After the whole family was swept away, I lay down flat

Chapter 564 Homely
"Is that what you promised?"

At dinner that day, Haijiao sat exhausted at the dining table. He couldn't help but blurt out these words when he heard his younger sister Haitang talking about how his grandmother Ma went to visit their neighbor Jin's house today.

Ma said awkwardly, "What else can I do? Should I say no? He is so polite and doesn't put on airs. Can I turn him away in front of him?"

"That's not what my grandson meant." Haijiao scratched his hair. "Grandma, didn't you always want to avoid dealing with that Mammy? She has been in the palace for decades, and she is serving the Empress Dowager, so she must be very disciplined. You were afraid of being rude in front of her and being criticized, so you decided not to deal with her unless necessary. She has moved into the Jin family for so long, and although you send some things to her every few days like other neighbors, you never talk to her in person. If it weren't for Xiao Jin, you would never take the initiative to come to my house today. I didn't expect you to invite her to your home as a guest. How can my grandson not be surprised?"

Ma Ma sat a little uncomfortably, "I'm not not dealing with her, it's just that we're not familiar with each other... Besides, I first met her in the third branch of the Zhou family because of Madam Ma's lawsuit. Madam Ma used my maiden name and caused such a big scandal. I feel ashamed to face people now. Others don't know the inside story, but this Madam Ma knows everything Madam Ma has done, and she also knows that the Ma family has been making trouble for the private property left by Madam Ma. My surname is also Ma, how can I show my face in front of her?"

Haitang raised her eyes and exchanged glances with her brother Haitang. They both held back their laughter and said nothing.

They knew that Ma was indeed angry about what Madam Ma and the Ma family had done, and thought they were embarrassing, but she had been married to the Hai family for decades, and her only brother had not participated in the dispute over Madam Ma's inheritance, so what did she have to do with the jokes made by other Ma family members? She would only gossip about it, but would not be ashamed to go out and socialize because of it.

The reason why Ma was unwilling to take the initiative to deal with Ma Shangyi was actually because of the other party's identity.

Ma was born in a family of minor officials in Chang'an. She was familiar with etiquette since she was a child, but she was not up to the standards of a wealthy family, so she was not too particular about it. It was only during the ten years she lived in Chang'an that she had high standards for her manners and etiquette when dealing with wealthy families like the Zhou family. But she later went to live in a border town, where there were not so many rules? She had long since relaxed.

Even though there were many scholars in the family, during those years in Guazhou, she would often go shopping for groceries with only a maid, or eat in a room with her husband and her cousin's brother-in-law's friends, without even setting up a screen.

After returning to Suzhou, the Hai family became a little more strict, but Haitang, a little girl, could go out to the street to play with her brother or the maid after informing her grandparents.

When the Hai family returned to Chang'an, it was a prosperous city with stricter etiquette than the border town. When Ma came back, she met her natal family and later took her eldest sister's old servant under her command. Every day, she listened to Ma Li's family talk about rules and etiquette. Under the influence of her, her style became conservative again. Haitang could go out freely in Suzhou, but could only stay at home in Chang'an, precisely because of this reason.

Ma knew that even if her family rules were stricter than before, they were still not as strict as those of the local aristocratic families in Chang'an. But she was used to being casual in the border town and didn't have any special needs. She really didn't want to add shackles to herself, so she would pay more attention to etiquette in public, but still follow the usual practices at home.

Such behavior would definitely be criticized if encountered by a palace maid who attaches great importance to rules and etiquette.

Jin Jiashu's manners were already very good, and Ma didn't think he had any shortcomings at all. She thought he was as good as her grandson. But as soon as Ma Shangyi moved into the Jin family, she trained the child into a noble son of a scholarly family in less than half a month. With Ma Shangyi's eyes, she must have felt that the Hai family's etiquette was not thorough, right?

Considering that her family had a good relationship with Jin Jiashu, and that her grandson Haijiao might be able to rely on this good friend to get in touch with the most distinguished person in the palace, Ma didn't want Ma Shangyi to look down on her family. She didn't want to show her weakness in front of Ma Shangyi, so she didn't dare to take the initiative to get close to her. It's better to stay away and get along politely with each other than to get too close and let people see through her true colors, then there would be no dignity left.

Ma was full of thoughts and thought she had considered everything. She never expected that just because she cared about Jin Jiashu for a while, she took the initiative to visit Ma Shangyi. All her previous concerns disappeared, and she even dared to take the initiative to invite the other party to her home. Thinking back now, Ma couldn't help but feel embarrassed: "I didn't want to do it, but at that time, the conversation came to that point, and I had to go with the flow, otherwise it would be too rude!" After that, she quickly made amends for herself, "But I haven't dealt with Ma Ma privately before, and I thought she was a strict person. I didn't expect her to be very kind and speak in a friendly way. She is not like the palace maids we have met. She is very easy to get along with. I misunderstood her before!"

Haitang smiled. The higher the status of the maids from the palace, the more humble they were. When they needed to put on airs, the maids could act superior to the concubines, and scare the ignorant outsiders into not daring to act rashly; but when they needed to show their friendliness, they could also make people feel as kind and amiable as their own elders, making you unable to help but open your heart to them.

Without this ability, how could they be valued by the nobles in the palace?

Haitang had gone through the same thing. She only felt that Ma Shangyi's behavior was familiar, but she would not easily believe that the other party was really "kind and friendly".

Hai Jiao was half-believing and half-doubting: "Perhaps this Mammy knows that we saved Xiao Jin and helped him a lot, so she is particularly close to us. If it were someone else, she might not be so polite. But this Mammy came from the palace and knows a lot. If grandma interacts with her more, maybe she can gain some knowledge, which is not a bad thing."

Ma smiled and nodded: "That's the truth! She also said that she knew how to make a few common side dishes in the palace and would teach me how to make them later! This winter, our family will have a few more new dishes."

Haitang blinked her eyes, "That's a good thing. But I think the dishes in the palace may not be suitable for our small family. The recipes for nourishing the body are definitely a hundred times better than those outside. Grandma, why don't you ask Mama for more advice on these. Even if it's not for my brother, Big Brother Jin and Master Wu to nourish their bodies, you and Grandpa are old people, and it's time to nourish them!"

Ma said hurriedly, "Tangtang's words reminded me. I will ask her tomorrow!" Then she couldn't help complaining, "The master was delayed again tonight. He couldn't even go home for dinner. How can he endure like this? No matter how much medicinal food he eats, it may not make up for it."

Hai Jiao said, "Shall I go to the government office to bring food to Grandpa later? I can also urge him to come back earlier."

Ma agreed, but also reminded him: "It's windy at night, you should wear a thick cloak, don't catch a cold."

Haijiao responded and reminded Ma: "Is it time to light up the kang at home? Have you prepared all the charcoal for this winter?"

Ma glared at her grandson, "I've already bought everything. How could you wait until you remembered?" But she also felt that it seemed to get colder this year than last year, and the charcoal they bought might not be enough. "Ask someone to bring more tomorrow to avoid running out. And ask Ma Ma if they want to buy some. The Jin family just moved here, so they may not know where to buy charcoal."

Haitang remembered something: "That guard Lin hasn't moved into the Jin family yet, right? Will he come again? Should the Jin family prepare a share for him as well?"

(End of this chapter)