Annual Ceremony

Chapter 18 Grain Rain (Part )

In the following days, Shuyi no longer went out and just stayed at home doing needlework.

Zhenyi would visit her elder sister almost every day. Firstly, Yang Jinniang had ordered Zhenyi to learn needlework for at least an hour every day. Secondly, Zhenyi heard that her elder sister would not be able to come back often after getting married, and she was reluctant to leave her elder sister.

Shuyi didn't allow Juzi to enter, not because Shuyi didn't like Juzi, but because Juzi always made her embroidery thread a mess.

Being shut out, Orange had to lie outside like a poor, helpless and weak gatekeeper cat. It didn't want to scratch those balls of thread, but for some reason, those balls of thread would always roll to its paws inexplicably.

Every morning after having breakfast with her mother, Zhenyi would go to pay her respects to her grandmother, and then learn needlework from her elder sister. Often half a day would pass. After returning, she would give her needlework to her mother to see if she had made any progress. As a result, Zhenyi could only stay in the study for an hour or so in the afternoon.

Moreover, Wang Xichen could not stay at home all day. If the time was not right, Zhenyi could only study by herself, write down what she did not understand, and ask her father in the evening.

When Old Lady Dong learned about this, she asked Zhenyi to stay for half an hour longer every day when she came to pay her respects. The old lady was not familiar with complicated mathematics, but she could help her granddaughter learn some words and read some poems.

Even so, Zhenyi had very little time to study effectively. When she wanted to read at night, Juzi would always press on the book to make trouble - the light was too dim and Juzi was afraid that Zhenyi would damage her eyes.

Every time she saw Zhenyi studying whenever she had time, without an orthodox teacher, and then looked at Wang Jie who didn't have to do anything except study every day, Juzi felt that this was very unfair - of course, Juzi didn't dislike Wang Jie, this well-behaved child, who had been down-to-earth since childhood and didn't look like a child. He just turned thirteen this year, and heard that he would take the college entrance examination in two years, so he worked harder and harder, as if his forehead was engraved with: [Six hundred xxx days to the college entrance examination]

Juzi hopes that Wang Jie can do well in the exam, and that children who work hard should be rewarded.

But in comparison, Zhenyi is clearly more talented and eager to learn, but it seems that she does not even have the conditions and means to work hard.

I'm not exaggerating, but if a genius child like Zhenyi were born in a modern family, she could walk sideways! When her parents go out, they are asked in which direction they kowtow to give birth to such a child.

Juzi lay outside the door with her hands in her pockets, listening to Shuyi teaching Zhenyi how to embroider in the room, thinking idly.

As the weather got warmer, Orange, who waited for Zhenyi to learn needlework every day, had something new to do: climbing trees and catching cicadas.

One day, Juzi caught a cicada, held it in his mouth, rolled it over, and spit it out. If the cicada didn't move, he would scratch it with his claws. If the cicada moved, he would use his claws to pull it back.

Only when he was tired of playing did Orange fall into a deep sleep in the corridor.

After waking up, Orange was very angry.

The chance of a cat's paw pads being bitten by mosquitoes is very small, but not completely impossible.

There was a big bump on the flesh of Orange's front paw, and it was so itchy that it licked and gnawed it.

But Orange had never been bitten by a mosquito before, so he didn’t know what happened to his paw. After thinking it over, he remembered that Wang Yuan had come to him in the afternoon - that’s right, in this family, Wang Yuan was usually the one who did the bad things!
Juzi rushed over in anger, jumped into Wang Yuan's room through the window, and beat Wang Yuan who was taking a nap.

Wang Yuan was so angry that he chased after Juzi and beat him in his cloth shoes.

As usual, Orange climbed up the jujube tree and looked down at Wang Yuan provocatively.

Wang Yuan hugged the tree and shook it unwillingly, but only shook off a few leaves.

The thin leaves of the jujube trees turned from green to yellow, summer turned into winter, and snow began to fall in Jinling City.

At the beginning of spring, Juzi prepared a gift for Zhenyi's tenth birthday: two sparrows.

As for why he caught two, it was of course because Orange was very capable and he also wanted to eat.

Chun'er was roasting sparrows, Juzi was squatting by the small stove waiting, Yang Jinniang was rolling eggs for her daughter, and Wang Xichen personally made a bowl of longevity noodles, which Zhenyi gulped down and even drank up all the noodle soup.

When the ice and snow on the banks of the Qinhuai River completely melted, green grass emerged from the soil, and the river water became clear and soft again, another Grain Rain season had arrived, and Shuyi's wedding date was also approaching.

Nowadays, the day before a Han Chinese woman gets married, the woman’s family will hold a banquet at home and invite relatives and friends to visit, which is called “adding boxes”.

The Wang family hadn't held a wedding for many years, and Zhenyi had never seen their home so lively.

Although Wang Zhefu's exile had an inevitable impact on interpersonal relationships, holding a banquet to marry off a daughter was a serious matter, and the courtesy between relatives had to be done. Someone from his hometown, Tianchang County, also came. They were from the lineage of Wang Zhefu's brothers, and Wang Yuan and the others had to call him uncle.

Many familiar families in Jinling City also came. Wang Zhefu's reputation was still recognized, and scholars such as Yuan Mei were all friends with him. Wang Xirui taught in a private school for many years and had many friends. The three branches of the Wang family had never separated. Wang Xirui had no daughters, and although Shuyi was a niece, she was almost like a daughter.

The Wen family also sent people to give gifts, and Wang Xirui accepted them. They were both in Jinling, and the other party was the county magistrate of Jiangning County. Even if they couldn't get married, they didn't have to be enemies.

The Wang brothers entertained the male guests in the front, while most of the female guests went to Shuyi's place. Yang Jinniang took Zhenyi to recognize people and called them "this cousin, that cousin, this lady, that lady..." Zhenyi called them one by one. Her speech was clearer and more organized than that of children of the same age. Her big eyes never blinked, and she was not afraid of being avoided by others. Many female relatives were happy to tease her. After Zhenyi called everyone around, there would always be a female relative asking, "Who am I?"

Zhenyi always answered correctly and even remembered the family name clearly, which made everyone very happy. They all smiled and praised her, saying that all the daughters of the Wang family were smart and beautiful.

Juzi felt uncomfortable with the crowd, so she lay high on Shuyi's dowry box. She felt honored when she heard the praises.

Yang Jinniang also touched her daughter's head lovingly. Her daughter was very smart.

It is beneath this cleverness that there lies a stubbornness that is not easily noticed by others.

Zhenyi, who had been praised countless times for having a good memory, had one person whom she failed to recognize.

After Zhenyi left her elder sister, she passed the Moon Cave Gate and suddenly heard someone calling, "Second sister?"

Zhenyi looked up.

"It's really my second sister!" The man walked over with Wang Jie: "My second sister has grown so much taller, I almost didn't recognize her!"

Zhenyi blinked. He was just barely surviving, but she...

Wang Jie, who was two steps behind, put one hand to his lips and coughed lightly, looking towards the apricot tree beside him.

Apricot tree, tree...

Zhenyi understood instantly and tried to shout: "...Brother Zhan?"

The young man looked surprised: "Second sister really still remembers me!"

Zhenyi felt a little guilty, but it was not her fault. The change between a nine-year-old boy and a twelve-year-old teenager was really huge. When they parted three years ago, Zhan Mei was still losing teeth.

Moreover, Zhan Mei grew very fast. At this time, when he and Wang Jie, who was two years older than him, stood together, they were almost the same height.

Zhan Mei was wearing a clean blue cotton shirt, which showed his real youthfulness.

He has a calm temperament, and compared with the gentle and taciturn Wang Jie, he is more outgoing and bright. Juzi followed behind Zhan Mei and sniffed his robe, still with the familiar refreshing woody scent.

Orange thought that the tree was not crooked.

Three years ago, Zhan Mei said goodbye to Zhenyi in front of this moon cave gate.

At that time, the two agreed that the next time they met, they would ask Wang Zhe to give them arithmetic problems to see who could answer them correctly and quickly.

Now that Zhenyi no longer had her grandfather by her side, Zhan Mei did not mention the agreement. As they walked together, Zhan Mei only asked, "Is Second Sister still learning arithmetic?"

Zhenyi nodded: "It's just that my grandfather is not here, there is no one to ask for advice, so I can only learn a little bit."

Zhan Mei took out a book from his sleeve and handed it to Zhenyi.

Zhenyi took it and saw that it was a book related to mathematics.

Zhan Mei said that he found this when he was sorting out the books in his home. He was not good at mathematics, and the book was too obscure and profound to be suitable for someone like him who only reads superficially. He could let Zhenyi keep it for later.

In the evening, the Zhan family father and son stayed at Wang's house, and Zhan Mei and Wang Jie slept in the same bed and chatted.

Zhenyi accompanied her mother to talk with her eldest sister. During the day, they mostly dealt with guests, and in the evening it was the time for the women in the family to talk privately. Old Mrs. Dong was also there.

At this time, Yang Jinniang took out the gift box she had prepared.

It was a red gold phoenix bracelet, which Yang Jinniang had made using her few gold ornaments.

Shuyi knew the family situation and hurriedly said that the gift was too expensive and refused to accept it.

Yang Jinniang insisted on putting it on Shuyi's wrist: "The Jiang family is a merchant family. Although our family cannot compare with them, we still have what we should have... Our Shuyi is so good, how can we let others look down on her."

Shuyi's eyes were sore.

The next day, Shuyi wore the golden phoenix bracelet, put on her bright red wedding dress, covered her head with a veil, and left the house.

The third wife gave almost all of her dowry to Shuyi, and tried her best to add some more.

Nowadays, if a girl marries without a matching dowry, she will be ridiculed and looked down upon by her in-laws. Many poor families cannot afford to prepare a dowry for their daughters, which is one of the reasons for drowning baby girls.

This trend is particularly serious in Jiangxi. In order to curb this trend, Jiangxi Governor Liu Bingzhang vigorously advocated "simple marriages" and informed the people, but the effect was minimal.

Outside the Wang family's gate, many people were counting how many loads of dowry the Wang family had moved out and talking to each other.

Amid the sounds of suona, firecrackers and laughter, Shuyi grabbed the red silk and was led onto the wedding sedan.

The wedding sedan started moving, and all the excitement and crowds followed the wedding procession. Zhenyi, who was seeing her elder sister off, also subconsciously wanted to follow, but Yang Jinniang grabbed her and said, "It's not allowed to follow..."

As the wedding procession went away, the surroundings suddenly became quiet. Only firecracker shells, peanuts, longans and other dried fruit shells were left in front of the door, and no one was left.

Yang Jinniang led Zhenyi to the courtyard. When the sound of firecrackers died down, Juzi, who had been hiding, dared to come out and follow Zhenyi.

On the way back, the brightly dressed Third Wife's eyes suddenly filled with tears. She wiped her tears and sighed with a smile, "Before the marriage was decided, I was so worried that I couldn't sleep... From childhood to adulthood, every matter was for the sake of marriage... Now that it is finally done, I feel that after all the excitement, I feel empty, empty in my heart, empty in everything, and I don't know what I was looking for."

The eldest wife smiled and said, "Isn't that what it means to raise a daughter? Can you really leave her as an old maid and let people laugh at her?"

The third wife also nodded: "Yes, yes."

Zhenyi, who also felt empty in her heart and didn't want her elder sister to leave at all, couldn't understand what the adults said. Her third aunt had been worrying about her elder sister for so many years, just to send her elder sister to another family, was it all because she didn't want to be "laughed at"?

Zhenyi couldn't help feeling confused again.

In the days that followed, Zhenyi still went to pay her respects to her grandmother every day, but many times, after leaving her grandmother, she would go to her eldest sister's place. Sometimes she would suddenly remember when she was halfway there, and sometimes she would walk up to her and only react when she saw the locked door.

Juzi followed Zhenyi, staring at the locked door in a daze, and began to miss Shuyi a little.

Afterwards, Zhenyi learned needlework from her mother, but Yang Jinniang thought her needlework was not very skillful, so she often asked her third brother's wife to come and teach her daughter.

The third wife was in a good mood after her daughter's marriage. After Shuyi returned home, she came back several times and said that everything was fine. Although Mrs. Jiang was shrewd, she treated Shuyi attentively and did not complain or make things difficult for her.

Afraid that Shuyi would not dare to tell the truth, Juzi ran nearly twenty miles and secretly went to Jiang's house and stayed there for a day. He did not see Jiang Mao at home, but Mrs. Jiang treated Shuyi very well and tried to teach Shuyi how to manage the business accounts herself. Only then did Juzi feel at ease to leave.

Before leaving, Orange asked the nearby cat to remember to keep an eye on it.

In October, Zhan Mei, who was traveling with his father to study, passed through Jinling again and gave Zhenyi several books, all of which were related to mathematics and were collected by him during the trip.

Zhenyi accepted the book and said to Zhan Mei beside the Defeng Pavilion: "Brother Zhan, I really remember you this time and will never forget it again!"

Since she started learning mathematics, except for her grandfather, even though everyone thought she was talented, no one did anything for her, and no one took the initiative to ask her how far she had learned. They just treated it as a child's fun.

The books sent by Zhan Mei may not be difficult to find, but for Zhenyi, who has no way to find or buy books outside, it is already very rare, and it makes Zhenyi feel that her preferences are being taken seriously.

After hearing Zhenyi admit that she really didn't remember him last time, Zhan Mei smiled and said cheerfully: "It doesn't matter if I can't remember it again, I'll come back next time! I'll always remember it!"

Zhenyi, who was still missing a side tooth, also smiled and nodded to Zhan Mei while holding the book.

Zhan Mei not only found books for Zhenyi, but also helped Wang Jie find some books. He had a good impression of everyone in the Wang family - oh, not just people, but also cats.

Zhenyi and Wang Jie were very envious of Zhan Mei's ability to travel around and study, especially Zhenyi, who wanted to leave Jinling City and go out to see the world. But Zhenyi knew that this idea would never be approved, so she never dared to mention it, and only dared to tell Juzi quietly.

At this time, Zhenyi could never have imagined that her bold idea would soon have a chance to come true.

However, the opportunity that brought this opportunity did not make people feel at ease and happy.

In the twelfth lunar month, Wang Xichen came back from outside with a letter from Jilin in his hand, and hurried to find Old Mrs. Dong.

Zhenyi was practicing calligraphy in the study when she heard her elder brother coming to her from outside the room: "Sister, stop writing! Come with me to our eldest mother's place! Jilin sent a letter saying there is something important!"

　good morning

　　
　
(End of this chapter)