Yu Xingyi got up after worshiping: "The girl did not care about her life and saved her younger brother's life. She is the great benefactor of my Yu family's house. I should receive this ceremony. I didn't dare to disturb the girl because of her illness. I will meet my wish today."
Immediately, he instructed the servants to set up a banquet, and asked Zhou Xiaoxiao to sit upright, Xia Qinglian sat opposite each other, and accompanied him by himself.
When the drinks and water are on the table, the husband and wife take turns holding the cups, wanting to salute again.
Only then did Zhou Xiaoxiao stop him, but he said, "I'm still young, so the general and sister can't be too polite, but they killed me."
Yu Xingyi said: "The fifth brother is the last among my brothers. The eldest brother and I love him the most, and Jiaci and grandmother regard it as life. If it wasn't for the righteousness of the girl, the foolish couple could not imagine how to meet Gaotang. "
In the end, it was the husband and wife who bowed again and toasted a glass of wine before taking their seats.
Zhou Xiaoxiao also politely said: "Zigui and I met each other in times of crisis. It is the righteousness of friends to protect each other. The general and sister don't have to be so polite."
While speaking, Xia Qinglian gave a slight gesture, and several maids filed in, all holding large red lacquer plates in their hands, with gold and jade jewelry on top, and silk and satin. There are so many, all of them are gorgeous and unusual, and the room is full of brilliance for a while.
Xia Qinglian got up and pointed to Zhou Xiaoxiao one by one: "This is a little thought from my mother from Tokyo. I want Sister Yu to thank my sister on my behalf, and I hope my sister will not shirk."
Zhou Xiaoxiao looked at the first tray in front of her. A silver note with a face value of a thousand taels of silver was floating on several delicate pearl hairpins and jade rings. Zhou Xiaoxiao watched silently for a long time, then laughed suddenly, she raised her hand gently, and after a few polite words, she accepted the generous gift calmly.
During the banquet, Yu Xingyi and his wife took turns toasting each other, but Zhou Xiaoxiao did not refuse anyone who came.
Yu Xingyi saw the guest back to the room and saw Xia Qinglian sitting on the table with her hands full of peach blossoms. She couldn't help laughing and said, "Madam has only had a few drinks, but she is no longer able to drink."
"I never thought that Sister Zhou could drink so well." Xia Qinglian touched her hot cheeks, "Husband, look at what happened today..."
But Yu Xingyi didn't answer, he sat down at the table with a golden knife, stretched out two fingers and clasped the table lightly.
In my heart, I thought that I had commanded the army for many years, fought and fought, and was full of suffocation. In the past day, ordinary men could not help but cringe when they met, let alone women.
Thinking that the maids and female relatives of the whole house are all like quails in front of him, trembling with fear. Today, this little girl is very stable.
"Madam doesn't need to worry too much. From my point of view, this Miss Zhou is very transparent."
"That's right, Sister Zhou is really exquisite, and she knows it right away. She changed her mind and didn't mention Xingzhi's name, but only called him Zigui. This shows that the two are just friends. A generous gift from my mother and a big gift from my husband. She accepted it calmly, I'm afraid she understands everything in her heart."
"Miss Zhou has a good temperament, but it's easy to say. Just recalling the appearance of the fifth brother when he left, this matter may not be so easy to end. We can only watch it for now."
Xia Qinglian couldn't help but feel resentment in her heart. My mother-in-law lost a piece of hot potato this time. There is no credit for dealing with the mandarin duck.
However, Qinglian and his wife have their own concerns, so they will not list them for the time being.
After a few days, Zhou Xiaoxiao packed up and came to resign with Xia Qinglian. Xia Qinglian was very surprised, she took Zhou Xiaoxiao's hands and said, "Could it be that the servant girl is naughty and makes my sister unhappy, even though my sister said that she knows me, how should I go about it?"
"These days, I have been taken care of by my sister, who has been devoted to me in everything and is considerate. I am very grateful to my sister." Zhou Xiaoxiao said sincerely, "However, sometimes, although I am a woman, I still have a second-hand artist. , I can't stand on my own. I still often come to visit my sister in other days, and I hope that my sister will not bother me. "
"This, how does this make it happen?" Xia Qinglian was really stunned. In her deep-rooted thinking since childhood, women obey their fathers at home, and marry their husbands. Naturally, they are dependent on men. She never had the notion that unmarried women could stand on their own.
After thinking and investigating these days, Zhou Xiaoxiao found that he didn't have many skills to make a living in ancient times. The only thing he could do was to eat food.
Although she was going back to her old business, in an unfamiliar environment, she didn't plan to make it too complicated, she just wanted to focus on making cakes and open a small shop.
So he prepared his speech early, and when Che Kulu opened his mouth, he came.
"My grandfather was a pastry chef. I got some furs from elementary school, so I planned to open a pastry shop and do some small business. The foolish girl was born in the market and was not used to restraint. I hope my sister will be considerate."
She pulled Aunt Wu who came along and said, "It's fate, I mentioned this to Aunt Wu a few days ago, but it happened that there were two vacant shops along the street on the west side of her house. I discussed with her and rented her shop. And live in a house. With her second old man watching from the side, it will save me from being reckless and causing trouble."
Aunt Wu also said: "Madam, don't worry, the old man and I are the only people living in my house, and the space is tight in normal days. Miss Zhou has a lively and lively nature, and I like it very much. If she moves here, it will add a lot to my family. Don't be angry."
Xia Qinglian couldn't keep it, so she had to arrange the carriage and horse to go by her.
Zhou Xiaoxiao didn't have any luggage at all, so she packed up the gold and jade jewelry and a few pieces of clothing presented by her mother, tied a package, and boarded the car hand in hand with Aunt Wu.
When Yu Xingyi returned to the house and heard this, he paused and said, "It's just a nonsense. She has no parents, no mother, and an orphan girl. How can she set up her own business. In the future, if there is some loss of support, it's not a joke."
"Sister Zhou has made up her mind, I can't keep her." Xia Qinglian replied, "Besides, since my mother doesn't want to fulfill her two, you and I keep her in the mansion for a long time. How to get along in the future will make the slave family embarrassed."
Yu Xingyi shook his head and sighed: "It's okay, there's nothing I can do, and it's like that. I'll explain myself to Uncle Wu and Aunt Wu to take care of him. Madam needs to remember to send people to look after Gu Yi Er. If she has troubles in the future, you and I can do your best. That's all to help."
"I don't need my husband's entrustment. I can think about it. Only Sister Zhou has something to ask for before she leaves, and now I need the help of General Lao."
"What's the matter?"
"Sister Zhou fled to this place. Her parents are dead, and she has no relatives. Since she wants to settle down here, she still needs her husband's help to raise a thing or two about the household registration."
Yu Xingyi thought in his heart: this matter is not difficult, but since she has thought about this section, it can be seen that she wants to take root in Fengxiang. This person is indeed different from ordinary women, and the fifth brother's knowledge of people is not vulgar.
It is said that Zhou Xiaoxiao and Aunt Wu walked for a mile or two and came to a street paved with bluestones. This street went north to south and could not see the end at a glance. It was named Qingshi Street.
The two got out of the car and came to see the streets crowded with people, fruit shops, oil shops, meat shops, clothes shops, sugar shops, and 120 shops on both sides of the road, neatly arranged and not lively.
There are also all kinds of civil and military transactions in the street center, playing tricks, and fortune-telling.
There is another alley passing through the street. There is a small pharmacy at the entrance of the alley. There are plaques on the left and right, one book "Golden Creation" and one book "Fall Loss", which is very old.
The shop door was open, but no one was seen inside. Adjacent to the pharmacy, we arrived at the gate of Wu's house. There was a stone road just a few steps in front of the gate, and some firewood was piled on both sides. At the threshold sat a man of about fifty.
The man hunched his back and smoked a bag of dry cigarettes. This man is clearly a man who has worked hard for many years. He was dark-skinned, lean, and his face was full of ravines, making him look very old. Seeing the two coming, he buttoned the ash on the soles of his shoes and stood up. This is Aunt Wu's husband, Wu Daoquan.
Aunt Wu stepped forward and introduced: "The head of the house, this is Miss Zhou."
Zhou Xiaoxiao said a thousand blessings and said, "Uncle Wu."
Then Wu Daoquan just nodded, did not answer, turned around and headed in.
Aunt Wu smiled apologetically to Zhou Xiaoxiao: "Don't mind, he's like this, he doesn't like to talk, but in fact, I heard that you are coming today, so I didn't go to the shop early in the morning, and I was here at the door to watch you come. "
While speaking, Zhou Xiaoxiao was brought in.
Wu's house is a small house with two entrances. There is a small upside-down room on the left and right of the gate. There lives a veteran surnamed Chen who is a lame man from the army. They were all handled by Uncle Wu and Aunt Wu.
After entering the door, there is a large courtyard. There is a clump of green bamboos in the corner, and there are no extra flowers and trees. The entire site is leveled with loess. Eighteen weapons, dustpans for drying herbs, tools and other sundries are placed on both sides. Apparently, the owner of the house is a person who likes to dance with knives and sticks, but is not very elegant. He almost used the courtyard as a school ground.
Passing through the yard, there is a path paved with several stone slabs. There should have been a gate. It had been in disrepair and collapsed for a long time. There were only two walls of earth. There was a large water tank under each wall. There are three or four wing rooms full of debris in the corridor.
At the end of the road is a hall. The wooden beams, columns and walls are quite old, showing a heavy dark brown color. In the middle of the shrine are a few gods and Buddhas. In front of the shrine, there is an offering table with incense candles and other objects.
There are small doors on the left and right sides of the hall, and through to see a courtyard, the three rooms on the right are the residences of Aunt Wu and his wife.
There is a small arch on the left for a single person to walk through, through the arch is a small alley, with high walls on both sides. After passing the small alley, there is a small courtyard. This is considered a cross-courtyard in the west. It is surrounded by a few small wing rooms and a two-story high-footed small building. There is a side door facing the street below the small building, and you can go out to the lively Qingshi Street. , the left side of the door is juxtaposed with two vacant facades.
This west cross-courtyard is rented together with two facades, the wing room can be converted into a production workshop, and the two suites upstairs of the small building are used for living and entertaining guests. In the future, I can buy a few maids and maids to be placed downstairs, although it is not big enough. Access is through the side door, which is both private and convenient. Zhou Xiaoxiao was very satisfied, and immediately signed a lease contract with Aunt Wu.
Aunt Wu is thoughtful, cleaning the house inside and out a long time ago, and not long after, Yu's house also sent someone to bring some bedding and clothes, as well as some silk and satin that Zhou Xiaoxiao had not taken away. It was brought by a few quick-handed maids, and it was neatly tidy up in no time without Zhou Xiaoxiao's hands.