Zhou Shaojin was quite worried about Jiying.
Last time, Ji Ying said that the Jiao family wanted to settle accounts with her. They went to Hangzhou Prefecture from the Grand Canal, which was the territory of the Cao Gang.
She was afraid that Jiying would be discovered.
Chun Wan said with a smile: "Miss Jiying is sleeping in the room! She said she didn't sleep well last night, so she wants to have a good sleep during the day today."
Zhou Shaojin breathed a sigh of relief.
Jiying might also be afraid of being discovered by the Cao Gang!
It's always good to be cautious.
In the evening, they changed to a small three-masted sand barge.
It is said to be small, but it is actually compared with the five-masted sand ships docked at Zhenjiang Pier.
The sand boat they were on was over four hundred feet long, with a tall mast and a long narrow sail, lying in front of Zhou Shaojin like a huge monster.
Zhou Shaojin looked up at the sand ship and was deeply shocked.
When she got on board and saw the deck painted as smooth as a mirror and the cabin which was more than twice as big as the pleasure boat she had been on yesterday, her eyes widened and she was speechless for a long time.
Chun Wan and the others were naturally not as patient as Zhou Shaojin. They touched the large desk made of nanmu, and then touched the floor-standing cover carved with grapes, pomegranates and winding flowers, praising it constantly.
Mrs. Fan Liu couldn't help but sigh: "If Shi Xiang knew, she would definitely regret not following the Second Miss to see it for herself. I can follow the Second Miss on this trip, so I have no regrets even if I die."
"Nonsense!" Zhou Shaojin didn't like Fan Liu's tone. They would definitely live better in this life than in the last one, and Fan Liu would be fine too. She would see more scenery and visit more places.
Fan Liu said regretfully: "Look at my mouth..."
After the second young lady gets married, she will follow her and naturally go to more places.
This is indeed unpleasant to hear.
She chuckled.
From the other side came Bi Tao's low exclamation: "Sister Chun Wan, look! These tables and chairs are fixed to the boat."
Zhou Shaojin and Fan Liu turned around and saw Chunwan pushing the armchair in front of her vigorously: "Hey, it's really fixed!"
"Are you afraid that we will fall?" asked Bitao.
Fan Liu said, "I heard that sometimes when you travel on the sea, there will be strong winds and waves. Not to mention the things in the cabin, even the people will be overturned. This boat must be traveling on the sea."
"Really? Really?" Bi Tao looked around excitedly and said, "I don't know if this boat belongs to the Cheng family or was borrowed by Master Chi Si."
"It should be the Cheng family, right?" Chun Wan guessed, "I heard from the steward outside that our Cheng family also has a fleet."
Zhou Shaojin pursed his lips and smiled.
Our Cheng family... Since when did the maid she brought here claim to be a member of the Cheng family!
She gently pushed the boat window open half a foot.
There were boats smaller than theirs all around, and she could easily see a young couple sitting next to the open window of the boat opposite. They were leaning against the window side by side, looking outside and talking intimately.
Her face turned red, and she quickly closed the boat window, and told Chunwan: "Pack your things quickly, we still have to go and pay our respects to Old Madam Guo!"
The boxes and cages had been brought over long before they got on board.
Chunwan and the others laughed and answered "yes", and quickly packed up their things.
Zhou Shaojin washed up again, waited until Chunwan and the others put her usual things in her usual places, then went outside to look, and seeing that there was no one on the deck, they surrounded Zhou Shaojin and went to Madam Guo's cabin.
Just like when they were on the painted boat, Cheng Chi lived at the bow, Old Madam Guo lived in the middle, Zhou Shaojin lived next to Old Madam Guo, and further back lived some of the Cheng family's servants.
Who knew that as soon as they entered the door, a daughter-in-law came in and said, "Madam, the wife of Chen Shuming, the magistrate of Zhenjiang, came to pay her respects to you."
Mrs. Guo was a little surprised.
Zhou Shaojin stood up quickly and said, "Then I'll go back to the cabin first, and come back to chat with you later!"
Madam Guo waved her hand and said, "Don't bother. Just accompany me to meet her. Madam Chen has some connection with our family. Her father was once a colleague of our old master. I held her in my arms when she was little. But since the old master passed away, our two families haven't been in touch much. When she sent someone to deliver the letter this afternoon, it was Madam Lu who reminded me and I remembered it."
There isn't much interaction anymore. Is it because people have forgotten about us or is it because the two families were just casual acquaintances to begin with
Zhou Shaojin thought about it and went to meet Mrs. Chen with Mrs. Guo.
Madam Chen looked to be about thirty-five or thirty-six years old, tall, fair and plump, wearing a lilac-colored burnt cloth vest. When she saw Madam Guo, her eyes turned red and she choked up and said, "I have wanted to pay my respects to the old lady for a long time, but because we haven't seen each other for many years, I was afraid that the old lady would not remember me, so I didn't dare to go. I didn't expect that the old lady still remembered me..."
Madam Guo smiled and asked Madam Lu to help Madam Chen. She said softly, "You don't have to be polite. I'm old and my memory is not good, so I don't go out for social events very often. I didn't know you were in Zhenjiang now. I heard that your father passed away a few years ago. Is your mother okay? Is she in her hometown or is she with your brother in Dongguan, Guangdong? How many children do you have now? How old is the eldest one? Is he a boy or a girl?"
Speak kindly, like the gentle breeze and drizzle.
This was a side of him that Zhou Shaojin had never seen before.
She couldn't help but listen carefully.
Mrs. Chen agreed to all of them, and the two talked about the past. When it got dark, Mrs. Chen had already changed her tone and called Mrs. Guo "Auntie". She said, "Don't leave tomorrow. Let me do my best to be a good host and accompany you to stroll around Zhenjiang. It won't be too late for you to leave for Hangzhou by then."
"No thanks!" Madam Guo declined politely, "I'm going to Mount Putuo to burn incense, and I can't be late."
Mrs. Chen was very disappointed.
The wife of Zhenjiang prefect Gao Yao came to visit Mrs. Guo.
Mrs. Chen stood up quickly.
But Mrs. Guo did not move.
A trace of discomfort flashed across Mrs. Chen's face. She pointed at Zhou Shaojin and was about to ask something when Mrs. Gao walked in.
"Aunt Cheng!" Mrs. Gao bowed respectfully to Mrs. Guo.
Mrs. Guo bowed and motioned Zhou Shaojin to come forward to return the greeting.
Zhou Shaojin hurried forward and bowed to Mrs. Gao.
Madam Gao still remembered her and said with a smile, "I was wondering why the old lady didn't have anyone to serve her when she traveled. It turns out that the second daughter of the Zhou family followed her. If I had known this, I would have brought the restless girl from our family to meet you and let her see what a lady from a noble family is."
Zhou Shaojin blushed and said shyly, "I dare not."
Only then did Mrs. Chen look at Zhou Shaojin.
Madam Guo helped Zhou Shaojin out of the dilemma: "She is a young girl, and she is shy, so don't tease her. Your master and Silang are good friends, so I am just being arrogant and treating you as a junior. I will leave early tomorrow morning. If you really want me to visit your house, wait until I come back from Putuo."
Madam Gao laughed and said, "Old Madam, you are really amazing. You have made me speechless. Since you regard me as your junior, I will not be polite to you. When I come back from Mount Putuo, I will entertain you."
Mrs. Chen smiled beside her and finally had the chance to greet Mrs. Gao.
Mrs. Gao naturally knew her, and called her "Mrs. Chen" with a smile, but her eyes were looking towards Mrs. Guo.
Mrs. Guo introduced the relationship between the two families.
Mrs. Gao became more enthusiastic towards Mrs. Chen.
Mrs. Chen was overjoyed and fawned on Mrs. Guo and Mrs. Gao. When Mrs. Gao said goodbye, Mrs. Chen even helped Mrs. Gao off the boat.
Zhou Shaojin, who was seeing off the guests on behalf of Mrs. Guo, couldn't help but let out a long sigh.
Cheng Chi's voice suddenly came from behind her: "What's wrong? Are you tired?"
Zhou Shaojin was startled and turned around quickly, but his foot stepped on the cloak and the rope of the cloak strangled his neck.
She quickly untied her cloak and took a breath, but the blood had already rushed to her face, making it burn.
Cheng Chi seemed not to have seen it, and said calmly: "It's getting late, go and rest! Tomorrow will still be a good day. If you can get up in the morning, you can go to the bow to watch the sunrise. The sky is full of rosy clouds, which is a different scene from watching the sunrise on the mountain."
Zhou Shaojin responded in a low voice.
Cheng Chi returned to the cabin.
Zhou Shaojin's breathing finally became smoother.
Should she go to watch the sunrise tomorrow
Zhou Shaojin thought of Jiying's criticism of her for not watching the tidal bore in Tanghu and going to attend the temple fair, so she decided to invite Jiying to watch the sunrise together.
Unexpectedly, Ji Ying said, "I can't show up tomorrow, you should go alone!"
Zhou Shaojin was a little disappointed, but also very understanding. He told Jiying to be careful and asked Chunwan to wake her up early tomorrow.
The Spring Festival Gala agreed.
She woke Zhou Shaojin up before dawn the next day.
Zhou Shaojin left the cabin and saw several strange men at the bow. Judging from their clothes, they looked like boatmen.
She did not dare to go out. She opened the window and stared out, watching a white light gradually appear between the river and the sky, and then the rays of light slowly burst out, slowly dyeing the eastern sky red.
Those literati and poets are proud of being able to watch the sunrise on the top of Mount Tai. It would be great if they could also go to Mount Tai to watch the sunrise one day.
Zhou Shaojin took a deep breath. The cool air in the early morning was moist and refreshing, making her feel refreshed.
※
At 8 o'clock in the morning, the sand ship weighed anchor.
Zhou Shaojin stood in front of the boat window, watching the Zhenjiang Pier getting smaller and smaller.
In the afternoon, Mrs. Guo asked Biyu to invite her over to play mahjong.
Zhou Shaojin felt overwhelmed, but he had to go.
There are mostly maids on the boat. We can't let Madam Guo play with them all the time, right
Zhou Shaojin played mahjong for an entire afternoon and lost seven taels of silver.
Perhaps because she had seen too many similar scenes on the shore, two days later, Mrs. Guo put leaf cards in her room again.
For several days in a row, Zhou Shaojin spent his afternoons at the card table.
While having breakfast in the morning, she looked at Cheng Chi for help.
Cheng Chi seemed not to see it and continued to eat calmly.
Zhou Shaojin couldn't help but feel discouraged.
In the afternoon, when they were halfway through playing cards, Cheng Chi walked in.
Madam Guo hurriedly greeted him: "Are you done with your work?"
"There's nothing to do." Cheng Chi said, and walked to Zhou Shaojin's side leisurely, and suddenly said, "Hit three coins. How can you hit six strings with this card!"
Just like last time, Zhou Shaojin didn't know why, but he still typed out the three coins without thinking.
※
Today's update, sisters.
O(∩_∩)O~
PS: I was a bit rushed these two days, so there are typos and some small details are not in place. I am slowly correcting them.
※(To be continued)