"Look at the life your family is living now, it’s really quite satisfying." Old Aunt-in-law Gen said with a smile as she cracked open a big crab.
Land Officer’s wife also said, "Isn’t that the truth? It hasn’t been that long, and I, an old woman, have enjoyed eating big crabs several times thanks to your family’s good fortune. I hadn’t eaten them for many years."
Hearing Land Officer’s wife say this, Ms. Wang felt deeply moved as well.
"Aunt-in-law is right. I hadn’t eaten big crabs for over a decade. Back then, our family couldn’t even afford a piece of meat, and any extra money would be taken by the second branch of the family to the town. Even when we had a few pieces of meat during the New Year, it wasn’t our turn to enjoy it." Speaking of these sad memories, Ms. Wang almost cried.
Land Officer’s wife hurriedly said, "Alright, alright, times are good now. Look, you’re even getting teary. Who in the village can have a better life than you now?"
Old Aunt-in-law Gen also joked, "That’s right, that’s right. You ladies can go cry your eyes out, but I’m going to eat a couple more crabs. Who knows when I’ll get to eat them again after this time?"
Yang Chuxia, who was listening nearby, said, "Aunt-in-law, you won’t have to wait long. In a few days, our store will open, and I’ll invite everyone in the village to celebrate. This will also include the matter of Lord County Magistrate bestowing the plaque. Last time, we didn’t properly thank the villagers for helping us find the Winter Solstice."
"Ah, that matter shouldn’t be handled by your family, though." Land Officer’s wife said, "That should be Da’an and his wife’s responsibility."
"While that’s true, from the outsider’s perspective, we are all part of the same family after all."
While Yang Chuxia and the others were talking, Yang Qingbao, who was eating quietly on the side, listened to every word, thinking about going home to tell his parents and have them handle this matter.
In the front room, Constable Hong and the others didn’t stay long for the meal because they had to continue searching for the sacrificial ceremony. They didn’t drink much of the wine Yang Chuxia had prepared and soon asked to take their leave.
As they were leaving, Yang Chuxia brought out the small jars of drunken crab she had prepared in advance, one for each person who had come with Constable Hong.
Then, she especially handed a few larger jars to Constable Hong.
"Uncle Hong, this jar is for you, and the others, could you please pass them to Lord County Magistrate and the steward as a token of our gratitude for their plaques and couplets? We’re just simple peasants and don’t have much to offer, but we hope these little gestures will show our appreciation. Please don’t disdain them." She originally planned to give a wheelchair to the County Magistrate, but it would have seemed too deliberate, so she changed her mind and exchanged it for drunken crab and drunken shrimp instead.
"No problem, I’ll deliver these to them on my way to the county town this afternoon."
"Thank you, Uncle Hong!"
After saying their goodbyes to Land Officer and the others, Constable Hong and his entourage mounted their horses and prepared to leave. Since it was difficult to ride with their gifts, Yang Chuxia had Uncle Niu and Qingyou drive their ox cart to help deliver the items to town.
Once Constable Hong and his people left, Yang Chuxia went to take a good look at the plaques presented by the County Magistrate and the steward.
It had to be said that the County Magistrate’s calligraphy was not bad, but the steward’s was not that great. According to Constable Hong, this man had mediocre literary talent but loved to show it off.
Although the calligraphy wasn’t top-notch, Yang Chuxia accepted it as their heartfelt intention.
Now that they had the plaques and the store was tidied up, all that was left to do was wait for Yang Dayong’s items to arrive and then open for business.
So, in the following days, Yang Chuxia went to Land Officer Yang’s house every day to check on the progress of Yang Dayong’s goods.