In the forty-eighth year of Yuanhe, Xiaobao became the youngest Tanhualang in the history of the Daxi Dynasty, and was awarded the editorship of the Imperial Academy.
In addition to the No. 1 pick, Xiaobao, a fifteen-year-old Tanhualang, also attracted the attention of the court.
Although it was only edited by the Imperial Academy of the Seventh Rank, many people in the court saw the potential of this young Tanhualang and handed him olive branches one after another. Many officials even wanted to betroth their unmarried daughters to Xiao Bao, but Xiaobao rejected them one by one.
Li Mo and Song Dashan respect Xiaobao's decision. In terms of marriage, they hope that Xiaobao can choose a girl they like. Anyway, Xiaobao is still young now, and the marriage can be done slowly.
Xiaobao has never mentioned the matter of marriage with Li Mo and his wife. He goes to the Hanlin Academy every day to be on duty seriously, and rests once every ten days. Suffocated at home.
The reason why she was afraid of Fu'er's suffocation was because now Li Mo couldn't stay with Fu'er all the time, the new shop has been renovated, the business has officially started, and the family is busy again.
The new shop is the same as the old shop in the town, divided into dressing room, beauty room, leisure room and play room, but the current shop, each room is wider, the decoration is very high-grade, and all kinds of equipment are most expensive. Of course, the price of fees has also become more expensive. One time for makeup is 50 yuan, and one time for beauty treatment is 60 yuan. The price of snacks and tea has also doubled.
Different from the old shops that followed the common people's cheap route, Li Mo positioned the shop here in the capital as a high-end route, and the customers are basically rich people, and the average consumption per person is about 80 yuan each time.
Such a price is not expensive in the capital city, but it is not cheap either. At the beginning, many people didn't know Li Mo's craftsmanship, and the business was not very good, but Fu Yueran often came to patronize him, and he was very popular among people, big and small. Intentionally or unintentionally praised at the banquet, more and more ladies and ladies came to the shop with a curious attitude to try it, and after trying it for the first time, they basically became regular customers in the shop.
With the help of Fu Yueran, one month after the opening of the new shop, the business broke through the depression and became better and better. It was more than double the business of the previous shop. Correspondingly, the shop was short of manpower.
Knowing that Li Mo was short of people, Fu Yueran asked the usual matchmaker in the mansion to bring Li Mo some people for her to choose from. Li Mo picked two women to do odd jobs and two servants to run errands. Picked four girls with good looks, clean family background, and ingenuity as apprentices, and planned to teach them beauty and make-up in the future. After they graduated from the teacher, they would replace her to do beauty for the guests.
Ever since the apprentices were chosen, Li Mo took the four of them with her every beauty and make-up, and asked them to observe and study. After the shop was closed, she would explain to them in detail and let them practice with each other to improve their skills .
Besides these four people, Li Mo also has a young apprentice, Xiao Fu'er.
That's right, Li Mo intends to teach Fu'er all the skills.
Fu'er is already ten years old, she is considered a half-grown girl. From now on, she can teach everything that needs to be taught. In addition to teaching her cultural knowledge, she is also proficient in makeup and beauty. Even if she doesn't need it in the future It is not a bad thing to master the skills of make-up and beauty that women are most concerned about.
Xiao Fu'er is also a sensible child. Li Mo asked her to learn, and she followed behind obediently. She was more serious than the four senior sisters. She was always the first to ask if she didn't understand, and she was always the one who took the initiative to try. Probably inherited Li Mo's talent, Xiao Fu'er is also quite talented in this area, it can be said that she is not inferior to Li Mo.
However, she can always master everything Li Mo teaches and master it quickly, and the effect of practice is quite good, so that she can put on good makeup at a young age, making the other four senior sisters who are also talented It's too far behind, even Li Mo has to admit that Fu'er will not be worse than her after practicing for a few more years.
In fact, it doesn't take a few years, only two years, and Fu'er's skills can be compared with Li Mo's. Everyone who comes to the shop knows that the proprietress's daughter is very skilled, and her makeup and beauty skills are not inferior to Li Mo's. His mother, if sometimes Fu'er wants to make up the guests herself, the guests who come will rush to make her make up, and the scene is always very lively.
And as the four apprentices were gradually able to become teachers, Li Mo entrusted them with the task of makeup and beauty, and she herself retreated to the second line and took up the work of collecting money at the front desk, commonly known as the shopkeeper.
Song Dashan is in charge of taking care of the flower gardens in Zhuangzili in the outskirts and making various balm and beauty products. He will drive the carriage to Zhuangzi every day at dawn and return in the evening.
On this day, Song Dashan also came back from Zhuangzi, but looked out of the gate from time to time.
Li Mo was surprised, "Dashan, what are you looking at?"
Song Dashan frowned slightly, and said in a low voice: "For the past few days, there has been a little girl wandering outside our shop, as if looking at something, but she didn't come in, it's very strange."
Li Mo stretched out her head and looked out the door, and she really saw a sixteen or seventeen-year-old girl wearing linen looking into the shop, seeing Li Mo looking at her, she immediately looked away.
"Is it this girl?" Li Mo asked.
Song Dashan nodded, "It's her, she has been looking outside the door for several days."
Li Mo thought for a moment, then went out of the shop, walked up to the girl, and asked, "Girl, is there someone you are looking for? Is there anything we can do to help?"
The little girl didn't expect that the people inside would come out to talk to her, she was a little embarrassed, her face was slightly flushed, she hesitated for a while, but she didn't say anything.
Seeing that she seemed to have something to say, Li Mo encouraged her with a smile, "Girl, if you have anything to say, you can just say it, don't be afraid, if I can help you, I will definitely help."
Probably because Li Mo's attitude was too kind, the little girl gradually let go of her restraint, pursed her lips as if she was thinking about something, and finally said softly, "I want to find someone, and his home seems to be here."
"Oh? Who is it? As long as I know, I will tell you that I know almost all the people around here."
The little girl bit her lower lip and let it go, summoned up her courage and said, "I want to find someone named Song Yifan, do you know him?"
Song Yifan? Isn't this Xiaobao? Could this girl be looking for her Xiaobao
Li Mo carefully looked at the girl calmly, but couldn't see anything, so she simply asked: "May I ask, what are you looking for?"
The little girl didn't answer, but asked instead: "Do you know him?"
Seeing that the little girl was unwilling to say anything, Li Mo didn't force her, but said truthfully: "I know her, I'm his mother."
The little girl blushed when she heard the words, she seemed to be very embarrassed, but she still greeted politely, "Hello, Auntie."
Seeing the little girl's reaction, Li Mo judged that she must know Xiaobao, and there was no malice in coming to him.
Seeing the little girl's dusty appearance, Li Mo simply said: "Girl, my family, Yifan, is still on duty outside and won't be back until evening. Come in with me and rest for a while." Take her into the house.
The little girl seemed a little unaccustomed, but she still didn't break free from Li Mo's hand, and followed her in.
Li Mo asked Fu'er to take the girl to the backyard and serve some tea and fruit snacks.
Fu'er was very curious about this girl who looked good, and the key was to find her brother, so she couldn't help asking: "Miss sister, what's your name?"
The girl smiled, "My name is Qixi."
Fu'er tilted her head, "Your name is the same as Qixi Festival."
Qixi nodded, "Yes, because I was picked up by my master on the day of Qixi, so I am called Qixi."
Fu'er's smile faded away, "I'm sorry for bringing up such a bad topic."
Qixi shook her head, "It's nothing, my master is very good to me."
Fu'er changed the subject, "Then can you tell me why you are looking for my brother? Do you know my brother?"
Asked by Fuer's question, Qixi blushed again, pursed her lips and nodded slightly, "Well, I know your brother, and I came to him this time because I have something important to ask him."
Fu'er saw that the young lady was embarrassed to say so, so she nodded and didn't ask any more questions, but treated her more attentively, and went to tidy up a guest room for her to stay in.
In the evening, when Xiaobao came back from the Imperial Academy, he was caught by Fu'er who came up to him as soon as he entered the door.
Xiaobao smiled and patted his sister on the head, "What's the matter? Why are you welcoming brother so warmly today?"
Fu'er wrinkled her little nose, and said with a playful smile: "Brother, let me tell you something, a beautiful young lady came to see you today."
Xiaobao was slightly surprised when he heard the words, "Looking for me? Who is it?" He walked into the main room while talking.
As a result, when he saw the figure on the dinner table, his footsteps stopped suddenly, and an uncontrollable look of surprise appeared on his face, which is usually not very emotional, "Qixi?"
Qixi immediately stood up, the corners of her mouth curled up when she saw Xiaobao, and her voice was light, "Song Yifan."
Li Mo and Song Dashan looked at each other with doubts in their eyes.
Li Mo waved to Xiaobao, "Yifan, come in quickly, this girl has been waiting for you all day."
Only then did Xiaobao recover from the surprise just now, suddenly restrained his expression, walked into the room slowly, looked at Qixi as if he was looking at a stranger, and asked in a voice without emotion: "Why are you here?" ?”
Seeing Xiaobao's face suddenly become indifferent, Qixi's smile froze, she tugged at the hem of her skirt, and said in a much lower voice, "I... I'm here to find you."
Xiao Bao narrowed his eyes, sat down at the table, picked up chopsticks to eat and asked, "Oh? What can I do for you?"
Qixi's eyes turned red uncontrollably, and she couldn't say what she wanted to say before she came, and she didn't know whether to stand or sit.
Seeing this, Li Mo frowned. She didn't understand why Xiao Bao, who was always gentle and polite, suddenly became so sharp, but now she couldn't say anything, so she stretched out her hand and pulled the little girl to sit down, "Qixi, hurry up and sit down to eat." , let's talk after dinner, okay?"
Qixi wiped her eyes and nodded, "Okay, thank you, Auntie." After speaking, she picked up the chopsticks and dug the rice into her mouth, without adding any vegetables.
Li Mo couldn't stand it anymore, picked up vegetables and put them in Qixi's bowl, "Qixi, you're welcome, you can pick whatever vegetables you want, how can you just eat white rice."
Qixi quickly thanked her and ate all the dishes Li Mo had made.
After eating, Li Mo and Song Dashan went back to the house, and even drove Fu'er back to the house, leaving only Xiaobao and Qixi, and let them solve their own problems.
Xiaobao didn't say anything about the avoidance of his family members. After sitting for a while, he got up and prepared to go back to his room. Before leaving, he said, "It's getting late, go to bed early." The tone seemed to be talking to a stranger.
Qi Xi's face turned pale, and she was a little clueless. Seeing that Xiao Bao was about to leave, she couldn't help grabbing his lapel, "Yifan."
Xiao Bao pulled out his sleeves, his brows and eyes turned cold, and his voice had no warmth, "Please respect yourself."
Those three words made the last bit of blood on Qixi's face disappear, and her teeth clenched her lower lip so hard that it was almost bleeding.
Xiaobao waited for a long while but did not see anything from the other party, his brows became a little colder, and he turned and left.
After taking two steps, someone grabbed his sleeve again, and the person behind him said in an uneasy and apprehensive voice, "Yifan, you...do you still remember what you told me back then?"
Xiaobao's hands clenched in his sleeves, his knuckles turned white, and he really wanted to ask her why she could ask such a question after she disappeared for so long without a sound, but she couldn't say it when it came to her mouth Exit, but once again pulled out his sleeves fiercely and said, "I don't remember."
After saying this, the hand that grabbed his sleeve gradually loosened, and the people behind him were silent again.
The air suddenly fell silent.
Xiaobao regretted what he just blurted out, and wanted to look back, but he couldn't turn his head back when he thought of his hard search for the past two years, so he simply went back to the room.
But when I got back to the room, I couldn't fall asleep. For a while, I wondered where she came from, and for a while, I wondered if she went back to the room to rest, and for a while, I wondered if my attitude just now would make her sad. Bao opened his eyes until dawn.
The next day when he went to rest for a bath, Xiao Bao managed to get up until the time when he would usually wake up for a rest, then he put on his clothes and opened the door, and went to the dining room to have breakfast as usual.
But the figure was not seen at the dinner table.
Could it be that you haven't woken up yet
Xiaobao sat down, greeted Song Dashan, Li Mo and Fu'er, and then picked up the bowl and began to eat.
But there was no sign of that person until almost the end of the meal.
Feeling a bit unbearable, Xiao Bao pretended to be casual and asked: "Where is the girl who came to our house yesterday? Haven't woken up yet?"
Li Mo raised her eyelids, closed her eyes again, picked up a piece of pickle and said, "Oh, that girl came to say goodbye to me early in the morning, and left with her luggage on her back."
"What! Let's go!" Xiaobao's chopsticks fell to the ground all of a sudden, and he stood up, causing the chair to rub back for a long distance, making an ear-piercing sound.
Normally Xiaobao would definitely not be like this, but now he doesn't care about these things, only the fact that she is gone is left in his mind.
she left? really gone? Why did you leave again? Did my words make her go last night
"Mother, when did she leave? Where did she go?" Xiao Bao's voice was more eager than ever.
Li Mo took another sip of the porridge, and after swallowing it, she said, "I left a quarter of an hour ago, it seems to be heading west."
Before Xiaobao had time to say more, he rushed out of the door and disappeared.
Fu'er was dumbfounded, "Mother, I've never seen my brother so panic-stricken. Ever since I saw that sister last night, my brother has become completely different from usual."
Li Mo picked up a fried dumpling for Fu'er, "You are too young to understand, he will take care of your brother's affairs."
Fu'er let out an "oh" and ate obediently.
The author has something to say: continue tomorrow