[Red House Chai Dai] Salted Pork Knuckle, Crab Rice Wine

Baochai took Ying'er and Fu Qiufang's little maid, and when they found Fu Qiufang, they saw such a scene of covering their faces and crying.When the autumn wind blew, Fu Qiufang's frail body shivered in the cold wind, like a lonely little yellow flower drifting in the wind.

Seeing this scene, Baochai was also taken aback for a moment.Because she was afraid of Fu Qiufang's embarrassment, she wanted to order Fu Qiufang's little maid to serve her, and she pretended not to know anything while waiting outside.Unexpectedly, Fu Qiufang is as exquisite and clear, but the little maid who is close to her is extremely stupid and can't read people's eyes. Just as Baochai glanced at her, the little maid has already raised her voice and shouted outside: "Girl, Xue The big girl is here to see you."

Baochai was forced to retreat by the little maid, so she had no choice but to bite the bullet and go forward, handing Fu Qiufang a handkerchief.Unexpectedly, as soon as Fu Qiufang saw her, she hugged her and burst into tears, crying and complaining, saying that she was born unlucky and did not have a good pregnancy like Baochai.

Fu Qiufang has always been known as a talented woman, she handled things well in front of others, and never lost her manners. She thought that she was ridiculed severely this time, and all her long-standing depression broke out. Baochai was also taken aback, and she didn't know how to deal with it.

She knew that her friendship with Fu Qiufang was shallow, and it was even more taboo to talk shallowly and deeply, so she didn't say anything, just looked at Fu Qiufang like that, and stroked her back with her hands to show comfort.At the same time, she felt a little confused: Fu Qiufang actually envied her!I think she was reincarnated well!This is what surprised Baochai.

Every troubled person has his own troubles.From Baochai's point of view, the biggest worry is nothing more than his brother's ineffectiveness, blindly fooling around with cronies, but his mother still hopes that he will have a future.But Fu Qiufang's worry is that her elder brother is too promising, so he can say what he wants at home, and can even control the fate of his younger sister.

"I really hate...I really hate that I'm not a man..." Fu Qiufang said in a weak voice, the voice was so soft that Baochai thought it was an illusion.

In fact, Tanchun often said this.Baochai also knows Tanchun's troubles.Being born into a daughter's family, there are many things that need to rely on the pro-daughter. The mother who gave birth to her is Aunt Zhao who has a very bad relationship with Mrs. Wang. Naturally, she is afraid every day for fear that she will not be able to please her.It's a pity that she is cheerful by nature, she should be such a generous person, but because of her status as a concubine, she is cautious every day.Wouldn't it be great if she and Jia Huan were the same, and the world was so big that they could all go there?

It's just that Baochai couldn't follow Tanchun's words at that time.After all, she is Mrs. Wang's niece, if she follows Tanchun, wouldn't she be accused of blaming her aunt?Therefore, if Baochai was present when Tanchun was talking, he would interrupt with a smile, saying that she was thinking of impossible things and doing something.

But at this moment, seeing Fu Qiufang crying so sadly, Baochai couldn't help but think how wonderful it would be if she were a man.She no longer has to worry about getting angry about her brother's incompetence, she can directly shoulder the responsibility of the Xue family's family business... It's just that this kind of thought is just fleeting, she is too clear-headed to waste too much energy on impossible things.

In fact, Fu Qiufang didn't cry for too long.It was just that she had been ridiculed too much, and after crying like this, she gradually let go of it.When Baochai returned to the banquet with her one after the other, she had become that generous and decent lady again, with a clear smile, neither humble nor overbearing.

Back home that day, Aunt Xue repeated the old story about Fu Qiufang, and said to Baochai: "The girl is getting old, it will look bad if she doesn't marry again. Your sister Yinghua has already engaged, if you If you fail in the palace election next year, it's time to think about yourself. It's rare that your second aunt thinks highly of you and is willing to make you and Baoyu a pair, but you still dislike Baoyu's idleness and not giving birth every day. You don't want to think about it, either. People like the Duke’s Mansion, even if one or two of them are not engaged in production, how can they be poor? Besides, yesterday your uncle tried Baoyu’s talents, and no one would applaud you when he saw such a person? Do you have such a person? What are you dissatisfied with?"

Baochai couldn't laugh or cry: "Where in the world does a mother expect her daughter to lose the election? Sister Yuanchun is now the empress in the palace. You should beg Second Aunt to let her speak in front of you."

According to the rules of the dynasty, from the age of 13, officials and officials can participate in the election of the princess.In terms of age, Baochai will be 15 years old after the new year, which is the year when he was elected.Besides, now that Yuan Chun is being favored, after all the calculations, as long as she says a few words, she is [-] to [-]% sure of it.

With this idea in mind, Baochai became even more angry to prepare. Apart from piano, chess, calligraphy and painting, female reds, etc., she found out the Four Books and Five Classics, and re-read them several times.

As the new year was approaching, Baochai invited Daiyu to his home and showed her the year-round bonuses from the silk and satin and cloth shops.Because Daiyu sent 2000 taels of silver to join the business at the beginning of the year, Baochai was able to take the opportunity to expand, and built a workshop in the countryside, inviting people from nearby villages to spin and weave cloth in the workshop.In this way, the cost is much lower than buying from other firms, gradually becoming one of the best silk and satin cloth suppliers in the capital.After coming and going, I made a total of 3000 taels of silver a year, and distributed 800 taels of silver to Daiyu according to the share.

Although 800 taels of silver is worth a year's salary of many officials in the capital, Daiyu has always been aloof, so she is not willing to deal with money.So I just picked up the ledger and flipped through it a few times, then threw it aside.

Baochai, however, thought that she was very likely to enter the palace. Knowing that Daiyu was impatient, she kept nagging in her ear about business matters, and pointed out Chen Yi's family and Yingerniang to Daiyu. Speaking of future bonuses, just ask them for it.

Daiyu suddenly sneered, and said, "Am I just doing this for the bonus of several hundred taels of silver? People say that you are impeccable in everything you do, but now it seems that it is true!" After saying that, she walked away in a huff.

Baochai's good intentions were so sneered at, she suddenly felt baffled, and said to herself: I'm not that Jia Baoyu, how can I guess her twisted thoughts, and I can't learn that low-key, begging face in every possible way. .

Seeing that the day of the palace election is approaching, she is busy with everything, how can she care about the quarrels between these children, and she is busy instructing Xiangling, rushing to ask Grandma Liu to be orphaned, and helping her mother to take care of the children's quarrels. Gifts from home, very busy.

In the twelfth lunar month, it snowed heavily, and the dripping water turned into ice.Baochai successfully passed the primary election in such cold weather.According to the results of Wang Ziteng's inquiries, several father-in-laws in the palace are very satisfied with Baochai and want to recommend it to all the princesses.During this period, a lot of money will naturally be thrown out, this is just an unspoken rule inside and outside the palace.According to a father-in-law who patted his chest and assured the ticket that Baochai's selection was a certainty, he then turned to compliment Prince Teng and said that in time, another empress would be born in the family.

On the day of the re-election, all the empresses and princesses from all the palaces came to the scene to investigate the merits of the women who participated in the election.When it was time to show off her talents, Baochai followed the suggestion of the voice in the golden lock, and the sound of a zither aroused the admiration of everyone.Before stepping back, she peeked at Mistress Yuanchun's face, only to see Mistress Yuanchun smiling, as if she was giving her a slight nod.

The final result of the re-election will not be announced to the world until after the first month.Thinking about it, the families who sincerely want to be selected will definitely take advantage of this January to start the final competition.Baochai was not so worried.She believed in the influence of her uncle Wang Ziteng, and she also believed that Empress Yuan Chun in the palace would never stand idly by.

Maybe it's because a string has been stretched too tightly for a long time, and now that everything that should be done has been done, and when it's time to wait for the result, Baochai can't be clean.Her illness relapsed, so she didn't go anywhere or see anyone for more than ten days. She didn't get better until the Chinese New Year.And in the first month, there happened to be a great event: the Family Visiting Hospital has been completed, and the Yuanchun Empress will return to Ning to visit her relatives during the Lantern Festival.