When she sat down, Chen Ji took the initiative to pull out a chair for Wanlan, and at the same time took off her coat, hung it on the back of the chair next to the chair, and stretched out her hand to make a "please" gesture: "Miss Pingqing." ”

Wanlan bowed her knees to him slightly, but turned to Jiang Fangzhen and sat down, Xie Huaichang took the opportunity to sit beside her, but left Chen Ji alone.

Jiang Fangzhen also coughed lightly, brought her a bowl of sesame sauce, and pretended to ask: "Miss Pingqing?"

"Yes," Wanlan smiled at him, and then turned her head to look at Chen Ji, looking innocent and ignorant of the world: "Mr. Yuji, am I being treated so politely by you because of someone else?"

"Who else?" Chen Ji repeated, calmly sitting down on the chair he had pulled out: "Of course not, so far, I am still a free man." ”

"Until your uncle and aunt know you've returned home. Jiang Fangzhen personally added charcoal to the copper pot, took the tongs and dialed it twice, and the flames snorted up, Wanlan had never seen such a way to eat, she couldn't help but be surprised, and subconsciously dodged back, Jiang Fangzhen saw this, put his hand in front of the chimney of the copper pot and blocked it: "Pingqing is okay?"

"It's okay, it's just the first time I've seen it, it's just a little novel," Wan Lan raised her face and smiled at him, then turned her head to ask Chen Ji: "It's strange that I haven't heard the news that you have returned to China, this is a great event, why don't you tell Sù Ling Zun Lingtang?"

"This ......" Chen Ji paused for a moment and replied: "I can't go home immediately, and if I say it, it will also add worry to the second old man, so it is better to hide it, but it won't be long before I can send a report to my family in the next two days." ”

Xie Huaichang said "um" approvingly: "When my aunt came to the cold house to negotiate the marriage contract, she also said that she would do a happy event when you returned to China, and it seems that Baili will not be able to catch up." ”

"It's not good to catch up, I saved a lot of money," Jiang Fangzhen looked at Chen Ji's calm face, and said deliberately: "It's also lucky to be able to meet your bride before marriage." ”

"Oh?" Wanlan asked with interest, "Mr. Yuji has already seen Wanlan?"

Chen Ji frowned, showing an expression that he didn't want to talk about this topic anymore: "It's okay." ”

Jiang Fangzhen didn't want to let him go, and sighed in an exaggerated tone: "I heard that the eldest lady of the Xie family is a prestigious beauty in Zhenjiang, and such a beautiful jade collection is only sent with the word 'Shang Ke', I really don't know what kind of woman can get into your eyes." ”

Chen Ji glanced at Jiang Fangzhen, with a threat in his eyes: "Why do you have to take fifty steps and laugh at a hundred steps, Miss Pinzhen of the Cha family is gentle and humble, and she is waiting for you to go back and become a good story." ”

Jiang Fangzhen laughed, and took advantage of the little maid to come to deliver the food: "Does Pingqing like to eat mutton?"

Wanlan replied: "I don't eat it on weekdays, I don't like that taste, and I haven't seen any good way to make mutton delicious." ”

"Most of the people in the capital are good at this, especially in winter, eating mutton can warm up the body," Jiang Fangzhen took a pair of chopsticks, put the meat slices cut as thin as cicada wings into the boiling soup pot for a dip, and when the mutton changed color, he picked it up, put it in a bowl with sesame sauce in front of Wanlan, and handed her the chopsticks: "Taste, is it delicious?"

Wanlan thanked him, lowered her head and ate the meat slices in small bites, the Western-style dress she was wearing today fit very well, just right to outline the smooth and elegant waist line, not deliberately straight, but also not bent over and hunched over, it is indeed the style of Miss Everyone.

Chen Ji said: "There are three other origins of this mutton, I don't know if Miss Pingqing has heard of it?"

Wanlan swallowed the contents of her mouth before she raised her head and replied to him: "Listen to Huai when you come...... Ning Yin said that it was invented by the chef in a hurry when Kublai Khan, the ancestor of the Yuan dynasty, was on the march, and the name of 'shabu mutton' was also given by Kublai Khan. ”

Chen Ji nodded and said: "Yes, there is also the invention of Batu, the grandson of Genghis Khan, and it is also said that it is the gift of the pure emperor at the banquet of Qiansuo, but no matter what, it has nothing to do with Manmeng, after all, it is a nation on the grassland, and it is born with a good mouth." ”

Wanlan nodded, and put another chopstick into her mouth: "It's delicious." ”

Chen Ji smiled: "If you like to eat, you can come and eat often, this is not far from where I work, if you are in the mood, you can go over to relax in a while." ”

Jiang Fangzhen raised his eyebrows, with a look of disgust: "It's better to be direct, ask Ping Qing if he is willing to go to leisure, and pretend to add me and Ning Yin, if we are unwilling, what will you do?"

Chen Ji leaned back, leaned on the back of the chair, his expression was relaxed, and he looked at Wanlan with a slight smile: "Okay, then I don't know if Miss Pingqing is willing to go with me to relax." ”

Wanlan also smiled back, and before she had time to speak, Xie Huaichang interjected: "Yuji is very gracious, but I'm really embarrassed, I have to send Pingqing back quickly after the meal, so as not to worry my uncle and aunt." ”

Jiang Fangzhen knew the relationship and misunderstanding between them, and he almost fainted with laughter when he saw the current scene, but he had to endure it on his face, and pretended to have a regretful expression: "The next time I have a chance, Ping Qing might as well ask Miss Lan in front of me to go out with him and go around his foreign bank." ”

Chen Ji glanced at Jiang Fangzhen and coughed again.

Jiang Fangzhen received this look, turned his face to look at him, and said, "After all, you and Miss Lan are a married couple, so it's not good to invite Ping Qing alone." ”

Chen Ji snorted lightly and reluctantly asked Xie Huaichang, "What has the eldest lady been doing in the mansion recently?"

"Without him, that is, reading books and learning calligraphy, and occasionally going out to meet friends," Xie Huaichang replied without blinking: "The eldest sister has made a lot of friends in Beijing, and she is quite familiar with some ladies and young ladies. ”

Chen Ji snorted again, and in connection with the previous Wanxin style in front of him, he naturally understood these ladies and ladies as the official wives of the banner family, he sandwiched a chopstick mutton, dipped it in the bowl, and dipped it again, looking difficult to swallow.

Wanlan quietly glanced at Xie Huaichang, pursed her lips and smiled silently, and said deliberately: "If Mr. Yuji has time, he will also take the eldest lady out for a walk, she will be bored in the boudoir, so she can only find some ladies and ladies to pass the time." ”

Chen Ji didn't answer this conversation, and changed the topic stiffly: "Miss Pingqing's dress is very beautiful, which tailor are you looking for?"

Wanlan replied to his words: "It's the Master Brown in Jinghua Hutong, I heard that the ministers of the embassy are going over there to cut clothes. ”

Chen Ji nodded: "It turned out to be Master Brown, he has good craftsmanship, I have two suits, and I also made them there, you like Western things very much?"

"It's okay, I can't say I love it, it's just a novelty and interest," Wanlan couldn't eat the smell of mutton, so she stopped her chopsticks after only a few bites, and drank tea slowly: "Mr. Yuji must like foreign things very much, you are from an official family, but you have devoted yourself to being a manager of a foreign bank, this courage is really admirable, if my guess is right, you hide it from Lingzun Lingtang, but I am afraid that it is because the identity of this businessman is not easy to be recognized by the second elder, right?"

Chen Ji was obviously stunned for a moment, and a strange expression appeared on his face: "You ......"

He lowered his eyes, came to his senses very quickly, sorted out the expression on his face, and when he looked up again, he had a gentle and smiling face: "Xie Shilang is worthy of being a cadre of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and the daughters he raised are all so extraordinary, yes, it is precisely because my father will never accept my current status as a businessman that he concealed the news of my return to China." ”

"It's just a businessman, but it's still an employee who works for foreigners, which is even more unacceptable," Wanlan smiled slowly: "But I guess, your plan is to be more than just a foreign manager." ”

Chen Ji raised his eyes to Shang Wanlan's gaze, and looked deeply into the depths of her eyes, his gaze was indifferent, but there seemed to be great energy inside, which could almost shake the mountains: "Yes, my plans are more than that." ”

Wanlan nodded, rolled her eyes, and looked at Jiang Fangzhen again: "Ning Yin can make friends like you two, it's really his luck, it's a pity that Mr. Baili is about to go to Western Europe, otherwise I will set up a banquet for the two of you, it is better for the little woman to dare to ask for an appointment in front of you today, and when you return from Western Europe in the future, please be sure to inform me, inform Yu Ningyin, I will set up a banquet for you to catch the wind and wash the dust." ”

Jiang Fangzhen laughed heartily and raised the teacup to Wanlan: "The merchant woman is floating, and there are few acquaintances in a pipa song; No wonder the great sages of the ancient times have to be confidants, today Fang Zhen just got a few words from Miss, and he was as if he was in the clouds, if he had you as a confidant, wouldn't it be a fairy-like day. How dare Fang Zhen set up a banquet for Miss Labor, I will return to China in the coming day, and I will talk to you for a short time from the pawnshop jade plate delicacies. ”

Wanlan picked up the tea cup in front of her with both hands, touched him lightly, the tea touched her lips, and said with a smile: "You can compare to Yuan Xiangcheng, but I don't dare to call Shen Ying." ”

Jiang Fangzhen also arched his hand and said: "For a while, Meng Lang actually compared Miss to that aunt's wife, which is a sin. ”

Wanlan smiled tolerantly, and whispered to Xie Huaichang: "I won't detrain you tomorrow, Mr. Baili is leaving, you help him pack some bags." ”

Xie Huaichang responded, but Chen Ji interjected coldly: "It's really rare for Ning Yin to have such a close relationship with her cousin, I remember the last time I saw Miss Lan, you were very polite to her." ”

Xie Huaichang and Wanlan were both shocked, and couldn't help but look at each other for a moment, Xie Huaichang reacted quickly, and hurriedly said: "The eldest sister is known to be majestic, and besides, I am a concubine, so I should respect her more." And Pingqing is a lively boy, and the two of us can talk to each other on weekdays, and we get closer unconsciously. ”

Wanlan continued: "In fact, whether it is a sister or a cousin, blood relatives, should be close, the ancestors also said that brothers work together, and their profits are broken, although I am not a brother, but I am also willing to contribute my strength." ”

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"The merchant woman floats away, a song of pipa has few bosom friends; the hero is in trouble, and there are many feelings in a hundred years" allusion source: Yuan Shikai failed in the imperial examination in the late Qing Dynasty, so he was appointed as the governor of North Korea, and was almost killed because of his political mistakes. befriended the brothel head Shen Ying, Shen Ying encouraged Yuan Shikai to be a good man, and took out his savings and handed them to Yuan Shikai, promising not to accept customers anymore and wait for Yuan Shikai to redeem himself after he became developed, and then Yuan Shikai really soared, from the Korean rebellion to the small station training, from the governor of Shandong to the governor of Zhili, from the minister of Beiyang to the military plane, and finally became a big president and a short-lived emperor, and this strange woman was also redeemed by Yuan Shikai after the development and accepted as his aunt (after all, she is a prostitute). And this couplet is the couplet that Yuan Shikai gave her to express her feelings when they parted.