"Sister-in-law Zhou, you still have to put away the money. Mr. said that there was no need to be polite, just let Sister Xia'er give Mr. a cup of tea on that day. ”

Sister-in-law Zhou pushed back, and when she saw Xiao Yiran insisting, she also put away the silver.

Seeing that the Liu family got the silver money first, Sister-in-law Di was really a little hot, and when she saw that the lotus flowers in the lotus pond were just scattered buds, and she had to wait for two or three months to bloom and bear lotus flowers, so she became anxious. Every night, I sighed and regretted that I had chosen the lotus pond instead of the bamboo forest.

"You are content, if you don't move here, let alone lotus seeds, where will Yun'er and Cai'er go to read and write with Mr. who doesn't need to spend money? It's only a few months later, so why bother. ”

For the first time, in the face of Zhao Qi's words, Sister-in-law Di chose to be silent. This scene is bad for Zhao Yun and Zhao Cai, and the two little daughters think that their mother has changed her temperament.

"Mother, that's what Daddy said. Even if the lotus seeds are a little late, the twenty ducks are now half grown up, and I am afraid that they will be able to lay eggs in another month. Mother, think about it, won't our family have income every day? Aunt Zhou is just a spring harvest this season. ”

Zhao Yun's words made Sister-in-law Di laugh completely. Indeed, ducks are laid every day, unlike bamboo shoots, mushrooms and lotus seeds, which are only produced seasonally. However, when I thought that Liu Xia wanted to worship Mr. Chu as a teacher, my heart was unbalanced.

"Why is it Liu Xia's child, not our family's Yun'er, or Cai'er?"

Zhao Qi looked at herself, a woman who never knew satisfaction, shook her head and stopped talking.

"Mother, even if Mr. is willing to teach us, we are afraid that we will not be able to learn. When we were at home, didn't my mother often tell us that everyone has their own fate? ”

Zhao Yun is also a sensible child, although she is usually more lively, she is also scheming. Since moving to the garden, life has been a world away from when I was at home. Not to mention being able to read and write with my husband, even the current housing is not comparable to the dilapidated old houses at home. After the New Year, she will be ten years old, and Zhao Yun knows that in three or four years at most, she will reach the age when she will talk about marriage. If you still live in your old home, you can imagine what kind of in-laws you can say when the time comes. But it's different when you come here, with a kind-hearted young lady taking care of you, it must be stronger than the original. Besides, my father has more than a dozen taels of silver every year, and I and my sister help my mother well, serving the lotus pond and ducks. In three or four years, there is no need to worry about saving a similar dowry. Therefore, Zhao Yun will always remind her mother to be content and diligent. Saying that they can't say anything, the young lady kicked out their mother and daughter.

"Look at how sensible your child is, and you can't stop it. Serve the ducks and the pond well, and there is a time for you to make money. Don't look at this mountain anymore. If you are kicked out, and you want to find such a master, don't think about it in this life. ”

"Didn't I just say it casually?"

Hearing her daughter and the man complain about herself, Sister-in-law Di's tone suddenly softened. She also knew that her daughter and the man were right, and she couldn't be kicked out if she said anything. Otherwise, there will be no place to cry when the time comes.

On April 20, after breakfast, Liu Li and sister-in-law Zhou took Liu Xia and Liu An to the fence courtyard early to help Qingwen and Musk Yue clean up the yard, inside and out. Zhao Qi's family of four also rushed over and helped to work together until the end of the hour. At the beginning of the time, Xiao Yiran asked Qingwen to invite everyone into the living room, and the old gentleman Chu Tian was already sitting on the upper seat. Liu Xia entered the door, walked two steps to Chu Tian's side, fell to her knees with a pop, kowtowed three times before being pulled up by Musk Yue, and handed her a cup of tea. Liu Xia held it in both hands, carefully bent her knees and took a half step forward, holding it high above her head. The old gentleman Chu Tian reached out and took it, and took a sip gently. Liu Xia hurriedly took the teacup and put it on the coffee table. In this way, the apprenticeship is completed.

"Xia'er, since you have worshiped me as a teacher, as the saying goes, the teacher is the teacher, and the master is like a parent. In the future, you have to listen to the master in everything, can you do it? ”

"Master rest assured, disciple follow the master's teachings."

Although Liu Xia had only been reading with Chu Tian for a few days, she was already speaking in an orderly manner.

"Sir, rest assured, Xia'er will naturally be from Mr. in the future."

I don't know where Liu Li learned such a sentence on the spot, and he also echoed it.

"Miss Yiran, there is still a vacant room on the side of the old room, do you want Xia'er to move in?"

"Hehe, why should Mr. be so polite, just treat this place as your home, and do whatever you want."

So, Liu Li and Zhou's sister-in-law took Liu Xia, Liu An, and the Zhao family also followed to help, and after a while, they cleaned up the room on the side of Mr. Chu's room, and Liu Xia moved in at that time. By noon, Xiao Yiran asked the kitchen to prepare two tables of very sumptuous meals. Liu Li, Zhao Qi, Liu An, accompanied Mr. Chu at a table. Xiao Yiran and Sister-in-law Zhou, Sister-in-law Di, Liu Xia, Zhao Yun, and Zhao Cai were at the same table.

It's just that Zhou's sister-in-law saw Qingwen and Musk Yue standing aside to serve, and the two of them didn't sit, so they couldn't do it, so Xiao Yiran had to let Qingwen and Musk Yue sit down too. In fact, when there are no outsiders, the three masters and servants do not have too many rules, and it is common for two girls to accompany Xiao Yiran to eat together.

Because the study of gardens involves too wide, whether it is yin and yang, gossip, five elements, kanyu, as well as the habits of various flowers and trees, and the composition and structure of various soil and stones, it can be said that everything from astronomy to the ground is all-encompassing, and even the owner's temperament and hobbies must be considered. In order to fully teach Liu Xia, we must first complete Liu Xia's cultural foundation. And Liu Xia is already fourteen years old, even if she gets married at ten**, she won't have a few years left. So the old gentleman had to adjust the time, from one hour a day to three markets a day, one and a half hours in the morning for reading and literacy, and one and a half hours in the afternoon to teach those miscellaneous studies.

In this way, Liu An, Zhao Yun and Zhao Cai also followed, after all, they can learn more knowledge every day. Except for an hour and a half in the afternoon, when Liu Xia was taught alone, and for an hour and a half in the morning when he read and write, Mr. Chu did not interfere with Liu An and the three of them to study together.

Xiao Yiran also instructed Qingwen and Musk Yue to study hard with their husband in the morning.

In this way, in the bamboo forest, almost only Sister-in-law Zhou is busy alone. Fortunately, after harvesting the bamboo shoots, there were not too many things in the bamboo forest. Even if there is something, Liu An still has an afternoon to spare, and Liu Li will go to the bamboo forest to help him whenever the field is not busy. In addition, Zhou's sister-in-law is diligent, but she didn't delay anything.

By mid-June, Sister-in-law Di's twenty ducks began to lay eggs. It's just that when I bought it, I was a little distracted, and among the twenty ducks, eight were male. Sister-in-law Di, who had a sad face, found Xiao Yiran and asked:

"Miss, the eight male ducks only eat food and don't lay eggs, why don't you sell them?"

"Don't sell them all, leave two ducks for breeding, and you won't have to buy duck chicks next year. I'll send the remaining six to the painting boat another day. ”

The duck was sent to the painting boat, and within a few days, Sun Cong sent the money. Six ducks were sold for a total of fifteen taels of silver, and Sister-in-law Di received one tael and five cents. This made Sister-in-law Di very happy, and she grinned almost every day. I thought to myself, just by selling six ducks, I would catch up with the income of the Liu family's bamboo shoots. If it weren't for the fact that the young lady didn't let her raise more, the money she earned from ducks alone would be more than the income of the entire bamboo forest, and there would be no need to count lotus seeds.

Sister-in-law Di, who tasted the sweetness, stopped nagging Zhao Qi and became more diligent. I also pay more attention to the lotus root in the pond. When most of the lotus flowers were gone, and when she touched the lotus canopy full of ponds, the smile on her face was even more obvious. Let Qingwen and Musk Moon both hide and laugh at her.

"Musk Yue, do you see that? This is the typical expression of a villain. ”

"Don't talk about other people, I'm afraid you'll be the same."

"I won't."

"And said no, when painting the boat, every time a guest leaves silver, when don't you hold it in your arms and be happy for a long time? I've never seen a man who likes money more than you. ”

Qingwen was embarrassed by what Musk Yue said, thinking about the scene at that time, it was really the same as what Musk Yue said.

"Don't you like silver?"

"However, I find that Mademoiselle doesn't seem to value money very much."

"Don't say it, you're right. I've never seen Miss smile at the silver. ”

"What are you two saying behind my back?"

"Miss, Musk Moon said you are a money obsesser."

"I'm afraid you said that, right?"

Xiao Yiran had actually heard what the two were talking about a long time ago. There are not many rules in the room between the master and servant, and Qingwen and Musk Yue are also used to Xiao Yiran casually. Usually they talk about everything, just like sisters.

Musk Yue was just about to refute Qingwen's words, but when she heard Xiao Yiran say this, she couldn't help giggling, pointed her finger at Qingwen's forehead, and said:

"It's still the young lady who understands us."

"Let's go, let's go and see how the rice is in the field, and it will be harvested in a little more than a month. Ever since I saw it once when I planted the rice, I have always looked at it from afar, but I have never been to the edge of the field to take a closer look. ”

"Miss, let's row over."

Qingwen said, then ran to the lotus pond, untied the cable, and after Xiao Yiran and Musk Yue boarded, she jumped hard, she wanted to jump onto the boat, but she didn't want to use her strength a little less, so she just stepped on the side of the boat, not only almost trampled the boat overturned, but she stood on the side of the boat, her body shook for a long time, and finally fell into the water. Fortunately, it was on the shore, and the pool was not deep, but by the time Qingwen stood up, the thin group on her body was already soaked. The one who laughed at Musk Yue and Xiao Yiran only bent over on the boat, covering their stomachs.

It's just that the two of them only cared about laughing at Qingwen, but they forgot that the cable had been untied, and the boat was far away from the shore in a blink of an eye with the flowing water. The two of them shook the boat back and went to the shore, and Musk Yue accompanied Qingwen back to change her clothes before boarding the boat again and rowing towards the southeast corner of the pond.