It took Zhou Shaojin a while to come back to his senses.
She decided to go back to the Buddhist temple as soon as possible to avoid hearing anything she shouldn't hear.
What she didn't expect was that just as she left the porch, the door curtain of the main room was lifted and Cheng Chi walked out.
Zhou Shaojin was horrified.
Wasn't he talking to Madam Guo? Why did he come out so soon? She was the only one in the quiet yard. I wonder if he would suspect that she was eavesdropping on his conversation with Madam Guo
She walked up to Cheng Chi nervously, bowed, and called him "Uncle Chi".
Cheng Chi looked a little dazed, as if he had not noticed her before. It was only when she bowed and greeted him that he realized Zhou Shaojin's existence.
"You're here!" He changed his usual warm attitude and greeted Zhou Shaojin indifferently, with a hint of fatigue between his brows.
Is it because the conversation with Mrs. Guo didn’t go well
Zhou Shaojin guessed in his heart and said with a smile: "I was copying scriptures in the Buddhist temple and just came over to have a cup of tea!"
Although he didn't tell Cheng Chi the whole story, he didn't hide anything either.
"Really?" Cheng Chi responded casually, seeming absent-minded.
Zhou Shaojin was very impressed by what he said and said goodbye to him: "Then I will go back to the temple to copy scriptures."
Cheng Chi nodded, but after Zhou Shaojin took a few steps, he called her again and said hesitantly: "The old lady is in the inner room and is in a bad mood. Since you are here, why not chat with the old lady!"
she
say
Zhou Shaojin was stunned.
What can she say to Mrs. Guo
And what could she say to Mrs. Guo at this time
Zhou Shaojin was in a dilemma, but Cheng Chi had changed his mind and said, "Forget it... You are calm and quiet, not as lively as Sister Sheng. I'm afraid it will be hard to make the old lady happy even if you accompany her... Go back to the Buddhist temple and copy the scriptures!"
Her face flushed red, she responded in a low voice, and walked quickly towards the Buddhist temple.
But when turning the corner, Zhou Shaojin couldn't help but look back.
Cheng Chi stood alone at the foot of the steps of the main hallway, with his hands behind his back, quietly gazing at the azure sky, peaceful yet filled with loneliness.
What happened between him and his parents
Why doesn't he get married
What happened in the Guo family
Who is the old man referring to
Zhou Shaojin's mind was like a revolving lantern, constantly spinning, and she didn't calm down until she said goodbye to Mrs. Guo.
Mrs. Guo was tougher than she thought. From the outside, she looked the same as usual. If Zhou Shaojin hadn't been sure that she had heard Mrs. Guo's roar in the afternoon, she would have thought that nothing had happened. But this was just appearance. Mrs. Guo asked Zhou Shaojin about the progress of copying the scriptures, and when she heard Zhou Shaojin say that it could be completed before the end of the year, she was very satisfied and even smiled a little.
In Zhou Shaojin's opinion, rather than saying that Mrs. Guo was happy because she made good progress in copying the scriptures, it was more accurate to say that Mr. Guo felt a little better because the matter was being smoothly implemented according to Mrs. Guo's requirements.
Back at Wanxiangju, she asked her sister, "Do you know about Uncle Chi's childhood?"
Zhou Chujin asked curiously: "Why are you asking this?"
"I met Uncle Chi at Hanbi Mountain House today." Zhou Shaojin said, "I'm very curious. Why didn't he become an official even though he passed the imperial examination?"
Zhou Chujin did not doubt it and said with a smile: "What's so strange about this? To be an official, you have to be 500 miles away from home. How many places in the world can compare to the wealth of Jinling City? Rather than going to that bitter cold place to be a seventh-rank official, it is better to stay in Jinling and be a famous and elegant scholar!"
Zhou Shaojin smiled, vaguely feeling that the reason why Cheng Chi didn't become an official might not be that simple.
Zhou Chujin gave her sister some advice: "If you really want to know about Uncle Chi's childhood, why not ask the older servants in the eldest house. They will definitely know."
Zhou Shaojin asked Fan Qi to find out.
Fan Qi replied to her the next day: "The fourth master was born in the capital. When the eldest master of the family passed away in the fifteenth year of Yongchang, the fourth master was only six years old. He returned to his hometown to observe mourning for a year, and was then taken to the capital by the second master. After that, he spent most of his time in the capital studying with the second master, and occasionally returned to Jinling City to visit Madam Guo. It was not until the thirteenth year of Zhide, when the fourth master was twenty years old and about to die, that he returned. If you want to know about the fourth master's childhood, you have to ask the servants of the second master in the capital."
"Ah?!" Zhou Shaojin opened his eyes wide.
In other words, Cheng Chi spent most of his time in the capital, and only returned to Nanjing in recent years.
No wonder I haven't heard from him before.
But this is not right!
When did he open the Yutai Bank
Since he was studying with the second old master of the eldest house, how could the second old master of the eldest house let him "not do his job properly"
Fan Qi lowered his voice again and said mysteriously, "Second Miss, I also heard from them that the Fourth Master has a separate courtyard in Lime Mountain, thirty miles northwest of the city, called 'Zaoyuan'. When the Fourth Master first came back, he did not live in the mansion. He lived in Zaoyuan. Later, it was the old lady who gave the order, and the Fourth Master moved back."
Zhou Shaojin had already heard that Cheng Chi had a separate courtyard, but he didn't know it was in Shihuishan.
She didn't take it seriously, but asked Fan Qi: "Can you help me find out when Yutai Bank was opened?"
"I know," Fan Qi told her confidently, "It was the ninth day of the ninth month in the eighth year of Zhide."
Zhou Shaojin asked in confusion: "How do you know?"
Fan Qi chuckled and said, "When I was in the village, the young scholar next door wanted to be an apprentice at Yutai Bank. He told me about it. He also told me that every September 9th, Yutai Bank would give out rice, and many people would line up to get the rice."
The ninth day of the ninth month is both the Double Ninth Festival and Mrs. Guo’s birthday.
Isn't there any connection between them
In the eighth year of Zhengde, that is, ten years ago, Uncle Chi was fifteen years old... He was so young and his family was so wealthy, how could he think of leaving his family business to create a bank
The one who manages the household affairs usually has no hope of a career in the government. At that time, the family should not have decided on him to manage the household affairs? Moreover, it was later proved that although Uncle Chi ended up late, he did not miss any subjects. Without very solid basic skills, it would not have been so smooth even if he had the support of his uncle, a bachelor of the Hanlin Academy, and his brother, a Jinshi in the two imperial examinations.
The lady asked Uncle Chi not to blame the deceased old man of the eldest house. Could it be that it was because it was decided too early that Uncle Chi would be in charge of the chores, which delayed Uncle Chi and prevented him from taking the exam until he was twenty-one
This is not right either!
Didn't Mrs. Guo manage the household affairs in the early years? If Uncle Chi was a good student, given Mrs. Guo's strong character, she would definitely continue to manage the household affairs. How could she delay her son's future
The more Zhou Shaojin thought about it, the more his head started to ache.
She waved her hand and asked Fan Qi to go down and rest: "If there is anything in the future, come and tell me."
Fan Qi smiled and said, "I really have something to tell the Second Miss. Miss Heming from Xiaoshan Conggui Courtyard is getting married, and she is marrying far away in Huzhou. There is a vacancy for a head maid in Xiaoshan Conggui Courtyard. Many people want to go to Xiaoshan Conggui Courtyard through Chief Steward Qin, but Chief Steward Qin said that Xiaoshan Conggui Courtyard will not add anyone... Is this considered a big deal?"
Zhou Shaojin was very surprised and asked, "Are you telling the truth?"
"It couldn't be more true!" Fan Qi assured, "If you don't believe it, just wait two days at most, and then Chief Steward Qin will tell you something."
Good boy!
Zhou Shaojin almost touched Fan Qi's head.
When she was in Hanbi Mountain House in the morning, the little maid asked Biyu but Biyu didn't give a definite answer. But after only a few hours, Fan Qi had already received the news.
She happily rewarded Fan Qi with one or two taels of silver.
Fan Qi put it in his arms with a smile and said, "Second Miss, there is one more thing, but it has nothing to do with Xiaoshan Conggui Courtyard. It is about the second house. Do you want to hear it?"
It turns out there’s something for free!
Zhou Shaojin was not interested in the affairs of the Second House, but she felt that if she knew more about the Cheng family, it would be more convenient for her to act in the future, so she smiled and said, "Tell me what it is?"
Seeing Zhou Shaojin's interest, Fan Qi also became interested and said, "Didn't the second aunt of the eldest house give birth to a son a few days ago, and didn't the second house's grandmother Shi Da also give birth to a young master? As a result, the first and second houses competed in giving gifts. The first house was praised by the in-laws for the third-month-old gift given to the second aunt, and the second house was overwhelmed by the second house. I heard that this time, Tang Laoan of the second house took out her private money and asked someone to send it to grandmother Shi Da's family, asking her family to send two good-looking full-month gifts..."
Zhou Shaojin felt both amused and annoyed when he heard this, and said, "Wouldn't the people who know Grandma's family be angry?"
She didn't expect that someone as smart and capable as Tang Laoan would do such a stupid thing!
Fan Qi chuckled and said, "I heard from others that the grandmother's family is a hollow shell."
After he finished speaking, he waited for Zhou Shaojin to continue asking.
Zhou Shaojin remained silent.
He looked up suspiciously, but saw Zhou Shaojin sitting there with a look of horror on his face.
Fan Qi didn't know what he said wrong, and was a little scared. He called out "Second Miss" cautiously and said, "You, what's wrong with you?"
"I'm fine!" Zhou Shaojin took a deep breath.
She remembered.
The ancestor of the second branch, Cheng Xu, became an official due to illness in the eighth year of Zhengde.
In other words, Uncle Chi opened the Yutai Bank after Cheng Xu retired as an official.
Why
Because the Cheng family is a shell
Zhou Shaojin didn't believe it.
There must be some connection here!
It's just that she doesn't know it.
Zhou Shaojin's mind was a mess.
She asked the old servant in the family indirectly about the food, clothing and other expenses of the Cheng family in the past.
The old servant laughed and said, "The water in Mochou Lake hasn't dried up yet, so how can Jiuru Lane be short of food? Not to mention this peaceful and prosperous era, even when dynasties changed, my grandfather said that people outside Jinling City exchanged their children for food, and the Cheng family didn't lack food and clothing. On the birthday of the old master of the third room, the servants were rewarded with silver as usual."
Is the Cheng family so rich
Zhou Shaojin felt that he knew something, but when he thought about it carefully, he couldn't clearly explain what he knew.
Feeling a little anxious, Lan Ting, on Zhou Zhen's orders, sent a box of Dongzhu to each of her two daughters.
※
Sisters, today's update!
PS: I believe that the sisters who left messages in the comment section all did so because they hope that I can write better.
Today a sister gave me a link, talking about the issue of separation between men and women. I think, compared to the separation between men and women, Zhou Shaojin should think that how to make Cheng Chi believe in herself is more important. Otherwise, her relatives may only have thirteen years to live at most.
O(∩_∩)O~
※(To be continued)