Farmhouse Green Plum

Chapter 575 Bright Color

As early as the year my cousin got married, her brother had been looking for a girl. He originally had his eyes on a girl from a scholar's family on the side of my third aunt's side, but that family didn't like her brother. Her brother's marriage has been delayed over the years, and he couldn't get a girl of either high or low caliber. It's normal for my mother to worry.

She consoled and persuaded herself over and over again, and finally felt better. "Song Ying and the others gave me a Shu brocade purse, and I can't return it with too little. Reciprocity is the norm. If I just accept gifts without returning them, people will say I have no manners.

Besides, doesn't the Gong family say that black and red silk symbolize the harmony of yin and yang? So the quantities should be equal. Why not give my brother one piece of black silk and one piece of red silk as a betrothal gift?"

Zhang frowned, "The betrothal gifts must be in even numbers, otherwise it's unlucky."

"One black and one red, there are two horses, which is an even number." Xiaoxiang said hurriedly.

Zhang thought about it, and her expression finally improved a little, but she still scolded, "No matter what, you can't waste it. If you want to give them handkerchiefs, just use some scraps of cloth. There's no reason to use such fine silk to make handkerchiefs."

Xiaoxiang lowered her head and responded in a low voice with a bitter look on her face. The scraps of cloth at home were so tattered and rough, how could she have the face to use them to make a handkerchief for her good friend.

After the winter month, time flies by quickly, and it seems like the end of the year has arrived in the blink of an eye.

On the 29th day of the 12th lunar month, every household was preparing for the New Year, but only family members participated in Xiaoxiang's coming-of-age ceremony.

In the morning, Xiaoxiang, wearing a dark red coarse cloth jacket and skirt, knelt on the futon in the main hall. Zhang used a half-worn wooden comb to tie her hair into a bun, which pulled her hair so hard that it hurt.

Her eyes fell on her cuffs, and she suddenly remembered the day when Song Ying and Yan Xing came of age, their Shu brocade clothes shimmering in the sunlight.

Her tears rolled out uncontrollably.

It turned out that when this day really came, she still cared about it. She did not pray to wear Shu brocade clothes, but just wanted to have a dress made of silk or fine cotton.

After choosing for such a long time, my mother finally bought only a piece of coarse cloth. She took out some old cotton, dried it in the sun, and stuffed it into the cloth to make this outfit.

There was no silk ribbon, let alone a jade pendant. She only wore a knee-length apron that was washed white around her waist.

Zhang didn't notice her expression. She quickly tied her hair into a bun and inserted the brass hairpin into her bun. "Okay, get up. After breakfast, clean the house. Tomorrow is the New Year."

The brass was polished to a shine, and when it was inserted into the bun, Xiaoxiang felt a chill on her scalp, shivering with cold. She wiped her eyes while standing up, not daring to let Zhang find out that she was crying.

She went to the kitchen to serve food. When she entered the main room, she heard her father complaining to her mother, "The time of birth was not right. If it were spring or summer, a single piece of clothing would have been enough. Why would we have to buy cloth and cotton? It would have cost so much money."

Seeing Xiaoxiang come in, he not only didn't stop talking, but glared at her and scolded her: "You are really a money-loser. You don't know how to save money for the family."

"Okay, let's eat." Zhang interrupted him impatiently.

Xiaoxiang sat with half of her butt hanging empty, finished her meal in fear, and then collected and washed the dishes.

Zhang and Zhao Hu were going to the market in the city today. She was carrying a basket on her back and shouted to the kitchen as she walked out, "Remember to take off your clothes before cleaning, so you don't get them dirty."

"it is good."

Xiaoxiang answered, washed the pots and dishes, and came out. She was the only one left at home. Her brother Zhao Xiaogang had gone somewhere. She let out a breath, and her tense shoulders relaxed.

She entered her bedroom and was about to unbutton her clothes when she suddenly stopped, stood up and took out two Shu brocade purses, one blue and one green, from the bottom of the box.

She tied the purse embroidered with three butterflies around her waist, and her gray outfit suddenly had a touch of bright color.

She held the purse in her hand, and her fingertips slowly stroked the three butterflies, and her vision gradually became blurred.

It seems that this is the only bright spot in her gloomy life.

After a long time, she wiped away her tears, took off her purse and clothes, changed into her old cotton-padded clothes, and went out to clean the house.

She is going to marry into the Gong family and will be the young lady of the Gong family in the future. When she comes back, her father will look at her with respect and will no longer call her a money-loser.

As the last day of New Year's Eve approached, many people entered the city, and the government searched the city, making the pace of entry even slower.

Zhang and others were still queuing at the gate when they saw Song Tian sitting on the shaft of the carriage, proudly pulling the reins and driving the horse forward. The already congested city gate seemed even more crowded because of the carriage.

The curtain of the carriage was not drawn, and one could clearly see at a glance that Song Yuan and the Zhou family's twin sisters were sitting inside.

"Song Tian! Are you going home for the New Year?" she greeted loudly.

"Oh, Aunt Zhang, Uncle Zhao, are you going into town to buy New Year's goods? Oh, what a coincidence! If you had come earlier, I could have given you a ride back."

Song Yuan and Mei Yue Nan Xing also poked their heads out to greet them.

Zhang really wanted to roll her eyes. It was noon now and most people had just arrived in the city. Who would be so free as to go back at this time?

She smiled and shook her head. "It's okay. It's the same if we walk back. We've almost finished buying New Year's goods. Today we're just buying some things that won't last long."

"Okay, then you guys take your time. Oh, by the way, I have to go into the city to pick up my sister and Sister Yanxing early tomorrow morning. If you want to come to the city, I'll give you a ride."

Zhang didn't want to pay any attention to him. Anyone who comes to the city on New Year's Eve must be crazy.

"No, no, we'll buy everything today, stew it tonight, and eat it tomorrow. Well, it's okay if Yan Xing is busy, but your sister and her colleagues at the clinic are not busy during the twelfth and first lunar months, right? Why didn't you go back with us today?"

"She has to have an early reunion dinner with Dr. Lin and the others tonight."

After Song Tian finished showing off, he pulled the reins and signaled the horse to continue moving forward. The officers guarding the city saw that the Zhang couple knew Song Tian, so when it was their turn, they did not search them and let them go into the city directly.

After leaving the city gate, Song Tian turned his head and suddenly caught a glimpse of a familiar figure. He hurriedly pulled the reins to stop the carriage, "I saw Brother Yuan Qing. Wait a moment, I'll go call him."

He ran over, calling him "Brother Yuan Qing" all the time, so affectionately that Song Yuan was stunned from a distance. When did his brother become like this? Isn't this too flattering?

In his shock, Yuan Qing got on the carriage and sat on the other side of the shaft with Song Tian. He asked Song Ying and Luo Yanxing, and then asked Song Yuan.

"I've been busy at the county school these days, so I haven't asked you yet. How is life at the academy? Is there anything you're having trouble adapting to?"

"No, everything is fine." Song Yuan put away his surprise and answered very respectfully.

After learning the craft, he realized how important the title of scholar was, and he admired his future cousin-in-law even more, as he had passed the examination at the young age of fifteen.