Dowry maid's daily life [Red Mansion]

The girls very much invited the old man to sit down.

Meiyue and Heyue forced Grandma Liu to sit down on the kang, Xiangling offered her hot tea, and coaxed Baner with a noodle stuffed with sweet-scented osmanthus honey from the fruit plate on the kang table, and said with a smile: "Why did grandma call our girl a big girl?"

Grandma Liu saw that the girl serving tea dared to talk and laugh in front of Miss Master, and her eyes were clear and there was nothing wrong with it, so she knew that the girl sitting opposite was probably a generous character, so she relaxed and smiled. He explained: "Speaking of it, it happened 30 or [-] years ago. Mrs. Wang and my little grandson's ancestors fell in love with each other. The two families happened to have the same surname, so they even joined the clan. In the early years, we walked around a lot. Later, our family's situation became worse and worse. Alright, so I don’t dare to bother you at the door rashly. It’s just that now that we know that the eldest girl is near home, it would be rude if we don’t come to see her.”

Fearing that he would not believe it, the old man hurriedly said with a smile: "The eldest lady's aunt is the wife of the second master Jia of the Rongguo Mansion. Back then, Ban'er and I even paid homage to the second lady. She is a good Bodhisattva! Your eldest house master also The only thing that knows about us is that he went back to his hometown in the south with his family to keep the foundation. But the eldest girl’s parents were not in Beijing when they were in Lianzong, maybe they don’t know that there are poor relatives like us.” He smacked his lips as he spoke. , smiled shyly: "It's only at the second aunt's place. Our family is not well-off now, so we don't move around much. One is that I dare not forget to go to the Hou Men's mansion, and the other is to go to the second aunt's wife." Disgraceful in this world, but I have never been there again, and I don’t know if the second aunt still remembers us.”

After Grandma Liu said this, Yunan and the three knew that her family and the Wang family had been walking together a long time ago. At that time, Mrs. Wang hadn't left the cabinet yet, and even the ranking was according to the Wang family. Madam is the eldest daughter of this family, and when her younger son came out of the cabinet, she had already changed her ranking, and she was never called "Second Aunt".

He Yue covered her mouth and smiled: "Your old man's words are sure to be accurate, don't say that the Hou Men's mansion is afraid to enter, and now the young lady in the Hou Men's mansion is right in front of your eyes." She pointed at Yingchun and Daiyu.

Yun An also laughed: "It's a coincidence that my eldest sister is the eldest daughter of the elder of the Rongguo Mansion, and her direct sister-in-law is the only daughter of the elder of the Wang family that grandma said, and the second wife is an aunt. My little sister is surnamed Lin, She is the daughter of Yangzhou Yanzheng Censor Master Lin, and also the granddaughter of the Rongguo Mansion, and the second wife is the aunt. Speaking of it, it’s all about relatives, grandma, don’t be restrained.”

Grandma Liu had seen these three girls look like celestial beings a long time ago, and she wondered before, isn't there only one girl Wang, and who are the other two.

Upon hearing this, Grandma Liu hurriedly recited the Buddha's name, boasted several times, and then slapped the board that only cared about eating sweet fruits: "You hozen, quickly pay respects to Miss Wang, Miss Jia, and Miss Lin. You are so lucky to let us see you in one breath." There are so many honorable people in the Immortal Palace!"

The three of Yun An hurriedly stopped with smiles: "Farewell!"

Xiangling caught up with her, pulled Baner's little hand with a smile, and asked him if he would go down to the ground and play with her: "I got a new pair of Jiulianhuan, can I play with it? There are also Lubansuo, Jiulianhuan..."

Ban'er remembered that the elder sister with the mole between her eyebrows was a cake for him, so she wasn't too afraid, so she was attracted by the fresh game she said. Kang went up.

At this moment, Mei Yue also whispered to Grandma Liu: "So that grandma can know that our girl is the daughter of our Mrs. Wang's family, but her surname is Du... I mean nothing else by saying this, so don't worry, grandma. Although she is not her own, But everyone in the mansion looks no different from his own."

Grandma Li blushed with embarrassment, and regretted that she hurriedly came up to talk without asking clearly—it turned out that Grandma Liu happened to meet an old acquaintance that day, and that person was an ordinary daughter-in-law of the Wang family in the early years. , and now she has become the respectable mother in charge of the mansion.When we met back then, we were quite familiar. There was a fleshy mole on her lip. At first glance, she looked like a matchmaker walking around the streets, so it was easy to identify.

Grandma Liu rushed up to say hello to her, and the steward remembered it after thinking about it for a while, and said a few cold and summer polite words, and the woman laughed: "I'm in a hurry to deliver something to our girl, grandma, let's talk next time." .”

Grandma Liu is an old man with a long history: her family was also affected by the ban on the capital, and her son-in-law's affairs could not be carried out. Fortunately, in summer and autumn, he followed the people in the village next to the mountain to dry vegetables and pick wild fruits. With some money, this can survive the winter.But if there is no more income, I am afraid that there will be a spring famine, but this family has only her son-in-law and a man to support the house. It is said in the countryside that the mud in the capital is soaked in blood, so the family dare not let Wang Gouer enter. In the city to do the thing of selling dried vegetables and dry goods.Grandma Liu was always thinking about where to get some money, or to get some relief. Now that she meets this old acquaintance, the old man's heart will live.So he stopped and asked, "Why is your girl outside the city?"

The mother in charge of the Wang family laughed and said: "There are many things in the city, the girl went to the village to relax for a few days. This is the girl's own place. She came here for a while before, and the wife was not at ease. She was afraid that the girl would be wronged. Send these things—good grandma, I really dare not delay, I have to wait for the girl for half a day, and go back to explain to my wife."

After saying that, she hurriedly ordered a carriage to go, and Grandma Liu counted on the side of the road, good fellow, there are six large carriages, full of them, and the women who pushed the carriages had to squeeze in front of the carriages.The grandma thought in her heart that she had met the ancestor of the God of Wealth, so she immediately went home to discuss with her son-in-law and daughter.

The dog Wang also said at the time: "There is only one Zhuangzi on the road they walked, but I heard that it is the Zhuangzi of the Du family. Speaking of which, the business I am doing now is still a favor from others. Xia Qiuli is People from this village come to our place to collect wild vegetables, and they also take dried vegetable strips from our farm. As long as the things are good and clean, they are willing to take them, and the price is fair. I saw that I was making money, so I went far away to other villages I collected it and sold it to them, and I really made some money. The person in charge also told me that if there are a lot of dried and wild vegetables in the house, if it’s not too troublesome, I might as well sell them in the city, where large and small households I would like to have this, the more I leave it until the cold weather, the more I can earn some hard money--there is no secret at all, and I think the master of the family must be a kind person who is pitiful and weak."

When Grandma Liu heard what her son-in-law said, she couldn't sit still and wanted to visit immediately.This old man has her own wisdom. She said to her daughter and son-in-law like this: "I'm afraid she came out to hide from the city. How delicate should such a young lady be raised? Maybe the firecrackers on the New Year's Day are afraid, not to mention those troubles." Big thing—even if you live in a deep house, you can’t bear the smell of blood wafting in from outside. But then again, who knows how long such an honorable person will live in the manor, we are hesitant, this lady We have gone home, so we still have a ball game? As the saying goes, the seventh-rank officials in front of the prime minister's gate, the gatekeepers of their rich families may not help us to tsk inward, without this Qiao Zonger, just wait Fight the famine."

As the saying goes, Wang Gou'er was also worried, and hurriedly found someone who was related to the tenant of the village, and begged him to make a connection. Two days later, he hurriedly sent Grandma Liu to take a board and carry a basket to save the food that he didn't want to eat. Dried jujubes, come to Zhuangzi to pay my respects.

——This young lady is really very kind and polite, but her family made a big joke!This is the manor of the Du family's own, and has nothing to do with the Wang family. Besides, Miss Du is a foster daughter, so the relationship was already far away, and now it is even more irrelevant.How dare you open your mouth, Grandma Liu was ashamed and anxious, feeling like a cat scratching her heart.

At this time, Miss Du said with a smile: "Grandma is not an outsider, just eat with us."

It turned out that it was almost noon, when Grandma Liu was in a daze, a girl in front asked if the meal was passed on and where to put it.

Yun An said with a smile: "At Zhuangzi, we have breakfast early, and grandma's guests can do whatever they want." In this day and age, from the top down to the common people, they generally have two meals a day, breakfast at around nine o'clock, and dinner at Around three o'clock in the afternoon, the rest of the time there will be tea fruit and snacks.Naturally, the banquet is not held according to this time, but only according to the wishes of the host.

When the three girls were growing up, especially Yun An, they were very hungry, and snacks and fruits were not as good as regular meals, so they gradually ate three meals a day. There is a hospital in Rongfu Small kitchen, it’s more comfortable to go to Zhuangzi—Mr. Chen Laoxian is very open-minded. She cherishes blessings and preserves her health. She eats two meals a day and refuses to eat after dinner, but the girls are not allowed to follow her example. As for the old man, when she was young, she could eat on her stomach, so she grew up in good health, and was able to struggle with the Supreme Emperor until she got back the Viscount Laushi.

Yingchun, Daiyu and the maids all saw that Grandma Liu was embarrassed, and they all thought that eating would be a distraction.

The dinner was set up in the back warming hall. Although the banquet was not held solemnly, they were still considerate of Grandma Liu. The maids were afraid that she would not understand the etiquette of giving up seats, so they simply set up a table, with a small table for each table.Grandma Liu saw that the three girls ate themselves after washing their hands under the maid's service, without those complicated etiquettes, she breathed a sigh of relief, then let go of the hand holding the plate, and served him the dishes Put it in a bowl and let him eat it with a spoon.

Even if she wanted to pay attention, Grandma Liu and Ban'er were still eager to eat, and the table was somewhat messy.

Eighty percent full after eating, Grandma Liu regained consciousness from the delicious food, feeling a little bit more interested, and hurriedly glanced at the three sisters, who knew that the three sisters were not only the same color, but also seemed to be in a good mood. very good.

This is another good thing. During the time in the village, the girls not only relaxed and enjoyed the wild fun, but also saw the sufferings of the people and how the common people lived.Rao Daiyu, who loves cleanliness, has heard and seen the meals of the tenants’ sisters and children, and even tasted the vegetable dumplings that they often save to eat—it was the first time she knew that the stuff that scratched her throat was wheat bran , and know what is called "bran vegetable half-year food"... Miss Lin's heart is more tolerant.The same is true for other girls. Although they still love Jie, they will no longer feel that the farmers' dry, black hands are dirty, nor will they look down on others for no reason.Like this, we eat different things with Grandma Liu, and everyone accepts it very well, and we don't fall into that delicate problem.

I feel good when I'm full.Grandma Liu is more relaxed than when she first came here. She is old and has many interesting stories and insights in her belly. Interesting story, the three girls, together with girls like Mei Yuexuelu, listened fascinated.

It wasn't until half past noon, when the sun was setting to the west, and Wang Gou'er came to pick him up at the gate of the villa, that Grandma Liu was shocked to realize that she was only talking about gossip, but forgot the old things, but at this time she was facing these people who were much older than her granddaughter Qing'er. She was also embarrassed when the young girl suddenly opened her mouth.Sighing secretly, Grandma Liu thought in her heart that after all she had a good meal, she should be content, so let's go home and think about something else.

The younger sisters got up to see her off, but Daiyu was still a little bit reluctant, because she said: "If grandma is not busy, she will come to us to talk about ancient Chinese. Our old lady has not returned from visiting friends today, otherwise she would like to listen, and she would also talk to grandma. We can talk together."

The girls hurriedly explained that the old county gentleman also lived here to take care of and accompany the juniors.

Grandma Liu was speechless, her legs and feet trembled a little. The knowledge about the royal family she had learned from storytelling operas taught her that the county monarchs and princesses all had royal blood, which was worse than the wives and grandmas in the big families. To be more honorable...

After sending her out of the other courtyard, everyone in Yun'an stopped and watched her go down the mountain to the gate of the villa.When Grandma Liu returned to her senses from the royal family, she was holding a bundle in her arms, and the woman who sent her down also carried a bundle on her shoulders.

Grandma Liu was dumb, and before she could speak, the woman who gave it away smiled and said, "Old sister, watch the road, and walk steadily." She also praised her, "Your little grandson is really sensible and obedient. Make trouble, and you will definitely be successful in the future."

It went straight to the gate of the village, and Mrs. Hua gave the burden of resistance to Wang Gou'er, and then she smiled and said: "Everything for the children."

The dog Tete borrowed the donkey cart from the Baochang's family to pick up the old mother-in-law. Sure enough, he borrowed it correctly, and the attitude of the man was really polite.

When Fang walked to the distance where Zhuangzi's gatekeeper would not hear his words, Wang Gou'er excitedly told Grandma Liu: "My mother! How do you flatter her? Why are you so generous?"

Grandma Liu stopped her hand to hide the bundle under the broken firewood mat, and hurriedly asked why.

Wang Gou'er said happily: "You always play the autumn wind for the whole family, who knows that you have the ability to find a long-term job for me. I have a serious job, and we don't have to ask for relatives and friends in the future. In the future, when we go to other people’s villages, it’s only for relatives to visit, and we don’t empty our hands, we can take whatever we have at home, as long as the things are clean, we are sincere, and I won’t find fault with his house when I look at it.”

Grandma Liu was in a hurry, and asked repeatedly: "What long-term errands are you talking about?"

The dog just laughed: "The housekeeper at the village saw that I was familiar with the people in the local area and I was able to do things, so he asked me to continue to do what I was doing before. I don't have to sell it at home, but just collect the things and make them ready. He sent a cart to pull them and sell them at their shops in the city."

Grandma Liu was puzzled: "Isn't this the same as before? Didn't you sell most of the vegetables you collected in the past to his farm?"

"Of course it's different. I don't need to mess around with you in the future. You have to listen to what he says, such as shepherd's purse in spring, lotus leaf and lotus in summer, dried vegetables in autumn, dried fruits, flowers and grass... no matter if it is harvested from other places. I still encourage the neighbors to do it. As long as the goods of good quality are handed over, he will settle the money according to the contract, and give me another monthly bill every month. There are many things to be busy, you old product, do you have The taste of those big families’ compradors?” Although the profit from the goods is definitely not as much as before, and there is at least a small amount of money after excluding the cost, but the monthly money is what makes Wang Gou’er excited.This is a long-term errand, and if he does it well, he may not be assigned more important tasks. Besides, as long as he is familiar with this line of work, he will be able to get out of the way in the future, and even Ban Er can lead him to do this when he grows up. A line of business.

Back home, the whole family took a breath when looking at the large and small burdens, especially the dog, who was holding a few thin volumes of enlightenment books, his lips trembling.

The Du family did not give silver taels.In the big bundle are several large pieces of fine cloth, a food box for food, and a box of pen, ink, paper and inkstone and Mongolian books.In that small bundle is the ruler of a good brocade.

Wang Gou'er was an official in his ancestors. He lived a good life as a young master for a few days when he was a child, and he also knows a lot of big characters.But later, the family became more and more destitute, and those books were the first to be sold because of their high prices. Now he can’t afford the books if he wants to teach his son a few words. All the writing is short of arms and legs. Who would have thought that this "relative" who is far away in the sky is so important!Don't look at just a few Mongolian books, as long as Ban'er learns all the characters in this book, he will be much smoother in the future. He doesn't have to watch the weather for droughts and floods to eat, and it's easy to find a job as a shopkeeper.

Grandma Liu and her daughter were grateful and chanted Amitabha. Mrs. Liu picked up the piece of good meat from the bottom of the box, weighed it, and said with a smile: "One piece of meat. My mother, a basket of dried dates is so heavy in return." I would have picked up those two old hens again!" This cut of meat is six catties and six taels.Grandma Liu patted her daughter and pointed to four things to eat: meat, fish, sugar, and tea. The eyes of the old widow were red: "Four-color gifts, people really treat our family as relatives."

Gou'er carefully put the book back into the box, with a radiant look: "You always only know one thing and don't know the other. As you always said, people are really entertaining relatives, so I prepared these things. It's not like that It’s like sending someone to give away a few taels of silver—but they’re not even thinking about this, because they’re afraid that we’ll be short of money, so we won’t be able to open our mouths.”

He pointed to the fine silk and satin, and told Grandma Liu: "This is actually for us to exchange money. With such a color and pattern, this piece of ruler is enough for an adult to make a suit of clothes. Take it directly to a silk shop or a tailor's shop, and they will give it to you directly." It’s for money. When I was young, I saw my grandma return gifts to relatives in my hometown like this. This is a way to save your face and give benefits.”

Mrs. Li folded her palms together and chanted Buddha again, "I just wanted to say, that big bag of things is for our family to use, but why did they give away the silk and satin that the farmer will never need in their lifetime?" Li Shi didn't dare to touch the pattern again, so she wrapped it tightly so as not to scratch it.

From then on, Wang Gou'er worked hard, and in his spare time, he read and studied Mongolian books with Ban'er. If he didn't understand, he had the cheek to ask and learn, which was a hundred times harder than when he was a child learning characters.Under his influence, even the eldest daughter Qing'er gradually learned some words.This is for the future, so there is no need to say more.

It is only said that after this time, Grandma Liu felt relieved, and felt the friendship of the Du family, so she often walked around.Every time I just use what I have at home as a gift, and I don’t deliberately buy another expensive one. The same is true for the Du family’s return gift. You don’t have to be as solemn as the first time. In this way, it will add some intimacy, and it is really like relatives.

----

But it is said that Du Yun'an just got married with Grandma Liu, and learned some simple truths from this old man who has accumulated a lot of years. The two of Yingchun and Daiyu really have the knowledge of ordinary people, and each of the three girls has their own gains.While he was enjoying himself, Du Yun'an's evil guest suddenly came to the door.

It was the end of winter and the return of spring, and the winter jasmine flowers in the village were in full bloom.I don't know if it's the original one or it was planted by people when Eucommia tidied up the villa. The winter jasmine bush actually occupies a small hillside, which is next to the other courtyard, very close. The girls looked over there from their own rooms. The vitality reflects the spring sunshine, and the beauty can be engraved in people's hearts.

Yun An put down the brush, looked at the poems she had made, shook her head and said, "It's still a craftsman's spirit, just copy and pile up!"

As he spoke, he looked at Daiyu, and said helplessly, "Pingping always asks you to be my teacher to learn to compose poems. Xiangling has so much aura! I have learned more characters and read more books than her, but she wrote it. Even if you don’t read it thoroughly, you still feel good, but what I made is like chewed sugarcane, the waste is not even as good as chicken ribs..."

Daiyu nodded and smiled: "That's very true. Since Xiangling heard about her parents' whereabouts, Xiangling has become more open-minded, and this poem has become more spiritual. The few good lines she occasionally got are even better than me. out."

Yingchun Ben leaned against the window and looked at the jasmine bushes opposite. Hearing this, he couldn't help turning around and covering his mouth with a smile: "I'll accompany you, and I don't know how to write poetry."

Du Yun'an propped his cheek and sighed: "Did you forget how many games you won against me yesterday?"

Yingchun froze, fearing that the big sister's stinky chess basket would pull her to play chess again, and when she was about to change the conversation, she went to the table and picked up Yun'an's new poem, and was about to speak when Mei Yue came in and reported: "Miss, there is a visitor."

"Is it Mrs. Liu?" the little girls in the room asked hurriedly.

Mei Yue shook her head, frowned and said: "We don't know people who have never heard of them before, but the horses and horses and the people following them belong to Ningguo Mansion."

"Who is that?" Yingchun asked.

"The daughter-in-law of the second housekeeper Lai of Ningguo Mansion is also there. She said that it was Grandma Zhen's mother and two younger sisters who went to Biyun Temple in Xishan to worship Buddha. Let's take a rest in the village for a while."

"How did you get here from Biyun Temple?" Xue Lu asked, frowning.This is a little far away.

Mei Yue shook her head, the girls felt that something was wrong.

Today, the old county lord Chen is out, if not, it would be just right for the old county lord to come forward and dismiss him.

Yun An frowned, and she couldn't think of a reason, so she had to tell Mei Yue: "Open the courtyard outside the village for them to rest, and just say that we are not here, so we won't invite them to another courtyard." .”

Mei Yue was in a dilemma, because she said: "The gatekeeper Zhuang Ding thought they were relatives. She came to ask if the girls were there, and Mrs. Zhuang Ding told them."

"Ah?" Yun An felt even more wrong in his heart. Didn't this extremely lethal mother and daughter really come here?But why?

"Then it is said that it is inconvenient for us to meet guests. Please forgive me, my wife and daughter, and open the yard that the elder sister said to send them away." Daiyu said directly with a temper.

Knowing the words, Mei Yue stopped looking at her daughter, and went out to give orders in a hurry.

Yun An frowned, feeling that she wouldn't do it like this...