Jiying was puzzled and asked, "What happened to her?"
Zhou Shaojin blushed and said, "Maybe it's because he can't go to Mount Putuo with us!"
Jiying nodded and didn't take it to heart.
Even fellow disciples who practice martial arts together have to be divided into different levels, not to mention that Cheng Ji and Zhou Shaojin are just relatives by marriage.
She asked Zhou Shaojin: "Can you finish copying it this month?"
"Yes!" Zhou Shaojin felt a little embarrassed. She could have finished copying it as early as March, but in order to meet Cheng Chi, she deliberately slowed down the progress. Now, she has to catch up again. Does this count as shooting herself in the foot
She spent ten days to finish copying the remaining Shurangama Sutra. Not only that, she also copied a volume of the Mahaprajnaparamita Mantra for herself to offer to Guanyin Bodhisattva.
Mrs. Guo was very happy when she found out. She held Zhou Shaojin's hand and told her how hard she had worked. She said, "Your uncle Chi is the one who knows the situation. After reading the scriptures you copied, he knows roughly when you will finish copying. We will set off on the date he set."
Zhou Shaojin felt a burning sensation in his ears as he listened.
Could it be that Uncle Chi saw something
She didn't dare to think too much about it and asked Jiying to come and help her pack her luggage.
"You should bring a few more cloaks. The temperature on the river changes a lot. Even though it's summer, it's still very cold at night. But the scenery in many places is very beautiful at night, so you can enjoy it from the boat." She nags, "You should also bring more underwear. Even though you are on a boat, there is not much water to use, and it is not easy to dry the washed clothes... Do you have any fine cloth clothes? It's best to wear fine cloth clothes on the boat. They are stronger and easier to wash..."
Chunwan and Bitao listened carefully and packed their luggage according to Jiying's instructions.
Zhou Shaojin called Shi Xiang aside, handed her a purse, and said, "I didn't know if I would come back the day you left the house. There are ten silver notes worth ten taels in this purse, take them for your safety. If I come back in time, everything will be fine. If I can't come back in time, I will definitely go to ask for a glass of wedding wine when you get married."
Shi Xiang knelt down and kowtowed to her.
Zhou Shaojin, Zhou Chujin, and even Mrs. Guo and Mrs. Guan all received rewards, which were enough for her to marry in style.
Chixiang couldn't help but sigh as he watched.
We are sisters, and now that Shi Xiang is gone, it’s unknown when we will meet again.
After wishing old lady Guan a happy birthday, the night wind was already a bit chilly. Zhou Shaojin said goodbye to his grandmother, aunt, sister and others and followed old lady Guo to Putuo Mountain. In addition to those who usually served Zhou Shaojin and old lady Guo, there were Cheng Chi and Ji Ying, Huaishan, Qin Ziping and several guards who were by Cheng Chi's side.
On the day of departure, the weather was clear and sunny. People from several families came to see them off, and Zhou Chujin held his sister's hand and walked her to the step before letting go.
They first took a pleasure boat to Zhenjiang, and then transferred to a sand ship from Zhenjiang to Hangzhou.
Through the glazed windows of the pleasure boat, Zhou Shaojin watched the person on the shore gradually walking away and finally turning into a small black shadow. His heart, which had been full of excitement and anticipation, inexplicably became a little sad.
Mrs. Fan Liu, who was accompanying her, hurriedly comforted her: "It's okay, it's okay. We are following Mrs. Guo, and we have the invitation from the eldest master, and we have the fourth master Chi accompanying us, so nothing will happen."
Zhou Shaojin nodded.
Biyu walked in unsteadily and said, "Second cousin, the old lady asked me to come and see you. Are you okay?"
"I'm fine." Zhou Shaojin smiled and calmed down, inviting Biyu to come in and sit down, "How is the old lady?"
"That's good." Biyu smiled, "The old lady said she wants to take a break. Please feel free to do as you please, and we can meet again at dinner."
It takes one day and one night to get to Zhenjiang.
Zhou Shaojin agreed, opened the window of the houseboat and looked out.
At this time, we were still a short distance from the shore, and there were many people living on boats on both sides of the river. Many people were standing on the boats pointing at their pleasure boats.
Zhou Shaojin sneered.
I remember that when they first came back from Pukou, they pointed at other people's pleasure boats and drooled with envy at the Jiangbei Bridge. However, a few days later, the situation was reversed and it was others' turn to drool over the pleasure boat she was on.
After lunch, she closed the window and told Bi Tao: "I will take a rest too. Send a little maid to keep an eye on the old lady. If she wakes up, wake me up immediately."
Bitao is the same age as Zhou Shaojin, but half a head taller than him. She has slender eyebrows, fair skin, and a gentle and honest appearance.
As soon as she started to serve Zhou Shaojin, she had the opportunity to go to Putuo Temple to burn incense. Thinking about it now, it still seemed like a dream. She responded respectfully and turned around to pass on the message.
Zhou Shaojin slept until sunset.
Looking at the room full of rosy clouds, she jumped up and complained to the Chunwan on duty: "What time is it? Why didn't you call me? Is the old lady awake?"
Chun Wan smiled and said, "It was just past the hour of You (four o'clock in the afternoon). The old lady had already woken up and found Bi Tao peeking around there. She specially called Madam Shi to come over and tell us not to wake you up and to have dinner together after you wake up."
How is this possible!
Zhou Shaojin quickly washed up and went to the cabin in the middle of the ship - Mrs. Guo lived in the middle, Cheng Chi lived in the bow, and she lived in the stern.
Old Madam Guo was talking to Nanny Shi when she saw Zhou Shaojin wearing a pink plain silk boa. Her jet-black hair was tied up loosely in a bun with a row of jasmine flowers inserted next to the bun. She looked pretty, charming and pure.
"Oh, where did this jasmine come from? It's covered with water." Mrs. Guo looked her up and down with a smile, "It's so beautiful!"
Zhou Shaojin smiled and said, "My sister got up early to pick them and told me to put them next to my pillow. I saw there were quite a lot of them, so I asked Chunwan to soak them in a bowl. I didn't expect that they all bloomed in the afternoon, so I picked a few to wear." As she spoke, she told Chunwan, "Bring the bowl over, we'll make two bracelets for the old lady and the nanny."
She remembered that there was not a single flower in Hanbi Mountain Villa, so she did not dare to send flowers rashly.
When Chunwan saw Mrs. Guo, she just smiled but said nothing and hurried to get the bowl of jasmine tea.
Nanny Shi stretched out her hand in front of Zhou Shaojin and said with a smile: "My second cousin, look, am I the type who wears flowers? You can just string two for the old lady. When our old lady was young, she liked those fragrant white flowers the most..."
Why didn't you like it after that
Zhou Shaojin didn't dare to ask.
Mrs. Guo didn't say anything either.
Chunwan was quite clever. Not only did he bring in a bowl, he also brought a needle with thread.
Zhou Shaojin strung a bunch of jasmine flowers.
Madam Guo thought for a moment and said, "Hang it on your clothes? I'm so old, and if I still wear it on my hand, won't the little girls laugh at me?"
"There's no one else in this room!" Aunt Shi laughed, "You still care about these things."
But Zhou Shaojin could understand.
Just like her, in her two lives, she was not used to wearing clothes with very bright colors. She always felt uncomfortable and they were not her own clothes.
She smiled and helped Mrs. Guo hang the jasmine flowers on her lapel.
Nanny Shi said to Zhou Shaojin, "It's still more than half an hour before dinner. Why don't we play mahjong with the old lady?"
Zhou Shaojin immediately broke out in a sweat and said, "I can't!"
"It's very simple." Nanny Shi said enthusiastically, "I'll let Feicui tell you."
Biyu was very good at playing mahjong and she often played with Mrs. Guo, and she had to sit at the table.
Zhou Shaojin whispered: "I really can't!"
"It's just to kill time." Mrs. Guo laughed, "It doesn't matter whether you win or lose."
The problem is that she can't do it no matter whether she wins or loses!
But the table had already been set and the cards had been placed on it, so she couldn't refuse. She had no choice but to sit down at the table, hoping that Feicui could help her get through the majority of the hour.
So when dinner was almost ready and Cheng Chi went to invite Mrs. Guo to dinner, he saw Zhou Shaojin sitting at the card table with a pale face and sweat all over his forehead, staring at the cards in his hand, pulling them out again and again, but he couldn't draw a single card for a long time.
People who don’t know would think that she was choosing the time to be reborn!
Cheng Chi shook his head in his heart disapprovingly, but still couldn't help but walked over, drew a card and threw it on the table.
Zhou Shaojin hurriedly said: "No, no, that's Zhang Liusuo."
"Six ropes, so what?" Cheng Chi said calmly, "There are already two five ropes, four seven ropes, and one six rope. Who can afford it?"
"Oh!" Zhou Shaojin stared at Madam Guo, Nanny Shi and Biyu nervously.
As expected, the three people did not move.
Biyu, who was sitting below her, picked up the cards and played a six-cent card.
"Eat it!" Cheng Chi said, "Seven coins."
Zhou Shaojin hesitated for a moment.
She had one five-cent note, two six-cent notes, and one seven-cent note.
Playing Zhang Liuwen will also give you a straight.
Seeing that she didn't move, Cheng Chi glanced at her.
Her heart trembled, and she quickly played the two six-cent notes in her hand and threw the seven-cent note away.
Mrs. Guo on the opposite side ate it and played a nine-cent card.
"Eat it!" Cheng Chi shouted again.
Zhou Shaojin didn't know why she had to fight like that, she threw Dui Jiuwen out without thinking.
Cheng Chi said: "Hit three ropes."
She obediently hit three ropes and went out.
Nanny Shi glanced at Cheng Chi out of the corner of her eye. Her hand lingered on the cards for a few moments, she touched the three-suo card and played a two-suo card.
"Hu!" said Cheng Chi.
This is nonsense!
Zhou Shaojin looked over the cards in his hand carefully.
She really messed up!
Zhou Shaojin put down his cards.
Madam Guo glanced at Zhou Shaojin's cards and muttered, "When Shaojin was playing, I expected her to win... but she won first!"
"Playing cards means winning and losing." Cheng Chi smiled and asked Biyu to clean up the card table. "It's time for dinner. I asked the boatman to prepare some river eels. Try them and see how they are different from what we usually eat."
Mrs. Guo became happy and was helped by Cheng Chixu to go to the banquet room next door.
The dishes have been laid out, filling the table. In addition to steamed river eel, there are also mouth-watering chicken, pickled duck feet, squirrel fish and other dishes with Jiangnan characteristics. It is incomparable to the simple experience they had last time in Pukou.
Madam Guo invited Zhou Shaojin and Cheng Chi to sit down for dinner: "… There are no outsiders. You are the elder, so there is no need to follow so many rules."
Zhou Shaojin thought about it and it made sense.
There were only three of them on the boat, and if they insisted on eating separately, they would just have to stay in their cabins and not come out.
She thanked him and sat down below Mrs. Guo with a smile.
※
Today's update, sisters.
PS: My parents are going back to their hometown to celebrate the New Year tomorrow, along with my three-and-a-half-year-old niece. I have to go to the train station to pick them up, so the update will be postponed to around five in the afternoon. I apologize for any inconvenience this may cause.
O(∩_∩)O~
※(To be continued)