The Maid's Strategy in the Red Chamber

frivolous

I went to see Xing in Rongxi Hall, and sure enough, Xing wanted Xue Yan to help with embroidery.

Xing said with a smile: "I know you're busy, but this time it's for the second girl's wedding. I won't bother you with the clothes and bedding next to it. I found a large floor-to-ceiling screen with a red sandalwood bottom in the warehouse two days ago. The base is still fine, but the original screen core is moldy. I will trouble you to embroider a new screen core, then paint the base all over, and reframe it to look like the new one.”

It was said that there were faint black lines on Xueyan's head: "Ma'am, you are not short of money, why do you still use the old furniture for the second girl?"

"Do you think I love money? It's hard to find large pieces of red sandalwood in the market these days, especially a few years ago when the ladies in the palace visited relatives, but they wiped out the treasures of many families in the capital. What kind of red sandalwood and huanghuali are there?" Even if I have it now, it is too expensive. If I hadn’t kept it intentionally, I’m not sure who would own this red sandalwood screen. If I didn’t feel sorry for the second girl, I wouldn’t be willing to give it to her.” Mrs. Xing Said cracklingly.

It turned out to be a misunderstanding, Xueyan hurriedly smiled and said, "Good wife, this servant is just making a joke, please don't be upset."

Mrs. Xing pinched her face unceremoniously: "You little girl, you belong to you. If I don't explain it clearly, you still don't know how to arrange me." Then, he smiled to himself: "Forget it!" Well, I just want to say that you followed your wife’s dowry after all. I also remembered that your wife’s situation is special. After all, you are a girl’s maid, and it’s normal to have no experience with these ways. I’ll teach you today, The richer the family, the more they pay attention to the details. It does not mean that everything is new and the best, like those good materials, which will not be outdated after decades. The same is true for furniture. If there are a few pieces of red sandalwood furniture that have been passed down for generations, others will only be envious."

"It turns out that this is the case. I really don't understand these things. My wife can remind me more in the future. It would be great if there are no more jokes." Xue Yan said with a smile.

Xing couldn't tell why she was so pleasing to the eyes of this awkward little girl.It feels like getting along very well, without that sense of estrangement.She suppressed the distracting thoughts in her mind, and said with a smile: "Now that you know it, you have come to beg me. Pity me for asking you for a favor, but you are still pushing back."

"Don't dare, I came over here as soon as I heard Xiaohong said that you were looking for me. I never finished the work you ordered..." Before Xueyan finished speaking, Xing Shi just waved his hand: "Okay, okay, you girl can talk, if you let me go on, you won't make me dizzy? Let Xiaohong find something for you, take it away, it really makes me so troublesome Headache."

Xiaohong led Xueyan to a small storeroom next to her to get things. Xueyan saw a lot of big red boxes piled up here, and couldn't help but click her tongue: "Your wife is starting to prepare a dowry for the second girl?"

"No, not this time. When I went to Huguang last year, along the way, my wife collected a lot of beads, gemstones and satin fabrics. The big head was for the second girl. The small head was for the eldest sister, but the eldest sister Still young, my wife said that her share can be taken slowly. And as the eldest daughter of the next generation, the bottom of the dowry must be extremely delicate." Xiaohong repeated Xing's words, and then clicked her tongue. "You don't know. When my wife was in Jinling, she bought a box of more than a dozen rubies. It was the best pigeon's blood red, with a clear color. The smallest one was as big as a lotus seed, and the largest one was bigger than a longan. My wife took half of it for me. The second girl left it to make jewelry, and I put the rest away. Those few red treasures can be worth one or two thousand silver."

Xueyan clicked her tongue: "Your wife is really generous." After all, Yingchun is just a concubine daughter, and the Xing family doesn't have any daughters, so don't worry about it.

Such a reputation, even if you don't do it, no one else can say anything.

Xiaohong curled her lips: "That's right, my wife has always been generous and generous, unlike some people who are extremely hypocritical. According to the usual practice, 5000 taels from the husband's family is the highest standard when a girl born in the mansion gets married. But the honor given by the wife The gems are all counted in his private house, and the 5000 taels were directly bought by the second master to buy a [-]-acre Zhuangzi and two shops in the city. The wife said that the second girl will have income every year by then, and the money on hand If you are generous, you don’t need to look at anyone’s face.”

Xueyan praised: "My wife is really thoughtful. It is also the second girl's blessing to meet such a aunt." I couldn't help but think of Tan Chun in my heart, and I don't know who the shrewd third girl will end up with in the future. , I hope I don't marry thousands of miles away like in the original book.

She shook her head silently, as a slave, she couldn't afford to worry so much.Thinking sadly in my heart, I don't know when I will be able to regain my freedom, and I have saved almost [-] silver in my hands. It would be great if I could buy a small villager and be a landlady with peace of mind.It's a pity that this society's tolerance for single women is too low. If there is no backer, they will end up losing both personal and wealth in minutes.

Thinking of this, it is inevitable to think of Lin Ying again.This brat doesn't know if he can be trusted, and he doesn't know if he will bully him because he doesn't have a mother's family.Thinking about it carefully, Xue Yan felt that there was nothing to be afraid of. If he really dared to start messing around and give up, even if he risked his life, he would not make him feel better.

Lin Zheng, who was studying hard in the Imperial College, suddenly shuddered involuntarily. He looked at the dark sky outside the window, and thought that it was really cold this spring, and it seemed that he couldn't rush to change out of his winter clothes.It never occurred to him that someone was "consoling" him behind his back.

Xiaohong searched for a while in the warehouse, and besides the plain yarn and satin used as the base, she also brought several pieces of extra material for her, and various silk threads were also wrapped.

a burden.

Xueyan's eyes were sharp, and when she saw that the materials were either for internal use or for official use, she nuzzled: "I don't lack these, so will you be spoiled if you do this?"

"It's okay, it's just a trivial thing, who would care? Besides, this is what my wife meant, otherwise I couldn't be so generous. She can't give it to you clearly, just using this as an excuse." Xiaohong continued with a smile rummage through things.

"Strange, I remember there are some gold and silver threads, why can't I find them now." Xiaohong said with a frown.

Because it is a dowry for Yingchun, Xing means that she is not afraid of vulgar patterns, and must show the grandeur of everyone, pointing out that gold threads should be added.

At this time, Xiaohong slapped her head: "Look at my memory, the gold and silver thread was taken away by the second girl when it was a gift to Liu's family a few days ago. The re-purchased one is still at the second grandma's place, I will go now Go, save your time."

Xueyan suggested: "Then let's go together, and I'll go back to the girl after I get the gold and silver thread."

Xiaohong had no objection, she found a little maid to help Xueyan carry things, and the two went to Wang Xifeng's yard together.

As soon as he walked to the gate of Wang Xifeng's courtyard, he met Jia Lian and a man coming out, and the two hurriedly sideways to avoid it.

The man had already walked over, turned back after a while, looked at Xueyan and said with a smile: "Hey, this maid looks strange, I don't know whose room it is?"

The extremely frivolous tone made Xue Yan feel disgusted.