Zeng Ruixiang took the children home and locked himself in his study for a long time, not coming out. Seeing the worried glances of Zifuxi and others, Shen said: "Don't worry, your father just hasn't figured it out yet, give him some time. In the future, if we do things together as two families, such things will definitely happen again, unless in the future, our family still takes charge of everything, and your uncle's family just makes a name for themselves. This time, your grandparents are probably not comfortable either. They have been used to being dignified in our family for many years, thinking that they could make a good show by celebrating their birthday, but unexpectedly, the children didn't give them face? Probably thought your father was just talking nonsense and didn't expect him to really not spend money at critical moments. Today, I also heard your aunt say that your grandmother still has several daughters, and your eldest aunt's family stayed from the second day of the first month until today.

  "I think Grandma should still have some silver left over from before, so it shouldn't be a problem to make ends meet this year. It's next year that will be tough. Of course, on the condition that we don't send it to her. We have to let her understand that we're the ones who are really good to her," Zi Qing said.

  In the end, it was Zǐ Fú who went in and said something, and the two of them came out together. However, Zēng Ruì Xiáng's face already looked much better.

  Because the next day, Zifu and his family were going back to Beijing, in the evening, the whole family sat together again for a family meeting. Then Shen gave Zirong and Chen two house deeds and a deed for 100 mu of water field, plus 2,000 taels of silver tickets. When Zirong received the things, Chen did not show too much surprise, presumably he already knew about it.

  Ziying coldly looked at Chen's family for a month, although Shen didn't let her set rules, however, she still got up early every day to cook voluntarily, helping Liu or Shen with household chores, and asking questions when encountering unfamiliar dishes. She was not ashamed of her humble origins and was sincere towards others. Her conduct was generous, and soon won everyone's favor and recognition.

  On the days when Ziru was not at home, she often came to find Ziqing to learn to recognize characters, do needlework, and stayed in the Zeng family for a period of time. Her skin tone had improved a lot compared to before, not only whiter but also more delicate.

  Ziying was still lost in thought, when he saw Shen Shi ask Chen Shi: "Yu Jiao, Zi Lu is going to Anzhou. What do you plan to do? Are you staying at home or accompanying him to Anzhou? I've collected the rent for these two shops, and I'll give it all to you. You can decide what to do yourself, whether you want to open a shop, terminate the lease, or buy another one. If you don't want to open a shop, but want to stay in the city to accompany him, you can just buy a spacious courtyard. Of course, if you're willing, you can also buy a few acres of land near your home to grow some melons, fruits, and vegetables."

  "Mother, I don't want to farm anymore. My husband is not at home, and as a woman, it's too hard for me to do all this by myself. I also don't want to stay at home. In my whole life, the number of times I've gone out can be counted on one hand. Now that I finally have the chance, I'll go to the city with him first and help take care of his daily meals, then see what else I can do." Chen said.

  "What's the point of accompanying me, I won't be able to come out anyway. Where do you need to take care of three meals a day? I only have a few days off in a month. Why don't you just stay at home with your parents instead? Wait until later, when I graduate from the prefectural school, then if you want to go to the city, I'll follow you." Zi Lu said.

  "That's alright, my intention is that you should think about doing something else, just take a good look and think carefully, don't rush. With this rent alone, it's enough for you to make a living. Unless absolutely necessary, don't sell the shop or the water field, when the opportunity arises, you can even buy more. That's all your parents can help you with, from now on, making a living depends on your own abilities."

  "I know, my husband told me that just saying thank you to his parents is enough. I was thinking of opening a small restaurant, it doesn't require much capital, and even if we lose money, it won't be too much. My older brother can help me out, he's been working as a waiter in the city for over a year now. As a woman, it's not convenient for me to be in charge, so I'll let him take care of it. At home, they're just idle anyway. I'm not in a hurry, I've learned some characters over the past year or so, but I still can't read account books. I heard that Ziqing and Ziyu sisters know how to do it, I want to learn from them." Chen said.

  "This is simple, I'll teach you later. Second brother has to return to the provincial capital tomorrow and doesn't have time to teach you. If you want to open a restaurant, I can teach you how to make poached chicken, but our family's chickens will be sold to you, we were just worried about finding a sales channel." Zi Qing said with a smile.

  "Sister, you haven't even married into our family yet, and you're already anxious to take charge. 'My family's chicken', where is your family?" Zi Xi laughed and said.

  Zi Qing quickly ran over and tangled with Zi Xi, who dodged and shouted: "Brother-in-law, the tigress from your house is wreaking havoc again, why don't you hurry up and take her back? Who's she going to harm if she stays here?"

  "Qing'er's relationship with her younger brother and fourth brother is really good." Liu said with a smile.

  "Qing'er is just like this at home, but when she goes out, she's really like a young lady from a big family, and the misses from ordinary families can't even compare to her." Zi Fu said with a smile.

  "All right, Qing'er, stop making trouble. Didn't you say you wanted to teach your second sister how to do accounts?" Zi Lu said.

  "I don't know if I can open it yet. However, I can learn first. I'm still quite interested in cooking," said Chen.

  Lin Kangping took advantage of the situation to hold down Zi Qing and said, "What are you doing with a child?" This provoked another round of Zi Xi's loud crying.

  "My younger siblings are much more capable than me. I can just live a stable life collecting rent and won't be able to do anything else." Liu said with a smile.

  Mr. Chen made a few modest remarks and then said a few more things before dispersing.

  The next day, Zifu and his family hired a carriage to enter the capital early in the morning. Zilu, Zishou, and Zixi were going to school, Shen Shi was taking Chen Shi to Anzhou to buy some things, and also took her to the pawnshop to see if there were any suitable small restaurants for sale. Lin Kangping drove the carriage with them, and Ziyu insisted on following along.

  Ziying saw that no one was home, so she quickly took out Lin Kangping's wedding dress. It was already the middle of the first month and she couldn't even move a needle, she hadn't had time to make it yet. Before the New Year, Lin Kangping had given Ziying several pieces of rabbit fur, which Ziying used to sew a circle around the collar and cuffs of her winter cotton clothes. The ones Ziying made were similar to modern long coats, with a slightly nipped-in waist, and she sewed four sets in various shades of red.

  The Shens returned and bought several bolts of red satin and fine red gauze. Mrs. Shen said she would personally embroider the quilt face for Zi Qing, preparing her dowry. Lin Kangping saw them for only a few days before inviting the matchmaker to propose marriage. Mrs. Shen found someone to calculate an auspicious day: December 10th was set as the day to send betrothal gifts on December 2nd.

  Then, Zi Qing calmly made her wedding dress. The affairs of Chengyuan and Qinyuan were all taken care of by Lin Kangping. At the end of March, Lin Kangping went to the mountains again. He said he was collecting pre-rain tea.

  Mr. Chen's restaurant opened at the end of March, it was a restaurant bought directly from someone else, with a backyard, not small, costing 500 taels of silver, quite close to the provincial academy, Mr. Chen followed Zi Qing to learn simple accounting, the restaurant faces the middle class, nearby scholars and residents.

  The Chen family all came to help out, with Mrs. Chen mainly in charge of the kitchen. Before opening day, Mr. and Mrs. Chen and their eldest son brought two chickens into the restaurant, thanking the Zeng family for giving them this opportunity and promising not to be a burden on their daughter. They had also bought several mu of good land, enough for the whole family to live off of. Zi Qing didn't have a bad impression of these parents. At least they knew how to show gratitude.

  Chen and Shen had a frank conversation, saying they wanted to invite her whole family over to help out. "Originally, my mother planned to stay at home with my two younger brothers because they still need to study, but I thought, my father and older brother are also too busy to handle it alone, so why not bring my mother along as well? Besides, there's a school nearby that we can send them to. My parents said that the silver money would be taken from the gift money our family gave, my parents and brothers would work, and I would give them 30% of the profits, no longer paying them wages." Chen asked, "Mother, do you think this is okay?"

  "This I don't care about. You and Zilu discuss it, after all, you've separated households, you two are husband and wife, whatever you decide to do on your own is fine, just one thing, don't show your face in public, Lü'er is also a scholar." Shen said.

  "Mother, don't worry, I know what to do. My husband has also reminded me that I will always remember that I am the daughter-in-law of the Zeng family and the wife of my husband, and I won't bring shame to the Zeng family. Actually, opening this restaurant is partly for my family and partly for myself. My husband is still studying, and in the future, there will be expenses for his studies. I don't want to just sit around and wait for our annual rent to live a rich life. What if my husband succeeds and takes a step forward? There will be many places where we need to use silver. Now that I have free time and my husband is not by my side, I don't need to serve him, and you also don't need me to serve you. Taking advantage of the fact that we don't have children yet, I want to try out my own abilities. Mother, don't worry, once the restaurant gets on track, I'll come back home. And thank you, mother, for giving me this opportunity to support my family." Chen Shi replied solemnly.

  Zi Shou's county exam went very smoothly, and Zeng Zi Jun and Zeng Zi Xin also passed. The three grandmothers specially brought their two grandsons to the door, wanting to kowtow to Zeng Rui Xiang, but were stopped by Zeng Rui Xiang, saying that it was not too late to kowtow after passing the palace exam.

  Nowadays, Shen's family is very calm about Zi Shou's imperial examination, not as tense as when Zi Fu took the exam a few years ago. However, this time they still went to Anzhou personally and rented a small courtyard for Zi Shou, along with Zengzi Jun and Zengzi Xin. Originally, Chen's family said they could stay in the backyard of her restaurant, but Shen's family thought it was too chaotic, so they rented a small courtyard near Chen's restaurant, making it convenient for Zi Shou to go over and eat. This way, Shen's family can also often come back home to take a look, taking care of both ends.

  April 3rd, the daughter of Da Mao was born, and someone came to deliver the news. Shen's wife didn't pay attention to them and didn't prepare any gifts. Tian's wife just muttered a few words but didn't come again to ask questions. On April 16th, Shen Jian-shui's youngest son got married. On April 25th, Shen Jian-shan's tenth grandson was born. By the end of April, Chen's wife became pregnant. These happy events made Shen busy and dizzy. On May 6th, Shen took Zi Shou to Changzhou for the exam.

  Lin Kangping sent Shen and his family to their past, Lin Kangping went to Guangzhou in April and just returned before the Dragon Boat Festival. This time he said it was a good opportunity to go to Jingdezhen to buy some porcelain decorations, all the projects in Qingyuan have been completed.

  After Shen returned from Changzhou, she brought Chen back home. Coincidentally, Zi Lu had just finished his summer vacation, and the small restaurant was already on the right track, handed over to her natal family to manage, so Chen didn't have to worry about it anymore. As soon as Shen got busy, there wasn't even time to make Ziqing's dowry bedding. Zeng Ruixiang pitied his wife, and had no choice but to let Ziqing take on most of the household chores.

  That day, Zeng Rui Xiang took Zi Lu to collect rent, Shen Shi accompanied Chen Shi to Anzhou, Zi Shou and Zi Xi went fishing, Zi Yu went to the back mountain to pick up eggs, and only Lin Kang Ping and Zi Qing were left at home.

  Lin Kangping held Ziying and complained, "Since I returned home last year, your mother has been looking at me like a thief. More than half a year has passed, and I haven't had the chance to hold you properly. Even going to the backyard to digest food is no longer possible. Today, I must make up for it." Before he finished speaking, the doorbell rang, and Lin Kangping hastily held Ziying tightly and kissed her fiercely before reluctantly opening the door.