Since it was used to entertain the shopkeepers from the head office, the room of Yutai Ningbo Branch was also well decorated. All black lacquer furniture, green silk curtains, blue and white porcelain, and Hunan embroidery screens looked generous and decent, yet exquisite and gorgeous.
But it can't be compared with the Hanbi Mountain House in Jiuru Lane. So when Mrs. Guo saw the house they were going to stay in, she didn't feel anything, but she liked the two osmanthus trees in the yard. She looked around with a smile and said to Cheng Chi: "... These two trees are suitable for the scene."
Cheng Chi smiled and said, "How about we set up dinner under the osmanthus tree? There's not much wind today!"
Madam Guo thought for a moment and said, "Forget it! We are only staying here for one night, but we are keeping them busy."
Cheng Chi smiled and said, "What's the big deal! They will be happy if you give them orders. If you leave without saying anything or doing anything, they will feel uneasy." Then he told Qingfeng, "Go and tell Shopkeeper Wang that dinner will be served under the osmanthus tree tonight."
Qingfeng ran to pass on the message, and the woman sent by Wang Xiao to serve Zhou Shaojin immediately ordered the maids and servants to move the tables and chairs.
Zhou Shaojin helped Madam Guo sit down under the osmanthus tree, and Cheng Chi took the tea from the maid and handed it to his mother personally.
Mrs. Guo took the tea and took a sip with a happy expression.
Qingfeng ran in and said, "Manager Wang said that everything was done according to the old lady's instructions. He also said that a banquet was set up outside..." He looked at Cheng Chi's expression.
Cheng Chi said calmly, "I came out this time to accompany the old lady. I appreciate his kindness. I will have dinner here. Tomorrow night I will host a banquet for them at Fuyuan Building. Ningbo's branch has done a great job. Everyone has worked hard."
Qingfeng trotted over to reply again.
Cheng Chi told the woman sent to serve them, "You can serve the food now."
The woman replied “yes” respectfully and went to serve the meal.
Dongpo pork, Longjing shrimp, eight-treasure tofu, Hangzhou three fresh delicacies, braised lion head, pickled duck... There is not a single dish of fish, all are typical Jiangnan dishes.
The woman explained softly, "Manager Wang said that the old lady is already old and worried that she might not be able to adapt to the local climate, so he specifically asked the kitchen to prepare some dishes that the old lady might eat often."
Cheng Chi smiled and said, "Sorry for the trouble, Manager Wang."
The woman kept saying "I dare not" and served carefully by the side.
After dinner in silence, the three of them sat under the osmanthus tree and talked.
Cheng Chi said, "Fuyuan Street is the busiest place in Ningbo. Most of the goods shipped back from overseas are traded there. Tomorrow morning I will accompany you to Fuyuan Street for a stroll. We will have lunch at Fuyuan Building at noon. If you are not tired in the afternoon, we will go to Fuyuan Street for a stroll. If you are tired, come back and rest. In the evening, let Miss Second Cousin accompany you for a seafood feast. I will host a banquet for the shopkeepers and clerks of the bank in Fuyuan Building. They rarely see me once a year. Since I am here, I have to comfort them."
Old Man Guo smiled and said, "I understand all of this. Don't forget that your mother also took care of the Cheng family's affairs. Go and do what you need. I have Shaojin with me, so you don't have to worry."
Zhou Shaojin said hurriedly: "Yes, Uncle Chi, the old lady is amazing. She told me what I can buy and what I can't buy this morning!"
Mrs. Guo laughed and said, "When I was young, I also traveled with my father and experienced a lot! Once in Sichuan, my father insisted on going to Meizhou to see the former residence of the Su family. As a result, we went into a shady shop on the way. If I hadn't seen the neighbors nearby passing by their shop with fear on their faces and in a hurry, I would have been cheated by the shop owner..."
Old people always have a lot to say when they talk about their youth.
Cheng Chi looked at the rather delighted Madam Guo, and his heart suddenly warmed. He once again felt that it was the right decision to bring Zhou Shaojin along - this little girl was not very smart, but she knew how to coax people. No matter what happened along the way, she could always get her mother to say something and make her happy. This alone was better than many people!
It was not until the maid refilled the third cup of tea and Cheng Chi, seeing that it was getting late, suggested that his mother should rest that Mrs. Guo stopped talking and they went back to their rooms.
Zhou Shaojin and Old Madam Guo rested in the main room. Old Madam Guo lived on the east side and she lived on the west side.
As soon as he entered the room, Chun Wan quietly took out a purse and showed it to Zhou Shaojin: "Second Miss, this is given by Shopkeeper Wang. It contains five taels of silver! Bi Tao and the others each gave two taels of silver."
Zhou Shaojin was secretly surprised and asked, "You only gave me silver. Did you say anything?"
"No." Chun Wan said, "Sister Biyu and several others around the old lady have also been infected."
Zhou Shaojin helped Manager Wang to do the math and realized that this was a considerable expense.
She thought for a moment and said to Chun Wan, "We need to let Uncle Chi know about this. Shopkeeper Wang is really investing too much money!"
Otherwise, the Spring Festival Gala would not feel uneasy.
Chunwan nodded and accompanied Zhou Shaojin to the room where Cheng Chi was resting.
Cheng Chi had just finished bathing and casually put on a coat. Under the dim light, his good figure with a monkey back and a wasp waist could be vaguely seen.
Zhou Shaojin then realized that he had come at the wrong time. He lowered his head and hurriedly recounted what had happened.
Cheng Chi had not expected Wang Xiao to be so generous, and said with a smile: "I know about this matter. Since he has given it away, it is not easy to return it to him. I will keep an eye on it."
It seems that this trip was not in vain.
Zhou Shaojin breathed a sigh of relief, returned to his room, and fell into a deep sleep amid the faint scent of osmanthus.
Cheng Chi opened the window, stood in front of it with his hands behind his back, and quietly admired the moon.
Huaishan walked in quickly and whispered, "We've checked it out. Not only to the second cousin, but also to the old lady and Qingfeng Langyue, Manager Wang gave silver. The most was ten taels, which was given to Miss Nanping and Miss Jiying beside you, and the least was one tael, which was given to the two maids beside the old lady. Manager Qin and others only gave two bottles of local wine. In total, he spent at least seventy or eighty taels. As for whether the silver came from the bank or he took it out himself, it will take two days to find out."
Cheng Chi said nothing.
With such a large reward, Zhou Shaojin was the only one who felt something was wrong, and she was the only one who came to tell him...
He waved his hand and said, "You can go down and rest! It's getting late. We still have to accompany the old lady and the second cousin to visit Fuyuan Street tomorrow."
Huaishan saluted and retreated silently.
Cheng Chi stood there alone for a while before gently closing the window.
※
The next day, the sky was a bit gloomy.
Mrs. Guo asked Cheng Chi, "Will it rain?"
Cheng Chi smiled and said, "The weather in Ningbo and Quanzhou is like this, sometimes windy and sometimes rainy, there is no fixed pattern. We are not afraid even if it rains. The shops on Fuyuan Street are next to each other. We walked through them one by one, walking under the eaves, without even needing an umbrella."
"That's good!" Madam Guo smiled at Zhou Shaojin, who was wearing a lake green plain bodice and looked as soft as a new willow, "Don't waste our Shaojin's beautiful clothes."
Cheng Chi smiled slightly.
Zhou Shaojin's face turned red, and he called out "Old Madam" in a coquettish tone.
Madam Guo smiled happily and said, "A young girl doesn't dress up. Will she wait until she's 70 or 80 years old like me to dress up? People will think they've seen a goblin!"
The servants in the room all laughed at this remark. The woman Wang Xiao sent to serve her flattered him even more: "What the old lady said is absolutely right. The second cousin is just like the person in the painting. When I first saw her yesterday, I didn't know how to move my eyes. I wondered if I saw a fairy or a fake person. If it weren't for the old lady's majestic appearance, I would have gone up to touch the second cousin..."
She was not clear about Zhou Shaojin's true identity. She heard that everyone in the Cheng family called Zhou Shaojin "Second Cousin". Mrs. Guo brought this second cousin with her when she came to Mount Putuo to burn incense. Even if she was a relative living under someone else's roof, she was still a very prestigious relative in front of Mrs. Guo. She would never go wrong if she just tried to curry favor with her.
Mrs. Guo laughed after hearing this and took Zhou Shaojin's hand with a proud expression.
The woman felt more and more that her guess was correct, and her attitude towards Zhou Shaojin became more respectful.
Cheng Chi found it a little funny.
My mother's love for pretty girls never changed throughout her life.
Now that Cheng Sheng has gone to the capital and Zhou Shaojin is born, his mother won't be too lonely.
With this in mind, when they arrived at the largest silver shop on Fuyuan Street, Cheng Chi not only bought a set of head-pieces inlaid with sapphires the size of pigeon eggs for Old Madam Guo, but also gave a set of head-pieces inlaid with South pearls to Zhou Shaojin.
Zhou Shaojin felt that he did not deserve it.
Cheng Chi smiled and said, "Just consider it as a gift from me to you, just take it." Then he pointed to a few silver and glass beaded hairpins beside him and said to the shopkeeper, "How many hairpins like this do you have? Take them out and show them to us." Then he said to Zhou Shaojin, "Pick them carefully and take them back as gifts for your aunt and sister - these things are not valuable, but they are very rare. If I remember correctly, it seems that only Beijing, Ningbo and Quanzhou sell such hairpins."
It is said that it is not valuable, but a very ordinary pearl flower costs eight taels of silver.
Zhou Shaojin went out with two hundred taels of silver.
She thought that was enough.
Now it seems that it would be good enough if I could get out of Hangzhou.
It seems that the comb has to be bought in Hangzhou Prefecture, and the first thing to do when arriving in Hangzhou Prefecture is to buy a comb.
She pinched her purse and winked at the Spring Festival Gala.
Chunwan came over hurriedly.
Zhou Shaojin whispered, "Didn't Jiying go out today?"
Since leaving Jinling City, she rarely saw Jiying during the day.
Chun Wan nodded and whispered, "He said he was sleeping at home."
Zhou Shaojin couldn't help but mutter: "You said you wanted to go out and play, but now you're back sleeping at home..."
In fact, she wanted to borrow money from Jiying.
Now that Jiying is not here, she has to carefully compare prices and choose styles.
Cheng Chi looked at Zhou Shaojin, who looked delicate and delicate, but her face was tense. She stared at the pearl flowers as if facing a great enemy. Her mind turned again and again, until she picked up two pearl hairpins and listened carefully to the clerk's introduction of the prices, she finally understood.
He burst into laughter but remained expressionless as he continued to help his mother pick out diamonds.
"I didn't expect Ningbo to sell everything." Old Madam Guo laughed, "I've only seen diamonds this big in Yong Fu Sheng in Beijing."
The shopkeeper who was standing by was already grinning from ear to ear, and he said in a gentle voice, "Yong Fu Sheng sometimes comes to our store to restock, so the old lady is really blessed. We just got these diamonds and haven't had time to display them yet..."
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Today's update, sisters.
The update for Zixiao 1 will be very late, so everyone should get up tomorrow morning to read it!
O(∩_∩)O~
PS: Keep asking for pink votes...
I can't log into Qidian. I don't know when this chapter will be published~~~~(>_