Human Relations
Addressing them further, she said, "Your elder brothers' weddings were financed by the family, while your fourth brother's wedding relied on your elder sister's dowry." This sum will also be repaid by the family. In the future, when you get married, it will also be funded by the family.
"Given the number of children in the family, achieving complete equity is challenging, but I will strive for fairness."
Master Wu felt somewhat embarrassed and replied, "Mother, since we're not discussing marriage at present, let's allocate this money for family emergencies."
Mrs. Qian shook her head and said, "This should suffice. You only need to contribute an amount equivalent to what your elder brother has provided." "In retrospect, you have been at a disadvantage in this matter."
Considering that both Master Wu and Master Liu had contributed, Mrs. Qian naturally could not accept all of Master Xi's money. She took only an amount equivalent to what Master Zhou had provided, returning the rest. "As the daughter of Guining, you should always have some money on hand."
Upon receiving money from Master Si, Mrs. Qian only accepted the copper coins, returning the rest to him. She stated, "I haven't used your sister-in-law's dowry, and I certainly cannot accept your wife's dowry." Take it back.
Master Si had contributed the least amount, but given his limited earnings in the past six months, Mrs. Qian admonished him, "You should also be more mindful, considering your younger siblings."
Master Si hung his head in shame.
Although the amount from Manbao was not substantial, Mrs. Qian did not take it all. She gave her a handful of coins to keep for herself to buy food, taking the rest.
Mrs. Qian gathered Masters Er, Si, Wu, and Manbao, and together they organized the money. Initially, each person's money was strung together in one-hundred-unit strings. The strung coins were set aside, while the loose ones were gathered and counted to continue stringing.
Mrs. Qian then reviewed the numbers tallied the previous evening.
While they couldn't read or write, they had their own method of counting.
Mrs. Qian remarked, "In total, there are eighteen injured. For minor injuries, fifty coins should suffice; for more severe ones, such as Daliang and Dagutou who were kicked quite severely and sustained lacerations, they will need at least one hundred coins, possibly two hundred coins."
She had Manbao meticulously record each amount and then calculate the total.
In total, they would need 2,350 coins. Mrs. Qian breathed a sigh of relief as the money was sufficient.
After sorting out the money, she called her sons and daughters-in-law together to assign tasks.
Master Zhou was severely injured and unable to leave the house. The others, led by Master Zhou, took Manbao and the money to visit the most severely injured. Masters Er and Liu, on the other hand, accompanied by the money, went to see those with less severe injuries. Master San, along with Master Wu, went to tend to those with the least severe injuries.
"Even though you're bringing money, you shouldn't visit empty-handed," Mrs. Qian advised Little Qian. "Do we still have eggs at home?"
"Only eleven eggs were collected from the henhouse this morning."
"That's too few." Mrs. Qian took some scattered copper coins from the money box, counted out seventy coins, and handed two more strings of coins to Mrs. Feng, saying, "We need more." He and Mrs. Fang said, "Go to the village, visit every household, and buy eggs." "Here are one hundred and eighty coins."
Given that the village might not have many eggs, Mrs. Qian added, "Buy as many as are available."
The three daughters-in-law agreed and hurriedly left.
Mrs. Qian then instructed Little Qian to find some baskets. "Place two catties of rice in each basket, and prepare eighteen baskets." Some matters are unspeakable, but we must strive to comprehend them. Others have been injured on our behalf, and it is important to show gratitude and observe proper etiquette. Regardless of the debts of gratitude involved, it's also a matter of local solidarity that should be upheld.
Little Qian responded quietly.
Mrs. Qian whispered, "You need not worry about your elder brother." Since the doctor has deemed it not serious, with careful attention and three days of medication, if the pain persists, he can go to the county town for further examination. As you've seen, we still have funds at home.
Little Qian choked back tears and nodded. Text: ### Last night, Master Zhou couldn't sleep well, not because of his back pain, which only hurt when touched or moved. ### The bruises and swelling on his back troubled him. He couldn't find a comfortable position to sleep in, which also kept Little Qian awake.
Little Qian swiftly fetched the high-quality rice from home, filling each basket with two scoops of rice. Only in Master Zhou's household could they manage to produce eighteen baskets at once; it would be impossible elsewhere. Therefore, each household had to be visited separately.
Summer was the season when hens laid the most eggs, especially now, as everyone was out in the fields catching insects and snails. The caught insects and snails wouldn't be wasted; most households would feed them to their chickens and ducks. Bugs would be fed directly to the chickens, while snails could be cooked and crushed for them. Therefore, chickens and ducks were laying eggs more frequently.
Especially in Master Zhou's household, where the hens were well-fed, most of them laid eggs every three days, and some even laid two eggs in a single day.
After Mrs. Feng and the others went around, they managed to buy all the eggs.
Carrying them back in three large baskets, everyone distributed the eggs into smaller baskets, placing them on top of the rice.
Each basket held ten eggs, which was not a large quantity, but it was a gesture of goodwill.
Then everyone went out with the baskets, even to the neighboring house of the Donkey family, with whom they weren't particularly close.
Because the donkey's father had been hit by the scabbard of the tree, his arm was swollen, although no bones were broken. The elderly doctor had provided him with medicinal wine for application and prescribed two medications to reduce the swelling.
Since they were nearby, Masters San and Wu went to visit their family first.
As they came bearing money and gifts, Mrs. Zhang couldn't find it in herself to refuse. She smiled as she saw them off, but then turned back to ask Donkey for the fifty coins.
Donkey looked to his father for guidance.
His father lifted his eyelids to look at her and said, "Learn from them."
Mrs. Zhang was displeased, with her hands on her hips, "Learn from whom?""
"Learn from whom?" Who do you think? The money was given to Donkey for his treatment. "What are you going to do with it?"
"It's just a bit swollen." A cold compress will suffice for now. Later, a hot compress will suffice. Why do we need medicine?
"This is for your son." The doctor prescribed it.
"We've already received two doses." Those were paid for by their family. "Two doses should be enough."
He didn't want to argue with her anymore, so he directly told his son, "You keep the money." If the medicine doesn't work, go to the town market and find the doctor for two more days of medicine.
Donkey happily agreed, tucking the money into his pocket.
Mrs. Zhang was infuriated.