The Royal Merchant of the Red Chamber

It is said that after Baochai greeted Mrs. Xue, she took Yinger back to Wutong Garden.After changing clothes and washing for a while, he plunged into the study, holding a stack of account books and pondering over it.

Ying'er brewed a bowl of ginseng tea neatly and put it on the table, then took a silk handkerchief and sat down to embroider.From time to time, he put down the work in his hands, cut the lamps and candles for the girl, or replaced them with hot tea.

Until the third watch, I only felt that the dew was deeper and more penetrating.Then I couldn't help but walked to Baochai's side, and said softly: "Girl, it's late at night, let's settle down!"

"Go to bed yourself, I'll watch later." Baochai waved her hand and sent Yinger away without even raising her head.

Yinger saw it in her eyes and shook her head.Turning around, he took a green cloak and put it on Baochai, and carefully tucked it in, so that the cloak could not block Baochai's movements.Then he tiptoed back.He also remembered that when he was adding clothes to Baochai, he accidentally touched Baochai's cold fingertips. After careful consideration, he went out of the study and ordered the girl who watched the night to bring a charcoal stove that was not very commonly used from the outside to the study, and set it on fire. The fine silver charcoal, added a touch of incense, and then put on heavy clothes and huddled on the short bed beside him, and continued to work silently.This time it was not like embroidery, because the candlelight was dim.Yinger carefully hurt her eyes, so she put down the embroidery pattern, turned around and found a few bundles of colored threads to tie tassels to pass the time.

After one hour and another hour passed, drums were played outside four times.Yinger poked her head and looked outside, she was faintly lit up, and she couldn't help becoming anxious.Walking up to Baochai, he pressed the account book involuntarily, and pleaded: "Good girl, please take care of your body and settle it! If the master, wife and uncle know that the girl will stay up all night, they will have to take my skin off." No."

"You don't understand!" Baochai pressed his brows wearily, and said slowly: "I thought the shop my brother entrusted to me to take care of was just an ordinary shop in my family. How could I expect it to be a famous shop in Jinling City?" Rouge and gouache. Although I am a girl in the inner house, I also know a little about the things outside. I have never heard of such a business, so I can't help feeling a little anxious."

"Even if you are in a hurry, the girl has to be careful about her own body. If she is really tired because of this, wouldn't it be a disappointment to the kindness of the uncle?" Ying'er persuaded.

"If this great business is lost in my hands, it will be a disappointment to my brother's kindness." Baochai sighed softly, "Today I followed Wu Yue's family to visit the garden, and you followed, and there are things in it. Might have seen it?"

"Although I haven't seen it before, the name of Uncle and Little God of Wealth is very familiar to me." Ying'er said with a smile: "Although I am a maid in a deep house who doesn't understand the things between men. But I know, since there is such a With a name, the uncle is by no means an ordinary person. I heard from the boys outside that when it comes to doing business, the uncle is a genius. Ten or hundreds of ordinary men can't beat the uncle's eyeballs. So I hope Noble talents naturally think differently from us. Why did the girl lose her stature because of this?"

Baochai laughed lightly when she heard this, and said relievedly: "You are right. My brother's ideas and methods are full of praise from my father. I am a girl, so naturally I can't compare."

"So, girl, please rest assured! This business can't be learned in a day or two. Except for the talent and ability of the old man, naturally you can make whatever you want. But when you come to the girl, Take your time!" Ying'er said, and quickly tidied up all the account books on the table.

Baochai nodded in relief, handed the account book to Yinger, and said, "That's right, step by step is the right way. It's just...you have to get started as soon as possible. Brother don't worry about handing over this huge stall to me." Give it to me, and I also ordered the people below to cooperate fully, and I will naturally make some achievements. When the business is in my hands, let alone any expansion, it must maintain the original good. Last year was drafted, it was a good time to earn money, I can't delay the shop because of my unfamiliarity."

"What the girl said is right. Let's take a good rest now. You are full of energy. With the girl's intelligence, you can easily catch it. Don't worry." Ying'er smiled flatteringly, and Baochai smiled gratifiedly. .He hurriedly ordered the servant girl to fetch water to wash, and personally helped Baochai to lie down, and carefully tucked in the corners of the quilt, and then lay down on the short bed beside her, and fell asleep soundly.

Silent all night.

The next day, Baochai woke up early.After washing up, she changed into a half-new goose yellow skirt and jacket, combed her hair briefly and put two new silk flowers on her hairpin, and then went to Ruirong Hall to say hello to her parents at a leisurely pace.

When they arrived at Ruirongtang, Xue Zhizhang and his wife had already got up.They were chatting in the main hall, but Xue Pan hadn't come yet.Baochai stepped over the threshold, walked up to the two of them, bent slightly, and said, "Daughter to father, and mother to greet."

"Get up!" Mrs. Xue stretched out her hand to embrace Baochai, looked at her expression carefully, and said, "I heard that girl said that you stayed up until four o'clock yesterday. How can you be so hard?"

"It's not something else, it's just that my brother gave Baochai a shop to take care of it yesterday. Baochai was so excited that he tossed and turned and couldn't fall asleep. Fortunately, he got up and looked at the account books, so he became familiar with it." Xue Baochai lowered her head obediently. replied.

"Oh?" Xue Zhizhang at the side heard the words, but became interested in two things. "What shop?"

Xue Baochai looked up at Xue Zhizhang, and replied with some embarrassment: "Rouge and gouache."

"Ah!" Mrs. Xue was surprised, and said unconsciously: "That is a very profitable shop! Is your brother handing it over to you regardless?"

"Brother said to use it for me to practice my hands." Baochai said, a sudden blush appeared on his face. "I just thought that my brother valued it so much, so I can't live up to my brother's good intentions. I have to study hard. That's why I was a little late yesterday."

"It's just something I gave you to play with when you are idle and bored, so don't worry about it." The gorilla blanket at the door shook for a while, and Xue Pan appeared at the door, and said with a smile: "If you are getting serious because of this, then It’s the failure of my good intentions.”

Seeing this, Mrs. Xue pulled Xue Pan into her arms, tapped Xue Pan's forehead lightly with her fingertips, and said with a smile: "It's not you who actually handed over this mess to your sister, let alone him as a child." .It’s an adult like me who is terrified when I hear it. What if I can’t fix it and lose money.”

When Xue Baochai heard this, a trace of uneasiness flashed across his face.

Xue Pan shrugged his shoulders nonchalantly, and explained: "Originally, this shop was built to entertain my younger sister. It doesn't matter if I make money or lose money, as long as my sister is happy. What kind of family is our family? , It’s still short of that little money. It’s not a good saying that money can’t buy me happy. As long as my sister is happy and feels happy playing, it’s better than anything else.”

Xue Baochai glanced at Xue Pan gratefully, and said firmly in a low voice, "I will definitely work hard, and I will never let the shop lose money."

Hearing this, Xue Pan frowned dissatisfiedly, and said to Baochai, "This shop is for you to practice your skills and expand your social circle at the same time. It's not about letting our Xue family have an extra supervisor. Don’t put the cart before the horse.”

He gave Mrs. Xue a meaningful look, and said, "everything has different uses in everyone's hands. For example, in the eyes of Wu Yue's family, this shop is a weapon for her advancement, so she honestly bought it in the shop. The job in charge is just to keep a good business in the shop, so that her life will be easier. With me, this shop is just a way to pass the time. As long as the shop is open, I will leave it to my sister for fun. I feel satisfied. And for my sister, this shop is even more enjoyable. It’s just a place for my sister and best friend to chat and play.”

Xue Zhizhang nodded in agreement when he heard the words, and said: "That's right. When it comes to managing affairs, at least there are people from Wu Yue's family watching in there, so nothing can go wrong. What kind of precious person is Baochai in our family? Do you have to spend every day on the shop like a housekeeper?"

Mrs. Xue didn't intend Baochai to manage the business of the shop at first, she was mainly afraid that the news of the girl's personal involvement in the business would make people laugh.Now after hearing what the Xue family and his son said, they are happy to shut up.Stretching out her hand to stroke Baochai's fair neck, she said with a smile: "It should be like this. Our daughter, there is no need to worry about money. Even if she is lying on the bed every day, the money will roll over automatically. The other side of the shop is easy to use." Of course, from today onwards, it's better to learn how to manage housework with my mother!"

Seeing this, Xue Zhizhang shook his head amusingly.Looking at the graceful Baochai again, he nodded and said with a smile: "However... knowing how to read the account books is also a good thing. In order to prevent that villain from bullying the master in the future because he doesn't understand money matters, he hides traitors and deceives others. "

After finishing speaking, a servant girl just opened the curtain and came up with food.So everyone stopped this topic and began to eat.

After the meal, everyone used ginseng tea and fruits without mentioning it.Let's say that Xue Pan followed Baochai to Zhuangyou's courtyard with his head drooping, but was stopped by Xue Ding on the way, and said, "Master Zhen's family is here to visit."

Hearing this, Xue Pan looked suspiciously at the still dark sky outside, and asked in a low voice, "What is he doing here so early?"

Saying that, he waved his hand to let Baochai go first, and then turned around and walked in the direction of Ruirongtang.Entering the main hall, I saw Zhen Baoyu standing in formal attire in the hall, greeting Xue Zhizhang.There were still several boxes of Ye Jianli on the ground.Xue Pan became more and more suspicious.

"It's so early in the morning, which play are you acting in?" Xue Pan walked up to Zhen Baoyu and teased with a smile.

Seeing the stack of colored notes in Zhen Baoyu's hand with sharp eyes, he quickly pulled them out and muttered, "Mr. Zhuang, my student Zhen... Zhen... see you."

Seeing that he couldn't read it, he pointed at the word with his backhand and asked, "What's this word?"

"It's Zhen Yong (yong twice)." Zhen Baoyu shook his head helplessly.

"Why did you come up with such an uncommon word, so that people can't read it on purpose." Xue Pan didn't feel ashamed, but said flamboyantly, "Who came up with such a bad name!"

Zhen Baoyu's face darkened, and he said expressionlessly, "That's my name."

"Isn't your name Zhen Baoyu? Why didn't I know when it happened so brightly?" Xue Pan asked with a look of astonishment.

Zhen Baoyu became more and more helpless. "Baoyu is just a baby name. Who would name this? Zhen Yong is my name."

"This name is really awkward." Xue Pan's lips twitched, and he had a smirk on his face: "Could it be that Uncle Zhen thought that other people would not be able to write the word you, so he did it in order to show his elegance. up?"

Zhen Baoyu became more and more speechless.

"Hey, that's right." Xue Pan made a fuss, and then remembered that he didn't ask about something. "It's not the first time you've come to our house, why are you making it so formal now?"

"He came to pay homage to his teacher." Xue Zhizhang said cheerfully, "Come to worship Mr. Zhuang as his teacher. If Mr. Zhuang agrees, you will have a junior brother."

"Oh!" Xue Pan nodded indifferently, and said with curled lips, "I'm just asking for guilt in rushing to worship my master!"

"You—" Zhen Baoyu looked at Xue Pan speechlessly.

"I'm telling the truth." Xue Pan looked at Zhen Baoyu with sympathy, and said, "You will know the pain at that time. If you go to school, you won't be able to go to bed early every day. And you jumped into the pit on your own initiative. Yes, if the master really accepts you...hehe!"

"I'm too lazy to talk to you." Zhen Baoyu glanced at Xue Pan, and stopped talking. He came to find Mr. Zhuang to study, which was naturally after careful consideration.After that dream, he only hated himself for not being able to become a talent in one day, and he was afraid of hard work.The only worry is whether Mr. Zhuang will accept his dull apprentice.

Thinking of this, Zhen Baoyu couldn't help but glance at Xue Pan enviously.How could he have such a good life, that there are great Confucian scholars who have been passed down from generation to generation rushing to accept disciples, and he didn't think that he was enjoying himself in the past.Now after listening to my father's theory, I realize how incredible this is.

"Okay, don't delay with me." Xue Zhizhang saw enough of the joke, and waved his hand to push him away. "Pan'er, don't think about being lazy and avoiding your master with me, take Baoyu to see Mr. Zhuang!"

Hearing this, Xue Pan curled his lips in disappointment.Turning his head and glaring at Zhen Baoyu, he said sullenly, "Come with me!"

Seriously, I thought I could escape disaster with you!I didn't expect to meet a self-inflicted trap.

Xue Pan thought so, squinting at Zhen Baoyu, feeling more and more unpleasant.For a while, I was fascinated and lewd that if the master really took Baoyu and then tuned and taught...

Can't help but snicker.

When Zhen Baoyu saw it, he felt even more incredible.Such a person...has really become a closed disciple of a great Confucianism handed down from generation to generation?