Yang Chuxia looked at the two of them being so affectionate and pursed her lips. Her mother really favored Brother An, more so than her own daughter. She had been pondering this question for years, but couldn’t figure out the reason behind it.
Three days later, it was Yang Chuxia’s birthday, and she would finally reach adulthood.
After this day, she would officially be fifteen years old, which in ancient times was old enough to get married.
Actually, in peasant families, coming-of-age ceremonies for girls weren’t grand affairs; at most, their mothers would comb their hair and cook a couple of red eggs to celebrate.
Wealthier families might buy some cloth to make a new set of clothes, and even more affluent ones might buy a few pieces of silver jewelry.
Yang Chuxia’s coming-of-age ceremony, although simple, was still a first in the village. They invited several nearby families and village elders to join them for a meal.
Ms. Wang naturally combed Yang Chuxia’s hair in the morning. When it was the auspicious time, she put on her new clothes and kowtowed to her elders. Under the witness of the elders, the Land Officer’s wife inserted a gold hairpin into her hair, marking the completion of the ceremony.
Of course, there should have been many more steps in the process, but this was the countryside after all, and not many knew the rituals. It was already quite an accomplishment for it to be .
"Xiaxia, this is my coming-of-age gift for you." After Yang Chuxia had finished kowtowing and went to rest in another room, Ruoqiu came in.
She handed Yang Chuxia a small box. Inside was a pair of silver bracelets. Though not very heavy, they were already quite a generous gift from Ruoqiu.
"You really didn’t have to go to so much trouble! Why did you buy such expensive bracelets?" Ruoqiu and Chen Sheng had been living harmoniously for the past two years, having had a son of their own. Although Ms.Liu was initially dissatisfied, she became content seeing Chen Sheng treating Ruoqiu well.
"We know you don’t lack anything, but this is our heartfelt gift." Ruoqiu, now a mother herself, had abandoned her previous bad habits and glowed with maternal grace. "A few days ago, the Wang Family’s elderly lady had a big birthday celebration in town. They invited the Baiyun troupe to perform, and she was so happy that she rewarded them with two hundred taels of silver. Chen Sheng played an important role in the performance, so he got an extra share of the silver. That’s why we could afford these bracelets. They’re still just silver, though; we wouldn’t have been able to afford gold ones."
"Silver is more than enough." Yang Chuxia smiled. "But you know, we’re sisters; let’s not do this in the future. It’s not easy for your husband to earn money either. Instead, you two should save up and buy more land for Yanzhu. He’s quite smart; you should send him to study too."
Yang Chuxia genuinely had Shen Qiu’s best interests at heart. Chen Sheng had indeed earned quite a bit of silver in the past two years, but they still needed to think long-term when it came to their lives.
Ruoqiu felt vastly comforted upon hearing this, especially the term "sisters."
"Yes, I know. Most of the silver Chen Sheng has earned is saved for buying land. We’ve already bought more than ten acres. As for our son’s school fees, I’m saving that as well."
Yang Chuxia nodded at this.
After Ruoqiu gave her coming-of-age gift, Ms.Luo also came to send a gift.
However, unlike Ruoqiu, she was trying to curry favor with Yang Chuxia. Everyone knew that the Yang family had become wealthier these past two years, and Ms.Luo was hoping to ride on their coattails. She had become somewhat smarter than before and had stopped stirring up trouble.