There is no phoenix

Yuanyang said: "Old lady, so you must be open-minded and take good care of your body. As the saying goes, although you stand tall, you can see far, but if you are not careful, you will fall hard. Fame and wealth sometimes come and go quickly. .Now that Second Master Bao is working so hard, he should be able to honor his ancestors."

Jia Mu nodded and said, "Yuanyang, I feel much better after listening to your words. If you are free, can you come and see me often? The girls are all gone, and now it is difficult for me to find someone to talk to. If you are afraid If you meet someone from the old man's side, go out through the small door on our side, and the people from the old man's side should not know about it."

After hearing this, Yuanyang nodded gratefully and said, "Okay, old lady, I promise you. But you don't have to tell others that I'm here to see what happened to you."

Mother Jia nodded.Yuanyang sat with him and talked for a while, seeing that it was getting late, so he got up to leave.Jiamu asked Amber to send Yuanyang to see her off. Yuanyang knew what Jiamu wanted, so she didn't refuse, and went out with Amber through the small door.

The guards at the small gate were all elderly mothers, and seeing that they were Yuanyang and Hu Po, she knew that they were the most valued maids in front of Jia Mu, and Hu Po obeyed Jia Mu's order and told those old women some words. , Then I broke up with Yuanyang and went back.

The next day, Mother Jia's body and spirit were really better. She got up early in the morning and walked in the yard for a while, and ate a small bowl of rice and half a bowl of porridge.Mrs. Xing and Mrs. Wang sent someone to come and see her. Knowing that Jia's mother was better, her heart was finally relieved.

Near noon on the 23rd, another old man came to Rongguo Mansion, and that was Grandma Liu.

Unlike the previous visits to the mansion, Grandma Liu did not bring her grandson Ban'er this time, but her niece Qing'er.Qing'er was 13 years old, and came by car with Grandma Liu, bringing a lot of sweet potato slices and dried vegetables, as well as a lot of fresh vegetables, a few bags of grain, five or six chickens and ducks.

Grandma Liu went to see Ping'er first, and told her that she had a cold a few years ago, and the weather was cold, so she didn't come.

Grandma Liu was full of apology when she said these words, but she couldn't help sighing when she learned that Sister Feng had gone to Jinling.Seeing that the sister Qiao who I named at the beginning was already eight years old, and she was very well-behaved and sensible, he comforted me: "Brother Qiao, come to grandma's house when you are free, okay? This is Ban'er's sister Qing'er, you can still companion."

Sister Qiao saw that Qing'er was very handsome in spite of her coarse cloth skirt, and spoke very amiably, she nodded and said: "Grandma, I know you are a good person, my mother told me when she left. Although I have only been to your place once, I am very happy." I like your place."

Qing'er envied Qiao Jie, who was a few years younger than herself, who could speak and write, and Qiao Jie envied Qing'er, who was able to speak and be considerate. After a while, the two became very familiar and intimate.

Seeing that Qing'er and Qiao Jie were getting along happily, Ping'er let them play together in the house, and took Grandma Liu to see Jia's mother.

Grandmother Jia had no one to joke around for a long time, and now a grandma Liu came suddenly, and seeing that grandma Liu was 84 years old, she was still very healthy in talking and walking, and was as respectful and talkative as before, so she asked Ping'er to leave Liu behind. Grandma stayed one night.

Grandma Liu heard that Jia's mother had been ill for a long time, so she tried her best to comfort her, and talked about the principles of karma and reincarnation.

The next day, Grandma Liu left and went back. Because of her consolation to Jia Mu and Mrs. Wang this time, although they did not send money as before, Mrs. Jia Mu, Wang Ping'er and others were very grateful that the old village woman did not Any suspicions came to see everyone, so everyone packed up a lot of half-worn clothes and some fresh snacks for her, and asked someone to hire a car to take Grandma Liu back.

When the family business was in decline, the only one who came to Jia's mansion to ask about his health and sincerely comfort Jia's mansion was an old lady in her 80s from a poor family.However, such a wild old village woman has more than just kindness to Rongguo Mansion. There is a poem that says it well:

When the situation is defeated, Yunnan and Guizhou are lost, and the family is dead.Occasionally, because of helping the village women, I happened to meet a benefactor.

However, Grandma Liu's affectionate return is a later story, so I won't mention it for now.

Because of Yuanyang and Grandma Liu's patient comfort, Jia Mu's illness recovered quickly, and Mrs. Wang's illness also gradually improved.Baochai was out of confinement, and Heping'er was the housekeeper together, and many servants were cut down again, leaving only some loyal and capable old servants.

On March 26, Rongguo Mansion ushered in a happy event that comforted Jia's mother the most, that is, Baoyu and Jia Huan and Jia Lan who went to participate in the children's examination, except Jia Huan, Baoyu and Jia Lan were both selected as scholars.

Jia Zheng, who had been depressed for a long time, also showed a long-lost smile, so he encouraged Baoyu, Jialan and his nephew to get ready to take the provincial examination at the end of April.

The first day of April is the day Shui Yiyi and Zhang Jian made an appointment to meet.Because of the warm weather, Zhang Jian took Shui Yiyi and Ju'er to ride horses to Yunmeng Villa in the suburbs. When the three returned to the city, it was already lunch time.Zhang Jian then brought Shui Yiyi to a restaurant and ordered some of Shui Yiyi's favorite dishes.Shui Yiyi saw that the roast goose was delicious, and said he wanted to take one back to the palace to eat, Zhang Jian smiled and said: "Yiyi, this roast goose tastes good when it is freshly out of the pot, and it's not like that if you take it back and put it in the pot after it's cold." It tastes good. If you like it, I will send it to you later."

Shui Yiyi smiled and said: "Brother Zhang, I don't want to eat alone. Yun Qi said, if I know something delicious and fun outside, I will bring it to the three sisters. I want to give them a taste of it too." Something outside the palace."

Zhang Jian said with a smile: "Yiyi, I don't understand. They say that there is everything in the palace. Could it be that the cooks in the palace are not as good as those outside the palace?"

Shui Yiyi said: "I don't know, anyway, I just think the food outside is delicious. The dishes from my fourth brother and fourth sister-in-law are delicious, especially the Yangzhou dim sum made by my fourth sister-in-law. My father said it is better than those in the palace. Good. The food from my Sister Miao Yuhuang's house is also delicious. The lotus pod soup made by the cook in her house, I have never eaten such a good one before. Zhang Jian, you don't know, Yun Qi said several times that she wanted to come out with me, But I was afraid that my father and the prince's elder brother would disagree, so I promised to bring them something to eat and play with."

Ju'er said: "Princess, didn't they say they want a lot of clay figurines, let's take some clay figurines home later."

Shui Yiyi said: "The doll made of bamboo roots is also pretty."

Zhang Jian said with a smile: "Yiyi, how many packs did you buy last time, are you still playing enough?"

Shui Yiyi smiled and said, "Last time, I gave half of them to them, but they said they want more. Zhang Jian, we're going shopping in South Street, and I'll go back after I buy something."

After hearing this, Zhang Jian had no choice but to say: "Okay, I'll go shopping with you, and at night I'll cook a big goose here and send it to your palace, and you let Yunqi and the others wait in your palace to taste it, that would be great." ? I'll send it to you."

Shui Yiyi was naturally happy when she heard this, so she said: "Zhang Jian, then I'll go back and let Xiao Lizi and Xiao Xiazi wait for you outside the palace gate."

Half an hour later, Zhang Jian brought Shui Yiyi and Ju'er to the South Street on horseback. Thinking that there were many people on the street, he left the horse at the intersection first.

Because of Zhang Jian's help to carry things, Shui Yiyi and Ju'er picked up two big bags of things, and they still couldn't get enough.

When the three of them came to the clay figurine booth, Shui Yiyi pulled Zhang Jian and said, "Brother Zhang, let's ask him to make one for me, shall we?"

Zhang Jian looked fondly at Shui Yiyi and said, "Then make a pair, you keep one, and take the other to the barracks for me."

Shui Yiyi then asked the old man to pinch, and picked another twenty or thirty small clay figurines, and also picked out a bigger Guan Gong.Zhang Jian was a little puzzled and asked: "Yiyi, so you want to pick a big Guan Gong?"

Shui Yiyi smiled and said: "My big Guan Gong was given to my father. My father watches memorials in Chengde Hall every day. Both the prince's brother and Li Niangniang said that my father has worked so hard, so I want to give it to my father." Emperor. Look at this Guan Gong with a long beard and wielding a long knife. He looks so mighty. My father must have liked it very much. I remember when I was a child, my father said that among the heroes of the Three Kingdoms, Guan Yu is the most loyal."

Zhang Jian heard this, and said to the old man who made the clay figurine: "Old man, then make me three more Ma Chao!"

The old man said with a smile: "Yes, if you like the heroes of the Three Kingdoms, why don't you form a group of Taoyuan sworn brothers?"

Zhang Jian laughed and said, "Old man, is this Taoyuan sworn brother pinching Liu Bei, Guan Yu and Zhang Fei together?"

The old man nodded and said, "Of course they are pinched together."

Zhang Jian heard this and said: "Old man, make me three statues of being sworn brothers in Taoyuan."

Shui Yiyi was puzzled and asked: "Zhang Jian, why do you have to pinch so much all at once?"

Zhang Jian said with a smile: "Yiyi, brother Tang Biao and I are sworn brothers like Liu Guan and Zhang Taoyuan. I have one, and I will give each of them one."