Chapter 381 : The Arrival Of Gifts

Waking up in the morning, Yuxi personally felt the emptiness beside her again. Usually, she would know when someone next to her got up. But now that she was pregnant, she was always in a deep sleep.

The people waiting outside heard the movement from inside the room and immediately came in. Mama Qu brought warm clothes over and said, “Madam, it snowed heavily last night, and now it’s white outside.” Since it was snowing, the ground was slippery, so Yuxi, a pregnant woman, should not go out.

Yuxi naturally heard the implication. She put on her clothes, washed up, and only then walked out of the room. Once outside, the cold wind blew on her face like a knife was cutting her skin.

Mama Qu cautioned, “Madam, it’s very slippery outside. You can’t walk out!” This thing was not a joke; in case Yuxi slipped and fell, the child’s life probably could not be saved.

Yuxi smiled. “Am I such a careless person in your eyes? I just want to come out to see the snow.” The snow in the northwest was different from the one in the capital.

Mama Qu silently criticised Yuxi in her heart; if you know what’s important, how can you still run to school with a big belly? How many people are there in the school? What are you going to do if you get hit by someone? But she only said this in her heart, not daring to voice them out.

The courtyard’s ground, trees, and roof were all covered with a layer of white snow. Long icicles like crystal daggers were hanging on the eaves, and Yuxi’s exhaled breath also turned into a stream of vapours.

Yuxi said with a smile, “The snow is pretty heavy. I remember when I was in the capital, after it snowed, San Jie would go to the garden to collect the snow on the plum blossoms. I don’t know if San Jie still retains this habit now.” Yuxi felt that time flew by so fast, and they both were already married and had become mothers in a blink of an eye.

Zijin came over with a shovel and said to Yuxi, “Madam, let me build a snowman for you to play with!” Since Yuxi couldn’t do it, she could do it for her!

Mama Qu wanted to hold her forehead. “How old are you? Still making a snowman?” The snowman was something only children play with, but Zijin was already seventeen years old and still playing such a childish game.

Yuxi smiled. “If you have time to build a snowman, why don’t you go to the school and see the children? With all this heavy snow, many children will likely be unable to attend school.”

Zijin asked, “Madam, what do you mean?”

Yuxi said, “Two days ago, Hao Dazhuang said that there are still more than 40 sets of cotton trousers that haven’t been finished yet, so they had to wait a couple more days before distributing them. The snow is so heavy today. The children probably can’t stand it. So you should ask him to send out the clothes that have already been made first.”

Zijin answered: “Yes, I’ll go now.”

Yuxi nodded and added, “Have the kitchen boil a pot of ginger soup for those children who have suffered the cold. Also, pay attention that they are protected from the cold, and ensure their safety.” It was a pity that she couldn’t go there herself. Otherwise, she could have arranged these herself.

Mama Qu praised, “Madam is really a Bodhisattva.” Starting a school was much more laborious than donating rice money or anything else.

Yuxi was ashamed of this praise. “Since I did it, I have to do it well. Besides, this is also a blessing for me.”

Yuxi thought wrongly. None of the children in the school was late. They arrived at the school on time and then went to class after breakfast. How could they not come to school when they didn’t have heating pits, charcoal stoves, and food to eat at home?

Once Zijin arrived at school, she conveyed Yuxi’s message and inquired, “Madam is also concerned about these children. Manager Hao, when do you think it would be good to give cotton clothes and pants to these children?”

Hao Dazhuang didn’t make anything complicated for Zijin as he answered, “It’s okay for us to do it that way. Now that the weather has turned so cold, it will be hard for these children to run back and forth every day. They will not get cold if they have warm clothes to wear.”

When the school distributed cotton clothes and pants, many children were reluctant to wear them. These cotton clothes and pants were made from fine cloth stuffed with this year’s new cotton, which was pressed to make them thick. If put on one’s body, it would be warm and cosy.

All the children were smiling as they put on the new clothes. It was their first time wearing such good and warm clothes growing up. Of course, the children in the first class, the oldest class, were feeling a sense of loss. They had no new clothes to wear since they had to wait for a few more two days for their turns. However, these children were very understanding and were not dissatisfied, but helped the youngest children put on the new clothes.

Zijin’s heart felt heavy when she looked at the children’s smiling expressions. They were just a new set of clothes, but these children smiled brightly because of them. This scene showed how hard it was for their family to get by every day.

Zijin was about to leave when she saw a few people bringing four slabs of meat over. She walked toward them to ask, “Who sent these?” Because the school only accepts things, not money, people would occasionally send some things over. It was said occasionally because people close to the Qin family would not send too many things to avoid suspicion. Therefore, this was the first time four slabs of meat were delivered to the school.

The group’s leader answered, “Our Eldest Miss asked us to send these.” The one who delivered the meat was Fu Qingluo. She had killed two pigs and told them to send the flesh over. The two pigs must have had over 170 jin of meat.

Zijin asked Hao Dazhuang, who just came out. “What do you plan to do with this meat?”

Hao Dazhuang replied, “This much meat is enough to eat for less than half a month.” He meant eating some of them every day. On these cold days, they didn’t have to worry about the meat going bad.

Zijin had a different idea. “I think today we should make red braised meat and just let these children eat to their heart’s content!” It wasn’t good enough only to eat one or two pieces of meat. They had to eat it all night long to get the taste.

On this day, the nearly three hundred children of Qingming Hall*, dressed in new clothes, ate big pork meat buns with red braised pork and stewed radish, finished with a bowl of eggs in meat soup. This meal was even more abundant than the New Year meal. Of course, this day also became a fond memory for these children. *

STEWED RADISH

Zijin noticed a child eating meat while in tears. She walked up to him and asked with a smile, “What happened? Does the meat taste bad?”

The child shook his head. “No, the meat tastes delicious.” The school discipline was rigorous. The children were not allowed to loot or fight. Otherwise, they would receive corporal punishment and be prohibited from having a meal. This corporal punishment was trivial, but not being allowed to have a meal was a big deal.

Feeling puzzled, Zijin asked, “Why are you crying if it tastes good?”

The child wiped his tears and answered, “Only I can only eat this big bowl of meat. While my mother and brother can’t.” T

/C

Hearing this, Zijin felt a blockage in her heart. She rubbed the child’s head and said, “Your mother will be pleased to know that you have such filial piety.” Zijin couldn’t tell the child to take this meat back. It happened at the beginning of the school year when a child brought home the buns he had saved for his family, and this child ended up fainting from hunger in the classroom. After that, the school issued a rule that food must be eaten in the school and not be brought out.

When Zijin returned, she told Yuxi about it and said, “I had tears in my eyes at that time.” Her situation back then was similar to that of the children in the school. There was not enough to eat, not enough clothes to wear to keep herself warm, and she had a lot to do every day. This was why she felt she had fallen into a nest of blessings after arriving at Madam’s side.

Yuxi nodded her head. “That’s right. Life is too hard for people here.” It made her heart sour just from seeing the situation in the city. The soldiers guarded the citizens’ homes and defended the country, but their wives and children were left with nothing and lived tough life after they died. Some families didn’t even get to see meat all year round.

Zijin laid out her plan, “Madam, I want to send some meat, vegetables, rice and noodles to these children’s families when the New Year comes.” What she meant was that she would personally pay for it. Over the years, Zijin had saved up her monthly allowances, and she also had a sum of silver on hand.

Yuxi shook her head. “That’s not right. These children have already relieved their families’ great burden by going to school. If you send something to their families, the others will be uncomfortable, and that’s not good.” And sending too much will also make these people dependent, which was also not good. T

/C

Zijin lowered her head.

Yuxi sighed and did not speak again. Sometimes, one would be unable to do good deeds despite having a good heart since there would be too many things one had to be concerned about. “Don’t think so much. It is already a great comfort to their parents that these children can eat and dress warmly in school.” These children were fed daily in Qingming Hall. Plus, they underwent physical training for another half of the day. The children began to look better. Not only had they put on flesh, but most of them also started to grow in height.

At noon, Yuxi was pacing inside the room to help with her digestion when she heard Han Ji come over. Hao Dazhuang was now only in charge of the school. Just this one school was already enough to keep him busy. Meanwhile, Han Ji had taken over the farm and wine shop.

Yuxi said, “Please invite Steward Han to come in.” Something good must have happened for Han Ji to come over at this time.

Han Ji did have good news to tell Yuxi. “Madam, the Duke and the Old Lady have sent something over.” Han Ji had kept his eye on this matter. Thus, he would immediately know about it as soon as the delivery man from the State Residence entered Yu City.

Yuxi was a little ashamed. She didn’t even send something back to the capital to show her filial obedience to her mother, while her mother had sent her something instead. After receiving a bunch of letters from Han Gao, the delivery man, she said, “It must be hard enough for you guys on such chilly days. Go eat and rest first.” She knew that this group of people didn’t have their lunch yet. Although she had a lot of questions to ask, she still had to let them fill up their belly first.

Han Gao stated, “Madam, the Old Lady also asked me to bring a message……”

Yuxi said with a smile, “Now that you guys have arrived at the residence, there is no hurry. Go and eat first. You can tell me after finishing your meal.”

Han Gao had a lot to say, but after hearing Yuxi’s words, he bowed and withdrew. Since they had arrived at the General’s residence, they were already safe. Hence, he would still have time.

Yuxi was tearful when she read the letter written by Qiu Shi. In fact, Qiu Shi didn’t write anything much. She just told her to have a good pregnancy, don’t miss her, and everything was fine at home. Then Qiu Shi said a bunch of matters that should be paid attention to when pregnant. She also advised her to ask Mama Xi if Yuxi didn’t understand anything. Reading it made Yuxi feel incredibly close and dear.

Mama Qu handed a handkerchief to Yuxi and comforted her, “Madam, don’t be sad. I heard Mama Xi say that crying is not good for the baby.”

Hearing this, Yuxi immediately stopped crying.

Zijin came over with an excited expression and exclaimed, “Madam, the Old Lady has sent more than twenty boxes!” There were so many good things that were enough for Madam to use.

At these words, Yuxi said, “We are lucky that everything has arrived safely this time.” Otherwise, it would have been cheaper for those horse thieves and bandits again. However, Yuxi still felt it necessary to write to Qiu Shi, asking her not to send so many things next time. The road here was too dangerous.