July 12th, Tiande Day, auspicious day for the zodiac, is suitable for banquets, weddings, lottery, alliances, sacrifices, and blessings.
The Enbo Mansion got busy early in the morning, sweeping the courtyard, planting flowers, and decorating with lanterns and festoons. The Bo Mansion hadn't been this lively for a long time, and all the servants were full of energy.
The woman in the kitchen unloaded the baskets of fresh vegetables and meat from the trolley. When she looked up, she saw a middle-aged servant woman in a light green gown. Silk and silver hairpins, a pair of gold earrings on the ears, raised his hand to caress the jade beads on the temples, and along the way, revealed the shining gold bracelet on the wrist.
The mother-in-law looked envious for a while, put down the basket in a hurry, and said hello: "Sister Lin!"
Mother Lin smiled faintly: "Second Madam asked me to come over to see how your preparations are going. Today's banquet will be hosted by dignitaries from the capital, so nothing can go wrong."
The mother-in-law said flatteringly: "Oh, don't worry, we dare not neglect Lord Hou's celebration banquet! We are all careful! Nothing will go wrong!"
Mother Lin was still worried, and looked at the vegetable carts and baskets beside her: "Is this today's vegetable?"
"Yes!" The mother-in-law opened the vegetable baskets one by one, "This basket is live fish, this basket is chicken, this basket is fresh pork, just killed and sent from the vegetable market, and this, you see, are all Hit the seafood shipped from the south!"
Chicken, duck, and fish are available on weekdays, and Mama Lin is not a rarity, but abalone, crab, shrimp, and shellfish are relatively rare, so Mama Lin took a closer look.
The mother-in-law pulled a few fat and tender sea crabs, and said with a smile: "They are all alive, don't worry!"
"What is this?" Mama Lin asked a basket of meat, which seemed to be different in color from pork.
The mother-in-law laughed and said, "This is donkey meat!"
Donkey meat is a good thing. Isn’t there a saying that dragon meat in the sky and donkey meat on the ground
Mother Lin hummed in satisfaction, went into the kitchen again, checked all the ingredients one by one, and gave careful instructions on the sanitation environment, and said: "... put away those unruly things of yours, those who come to the house The guests are not ordinary, the service is done, Master Hou is honorable, and we are also dignified. After all, we are all slaves of the Hou Mansion, so naturally we have to behave like the Hou Mansion, don't act like you have never seen the world , everyone cheers me up, if anyone dares to steal and play tricks, I will expose his skin carefully!"
Everyone responded respectfully.
Mama Lin went back to the main courtyard with satisfaction, Mama Wang died, and she was the only one in the family, what a beauty!
In the main room, Mrs. Xu is confirming with Danju about the troupe.
Danju smiled and said: "The table has been set up long ago, and it's in Country Garden. The four seasons osmanthus we planted are in full bloom. We will sing a day's church there, and the custodians and daughters will like it!"
"Yeah." Mrs. Xu took a sip of tea slowly, "Remember to tell the troupe, don't sing songs that mourn the spring and autumn, but festive songs. This is the conferment of the Marquis by Master He Xi, nothing else."
Danju smiled and said: "The servant has already told the class master."
Xu put down the teacup: "Say it again."
"Yes!" Danju responded.
"Xingzhu!" Mrs. Xu called towards the door.
Xingzhu entered with several sets of clothes in his hands, and bowed: "Ma'am."
Mrs. Xu asked without anger and prestige: "Have you finished the clothes for the master and the young lady?"
Xingzhu walked forward with the clothes in his hands: "If you go back to Madam, it's ready, and someone from Xiulou will send it to you, Madam, please have a look."
The dress on the top is Qiao Yueshan's. It is made of precious Tianxiang brocade. It is luxurious and exquisite, with fine stitching. The style is fashionable and decent yet stable. Mrs. Xu is very satisfied. Then look at the plain white dress at the bottom, made of ice silk. The fabric is like a cloud, so light that it seems weightless. The cuffs and skirt are embroidered with lifelike clouds, which lightly move, radiant, like a sunset fairy coming on the wind.
If this skirt is worn on a daughter, it will surely amaze her.
Xu stroked her skirt and smiled: "My son has been wronged for so long, it's time to feel proud."
Not only does her Xi'er want Yixue to be ashamed of being divorced by the prime minister, but she and the second master also want to take off the "hat" that has been in prison. From now on, she wants to see who dares not take it. Looking at them
Compared with Fenghou himself, Xu is more concerned about her husband's achievement that Shen's husband failed to achieve. No matter how powerful the elder brother is, he is only a hereditary uncle. With his own ability, he became the Marquis of Yong En who was personally appointed by the emperor.
Since then, no one dared to say that she is inferior to Shen Shi!
…
The mountain was also very lively on the same day. Qiao Wei took the child back to the village. The news that her biological father came to her door spread like wildfire, and the whole Rhinoceros Village knew that their father and daughter were reunited.
I heard that Qiao Wei's father found her after wandering for more than ten years, no wonder it was not easy, and the villagers were very distressed.
Qiao Wei got another bout of pox and almost died, and the villagers felt that it was not easy for the father and daughter.
Agui knew a little bit of craftsmanship, and together with Luo Yongzhi, he built a medicine cabinet out of the leftover wood from the workshop and placed it in Qiao Zheng's room.
Bier went to the street and bought brand new mattresses and clothes.
The clothes are made of poplin, navy blue, and the cuffs are narrow, which is convenient for doing things. This is the most expensive fabric that can be bought in the town. For Qiao Zheng, who wore new clothes, it was very rare.
Qiao Zheng liked it very much.
Qiao Zheng was born handsome, and when he put on clean and decent clothes, he looked like he was ten years younger. He fascinated all the aunts and aunts in the village. into one piece.
"Grandpa, you are so beautiful!" Wang Shu raised his head, blinking his eyes and said in amazement.
This is not a lie, she really thinks grandpa is so beautiful, he is almost as beautiful as Uncle Ming!
Qiao Zheng, who was called grandpa, was overjoyed. He squatted down and pinched Wang Shu's little face, and then looked at Jing Yun, who was calm and composed: "Jing Yun, does this dress look good on Grandpa?"
Jing Yun nodded: "It looks good."
"Your mother bought it, and grandpa also thinks it looks good." Qiao Zheng looked down at the new clothes, and his eyes flashed with unconcealable joy. The clothes my daughter bought are just comfortable to wear! "I'll go show it to your mother!"
After saying that, Qiao Zheng went to Qiao Wei's house as if playing a trick.
Qiao Wei is checking the wages of the workers with Qiniang: "Based on the daily calculation, thirty yuan a day, one tael for a full month, whoever quits will say hello in advance, and the wages will be paid to him as usual without losing the production progress. "
Qiniang said: "There is no one who doesn't want to quit. During the famine year, the big guys can't even eat. Thank you for being able to make money. What's more, they all have IOUs. If they want to leave, they have to pay back the tax first." Let's go when we're done."
Qiniang is smart, calm, kind but not a virgin, gentle but not weak, soft on the outside and strong on the inside, she works hard, and can get along with anyone. Her communication skills and personal charm are far beyond the passing level. An excellent HR.
However, at the beginning of the workshop, HR was wronged to take on several roles.
"Ninny!" You Doctor grinned and appeared at the door.
Qiao Wei squeezed her eyebrows.
Qiniang stood up and saluted with a smile: "Master, have you changed into it? It fits very well and looks very energetic!"
"My daughter bought it!" Qiao Zheng smiled, very proud.
Qiao Wei opened her mouth: "When will I..."
Qiniang cleared her throat, and said softly: "Madam has good eyesight. When I came back from the capital, I fell in love with this set when I passed by the cloth village. I didn't bring any money with me, so I asked Bier to take another trip home." .”
Qiao Wei's eyes swished.
Qiniang babbled, picked up the account book, and said with a smile: "Today, I will hold a reception banquet for the master, and I will also celebrate the master's recovery by the way. I will go and see if there is anything I can help."
Qiniang left the house, Qiao Zheng walked up to her daughter, and turned around several times like a treasure.
Qiao Wei didn't look at him, and kept her head down.
The clothes were not bought by her at all, but Qiniang asked Bi Er to choose a set on her own initiative.
Qiao Zheng didn't know that his daughter didn't want to talk to him, and he couldn't see anything he didn't want to see. He smiled and lay down on the table, looking at his daughter flatteringly, and said, "My daughter, do you think I look good in my clothes?"
"Well, it looks good." Qiao Wei didn't even lift her eyelids.
Qiao Zheng said again: "You didn't even look at it."
Qiao Wei raised her eyes helplessly, and glanced at it: "I'm watching it now."
Qiao Zheng thought for a while, then took out a few copper coins from his pocket: "Here."
Qiao Wei looked at him strangely: "Why do you give me the money?" With such a small amount, she seemed to be short of money
Qiao Zheng said softly: "This is the consultation fee I earned yesterday. There is a man named Er Gouzi in your village. He also got pox and was dying. I cured it. His mother gave me ten copper coins." .”
Ten copper coins are not enough for a fraction of the doctor's outpatient fees in the town, but for Er Gouzi's family, it is probably all their savings.
Qiao Wei picked up a pen and wrote an account: "Since it's for you, then you just keep it and don't give it to me."
Qiao Zheng took it for granted: "I am your father, I want to support you, and of course I will give you my money."
Qiao Wei squeezed her fingers: "I'm going to the kitchen to cook."
In the kitchen, Bi'er and Aunt Luo had just washed the dishes, and Qiniang was kneading dough on the table. When they saw her coming, they both greeted her with a smile.
Aunt Luo wiped her hands with her apron: "You are still sick, why did you enter the kitchen? Go back to the room and rest."
Qiao Wei said: "I'm all well, I'll get moldy if I sit in the room again."
She has a restless temperament, unless she is sick and unconscious, she has to find something to do.
Aunt Luo thought that she wanted to be filial to her father herself, so she couldn't say anything, pointing to the live chicken in the basket and said: "Then you killed the chicken?"
This chicken is Mrs. Luo's hen. Mrs. Luo was not willing to kill it on Luo Yongzhi's birthday, but today she carried it up the mountain.
Qiao Wei's knife is very fast, cutting throat, taking blood, plucking hair, and dissecting internal organs, all in one go.
In addition to the live chicken, Aunt Luo also bought a live duck from the Zhao family, and Qiao Wei also took care of the duck.
There is not much attention paid to eating in the country. If you can have a complete set of chicken, duck and fish, it is very worthy of the table. Two fresh crucian carp, a catty of high-quality pork belly, plus a catty of morel mushrooms collected by Jing Yun and Wang Shu, A hare hunted by Qiao Wei, an unknown snake caught by Xiaobai, and red fruits picked by a few pearls, a sumptuous dinner is cooked.
Dinner is served in the hall.
Looking at the delicious dishes on the table, Qiao Zheng was so surprised that he couldn't close his mouth from ear to ear: "This... Is this all made by my daughter?"
Aunt Luo and You Rong said: "That's right? Xiao Qiao is famous for cooking!"
Qiao Zheng has been wandering for more than ten years, and he has long been ignorant of the smell of fireworks. These dishes look familiar, but he can't name them.
Aunt Luo proudly introduced Qiao Wei's dishes one by one: chestnut chicken nuggets, roast duck, watercress crucian carp, braised carrot meat, morel mushroom soup with meatballs, spicy rabbit meat, shriveled snake meat, stir-fried Chinese cabbage , Cucumber salad: "... Fortunately, Xiao Qiao made a table, and the table at my house can't even fit it!"
Qiao Zheng was dumbfounded.
"Grandpa, grandpa! My brother and I went to the mountains to pick the morels!" Wang Shu said excitedly.
Qiao Zheng fondled the heads of the two of them: "Wang Shu and brother are really capable."
Wang Shu said again: "Mother caught the rabbit! Mother has a cage, and rabbits often get into it! The snake was caught by Xiaobai. Xiaobai is very good. He raised many baby snakes, but none of them grew. Big, it caught this one on the mountain!"
Qiao Wei's eye knife shot over quickly!
Raising snakes again!
Xiaobai covered his head with his little paws.
Wang Shu smiled and said, "Pearl picked the fruit!"
Pearl puffed out her small bosom proudly.
Qiao Wei asked Jing Yun to invite the old scholar over, and the old scholar sat next to You Yi, Luo Yongzhi, Cuiyun and Mrs. Luo sat on one side, and the two children sat on the other side. When they called Qiniang and her party, Qiniang was embarrassed serve.
Qiao Wei smiled slightly and said, "It's just a meal, and I'm not an outsider. Call Agui, Brother Zhong, and Xiao Wei."
Bi'er said, "Xiao Wei has gone back."
Qiao Wei hummed suspiciously: "Why is it so early today? Don't you usually leave after dinner?"
Bi'er said uncertainly: "It seems... his elder sister is ill, and he rushed back to take care of her."
Over there, Qiniang couldn't refuse, so she called Agui and Brother Zhong over.
Brother Zhong happily sat down with the two little guys.
Qiniang and Agui also sat down.
Everyone looked at Qiao Zheng, waiting for him to move his chopsticks. He was a man in the main house, and if he didn't eat, no one would be embarrassed to eat first.
Qiao Zheng stared at the table full of food, dazed for a long time, finally picked up the chopsticks, first took a piece of chicken, put it into his daughter's bowl, then took two pieces of braised pork, and put it into Jingyun and Wangshu's bowls.
Jing Yun Wang Shu: "Thank you, Grandpa!"
Qiao Zheng's eye sockets were a little moist.
"Grandpa and my mother cook very well. I'll give you meatballs." Wang Shu scooped up a spoonful of meatball mushroom soup for Qiao Zheng with his immature hands. "My brother and I like it the most."
Qiao Zheng ate a small piece of morel mushroom, and it tasted really good, as good as Qing Yao's cooking.
Aunt Luo was about to cry when she saw the doctor, she picked up the chopsticks with a smile: "Father Xiaowei, we are not so particular in the countryside, don't take it to heart if the rules are bad or something."
Qiao Zheng said with emotion: "This is very good." Eating with the whole family at the same table is much more lively than eating alone.
Aunt Luo said to everyone: "Everyone, hurry up and eat!"
Everyone started.
Qiao Wei is good at cooking, even better than Qiniang and Bier's, and everyone at the table can eat to their heart's content.
During the period, the two children took food for their grandfather very considerately, which moved Doctor You again.
After dinner, the village chief came.
Qiao Wei invited the village chief into the house: "The village chief."
The village chief put ten catties of white flour and five catties of sesame oil on the table: "Your father is back, and I have nothing to celebrate. Don't be disgusted with a little thing."
Qiao Wei looked at the two big jars of noodles and oil, and said, "Village Chief, you are too polite. You have brought so many things, how can you finish them?"
"Eat as much as you can!" The village chief smiled and said, "You gave me tea and fish, and I won't take the opportunity to send you something back. How can I continue to eat at your house in the future?"
Qiao Wei couldn't hold it back, she smiled, she was a kindred spirit to this point.
The village head greeted the doctor again, who realized that he was insane, and pretended to be normal in front of outsiders. The village head didn't realize that the other party was an intermittent lunatic, and praised him for his knowledge, knowledge, With thoughtful etiquette, he is worthy of being the master of a rich family.
More village chiefs didn't ask, although he was curious which big family the father and daughter belonged to and how they got here.
Not long after the village head left, the villagers also brought things over one after another. Zhang’s aunt sent a basket of eggs, He’s sister-in-law sent two pumpkins, and Xu Dazhuang’s family sent several baskets woven by the old man (recently The prey is not easy to hunt, and it has been a long time since I had any income), the Zhao family sent a few corn cakes that they baked by themselves, and the people who worked in the workshop also sent home-grown things one after another, and the ground was piled up.
Although they are not valuable items, they are the best things that everyone can come up with. Qiao Wei wrote them down one by one.
The Enbo Mansion on the other side also had a fruitful harvest. The nobles who came to the door almost broke the threshold of the Qiao family. Everyone brought generous gifts, not gold, silver and jewelry, or antique calligraphy and paintings. They were afraid that the gifts would not be valuable enough to express their love for this The respect and value of the newly promoted Marquis Yong En.
Marquis Yongen saved the second prince of the Xiongnu, he was a hero of the Liang Dynasty, and he was also a Marquis, but his weight was more important.
Qiao Yueshan accepted everyone's congratulations with a smile on his face. Behind the screen, the Xu mother and daughter were surrounded by a group of ladies and daughters.
The second prince of the Xiongnu was still ill and could not go out of the palace, but he sent an envoy to thank him and sent him a pair of extremely rare black Haidongqing.
A single sea dongqing can be sold for thousands of taels of silver in the market, and a pair of male and female is even more difficult to measure.
Everyone was so envious, what kind of shit luck did the Qiao family have to befriend the prince of the Xiongnu. The emperor valued the bilateral relationship with the Xiongnu so much, so he would definitely favor the Qiao family very much.
Qiao Yueshan's laughter never stopped from the very beginning, and Xu's mother and daughter were elated after a long absence, not to mention how proud they were.
"Healing the wounded and rescuing the dying is the duty of the imperial physician. When did it become a great achievement?" Some people looked hot and snorted disdainfully.
The companion reminded her: "Shh, keep your voice down, the current Qiao family is not the former Qiao family, don't offend me."
After a lively night, the children washed up and went to bed, sleeping on Wangshu's golden canopy bed.
Qiao Zheng sat in front of the bed for a while, and then came to Qiao Wei's room.
Qiao Wei was opening Mingxiu's note, she wanted to know what she had done, why Mingxiu was so angry.
She laid out the notes for meditation one by one.
"What are you up to, Master Qiao? Have you cleaned up the door yet?"
Answer—"It's being cleaned up, what are you doing, Mr. Ming?"
"Come to the capital tomorrow, and I'll send someone to pick you up."
Answer - "Why?"
"There will be a lantern festival tomorrow night, have you been drinking?"
She drank too much that night and didn't remember the lantern festival at all. She went to the town the next day to discuss the egg factory with Boss Rong. By the time we got back to the village, it was already night.
He said that he would send someone to pick her up, and he really did, but unfortunately she didn't show up for a long time, and he went back to return to his life when he couldn't wait.
What Qiao Wei didn't know was that she guessed wrong on one point. Ji Mingxiu didn't send someone to pick her up that day, but waited in the forest all day by himself.
That day was Qixi Festival.
Qiao Wei tapped her head. She lived two lifetimes and never celebrated Qixi Festival with anyone. She finally had a handsome guy to spend it with her, but she forgot about it!
It's no wonder that Mingxiu is not a nose to her, and her eyes are not her eyes. If he let her pigeons go, she would be angry, but she really didn't mean it, she was too drunk...
"Ninny."
Qiao Zheng's voice interrupted Qiao Wei's thoughts.
Qiao Wei put the note into the brocade box, locked it, and returned to her normal expression. She looked at Qiao Zheng, and said politely and distantly, "It's so late, what do you want me to do?"
Qiao Zheng opened his mouth: "Jing Yun and Wang Shu's father..."
"Don't ask the child's father." She hasn't figured out how to say it yet.
Qiao Zheng smiled: "Then I won't talk, you should rest early." After saying that, he turned around and left the room, then turned back suddenly, "I might..."
"What could it be?" Qiao Wei asked.
"...It's nothing." Qiao Zheng smiled gently, "Go to sleep."
Qiao Wei nodded.
Qiao Zheng closed the door.
His daughter didn't like him, but he still felt it.
courtyard house
Ji Wushuang finished applying the ointment to Ji Mingxiu, covered her with a quilt, and walked out gently.
"This is not my ointment." He said decisively to Yan Fei.
Yan Feijue took a bite of the apple: "That's right, Xiao Qiao brought it. The effect is not bad, right?"
Against his will, Ji Wushuang said, "So-so."
Yan Fei scoffed and said, "It's so-so even if it's almost better? Admit it, old chicken, their medicine is more effective than yours!"
Ji Wushuang would not admit to that woman's medicine. He glanced at Yan Feijue lightly, and thoughtfully said: "I just checked the young master's pulse, guess what I found?"
"What?" Yan Feijue asked casually.
Ji Wushuang looked serious: "Be more serious!"
Yan Fei looked over seriously: "I'm very serious!"
Ji Wushuang glared at him bitterly, and said, "The internal force in the young master seems to be weaker."
Yan Feijue paused: "It's weaker, meaning it disappeared?"
Ji Wushuang said: "Maybe it disappeared, or maybe it was absorbed by the young master."
Yan Fei became very interested: "How did you do it? If this is the case, the young master won't have to drink so much medicine, and we won't have to worry about it all day long!"
Ji Wushuang also hoped that he could do it by himself, but if he had such ability, he would have cured the young master's illness a long time ago: "It's that mink."
"Xiaobai?" Thinking of taking a sip of its boy's urine, Yan Feijue retched.
Ji Wushuang pondered: "I'm actually not sure, it's just a guess. Judging from the urine effect of the ferret, it doesn't look like an ordinary ferret, but rather like the extinct Tianshan ferret. The ferret is full of treasures. , if it really is a spirit mink, then the young master's illness will have a chance."
A certain Xiaobai, who was regarded as a turning point, didn't know that he was obsessed with the Poison Saint Ji Wushuang, and was squatting on the floor of the Babu bed, resolutely defending his territory.
Zhu'er also wanted to sleep on the beautiful big red bed, and also wanted to get into Qiao Wei's arms.
But Qiao Wei is a noob!
Babu bed is Xiaobai's territory, anyone who violates my territory will be punished no matter how far away!
Xiaobai stared at Zhu'er fiercely, Zhu'er picked up the frying pan that came from the kitchen, and slapped Xiaobai towards it!
Xiaobai jumped up nimbly, avoiding a blow.
Zhu'er took out the slingshot that came along from Jingyun's house, grabbed the small stone, and fired three times in a row!
Xiaobai dodges to the left, dodges to the right, and jumps onto the wall. With his strength, he flips back and neatly dodges Zhuer's little stone. snake.
People are afraid of snakes, but monkeys are even more afraid.
Zhu'er exploded in an instant, squeaked, and ran out of the window with her pretty legs!