Joseph took a sip of water and said, "The judge finally acted fairly this time. He scolded Pablo as soon as he entered the door. Finally, Carmen's filial piety payment was set at 3 silver coins, but Pablo gave him 5 silver coins and the amount cannot be changed once stipulated..."
Mary carefully read both sides of the deed and was worried when she heard it: "Doesn't Paul object? Can he agree?"
"Of course he didn't agree."
Jose said: "But it's useless he doesn't agree. The judge said that he inherited all the family assets when the family separated, and it is natural to support Carmen, so he should give more pension."
The judge said that if Pablo did not agree, he would make the final decision to redistribute the family property, giving him and me half of the property. What do you think Pablo can do? So after a big fuss, the matter is resolved and will not change in the future. If they want to default, we will take this paper to sue them and they will have to go to jail..."
After Joseph finished speaking, he was silent for a moment, then put down the bowl and said: "Mary, this time I finally understand that living in this world, only money makes it easier to do things. If we still are as poor as before, people would look down on us..."
After hearing this, Mary's eyes turned red, she wiped the corners of her eyes, and couldn't help but walk over and hug Joseph to comfort her: "Joseph, don't be sad, our family's life will get better and better in the future."
After hearing this, Joseph reached out and held his wife's hand tightly, but his eyes were shining and he said as if to say to Mary and to himself: "I'm going to let others know that you are not married to a loser, and I will let you live a prosperous life..."
Even Selena, who was lighting the fire outside, heard José's words clearly and felt filled with hatred and anger for a moment. Lola is probably the one who calls her father a coward. That woman is the one who best looks for trouble. Her father is not a coward.
Seeing that José and María were having a good atmosphere in the room, Selena did not bother them. Thinking about giving a gift to the judge in the morning, Selena felt that the money was not wasted after all. With only less than 10 silver coins gifted, she could avoid endless troubles in the future, very profitable.
Without the interruption of Carmen's family, José's family finally had a comfortable New Year.
Some time ago, Pedro urgently ordered another batch of goods at the end of the year, and the family was so busy that their legs were weak. In the end, they earned up to 1200 copper coins. Mary's piggy bank was full and Joseph went to town to exchange for 12 silver coins for more room.
New Year's Day is approaching and Joseph's family took an ox cart to the capital to buy a lot of things. Especially the things they bought for Selena, including fabrics, snacks, and jewelry. Now that she has money, Maria is no longer stingy like she was before and she no longer pays attention to everything. She bought Selena a few yards of expensive pink and purple wool to make a coat, and cyan cashmere fabric of a different color to make a skirt.
But she and José were reluctant to buy such expensive things. After all, her family had just built a house and was not that rich in the eyes of the villagers. It was too prominent for the whole family to suddenly wear high-quality wool coats and herself. As she did not want to part with the money, she took home some fine muslin and cotton.
There were only four or five days left until the Chinese New Year. Maria and Selena spent the whole day preparing New Year's products and busy making new clothes. Finally, they finished the clothes on New Year's Eve. José stopped selling products on the streets, but instead prepared firewood for one or two months after the new year at home.
On New Year's Eve, there were fireworks crackling outside the house, but the fireplace in Joseph's house was burning warmly and there was a large table with delicious dishes on the table, including chicken, duck, and fish. Mary also boiled wine for Joseph. .
The family sat at the table and looked at the delicious dishes, and couldn't help but sigh when thinking about the past. In the past, when Hugo was still here, they would first eat the delicious food and then it was Jose's family's turn to eat. At that time his family always worked more and ate less and all the food was leftovers, it was not like today where a family of three can eat as they please at this table.
Selena, who usually doesn't eat chicken, also ate a few more bites today, mainly because Maria's stir-fried chicken pieces with green chili were very fragrant. They spent New Year's Eve among the smiles and warmth of the family.
When she got up the second day, Selena put on the pink wool cape made by her mother. There was a circle of small flowers embroidered on her collar and half-raised cuffs. Although the cyan cashmere skirt was normal in color, she felt very soft to the touch. Selena put on some leather boots that José bought her and sat on the stool in front of her mirror, putting up her long hair.
The hard work paid off. After a year of careful maintenance, Selena's hair is no longer the frizzy yellow hair it once was. It hangs behind her like golden silk and is so slippery that she can't hold it with one hand. Selena worked with her hands for a long time before finally tying her straight hair with a pink ribbon.
Selena left the room after getting dressed, José and María felt their eyes light up when they saw their daughter's appearance after getting dressed.
Selena will turn fourteen after the New Year. Just like a little flower bud that blooms, she begins to change day by day and her own flower blooms.