Ming Xin and Ming Jing were at the side recording the gifts they received, who gave them when, and what they looked like.
When receiving gifts on birthdays, you don’t just accept them and then it’s over. When it’s someone’s birthday, you also have to give them. Recording them can be used as a reference for future gifts. When the time comes, you can either give something of approximately the same value, or find something new and innovative.
thing.
To put it bluntly, you either value value or focus on intention, that’s all.
Ming Jing carefully inspected a pair of lotus hairpins. The hairpins were entirely golden, and the hairpins had lotus-shaped golden petals. In the middle of the petals was a drop-shaped emerald, as green as jasper, round and soft.
This is a gift from Cao Sijin, named Lotus Su Jade Hosta.
Ming Jing raised his eyes and saw Xie Yixiao reaching out to caress the box in a daze, so he shouted: "Girl, what's wrong?"
Xie Yixiao shook his head: "It's okay, I just feel that grandma must miss me too."
In the past years, except for the original owner's birthday celebrations held at the Xie family last year, the rest were celebrated at the Changning Marquis Mansion with the Jiang family. The Jiang family cared about her the most and saved some jewelry or precious items every year.
The object was given to her quietly.
Xie Yixiao lowered his eyes, then reached out and opened the box. There were two more wooden boxes placed one above the other.
She opened one and took a look. Inside the silk-lined box was a set of filigree-inlaid jewelry, including a top hairpin, two insert hairpins, two small fringed flower hairpins, a pair of earrings, and a pair of bracelets.
Its workmanship is fine and its value is high.
Ming Xin's eyes lit up, and then she whispered softly: "Although Mrs. Tai made some mistakes before, she is really not bad at treating girls..."
Ming Xin had some dissatisfaction with the Jiang family because she protected Gu Yi when she was at Yunzhong Temple, and then Gu You almost harmed Xie Yixiao. She protected Gu You again, causing Xie Yixiao to be wronged.
.
But now these things Jiang sent are excellent.
Although money and jewelry are not a panacea, being willing to give good things proves that you really care.
The Dongming Dynasty was only established for more than thirty years. In the first ten years, the court had to pacify the four wild areas and govern the world, and spent a lot of money. Therefore, the national treasury was not sufficient. Even the royal family was relatively frugal, and the rewards from above were not enough.
There are many, and each family needs to work hard on its own to save a fortune.
The newly established aristocratic families are just starting out, and their family wealth is not much. For example, those clans in the previous dynasty that have been in business for more than 100 or 200 years spend money like water. They can move hundreds of thousands to one million taels of silver and gold.
That's impossible.
Even after running the business for so many years, the money saved by the family in a mansion like the Changning Marquis Mansion is only two to three hundred thousand taels of silver. Such a family's wealth is considered average for a Marquis Mansion.
There may be a lot more palaces with military power like Duke Rong's Mansion, but at least half of them must be used to supplement the army.
If you have money, you can't be a poor army. It is the backbone of the country. If there is no other way, let's not talk about it. When the conditions are good, it is natural to make them live a better life.
Moreover, some of them also used it to exchange for some shops, farms, houses, and even rare treasures to save their family wealth. They spent the money they earned and then spent it, so in terms of the money they could come up with, it was not a lot for each family.
Perhaps in another twenty to thirty years, fifty to one hundred years, each of these surviving aristocratic families will be as wealthy as the clans of the previous dynasty.
Xie Yixiao opened another box below, which contained some banknotes. She counted a total of five thousand taels, which was exactly the number she had returned to the Changning Marquis.
Xie Yi smiled and paused, then said: "Grandma probably knows about that."
Ming Jing said: "You know it if you know it. After all, there is no airtight wall in the world. When I went there, I looked for Madam Hou, the eldest son, the third son, and others. The madam will always know something when she is in the house.
.”
"But what does the Madam mean by returning this money? Does it mean she doesn't agree with what we are doing?"
Xie Yi smiled and said: "Not necessarily, maybe it's a private subsidy. I can't tell."
Ming Jing thought about it and said, "Then keep it for now. If the madam intends to let the girl take back her past words, then we will return the money. If the madam just wants to subsidize the girl, then the girl can keep it and spend it slowly."
Xie Yi smiled and nodded, that was all he could do.
She put the banknote box and jewelry box in a cabinet in her dormitory, which contained all her precious things. In addition, the gifts given by everyone were also put away in categories.
Finally, she took out the box Rong Ci gave her, selected eight gemstones of different colors that were as big as little fingers, and handed them to Ming Jing: "I will go to the Treasure Pavilion tomorrow and ask the craftsman to make me a gem-inlaid bracelet.
....”
At this point, she paused again: "That's all, I don't like the bracelet very much. I'll think about it again."
It's not that Xie Yixiao doesn't like those jeweled bracelets, they are valuable after all, but she already has several, and they are too expensive, so she doesn't like wearing them very much. Instead, she likes to wear a pair of small ones at home.
Silver bracelet.
The two thin silver bracelets are not heavy and are engraved with lily of the valley flowers. They look soft, simple and elegant. They complement her slender and white wrists and her gentle and elegant temperament.
Xie Yixiao thought for a while and decided not to make a bracelet inlaid with gems. She really didn't like wearing it that much. So, it would be better to make a bracelet that she could wear from time to time. What kind of bracelet could it be?
She needs to think carefully...
As the sun set and the sky gradually darkened, Xie Yu, Xie Zhuo and the others made an appointment to go out to have tea and watch the lanterns. Xie Zhu and the others also went as soon as it got dark.
Xie Yiling originally didn't want to go when he saw Xie Yixiao. He wanted to stay with his sister, but in the end Xie Yixiao left it to Xie Zhuo and asked Xie Zhuo to take him out to play. This is what a young man like him should do.
The idea is to go out more and make more friends with whom you can talk.
After dark, Xie Yixiao took a comfortable bath, then put on a thick warm dress and a warm cloak, and watched the lanterns with Ming Xin Ming Jing and the others in the yard.
When the sky was gray and about to get dark, Mingxin led the people in the yard to hang lanterns on the trees under the eaves, including white four-cornered palace lanterns, red lanterns and simple round lanterns.
When night falls, lanterns are lit one by one, illuminating the courtyard as if it were daytime.
Everyone in the yard was here today, and the red mushrooms had also come back from outside. Xie Yixiao asked people to set up a table in the yard, put some food on it, and had tea with everyone watching the lanterns and the moon.
Honghua is quite eloquent and talkative. She is also literate and able to see and read. She even stood up to act as a storyteller. Seeing this, she also came up and performed a set of boxing skills.
Not to be outdone, Russula told everyone the many gossipy and interesting things she had learned about, and everyone was very happy.