The road to wealth of a peasant widow

Chapter 146 1 year later

one year later

"Cui, stop moving, let me do it."

Chen Meihua said to Chen Cui while she was tidying up the dishes on the table in the yard.

Today is the third anniversary of Liu Eryong's death. They are holding a big banquet for relatives and friends. After today, their family will stop mourning.

But in addition to Liu Eryong's filial piety, they also have another kind of filial piety to observe, that is, filial piety to Liu Youliang.

Liu Youliang passed away in December last year. His daughter-in-law Chen Cui has to observe mourning for three years, and his grandchildren have to observe mourning for one year.

To Chen Cui, this is endless. She has never been out of mourning since she came here.

Fortunately, she was a widow and was not allowed to wear colored clothes, so it didn't matter much whether she observed mourning or not.

Today is Liu Eryong's third anniversary. Almost every family in the village has people coming. There are more than 30 tables and they are all full.

Now that the banquet was over, it was time to clear away the tables, chairs, bowls and plates and return them to the owners. Although the aunts and sisters were eager to help and there was no shortage of manpower, Chen Cui felt that as the hostess she could not just sit there and watch. But as soon as she touched a plate, she was pulled aside and stopped from doing anything.

Someone nearby advised: "Mother Changping, just take a rest. You've been busy all day. Leave the rest to us."

Chen Cui pounded her waist, because her status was different now, and today's mourning ceremony was even more complicated than the day of her burial.

Not only was there a large band of musicians, the paper items burned were also the most complete set. Two Taoist priests were also invited to perform rituals and erect a tombstone. Liu Eryong's grave was repaired and the specifications were much higher than when he was buried.

As the victim, Chen Cui naturally had no time to rest. Not only her, but also her four children were ordered around and worked hard all day.

Now that the process has been completed, all that remains is the finishing work, and she can really take a break.

The men in the village carried tables, chairs and benches back to their homes one after another, and the women washed the dishes in the yard.

Today's dishes were rich and greasy. Although Chen Cui asked them to take the leftovers away, the soup on the bowls and plates had to be washed clean with hot water, so a group of people were washing them quickly.

After everything was cleaned up and the people who helped tidy up the yard had left, the family were finally able to sit together and talk.

Now the old courtyard of Chen Cui's family has been rebuilt. It is now filled with blue brick and tile houses. The floor of the house is paved with blue bricks, the walls are painted with white lime, and the furniture is all new. Everywhere looks tidy and clean.

Sui Sui was originally leaning in Chen Cui's arms and talking, but as she was talking, her eyelids began to droop and she fell asleep.

Chen Cui saw that her sons all looked tired, so she said, "You've worked hard all day. Eat, wash up, and go to bed. Don't stay up late to read. We'll go back to the county tomorrow."

According to the calculation at that time, Changping was sixteen years old. He was tall, with handsome features, and had studied for several years. He had a lot of ideas in his mind and could deal with people and things calmly.

Chang'an is slightly shorter than Changping, and is still a quiet person, but he is calm and reliable.

Although Changfu is the youngest and thinnest, he has a huge appetite. Although he is not as lively as he was in the past two years and is a little better, he is still the most active among the three brothers.

Nowadays, when these three brothers go out, they are always praised for their good looks. As an old mother, Chen Cui is naturally happy, but the children are grown up and there are more things for her to worry about.

The toilet and bathroom in my hometown have also been renovated. After dinner, the family members take turns taking a bath and then go to bed.

However, before going to bed, Chen Cui saw that the light in Changping's room was still on, and she knew that he was probably staying up late to study again.

Thinking of what Changping had said a few days ago, that he wanted to sign up for next year's county exam and take the test, Chen Cui felt anxious.

This child is too impatient. He has only studied for a few years. Even if he is talented, it will not be so easy for him to pass the exam. If he fails, it will definitely be a heavy blow to his self-confidence and affect his next exam.

Nowadays, many people regard the imperial examination as their lifelong career, and there are many people who pass the examination in their thirties or fifties. Young people like Changping really don't need to be so anxious. They can study for a few more years and prepare more fully before taking the exam.

But even after she said all these words and advised him, Changping still didn't change his mind and wanted to give it a try next year.

Chen Cui thought, since she couldn't persuade him, she thought, should she go to school and let the teacher persuade him to be less arrogant and impatient and concentrate on his studies?

The next day, the family said goodbye to their fellow villagers and returned to their home in the county town.

However, the school did not allow parents to enter easily, and the teachers could not visit whenever they wanted. They could only wait until the school was on ten-day break to visit.

After learning about Chen Cui's purpose, Mr. Ren, who was in charge of teaching Chang Ping, hesitated for a moment and then said, "This child also told me that he wanted to try. I think if he wants to try, you can let him go. Although he lacks some skills, he may pass the exam."

Chen Cui was stunned. She only knew that Changping studied very hard and did very well in his studies, but she didn't expect that he would have the qualifications to take the imperial examination after only three years of study.

"Sir, in your opinion, what are the chances of Changping passing the exam?" Chen Cui asked cautiously.

"Between fifty and fifty," Mr. Ren replied.

Hearing what her husband said, Chen Cui lost her composure. If there was no hope at all, she would have stopped it. But in this case, if she continued to stop it, it would not be good.

However, we can’t just let children play as they please. We’ll have to leave it to fate.

So, the next morning, Chen Cui got up early, worked for a long time, made a pot of snacks, then changed clothes and packed up, and went to the back house of the county government to visit Mrs. Zhang.

Zhang Ruomei's son Wang Ruoyun just turned one year old. He is fair, cute, and loves to laugh. He is a very likable child. Now when the two women meet, most of the topics revolve around the child.

Chen Cui has read a lot of modern knowledge about parenting, and she also raised Sui Sui herself. She has a lot of little-known experiences and tips to pass on to Zhang Ruomei, and they are often very effective, which makes her extremely grateful.

For a woman whose heart and eyes are filled with her children, anything else will make her happy if you are good for her children.

Chen Cui brought the yam cake she had made in the morning, which can strengthen the spleen and stomach and aid digestion. It has no sugar and is suitable for children. This made Zhang Ruomei very happy.

"I was worried that the child had a poor appetite in the past two days and was reluctant to eat. Sister, you brought this, and it really touched my heart." Zhang Ruomei said with a smile.

"Stop talking like that. You know I come from the countryside and am a rough man. I can't make anything too delicate. I just put a little more thought into food and have some experience in raising children. I can help our brother Yun and let you worry less. This is better than anything else!"

Chen Cui quickly said modestly.

Although the two of them now call each other sisters and interact with each other as equals, she would not really put herself in the same position as the other party. It is inevitable that they will flatter each other in business, but they must remember to be humble and cautious. This is a reminder she gives herself and she must never forget it.