Chapter 597: The Imperial Examination Family-Raising System (6)

Mother Xie had also been busy since early morning.

She had to lead her three daughters-in-law to manage the family's meals and daily life, occasionally going to the pig farm to watch the hired hands work, lest someone be negligent, leaving any pig hungry or failing to clean the Pig Pen thoroughly, causing the pigs to fall ill. Additionally, she had to spare manpower to collect pig grass.

The family initially only raised ten pigs; when that wasn't enough to sell, they would go to the surrounding countryside to collect mature pigs.

Later, as the family's sows began having three litters a year, with each litter producing at least eleven or twelve piglets, and sometimes fifteen or sixteen, the population grew until this year, when all the family's pig pens were put into use.

Even if the whole family, young and old, were sent out to cut pig grass, it wouldn't be enough for the daily intake of sixty or seventy pigs, so every day they would open a side gate to purchase pig grass delivered from the villages below.

It saved the Xie Family time and effort, and the village children could also earn a few Copper coins every day.

In the entire Xie Family, the original owner was the most idle.

She could sleep until the sun hit her backside, and after getting up to eat a meal, she could return to her room to nap or go out for a stroll; no one in the family would say anything to her.

The three sisters-in-law might be displeased with the sister-in-law's laziness, wondering why they had to help their mother-in-law with this and that, while the sister-in-law didn't have to do anything yet ate better and used better things than they did.

But the Xie Family had not divided the household; whether it was the Pork shop business or the income from slaughtering pigs outside, everything was firmly held in the hands of the parents-in-law. Even if they had opinions in their hearts, they dared not openly criticize the sister-in-law, unless they didn't want to inherit the Pork shop business.

Precisely because of this, when Xie Yang returned from being out, not a single person asked where she had been all morning, or why she wasn't at home helping with some work.

Mother Xie, Fang Shi, even brought her a bowl of Mung Bean Soup chilled in well water, urging her to drink some to pad her stomach. The Xie Family's lunch was later than that of ordinary families, because Xie Rong and his three sons had to take a nap after closing their stall, and they would all eat together once they woke up.

If the mother and children were hungry, they would stew some sweet soup or steam some pastries to pad their stomachs.

It was hot today, so Fang Shi had the eldest daughter-in-law boil a pot of mung bean and lily bulb soup.

Watching her daughter drink the soup bowl by bowl, Fang Shi felt indescribably satisfied.

She discovered that her daughter seemed to have become a few shades fairer than before; look at this crystal-clear skin, white, moist, and delicate, even better-looking than the highest-grade pig fat.

It was just that she was a tiny bit chubby; if she lost a few pounds appropriately and revealed some dimples on her waist, she might just be selected as the most beautiful girl in Guixiang Town!

But after all, she was her own daughter, and even if she didn't lose weight, Fang Shi thought she looked good, asking with a kind face: "Why didn't you take Xiao Ya with you to fan you when you went out to play? The weather is getting hotter and hotter; you have such delicate skin and tender flesh, don't get heat rash."

Xiao Ya was the granddaughter of the woman who tended the fire.

The Xie Family could not be considered a wealthy household, and Xie Rong himself came from a farming background, so they did not have the habit of buying maidservants or matrons to serve them. Aside from a few hired hands at the pig farm, they only hired Sun Pozi from the end of the alley to help with the fire and cooking, and to sweep the courtyard when she was free.

Sun Pozi was a widow who had managed with great difficulty to raise her son and arrange for him to marry a wife and have a child. A few years later, her son was taken away for corvée labor and there had been no news for many years; the daughter-in-law could not endure the loneliness and ran off with a peddler, leaving behind her granddaughter, Xiao Ya.

Over these years, it was entirely thanks to the Xie Family's employment that the grandmother and granddaughter were able to have enough to eat. When Sun Pozi was working, Xiao Ya would also come to the Xie Family to help run errands and do chores, and when they received their wages, they would get a few dozen extra wen, which made the grandmother and granddaughter very happy.

Xiao Ya worked diligently and was quick-witted, but the original owner did not like taking her out because she was too thin; when the two stood together, it made the original owner look even fatter.

After Xie Yang finished the Mung Bean Soup, she wiped the corners of her mouth and said: "Mother, where is Xiao Ya? I want to entrust her with a task."

"What task? Xiao Ya should still be in the kitchen."

"I want to have her go to Baoji Hall to see if Doctor Cui is there; if he is, please ask him to make a house call to Qinghe Village. By the way, please also invite a matchmaker to go along. I have taken a fancy to Song Yanqing, the eldest son of the Song family third branch in Qinghe Village..."

"Pfft—"

Fang Shi had just taken a sip of Mung Bean Soup, and now she sprayed it all out.

"My good daughter, what did you just say?"

She suspected she had misheard; her youngest daughter actually said she had taken a fancy to someone and wanted to find a matchmaker to propose marriage?

"Mother, you didn't mishear; it is exactly as your daughter said."

"..."

Fang Shi tentatively asked: "How old is the other party? What does he do for a living?"

"He is fifteen this year and is a government student. If nothing goes wrong, he will be able to pass the exam for a budding talent this autumn, but unfortunately, an accident happened and he broke his leg, which is why I want to invite Doctor Cui to make a trip."

A fifteen-year-old government student? And he was confident of passing the budding talent exam this year?

That was definitely a scholar! Could he take a fancy to her own little daughter?

It wasn't that Fang Shi was boosting others' morale and destroying her own prestige, but her little daughter's figure—even she, as a mother, couldn't say a dishonest word; she was indeed a bit fat.

It was all the child's father's fault, stewing big chunks of meat for his daughter to eat every few days, saying something about how fat meant fortune. Although she wanted to keep her daughter for a few more years and couldn't bear to see her marry off so early, it was a lie to say she wasn't anxious when she was about to turn seventeen and no one had come to propose.

But a fifteen-year-old government student...

"My good daughter, did that family agree to you proposing? No! Shouldn't the man's side come to propose? My good daughter, tell the truth, did you use force to compel the other party to agree?"

"..."

Xie Rong, who had been dragged out of bed by his wife, learned that his little daughter had taken a fancy to a fifteen-year-old government student in Qinghe Village, and his sleepiness immediately vanished. He laughed loudly: "As expected of the daughter of Zhurong! Fierce!"

"..."

Fang Shi glared at him crossly: "Is that how you act as a father? Fierce, fierce, all day long; are you hoping your daughter won't be able to get married?"

"Why wouldn't she be able to get married? Didn't the eldest daughter and second daughter both marry quite well?"

Xie Rong didn't think there was anything wrong with his daughter being a bit fierce; only by being fierce would she not be bullied by her husband's family.

In his view, his youngest daughter's build wasn't even fierce enough.

However, if the other party was a scholar, he could handle it.

In his heart, all scholars were frail and weak, so his little daughter's build should be able to suppress the other party.

"But is the age a bit too young? Only fifteen? Our daughter is already sixteen."

Xie Yang hurriedly said: "Being one year older is good; a woman one year older is like holding a golden chicken."

Xie Rong was surprised: "There's such a saying?"

Xie Yang nodded: "I heard it."

She did indeed hear it, just not in this plane.

She forgot which plane it was, only remembering that when the woman was older and the man younger, no matter how many years the difference was, there was an auspicious saying:

A woman one year older, hold a golden chicken; two years older, hold a gold nugget; three years older, hold a gold brick; four years older, have happy events; five years older, rival an old mother; six years older, hold a golden bean; seven years older, be an idle wife; eight years older, destined to prosper; nine years older, have everything; ten years older, everything is worth it.

Whichever line her father wanted to hear, she could provide it, heh!

Once Xie Rong heard that "holding a golden chicken" was auspicious!

He immediately made the decision: "Since our daughter has taken a fancy to him, then let's go propose!"

Fang Shi felt a headache upon hearing the father and daughter's identical rhetoric: "Propose what! Shouldn't the man's side come to propose? How can the woman's side go to propose?"

Xie Rong disagreed: "What of it! It's not easy for our daughter to find someone she fancies, and he's even a child scholar; we must settle the marriage early, lest some other family gets there first."

"..."