Wei Nian really felt a little sorry for Chen Xuan. He felt that although Chen Xuan came from the countryside and was not very knowledgeable, she was very studious and hardworking. This gave Wei Nian an indescribable feeling. In short, she was a different description from the country girl that Wei Nian had known before. At present, Wei Nian could not accurately describe his perception of Chen Xuan. Many years later, when the culture was more prosperous, Wei Nian would understand that it was a kind of respect for those who strived hard.
Chen Xuan asked Wei Nian to teach her the rules of a western restaurant. Wei Nian thought about it and came up with the most direct solution, "I will take you out for a western meal tomorrow, and then you will know what is going on."
Chen Xuan didn't expect that Wei Nian's method was to take her to eat Western food. However, Chen Xuan also approved of this method. After all, if you have never seen something before, you will always know what it is after seeing it once. However, this is all for her to broaden her horizons, and Wei Nian can't spend money anymore. Chen Xuan went to the bottom of the box and took out a sea green flowered silk purse that she had sewn by herself. She solemnly handed all her wealth to Wei Nian, and said seriously, "Brother Nian, you invited me to eat at that Western restaurant because of me. You don't have to pay. You just need to teach me how to eat. I will pay for it. I will definitely learn it well."
After pinching the silk purse, he knew that it contained the money Chen Xuan had saved. Wei Nian put the purse back into Chen Xuan's hand and said, "The first thing I'm going to teach you is that when you go out to eat, if the man wants to pay, the woman cannot rush to pay the bill, otherwise, it would be disrespectful to the man."
"Is there such a rule?" Chen Xuan asked.
"Of course." Wei Nian said, "This is called gentlemanly manners."
"What is a gentleman?"
"Gentlemen are nothing." Wei Nian laughed as he spoke, "Gentlemen are what Westerners call men of a certain status. Think about it, it's the same here. When a man takes a woman out, does he ask the woman to pay?"
Chen Xuan nodded, "Yes, when my uncle and aunt went to the market, my aunt always took the money, and my second uncle took every penny he spent."
Wei Nian waved his hand, "Don't talk about them, what do they know? Just listen to me, you won't be wrong."
Chen Xuan said, "How about I give you the money in advance, and when we get to the restaurant to eat, you can take it out and pay the bill."
"That's your money too." Wei Nian said sternly, waving his hands, "Don't argue with me about this. If you keep doing this, I won't take you with me."
Chen Xuan quickly stopped talking.
Seeing that Chen Xuan was no longer willing to give him a chance to buy money, Wei Nian set a time with Chen Xuan to go to a western restaurant for dinner. Wei Nian also took on the responsibility, "I'll talk to mom about going out, and we'll go out early in the morning. You should dress up nicely."
Chen Xuan said, "I have not worn the cheongsam I made last time, the one with lake blue and white lotus silk, so I will wear this one when the time comes."
Wei Nian expressed satisfaction.
After finally convincing Old Lady Wei, when they were leaving, Wei Nian saw Chen Xuan wearing a lake blue and white lotus silk cheongsam, which was quite decent, except for the pair of embroidered shoes of the same color underneath, which Wei Nian didn't like very much. Nowadays, it is fashionable for women to wear cheongsams with high-heeled leather shoes. However, Wei Nian also knew that Chen Xuan rarely went out, and these few new clothes were made by Chen Xuan with the materials he took back from the counter. Wei Nian didn't say anything, and took Chen Xuan directly to the Dong'an Market in Wangfujing.
Chen Xuan said, "That time, my sister-in-law, Ah Yin and I went to the East Market and passed by Wangfujing. I thought it was a really lively place."
"That's right. Why is it called Wangfujing? Because there were palaces nearby in the past. This is a first-class good place. To the west is the imperial city." Wei Nian was born and raised in Beijing. He is very familiar with the geography of Beijing and can tell some stories. Wei Nian also said to Chen Xuan, "Why is this Dong'an Market called Dong'an Market? Because it is next to Dong'an Gate, it is called Dong'an Market. I heard that it was originally built by several eunuchs. Later, the emperor drove them out of the capital. Beijing was in chaos, so some soldiers robbed it and burned it down. The current Dong'an Market was rebuilt. But it is better now."
Chen Xuan nodded, and when they arrived in the rickshaw, Chen Xuan said, "Isn't this place very close to your shop?"
"It's very close." Wei Nian smiled and gave the driver the fare. Chen Xuan said, "It's so close, why do we need to take a car? It's different if we just walk." Taking a car costs money.
Wei Nian said, "It's not good for you to be like this. Money is earned to be spent."
Chen Xuan didn't quite agree with what Wei Nian said. She believed that money earned should be saved.
However, what Chen Xuan did next was in line with the true meaning of Wei Nian's words. It was Chen Xuan's first time to come to Dong'an Market. There were two-story buildings and various shops here. What opened Chen Xuan's eyes was that there was a metal shed above the head and blue bricks on the ground. People walking on it were not only comfortable and flat, but also not afraid of wind and sun on the head. Chen Xuan couldn't help but smack his lips, "This is really advanced."
Wei Nian was touched by Chen Xuan's words last night, but he didn't laugh at Chen Xuan for being a country bumpkin who had never seen the world. He pulled her inside. There was a full range of department stores inside, not to mention the flower and fruit shops, but also many clothing fabrics, green feathers and light silks. Anyway, there was a kind of dazzling that Chen Xuan couldn't describe. Chen Xuan couldn't help but say, "This place is really big, so nice."
Wei Nian laughed, "You haven't been to Quanyechang in Guang'anmen. The buildings there are all Western-style buildings. They are very fashionable."
Chen Xuan sighed, "This place is great."
Wei Nian was in no hurry to take Chen Xuan to buy shoes. It was Chen Xuan's first time here, so he took Chen Xuan to stroll around casually. During this stroll, Chen Xuan saw a bookstore. Originally, this was Chen Xuan's third official trip since coming to Beijing, and she didn't dare to speak up and ask for anything in such a place. But she was now focused on her studies, so when she saw the bookstore, she couldn't help but say, "Brother Anian, can we go to the bookstore to have a look?"
Wei Nian smiled, "I forgot that now is the time for you to study hard." and took Chen Xuan away.
As soon as Chen Xuan entered the bookstore, she didn't know where to look. She looked here, then there, and felt that the whole room was filled with the fragrance of books, and everything was good. A clerk came up and asked, "What book would you like to buy, Madam?"
Chen Xuan waved her hand quickly, "I'll just take a look."
The clerk introduced, "Young Madam, would you like to take a look at Mr. Yun's poetry collection? It's the best-selling one in our store."
Following the waiter's introduction, Chen Xuan picked up a book with a blue-white background and opened it. It was full of vernacular. Chen Xuan knew that vernacular writing was popular now, but this poem was really vernacular. She could recognize all the words. Chen Xuan took a look and thought it was all boring, so she put it down. The waiter also mentioned a few popular novels and stories, but Chen Xuan was not interested in any of them, so the waiter let her read them by herself. Chen Xuan finally bought a book, well, how should I put it, it was very practical, two volumes, a set, more than ten kilograms, "The Great Chinese Dictionary".
When Wei Nian saw it, he felt dizzy and asked her, "What is this?"
"Dictionary." Chen Xuan picked it up and showed it to Wei Nian. "It's the same as the foreign dictionary you have, Brother Nian. This is a Chinese dictionary."
"It's obvious that the young master and mistress are well-educated." The clerk smiled happily as he packed Chen Xuan's bags and calculated the bill. "Five silver dollars for you."
Chen Xuan wanted to buy it, but she had less than one dollar in her pocket. Chen Xuan put the dictionary down, pulled Wei Nian aside and asked, "Brother Nian, can you lend me four dollars and fifty cents?"
Wei Nian did bring some money with him. Seeing Chen Xuan looking at him eagerly, he said to her, "Didn't you ask the Xu sisters about the words you didn't know before? What are you buying this for?"
"With a dictionary, I don't have to ask others for help all the time." Although Chen Xuan always claimed that she was not smart, she was not stupid. Chen Xuan asked, "Brother Wei Nian, are you unwilling to lend me money?" If Wei Nian was unwilling to lend her money, she would wait until she saved enough money to buy it.
It’s not that Wei Nian is unwilling to buy it for Chen Xuan, but in Wei Nian’s opinion, buying such a big book is really useless! Wei Nian said, “We just came here, and if we buy it, do we have to carry it with us? Isn’t it too heavy?”
"It's okay. You can leave it in his shop first and come back to get it when we get home. I can get it myself and it won't take any effort on your part, Brother Nian."
Wei Nian thought, he usually looks stupid, but I don't know how he suddenly became smart at this time. Chen Xuan really wanted to buy it, so Wei Nian had to give her the money to buy it. Chen Xuan told the clerk to leave the dictionary in the store first and come back to get it later. The clerk agreed happily. Seeing that Wei Nian was not very happy, Chen Xuan whispered to Wei Nian, "I will write you an IOU when I get back."
Wei Nian was annoyed, "No need for the IOU, I'm telling you, you won't take a car when you go back, you can carry it back by yourself."
Chen Xuan quickly responded with a smile, and she also kept saying nice things to Wei Nian, "I will listen to Brother Nian. I will listen to whatever Brother Nian says."
Wei Nian couldn't do anything with her, so he took her to buy shoes.
Chen Xuan had never worn high heels, and Wei Nian would not buy her stilettos, so she only bought a pair of slightly heels, which Chen Xuan wore very steadily. Wei Nian said, "Just wear them like this and don't change them." He asked the clerk to pack up the embroidered shoes that Chen Xuan had taken off.
When Chen Xuan saw Wei Nian pay the bill, she felt more grateful for the money she owed Wei Nian.
Wei Nian originally wanted to buy two pairs for Chen Xuan so that at least she would have one to change into. However, Chen Xuan firmly disagreed. She already owed Wei Nian a lot of money. If he bought more things, she might not be able to pay off the money even by planting strawberries next year.
After buying shoes, Wei Nian took Chen Xuan to have coffee.
This was the first time in Chen Xuan's two lives that she came to a coffee shop. She felt nervous and mysterious. How should I put it? There were too many things she had never seen before. Arched glass windows, round wooden tables, European-style carved sofa chairs, and beautiful tunes that came from nowhere. Chen Xuan felt as if her feet were not on a solid floor. She lowered her head unconsciously and dared not look again. Wei Nian immediately whispered, "Raise your head."
Chen Xuan quickly raised her head and chest. Wei Nian took Chen Xuan's hand in his arm and walked in gracefully.
As for what she ate and drank that day, Chen Xuan felt a little dizzy. When she got home at night, she couldn't remember it. She felt that it was because she had to drink wine with the western food in the evening. However, Chen Xuan remembered Wei Nian's criticism very clearly. Wei Nian said to her, "When I told you to buy this useless book, you didn't listen at all. You had a strong argument and insisted on buying it. Eating a western meal is like asking your life to come. What are you afraid of? We pay for the meal, it's aboveboard. If you keep shrinking your hands and feet and lowering your head, don't even think about me taking you out again."
Chen Xuan's name is Wei Nianxun, and since then he has suffered from the "head-high and chest-out disease".
The author has something to say: ps: First update~~