Zhou Shaojin couldn't help but ask: "Uncle Chi, can't you accompany us because of something?"
Cheng Chi smiled and said, "Zheng Si and Fang Xintong are still following us like tails. I can't let them follow us all the way back to Jinling, right?"
That's true.
Zhou Shaojin didn't ask any more questions.
Mrs. Guo's eyes flickered slightly.
Her son never explained his actions to others. If he did so, there was only one possibility - he had something to hide from them, so he used Zheng Si and Fang Xintong as an excuse.
She waved at Zhou Shaojin with a smile and said softly, "Shaojin, I want to choose something for your grandmother. Can you come over and help me see what's suitable?"
Zhou Shaojin responded and went over to support Mrs. Guo.
From the corner of Cheng Chi's eye, he saw Huaishan walk in, put his hands in his sleeves, and quietly stood in a corner.
He walked over calmly.
Huaishan said softly: "Fourth Master, I have found out that Xiao Zhenhai is here to find Jiang Qin."
Jiang Qin is one of the three leaders of the Cao Gang and is stationed in Hangzhou Prefecture all year round.
Cheng Chi nodded slightly.
Huaishan left the grocery store quietly again.
After having lunch at Fuyuan Building, Mrs. Guo decided to go shopping again.
In the afternoon, Zhou Shaojin and her friends bought a bunch of small things, spending less than ten taels of silver in total. The servants and maids who accompanied them all carried a lot of things on their shoulders and in their hands, as if they had moved the entire street back home.
Old Madam Guo looked at them and laughed, urging Cheng Chi to go to Fuyuan Tower for the banquet, while she took Zhou Shaojin back to the Ningbo branch of Taiyu Bank.
The bank's dinner was still placed under the osmanthus tree, with a full table, but Zhou Shaojin tried a lot of snacks when he bought them in the afternoons. Everyone was still full, so they just tasted each dish and put down their chopsticks.
Madam Guo smiled and said, "You all should accompany me to walk around the yard later to help digest the food. Otherwise, someone will definitely have a stomachache tonight."
Zhenzhu got Cheng Chi's prescription and stayed on the shore for two days while in Putuo Mountain. Now she has recovered as before and attaches more importance to this way of health preservation. After listening to what Mrs. Guo said, she smiled and said, "Madam, second cousin, shall I make you a pot of Laojunmei tea? The tea is light and is best drunk after meals."
"Okay!" Mrs. Guo said with a smile, "After we have tea, let's walk around in the backyard."
Everyone responded with a smile, some were making tea, some were clearing the table, all busy and laughing, the atmosphere was cheerful.
Jiying walked out of the room yawning.
Biyu had sharp eyes and was the first to see it. She quickly smiled and greeted him.
Ji Ying had just gotten up and was half asleep. When she came to her senses, she saw the whole yard full of people, and Old Madam Guo was also there. She felt a little embarrassed, and smiled awkwardly as she stepped forward to salute Old Madam Guo.
Zhou Shaojin stayed in Hanbi Mountain House for some time and knew that Madam Guo was very kind to the people around her, but she also attached great importance to rules. As long as you follow the rules, you will only be punished if you make a small mistake; if you do not follow the rules, no matter how smart and capable you are, you will not be tolerated. People like Jiying who sleep until noon and have messy hair when they go out are a taboo for Madam Guo.
She tried to smooth things over for Ji Ying, saying, "I sent someone to invite you to go shopping this morning. You said you were feeling a little unwell. Are you feeling better now? We were not at home. Did you have lunch at noon? Why is there no maid in your room? You ran out as soon as you got up. Do you want water or tea?"
In the Cheng family, a respectable maid would always be served by a few lower-ranking maids. On the one hand, they could take the opportunity to transfer the younger maids and teach them so that they would be familiar with the work and would not make any mistakes when serving their masters in the future; on the other hand, they could share some of the affairs of the older maids so that they would have more time to serve their masters.
Jiying didn't come to his senses for a moment.
The Spring Festival Gala did send someone to invite her to go shopping together, and she replied, "I'm not interested, you can go by yourselves." But Zhou Shaojin said something else.
She couldn't help but look stunned.
Old Madam Guo couldn't help laughing as she watched, and said to Jiying affectionately, "Did you sleep well? I heard from Silang that you have been patrolling the night with a few maids these days. You have worked hard. I bought some small things in Fuyuan Street, and I will ask Madam Lu to send them to you later..."
Zhou Shaojin quickly shut up.
All right!
Her flattery hit the horse's leg and she was exposed!
However, why did Uncle Chi arrange Jiying to patrol at night with a maid
Zhou Shaojin thought of the sword hanging on the wall of Jiying's boudoir and the scene when she first met Jiying.
Could it be that Jiying knows martial arts
Her eyes lit up when she looked at Jiying, and she thought she had to find a chance to ask Jiying. She had never seen a woman who knew martial arts!
Zhou Shaojin's little tricks could not be hidden from Old Madam Guo, but Old Madam Guo thought that Zhou Shaojin was doing very well.
Although maids and servants are servants, they are also their closest people. If even the people closest to you keep their distance from you or hate you, how can you expect them to work loyally for you
Although Zhou Shaojin has a weak personality, he knows what to do and what not to do.
As long as she is not ambiguous about big things and is tolerant of small things, people will think that she is kind-hearted and easy to get along with.
After returning to the house, Mrs. Guo left Zhou Shaojin alone to talk.
She handed Zhou Shaojin a small sandalwood box and said with a smile, "I wanted to give it to you after I got back, but you know how many people will be watching me after I get back, so I'm giving it to you in advance. You should keep it well and use it as a dowry when you get married. At least you'll have a piece of jewelry."
Normally, such things would be accepted reluctantly after some pushing and shoving, and then returned to the house to see what it was. However, Mrs. Guo's words suddenly reminded Zhou Shaojin of the diamonds that Mrs. Guo bought in the silver shop today. She remembered that the clerk in the silver shop quoted a price of eight thousand taels of silver... Even if there was a discount later, it was still a huge amount!
Zhou Shaojin said, "What did you give me? If it's diamonds, I can't take it! You've been very good to me, and if I accept these things from you, I'll feel uneasy! I can't take them."
"Silly child," Mrs. Guo said with a smile, "this is what I gave you, just take it. At my age, I want someone to think of me. When you take it out and wear it in the future, you will think of this thing as a gift from me. When your daughter gets married and your son gets married, when you take it out to give to others, you will also think of me and tell them about me... Keep it! I wanted to have a daughter, but ended up giving birth to three sons. The father taught the sons, and the mother taught the daughters. The first two sons were like their father at a young age, so serious that they couldn't even tell a joke. I finally gave birth to your uncle Chi, and I thought, this son doesn't have to support the family, and doesn't have to be the head of the family, so I will raise him! Who knew..." As she spoke, she suddenly stopped the topic and her eyes suddenly became red.
Zhou Shaojin hurriedly took out a handkerchief to wipe Mrs. Guo’s tears.
Mrs. Guo took the handkerchief, wiped her eyes, and said with a smile: "Okay, let's not talk about this anymore. Just remember, keep the things I give you well. If you think of my kindness in the future, take your children to burn incense and paper money for me..." As if she was leaving a will.
Zhou Shaojin felt an inexplicable pain in his heart, and tears fell down. He said, "You will be fine, you will definitely live a long life! Uncle Chi hasn't married yet, you still have to help Uncle Chi take care of his grandson!"
Seeing that she was crying so sincerely, Mrs. Guo couldn't help but her eyes turned red again. She held her hand and sighed softly.
※
Taiyu was built up by Cheng Chi. The current big shopkeepers all worked with Cheng Chi in the past. Although Cheng Chi has not been in charge of the business in the past two years and has handed over most of Taiyu's affairs to the third master of the Weizihao Li family, his words are still final and no one dares to contradict him. He never drinks wine, so the people in the Ningbo branch are naturally trembling in front of him and dare not cross the line. The banquet was drunk in a proper manner and ended quickly.
Mrs. Shang told him, "I don't know what the old lady said to the second cousin. When the second cousin came out of the old lady's room, she was holding a box in her hand and her eyes were swollen from crying."
Cheng Chi smiled and said, "It's probably because my mother gave her a diamond that I bought today as a reward."
Mrs. Shang was surprised and wanted to ask Cheng Chi how he guessed it, but Cheng Chi just walked into the house. She had to swallow the words that were on the tip of her tongue and told the servant to help Cheng Chi change his clothes.
Cheng Chi was thinking about his own thoughts.
Mother bought all seven of the best quality diamonds. The three brothers would definitely get one each. Cheng Zheng, Cheng Xiao and Cheng Sheng were married girls, and mother always believed that it was hard for girls to get married, so they would probably get one each. The remaining diamond should be bought for Zhou Shaojin.
Since mother likes Zhou Shaojin so much, should we ask eldest brother to adopt her as his goddaughter
This way, after I'm gone, with her by my side, my mother won't be so sad that she won't even have someone to care for her...
Or, Zhou Shaojin could stay in Cheng's house and let her be filial to her mother. Although her mother admired her eldest sister-in-law's ability to manage the household, she always felt that she was too concerned about fame and fortune and was impatient. The second sister-in-law was like a dough. If it weren't for the fact that the two families were old friends and the second brother wanted to marry the second sister-in-law, her mother might not have agreed to the marriage, so Cheng Rang also took on the second sister-in-law's personality... Unfortunately, Zhou Shaojin's personality was also weak. If she married Cheng Rang, it would be fine if nothing happened. If something happened, I'm afraid it would be hard to get over it...
He was thinking about all sorts of things, but when he washed up and lay down on the bed, he put all these trivial matters behind him and thought carefully about the matter of Xiao Zhenhai and Jiang Qin.
If he guessed correctly, Xiao Zhenhai came to find Jiang Qin for the dock in Beitang, Tianjin.
In recent years, the Cao Gang has been wanting a dock and building its own shipyard to free itself from being held hostage.
If nothing unexpected happens, Jiang Qin will definitely agree to cooperate with Xiao Zhenhai.
Although the Xiao family is known as the richest family outside the Great Wall, how can they compare to the wealth of the Cao Gang? Jiang Qin has always been resourceful. By then, the Xiao family will either be dragged down by this bottomless pit or retreat to the Great Wall with great damage... The Xiao family's inherited martial arts are known for their domineering nature. The men in the family are all tall and strong, and are good candidates for guarding the house... Should I take the opportunity to destroy the Xiao family's nest
To be honest, he hasn't decided where to settle down in the future!
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Sisters, today's extra update.
O(∩_∩)O~
Today's update has been postponed to around 11pm.
※(To be continued)