In the afternoon, Zhou Shaojin came back from Hanbi Mountain House, and Shi Xiang told her that the socks had been sent to Xiaoshan Conggui Courtyard: "... Miss Jiying accepted them and also gave me two gold-embroidered handkerchiefs."
A gilded handkerchief would cost several taels of silver, but Jiying was quite generous in spending it.
Zhou Shaojin snorted in his heart, feeling that now the two of them owed each other nothing.
Unexpectedly, early the next morning, Ji Ying sent someone to deliver crystal cakes and assorted tofu dumplings, and asked the maid to deliver the gifts and pass on the message: "… The crystal cakes were bought from Zuixianlou, and the assorted tofu dumplings were bought from Nanshilou."
Zhou Shaojin rarely left the house, and he knew neither Zuixianlou nor Nanshilou. But from what the maid said, he guessed that Zuixianlou was famous for its crystal cake and Nanshilou was famous for its assorted tofu soup.
The maids were all runners, and she didn't want to embarrass them, so she asked Shi Xiang to take it: "... pour it all into the urine bucket."
"Such a good thing..." Shi Xiang felt a little regretful.
The crystal cake is as translucent as jade, with a little red on top, which makes it look playful. Even before you eat it, you will drool. The assorted tofu soup is full of condiments, such as pickled mustard tuber, shredded pork, day lily... The aroma is fragrant.
She looked at Zhou Shaojin's face and said, "How about giving it to the night watchwoman? It's a favor."
Zhou Shaojin said nothing.
If Jiying feels that this is an apology to her, then let her apologize.
Shi Xiang sighed and gave the things to the maid on duty, for which she expressed gratitude.
The next day, Jiying sent a maid to deliver radish cake and duck blood vermicelli.
Zhou Shaojin still let Shi Xiang fall.
This time, Shi Xiang did not ask Zhou Shaojin, but gave the gifts to the woman who trimmed the flowers and trees in Wanxiangju.
On the third day, Jiying sent Osmanthus Duck and Zhuangyuan Beans.
On the fourth day, we were served steamed dumplings and boiled dried shredded vegetables.
On the fifth day... Zhou Chujin was alarmed.
Zhou Chujin called Shi Xiang over to question her.
Shi Xiang naturally did not dare to hide anything and told everything.
Although Zhou Chujin didn't like Ji Ying's deception of Zhou Shaojin, it was clear that she was honest and upright in admitting her mistakes. Thinking that Zhou Shaojin usually stayed at home, it would be good for her to experience more things, so she pretended not to know and let her handle it herself.
After seven or eight days, Jiying suddenly sent a puppy over.
It was a newly born pug, the size of a palm, with snow-white hair, big black eyes, and a big red ribbon with a small bell tied around its neck. It was nestled in a bamboo basket covered with a scarlet felt blanket, tilting its head and barking softly at Zhou Shaojin.
Zhou Shaojin's heart instantly turned into a pool of water.
She picked up the puppy and saw a piece of paper under the basket, which read "If you hold the puppy, it means you have forgiven me."
Zhou Shaojin was angry and anxious. He handed the puppy to Shi Xiang and said, "Take it away from me."
Shi Xiang had no choice but to carry the puppy out.
Zhou Shaojin lowered her head to embroider the forehead scarf.
From the yard came the whimpering sound of a puppy, like a baby crying.
Zhou Shaojin felt like sitting on pins and needles. After embroidering a few stitches, he finally couldn't bear it anymore and called Shi Xiang in, asking, "What happened to the puppy?"
Shi Xiang wiped the sweat from her forehead and said, "We sent it back, and Miss Jiying sent it back soon. After going back and forth, I saw that the puppy was not in good spirits..."
"How despicable!" Zhou Shaojin said angrily, but he couldn't bear to let the puppy get sick because of himself and Jiying, so he asked Shi Xiang to bring the puppy in.
The puppy climbed out of the basket with great effort and rubbed against Zhou Shaojin's feet.
Zhou Shaojin put it in the basket and it crawled out again.
Shi Xiang said: "I'm afraid this puppy is hungry."
Zhou Shaojin had never fed a dog before, so he asked, "What does it eat?"
Shi Xiang thought for a moment and said, "I remember the woman who came to trim the flowers and trees for us a few days ago was transferred from the farm. I'll go ask her."
When the old woman heard that it was the dog raised by the second daughter of the Zhou family, she naturally did not dare to say what the dogs on the farm ate. She also thought that the dog must be very precious, so she just said something good: "… It's a puppy, so it should drink some meat soup and eat some fine grains."
When Shi Xiang returned home, she asked the kitchen to make some meat bone soup and soak some rice for the puppy.
The puppy ate with gusto, and food was all over his mouth.
Zhou Shaojin simply cut a pocket for it.
Shi Xiang and the others all rushed to help it sew the pocket, and even suggested: "Other people's guard dogs have names, so we should give it a name too."
Zhou Shaojin saw the snow-white dog and said with a smile, "Then let's name our dog 'Snowball'. What do you think?"
Everyone agreed and started calling it “Snowball” and “Snowball”.
Snowball looked left and right, then lay down in the basket and fell asleep.
Everyone thought it was very cute and laughed.
Zhou Shaojin felt that the room was becoming more lively.
But when she came back from Hanbi Mountain House, Shi Xiang and the others told her tearfully, "I don't know what happened to Snowball. He suddenly had diarrhea. We have already asked for a doctor, but he said that he can only treat people, not dogs, so we should quickly send the steward to find someone who can treat dogs. The steward has not responded yet, and Snowball has already laid in the basket without moving."
Zhou Shaojin felt as if his heart was grabbed by something.
She returned to the house in two steps.
As expected, Snowball lay motionless in the basket. When Zhou Shaojin called him, he looked up at Zhou Shaojin, whimpered twice, and then lay down weakly again.
Zhou Shaojin burst into tears and asked, "What did the manager say?"
Shi Xiang wiped her tears and said, "She said she never had a dog at home, and she didn't know who would treat a dog, so she could only ask slowly."
By the time they asked, Snowball was dead!
Zhou Shaojin held Snowball in his arms lovingly.
She seldom makes close friends for fear of the time when they will be separated, let alone raising cats, dogs, birds, etc.
Zhou Shaojin thought of the person who started it all, and gnashed his teeth in hatred. He said to Shi Xiang, "Go tell Ji Ying that the puppy she gave me is sick. Tell her to find a doctor to see it as soon as possible."
If anything happened to Snowball, she would never talk to Jiying again in her life.
After hearing this, Shi Xiang's eyes lit up and she said, "Oh, why didn't we think of that? Since Miss Jiying was able to buy this dog, she must know how to raise a dog. I'll go right away." Before she finished her words, she ran out with her skirt lifted up.
Zhou Shaojin thought so too.
She walked back and forth, stroking Snowball's furry back and comforting him: "It's all right, it's all right. The doctor will be here soon, and you will be well soon!"
Jiying came very quickly, and when she arrived, Shixiang was still nowhere to be seen.
Seeing Zhou Shaojin's appearance, she was stunned for a moment, then asked: "Wasn't he fine when you bought him? Why did he suddenly get sick?"
"How should I know!" Zhou Shaojin glared at Jiying, "I asked you to get a doctor, did you go?"
"Please!" Jiying said, "I'll be there right away."
Zhou Shaojin felt slightly relieved.
Jiying was also a little anxious and went over to touch Snowball's back.
Neither of them knew what to say for a moment. One of them walked around the house holding the dog, while the other sat on the armchair waiting anxiously.
About half an hour later, Shi Xiang ran in.
"Second Miss, Second Miss." She looked happy. "The doctor for Snowball is here."
Zhou Shaojin and Ji Ying went out to greet them without saying a word.
The person who came was a somewhat wretched looking old man, about sixty years old, wearing a short brown coarse cloth robe the color of autumn fragrance. He was led by the maid who had previously delivered something to Zhou Shaojin. He stood in the yard and smiled at Zhou Shaojin and others attentively.
Can this person do it
Zhou Shaojin looked towards Jiying.
Ji Ying was also a little skeptical, but she still said, "The one who sold the dog introduced him. He said his name was Anda, and all the dogs in Jinling City went to him when they got sick."
Zhou Shaojin said "Oh" and handed the dog in his arms to Shi Xiang, asking her to take it over to see Anda.
An Da asked about Snowball's situation. When he heard Shi Xiang say that Snowball had drunk a bowl of meat and bone soup this morning, he shouted exaggeratedly, "How can you feed this pug, who has just been weaned, meat soup? It's like a newborn baby, it can only eat light food. It would be better if you could feed it with goat milk or something like that."
Everyone was very surprised.
Zhou Shaojin's body stiffened.
It turned out that it was she who caused Snowball to be like this.
She felt very uncomfortable.
Ji Ying saw it, patted Zhou Shaojin's shoulder gently, and asked An Da: "What should we do now?"
"I'll give it some of my ancestral medicine first. You can only feed it white porridge for the next three days." An Da said uncertainly, "I'll come back for a follow-up visit in three days. If it's better, it won't need to take medicine anymore. If not, I'll try another medicine."
Everyone was nervous.
Shi Xiang took Anda to feed Xueqiu medicine.
Zhou Shaojin looked at the listless Snowball and couldn't help sobbing: "It's all my fault..."
Ji Ying comforted Zhou Shaojin: "You feed it broth for its own good. Who knows it can't eat broth... And if you survive a disaster, you will have good fortune in the future. Snowball will definitely be healthy and live a long life!"
Zhou Shaojin was not as optimistic as her.
After seeing Anda off, she held Snowball in her arms and silently combed his hair.
Snowball whined comfortably.
Zhou Shaojin finally smiled a little.
Ji Ying looked upset, and she said apologetically, "I wanted to give you a puppy to make you happy, but I didn't expect it to turn out like this. I'm so sorry. When I go back later, I'll ask someone to find someone else in Jinling City who can treat dogs, and ask them to come and see Snowball. I think there will be an expert who can cure Snowball."
"Let An Da treat Xueqiu for two days first!" Zhou Shaojin said, "It may not be a good thing to change Xueqiu's doctor all the time. But just in case, we have to find someone who can treat dogs."
"Yes!" Ji Ying nodded, thinking that Zhou Shaojin still had to go to copy scriptures for Hanbi Mountain House tomorrow, and said, "How about I help you take care of Xueqiu tomorrow? Don't you still have to copy scriptures?"
Zhou Shaojin was a little hesitant.
Ji Ying said hurriedly: "Just let me do my best! Otherwise I will always have a knot in my heart."
Zhou Shaojin looked at her guilt-filled face and suddenly thought of the child he was destined to have in his previous life.
Snowball is also a life. If something happens to him, Jiying will also feel very sad, right
Zhou Shaojin nodded slightly.
※
Some sisters said that the progress of the article is very slow. I rewrote the beginning because I wanted to speed up the progress. But once the progress is accelerated, the article will seem a bit impetuous. There is really no way to speed up the progress. Every event is to drive the direction of the article... Woohoo...
※(To be continued)