Zhou Shaojin hurried forward and saluted.
Mrs. Guo was surprised: "Who is this?"
"It's my little granddaughter Zhou Shaojin." Old Lady Guan said with a smile, "She doesn't like to talk usually, so her relatives don't recognize her. This time when we met, I asked her to come and pay her respects to you."
Mrs. Guo was stunned for a moment, and then she remembered who this so-called "little granddaughter" was.
She smiled and nodded at Zhou Shaojin, praising him, "She's a pretty girl!"
Of course Zhou Shaojin would not take these polite words seriously, but she did not expect such a peaceful meeting.
She took a breath.
"Thank you for your kindness." Mrs. Guan spoke in a humble tone, but her expression could not hide her joy.
Seeing this, Madam Guo thought for a moment and took off the ring from her finger: "It's an old item, young girls may not like it, but fortunately it's in good condition, and it can be changed into a pendant or something, and it can still be presentable." Then she handed the ring to Zhou Shaojin, "Just take it as a meeting gift."
Zhou Shaojin was stunned and didn't dare to answer: "The item is too valuable."
"It's okay." Madam Guo smiled and said, "It's given by the elders, just take it."
Zhou Shaojin hesitated for a moment, then knelt down, thanked Mrs. Guo generously, and took the ring.
"That's right." Mrs. Guo smiled and said in a gentle tone.
Zhou Shaojin breathed a sigh of relief and felt that he was not as nervous as before.
Old Madam Guan and Old Madam Guo entered the banquet room and sat down on the low couches, one on the left and one on the right.
Si'er came in with a little maidservant bringing tea and snacks.
Zhou Shaojin stood there without moving.
Old Mrs. Guan winked at her.
It took Zhou Shaojin a while to realize that her grandmother was asking her to be more attentive in front of her elders.
Her face was hot.
Before she got married, she was self-pitying and never paid attention to others. After she got married, she hid in her farm in Daxing and lived alone, never interacting with outsiders. Only others flattered her. When did she ever flatter others
But now that she has decided to save the Cheng family, she can't do the same as in her previous life.
Zhou Shaojin carefully recalled how Shi Xiang and the others served him tea, and followed their example by serving tea to Madam Guo and Madam Guan.
Old Mrs. Guan was very pleased to see that she was well-behaved and sensible.
Mrs. Guo didn't take it to heart.
Her son, daughter-in-law, grandchildren and granddaughters are all filial to her, and she is never short of people to serve her. In her opinion, this is a matter of course.
But Zhou Shaojin was gentle and kind, and his every move was graceful and docile, which made Old Lady Guo feel very comfortable. When Zhou Shaojin finished serving tea, she smiled and held the tea bowl and said, "The maids will take care of the trivial matters. You can sit down too."
This time Zhou Shaojin responded in a low voice and stood behind Old Lady Guan.
When Mrs. Guo looked at her, she thought of her third granddaughter Cheng Sheng. If that spoiled girl was here, she would definitely argue with her and only stop when she got her praise. One was too quiet, and the other was too noisy. In the end, it was because of their different backgrounds and situations.
These thoughts only flashed through my mind.
Mrs. Guo talked about the serious business: "… I was thinking that we should go to the ceremony on the eighth day of the first lunar month to listen to it. The birthday of our ancestors is a man's business. What can we do if we stay at home?"
It turns out that's why I came here.
I’m afraid the second wife doesn’t think so!
Zhou Shaojin pricked up his ears and listened.
The women of the Zhou family would go to Ganquan Temple to burn incense every year on the Buddha's Bathing Festival, but this year April 12th was the birthday banquet of the second branch's ancestor, and the second branch had already announced that they would hold a grand banquet for the ancestor. Logically speaking, since the Buddha's Bathing Festival and April 12th were so close, the Cheng family should go to the second branch to help.
But everything has its ups and downs.
In the past, the ancestor of the second branch, Cheng Xu, served as the Grand Secretary of Yingwu Palace and the Minister of Personnel in the capital. When the ancestor of the first branch took care of the chores at home, the second branch was naturally the most prosperous, and everything was done by the second branch. But when the second branch's grandfather Cheng Li died early, the brothers Cheng Xun and Cheng Shao, the grandfathers of the first branch, passed the imperial examinations one after another, and the Cheng family was in a different situation. Now the ancestor of the second branch, Cheng Xu, has long retired, the eldest master Cheng Yi is just a teacher, and the first branch has three Jinshi in one family, and a 15-year-old first place in the case, the situation is a little different.
But no matter what, the fourth branch has never been the head of the family, so she can't fight for this status.
Old Lady Guan tried to smooth things over: "I'll listen to you."
It is not easy for the orphans and widows of the fourth house to have the present. Having received the favor of the first house and the protection of the second house, it is not good to speak on either side, and it is best not to participate.
When the Second House was in full swing, Old Lady Guo was not afraid of anyone, not to mention that now her three sons are all Jinshi. She said this not to sow discord between Old Lady Guan and the Second House, but among the sisters-in-law, only Old Lady Guan was kind, reasonable, and had integrity, and she was more compatible with her. She wanted to invite Old Lady Guan to go to the Dharma Assembly together, so that she would have someone to accompany her on the way.
"Then let's put it this way." Seeing that Mrs. Guan agreed, Mrs. Guo was very happy and said, "You don't have to prepare incense and candles. Sister Zheng brought me 20 kilograms of agarwood from the capital. I asked Silang to exchange 200 taels of silver for copper coins for us. They are all Yongchang Tongbao coins, and each one is this big and this thick."
Shiro... who is it
Zhou Shaojin looked at Mrs. Guo's gestures in a daze.
Old Madam Guan instructed Si'er to deliver a hundred taels of silver to Hanbi Mountain House later.
Madam Guo was displeased and asked, "Why are you trying to figure it out with me?"
"In front of the Bodhisattva, everyone should respect their own feelings." Old Mrs. Guan refused.
Brothers should be clear about their accounts, and only in this way can they be close. Old Lady Guan never took advantage of this, which is why the old man of the fourth house died early, but the first house, the second house, and the third house all respected the fourth house.
Mrs. Guo didn't force it either.
Old Lady Guan pulled her to look at the Buddhist scriptures she had asked Zhou Shaojin to copy: "I was worried that I couldn't offer it to the Buddha, but now it seems I have to copy it quickly."
Mrs. Guo's eyes fixed.
The vigorous, elegant and neat small regular script, although the brushstrokes are a little weak, is smooth, round, rich and mellow.
She pointed at the desk and asked, "What is this?"
"Shao Jin copied it." Old Madam Guan said with a smile, "He's just a kid, so he doesn't have much strength, but he's sincere, so his handwriting is pretty neat and beautiful."
Mrs. Guo's breathing was slightly choked. Thinking that Mrs. Guan only knew how to read the account book, although she was relieved, she didn't want to say more. She smiled and said, "This handwriting is not bad."
Mrs. Guan said modestly, "It's just not very exciting."
Mrs. Guo didn't want to say it at first, but seeing that Mrs. Guan was very sincere, she was silent for a moment and couldn't help but said, "It's great for a little girl to be able to write like this. Except for Sister Zheng, none of the others in our family can calm down and practice calligraphy."
Old Lady Guan was moved when she heard this and said, "This child is usually too quiet. If you like her, and Sister Sheng and the others are not around, I will ask her to copy a few pages of scriptures for you and offer them to the Bodhisattva on the eighth day of the fourth lunar month. What do you think?"
Zhou Shaojin was frightened out of his wits.
Old Madam Guo looked at Zhou Shaojin, who had his head lowered. All she could see were his soft, black hair and fair, delicate neck. Suddenly, she felt like a pearl covered in dust.
She thought for a moment and asked Zhou Shaojin, "Did the master teach you this?"
Of course not.
It was what she used to kill time when she was bored in her previous life.
But she couldn't say this, so she could only say, "I just wrote it randomly."
Madam Guo did not let go of the topic and continued, "How did you come up with the idea of writing this?"
This is because in her previous life, she drew a hand sticker of her brother-in-law Liao Shaotang's aunt Liao Zhangying.
She gritted her teeth and said, "I just feel comfortable writing like this." Her palms were already full of sweat.
Fortunately, Mrs. Guo did not ask any further questions.
"Then let this little girl copy a few pages of scriptures for me!" She said with a smile, "When the scriptures are copied, I will treat you to a vegetarian meal at Huiji Temple."
"That would be great!" Old Lady Guan happily told Zhou Shaojin, "You must help me copy the scriptures." She then joked, "Whether we can eat the vegetarian food at Huiji Temple depends entirely on you."
Zhou Shaojin's mouth twitched, but he couldn't say a word.
Mrs. Guo was a little surprised.
She thought Zhou Shaojin would be overjoyed.
After all, her status is there. If a girl like Zhou Shaojin who is about to get married can get her favor, why would she be worried about not being able to find a good in-law
However, Mrs. Guo was not a person who cared little about the world and thought that everyone should stay close to her.
Since the little girl doesn't want to, forget it.
Pearl and Feicui beside her both had good handwriting. Although not as good as the little girl, they were also quite capable in copying scriptures.
If worst comes to worst, there’s still Brother Xu.
Although this child is naughty, he is also filial. I don’t know who he has been hanging out with these days. He is nowhere to be seen all day. Why not take this opportunity to let him help copy a few pages of Buddhist scriptures and keep him at home for a few days.
As Mrs. Guo thought about it, a smile appeared in the corners of her eyes and eyebrows.
Zhou Shaojin finally mustered up the courage and said, "I'm just afraid that I won't be able to copy well..."
Even if she was naive, she knew that she couldn't offend Mrs. Guo. She couldn't be as selfish as she was in her previous life.
Old Madam Guan, however, was determined to push Zhou Shaojin to Madam Guo: "It's not like I haven't seen your handwriting before. If it wasn't good, I wouldn't let you copy it!"
Zhou Shaojin's face flushed red.
Mrs. Guo laughed.
It's quite interesting that this little girl, with her tiny courage, dared to reject her and speak her mind.
"It's okay." Madam Guo smiled and said, "Just copy it slowly. If you can make it in time for the Buddha's Bathing Festival, you can offer it on the Buddha's Bathing Festival. If you can't make it in time for the Buddha's Bathing Festival, you can offer it on the Yulan Festival."
She has always admired girls who have their own ideas but are not aggressive, and she couldn't help but want to help her.
Zhou Shaojin almost fainted.
Yulan Festival... Is she going to copy scriptures for Mrs. Guo until July...
She really didn't want to have anything to do with the eldest branch anymore!
But now that things have come to this, can she not go
After seeing off Madam Guo, Madam Guan was overjoyed and pulled her into the inner room to whisper to her: "The old lady is a very strong-willed person. Ordinary people can't catch her eye. But if you catch her eye, you won't have to be intimidated by anyone, not to mention Jinling City, even those wealthy families in the capital. This is your good fortune, don't just ignore it and come back after copying the scriptures."
Can’t I come back after copying the scriptures
Sweat broke out on Zhou Shaojin's forehead.
She asked her grandmother anxiously: "When can I come back?"
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Suddenly I found that after I changed the article, I need to refresh the phone to see the new content... I changed the article too frequently, sisters who read on their phones please refresh the content regularly...
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