When Zhou Shaojin and Cheng Zheng arrived at Yushu Hutong, Cheng Xiao and Cheng Sheng were already waiting for them there.
Seeing Zhou Shaojin and Cheng Zheng getting out of the carriage one after the other, Cheng Sheng couldn't help but open her eyes wide and asked, "Sister, how did you two get together?"
Cheng Zheng watched the maid carry the two children down from the carriage, then smiled and said, "We didn't meet each other. I saw that it was still early, so I went to Yuqian Hutong and invited Shaojin to come with me." Then she smiled and said, "When did you come? Did you wait for a long time? Have you had breakfast?"
However, Cheng Xiao glanced at the carriage Zhou Shaojin was sitting in.
The black lacquered carriage had a flat roof and no decoration except for a colorful Xiangfei bamboo curtain hanging in front of the door. The red horse pulling the carriage was slender, tall and agile, with black eyes that were gentle and docile. It was obviously a rare good horse. The driver was not tall, but he was agile and nimble in his movements. He looked low-key and simple, but he was noble and luxurious in his bones. Cheng Xiao's carriage was outshined.
There are less than ten such carriages in the whole capital.
This... should be arranged by Uncle Chi for her, right
Or maybe it was Uncle Chi’s own carriage
Cheng Xiao frowned almost imperceptibly.
Is Uncle Cheng too nice to the second daughter of the Zhou family
She always felt that her sister was hiding something from her.
Because Zhou Chujin's children were still young, she did not go to Fengtai with them. After meeting Cheng Zheng's two children and giving them a greeting gift, everyone exchanged a few words and then stood up to say goodbye.
Zhou Chujin walked them to the gate.
The Peng family is not as well-off as the Gu and Yuan families. Cheng Sheng usually rides in a sedan chair when he goes out. Cheng Xiao did not expect that there is a carriage of his own in Yuqian Hutong. He also thought that his sister would bring two nephews with her, so he took Cheng Sheng with him in a carriage, and planned to let Cheng Sheng ride in the carriage of his eldest sister Cheng Zheng, while he brought the Zhou sisters with him. Now that Zhou Shaojin also brought a carriage, the room suddenly became spacious. Cheng Xiao discussed with Zhou Shaojin: "Why don't you take my carriage? We can still talk on the way."
Zhou Shaojin's carriage was prepared by the steward.
She told Manager Xiang that she was going to Fengtai to buy some flowers and asked him to help her make the arrangements.
Zhou Shaojin originally thought that Manager Xiang would go to hire a carriage, but who knew that when she came out of the Chuihua Gate, she saw such a beautiful carriage.
She was shocked.
Xiang explained to the steward with a smile: "This is what the fourth master told her before he returned to Nanjing. He said that if you need a carriage, you should tell the mansion over at Chaofuyang Gate - that place is big, has space, and has five or six horses."
Zhou Shaojin saw that the interior of the carriage was paved with walnut wood, with patterns carved into it such as the Eight Immortals Crossing the Sea and Shou Gu Paying Homage to the Dragon King. It was also covered with a thick layer of lichen and a large soft pillow. Although the teacups and teapots were made of purple clay, they could be attached to the tea tray, and there was also a set of Go that could be attached to the chessboard.
She liked it as soon as she saw it.
So I won’t be polite to Cheng Chi.
How freeing it is to ride in your own carriage.
Besides, she and Cheng Xiao had nothing to talk about!
Zhou Shaojin smiled and said, "I'm afraid we'll have to move the flowers later, so it's better to bring three carriages over!"
Cheng Zheng thought this made sense and said with a smile, "Then let's take three carriages! Third sister, you can go with second sister, me, or Shaojin."
Cheng Sheng smiled and said, "I'd better continue to follow my second sister."
The group got on the carriage and headed for Fengtai.
Zhou Shaojin was in a cheerful mood, as if he was riding a horse galloping in the spring breeze. He lifted the curtains all the way to look at the scenery along the way.
The Chunwan Gala member who went out with her couldn't help but sigh: "Miss, I never thought that I would not only go to Putuo Mountain with you, but also go to Baoding and Beijing..." There is a feeling that life will get better and better.
Zhou Shaojin also felt the same way.
She smiled, chatted and laughed with the Spring Festival Gala, and soon arrived at Fengtai.
Every household in Fengtai has green willows and red flowers, bees are buzzing and butterflies are dancing, and the garden is full of spring colors, which makes people's mood as bright as the weather.
Chunwan looked at the carriages coming and going on the road, the vendors negotiating the price of flowers on the roadside, and the crowds buying flowers and said worriedly: "Do we have to ask every family like this?"
In his previous life, Zhou Shaojin had been to Fengtai several times. He would sit in a carriage and look around slowly. When he saw flowers and plants that interested him, he would ask people to stop the carriage and go over to take a look...
"Why don't you go from house to house and ask instead of standing on the street and shouting what kind of flowers you want?" Zhou Shaojin smiled and saw the carriage stopped in front of a fence with wisteria flowers in bloom.
Cheng Zheng's maid ran over and respectfully asked Zhou Shaojin to get off the carriage, saying, "This is the Wang family's flower garden. She has always been the one delivering flowers and plants to our house. The eldest lady sent someone to say hello a few days ago. Miss Second will just follow the eldest lady in."
Because of the climate, people in the south would either place a few narcissus or wintersweet in their homes during the Spring Festival, or place some golden oranges, plum blossoms and other flowers and trees for good luck. The hometown is unforgettable. Those officials from Jiangnan still like to place some flowers and trees in the house during the Spring Festival according to the rules of their hometown. Therefore, the flower farmers in Fengtai who were quick to think built greenhouses and planted flowers and trees from the south. The Cheng family and the Gu family became their important customers.
Before Zhou Shaojin had time to get off the car, he saw a woman hurriedly walking out with a young girl and a young woman.
Maybe it was because she often dealt with the Wang family, but when the maid saw the visitor, she smiled and introduced him to Zhou Shaojin: "The one wearing the lilac jacket is Aunt Wang. The other two are her eldest daughter-in-law and her daughter. Sometimes they would accompany Aunt Wang to our house to give us flowers."
Zhou Shaojin nodded, and when he saw Cheng Zheng being helped out of the carriage by the old woman, he followed suit.
Aunt Wang had already stepped forward to pay her respects to Cheng Zheng, saying, "I have been looking forward to your arrival since I received a message from the housekeeper two days ago! How is your grandmother? How are the eldest master and everyone in the family?" She also paid her respects to Gu Ning and Gu Zhong, saying, "I haven't seen the two young masters for only a few months, but they seem more mature now."
Cheng Zheng smiled and nodded, greeted Aunt Wang, and then introduced the people around her to Aunt Wang.
Aunt Wang was stunned when she saw Zhou Shaojin, and said with a smile: "No wonder people say that beauties are born in Jiangnan. Your cousin is really beautiful!"
Zhou Shaojin spoke modestly.
Aunt Wang lowered her head and led them to her greenhouse.
Aunt Wang glanced over from time to time.
Zhou Shaojin had no choice but to pretend he didn't see it.
Cheng Zheng introduced the Wang family's nursery to them: "... There's no need to mention the off-season flowers. Mr. Wang once grew two-color peonies in the winter and black lotus in the summer! You can just tell Aunt Wang what flowers you want."
Zhou Shaojin had heard of black chrysanthemum and black orchid, and had raised them himself, but he had never heard of anyone raising a black lotus.
The north is dry and water-scarce, so the Wang family must have put a lot of effort into growing black lotus.
She was surprised and full of expectations for the Wang family's flower garden.
Cheng Zheng looked at him and smiled slightly.
This little girl is really simple, she is happy with a few flowers and grass. No wonder Uncle Chi looks at her differently.
A few people entered the greenhouse and were immediately attracted by the colorful scenery inside.
Cheng Sheng asked Aunt Wang: "Where is your Mo Lian? Let us open our eyes!"
"Your words are too polite." Wang Da smiled cautiously, "It's just some flowers that have grown here early! You have crossed more bridges than we have walked roads. How can you say it's an eye-opener? You are too modest." As he said this, he made a gesture of invitation and led them to the middle of the greenhouse.
Disc-like green leaves floated in the large blue and white porcelain vat, dotted among them were a few water lilies that were said to be black but were actually dark red and as big as bowls.
"So beautiful!" Cheng Sheng looked around the water lily and asked, "How much is this water lily?"
Aunt Wang apologized and said, "This water lily is not easy to grow. Someone bought it before, but it died after three to five days. After that, I stopped selling it."
This is probably the Wang family's treasure that attracts customers.
Cheng Sheng smiled and didn't ask any more questions.
Zhou Shaojin felt that the black lotus was not as beautiful as the white lotus or the red lotus, but it was still very curious that such a variety could be grown.
She asked, "Is this grown from red lotus? I wonder what kind of red lotus it is?"
Zhou Shaojin has never grown lotus flowers, but she has grown chrysanthemums.
Black chrysanthemum is the result of generations of improvement of green chrysanthemum.
When Miss Wang saw that Zhou Shaojin was asking questions related to professional matters, she became alert.
Aunt Wang also had some reservations and said, "For matters concerning flowers like these, you still have to consult our old man. I am just good at talking!"
Zhou Shaojin knew that the Wang family was very proud of their possessions. He thought that the Wang family relied on this to make a living and would not embarrass others. He smiled and changed the subject: "I wonder what other rare flowers and plants you have at home?"
Just as Aunt Wang was about to speak, a little girl dressed like a maid ran in and said, "Auntie, the Sixth Miss of the Fang family brought a relative here and said she wanted to buy some precious flowers and plants to plant back home..."
"The Sixth Miss of the Fang Family?" Before Aunt Wang could say anything, Cheng Sheng asked, "Is it the Sixth Miss of the Fang Family in Shucheng?"
The little maid nodded repeatedly and said, "Last time, she bought two Eighteen Scholars plants from our family."
"I didn't expect to meet relatives here!" Cheng Sheng said to the little maid with a smile, "Just tell them I'm here and let them wait!"
The little maid looked at Aunt Wang with some fear.
Aunt Wang smiled and said, "It's okay. Mrs. Peng and Miss Fang are relatives. Just go and pass on the message."
Cheng Zheng smiled and said to Zhou Shaojin: "Mrs. Liao is the daughter of the Fang family in Shucheng. You should know the people in the Fang family. They are not outsiders!"
Zhou Shaojin smiled and said, "I just met a few people from the Fang family during Brother Guan's third-day bathing ceremony last time. I may not know the Sixth Miss of the Fang family."
As soon as she finished speaking, she heard a clear voice saying, "Who is so powerful that he wants me to wait? Now I have found the master!"
Zhou Shaojin turned around and saw two women.
The older ones were no more than 16 or 17 years old, and the younger ones were about 15 or 16 years old. One wore a rose purple bodice, with skin as white as cream, a face as bright as the moon, and a dignified demeanor; the other wore a bright red bodice, with eyebrows like distant mountains, lively eyes, and was playful and cute.
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Sisters and brothers, today’s extra update.
Update, everyone can check it out tomorrow morning!
O(∩_∩)O~
※(To be continued)