Yang Haiyan first mentioned Qin Fang's promotion to captain and then mentioned that the second and third wives would also be happy. She wanted to see what Mother Qin thought about this matter. Through Qin Fang's experience and through spending time with Grandma Qin and Mother Qin, she had gained some understanding of the Qin family. Grandma Qin usually made the decisions, but she wouldn't speak for her mother. However, with Second and Third Aunt Qin, Grandma Qin had the final say.
This is actually quite understandable. Mother Qin was the successor trained by Grandma Qin, so Grandma Qin treated Mother Qin with the utmost respect. In ancient times, the eldest son and grandson held significant importance.
She wanted to hear Mother Qin's opinion on the second and third wives, because the Qin family would undoubtedly tell everyone about Qin Fang's promotion. However, in ancient times, before the division of the family, some money had to be turned over. Furthermore, if Qin Fang got promoted, would the Qin family expect him to support the entire family? She told Mother Qin in advance so she could have some idea of what was going on. Unexpectedly, she would hear some gossip.
She didn't have much of an impression of Third Uncle Qin, after all, they had only met once. Second Aunt Qin had the deepest impression on her and coupled with Niu Dan's reasons, this Second Aunt Qin was probably the most extraordinary person in the novel.
Yang Haiyan asked curiously, "Mother, what does it mean that Third Uncle has other plans?"
Mother Qin had no reservations about Yang Haiyan. Her eldest son had made a name for himself and the children in their family would have to rely on him in the future. There was no difference between relying on the eldest son and relying on the eldest daughter-in-law. Of course, the eldest daughter-in-law was a smart person. In Mother Qin's eyes, Yang Haiyan was naturally smart. So she told her everything she knew: "For the past two years, Ah Fang has brought in three taels of silver every year. Regardless of whether he brought it all, the average family, after eating and drinking, could not save three taels of silver in a year. So in everyone's eyes, Ah Fang has made a name for himself.
If his third uncle adopted Shoucheng and Ah Fang became successful, would he still not take care of his younger brother? Shoucheng is old and it doesn't matter if he knows about the matter. He is not his real son. At least in name, Shoucheng is his son after being adopted and they are still uncle and nephew."
Yang Haiyan understood: "He is not adopting a son, but is bringing in my husband's relationship. To put it bluntly, he is using the money of the eldest wife to raise his son."
Mother Qin: "That's the truth."
Yang Haiyan: "But there is no need for that. Not to mention whether Third Uncle's daughter will be filial to them and see them to the end of their lives in the future. But even if not, my husband will not stand idly by. After all, he is his own uncle. If we have food to eat, they will have food to eat in the end."
With Qin Fang's character, he will definitely take care of them in their old age.
Besides, Uncle Qin San and his family had no one to take care of them in their later years, so it was only natural for their nephew Qin Fang to take care of them until the end of their lives. So there was no need to adopt a child.
Mother Qin: "That's what I said, but your third uncle doesn't believe it."
Yang Haiyan: "If Dad and Mom don't agree, can your family still force you?"
Mother Qin: "No one is forcing me to do this, but it won't look good if it gets out. Your father doesn't agree with it, but as brothers, he's the eldest and can't be too strict, so I have to hold the line and disagree with this."
Yang Haiyan knew that if Qin's father disagreed, others would say he didn't care about his brothers' lives. But Qin's mother was just his sister-in-law, so she didn't have to worry about it. "What did grandpa and grandma say?"
Mother Qin: "They neither agreed nor disagreed. They just told us to make the decision ourselves."
She also understood her father-in-law and mother-in-law. After all, both sides had sons and whether they adopted him or not, he was still their grandson.
Yang Haiyan naturally thought of what Qin's mother could think of, but: "Mother, now that my husband is back, what should I do if my third uncle mentions this to him?"
Mother Qin snorted, "He dares. Your father and I are still alive. If his third uncle dares to embarrass Ah Fang, I'm not sure how I'll deal with him. Since ancient times, there has never been a case where the eldest son would decide to adopt his younger brother while his parents are still alive."
Yang Haiyan knew that Qin's mother was not just talking. She thought for a moment and said, "Why not let my third brother go with us to the border?"
Mother Qin was stunned: "What?"
Then she said, "No, no, your life is not easy either. How can I cause you trouble?"
Yang Haiyan said, "We're living quite well at the border. My husband is a captain of a thousand men of the seventh rank and he can have five private guards. Although he has to pay for the monthly wages of the five private guards himself, they are the confidants that my husband wants to cultivate. I used the money from my dowry to open a shop in town and hired a few servants for my family. I didn't bring any servants with me this time because I was worried that my family would not be used to it and I was afraid that people would think too much. But my mother is one of us and I absolutely cannot hide it from her."
This kind of thing could not be kept secret. Otherwise, if Qin's mother knew, she would think that her son and daughter-in-law were wary of her and she would be heartbroken.
Of course, Yang Haiyan's revelation also depends on the person. Qin's mother is a reliable mother-in-law, so there is naturally no problem. If it is a mother-in-law like Qin's second aunt, then she will naturally not say everything.
Mother Qin opened her mouth wide, completely unable to imagine. Her son had guards and her daughter-in-law opened a shop and hired servants. This... But then she thought, this is also right. Her son is an official, how can there be no servants in the family? How can he not be an official?
Mother Qin: "Forget it, Shoucheng should not bother you anymore."
Yang Haiyan: "What's the big deal?"
She saw that the Qin family's children were all skinny and knew that their family was not doing well. "Over there, we often have fish and meat to eat. The meat is hunted by the soldiers in the mountains and the fish are caught in the river. It's all free, so if my third brother goes with us, we will definitely raise him well."
She couldn't say that she bought the fish and meat herself, otherwise Qin's mother would definitely not let the child go. "Besides, when he gets there, my husband can still teach him kung fu. He's still young and learning more skills will help him have a better future. Or, mother, are you worried that I will bully the child?"
Mother Qin was at a loss for words, but she was also touched. "I'll think about it." With the eldest son away, the second son naturally couldn't leave. It would be okay to let the youngest son go with the eldest son and his wife.
Firstly, it would allow the youngest son to develop a close relationship with the eldest daughter-in-law, which would be good for him when he grew up. Secondly, the youngest son would learn more from the eldest son.
As for her daughter-in-law's comment about not being able to finish all the fish and meat, she didn't think it was true. However, since her eldest son was so tall, she thought it might be true. Also, if the youngest son left, what else could the third wife do?
Yang Haiyan didn't mention this matter again, she just mentioned it once. Qin Fang's younger siblings are better, which is also a good thing for Qin Fang. Otherwise, they would not have a good life here, and Qin Fang, the eldest son, can't just ignore it. He has to take care of everything. It's better to train Qin Fang's younger siblings well from the beginning. "By the way, mother, grandma just said that Erya and Sanya went to learn embroidery, why didn't Siya go?"
Mother Qin sighed: "This is a long story. All the income from our Qin family's fields is handed over to the public. After the busy farming season, everyone has free time and goes to the town or county to find work. We keep half of the money we earn and give the other half to the public."
This is the most reasonable way. After all, the money for building the house at home is paid by the public. If they don't pay, where will the public get the money to build the house?
Yang Haiyan listened carefully.
Mother Qin continued, "Later, that year, when Ah Fang brought a letter back, he brought three taels of silver and said in the letter that if possible, he hoped that Grandpa would let my younger brother go to school and learn a few more words so that he could find a good job in the future and not spend his whole life toiling in the fields and earning little money but still not being able to buy meat buns.
At the time, Ah Fang's grandfather believed that this was the money Afang had earned with his life and that military service was not his responsibility, so he only kept one tael of the three taels of silver and gave the remaining two taels to Shouye and Shoucheng for their studies as tuition. However, he also said that the family didn't have any extra money, so how long the money would last and how many words they could learn depended on their luck.
YYaang Haiyan thought that, as the head of the family, Grandpa Qin's arrangement was reasonable.
However, she didn't say anything directly, but continued to listen quietly: "So what happened next? How did it get involved with the embroidery?"
Mother Qin was quite angry when she mentioned this. "It's his second aunt. Her second aunt said that our first wife has more children and eats more, but Ah Fang only hands over one-third of his earnings, which is unfair to the second and third wives. We can't say anything about this, so Ah Fang's grandmother decided to send Erya from the second wife and Sanya from the third wife to an embroidery workshop this year. The tuition is 500 wen each, which is exactly one tael of silver for the two of them. The public will pay this tael."
Yang Haiyan didn't know how to comment: "In that case, the family will spend an extra 500 coins and send Si Ya to study as well."
Mother Qin said, "The embroidery workshop only accepts girls over ten years old. Si Ya is not old enough yet. I plan to wait until she turns ten next year and then send her there. Er Ya and San Ya have already gone, so Si Ya can't be left behind. Besides, she has a skill, so even if she can embroider handkerchiefs for a few copper coins, it would be good."
Yang Haiyan thought about the time she met Si Ya at the village gate, the nine-year-old girl carrying a basket of grass for her pigs. Although other families lived like this, she felt that since her family had the means, they should take good care of her.
So she said, "Why not let Si Ya and Shou Cheng go with us when we leave?"
Mother Qin didn't react again: "This..." Why is her daughter-in-law different from other daughters-in-law? Other daughters-in-law don't like to be with their men and brothers and sisters. So Mother Qin thought that the eldest daughter-in-law was really kind.
Actually, it wasn't like that. First, Yang Haiyan was bored at the border alone. Second, they were Qin Fang's younger brothers and sisters, so she wanted to help them whenever she could. After all, with Qin Fang's personality, how could he just watch his younger brothers and sisters suffer? Third, she usually gave goat milk to the servants every day. She could even take good care of the servants, let alone Qin Fang's younger brothers and sisters?