Since Madam Guo was interested in the wild vegetables in the garden, Nanny Lu and others naturally wanted to join in the fun. For a while, all the servants in Chaoyang Gate helped Madam Guo to find wild vegetables. When Cheng Chi came back from Xinglin Hutong to Tingxiangyuan to pay his respects to Madam Guo, he saw Madam Guo, Zhou Shaojin and Gu Shiqigu making dumplings under the guidance of a kitchen maid who cooked Beijing cuisine.
Mrs. Guo and others were all stunned when they saw Cheng Chi.
Zhou Shaojin even stood up and took a look at the long table where the clock was placed.
It’s only two quarters past midnight!
Cheng Xu's wedding was scheduled for the auspicious time of Youzheng.
The bride just came in, right
Didn’t Cheng Chi come back as soon as the bride entered the house
Zhou Shaojin opened his eyes wide and looked at Cheng Chi.
Madam Guo just laughed twice and said, "Silang is back!" She pointed to the crooked dumplings on the side and said, "I haven't made dumplings in many years. You are in for a treat today. We picked wild shepherd's purse. Shaojin found it."
He came back from dinner in Xinglin Hutong yesterday, but he came back too late. Zhou Shaojin was afraid that he would have indigestion, so he didn't give him any food.
Today they discovered another place with wild shepherd's purse, so they picked some and brought it back.
Cheng Chi smiled and looked over. There were three rows of dumplings on the rattan curtain. Two of them could not even stand up, and only one could barely stand up.
Shao Jin must have paid for that trip.
She lived in the capital for more than ten years in her previous life.
Cheng Chi smiled and rolled up his sleeves, saying, "Can I help you make dumplings?"
"Don't, don't." The weather was fine today. Mrs. Guo had been in the garden for a long time and was in a good mood. She joked, "If you want your wife to serve you, just take your wife back. Don't waste my rice and flour."
Zhou Shaojin's ears turned red after hearing these words, and he didn't know whether to stand or sit.
Gu Shiqigu covered her mouth and laughed.
Cheng Chi, on the other hand, was calm and composed, and said with a smile: "You just think I'm in the way, so I'll just learn how to make dumplings from you. How can you chase me away like this!"
Madam Guo laughed heartily and asked the maid to wash her hands. Cheng Chi then helped her to the banquet room nearby. After the maids served her tea and snacks, she asked him, "Did the wedding go well over there?"
"It went very smoothly." Cheng Chi smiled, "The bride has arrived, with four maids, 124 bearers of wedding gown, and six large volumes of gift lists. It looks like a very sincere gift."
Madam Guo smiled disapprovingly and said, "In the Min and Zhejiang areas, girls like to have a dowry of ten miles. This dowry is not considered heavy. It is just suitable for the occasion and does not bring shame to the Min family."
Cheng Chi knew that his mother was dissatisfied with his sister-in-law, so he was particularly impolite in his words.
He smiled and peeled an orange for Mrs. Guo, saying tactfully, "If you are not deaf or dumb, you don't need to be an old man. As long as the eldest sister-in-law is satisfied, this is the daughter-in-law she carefully selected."
Madam Guo ate a slice of orange and found it very sweet. She wrapped it in a handkerchief and handed it to Zhenzhu, who was serving beside her, saying, "Give it to Shaojin. This orange is delicious!"
Pearl went as she was asked.
Mrs. Guo then continued, "When will the bride come tomorrow?"
Cheng Chi peeled another orange for Mrs. Guo and said, "I'll come over tomorrow."
The newlyweds must first offer sacrifice to their ancestors. Only after this sacrifice can the bride be considered a member of the Cheng family and be recognized as a relative.
But it was so late... Yuan must have felt sorry for her son and daughter-in-law, so she deliberately let them get up later.
Madam Guo sneered.
It seemed as if she was the only one who felt sorry for her son.
"Then don't go there tomorrow." Madam Guo said forcefully, "You've been busy with the affairs of Xinglin Hutong these days. Now that your eldest brother's daughter-in-law has been married, you should take a break!"
According to etiquette, the newlyweds should go to Chaoyang Gate to pay respects to Old Madam Guo, and Cheng Chi, as the host, should accompany them. Old Madam Guo kept Cheng Chi, and without Cheng Chi's company, the newlyweds would be less respected.
Cheng Chi was not planning to go either.
He attended Cheng Xu's wedding because he was a member of this family and he did what he should do, but that was all.
He smiled and said "yes", and discussed with Madam Guo what gift to give to the newlyweds: "... I plan to give the same gift as my elder brother and his wife gave to Shao Jin."
Originally, he was going to add another 20%, but Yuan was so repulsive to Shao Jin that she was not even willing to give him face. He had no reason to follow her in humiliating his own wife.
Mrs. Guo was originally going to give the newlyweds a set of ruby headpieces. When she learned that the Min family rejected Qu Yuan's marriage proposal, she began to feel uncomfortable. Even if it was a marriage proposal, they would have to weigh it up. Since Qu Yuan dared to come up with this idea, he must have been somewhat confident about the marriage with the Min family. It was just a coincidence that the Min family did not agree in the end. But whether the Min family had this idea or not is still unclear. Now Yuan is trying to distance herself from Cheng Chi again. She is very disappointed and even feels that Cheng Jing's road has come to an end. But to have come this far is also an explanation for the ancestors of the Cheng family.
"Then I will give the bride a set of Nanzhu head ornaments!" Old Madam Guo said indifferently, "I won't compare myself with you uncles."
According to etiquette, Mrs. Guo’s gift should be more valuable than Cheng Chi’s.
Cheng Chi had no intention of speaking for the eldest son, and the mother and son talked about some trivial matters. The topic gradually turned to today's wild vegetable picking. Mrs. Guo's mood gradually improved, and Cheng Chi helped her out of the banquet room.
Mrs. Guo, Zhou Shaojin, Gu Shiqigu, and Cheng Chi had dumplings together.
Zhou Shaojin sent Gu Shiqigu back to Yuqian Hutong.
The people from the fourth room will not attend tomorrow's recognition ceremony. They will set off back to Jinling in three days.
When Zhou Shaojin and others returned, Old Lady Guan had not returned yet. Nanny Shang was afraid that Cheng Chi would be waiting for her anxiously, so after settling Gu Shiqigu, she tactfully reminded her that Cheng Chi was still waiting for her... Although Zhou Shaojin's face was red, he still hurried back to Chaoyang Gate.
Cheng Chi had already washed up and was leaning on the big kang by the window in the inner room, looking at something. Zhou Shaojin hurried into the inner room. He couldn't help but laugh and said, "Go change your clothes quickly. I have something good for you."
When Zhou Shaojin came out of the washroom, Cheng Chi held him on his lap as soon as he walked over. He pointed at the table and said, "Look!"
"What is this?" Zhou Shaojin widened his eyes.
"Huang Quan's flower and bird paintings." Cheng Chi pointed to the postscript and seal next to it, "Aren't you learning painting from your mother recently? I think you will like it."
That is a lotus.
The colors are bright and the style is freehand. The painted lotus is less elegant but more gorgeous, looking magnificent, bright and handsome.
Zhou Shaojin likes it very much.
Her eyes turned into crescent moons when she smiled.
Cheng Chi felt soft in his heart and rubbed her hair.
Zhou Shaojin's heart was moved, and he pulled Cheng Chi's hand: "Can you also draw a picture of Guanyin for me?"
Cheng Chi was a little surprised.
Zhou Shaojin's eyes flashed with shrewdness, and he said, "I know you are good at painting. I want to embroider a picture of Guanyin."
Cheng Chi asked curiously, "Why are you embroidering the Guanyin statue?"
"Your question is so strange?" Zhou Shaojin pouted, "Do you still need to ask why I embroidered the portrait of the Bodhisattva? Of course it's out of sincerity!"
Cheng Chi knew that Zhou Shaojin was a Buddhist and had no doubts about it. He immediately asked her which image of Guanyin she wanted to paint. The next morning, he got up early and started painting the image of Guanyin with Zhou Shaojin.
By the time Cheng Xu brought Min Jia over to kowtow to Cheng Chi and others, Cheng Chi had already drawn an outline.
He took a handkerchief and washed his hands, then asked Qingfeng: "Has the person gone to the old lady? Where is the wife?"
Qingfeng hurriedly said, "They have already entered Tingxiang Courtyard, and the Madam is serving the old lady!"
Cheng Chi then nodded, changed into clean clothes and went to see Mrs. Guo.
Min Jia doesn't look like a Fujianese.
She is tall, with fair skin, a pair of beautiful eyes, a dignified manner and elegant demeanor. At first glance, she is a lady from a well-born, aristocratic family.
Zhou Shaojin looked at Cheng Xu, who was watching his heart from behind, and couldn't help but secretly complain in his heart. In his previous life, Cheng Xu broke off the engagement with the Min family without even knowing what Min Jia looked like. If he knew that the bride was so beautiful, would he regret it
This was the second time Min Jia met Zhou Shaojin.
She knew that the granddaughter of the fourth branch of the Cheng family married Cheng Xu's fourth uncle.
Compared to the last time we met, Zhou Shaojin looked even more beautiful, like a flower that you thought had already bloomed, but in fact was just a bud.
When it comes to beauty, I'm afraid there is no daughter-in-law or girl in the Cheng family who can compare to Zhou Shaojin.
Fortunately, she didn't think about competing with Zhou Shaojin in beauty. She just wanted to be the most stylish one.
She bowed respectfully to Mrs. Guo and Zhou Shaojin and offered them tea.
Mrs. Guo looked at it, nodded with satisfaction, and gave a gift.
Min Jia looked at Zhou Shaojin quietly.
Seeing that she looked natural, I felt relieved for some reason.
But when she saw Cheng Xu saluting Cheng Chi, her heart suddenly felt like a stone was pressing down on her - without comparison, she couldn't tell that Cheng Xu was very stiff when he saluted Zhou Shaojin. She thought it was because of Zhou Shaojin's background and age, but he was also a little stiff when he saluted Cheng Chi... something was wrong!
Min Jia's eyes rolled.
She decided to find out what was going on.
After all, her father-in-law is old and Cheng Xu is too young, so Cheng Chi, who is just between her father-in-law and Cheng Xu in age, becomes very critical.
Will he be like his second great-uncle Cheng Shao, who, despite being successful and famous, handed over the Cheng family's connections to his nephew without any regrets after he grew up, or will he have other plans for wealth, fame, or honor? No one can tell.
Min Jia personally handed over the shoes and socks that she had made for Mrs. Guo, Zhou Shaojin and others to Zhou Shaojin.
Zhou Shaojin smiled and turned to hand it over to Chunwan.
Cheng Xu said, "Grandma, Fourth Uncle, Fourth Aunt...Aunt, we have guests at home, so we won't stay any longer. I'll come to see you another day!"
Madam Guo smiled and nodded, saying, "After getting married, you are an adult now. You should not act recklessly in the future. If you have any problems, consult your wife more often. She is obviously a smart person."
Cheng Xu agreed.
Mrs. Guo brought the tea and asked Cheng Chi to see the guest off on her behalf.
Min Jia almost couldn't hide the disappointment on her face.
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Dear friends, please give extra updates to janeuoo.
The update is still around ten o'clock in the evening.
PS: Qidian.com will have a draw tomorrow, and I won’t be able to log in, let alone ask for leave. In the end, I gave the article to the editor-in-charge to help update it, and it seems that it’s already dawn... Sorry, sorry.
※(To be continued)