Chapter 16: Talking about Appearance (Part 1)
There was no conversation during the wedding, and the next day, they came out.
Han Niang came to congratulate again. She first asked her to sit down and served some tea and snacks. After waiting for a while, she asked, "How was Mr. Zhang last night?"
Zhang Xuanning smiled and said, "That's right." Then he took out another ingot of five taels of silver from his sleeve and handed it to Han Niang. This was a gift for marrying a concubine. It is said that in this world, for mortals, it is nothing more than power, money and sex. Han Niang, of course, has no power, so money can move her even more.
When he saw the silver, he accepted it with great joy, bowed twice in a row, and said, "Thank you, Master Zhang, thank you, Master Zhang!"
Not long after, Wei Zhenzhen also came out. She was not wearing a wedding dress, but a silk green dress with a gold ring on her bun. She was no longer wearing coarse cloth and had a little bit of rouge on her face. She was indeed a natural beauty, and there was a faint fragrance coming from her body.
She bowed her head and said, "Husband."
Facing this young husband who was a few years younger than her, although she had made love with him several times last night, she still felt like she was in a dream when she came out today. She immediately said, "Thank you, Han Niang."
Han Niang said, "You have already thanked me for giving birth to a boy or girl. Although I love money, I still have some sense in my heart. If I hadn't seen that you were not living well in your original place, why would I interfere?"
As he said this, he looked again and smiled: "Look at you now, this is the way you should be."
He had neither a wife nor parents. Although Mr. Su was around, he was not the father who changed his surname, so there was no need to "offer tea". They just exchanged a few words, and after Han Niang left, the two sat side by side and chatted.
However, there is no such thing as women not being allowed to go out on the streets in this world. To some extent, women's rights still exist in this world. Zhang Xuanning said, "My family doesn't have any big rules, and we don't have any servants at the moment. But there are a few little girls among the homeless people outside, so I took them in. You can discipline them and let them do some things for you."
After a pause, he continued, "If anyone in my family doesn't betray me, I will never betray them. Just relax and get familiar with this manor. Your parents can come to visit often. It's okay. I will give you 200 taels of silver and you can manage it yourself. The monthly salary is 10 taels."
In ancient times, wealthy families had many members, and they had to follow rules to manage their household. Although they were relatives, they still had to follow family rules. Everyone had a share of monthly salary. In fact, not to mention wealthy families, even the empress and concubines in the imperial palace had certain standards of support.
Generally speaking, there are standards for clothing, food, housing, and monthly allowances. Even for a top-notch family in the city, the wife could only freely dispose of thirty taels of silver each month. As for a concubine, three taels of silver was considered generous. As for Wei Zhenzhen, her monthly pocket money was only fifty cents.
"Yes, husband." Wei Zhenzhen couldn't help but look happy. Money is a good thing. With it, you can have a relatively comfortable life, and you can also show it to your relatives and parents. This is the true human nature. Those who despise wealth are just brats or petty bourgeois who moan without reason in modern terms.
Money is not everything, but without money, you can do nothing. As the saying goes, "Poverty brings sorrow" and this is absolutely true. This is the world of mortals.
"Well, this is for you. Although the time for cultivation has passed for your age, it is still quite helpful in nourishing your body and improving your qi. Take it. After ten or eight years, you will know the difference." Zhang Xuanning took out another thin volume of mental skills. For some reason, what he learned was largely specialized in improving the body and temperament. Therefore, according to this principle, it was appropriate to give it to her.
"Thank you, husband. Can I go home to see my mother?"
"Okay, bring some gifts with you. When you want to go next time, just let me know. I may be very busy in the future. When I'm not around, Zhenzhen, just take care of the things inside and outside the manor." Zhang Xuanning said with a smile, then paused and said, "Ask the brothers to come and present the gifts. They are waiting anxiously."
"Yes, husband."
At that moment, Zhang Xuanning went to open the inner door. Sure enough, not long after, a large group of brothers came in. For each person who came in to congratulate him, an ordinary brother was given a red envelope of 1 tael, and the team leader was given a red envelope of 2 taels. In this way, nearly a hundred taels of silver were distributed.
However, these brothers did not receive gifts for free. They also took out gifts one after another. Since it was the first time for the incense master to do things, the brothers who received the regular silver and benefits would of course do their best. Therefore, the total amount of goods collected was about two hundred taels of silver.
"Hello, Sister Zhen." Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling stepped forward.
"What do you mean by 'Zhen Sao'? I think it sounds a bit harsh. Just call me that. I am your eldest brother. An eldest brother is like a father, and an eldest sister-in-law is like a mother!" Zhang Xuanning said with a smile. He knew that these two boys, because they had lost their parents, still had a yearning for their parents. Otherwise, why would they easily recognize a Korean who was not much older than them as their mother? In this case, let them do as they wish.
Wei Zhenzhen gave them extra buns back then, so of course it was different in their minds, so after a moment of hesitation, the two of them shouted, "Zhen Niang!"
Many brothers burst into laughter.
Of course, we were busy and preparing for another meal at noon. Just before noon, a younger brother came outside and reported, "Master, there is a man at the door. He said he had seen you in Hangzhou before and wanted to come in."
"You've seen them in Hangzhou?"
Zhang Xuanning's heart was moved again after hearing this. He was very sensitive now, so he thought about it and said, "How old is he?"
"He's probably in his forties, his clothes aren't very good, and he probably came here to ask for a drink!"
For a moment, he had some vague impressions in his mind, but he couldn't think of them, so he said, "Please ask him to come in . Brothers, please be quiet for a moment, don't make fun of yourself to outsiders."
As soon as the newcomer came in, Zhang Xuanning immediately remembered that it was the day when he met the gray-clothed man in the tavern in Hangzhou. His heart was moved more and more. He stood up, walked forward, and bowed: "It's you, sir. I hope you won't be surprised if I fail to welcome you from afar. Yesterday I married my concubine, and today you are here. It's really fate. Please wait a moment, and let's take a seat together!"
The man in gray still looked as if it was a matter of course. He looked around, nodded slightly, and scanned the faces of everyone. He first looked carefully at Zhang Xuanning, then looked carefully at Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling, and finally looked carefully at Wei Zhenzhen. He nodded slightly, and then shook his head.
The others all frowned a little, feeling upset at his rudeness.
"Hey, the incense master is talking to you, why are you like this?" Someone jumped out.
"Haha, no, no, it's my blessing that you can come, sir. Please take a seat, sir. Well, it's almost time now, just order the meal to start!" For some reason, Zhang Xuanning felt that his heart was moved when this person arrived, and he spoke enthusiastically regardless of what others said.
At that moment, almost everyone went to the front hall. After hearing the order became very noisy and helped the chef to bring up the dishes. The ancients attached great importance to etiquette. Although according to real history, at that time, people still ate at a small table for one or two people, and there was no such thing as a large table.
But this world is different. After going through the process, what is produced is a combination of the two styles.
Zhang Xuanning originally had a small table (the kind of ancient table where one kneels and sits with only one or two people), with Wei Zhenzhen eating next to him at most, and the team leaders below had a small table with two people, closest to the table. As for the ordinary brothers, they had a big table, but in order to avoid being higher than the superiors, the table was very low, and they still had to sit on their knees, but there were eight people at each table.
In ancient times, people had a strict discipline between superiors and subordinates, and this etiquette was everywhere. However, the seating arrangement took into account the hierarchy and seniority, and could not be changed easily.
Zhang Xuanning said, " Sir , please join me at the table. Ah Zhen, pour some wine for you."
When these words were spoken, everyone was stunned, and the man in gray also showed a change of expression, but he still stepped forward and sat at the same table with Zhang Xuanning. Then, the lunch began.
