life was a test of her patience.

Reluctant as she was, she didn’t dare to delay too long. After waiting a quarter of an hour after Jiang Chun went to Pine Crane Courtyard, she set out immediately.

Little did she know that in just that quarter of an hour, Jiang Chun had already climbed onto the roof of Pine Crane Courtyard and was sitting there throwing snowballs at the maids and older women in the courtyard.

The maids and older women were screaming and dodging.

Pine Crane Courtyard was in utter chaos.

Madame Zhuang felt lightheaded and nearly fainted.

It had snowed again yesterday, and with today’s overcast weather, none of the snow on the roof had melted.

The roof was so high, and she had no idea how Jiang Chun managed to climb it.

The wet and slippery snow could cause a serious injury if she fell.

Madame Zhuang was about to shout at Jiang Chun to come down immediately.

But she feared that startling her might cause Jiang Chun to slip and fall off the roof, which would be unforgivable.

So Madame Zhuang cleared her throat and softened her tone, coaxing, "Chunniang, come down. Whatever the issue is, we can discuss it calmly.

I'm here, and I won’t let anyone bully you."

Jiang Chun remained seated and laughed mockingly, "I'm not coming down. If I come down, the old lady will have me dragged to the ancestral hall to kneel. I’m a coward and afraid of ghosts, so I don’t dare go to the ancestral hall. That’s why I’m hiding on the roof."

Madame Zhuang: "???"

You’re a coward, you’re afraid of ghosts, you don’t dare go to the ancestral hall, but you dare to climb onto the roof?

If you’re considered a coward, then there are no brave people in the world!