In the cold winter, the sky is cold and the ground is freezing, and the north wind is howling. Pen Fun Pavilion wWw. ｂiquge。 ｉｎfo

The road surface of the backing mountain was blown clean by the wind, and several passers-by lowered the felt hats on their heads, wrapped tightly in coarse cloth and cotton jackets, and walked hard in the cold wind. A carriage kicked past several people, and several people couldn't help but stop and watch.

"This is the carriage of the old Zhou family. One of the passers-by said, his affirmative tone full of envy and emotion. In this mountain village where donkey carts are rare, only the old Zhou family has such a style.

"Yes. A few days ago, I saw the old lady of the Zhou family and their granddaughter and grandson come back to sweep the tomb and worship their ancestors. Looking at this situation, it is time to go back to the state capital for the New Year. Someone next to him sighed.

The older passers-by next to him put their hands in the sleeves of their padded jackets and said: "Then the Liu family married to the Zhou family for four years and did not move, I thought that the Zhou family's big house was cut off like this, but I didn't expect that since Zhou Dahai and his wife took back the child, Liu's stomach moved, and the next year gave birth to their second girl, followed by three children and four children." ”

"It's not like that, the Zhou family's wealth is also evil. Someone next to him received, "Zhou Dahai's business is getting better and better year by year, and the family business is getting bigger and bigger." No, now we can't even encircle our county, and we live directly in Xuzhou City. Not only did there be several shops, but also a large mansion. Even the second and third rooms of the Zhou family were wiped out and lived in the city. ”

It wasn't until the Zhou family's carriage disappeared that several people suppressed their emotions and continued to hurry.

******

The capital city of Xuzhou is the central city of Xuzhou, and the transportation in all directions has made it prosperous. Although the weather is freezing, the streets are still bustling as the end of the year is approaching.

A horse-drawn carriage kicked through the downtown area to a residential area. The roads here are wider and cleaner, and there is no noise here, and the large houses with blue bricks and white walls are arranged in a staggered and orderly manner. This is where the rich people of the state capital live - Dongping Street.

The carriage slowed down in front of the house with "Zhou Zhai" written on the lintel, bypassed the main entrance, and stopped in front of the side door.

The curtain opened, and a sixteen or seventeen-year-old girl jumped out of the car. She tightened her cloak and slammed on the door.

The door opened from the inside, and the mother-in-law guarding the door looked at the person who came, and greeted with a smile: "Miss Qinghe is back!"

"Mom worked hard. Qinghe greeted the mother-in-law who was guarding the door with a smile, and walked towards the house without stopping. Qinghe put his hands in front of his abdomen, his eyes did not squint, and his steps walked lightly through the corridor. Walking into a courtyard, Qinghe walked into the ear room, untied the cloak on her body, and when the cold on her body dissipated, she walked to the main room, stood in front of the porch under the door, and waited for the little girl guarding the door to go in and report.

"Sister Qinghe, the girl let you in. The little girl shouted crisply.

Qinghe walked into the house, and the earth dragon was burning in the house, and the hot air on his face made Qinghe shiver. Bypassing the screen, I saw Lan Xin wearing a homely dress, a hosta pinned a green silk loosely behind her head, and her eyebrows and eyes were picturesque. Holding a book in his right hand, he sat cross-legged on the couch.

"Girl. Qinghe took a few steps and curtsy.

"Sit down, warm up with a cup of hot tea. Lan Xin said as he picked up the teapot on the table and poured a cup of hot tea for Qinghe.

"Thank you, girl. Qinghe thanked him respectfully, took the tea and sat on the brocade pier. I took a few sips of tea and felt my limbs warm.

"Is it all done?" Lan Xin asked out loud after seeing Qinghe drink tea.

"Yes. Qinghe put the teacup on the desk beside her, looked up and replied, "The slave maid lit the lantern for Aunt Yuzhi according to the girl's instructions, and donated a hundred taels of sesame oil to the temple. ”

"Well, that's good. Lan Xin said with a low mood. "Girl・・・・・・・" Qinghe wanted to persuade the girl not to be sad, but she didn't know how to speak.

Aunt Yuzhi entered the mansion when Lan Xin was six years old. At that time, although the Zhou family had a good background, they had not yet come to Fucheng. In addition, the third girl, Evian, is four years old, and the third young master Zhou Wenjin is two years old, and Liu is pregnant again. The Liu family, who was outside the house, couldn't handle it alone, and it happened that Aunt Yuzhi came to her, and the Liu family, who had never used a servant, accepted her as soon as she gritted her teeth.

The Liu family was either reluctant to give up those few big money, or they were worried that the tree would attract wind and someone would find their family's silver ticket. Fortunately, Zhou Dahai is a smart person, at the beginning he only used a very small part of the silver ticket, and gradually realized some business Tao, so he invested more silver, and there is today's Zhou Mansion.

When he arrived in the city, the house was bigger, the courtyard was more, and there were more servants in the house. Aunt Yuzhi begged Liu to assign her to the courtyard of the eldest girl Lan Xin, and Aunt Yuzhi's care for Lan Xin can be said to be meticulous. At the same time, the requirements for Lan Xin are also very strict.

For Lan Xin, Aunt Yuzhi is also a teacher and friend. It's a pity that Aunt Yuzhi is not in good health and always coughs, and the cough is even worse in winter. Lan Xin read a lot of medical books and racked her brains to regulate her body, but it was useless. Seeing that Lan was anxious, Aunt Yuzhi saw it in her eyes and sweetened it in her heart. Last winter, Aunt Yuzhi finally didn't survive.

Yuzhi comforted Lan Xin and told her not to be sad, she should have been buried in the fire more than ten years ago, she had lived for so many years, and she felt that she had earned it when she could see Lan Xin grow up. At that time, Lan Xin knew that her aunt's cough was the root of the disease burned in the fire.

"Girl!" Seeing that Lan Xin's eyes were moist, Qinghe shouted softly, "Auntie loves the girl so much, she must not want the girl to be sad." Thinking of Aunt Yuzhi, Qinghe felt uncomfortable, if she hadn't had an aunt, she would have starved to death on the streets.

"Yes, my aunt loves me so much, I should have gone to light the lantern myself. Lan said wistfully. I wanted to go and light the ever-bright lantern in person, but the Liu family confined her in the house on the grounds that she should not show up after she got married. couldn't, so she had to let Qinghe go for her.

"My aunt loves the girl so much, she will definitely understand the girl's heart. Qinghe comforted. I felt a little unfair for the girl, and the three girls agreed to whatever the wives did, and the girls refused to do anything. Just like this time when she returned to her hometown to worship her ancestors, the old lady agreed, but the lady obstructed it in every way.

"Okay, you're tired too, let's go down and rest first. Don't get sick like Purple. Seeing Qinghe's worried face, Lan Xin restrained his emotions and quipped.

"Girl, the rock sugar pear cup is ready. Lumei walked in lightly with a pear cup, "Qinghe is back." After seeing Qinghe, he greeted with a smile.

"Sister Green Plum. Qinghe greeted with a smile. She was relieved to see that there were people in the house, so she saluted Lan Xin and retreated.

Lan Xin took a sip of the rock sugar pear juice in the bowl, Lumei took the bowl, handed over the handkerchief, and Lan Xin pressed the corners of her mouth. The little girl walked in and said crisply: "Big girl, the old lady and the young master and girls in the house have returned to the house." ”