Chapter 193: Gifts

 Chapter 193: Gifts 

After sending Zhou Jingwan off, Daohua finally returned to the Old Madam's courtyard.

Upon entering the room, she found that Yan Yihuan and the others hadn’t left yet, which surprised her. Normally, they wouldn’t stay in the Old Madam’s room for this long; they would have already gone off to play somewhere. Even Yan Zhiyuan and the other adults were still there.

"Big sister, you’re finally back! Quick, open the gifts and let us see!"

As soon as Daohua returned, Yan Yile eagerly approached her, pointing to the gifts from Dong Yuanxuan and the others.

Before Daohua could say anything, the Old Madam spoke first, "I was wondering why the sun came out from the west today. I thought you kids stayed behind to chat with me, but it turns out you’re eyeing your big sister’s gifts." 

Sun Shi immediately smiled and said, "Mother, the children just wanted to join in the fun. Who told  eldest sister-in-law to throw such a grand birthday celebration?" 

Madam Li glanced at Sun Shi, "It was just a meal together. Second sister-in-law, tell me, how did it become a birthday feast? Did I invite anyone?"

Sun Shi stiffened, feeling a bit annoyed. She noticed that her eldest sister-in-law was becoming less and less considerate in her words, openly rebuking her in front of everyone.

"Don’t speak if you don’t know how!"

Yan Zhiyuan glared at Sun Shi, then smiled at Madam Li, "Big sister, that’s just how she is. Don’t mind her."

Madam Li glanced at Yan Zhiyuan but didn’t respond immediately. She picked up her tea and took a sip.

Sun Shi understood the implied meaning behind Madam Li’s words. When she mentioned the birthday feast, it was likely because in a couple of months, it would be Yihuan’s birthday, and she was thinking of hosting a celebration as well.

She wouldn’t stop her if Sun Shi wanted to hold a feast for her daughter, but she could just pay for it herself. However, using her daughter as a pawn to take advantage of the family’s funds was really frustrating.

Thinking this, Madam Li put down her teacup and turned to the Old Madam. "Mother, since Second sister-in-law mentioned birthday feasts, I’ve had a thought. The children in the house are growing up, and they each have their own social circles. In the future, they should organize their own birthday celebrations."

They could invite whoever they wanted based on their own abilities and connections.

Sun Shi immediately wanted to object. Their second and third branches relied heavily on the first branch for everything and didn’t have the connections to invite people of importance.

But Madam Li didn’t give her a chance to speak.

"This way, the children can practice their social skills, and by hosting a feast, they’ll get a sense of how to manage expenses. That way, when they become head of the household one day, they won’t be clueless."

The Old Madam nodded in agreement, "That’s a good idea."

Sun Shi, anxious, quickly asked, "But who will cover the costs?"

As soon as she said it, she lowered her head, regretting how bluntly she had put it. It was as if she was clearly asking for public funds to cover the expenses.

Madam Li’s lips curled into a smile, her eyes showing a hint of sarcasm. Sun Shi was still as calculating as ever. After thinking for a moment, she said with a smile, "Daohua is the eldest sister. I’ve calculated it, and for her birthday, she only spent less than ten taels of silver."

"So, in the future, let’s calculate it like this: for the girls’ birthdays, the family will contribute ten taels of silver. As for the boys, who are out more and have more social connections, we’ll give them twenty taels."

"That..."

Seeing Sun Shi about to speak again, Madam Li cut her off with a smile. "Of course, if the parents want to contribute more privately, that’s their choice."

"Our family isn’t like those wealthy and influential families with vast fortunes. We can’t let the children grow up in luxury. They should only do what they have the ability to handle. Second Brother, Third Brother, don’t you agree?"

Yan Zhiyuan tugged at the corner of his mouth, smiling as he nodded. He didn’t say anything out loud, but in his mind, he was silently criticizing Madam Li for being too stingy.

What could twenty taels of silver even cover? 

Yan Zhiqiang, on the other hand, spoke up, “Twenty taels of silver? Isn’t that a bit much? That’s about what we spend for a whole year’s worth of food back in the countryside. How about we reduce the amount?”

Upon hearing this, Daohua couldn’t help herself and laughed softly, leaning her head on the Old Madam’s shoulder and covering her mouth as she chuckled.

Her second uncle and aunt looked like they were in pain over not having enough silver and needing to contribute, while her third uncle directly said it was too much and suggested reducing it.

She hadn’t realized before how endearing her third uncle could be.

The Old Madam shot a glare at her granddaughter, signaling her to be more considerate and not let her laughter disrupt the situation.

Daohua straightened up, but she couldn’t help the smile tugging at the corners of her mouth. After all, Yan Zhiyuan and Sun Shi had failed to gain any advantage, and they had quieted down.

As for Yan Yile, she didn’t care about these matters. She immediately went over to Daohua, pulling her to open the gifts.

Unwrapping a gift didn’t seem like anything special to Daohua, so she had Wang Man’er bring them over and began unwrapping them in front of everyone.

“Wow, what a beautiful cup! Why is it transparent?”

Yan Yile reached out to take one of the cups to admire it.

Everyone gathered around and looked on with curiosity.

It was a complete set of wine vessels: a wine pot and eight cups.

Yan Zhiyuan, who traveled often, recognized it immediately. “This is a glass cup. I’ve heard it’s something that came from abroad, very rare.”

“Young Master Dong is indeed impressive, coming from a noble family. To be able to gift such an entire set of glass wine vessels, this is truly generous.”

Upon hearing this, Yan Yile immediately looked at Daohua. “Big sister, there are eight cups. Could you give me one?”

Daohua smiled faintly, about to refuse, but the Old Madam quickly snatched the cup from Yan Yile’s hands. “Give what? This wine set is meant to stay together. If you take one, it won’t be complete. Besides, what would you even do with just one cup?”

Yan Yile pouted. “I could keep it as a decoration.”

The Old Madam ignored her, placed the cup back in the box, and signaled for Wang Man’er to take it away.

Daohua didn’t pay attention to Yan Yile anymore and opened another gift.

“It’s a glass mirror!”

As soon as the box was opened, Yan Zhiyuan exclaimed.

Daohua quickly took the mirror and held it up to look at herself.

Heaven help her, it had been eleven years since she came to this ancient world, and she finally got to see what she actually looked like!

“Grandmother, look.”

After looking at herself, Daohua immediately turned the mirror towards the Old Madam.

The Old Madam stared at her reflection in the mirror, stunned. “Why is it so clear?” Then she added, “How old have I become? My face is full of wrinkles.”

Hearing this, Daohua quickly covered her mouth, trying to suppress her laughter.

It seemed that no matter how old a woman got, she always cared about her appearance.

The Old Madam shot her granddaughter a look, sighing, “When we used bronze mirrors before, it didn’t feel much different. But this glass mirror reflects everything so clearly.”

“I want to see too! I want to see!”

Yan Yile leaned in, and Daohua didn’t say anything, handing her the mirror.

“Be careful, don’t break it,” the Old Madam reminded, clearly aware that this glass mirror must be very valuable, even though she had never seen one before.

Yan Yihuan and Yan Yishuang couldn’t resist either and crowded around Yan Yile to look at their reflections. Even Sun Shi squeezed over.

Sun Shi looked at her own reflection in the mirror and, touching her face, sighed. “Our family’s most fortunate person is definitely Daohua. Look at this—she can receive such nice gifts just for her birthday. It’s much better than what we, the elders, have.”

Madam Li glanced up at Sun Shi with a hint of sarcasm but didn’t respond. Indeed, in this family, it was the daughters who were the most fortunate.

(End of this chapter)