After hearing what Cheng Chi said, Zhou Shaojin felt as if there was a glittering gilded jewelry box inlaid with a hundred precious flowers in front of him. Without even opening it, one could imagine the jewels and treasures inside. It was extremely tempting.
She hesitated and wavered, reaching out her hand and then pulling it back.
After a long while, he restrained himself and said with his head down: "I, I won't go..."
This answer was exactly what Cheng Chi expected.
There was no woman in his family to take care of the household, so how could Shao Jin follow her
Cheng Chi smiled and said, "I understand. You can go back now!"
Zhou Shaojin was a little dumbfounded.
Uncle Chi...are you just going to let her go like this
Why don't you try to persuade her
Don't you even ask her why
Zhou Shaojin stood there, a little confused for a moment, like a lost lamb.
Cheng Chi's heart softened when he saw this, and he said in a gentle voice: "The New Year is coming soon, and I will rush back tomorrow morning. You can spend the New Year in Baoding Prefecture peacefully. If you have anything to ask, just tell Nanny Shang, or wait until I come back. If you are wronged, there is no need to argue with them, I am here for you anyway!"
"What?" Zhou Shaojin opened her eyes wide, "You, you are going back tomorrow? It's snowing so hard, what if you catch a cold on the way? Otherwise, otherwise... you can stay at our house for the New Year?" She said, her eyes red with anxiety, "Xiao Zhenhai hasn't been found yet? What if he does something bad to you?"
Seeing that she was about to cry, Cheng Chi's heart suddenly shrank into a ball. He smiled and said, "I have asked the escort agency to escort me back. We will take the post road all the way. Nothing will happen."
Zhou Shaojin didn't believe it at all and just looked at Cheng Chi in silence.
Cheng Chi's heart tightened when he was looked at, so he had no choice but to step forward and gently touch her black hair, whispering: "Be good, be obedient! I will be fine."
Zhou Shaojin remained silent.
Cheng Chi said helplessly: "How about I ask the people from Cangzhou Escort Agency to escort me back to celebrate the New Year, okay?"
Zhou Shaojin thought that Ji Ying was from Cangzhou and had taken Fan Qi safely back and forth between the capital and Jinling, so she nodded reluctantly.
Cheng Chi laughed and said, "You have such a bad temper! If I don't agree with you, you won't agree."
Zhou Shaojin's face suddenly felt hot. She reluctantly said, "I'm concerned about you too," and ran away holding up her skirt.
Cheng Chi laughed out loud.
Huaishan's eyes twitched outside the veranda.
Thinking that Cheng Chi's mood should have calmed down, he walked in and said, "Fourth Master, there is still no news about Xiao Zhenhai..."
That day they found Xiao Zhenhai in a very low-end inn. Several elders of the Xiao family were retained, but Xiao Zhenhai ran away.
Cheng Chi was in a good mood and said with a smile: "Notify Xu Mu of the Jinsha Gang to bring people over and surround Baoding Prefecture. Let's go home for the New Year first, and it won't be too late to deal with him after the Lantern Festival."
Huaishan agreed and breathed a sigh of relief.
Fortunately, the second cousin was there to make jokes, otherwise if Cheng Chi pursued the matter, none of us would have a happy New Year.
Although Miss Second Cousin appears to be gentle and soft, she is actually a pretty nice person.
He decided to ask Nanny Shang to go out of the house to buy some local gifts so that they could give them to others when they returned.
※
Zhou Shaojin was rummaging through boxes and cabinets in the house, urging Chunwan and Bitao: "Hurry up and look for that green and stone blue forehead scarf. Where did you put it? I clearly put it together with the clothes I gave to sister Maomao. How could it be gone? Did it get mixed in with Maomao's clothes when I gave it to sister? Even if sister received it, she should have told me..."
Chun Wan hurriedly said, "Don't worry, Second Miss. If it's not in this box, it must be in another box. We can just look for it slowly."
"Uncle Chi will be back early tomorrow morning." The fire dragon was burning in the house. Zhou Shaojin was anxious and sweat broke out on his forehead. "I thought Uncle Chi would stay with us for the New Year. Now we have to prepare gifts not only for the old lady and grandmother, but also for Aunt Mian and Cousin Gao. What if we can't find this forehead scarf?"
yes!
You can buy gifts for other people, but for Mrs. Guo and Mrs. Guan, especially Mrs. Guo, giving them a handmade forehead scarf is better than gold or silver.
Xiao Tan also helped to look for it.
The movements of several people were getting slower and slower.
Brocade mirror bags, natural silk handkerchiefs, snow satin purses, as well as gilt and ruby-studded scent balls, ivory fans, pearl powder boxes, and colored glaze scent bottles... There are so many of them, all exquisite and beautiful. Even Xiao Tan couldn't let them go after just one look and had to take a second look.
Chunwan thought about how when they first moved into Hanbi Mountain House, the Second Young Miss only had a treasure box to store small gadgets, but now she had to use boxes and cages to store them... She felt even more that the First House would not leave the Second Young Miss alone.
Several people were searching carefully there. Mrs. Fan Liu came in and asked curiously, "What are you looking for?"
She also held a cup of bird's nest with rock sugar in her hand.
The things were sent by Li.
It was said that the Li family sent it as a festival gift. Zhou Shaojin refused again and again, but Li insisted on giving it to her to replenish her body. Later, Zhou Zhen said something, and Zhou Shaojin accepted it. Fan Liu saw that her throat was a little tight these two days, so she stewed it with rock sugar to moisten her throat.
Chun Wan hurriedly said, "The two forehead scarves that the second young lady made a few days ago are missing."
Mrs. Fan Liu placed the bird's nest with rock sugar on the table. She invited Zhou Shaojin to come over to drink the bird's nest and asked, "Are they the two handkerchiefs that were placed with the young lady's fur coat, one green and one stone blue..."
"Yes, yes." Chunwan and the others were all excited and stared at Fan Liu without blinking.
Mrs. Fan Liu couldn't help laughing and said, "I saw the two forehead scarves mixed in with Miss Maomao's clothes that day, so I put them together with the embroidery that Miss Second usually made..."
Before she finished her words, Chun Wan and Xiao Tan hugged her arms, one on each side, and said with a smile: "Mammy has killed us..."
They clearly remembered putting it in the box, but who knew it was gone.
But it was Fan Liu who packed up the things, so they couldn't say anything.
Upon hearing this, Fan Liu pouted at the two of them and said, "It's almost the New Year, don't say such things!"
The two of them smiled with their heads tilted, looking very playful.
Everyone laughed again.
Fan Liu said to Zhou Shaojin embarrassedly: "Second Miss, I will be more careful in the future and not touch things carelessly."
Zhou Shaojin felt uncomfortable after hearing this.
In her previous life, she only had Fan Liushi by her side, who was in charge of everything and she was full of energy every day. Now everyone around her is very capable, but Fan Liushi stands out. She has nothing to do every day and is always looking for something to do.
She thought about it and smiled, "It's not a big deal. If you think there's something wrong with it, just ask Chunwan to change it. I guess you thought it was bad because I put things in a mess, so you helped me put them away."
Fan Liu's face lit up and she went to find the two head scarves with a smile.
Nanny Shang was moved by the sight, and invited Fan Liu to come over for tea, saying, "The Second Miss is growing up day by day, but Madam is not her biological mother after all, otherwise there would not be the incident with Master Miao. I was originally a maidservant beside the Fourth Master, and the Fourth Master asked me to come here because he was afraid that the Second Miss would not have someone to hold a footstool when she went out. But you are different, you nursed the Second Miss, and the Second Miss respects you, so you will have to help take care of the things that are close to her from now on."
Mrs. Fan Liu nodded repeatedly and gradually became closer to Nanny Shang.
This is a later story.
At this time, Zhou Shaojin got two forehead scarves, wrapped them in plain satin and put them aside, preparing to let Cheng Chi take them back tomorrow.
Li came over holding Zhou Youjin and leading Nanny Li.
Seeing Chunwan and the others packing up their boxes, he hurriedly asked, "What's going on?"
Zhou Shaojin said without further ado, "I heard from Uncle Chi that he will be going back tomorrow, so I asked Uncle Chi to take the forehead scarf I made earlier back with me, as a way to congratulate the old lady and grandmother on the New Year."
Zhou Youjin didn't like to talk much, but she especially liked playing with Zhou Shaojin's jewelry. Seeing the cat's eye earrings on Zhou Shaojin's ears flashing with mysterious light, she twisted her body and threw herself into Zhou Shaojin's arms.
Zhou Shaojin smiled and hugged her.
She reached out and grabbed Zhou Shaojin's earrings.
Li grabbed Zhou Youjin's hand and scolded her, "If you grab my jewelry again, I will never bring you to see me again."
Zhou Youjin buried her head in Zhou Shaojin's arms and said nothing.
Zhou Shaojin squinted his eyes and smiled, then he put Zhou Youjin on the kang and said to her seriously, "I can give you other things to play with, but it would be terrible if you swallowed the jewelry."
Zhou Youjin looked at her in confusion.
Li smiled and said, "Don't bother with her. She won't understand anything you say."
Zhou Shaojin still smiled at Zhou Youjin, and then asked Li to sit down.
"I won't sit down." Li smiled and said, "The master just told me that Master Chi Si will return to Jinling City tomorrow. The master was afraid that you would bother to prepare gifts, so he asked me to tell you that we will prepare the things in Jiuru Lane, so you don't have to worry about it." Then he handed her a gift list and said, "These are the things sent out in your name. See if you need to add or subtract anything."
These were all local rituals of Baoding. Zhou Shaojin thought they were very good and thanked Li with a smile.
Li said a few polite words and left carrying Zhou Youjin, who was reluctant to leave.
Chunwan and the others were a little confused about why Li brought Zhou Youjin here, but Nanny Shang finally revealed the secret: "The madam was probably afraid that the second young lady would be angry with her because of Master Miao, so she brought the third young lady here, hoping that the second young lady would not make a fuss with her for the sake of the third young lady."
Seeing Zhou Shaojin smiling but not saying anything, Chun Wan asked, "Second Miss, is what Nanny Shang said right?"
Zhou Shaojin nodded, but felt a little disappointed.
In fact, Li didn't need to be so polite to her.
This is also her home.
Zhou Youjin is also her sister.
※
After seeing Cheng Chi off, the house began to be cleaned.
Mrs. Huang came over and brought two nuns with her. She said she was a master from Pu'an Temple. Not only was she very good at fortune-telling, but she could also treat illnesses. She was best at pediatrics and gynecology.
Li's face changed when she heard this.
When she was at her parents' home, she had seen nuns like this going from house to house, often taking money to do some shady things. Even her parents' home would not easily allow such people to visit.
Li sent the man away with a few words and sat there holding his chest for a long time before he caught his breath.
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Sisters and brothers, today’s extra update.
Please check the update tomorrow morning, it will be more reliable.
O(∩_∩)O~
The typo has been made.
※(To be continued)