Evening Shaohua in the Red House

Sitting in the car, Li Wan looked out through the screen window, and saw the bustle of people in the market, the continuous stream of pedestrians, boats in the river, sedan horses on the shore, and businessmen, and its prosperity is incomparable with other places. .

Suzhou in this era is very different from the busy traffic in the previous life. It is quaint and fragrant, just like another picture of going up the river during the Qingming Festival. Li Wan is dazzled and amazed.

The four of Xiuzhu sat in a mule cart, and they couldn't take their eyes off it. The woman who followed the cart reminded: "Girl, the silk shop is coming soon."

After hearing this, Dan Ju said: "Let's go faster, go there and make arrangements for the next place."

The old man who was driving the car agreed, raised his whip and quickened his pace.

After a while, I heard the mother-in-law say that Danju and the others got out of the car, only to find that the silk and satin shop was in a small courtyard, where all the flowers, pines and bamboos were scattered, very quiet.

Suyun said with a smile: "Sure enough, it is ingenious. Although it is a silk shop, it looks like a villa."

A few women dressed in simple and neat clothes, dressed like shopkeepers, greeted them and said, "Please come to the honored guests."

Danju said to Xiuzhu Suyun: "Wutong and I went in first to have a look, and asked the shopkeeper to arrange a clean private room. You bring people and wait for grandma here."

The two agreed and said, "My sister will go on her own."

Danju took Wutong and a woman and followed a female buddy to walk in, but saw the winding corridors, rockery and flowing water, one step at a time, and behind the rockery was a gatehouse with two screen doors inside the gatehouse.Turning around the screen door, you can see that there are one hall, two rooms, and three main rooms: the east and west buildings have their own rooms; the south is three halls, which are spacious.

Several people walked into the silk and satin shop, only to find that the three rooms are connected together without being separated, and are very spacious. There are many red lacquered wooden shelves against the walls on all sides, and the shelves are full of silk and satin, which are colorful and dazzling.

There are more than a dozen large porcelain pots of plain wintersweet in the room, and on a large table next to it, a white jade flower pot five or six feet long and two feet wide is piled with exquisite mountain seeds, planted with asparagus, plum blossoms, pine trees, and narcissus. , Ganoderma lucidum and other things, the hall is surrounded by tables, chairs, tables, screens, etc., which is very elegant.

Danju glanced around, it was really clean, maybe it was still early, there were only two or three customers scattered in the store, they should all be young ladies from small families, picking out silks and satins together.

Another woman in her thirties was standing in front of the cabinet, holding a bolt of red satin with a richly dressed young girl.

Speaking, with long eyebrows and fine eyes, apricot face and peach cheeks, her dress is different from others: she wears gold hairpins and pearls on her head, a pink brocade ermine coat on her body, a pine flower silk skirt underneath, and crow blue satin on her feet. The white silk embroidered shoes are all of the best material.

Seeing her such adornment, Dan Ju knew that this was Mrs. Lin, the shopkeeper of this shop, so she intentionally smiled at the female assistant who led the way, "Where is the shopkeeper of your shop?"

Mrs. Lin had already seen a new guest coming to the door, she was just greeting the guest, she couldn't go away for a while, she just regarded it as an ordinary guest, and didn't care about it, her own staff went up to greet her, only then did she look up when she heard the words, seeing the indifferent Chrysanthemum is dressed in a brocade dress, with a golden hairpin of Begonia inlaid with beads and silk on her temples, a few palace flowers piled with gauze on her temples, golden lantern earrings on her ears, and a pair of double dragons playing with pearls in her hands. Xu Zhuang, only seventeen or eighteen years old, has bright eyes and bright teeth, and his behavior is extremely good.

The little girl next to her is also wearing a blue satin flowered jacket, a white satin skirt, a silver silk butterfly flower hairpin, and a red agate earring. Miss Qianjin hurriedly apologized to the guest in front of her, ordered the steward to greet her, walked over and said with a smile: "My family is the shopkeeper of this shop, my surname is Lin, I wonder if the girl wants to make jewelry or buy satin?"

After hearing this, Dan Ju smiled and said: "The shopkeeper is joking, it's not me, it's my master, please ask shopkeeper Lin to prepare a private room, our grandma will be there soon."

Mrs. Lin was startled when she heard the words, she knew that the person in front of her was just a decent girl, she couldn't help being startled, she secretly marveled that a girl has such a bearing, she didn't know what kind of person her master was, she laughed while thinking about it Said: "We have a good private room here, I will send someone to install it."

After finishing speaking, he called two maids in the shop and said: "There are distinguished guests here, hurry up and clean up the 'Sparse Shadows', and use the best tea and snacks." Then he ordered a steward to take someone to the front to meet welcome guests.

Everyone took orders and went.

Lady Lin invited Danju to sit down and have tea again, Danju smiled and said: "Thank you shopkeeper, it's just a coincidence that I just came over for tea, so you don't have to be polite."

As soon as the words fell, a little girl came in and said: "Shopkeeper, the distinguished guest has arrived."

Lady Lin was about to stand up to greet her when she heard the words, when she saw the little girl at the door opened the curtain, and the girls and women came in with a beautiful woman, and the shop assistant led the way.

Everyone looked intently and saw that she was about twenty years old, with an oval face, beautiful eyebrows and phoenix eyes, and a nose like a jade;

Her hair looks like a cloud, and she wears a golden thread inlaid with sapphire beads on her head. A plum blossom head flower with pearls is inserted obliquely in her hair, and pearls are hanging around her ears. If you look closely at her clothes, there is a A lake-blue cross-collar jacket, covered with a pair of white satin embroidered with bamboo patterns, the plain white satin is embroidered with bamboo branches with green silk threads, and the whole body is decorated with stone blue embroidered bamboo solid yarn and two ribbons. The embroidery is exquisite, the mutton fat jade ring hangs from the waist, and the West Lake Shui Suluo pleated skirt is tied under it.

Mrs. Lin praised inwardly, feeling ashamed, she thought that she had seen countless beauties, and the girls of the master's family were also stunning in the world, especially the eldest girl, who was rarely compared to others, but today she was all overwhelmed by this grandma. To compare down.

In fact, in detail, the two people's appearances are not bad, but their demeanor is far inferior.

After thinking about it, he went up to greet him, and greeted him: "I wonder what kind of material the distinguished guest wants to buy? We have all kinds of silk and satin here, and the price is also reasonable."

Li Wan smiled slightly and said, "Shopkeeper, what fresh ingredients are there recently?"

Mrs. Lin hurriedly laughed and said, "You asked me. We just got a lot of new products in our store. They are all new patterns from the Weaving Bureau. Only our store sells them, and you can't find them in other stores."

Li Wan laughed and said, "If you have any good materials here, take them up and have a look."

As soon as Mrs. Lin heard this, she knew that there was a big business coming, she hurriedly said with a smile: "The private room upstairs has been prepared, please come with me."

As the two got closer, she realized that the West Lake silk skirt on the other person had something mysterious in it. There were hidden floral flowers of light five colors and three blues in the pleats, and a sky blue golden lace underneath.Standing still, she looked at the plain skirt, and as soon as she moved, the hibiscus flowers in the pleats were revealed, which was extremely delicate.

The moon-white embroidered bamboo satin shoes exposed underneath are also extremely exquisite. The vamp is made of lake-colored satin, and the colorful silk thread is embroidered with bamboo leaf patterns and pan-length patterns. vulgar.

She herself is an expert in embroidery, and she couldn't help admiring this dress, the material and embroidery work were beyond the reach of ordinary officials and family members.

She is familiar with all the female relatives of the wealthy families in Gusu City, and this grandma can only see that she has an extraordinary background, and she doesn't know what the origin is.

Lady Lin thought about it for a long time, but she couldn't figure it out, but she was always shrewd, although she couldn't guess the history, she also knew that she must be of extraordinary status, so she greeted her more attentively.

Li Wan supported Xiuzhu's hand and went up the stairs step by step. When he reached the second floor, there were several rooms in a row, all of which were carved beams and painted buildings.

Cuige Zhumei, Ming paper embedded in the window.

Mrs. Lin led the crowd into an elegant room inscribed with the inscription "Sparse Shadows and Horizontal Slopes". As soon as she entered the room, she felt a warm fragrance, which lifted people's spirits.

Li Wan took a closer look, and saw that the floor was covered with red felt, and there was a big three-legged gilt copper stove in the corner, and the charcoal fire in the stove was burning vigorously, creating a warm atmosphere.

There are single paintings on the wall, which are also pens and inks of famous people. There are rosewood tables and chairs of the same color, silver red dolom chair cushions, wine bottles, tea bowls, and various fruit snacks, all of which are neat and clean; Inlaid with Ruyi and other objects, the furnishings are extremely gorgeous and exquisite.

Mrs. Lin invited Li Wan to sit at the head, and the little maids put out several plates of hot and delicate snacks, and another capable young woman brought hot tea.

Li Wan tasted it for a while, and it turned out to be the best Yuqian Longjing tea. This kind of good tea is in short supply, and only high-ranking officials and dignitaries can get it. I didn't expect such a small shop to be able to afford it. It seems that the owner behind this shop is not ordinary people.

Mrs. Lin had ordered the girl to bring all kinds of silk and satin, and said to Li Wan with a smile: "These are all new tricks this year, take a look."

Li Wan put down the teacup, picked up a piece of emerald blue satin with four seasons and flowers, and looked at it carefully. The fabric was fine and thick, and the patterns were new and ingenious. But it's nothing more than a useful name, so I couldn't help but nodded and said: "This trick is really unique."

Seeing this, Dan Ju asked: "Shopkeeper, how much is this satin?"

Lady Lin said with a smile: "Sixty two or three dollars a piece of silver, if the distinguished customer buys a lot, I can give you a little bit cheaper."

Dan Ju frowned after hearing this, 20 taels of silver is enough for a small family to live for a year, usually a piece of satin three feet long is no more than two taels of silver at most, such a piece of satin costs more than six taels of silver, which is quite expensive some.

Li Wan was not surprised, such a good material is really rare, even if there is no useful name, he would not worry about selling it, so he picked a pine-colored one, a silver-red one, an azure one and a light green one and asked his assistant to wrap it up , and asked again: "Is there any material for official use, if you have some, let's take a look."

Mrs. Lin was overjoyed when she heard the words. Naturally, ordinary silk and satin shops did not sell products for official use, but the owner behind her shop was not an ordinary person. So he asked the clerk to bring up dozens of silks and satins of various patterns, and said to Li Wan with a smile: "Grandma, look, these are all new patterns produced by Jiangnan weaving this year."

Li Wan looked it over, and finally chose twelve horses for official use, and six horses for senior use.

, I also chose [-] pieces of high-quality cotton gauze, whether it is a gift in the future or for my own use, it will be used, so I might as well buy more.

The maids and women who served also wanted to cut some winter clothes, as well as new clothes for the New Year, so they ordered the staff to pick out a dozen bolts of thick satin and a dozen bolts of cotton cloth.

Mrs. Lin's eyes were all smiles, small families were reluctant to buy these materials, and big families had their own filial piety and their own property, so they didn't buy much. There were very few big customers who were as generous as Li Wan, so not only After wiping off the change, I also gave her an extra piece of silver and red satin as a lining, and said with a smile: "We still have a lot of novelty and exquisite jewelry here, grandma, would you like to have a look?"

Li Wan originally had this intention, and nodded when he heard the words: "Take a look."

Lady Lin burst into a smile when she heard it, and she went to fetch a few palm-sized red brocade boxes, opened them and looked at them with Li Wan, and said with a smile: "Grandma, please have a look."

Li Wan looked at it, and saw a box containing a sachet inlaid with gold silk and pearls. The sachet was [-]% gold, rectangular and angular, and the whole body was made of hollowed-out silk flower petals.Both sides are inlaid with pearl flower trees, the leaves are emerald green, and the edges are inlaid with turquoise beads for a week.The top and bottom of the sachet are decorated with silk ropes and red coral beads.Hollow, with a movable plug at one end, which can be opened and closed.

At that time, there were many kinds of sachets. Gold sachets were round and rectangular, and they were usually hollowed out. They could be filled with spices or flower petals and tied around the waist. They were one of the daily accessories, but they were exquisitely crafted. are rare.

After looking at the sachet, Li Wan picked up a hairpin with emerald phoenix pattern, which is shaped like a phoenix looking back, decorated with emerald feathers of three different colors. The tail is decorated with sapphire blue emerald feathers, and the feathers on the body are light blue emerald feathers outlined in gold.The tail of the phoenix has five branches, and each end is decorated with a small bead.A emerald peony is decorated on the tail.

The whole head hairpin is small and exquisite. Although it is not decorated with precious stones, it uses emerald feathers of different colors to embellish many parts of the phoenix. In addition, the feathers are decorated with gold edges. The colors are elegant and exquisite.

The last one is a hairpin with emerald silver dots inlaid with sapphires. The body of the hairpin is made of silver. A piece of sapphire is inlaid on the multi-layered lotus. The inlaid sapphire is large, round and of good color.

Mrs. Lin is a shrewd person, seeing Li Wan dressed as a woman, but wearing very simple and elegant clothes, she has already guessed her status as a widow, so she recommends some elegant and unique jewelry, and the jewelry is also made of sapphire, emerald, white jade and pearls. host.

The author has something to say: sorry for being late, the old problem of right wrist has happened again recently, the pain is severe after a little movement, and the hot compress doesn't work, so the only option is to go to acupuncture