Cheng Wanwan was dressed in the official uniform of a fourth-rank court official, while Zhao Dashan was dressed in the uniform of a seventh-rank official historian. The two stood together, looking very imposing.
The two of them bowed three times to the ancestral tablets, knelt down and listened to Zhao Lizheng chirping a lot of auspicious words, and finally set off firecrackers. This activity of worshiping ancestors finally came to an end.
Although it was already autumn, the residual warmth of late summer was still there, so wearing such thick clothes made her sweat all over.
After coming out of the ancestral hall, Cheng Wanwan hurried home and changed into lighter clothes, combed her hair and put on makeup again, and then came out to meet the guests.
By this time, almost everyone who was supposed to come had arrived.
The villagers from the Ping'an County area helped with the work as soon as they arrived. The businessmen in the city took this opportunity to chat with the businessmen from other places who came to Dahe Village to purchase goods. Mrs. Shen, Mrs. Lin and other guests went directly to Cheng Wanwan's yard. Sitting there drinking tea.
This time it was a general banquet, so the Zheng family and the Ge family were also present.
"Sui Kyouto, congratulations!"
"I've known for a long time that Sui Gongren will be promoted, but I didn't expect that this time I would be promoted to two levels in a row. I am a fourth-grade Gongren. I am envious of others."
"Sui Gongren's son has also become an official of the imperial court. He is also an official personally appointed by the emperor. He has a bright future."
Mr. Ge felt sour. He had been an official for so many years and had only been promoted to half a rank. I am afraid he would have to work for more than ten years before he could be promoted to another half rank... As for the people of Sui'an, within two years, they had gone from being a civil servant to a civil servant. She became a fourth-rank imperial concubine, and now, even Shen Dongming, from a seventh-rank county magistrate, suddenly became a fifth-rank official... It was so easy for others to get promoted, so why was it so difficult for him to get promoted.
Mrs. Zheng was sitting in the corner and saw Cheng Wanwan surrounded by people congratulating her with a sneer on her lips.
She had heard that Young Master He from the capital came to Dahe Village yesterday and suffered a big loss at the hands of Cheng Wanwan. She was just a fourth-grade woman, but she offended the He family, not to mention that Young Master He was a third-grade official. , the head of the He family is a real important official in the court who holds real power. As prestigious as Sui Gongren is now, how miserable the He family will be when they take revenge in the future.
Shen Dongming was surrounded by Master Zheng, Master Fu and other men to congratulate him.
He smiled and said: "My promotion this time is all because of Sui Gongren, please don't praise me too much."
"Old Shen, please don't be humble." Magistrate Fu snorted, "Two years ago, our Hekou County's tax revenue ranked first every year. In the past two years, it has been suppressed by Ping'an County. Moreover, Ping'an County's population It has been growing without any major troubles. You deserve this promotion. When you go to the capital to be an official in the future, don’t forget about our colleagues."
Shen Dongming naturally continued to be humble, but he did not hide his pride on his face.
When he saw Mr. Lin, he immediately thought of his son who was far away in the capital. There were some things that he, the old man, had to come forward to help find out.
Therefore, Shen Dongming pulled Mr. Lin to a side hall on the grounds of inquiring about official news in the capital.
"Master Lin, actually I have a private matter." Shen Dongming coughed and said sheepishly, "Has Master Lin seen my unsatisfactory son?"
Mr. Lin said repeatedly: "Young Master has become a scholar at a young age and has a bright future. How can you say he is not living up to expectations? I also want my son to learn from you more."
"Then I'll tell you what I have to say." Shen Dongming took a sip of tea, "I heard that Mr. Lin's beloved daughter has also reached the marriageable age, and my son is also of marriageable age. I don't know..."
Mr. Lin understood immediately after hearing this. He shook his head: "The marriages of our Lin family's children are all left to the head wife. It's useless for me to nod. My wife must agree to it, so Mr. Shen has to go to me." Madam, let’s talk about this.”
Shen Dongming sighed. If he also had a wife, he wouldn't need to step forward for this kind of thing. Fortunately, his old mother was still there, so it would be more reliable to leave this matter to her.
At this time, Mrs. Shen was sitting and talking with Cheng Wanwan.
When Cheng Wanwan saw Shen Dongming taking Mr. Lin to the side hall to talk mysteriously, he guessed that they were probably talking about the children's marriage.
She told Mrs. Shen Zheng's little thoughts.
"What?" Mrs. Shen was shocked, "This boy has a girl he likes, but why didn't he tell my grandmother... No, why did he fall in love with a girl from the Lin family? Although Lin Yushi is also a seventh-grade girl, his future is not as good as Dongming is much better... That’s not right, isn’t Dongming promoted? He is in the fifth rank of the Ministry of Household Affairs, and our junior wife, Miss Lin, should be worthy of her.”
Cheng Wanwan laughed, isn't it? Xiao Zheng's status was lower before, but now Mr. Shen has been promoted and his father's status has been improved, so his status as a son will naturally be different. The Lin family should not refuse this marriage.
After a while, Mrs. Lin came over as expected.
Mrs. Shen is not someone who hides things, she directly expressed her intention to get married.
"To be honest, Mrs. Lin, an aunt from our Lin family has been looking for a good husband for my daughter in the capital, but she has no clues for the time being." Mrs. Lin sighed, "Our Lin family doesn't have high requirements for a future son-in-law. The only thing is , it must be in the capital. I have seen Xiaozheng and I like him very much, but he is now a Juren, and no one knows where he will settle down in the future, so..."
Mrs. Shen understood what she said. She said with a smile: "As parents, you naturally hope that your children will always be by your side. If you marry far away, it will be difficult to see them again in this life. Isn't it just a waste of time? Mrs. Lin's I can understand the concerns. However, our family Xiaozheng has now found an official position in the capital. He is studying as an academic officer at the same time. He will probably settle down in the capital in the future... But I can’t say this now, and neither does Mrs. Lin. If you are in a hurry to marry off your daughter, why not wait a year before we see?"
Mrs. Lin smiled and nodded: "Then just follow what the old lady said."
In fact, she would rather her daughter marry a native of the capital. However, her daughter also has a son from the Shen family in her heart. As a mother, she can't beat the mandarin ducks... Well, she did strictly order her daughter not to miss the boy from the Shen family, but now After Shen Zheng passed the exam, her attitude became less tough.
Now that Mr. Shen has been promoted, the last trace of toughness has slowly dissipated.
Call her selfish or hypocritical, she just hopes that her daughter can marry a good husband and that her daughter can live by her side...
While they were chatting, Mrs. Ma came in from the door and told them that the banquet was ready.
The square of the big locust tree was filled with four to five hundred tables, and there were countless people who came to congratulate them. Naturally, there were not enough seats, but the simple people didn't care about this. They could just eat while standing with their bowls in their hands. Anyway, that's it. Come join in the fun and have something to talk about later.
The dinner table was quite sumptuous, as most of the guests were ordinary people, and there were no frivolous dishes. There were braised pork knuckles, honey-roasted duck, whole chicken stew, roasted whole lamb, large pieces of twice-cooked pork, and spicy boiled pork. Fish, stewed vegetable hodgepodge...these meat dishes are all in a big bowl, and there are also some side dishes to relieve fatigue, such as fried vegetables, fried winter melon, beans and eggplant, cold water chestnut rice, mushroom egg soup...
