Gu Shiqigu stood there in a daze, not coming back to her senses for a long time.
When I came to my senses, I couldn't help but burst out laughing.
The Gu family is a large family with many generations living together. Children who grow up in such a family learn to read people's expressions and be cautious in what they say and do. The relatives, friends, and people they interact with all drink and talk to each other happily and call each other brothers even if they hate each other behind their backs. When has she ever seen anyone as straightforward as Zhou Shaojin? But Zhou Shaojin's expression is serious and sincere, which makes you want to be angry but don't know who to be angry with, and you can't find a good reason to find fault with him.
This is what they call "conquering the enemy without fighting", right
Gu Shiqigu couldn't stop laughing.
Zhou Shaojin was stunned and asked anxiously, "Did I say something wrong?"
"No, no." Gu Shiqi smiled and put her arm around Zhou Shaojin's shoulders, saying, "You are right." She added, "If Madam Guo and Fourth Uncle Cheng agree, you must tell me why Madam Guo came here?"
Zhou Shaojin nodded repeatedly.
Perhaps it was her frankness that made Gu Shiqigu feel that she was steady and reliable. Suddenly, she had a desire to confide in her, and she said with a gradually fading smile: "Shaojin, you should know from where I live. Although the Gu family is well-known outside, their daily lives are cramped. It's not that the Gu family has no money, but the Gu family has a rule that only one-third of the family property can be distributed to each branch. My father is the fifth child in the family. He passed the imperial examination at the age of 27. The family members studied in the public school, but the monthly allowance is fixed - the scholar is 10 taels, the juren is 40 taels, and the jinshi is 80 taels. If you are a commoner, you only get one tael before marriage and two taels after marriage."
Zhou Shaojin was stunned when he heard this.
The capable housekeeper beside Old Madam Guo also received a monthly allowance of two taels of silver...
"Your ancestors set such rules to encourage their children to study, right?" she couldn't help but ask.
Gu Shiqi nodded and said, "The Gu family has a great reputation outside, so the women of the Gu family are not allowed to show their faces in public or do anything to make a living. So our expenses first depended on my mother's dowry, and then on the help from my maternal family. Fortunately, the brothers and sisters in the family would move out according to the order when they reached the age of enlightenment. Otherwise, even with the help from my maternal family, we sisters would not have the money to buy a flower to wear."
The food and clothing for all four seasons of the Gu family should be provided by the public.
However, since it is provided by the government, there cannot be too many choices. The most you can do is to have a meal and keep yourself from freezing.
But the Gu family only interacted with wealthy and powerful families in Jinling City, so one can imagine how life was for Aunt Gu Shiqi.
Zhou Shaojin couldn't help but say, "If you don't mind, I still have a few pieces of good material. I'll have someone send it over tomorrow to make you some autumn shirts."
In autumn, it was time for Aunt Gu Shiqi to go into mourning.
She couldn't help but ask again: "Did sister say she was kissed?"
The straightforward Gu Shiqigu blushed rarely and said, "Not yet!"
Zhou Shaojin just smiled.
It's just right to make a few clothes for people to see.
Gu Shiqi smiled bitterly and said, "Who among the wealthy families in Jinling City doesn't know this rule of our Gu family? Even if I wear a piece of silk, no one will mistake me for Twenty-year-old."
The twenty-first aunt of the Gu family is the daughter of the second master of the Gu family.
The second eldest son of the Gu family passed the imperial examination at the age of 21 and married the daughter of a famous local gentry in Jinling City. The dowry alone was 124 pieces of clothing.
Zhou Shaojin didn't know how to comfort her.
Gu Shiqigu, on the other hand, was cheerful and more carefree than Zhou Shaojin. She smiled and said, "I depend half on fate and half on destiny. Don't worry about me just because I say that. Although we sisters get along well, some things are hard to talk about. After talking to you today, I feel much better."
Zhou Shaojin hurriedly said, "If Sister has anything unhappy in the future, just come and talk to me."
Gu Shiqigu asked, "Aren't you afraid of making you unhappy?"
"No, no." Zhou Shaojin shook his head embarrassedly.
Gu Shiqi invited her to eat vine cakes and said, "I can make them, but not as well as Shiqi. If you like them, I'll ask her for some for you to take back."
I'm afraid that I'll owe Gu Eighteenth Aunt a favor, and then Gu Seventeenth Aunt will have to repay the favor with other things.
Zhou Shaojin smiled and said, "It's just for the sake of novelty. I like to eat soft things."
Gu Shiqigu smiled and said, "You mention this, but I have something to ask of you. Last time I was a guest in Jiuru Lane, the pea yellow made by your cook was really delicious. Can you tell Cheng Ji to send me a few boxes in her name? My aunt ate it and praised it highly. I'm thinking that I'll be the one to propose marriage in a few days, so I want to please her and ask her to keep an eye on it for me."
Zhou Shaojin felt sad after hearing this, knowing that the fifth branch might not have any status in the Gu family. If Gu Shiqigu wanted to marry into a good family, she would have to ask the eldest lady of the Gu family to help her choose an in-law.
She immediately said, "Besides pea yellow, what else does your aunt like to eat? Otherwise, I'll tell my cousin Jia to decorate all the snacks over there and make an assorted box to send over. It will look nice and presentable."
"All right!" Gu Shiqigu said with a smile, "I just want to borrow the influence of the Cheng family, I don't really want the Cheng family's snacks."
Zhou Shaojin nodded repeatedly, thinking about going back to discuss with Uncle Chi. Instead of sending it in the name of Cheng Ji, it would be better to send it in the name of Old Madam Guo from the eldest house. With Old Madam Guo's character, knowing Gu Shiqigu's careful thoughts, she would definitely be able to make it work for her.
Afterwards, the two of them started talking about needlework. Zhou Shaojin even told Gu Shiqigu that she had made a lace with a plum blossom pattern. The two of them had a lot of fun playing with it.
Cheng Chi, who was accompanied by the fifth master of the Gu family, was a little annoyed.
The fifth master of the Gu family took exams for more than ten years before he passed the examination to become a scholar, and then he kept striving to become a juren. In front of Cheng Chi, who passed all the exams and obtained the title of jinshi in just three years, he was trembling with fear and did not dare to say a word. He sat there stiffly and muttered something to himself.
Cheng Chi not only had to find topics to talk to him, but also had to listen carefully to understand what he was saying.
If I had known this would happen earlier, I would have gone to Gu Jiunie’s house to see his collection of gold and stone.
Cheng Chi was muttering to himself when Gu Jiunie rushed back.
The fifth master of the Gu family breathed a sigh of relief, and Cheng Chi also breathed a sigh of relief.
Gu Jiuni didn't even need to look to know how awkward the two of them were together. He sent the fifth master of the Gu family away, hurriedly explained to Cheng Chi, and finally smiled and said, "Fortunately, the fifth brother's son and daughter are not like his personality."
Cheng Chi was moved when he heard this and asked, "What's the ranking of your fifth brother's daughter?"
The fifth master of the Gu family is Gu Jiunie’s elder brother.
Gu Jiunie smiled and said, "Why are you asking about this? Are you trying to be a matchmaker for my fifth brother's daughter?"
Ever since Cheng Chi arranged a ghost marriage for Gu's Nineteenth Mother, several old masters and lords from the Gu and Guo families would tease him about it from time to time.
Cheng Chi smiled and said, "Maybe I can actually be a matchmaker for your niece!"
Gu Jiuni knew that Cheng Chi was not lying, so he said seriously, "The most I can give to Seventeenth Aunt is three hundred taels of silver as a dowry."
Cheng Chi smiled and said, "I'm marrying off my niece, and you're still worried about missing out on her dowry?"
Gu Jiunie was overjoyed when he heard this, and asked with interest, "Tell me quickly, which family is this young master from? If he can catch your eye, he must be quite good."
"It's true that it's wrong!" Cheng Chi said, trying to keep the secret, "But I'm afraid we need to find another matchmaker for this matter."
Gu Jiunie sat up straight, looking as if he was listening attentively.
Who knew Cheng Chi smiled and said, "Wait until I go and test the other party's attitude and then I'll tell you."
Gu Jiunie was so angry that he punched Cheng Chi's shoulder hard.
Cheng Chi accepted it with a smile.
That silly girl Shao Jin treated the fourth room as her own family. Since she was looking for a girl from the Gu family, she had to find one she liked, so that the sisters-in-law could get along better in the future. As for the seventeenth aunt from Master Gu Wu's family, if there was no Cheng Yi, there were still Li Yi, Liu Yi, and Wu Yi. Since he had promised Jiu Nie, he had no choice but to arrange the marriage of the seventeenth aunt from the Gu family.
When they returned home in the evening, Zhou Shaojin saw that Madam Guo seemed to have something to say to Cheng Chi. After helping Madam Guo change her clothes, he made the excuse of going back to his room to wash up and got up to say goodbye.
Madam Guo did not keep her, but came out of the inner room and said to Cheng Chi: "The wives of the Gu family all agree to do as the Cheng family did, dividing the family but not living separately. I guess they will ask you to come over to discuss it in a few days."
In Cheng Chi's opinion, this is not a big deal.
After comforting Mrs. Guo for a few words, he returned to his room.
Mrs. Guo had been working hard all day and went to bed early.
Zhou Shaojin, however, searched through boxes and cabinets for clothes and jewelry for a long time before finally deciding to casually tie her hair into a bun and wear a moon-white, silver-striped gauze short-sleeved, double-breasted top with pearl buttons, and a green eight-panel Xiang skirt embroidered with apricot-red and goose-yellow honeysuckle flowers, which set off her slender waist and made her look as graceful as a willow in the wind.
She stood in front of the mirror, pursed her lips, and put on a pair of South China pearl earrings the size of lotus seeds.
Chun Wan said, "Where are you going, Second Miss? The night wind is a bit chilly. You are wearing summer clothes at this time. You should put on another layer of clothes outside."
Zhou Shaojin blushed, and while looking for an apricot red shawl embroidered with goose yellow auspicious clouds and flowers, he said, "I haven't finished dressing up yet! Why are you rushing me?"
The Spring Festival Gala is just for laughs.
It's rare for the Second Miss to be in such a mood, which shows that she had a good time at the Gu family today.
She ordered the maid to pour the bath water, and let Zhou Shaojin dress herself up in the room.
Zhou Shaojin walked a few steps and felt that the shawl was a bit cumbersome, so he changed into a plain goose yellow bodice.
It can be matched with moon white or apricot red.
She couldn't remember whether she had an apricot-red vest.
Tell Bitao to go find it.
Bi Tao and a few maids searched for a long time before they finally found it.
Because they were summer clothes, they were at the bottom of the box, so he heated up the iron to iron the clothes. Only when the moon was above the willows did Zhou Shaojin go to Tingli Pavilion.
Seeing that Zhou Shaojin didn't come, Cheng Chi called Qin Ziping in and said, "Go to the capital and ask my eldest brother about next year's spring exam. The fourth son of the Li family will take the exam next year, so it would be nice if you could do them a favor. You can also test the bottom line of the second branch. I always feel that the second branch should also have some response."
Qin Ziping understood and said hesitantly, "I'm afraid the eldest master will not agree. It will also be good for the Cheng family if the second branch can produce a Jinshi."
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Sisters and brothers, today’s update.
PS: A sister left a message asking me about the first plus three updates for the pink ticket. It is still valid, but I have been too busy these days, so I can only look for an opportunity to make up for it to everyone.
O(∩_∩)O~
※(To be continued)