Joyful Motherhood in a Rural Family

Chapter 369: 369: It’s Nice to Enjoy the Shade Under the Big Tree

The visitor was dressed like a houseman and bowed to Liu Sisi as he entered.

“Miss, the Old Madam has sent me to bring you a message. The pawnshop will close this afternoon and will not reopen until next year. The silver and dividends will be settled tomorrow. Since Miss also holds a share of the profits, the Old Madam sent me to invite you to come and arrange a meeting between you and the Old Master.”

“The Old Master is back? Which Old Master?”

Liu Sisi frowned.

The houseman hurriedly bowed again: “Replying to Miss, it is the Old Master who is currently a fourth-rank official, ranked 7th in the family. Miss, you… don’t know about this?” The houseman asked hesitantly.

These words immediately made Liu Sisi’s face turn red!

How could she tell them that she couldn’t care less about the people of the Gan Family?

However, thinking about how she was still parading around with the reputation of being the Eldest Miss of the Gan Family, she felt uncomfortable in her heart.

But on second thought, although Elder Madam of Gan Family had her intentions when she adopted Liu Sisi as her goddaughter, she had not caused her any harm. Instead, Liu Sisi had gained some benefits from the Gan Family, so it would not be right to refuse.

“In that case, please let the little brother convey my message to my grandmother that I will go to the county town on time tomorrow, and ask her not to worry.”

As she spoke, she took half a copper coin from her arms and handed it to the houseman.

The houseman accepted it generously and bowed farewell: “In that case, I will take my leave.”

“Go ahead!”

Liu Sisi naturally would not detain him any longer.

After leaving the Di family’s yard and leading his horse, the houseman turned around and walked down the mountain path until he reached the foot of the slope. He couldn’t help but look up and spit out his saliva, complaining bitterly.

“Tsk! Nothing but a countrywoman from a poor and remote area, how did she manage to catch the eyes of the Old Madam and become her goddaughter? I’ve been working my ass off for the Gan family for so many years, and the Old Madam hasn’t even given me a glance! It’s really the different fates of different people! How can I not be jealous? Sigh!”

As he lamented and shook his head, he finally jumped on his horse and left.

Liu Sisi, of course, was not aware of any of this, and even if she knew, she would just smile lightly and let it go.

Right now, she was struggling to listen to Di Yelei’s “make-up lesson” for her.

“…There are a lot of people in the Gan family. Lord Gan Senior and Lord Gan are currently holding government positions. Lord Gan Senior, Gan Jingtong, is said to have been promoted to Minister, while Lord Gan, Gan Jiayou, is Assistant Minister of Ministry of Personnel. The father and son have renowned reputations. The Old Master the houseman mentioned earlier should be none other than Assistant Minister of Ministry of Personnel, Lord Gan. When I had some free time before and did some odd jobs, I often heard people mention it…”

Di Yelei was naturally more familiar with the Gan family.

As he thought about it, his brow did not relax: “Regardless of the reason why you were adopted as a goddaughter by the Elder Madam of Gan Family, since you are Lord Gan’s goddaughter, you should go see your father when he comes home. Are you really planning to go again tomorrow?”

These words made Liu Sisi feel helpless!

“The New Year is almost here, and there are still so many things to prepare at home. How can I actually go to an outsider’s house? I haven’t even seen my own biological parents once since I got married, and now I have to regard others as my parents. It’s really stifling!”

Liu Sisi pouted as she spoke and couldn’t help but sighed.

“Isn’t this a helpless move? You… don’t you think about it? Becoming the Eldest Miss of Gan Family is a blessing that many people want but can’t have, yet you are still unwilling to accept it.”

Di Yelei smiled and teased her by lightly pinching her nose.

Liu Sisi impatiently brushed his hand away: “The point is that my parents are still alive, so what kind of blessing is this?”

“Alright, alright, don’t be so stubborn. It is said that it’s good to take shelter under a big tree. Lord Gan is a fourth-rank official, so by accepting you as his goddaughter, you’ll have an extra big tree to rely on, won’t you?”

“I know, I’m just venting.”

Liu Sisi rubbed her face with a bitter smile: “Since I have to go to the county tomorrow, and today is the cannon market on the 27th day of Lunar December, how about I attend the big wedding of the two families at noon today, and then go to the bookstore in the afternoon to settle the accounts and close for the day? Then I’ll head straight to the Gan Family. Depending on the time, I’ll decide whether to stay overnight there or come back.”

“That works! I’ll go to my colleague’s house at noon, and we can meet in the bookstore in the evening, then go to Gan Mansion together.” Di Yelei thought for a moment and said.

After the two made their plans, they naturally began to act separately.

Di Yelei rode straight to the county, while Liu Sisi took out the old account books. The Ding and Xiao families had initially given 20 eggs and a piece of cloth each. Liu Sisi put together 40 eggs and ten fine cotton cloth pieces, and a silver ornament for each family, then she and her father-in-law went to each family separately.

Di Xuan went with his father to the Ding family, while she led YingEr and Da Mao to the Xiao family.

The Xiao family was marrying off their daughter. When Liu Sisi arrived, the bridegroom’s family had already arrived with the wedding sedan chair and were playing door games. Liu Sisi hurriedly approached to give her gift, seeing the bride happily beam with joy and the groom blushing. Both sides seemed to be more than satisfied with this marriage, didn’t they?

According to custom, the dishes prepared by the bride’s side were just some simple meals. The family had directly cooked a big pot of porridge with pickled cucumber. To eat well, they had to go to the bridegroom’s side.

Liu Sisi and YingEr didn’t follow the bride’s side to the groom’s home. As soon as the wedding sedan chair left, they quickly headed to the small town.

Today was the day of the big market, the cannon market, and Liu Sisi had long calculated that there were many things she needed to buy apart from going to the bookstore.

She led YingEr with her, Guihua helped carry Da Mao, and Little Chubby Miao Cuihua followed Liu Sisi, chatting non-stop. Moreover, countless fellow villagers joined the crowd heading towards the small town.

Miao Cuihua was so excited today that she didn’t care about Little Chubby’s mischief on her back, and she shouted to Liu Sisi.

“Sisi! Are you going straight to the bookstore when you go to the market today? Or are you going to check out the market first?”

Her loud voice attracted the attention of everyone around her.

An unknown aunt also couldn’t help but laugh: “Sisi! Your family’s life is getting better and better. I heard that you’ve bought a large piece of fertile farmland. Are you going to lease it out? Please don’t forget about us, your fellow villagers!”

“Dear aunt, please rest assured! I, Liu Sisi, know that very well!”

Liu Sisi quickly responded: “After the New Year, we have just taken over the farmland and will lease it out. So my family and I have decided that for the first year, the villagers who lease our land will pay one dou(one-tenth of a hectoliter) less grain per mu. As the land is limited, the leasing will end once capacity is reached.”