Chapter 19

The never-before-seen young uncle of Song Dingxiang was named Song Zhixuan, possessing all the qualities of Song Xingyi and Li shi, handsome yet not effeminate, dignified but not too rigid. His slight smile was like a gentle breeze, making people can't help but feel happy.

"Young Uncle." Song Dingxiang greeted obediently, placing the pancakes on the kang table.

Li shi chuckled and said, "See, I told you, no matter how naughty the big girls or little boys are, they all behave when they see our Xiaoxuan."

Song Zijin covered her mouth and laughed, "I thought big sister wasn't afraid of the young uncle, but it turns out she was sneaking pancakes outside, and when she came in, she turned into a kitten."

"Go away!" Song Dingxiang rolled her eyes and then stuck her tongue out at Zhou Yinuo nearby, giggling as she leaned closer to Li shi, "Grandma, it's just that the scholarly aura on young uncle is too strong, making people not dare to speak loudly."

She then noticed a pile on the kang and asked, "Are these the New Year's gifts sent by the other families?"

Li shi replied, "Only your third granduncle's family and fifth granduncle's family left."

Most of these New Year's gifts were ruler heads, snacks, eggs, etc., not only for self-use but also to be brought as New Year's gifts when visiting relatives. It also indicated the differences between returning gifts and New Year's gifts, with the former being more substantial items while the latter being gift items suitable for visiting relatives.

"Sixth Uncle hasn't returned from selling goods yet, Twelveth Uncle is still in town, and Twelveth Aunt went to pick him up but hasn't returned yet. There's no one home, I guess someone will come to deliver gifts only after Twelveth Aunt and Twelverh Uncle return. Third Granduncle's family... usually comes last." After Song Dingxiang finished speaking, she asked Zhou Yinuo, "The gift basket, show it to grandma for the return gifts, and where's my grandfather?"

Li shi said, "Your father, grandfather, and eldest uncle went to town. Didn't they say they wanted to buy a storefront? They've been looking for one, and today they got news that the shopkeeper in town is leaving and wants to sell his store. As soon as your grandfather got the news, he couldn't wait to eat and dragged your father and eldest uncle to run off."

Upon hearing this, Zhou Yinuo quickly stood up and said, "Grandma, it's all because of your grandson-in-law's matter that grandfather is worried."

"Oh, it's all in the family, your grandfather can't stay still in the house. If there's something for him to do, he's happy. And this news was brought back by your young uncle, as soon as he heard, he rode the cart and ran off!" Li shi said with a smile as she gestured for Zhou Yinuo to sit back down.

Zhou Yinuo looked guilt-ridden and couldn't help but glance at Song Dingxiang.

Song Dingxiang said, "My grandfather really cares about me. Zhou Ge, why don't you go buy a pound of wine and come back so we can have a good drink with my grandfather tonight."

Song Zhixuan quickly said, "I brought wine with me this time, no need to go buy any."

Song Dingxiang replied, "That won't do. The wine you brought is yours, and the wine we buy is our gesture of goodwill. The neighboring village also sells pig heads. Zhou Ge, buy another two pounds of that. Here, I've packed the purse for you, be careful not to lose your money!"

"Haha! Dingxiang, you're something else, so fierce?" Song Zhixuan laughed heartily and said, "Zhou Ge, you've been wronged by her."

Zhou Yinuo just smiled and took the purse, tucking it into his arms before heading out.

From outside came Fang's voice, "It's almost time to eat, where are you going?"

"To buy wine!" Zhou Yinuo ran off without looking back, soon disappearing from sight.

"We have wine at home, why go out to buy more?" Fang shi lifted the curtain and walked in, carrying a large winnowing basket filled with pancakes. "Quickly, eat while it's hot. I'll ladle out some cabbage soup from the pot."

"Get some radish cabbage to mix in too," Li shi added.

"Alright, got it!" Fang shi smiled as she put down the curtain. Soon the sound of chopping vegetables came from outside, and after a while, Fang shi brought in a bowl of cabbage slaw mixed with sugar and vinegar.

The pancakes were made of pure white flour, golden brown on both sides, and they smelled delicious. Each pancake weighed one jin and was stacked high.

Li shi took half a pancake, added some shredded cabbage with chopsticks, and took a bite, saying to Song Dingxiang, "Your mother makes such good pancakes, they're not hard at all to eat."

"She said she learned it from Sixth Grandaunt," Song Dingxiang smiled. "She said that after the New Year, she'll teach me embroidery."

Li shi remarked, "Your Sixth Grandaunt doesn't seem like a simple person. Girls from ordinary households rarely do weaving and embroidery. Even if they do, the craftsmanship is usually just passable. Remember seeing Jin Qiao'er's needlework skills? That's all thanks to your Sixth Grandaunt's teaching. After the New Year, both you and Zijin should go. You're both grown girls now, so you need to be more steady. Just don't tire out your Sixth Grandaunt."

Song Zhixuan interjected, "Mother, my teacher has a good friend who used to be an imperial doctor. He left the Imperial Medical Bureau and now travels around staying in the neighboring town. He's said to be skilled in women's ailments and making medicinal ointments. When the weather warms up a bit, I'll have my teacher write a letter, inviting them to visit with Sixth Aunt."

Li shi responded, "That's thoughtful. Your Sixth Aunt's health is what your Sixth Uncle worries about the most nowadays. After the New Year, send a gift to your teacher and ask when it's convenient to go for a check-up."

Zhou Yinuo quickly bought the wine, along with some pig's head meat, and returned. On this cold day, the foolish boy sweated a lot running around, and even his face, originally pale, now had a rosy hue.

"Let's have the soup first before eating," Song Dingxiang moved aside to make room for him, saying, "Otherwise, you'll catch a chill in your stomach, and the pancakes might give you a stomachache."

Zhou Yinuo nodded with a smile and slowly drank a bowl of soup before taking a pancake and beginning to eat heartily.

Song Dingxiang didn't have a big appetite. After eating half a pancake, she was full and sat back, watching Zhou Yinuo and Song Zhixuan eat.

They were both tall and thin, able to eat a lot but still maintaining their slender figures. It seemed like the food they ate vanished into thin air somehow.

Each of them ate two pancakes and drank a large bowl of soup, finally feeling satisfied.

After eating and cleaning up, both inside and out, the children were put to sleep, and the women sat on the kang bed and chatting. Song Zhixuan and Zhou Yinuo told some stories about generals and military exploits, which Zhou Yinuo enjoyed listening to.

Fang shi sorted through the pile of New Year's goods on the kang bed, discovering a pair of shoe uppers. She asked, "Are these from our family or were they gifted by someone? Just one pair?"

Song Dingxiang, who had been listening to Song Zhixuan's stories, suddenly remembered and said, "It's a return gift from Third Grandaunt."

Fang shi held up the shoe uppers and asked, "Just one pair?"

Song Dingxiang chuckled, "Just a pair of shoe uppers."

Fang shi was displeased, "What kind of gift is this! Giving only a pair of shoe uppers for the New Year? It would be better to give two sets of insoles and socks!"

Li shi's expression was also not good. In the village, it was customary to give gifts in even numbers. Even if a family was poor, they would give two eggs or a pair of items, ensuring it was a multiple of two.

Giving a single item was either seen as being careless or causing inconvenience, as no one gave gifts in odd numbers.

Song Dingxiang explained, "Fifth Aunt said that when the shoe uppers are separated, they represent two shoes, so it could be considered a pair."

Fang shi sneered, "Such good sentiment. When your Third Grandaunt comes to give her New Year's gift, we'll return her a pair of chopsticks as well, to make it a pair." She threw the shoe uppers aside with disdain.

With just one pair of shoe uppers, they couldn't be used for the old lady's shoes nor the old man's shoes. Eldest Uncle's wife, Zhang shi, picked up the shoe uppers, saying, "Since none of you want them, I'll take them. I can use them to make a pair of shoes for your eldest brother. The size seems good enough."

Li shi said to Fang shi, "Look at your sister-in-law, ah your temper, luckily second daughter didn't follow your character."

Fang shi raised her chin and said, "Why wouldn't she follow me? I see she follows me, always chattering away."

Just as they were talking, a servant from Fifth Grandaunt's house arrived, and Twelveth Uncle brought Twelveth Aunt in, first kowtowing to Li shi and presenting the New Year's gifts.

It was two boxes of fried cakes and a string of sausages.

Twelveth Aunt noticed the shoes on the kang bed and said with a smile, "Is this a return gift from Third Aunt? It looks better than the pair I brought." She took out a pair of shoes from her basket.

Li shi took one look and couldn't help but laugh, saying, "Quite something."

The shoes had two sets of stitching, one rough and one neat but very sparse, clearly the work of two people, or one person doing it twice.

Twelveth Aunt took back the shoes and said, "Hmm, quite something. As soon as we entered, we saw their two young daughters wiping away tears. It's the big New Year's and they don't know who they're crying for. Their daughter Jiao Xing kept complaining, saying it's ruining her reputation. That commotion was so loud, you could hear it from the doorstep."

Twelveth Uncle saw that they had more to talk about, so he took Song Zhixuan and Zhou Yinuo to the west room to chat, leaving the room full of women.

Fang shi, curious, asked, "What's going on? How come there's still a quarrel on New Year's?"

Twelveth Aunt sat on the edge of the kang bed, put the basket on the floor, and said, "Sister-in-law, you don't know, I only caught a few words. Jiao Xing said how can they show their faces with shoes made like this, then someone said she made them, she said she'd rather die, I didn't hear too clearly, your twelfth brother has thin skin, he knocked on the door hard and they stopped talking inside. In a little while, the two young daughters wiped away their tears and went back to their own room."

Song Dingxiang let out a chuckle, his tone dripping with amusement. "Well, it seems I’m not the only one who mistook that shoe for one of Jiao Xing’s masterpieces, am I?"

Twelfth Aunt didn’t miss a beat, her sneer sharp enough to cut glass. "That family—honestly, what a bunch of opportunists. Back when they thought our family was an easy target with just a mother-in-law at the helm, they took every chance they got to freeload. Remember the winnowing basket they borrowed? When they returned it, it was completely wrecked, and they had the audacity to blame my sister-in-law for giving them a broken one in the first place. She was so furious she cried her eyes out!"

Fang Shi, eyebrows arched in disbelief, asked, "Wait, there’s more to this?"

Twelfth Aunt rolled her eyes, her voice laced with mockery. "Oh, plenty. That daughter of Sixth Aunt’s family? The one who’s always pretending she’s learning to weave? Every other day they’re at our door, borrowing things left and right. Even for plain old linen scraps! And the excuses—‘Oh, we’re just making dresses for the whole family!’ Right. As if we’re running a charity to clothe their entire household for free."

Li Shi let out a long sigh, her weariness clear. "Ah, we’re not the only ones, it seems. When Second Daughter got married, they showed up uninvited, eating everything in sight and pocketing things on the sly. By the end of the night, a few chopsticks and bowls were missing. I didn’t want to cause a scene, so I quietly replaced a bowl and made my rounds to return it to the right home."

Fang Shi gasped, her voice tinged with indignation. "What? They did that too?"

Song Dingxiang leaned back, a satisfied grin tugging at her lips. "Ah, nothing brightens my day like hearing a bit of juicy gossip. It’s practically therapeutic."