Zhou Chujin had no choice but to warn her: "When you are alone at home, be careful of the door and don't open the second door for anyone. If anything happens, send Fan Qi or ask the steward to run errands. Don't go out by yourself. The more people go out to watch the fun, the more criminals come out. Children go missing and girls are kidnapped. It's often at this time that you must be careful..."
Zhou Shaojin pursed his lips and smiled, and waited for his sister to finish speaking before saying, "You also gave me a lecture with this when I went out with cousin Zheng a few days ago. Don't worry, I'm not going anywhere. There are so many people outside, it's so noisy, what's the point of going out? Just take Brother Guan to watch the dragon boat race peacefully! I'll save you the trouble! But you have to be careful with Brother Guan, don't take him to crowded places, he's still young and can't stand it. Cousin Zheng has booked a private room in the restaurant over there, if you feel too hot, you can take a break in her place, but don't feel embarrassed and keep holding on. You are an adult, you can hold on, but Brother Guan is still young..." At the end, he still felt uneasy, and said, "Why don't you send Brother Guan to me! I'll help you take care of him."
Now it was Zhou Chujin's turn to laugh, and she said, "Am I the older sister or are you the older sister? You should teach me a lesson!"
Zhou Shaojin said seriously, "Sister, I'm telling the truth. You should send Brother Guan to me! Your mother-in-law wants to go out to watch the fun, it's not good if you don't accompany her, but you can't let Brother Guan suffer with her. Go back and discuss it with your brother-in-law, it's better to send Brother Guan to me."
The child is not even a hundred days old!
Zhou Chujin couldn't help but be moved.
She went back and discussed it with Liao Shaotang.
Liao Shaotang was also troubled by this matter. He was overjoyed when he heard this and said, "Then we'll trouble our second sister to keep an eye on her for us. We'll invite her to our house to play in a few days."
Zhou Chujin smiled and said, "Fortunately, my second sister came to the capital, otherwise I really don't know what to do!" As she said this, she suddenly wanted to keep Zhou Shaojin in the capital. This way, she could avoid Mr. Huang and Mr. Bai, and ask the aunts and uncles in the capital to help find a good marriage for her sister. Thirdly, the sisters could take care of each other, especially Uncle Chi gave Shaojin a house. If Shaojin wanted to live with her for a few days, she could live with her. If she wanted to be quiet, she could live by herself for a few days. She didn't know how free she was. Even she, who was married, felt a little envious when she thought about it.
She told Liao Shaotang her idea.
Liao Shaotang also thought it was a good idea and said, "Baoding Prefecture is still a little small. If we propose marriage in Beijing, the Fang family, the Li family, the Min family, no matter which one, can be regarded as a century-old family. It is better than marrying into a small family."
Forget about the Min family!
Zhou Chujin snorted in his heart.
I think the Fang family is great.
There are many outstanding children among them.
Thinking of this, she thought of Song Mu.
What a pity.
Shaojin doesn't have this blessing.
She smiled and said, "You should go and talk to my dad about this!"
This is to give him the credit!
Liao Shaotang gently hugged his wife and said with a smile: "I will write a letter to my father-in-law right now!"
Zhou Chujin smiled and said, "Go and tell your mother-in-law too."
"Got it!" Liao Shaotang said loudly.
At night, he told Mrs. Liao that he had temporarily asked Zhou Shaojin to take care of Jiangguan Ge during the Dragon Boat Festival.
Mrs. Liao's face turned slightly red.
It had been many years since she had gone out for such a simple outing and had forgotten Guan Ge. You know, they were no longer in Zhenjiang, and as long as they said they were going to watch the dragon boat race, they could always get a private room in the riverside restaurant for them to rest.
But it's too late to say this now.
The children arranged this trip to make her happy.
She said hurriedly, "Then please thank my second aunt for me. Invite her to come to our house some other day."
As long as my mother-in-law agrees, that's fine.
Zhou Chujin smiled and said a few good words for Zhou Shaojin. On the Dragon Boat Festival, as soon as the sun rose, he took Guan Ge's usual things and the maid who served him, and sent Guan Ge to Yuqian Hutong with Mrs. Liao.
Zhou Shaojin carefully took Guan Ge in and repeatedly assured him that he would take good care of him.
Mrs. Liao thanked her again and again, and as the sky was getting brighter, she politely declined the offer to have breakfast in Yuqian Hutong. After Li and Zhou Youjin had packed up, they went to Shichahai together.
Zhou Shaojin's heart melted when he looked at Guan Ge's pink and tender little face.
She touched Guan Ge's little face, and Guan Ge started to smile, but soon he burst into tears.
Zhou Shaojin was so frightened that he shouted loudly for Guan Ge's wet nurse.
The nurse came over quickly, glanced at Guan Ge and said with a smile: "Guan Ge, you must be hungry!"
Zhou Shaojin breathed a sigh of relief and handed the child to the wet nurse.
Since there was no one else at home, the wet nurse sat aside and fed the child.
Seeing him sucking milk in big gulps, Zhou Shaojin couldn't help but smile and touched the child's head. She asked someone to bring the cloth tigers, small dolls, tumblers, etc. that she had asked someone to buy at the market a few days ago, so that she could play with Guan Ge.
Who knew that Guan Ge'er fell asleep while eating.
Zhou Shaojin didn't know whether to laugh or cry.
The nurse apologized and said, "Today, I have to come to the Second Miss's place. Brother Guan got up earlier than usual..."
Children naturally eat when they want to eat and sleep when they want to sleep!
Zhou Shaojin smiled and said, "This is not your fault, why should you be embarrassed? Does he usually sleep on a rocking bed or a kang? If he sleeps on a kang, just put it here. I'll watch him!"
Children in the south sleep in cots, while children in the north sleep on kangs.
"Sleep on the kang." The wet nurse smiled and asked a clever little maid to come over and make a small bed. The wet nurse gently placed the child on the bed.
Zhou Shaojin sat aside and made socks for Cheng Chi.
Just like last time, she still used a cross needle to sew socks for Cheng Chi. The difference was that the snow-white Songjiang fine cloth socks were made, and she used amber, cotinus, and light crimson colors in sequence to sew the stitches. It was gorgeous and luxurious, making people unable to take their eyes off.
Uncle Chi is so particular, all the exquisiteness is in the details, he will definitely like socks like this.
Zhou Shaojin pursed his lips and smiled.
If the socks made before had a sense of otherworldliness, the socks made now have a sense of the mundane world.
She liked Uncle Chi's life as an ordinary person, but she didn't like his withered heart as a monk.
※
As soon as Cheng Chi stepped into the yard, he saw Zhou Shaojin sitting in front of the window in the inner room doing needlework.
The early morning sunlight, like broken gold, shone through the leaves of the towering locust tree and fell on the bluestone floor tiles, adding a bit of tranquility to the cool corridor. Zhou Shaojin, with skin as white as snow and gentle eyebrows, sat there, like a jade beauty, with pearl light flowing, reflecting in Cheng Chi's heart.
He strode over.
Someone saw him come in and exclaimed softly.
Zhou Shaojin raised her head, her expression was also gentle, then she opened her eyes wide, blankly, and blinked as if she was frightened.
Cheng Chi started laughing.
Somehow, he loved seeing her like this in front of him.
It surprised and amazed her.
Even the most ordinary things become interesting to him.
Cheng Chi quickened his pace.
Zhou Shaojin suddenly seemed to wake up. A smile as bright as a summer flower bloomed on her face. She dropped her needle and thread and ran out.
"Uncle Chi, Uncle Chi..." Her sweet voice sounded like she was acting coquettishly, as if she was complaining about why he left her for such a long time before coming back.
Cheng Chi's heart was moved when he thought about it, and he wanted to open his arms and hug her.
But she stopped abruptly at the threshold of the hall, her eyes were clear and bright, but with a smile, and her rosy cheeks looked more like a blooming rose, extremely beautiful.
"Uncle Chi!" She called Cheng Chi softly, her voice filled with tenderness, her slender, white hands twisted together nervously.
Cheng Chi felt his blood boiling and he wished he could rub this little guy into his body.
He took a deep breath, bit the tip of his tongue and forced himself to suppress the throbbing in his heart.
Nanny Shang and others pretended not to see Cheng Chi coming in, but the maids serving Guan Ge came forward and saluted Cheng Chi.
Cheng Chi was like being splashed with cold water. His restlessness cooled down. He showed a gentle smile, raised his hand to let the maid who was greeting him stand up, and then strode into the hall. While walking towards the inner room, he said, "Why didn't you go to watch the dragon boat race today? Didn't Sister Zheng book two private rooms? Didn't she send you a note?" When he lifted the curtain, he saw a baby lying on the kang. Cheng Chi's voice paused and said, "Is this Brother Guan?"
Uncle Chi had been gone for such a long time, but he knew everything that happened around her. She didn't have to say much to him, as if he had not been gone for more than a month, but had just gone out yesterday.
Zhou Shaojin's heart was like a river that had burst its dam, with waves of joy flooding through her heart.
Her mind was in a fuss, and she had no idea which one to answer first and which one to answer later. She said randomly, "I don't want to go out. It's too hot outside. I'm making socks at home, and I asked Guan Ge to stay here. I'm afraid that my sister will be reluctant to ask for help from my cousin Zheng because of her feelings. What if Guan Ge gets sunburned?"
Cheng Chi immediately understood what she meant.
Seeing that Guan Ge looked much whiter and stronger, and his facial features had more matured than when he was held out by the wet nurse when he went to congratulate him that day, he couldn't help but bend down and poke Guan Ge's red little face as he slept with his fingers.
Guan Ge closed his eyes and burst into tears.
Cheng Chi was a little dumbfounded.
Zhou Shaojin couldn't help laughing.
Nanny Shang hurriedly came in with the wet nurse and carried Guan Ge out.
Another maid came in and served tea and snacks.
Cheng Chi couldn't help but feel a little embarrassed, and said, "I didn't expect the child to cry so easily."
Zhou Shaojin smiled with an indescribable gentleness, and said, "He has a bad temper. I just touched his face and he burst into tears!"
"Really?" Cheng Chi sat in front of the big kang by the window and saw a pair of unfinished socks in the small basket on the kang table, and a few finished pairs under the kang table.
His eyes narrowed slightly, and he asked, "Who is this for?"
Could it be Liao Shaotang
Because of what happened in her past life, she has always respected Liao Shaotang.
The thought flashed through his mind, and he suddenly felt a little uncomfortable.
Liao Shaotang was really blessed in his previous life. In this life, he didn't have to do anything to make Zhou Shaojin look at him differently!
He suddenly felt sad and stood up for Zhou Shaojin, saying, "He doesn't know about his past life, so you don't have to treat him so well. Otherwise, he will become suspicious."
※
Sisters and brothers, catching up on yesterday’s update.
There is no way to add more updates today, and the update will be very late, so please get up tomorrow morning and read it!
PS: I have to go to the hospital tomorrow, so I can only update once. It will be around 12 o'clock in the evening. Then I will be on a business trip next week, and I don't know what day it will be. The update during this period may be a bit chaotic. Please bear with me, dear. I will adjust the time as soon as possible and resume the double update.
Thank you for your understanding!
※(To be continued)