"Borrow baby?"
The fourth father-in-law of Zhao played horse hanging for half the night last night and won a small fortune. At this time, he was catching up on sleep. When Kuai Peng wanted to borrow a baby, he immediately thought of his own baby, and couldn't help looking up at Fang Liang.
A small box tied with red silk was hung on the beam of the room, and his "baby" was placed there.
After the eunuchs are "castrated", they attach great importance to the castrated "babies", and they will try their best to preserve them. Although there was no embalming solution in those days, the eunuchs had a set of effective ways to preserve their "treasures" after long-term exploration.
After they are "castrated", they will put the "baby" in a lime box to absorb blood and water, keep it dry, then wipe off the lime, soak it in sesame oil, wait for the sesame oil to permeate, and then pack it in a small wooden box , Seal the package, choose an auspicious day, and hang it on the main beam of the residence. If the hometown is local, some people hang the treasure in their ancestral hall.
"Baby" hangs high, implying "high promotion", which is the goal pursued by all eunuchs in life. After death, their family members or the adopted eunuch godson will sew his treasure back on his body, so that he can become a complete man, and he will have the face to meet his ancestors after his death.
If someone damages or loses the "treasure" due to poor storage, a fake "treasure" will be made of ceramic or gold or silver materials when buried, but the fake is still fake, no matter how precious the material is, So there is "borrowing baby".
The old eunuch "borrows treasures" from the young eunuch, and the young eunuch will borrow treasures from the next generation of young eunuchs in the future. There are eunuchs every year, so there is no need to worry about being borrowed. Therefore, as soon as Mr. Zhao Si heard about "borrowing treasure", he immediately thought of his own "baby".
Seeing him looking at the beam, Kuai Peng looked very reluctant, followed him for a look, suddenly realized, and said angrily: "I didn't borrow your treasure, what's the use of your treasure. I'm with you Borrow that treasure I saw last time..."
Kuai Peng excitedly told the fourth father-in-law of his intention of coming here. The fourth father-in-law Zhao was only in his early thirties, and his relationship with Kuai Peng had always been very good. It was also entangled, so Kuai Peng didn't hide it from him and told him all about his thoughts.
Zhao Sigong said with embarrassment on his face: "Brother Peng, this is a secret weapon specially developed by our Military Division to carry out secret missions. It seems inappropriate..."
Kuai Peng stared and said: "Nonsense! This is an affair, isn't it secret enough?"
Eunuch Zhao said with a wry smile: "Brother Peng, what we two are talking about is clearly not the same thing."
"Hey, I said Mr. Zhao Si, Xiaotian is my good brother. If I don't help with this matter, who will help? I take your thing as a treasure. You are different. Didn't you judge that it is not practical? Well, you only have one manufactured object in your library, and sooner or later it will rot, why not borrow it from your brother?"
Eunuch Zhao said hesitantly: "Brother Peng, although our family has designated that item as a waste product, it was developed and built by the craftsmen of our Military War Division after all. It is the Zhenyuan Hou's Mansion, once it is investigated..."
Kuai Peng immediately said: "Don't worry! Hasn't this thing of ours never been advertised to the outside world? Except for the craftsmen who invented and developed this thing in the Military Division and you and me, no one has seen it anymore. Do you know that this is something from our Bingzhangsi? Anyway, your Bingzhangsi has already designated it as a waste product, so you can use it for waste, and I will destroy it immediately after use. No matter who asks, I will not tell its origin. how?"
Eunuch Zhao Si hesitated for a moment and said, "Brother Peng, do you mean what you say?"
Kuai Peng grinned, patted Mr. Zhao on the back hard, and said, "That's right! Be quick and make a good marriage, that's accumulating merit and doing good deeds! After it's done, my brother will treat you to a drink."
The words "accumulate merit and do good deeds" touched the heart of Mr. Zhao Si. Eunuchs like him, forced to make a living, had to castrate themselves to be eunuchs. In the next life, he can be compensated for his sufferings. It is only a small effort, but he can accumulate merits. This deal is naturally a good deal.
Eunuch Zhao Si nodded and said, "Success, then I'll give you this thing. I'll cross it off the war book later, and destroy it after you're done using it. Don't say yes." Items flowing out of my military division."
Kuai Peng laughed loudly, put his arms around Zhao Sigong's shoulders and said, "This is the brother, I do things, why don't you worry about it?"
Eunuch Zhao Si snorted and said resentfully: "It's you who do things, our family is not at ease!"
※※※
New Year's Day is here. At that time, there was no so-called solar calendar, and all festivals were calculated according to the lunar calendar, so New Year's Day and Spring Festival were the same day. On New Year's Eve, firecrackers and ping-pong continued throughout the night. People in Jinling wore new clothes and hats, and walked around to congratulate each other. On the long street, there are dragon and lion dancers, people visiting relatives and friends, and people shopping to watch the excitement, and there is a festive and festive atmosphere everywhere.
Early in the morning on the first day of the first lunar month, the head of the family leads the whole family to worship the heaven and earth and ancestors, and the whole family makes "plaque food" together. If a family junior sees relatives and elders on the street, he will kneel down and kowtow to salute. Therefore, unless he is confident that his seniority is high enough, it is impossible to bump into someone with a higher seniority than him. Many people who go to the street wear clothes The hem was patched temporarily, otherwise the new robe would not be able to wear after this trip.
Ye Xiaotian and others were stranded in the post house, so they could only celebrate the New Year in a foreign country. The post house also prepared dumplings and other festive food for them, and they bought some paper money for incense sticks, wrote ancestral tablets in their rooms, and provided cooked food for the three animals, and burned the paper money on the third day of the Lunar New Year. I gave my ancestors the New Year's pocket money.
During the Spring Festival, no matter men, women or children, they will use gold foil paper to fold ornaments in the shape of moths, butterflies, grasshoppers, etc., and insert them on the bun or the brim of the hat, so as to enhance the festive atmosphere of the festival. "Naobao" is as big as a slap, and the small one is the size of a copper coin. Most people wear one, and there are also rich people who show off their wealth, with "Naobao" stuck on their heads.
Naturally, Ye Xiaotian doesn't need to handle these matters, it's Miss Ning'er and Sister Sun who are responsible for these matters. The two girls are very concerned about this, needless to say the sun sister, since Ning'er heard what Tang Xianzu said, her attitude towards Ye Xiaotian has also changed significantly, the two girls have always regarded the Jinling Post House as their home, And Ye Xiaotian is the head of the family.
On New Year's Eve, Ye Xiaotian wore a head full of butterflies and grasshoppers, and walked tremblingly, and there were lights everywhere inside and outside the post house, which made the gold leaf on his head shine, which was particularly eye-catching.
Zhang Hongyan and the others are children of big families, they were so busy during the new year that they couldn't afford to come to the posthouse to meet Ye Xiaotian and others, so Ye Xiaotian spent the New Year in the posthouse peacefully. Anyway, he had also inquired about it, Mr. Xia's family had not left Jinling, they were still staying in Zhenyuan Hou's Mansion, so he was not afraid that they would not be found.
On the seventh day of the lunar new year, Ye Xiaotian, who was extremely bored, was watching Mao Wenzhi and Sister Sun setting off fireworks in the yard.
Jinling is a big city, and there are hundreds of kinds of fireworks sold in the city. The most brilliant fireworks can realistically display patterns such as flowers, plants and figures when they are set off. It cost hundreds of taels of silver, Ye Xiaotian and others came to Jinling in a hurry and didn't have so much silver with them, so they put things like "cannons", "three waves", and "mouse".
Even so, Mao Wenzhi and Sister Sun also had a great time, and the yard was always full of laughter from the two of them. Although Hua Yunfei is young, he has been taciturn since he was a child. Coupled with the story of the catastrophe and the death of his parents, his temperament has become more stable. It seems that he is not as lively as the childlike Mao Wenzhi.
Ye Xiaotian looked at Mao Wenzhi who was scurrying around like a big horse monkey with a scented head, shook his head and said with a smile: "This old Mao, sometimes I really envy him, in fact, he has suffered a lot since he was a child. , until now he is alone, but he can always find fun by himself."
Hua Yunfei nodded, and said with emotion: "Yes, this is Lao Mao's strength, but unfortunately I can't learn it."
Just as Ye Xiaotian was about to speak, Tang Xianzu's voice sounded from afar: "Xiaotian, Hongyan and the others are here."
As soon as Ye Xiaotian raised his head, he saw Zhang Hongyan, Qiao Zhenhua and others came in from the courtyard in new clothes, smiling, their heads were covered with golden light, covered with gold foil paper things like grasshoppers, moths, butterflies, dragonflies, etc. Son.
When Ye Butian saw it, he hurried forward to meet him, cupped his hands and said, "Brother Zhang, Brother Qiao, Brother Liu, Brother Kuai, the Chinese New Year is auspicious!"
Zhang Hongyan and others also returned the gift with a smile: "Auspicious and auspicious, make a fortune and make a fortune."
Zhang Hongyan said: "I'm sorry, I have passed this year for my brother, kowtowed everywhere, and turned around. I didn't go out until today."
Ye Xiaotian said with a smile: "I know you are busy, how could my brother take offense?"
Liu Junyang beamed and said: "However, we have collected the New Year's money. Brother is the host today, let's go to the Qingyan Building?"
Kuai Peng said: "Go to Qingyan building, since I got that treasure back, I haven't asked Xiaotian to practice seriously."
Kuai Peng approached Ye Xiaotian and said: "Our brothers all rode horses, and I brought two horses for you and brother Tang. How about it? Let's go out of the city and find a secluded place to practice first, so as not to make mistakes in the busy schedule."
Ye Xiaotian has been waiting for news from them, and he happily replied: "Okay! Dear friends, wait a moment, I will come right away."
Zhan Ning'er was sitting on the edge of the couch, gesturing with a piece of fabric, when suddenly the door creaked, and Ye Xiaotian's voice sounded: "Miss Ning'er, Miss Ning'er."
Zhan Ning'er quickly stuffed the fabric under the quilt, stood up in a panic, and said, "I'm here."
Ye Xiaotian poked his head out from behind the screen and said to her: "Miss Ning'er, brother Zhang and the others are here, I will go out with them."
"Oh! Okay, you're busy with your…"
Ye Xiaotian's head retracted and disappeared, Zhan Ning'er just breathed a sigh of relief, Ye Xiaotian's head popped out again, looked at Zhan Ning'er, and said suspiciously: "Miss Ning'er, is there something wrong with you? "
Zhan Ning'er became nervous again, Qiqi Aiai said: "No... no!"
"Oh..." Ye Xiaotian glanced at her again, and walked away in doubt.
Hearing the sound of footsteps leaving the door, Zhan Ning'er breathed a sigh of relief, went back to the couch and sat down, took out the cloth from under the quilt, held it with her hands accustomed to dancing spears, and said dejectedly: "This It's the seventh piece of cloth..."
Suddenly, she cheered up again, and cheered herself up: "As the saying goes, practice makes perfect! You will definitely be able to make a robe for him with your own hands, so that he can understand your intentions! Zhan Ning'er, you can do it!"