As soon as Zhou Shaojin entered the room, Biyu came up to greet him with a smile and said, "Zhenzhu and the others played Go this morning and had a winner. We sent the servant to Qifangzhai to buy some snacks. Later, Miss Second Cousin and Miss Shixiang will come over to have a cup of tea with us, right?"
When in Rome, do as the Romans do. Wherever you go, you must abide by the rules. Since you are a guest at Hanbi Mountain House, you must get along well with Biyu and others. Moreover, Zhou Shaojin and Biyu get along well and have similar personalities.
She readily agreed and smiled, "Who wins?"
Jade covered her mouth and smiled: "Except for Jadeite, we are all winners."
Zhou Shaojin laughed and said, "Doesn't that mean I lost a lot of money?"
Biyu stretched out her palm: "Five taels of silver quickly."
Shi Xiang was amazed: "Miss Feicui is really generous."
"What are you talking about?" Biyu laughed, "She lost half a year's salary, and she was so upset that she barely ate lunch."
A few people walked towards the Buddhist temple, chatting and laughing.
A maid came to ask Biyu for instructions: "… Three carts of silver frost charcoal and two carts of firewood charcoal have arrived. In previous years, they were piled in the warehouse at the back. But last winter was warm, and it snowed during the Little New Year, and half of the charcoal was piled in the warehouse. I'm afraid it can't be put in. Nanny Wang asked me to ask my sister what to do?"
After the Double Ninth Festival on September 9, each family would start preparing charcoal for the winter. The fourth family hadn't started yet, but the eldest family had already started distributing charcoal.
Zhou Shaojin hurriedly said, "You go ahead and do your work. Shi Xiang can just accompany me."
Biyu was a little hesitant.
Zhou Shaojin smiled and said, "When Qi Fangzhai's snacks are ready, just remember to call us."
Biyu had been with her for quite some time and knew her personality to some extent. After thinking for a while, she said cheerfully, "Okay! I won't accompany you there. I'll treat you to some snacks later."
Zhou Shaojin nodded and went to the Buddhist temple with Shi Xiang.
The red apples and golden Buddha's hands on the altar exude the unique fragrance of fruit, which dilutes the smell of Buddhist incense and makes people feel refreshed.
Zhou Shaojin washed his hands, calmed down and began to copy the scriptures.
After a while, Biyu came over and said, "How many scriptures do you have left to copy? The snacks have been brought in. They are still hot. In addition to the most famous water chestnut cakes and cloud slices, the servant also bought some Qifangzhai's newly launched sugar-fried chestnuts, walnut crisps, and hawthorn slices."
After Zhou Shaojin went to the capital, he fell in love with candied haws, which are made of hawthorns.
She was delighted to hear that, and put down her pen and asked, "When did Qi Fangzhai start making hawthorn slices? How come I didn't know about it?"
Biyu smiled and said, "I heard from the servant that there is a pastry shop called Mi Ji in Jinling City. The pastries and fried fruits they make are particularly delicious. It is said that they have taken away a lot of business from Qi Fangzhai. Qi Fangzhai invited a chef from the north this year, and the skill of making hawthorn slices was brought here by the chef from the north."
As they talked, they packed up their things and went to the tea room.
Zhenzhu and the others had been waiting there for a long time. The maids were all familiar with each other. When they saw them come in, they all bowed and offered their seats. Xiao Tan even took out a Butterfly Love Flower pastel octagonal cup from somewhere and handed it to Zhou Shaojin: "Second cousin, this is for your tea!"
Zhou Shaojin thanked him repeatedly and sat down.
Several maids, including Biyu, sat down around Zhou Shaojin, except Feicui, who sat on the outermost side, farthest away from Zhou Shaojin.
No one cared.
Agate began to brew tea with skillful and graceful movements.
Zhou Shaojin nodded secretly, and saw that the tea soup was clear green and bright, with a fragrant orchid aroma. It tasted lingering and he couldn't help but smile and said, "What kind of tea did you make? It tastes great!"
"It's Taiping Houkui." Manju smiled, "It's the tea that the old lady gave to Sister Biyu."
"Good tea!" Zhou Shaojin praised, "You brewed the tea well too. The two go well together."
Agate blushed slightly and said modestly, "It's not that I brewed the tea well, it's my second cousin who flattered me."
Everyone started praising Agate for how good he made tea.
Seeing that Feicui's smile was a little forced, Biyu hurriedly smiled to smooth things over, saying, "The old lady's tea is good, and Agate's craftsmanship is also good. Second cousin is right. However, the snacks are cold, so don't say that Qi Fangzhai's food is not delicious later!"
Everyone laughed, some drank tea, some ate snacks, and a little maid took this opportunity to ask Biyu: "Sister, when will the winter clothes in the mansion be returned? I am waiting for the winter clothes in the mansion today!"
A little maid said sharply, "Who told you to take all the old cotton-padded jackets back? I heard from my godmother that last year's winter was short, so this year's winter should be long. You should think of another way as soon as possible, right?"
The maid said with a bitter face, "You know, my father only has eyes for my stepmother now, and he won't care about my two sisters. If I don't send the old cotton-padded jacket back, my father will either sell one of my sisters or let them freeze." At this point, she asked Biyu, "Sister, I heard that Sister Heming in the Fourth Master's room is getting married. Can my sister come into the mansion?"
A little maid said, "You are dreaming! What kind of place is Xiaoshan Congguiyuan? How could your sister, who can't read a single word and has never learned a single day of etiquette, work in the fourth master's house?"
"I didn't ask my sister to work in the Fourth Master's house." The little maid immediately retorted, "I was thinking that after Sister Heming got married, no matter which sister took Sister Heming's job, there would always be a vacancy. As long as my sister can enter the mansion, even if she sweeps the floor in the outer courtyard, it is better than staying at home! At least she can have a meal..."
Zhou Shaojin was listening when someone came over to refill her tea and said, "Second cousin, please don't be offended! They rarely see Sister Biyu on weekdays, so they are inevitably a little noisy."
She looked up and saw Pearl's sparkling eyes.
Zhou Shaojin and Zhenzhu don't have much contact.
"It's okay, it's okay." She smiled quickly, "I think you two are like sisters, that's great!"
Pearl smiled and said, "It takes a hundred years to be able to ride the same boat together. It can be considered fate for us to be like this. I'll help you if I can."
Zhou Shaojin nodded repeatedly.
A little maid ran in and said breathlessly, "Sister Biyu, the old lady and the fourth master are back."
There was a sudden chaos in the room.
"Didn't you say you would be back at 5 p.m.?" Biyu asked, looking at the funnel on the window frame. "It's just past 5 p.m. now."
"I don't know." The little maid panted and said, "I heard from Mrs. Wang at the second gate that the old lady's face is not very good. She asked us to be careful."
Several maids became even more panicked.
Zhou Shaojin said hurriedly, "It will take at least 25 minutes to get here from the second gate. Leave two of you here to clean up the teacups, and the rest of you should do what you need to do. Don't panic."
After a brief panic, Pearl and the others calmed down.
They and Zhou Shaojin had the same idea. Zhenzhu said, "Follow the arrangements made by the second cousin. Xiaotan, you stay here. The rest of you should say hello to the people on duty and go back to your rooms to rest. Come over to take over at twilight hour."
Once someone made a decision, the others immediately quieted down and began to act according to Pearl's words.
Biyu apologized to Zhou Shaojin: "Second cousin, I'm so sorry. I wanted you to take a break, but I didn't expect this to happen..."
Zhou Shaojin could understand Biyu's feelings and said hurriedly, "Look at what you are talking about. I have already had my tea and snacks. What better thing could there be than this? Just focus on your own things. When we are free, we can get together for tea."
Biyu nodded and sent Zhou Shaojin out.
Zhou Shaojin smiled and said, "Don't bother me. It's not like I don't know the way back to the Buddhist temple..." But before she could say anything, she saw Mrs. Guo walked in angrily, followed by Cheng Chi who was walking leisurely.
So fast!
Zhou Shaojin and Biyu were both shocked. Zhou Shaojin instinctively hid in the tea room.
Biyu hesitated to speak.
Zhou Shaojin was different from them. They were servants. Although they were not on duty, it was not good to eat and drink when the master was not at home. Zhou Shaojin was a guest of Hanbi Mountain House. She could have just gone up to the old lady and said she came to the tea room to see if there was any good tea, and then let the matter go... However, the second daughter of the Zhou family was still young. Maybe she had little experience and felt guilty, so she hid in the tea room, right
She had no choice but to retreat to the tea room.
After entering the tea room, Zhou Shaojin secretly regretted it.
Today is different from the past.
She should have stepped forward and bowed to Madam Guo in a dignified manner, but why did she hide inside
No! She has to get rid of this cowardly bad habit.
Thinking of this, Zhou Shaojin couldn't help but take a deep breath, straightened his back and walked out.
There was a clang sound in the yard.
Zhou Shaojin looked over in the direction of the voice and saw the curtain of the main room hitting the door threshold, almost hitting Cheng Chi who was standing in front of the door with an embarrassed look on his face.
What happened here
Zhou Shaojin was just wondering whether he should avoid it when Cheng Chi had already lifted the curtain and entered the main room.
She breathed a sigh of relief and whispered to Biyu, "Then I'll go back to the temple first."
Biyu didn't dare to breathe and nodded heavily.
As soon as Zhou Shaojin lifted his feet, a roar came from the inner room of Madam Guo in the east: "… What do you want? Before, you said that you would get married after you have achieved fame and success, and you could find a better wife and family, and I agreed with you. Later, you said that you didn't want to quarrel all day like the fifth room, and you wanted to find a gentle and quiet girl, and I agreed with you. What about now? You said that you are too old and can't get along with these young girls... I am old, and how many days do I have left to live? Can't you turn a blind eye for your mother? Do you want me to die with regrets? I don't care what you think, anyway, you must get married this year, and I must hold my grandson next year!"
She quickly took back her foot.
The people on duty in the yard were completely hidden.
Cheng Chi’s warm voice came from the inner room, but it was too far away to hear what he said. Zhou Shaojin only heard that after Cheng Chi’s voice fell, Mrs. Guo burst into tears. While crying, she said, "Are you still blaming your father? This was all mother's idea. If you want to blame someone, blame mother. Even if I risk my life and give up this huge family business, I will not let that old man succeed"...
Cheng Chi whispered gently.
Mrs. Guo's crying gradually subsided.
Zhou Shaojin looked at the carved window lattices in Mrs. Guo's inner room, feeling very confused.
What exactly happened
※
Sisters, today's extra update.
Thank you all for your help. Pink votes are currently in the lead, o(∩_∩)o
PS: I want to pay off my debt quickly, so the evening update is tentatively scheduled for around 11 o'clock, and the additional update for the spirit beast egg will be around 2 o'clock in the morning. Please bear with me for now, and I will adjust the time as soon as possible.
※(To be continued)