Dowry maid's daily life [Red Mansion]

Listening to my brother breaking apart and talking about the situation of Wang Ziteng's mansion, and seeing the unconcealable distress on his face, Du Yun'an touched his brother's worry, and only smiled to comfort him.

In fact, Yun'an knows more than he does. He knows that the cousin girl's nickname is Brother Feng, and she is a very powerful person. "Forget benevolence".But no matter how bad he is, he won't do his own business.

But it turns out that this girl from the Du family has a very strange and mysterious origin: She was originally an independent woman who grew up under the red flag and her roots were red. Her mother and child were single and her life was rich. , plump and positive.Unexpectedly, when she went to the capital to attend a conference, she dressed up beautifully and revisited the Grand View Garden scenic spot with her friends. Because of the gorgeous style of clothing that day, her friend laughed and said, "It's the real Second Grandma Lian", so Du Yun'an raised the collar On the Changshou lock, close to a small grass on the rockery next to it, he said: "Left the Crimson Pearl Immortal Grass, and right hold the Psychic Jade..." Before he finished speaking, the ground shook slightly. Du Yunan only listened to his friend She screamed to get away, and then her eyes went dark, and when she woke up, she was the newborn daughter of the Du family in Lijiazhuang, Wanping County.

When Du Yun'an was young, his mother was lingering on the sick bed, and she was afraid that the young daughter would be taken care of by her brother who was five years older than her, so she had a very good relationship with Du Zhong.A few years later, Mica died of illness, and the two little brothers and sisters depended on each other for life and supported each other, which really made the two of them live a better life and have more hope.

Therefore, regardless of whether they value Du Zhong's future or are envious of Du Yun'an's intelligence and dexterity, many managers want to marry Du's family.But Du Zhong has a well-known master who decides for him whether he is willing to marry a good family and have a son, but the Du family girl has something to do with it, and they are unwilling to let go of this good relationship—no wonder It seems that it is very difficult to redeem Du Yun's settlement contract.

Otherwise, according to Du Zhong's ability, no matter how tight Wang Ziteng's mansion is, he wouldn't be unable to speak to a housekeeper, but he had concerns, so he had to take it slowly.

The two siblings had a discussion, and seeing that it was late and the sun was shining outside, Du Zhong got up and went out of the house, took off the heavy and large door curtain from the door couplet, and replaced it with an ordinary cotton curtain.

Du Zhong let out the big black dog that was kept in the side room again, and let it have fun in the courtyard and the house. Then he led the old horse out from behind, and agreed with his sister to talk about the details of entering the house when he came back at night. To do things, take the pickled melon jar and ride out on horseback.

Du Yun'an sent him out of the gate, and stood in front of the wooden door until he could no longer see the people and horses, then pushed away the dark dog's face that was eagerly approaching him, "Huzi, let's go back to the house, I'll make it up for you." Drink bone broth."

The big black dog seemed to understand, its ears stood up, and it tried harder to come up to give it a lick.

Du Yunan refused with a smile, turned around, and just passed the threshold with one foot when he heard a voice: "Miss An, are you taking your brother out again?"

"Morning, aunt." Yun An greeted with a smile.

A fence not far away was opened, and the short and fat woman in a brown jacket looked at Du Yun'an with good eyes, and boasted in her mouth: "I haven't seen you in three or two days, girl An is so handsome again! My Ping'er is at home, Does Miss An want to come and play?"

Before Du Yun'an could answer, the big black dog beside her had already lowered its posture, and growled at the woman in its throat, as if it was going to bite it in the next moment.The brown-coated woman cursed in a low voice, her bucket-like body was like a round spinning top, and she moved into the gate with a "swoosh".

Du Yun'an hurriedly hugged Huzi's head, and thanked the woman for her kindness as he entered the door.

Seeing that Du Yun'an had brought that fierce dog in, the woman spit on the floor angrily: "Damn bastard, he is more ruthless in controlling people than her brother! It's so noisy that girl An can't get out of the house! "

The dark curtain of the door of her house was lifted suddenly, almost flying to the door, a chubby girl bumped out, and said angrily: "I don't want to be stubborn with her! Why did you ask her to come to our house again, hot face!" Is it not enough to stick a cool butt?"

"Damn your mother! I'll tell you eight hundred times that the Du family's sister is good-looking, and if she can't keep it all, marry a good family like a steward or a comprador. You can get along with her, and if she eats meat and you drink soup, you can count on her support." Support you!"

Seeing the disapproval on her girl's face, she said angrily: "Her brother loves my sister so much, you can recognize her as obedient, maybe, maybe...he fell in love with you?" She didn't believe it herself when she said this , the girl blushed, and rushed into the house like a gust of wind.

Her mother looked at the door curtain flying as if it had grown wings from behind, and covered her heart and scolded: "You prodigal son, you let go of the heat you have been holding for a long time! You stop for my old lady..."

Although the two women were talking in their own courtyard, they were both farmers who were used to loud voices, so they might as well ask the passing fat aunt to listen to them all.The fat aunt curled her lips, pooh-poohed twice, and muttered, "The toad wants to eat swan meat, so if you don't pee, it's up to you! Sister An is a peach on a branch, and yours is a swan in a puddle." Ping, you think so beautifully like a green foam!"

Looking up, she saw a few familiar boys poking around near Du's house, and the fat aunt immediately yelled flatly, "Hey! It's itchy again, isn't it! If I catch you, I'll give you a hard time!"

A few boys threw a few pieces of soil over here, and they scattered like birds and beasts. They dared not really let this fierce and strong girl catch her. She didn't know what politeness meant, she was really trying hard to beat people.

The fat aunt walked quickly to the door of Du's house with a basket on her shoulders. She leaned into the crack of the door to look in, and shouted loudly, "Sister An, I'm coming in. Keep an eye on the tiger so that it will know that I am acquaintance."

As soon as the words were finished, a black dog's head poked out from the curtain of the main room, with a fierce look in its eyes.The fat aunt swallowed, even though she had been helping the Du family for more than half a year, she was still frightened of this dog, especially after seeing it kill a half-sized wild boar cub and bring it back with her own eyes, she was even more afraid of it.

This dog is extremely loyal and only recognizes the brothers and sisters of the Du family. Everyone in Li Jiazhuang knows that the small courtyard of the Du family is Huzi's territory, and the dog will not let any bird fly in.Thanks to this dog, those half-grown bastards could only glance at it from a distance, and they didn't even dare to touch the wooden fence of Du's house.

The fat aunt stopped, and saw two white hands stretched out to hug the dog's head, moving it into the curtain, and then opened the door with a sigh of relief.

"Auntie, come in and warm up." Du Yun'an blocked Huzi, raised the curtain and said with a smile.

Aunt Fat was a hard worker. She put down her basket and began to tidy up the yard and stables: "At noon, my eldest son brought over the charcoal. They were all freshly burnt in Nanshan. They were stored without smoke and burned for a long time."

Du Yun'an came out with a bowl of brown sugar water, and smiled: "Brother Big Niu is getting more and more capable. I heard from my brother that Brother Big Niu is now solely in charge of a charcoal kiln?"

After drinking the hot sugar water, these words scratched her itch again. The fat aunt felt relieved, and she laughed and waved her hands: "He is not capable at all, but he is willing to put in some effort, and it is not worth praising him. He If I am really promising, I will be honored for the rest of my life if I get rewarded in front of my master tomorrow!"

At noon, the eldest son of the fat aunt's family brought two people to bring the charcoal, and Pang Da Niu didn't let the two people in, and he stacked the charcoal baskets neatly in the woodshed.Finally, I wiped off my sweat, and told under the window that I was going to go, but my heels touched the ground, and my movements were not as sharp as before.

"Brother Big Niu, don't rush away, you forgot the carbon money."

Pang Da Niu said "Hey" honestly, wiped off his sweat and straightened his clothes before lifting the curtain and entering the room.

The fat aunt saw that her son's hands and feet didn't know where to put them, and his face was black and red. She couldn't help laughing and scolding: "What's wrong, can't count? I don't see how much money your sister Du gave you!"

Du Yun'an hurriedly stopped him: "I'll give Brother Big Niu a few bowls of hot tea, thank you Brother Big Niu for your trouble." The black dog beside her stared at Pang Da Niu covetously.

Da Da Niu was even more embarrassed, he laughed a few times, and took a few glances at Du Yun'an, who was dressed in a bean green jacket and had a peach blossom face on the ground, and fled as if he was running away.

The fat aunt spat, cursing inwardly for nothing!

There are not many boys in Li Jiazhuang who don't care about the Du family's sister. They just want to think about it. Most of them know that this flower will not enter the farmer's house. Everyone guesses that it will either marry the steward, or hire it out to the landlord. Maybe I can climb up to a scholar.

Thinking of this, the fat aunt inquired while doing the work with her hands, "I heard that Wu Xiucai from Wu Village in the west is on good terms with your brother? Years ago, he invited him to have a drink?" Could it be that the boy from the Du family wanted to marry his sister to the scholar? Lang?

Du Yun'an thought of that somewhat pedantic scholar Wu Zhu, he actually showed his intention of proposing to his brother, but it's not easy to tell the outside world, besides, Du Yun'an has no intention of marrying him.Sui said: "Tian Fuzi, who enlightened my brother when he was young, passed the Juren examination. Wu Xiucai would like to ask my brother to introduce him."

Only then did Aunt Fat remember that the brother of the Du family, who is good at wielding knives, had studied in a school for several years since he was a child, and she couldn't stop tsk-tsk: "You have also studied, you brothers and sisters are amazing!"

"We only know a few words, but we don't dare to say that we have read books. Auntie doesn't know, the reason Wu Xiucai invites you to drink is because of the troubles caused by studying hard." She kept sewing the upper of the shoe and said, "Wu Xiucai Xiucai's eyesight is broken, so I asked my brother where I can buy diorama glasses, because of these two things, I specially bought him wine."

Although Auntie Fat has an older sister who works as a cook in the master's mansion, and her brother-in-law is also a small steward who has a high status in Lijiazhuang, but she is a peasant woman who is trapped in the village. She loves to hear these new things, so she immediately asked: " Diorama glasses? What kind of expensive things are they?"

"It is a transparent sheet made of glass or crystal, which is placed in front of the eyes, so that those who can't see clearly or far away can see things clearly. There are single sheets and double sheets, which can be influenced by the old Hanlin in Beijing. We like it. I heard from my brother that there are goods for sale in foreign goods stores in the city, but it only costs four or five taels of silver for a pair.”

"Four or five taels?" The fat aunt was speechless: "Why is it so expensive? It's worth the first half of the year!" So she just inquired about some new things, and forgot what she said earlier, and the girls chatted very well. .

In the evening, when Eucommia came home, the fat aunt hurriedly put the work she had brought back into the basket and helped feed the horse.

For the first thing, Du Zhong replaced the thick door curtain that had been drying on the bluestone for a day, and the fat aunt could not help but envy: "The door curtain in your house is better, because it can't let in the wind, and there is an extra door at night." It looks like it's more troublesome." It's because Du Xiaozi is good at hunting, so he is willing to use broken leather to make this thing.

This curtain is framed with wood, the outside is made of wooden strips nailed with broken leather, and the inside is felt filled with cotton. Isn't it just a door?It was because Du's house was remote, next to several hills, and Du Zhong was afraid that little weasels, foxes and badgers would crawl in on winter nights and scare his sister, so he specially added a layer of protection.

Du Zhong took out a piece of meat and bone from the basket he brought home, wrapped it in oil paper and put it in the basket for the fat aunt, and then sent the thankful fat aunt away.The fat aunt just saw a few pieces of meaty bones and two clean shaved big bones in the basket, and envied the Du family's better life, so she got this benefit, and couldn't help but like the style and character of the Du family's elder sister.

After closing the door, Du Zhong rolled up his sleeves, pulled out the tiger that hid in the sister's house in Xijian, and threw it into the utility room.The big black dog's protest made Du Yun'an chuckle, and waved at Huzi: "Huzi, I'll bring you broth later, did you see the meat and bones my brother brought back?"

Du Zhong laughed angrily: "I don't know who said that I have worked hard in martial arts and boiled bone oil for me, coaxing me to go to the butcher shop to order it early in the morning, and Baba brought it back. Now it has become this fat dog's extra meal. "

After a laugh, Eucommia cut meat and chopped bones, Du Yunan washed vegetables and set fire to the fire, and after a while the aroma came out of the chimney of Du's house along with the white smoke.It made the tiger growl even more joyously. In the dark curtain of the house not far away, the fat girl stretched out her head to take two deep breaths, and swallowed: "Du girl is really enjoying herself, Brother Zhong is really capable... ...Mom, I want to eat meat!"

"Drink your father's blood, there is no meat for you to spoil!"

Du Yun'an was busy working on the stove, and Du Zhong moved out two large camphor boxes from the east room, and carefully put them into his sister's room.

Looking back, Du Yun'an said, "Brother, what are you moving?"

"I found out what Mother left for An'an last night." Du Zhong's eyes were filled with water: "When Mother left, tell me to take good care of you and find a good brother-in-law in the future..."

"These two boxes are the dowry left by your mother. I asked my brother to give it to you after you are old. In this situation, it might as well be earlier." He said and handed the two copper keys to Du Yunan.

Du Yun'an froze on the spot, even if she lived a new life, she was like someone who was born with old wisdom, so she didn't remember much of Yun's voice and smile.After all, Yun's passed away for nearly ten years, and she wasn't very close to her when she was young. Du Yun'an heard her elder brother talking about it, and suddenly a soreness welled up in her heart, and her eyes were hot.

"Don't cry, don't cry, An An..." Du Zhong was in a hurry. An An was sensible and considerate since she was a child, and she rarely cried.

Fortunately, after a while, the little girl was amused by her brother's bewildered look, and silently suppressed Baiqian's emotions.

Du Zhong asked cautiously: "Does An An still remember Wu Xiucai from Wu Village?"

"Why did brother suddenly mention this person?" Yun An wondered, "It just so happened that Fat Auntie was still inquiring about this person during the day."

Du Zhong seemed to be in a bit of trouble, so he said after a while: "He intends to marry you. He said it once a year ago, and today he met again in Beijing. I heard his words are very sincere. If the two families agree first, we will wait until the family is redeemed." It may be a good match for Qie to ask him to propose marriage again." Du Zhong was reluctant to part with it, but also felt that it was a pity to miss this scholar, but it would be better to make a marriage arrangement without telling the mansion.

"Brother, don't mention that." Du Yunan frowned, not pretending to be shy, but that there was indeed something wrong with this marriage.

"This Wu Xiucai is very face-saving in his words and deeds in the past. When he had a drink with you last time, he repeatedly asked me if I had the intention of redeeming myself, and then he showed some modesty. If I redeemed you quietly He was very willing to ask a matchmaker to propose a marriage due to his birth contract, but I had to go to the government as an servant, and there were many changes. Even in the future, I will still be willing to fulfill my promise in terms of many conditions. Ashamed, feel that marrying someone who was born as a maidservant has polluted the lintel?"

Du Zhong was furious: "He dares!"

After pondering for a while, Du Zhong also felt that he was impatient. He only saw that Wu Xiucai studied hard and had a bright future, and he was also a gentleman with a fair appearance. big.If this is the case, wouldn't it harm my sister for life?

Du Zhong himself was in a cold sweat from fright, and warned himself that he had to be more thorough, so he put the matter aside and didn't mention it, thinking about trying that Wu Xiucai again in the future.

The two brothers and sisters drank the warm broth and carefully discussed who could arrange for Yun'an to work in the house.Eucommia has a lot of affection among the family and generals, but Wang Ziteng's family has its own faction, the housekeeper and servants, and the Zhuangtian livestock farm, and the latter two are intertwined.Du Zhong recognized a few big housekeepers, but the inner housekeeper of the second door really had a black eye.

"The housekeepers inside are probably the daughters-in-law of the housekeepers. There are two single-handed errands, one Baitong and the other Ren Dexuan, but they both have face. It is said that Baitong's connections are easy to walk, and Ren Dexuan is strict..."

The author has something to say: for personal attention, the comments in this chapter still give [-] small red envelopes~

[About glasses]: In the late Ming and early Qing Dynasties, Ye Mengzhu's "Yue Shi Bian" Volume [-] "Shihuo [-]" records: "When I was young, I occasionally saw old people using them, and I don't know the price. I heard that the Western ones are the best. , each pair is worth four or five taels of silver, made of glass, and made of elephant skin, which can't be done without great strength... Only in the West there is a kind of quality that is thicker than skin, which can make all the hairs of myopia clear, and each pair is worth silver. The price is two taels, if you are farsighted and the elderly take it, it will be unclear."

[Every time the righteousness comes from slaughtering dogs, most of them are scholars]: A famous couplet by Cao Xuequan, a poet of the Ming Dynasty.