But how can I get close to Uncle Chi
Even if it's crowded, you have to be able to squeeze in!
Zhou Shaojin sat in front of the large drawing table in the study, chin on his elbow, thinking.
Send shoes and socks
It doesn't seem possible.
Uncle Chi has a woman named Nanping who is perhaps even better at needlework than she is. It’s possible that the things she has worked so hard on will be nothing compared to Nanping’s.
Send food
She has tried it.
And it failed!
Thinking of this, she couldn't help but sigh.
Uncle Chi doesn't seem to be very interested in snacks.
Cooking
Isn't she overstepping her authority... and it's too obvious. Uncle Chi might think she's crazy.
Zhou Shaojin felt depressed when he thought about it and didn't know if there was any good solution.
She thought about it again and again, and asked Cheng Ji: "If you want someone to like you, what would you do?"
Cheng Ji said: "Who do you want to like you? Old An? I think she likes you very much!"
"No." Zhou Shaojin certainly wouldn't tell the truth, otherwise Cheng Ji would keep asking, and he might even tell Jiang, which would make things difficult. "I've just been thinking about this these days, and I want to know if you have any experience in this area."
"Oh!" Cheng Ji thought seriously, "My father, my mother, my grandmother, and my brother, does this count? I don't think I did anything wrong, I just acted like a spoiled child, and they all agreed to my request..."
behave in a spoiled manner
no.
Zhou Shaojin denied it immediately.
Whenever she thought about that scene, she felt it was very awkward.
"Don't you have any other solution besides this?" Zhou Shaojin asked unwillingly.
"No." Cheng Ji thought Zhou Shaojin was very strange and said, "As a girl, why should we take the initiative? We should just get along well with others. Taking the initiative is too degrading."
Zhou Shaojin was silent.
She doesn't want to either!
But you have to lower your status.
Uncle Chi was almost unresponsive.
The most important thing is that he can come to Beijing at any time.
This means he can see Cheng Jing at any time.
When she returned to the room to rest at night, Shi Xiang squatted beside the bathtub to help her wipe her feet.
Zhou Shaojin looked at her and asked Shi Xiang, "How do you think you can make someone like you?"
Shi Xiang smiled and said, "Of course I will serve her wholeheartedly." After thinking for a moment, she added, "And I will be loyal to her."
All right!
Zhou Shaojin had to admit that he asked the wrong person.
She went to ask her sister.
Zhou Chujin smiled and said, "Just cater to their preferences!"
"Catering to his taste!" Zhou Shaojin seemed to be thinking about something.
Zhou Chujin smiled and ignored her.
The next day, Zhou Shaojin went to Hanbi Mountain House half a quarter of an hour earlier than usual, but after paying her respects to Mrs. Guo, she did not go directly to the Buddhist temple, but to the Liyin Pavilion.
Cheng Chi went to the capital, leaving only Nanping and a few maids in Liyin Pavilion.
When Zhou Shaojin arrived, Nanping was making autumn clothes for Cheng Chi with the maids. When she saw Zhou Shaojin coming, she dropped her work and greeted him with a smile: "Second cousin is here! Although it is spring, the sun is warm on people, but it is easy to get sunburned. Second cousin, please come and sit over here. It is cooler here."
It is midsummer and the sun is already warming people.
Zhou Shaojin sat down with a smile on her face.
Nanping personally served her tea and snacks.
Zhou Shaojin said a few polite words and then started talking to Nanping: "It's my father's birthday in a few days, and I want to make some clothes for him. Everyone says that with you in Uncle Chi's house, even the sewing room in the mansion has to hide its shortcomings. I wanted to come and see if there are any special styles or materials, so that I can try to make one for my father."
Many people knew that Nanping was good at needlework. At the beginning, many people asked her to make things for them. As she was just a maid, it would be bad if she offended anyone, so she almost obliged every request. In the end, Cheng Chi couldn't stand it anymore and showed her displeasure obviously, so those people didn't dare to come to her.
Maybe Zhou Shaojin doesn’t know about this
Nanping thought about it, smiled and went to get some newly cut clothes.
Zhou Shaojin knew at first glance that Nanping was an expert. The sleeves and shoulders were cut extremely delicately. She had only learned this from someone she heard about it by chance during a visit to the palace.
It can be seen that there have always been hidden talents among the people, and the emperor's life may not be as happy as those of those centuries-old prestigious families.
She thought of her father's body and chose a dress with wide sleeves and a narrow body, and a one-shoulder neckline, both of which looked dignified yet lively.
Nan Ping smiled and praised: "Ms. Zhou's second daughter has good taste. This is the style that was popular in Hangzhou Prefecture in the first half of this year. No one in our Jinling City has worn it yet?"
You never go out of the main gate or the secondary gate, so how do you know that no one has passed through Jinling City
Zhou Shaojin really wanted to ask, but she could never be as comfortable in front of Nanping as she was in front of Jiying. She smiled and asked her if she had any material to match the two clothes.
Nanping took her to the ear room next door.
The cupboards were full of cloth.
"These are all new fabrics from Songjiang, Huzhou, and Hangzhou this year. These are from Guangdong and Qinghuan..." Nanping introduced them to her and took out a piece of indigo-colored Songjiang three-shuttle cloth and said, "I think this piece of cloth is very good for making the wide sleeves you liked earlier. The autumn skirt will look a bit like a Taoist when worn on the body, and this kind of cloth is the best. The moon-white Songjiang three-shuttle cloth is very common, but if it is dyed in indigo, it looks like a Taoist robe from a distance, but when you get closer you can see it is a straight robe, which is quite interesting."
When talking about the field he was familiar with, Nanping's eyes brightened up.
Zhou Shaojin smiled and said, "I think the reason why Miss Nanping is so good at needlework is that, in addition to her natural talent, she has also put a lot of effort into it."
Nanping was very happy with her recognition, and since there was usually no one to talk to her about these things, she spoke a lot more than usual.
Zhou Shaojin occasionally said "hmm" and "ah" to make Nanping's words not dull. When Nanping showed Zhou Shaojin a few flower patterns from her collection, Zhou Shaojin smiled and said, "When did you enter the palace? How many years does it take to have such skills? Where did you work when you first entered the palace?"
Nanping was a hereditary servant, and Zhou Shaojin could easily find out what he asked. Nanping didn't take it to heart, and said, "I entered the mansion when I was seven years old. When I first entered the mansion, I worked in the tea room of Hanbi Mountain House. Later, the Fourth Master returned to Jinling City. The old lady saw that there was no one to take care of the Fourth Master, so I happened to live in the same room with Jincheng, the former head maid in the old lady's room. She was in charge of the old lady's clothes and jewelry, and was very good at sewing. So the old lady gave me to the Fourth Master. I have stayed in the Fourth Master's room ever since."
In other words, Nanping did not serve since childhood.
But apart from Jiying and Cheng Chi, the one who is relatively close is Nanping.
Zhou Shaojin was a little disappointed, but she continued to chat with Nanping without giving up: "I didn't expect there is someone more powerful than Miss Nanping! Where is she now? Can I see her?"
Nan Ping smiled bitterly and shook her head, saying, "She died a long time ago, otherwise how could I have served the Fourth Master? The Fourth Master doesn't choose people based on appearance, he only looks at whether you are suitable or not."
The two of them chatted back and forth, and the topic soon turned to the pastries that Zhou Shaojin had sent a few days ago.
Zhou Shaojin said embarrassedly: "I wanted to join in the fun, but I didn't expect Uncle Chi not only doesn't eat fish, but also doesn't like snacks. I'm so embarrassed!"
Nan Ping smiled and said, "Don't be embarrassed. When I first came to serve the Fourth Master, I also made a lot of jokes. For example, the Fourth Master always wears a Taoist robe. At first, I thought it was because he liked to wear it, so I made many robes for him with great care. As a result, he asked me why each robe was different? He likes to wear Taoist robes because they are convenient and exactly the same... As a result, all my efforts were in vain. I made him ten identical Taoist robes again. And the two Qiushangs you chose, if I really made them, the Fourth Master would not say anything, but he would never wear them." At the end, there was a sigh. I don't know if it's because I don't have the power to be a hero or I think Cheng Chi has a weird temper.
Zhou Shaojin felt that the former was more likely than the latter.
The topic gradually shifted to food, clothing, housing and transportation. It was almost You time when she came out of the Liyin Pavilion, but she was even more confused.
It turns out that Uncle Chi doesn’t dislike fish, he only eats cold-water fish.
It’s not that he doesn’t like sweet things, he just doesn’t like granulated sugar and prefers rock sugar.
It’s not that he doesn’t like soft and sticky food, he just likes to eat the ones that are thinly coated... In short, his life is simple but luxurious, and luxurious but simple in many things...
She felt that there were some things he liked that she had only heard of in her two lifetimes... and probably wasn't as proficient in as he was, so how could she please him
Zhou Shaojin felt that the future was bleak.
Cheng Chi, who was far away in the capital, did not live in Xinglin Hutong, but lived in Cheng Shao's house in Shuangyu Hutong.
Because the elders were present, Cheng Fen took down the white cloth hanging in the house after completing the 57th day of mourning.
Cheng Shao was originally a rather silent person, and he became even more silent at this moment. In addition, his old wife had passed away two years ago, and he lived alone in the study room, ignoring everyone.
Cheng Chi did not force it. Just like he did every time he came to Kyoto, he met all the managers of Yutai Bank in the morning, and then met Li Sanjiang, the head manager of Wei Zihao Bank in the afternoon.
Li Sanjiang is in his forties. He started out as an apprentice to the old man of the Li family in She County. Considering his age, he has reached this position and is recognized as a capable person in the industry.
But he only had half a seat in front of Cheng Chi.
This is not only because Cheng Chi is not only the major shareholder of Yutai Bank but also the fourth largest shareholder of Wei Bank, but also because Cheng Chi has never made any mistakes over the years and is worthy of such respect.
Cheng Chi was too lazy to bother with the formalities and asked directly, "The ancestor of our second branch wants to join forces with the Luo family in She County and also create a bank?"
"Yes!" Because this might involve the internal strife of Jiuru Lane, Li Sanjiang said with some caution, "At first the Luo family thought it was your idea, but later they found out it was your ancestor's idea. The Luo family couldn't see you, so they sent someone to visit our old man, hoping to get back to you through our old man, saying that since the Luo family promised you to withdraw from the ticket business, they will keep their promise, so please don't misunderstand!"
Cheng Chi sneered: "You've been an official for too long!"
Li Sanjiang said nothing.
Officials think that businessmen are profit-driven and will break their promises as long as there is profit to be made. In fact, businessmen are the most honest - their status is already very low, if they do not keep their promises, how can they survive
※
Sisters, today’s extra update!
O(∩_∩)O~
PS: I’m a bit busy today, so the update will be changed to around 11pm.
※(To be continued)