The seventy-sixth Lantern Festival
The four sisters of the Jin Mansion and the two sisters of the Li family stood on the street and brushed the six little beauties together. Although there are slight differences in appearance and temperament, they are too eye-catching together.
Before going out, Mama Li told them that it is not the same thing for a woman to go out and show her head. But as long as everyone is a well-bred girl, even if she doesn't cover her face, she will not be despised either. Because of their righteousness and dignified appearance, those who are not righteous do not dare to act rashly. And those frivolous women, even if they wrap their whole bodies tightly and show only their eyes, will attract flies to come and bite.
The sisters took her words to heart, and did not dare to speak and behave in the slightest. When others saw a large group of girls and mothers-in-law surrounded by their sisters, they knew that they were young ladies from large families, and who would dare to provoke ordinary people?
When the carriage reached the street, it could not walk, so it turned into a small alley and waited, and the sisters got out of the carriage and walked over. Looking from the street, there are small stalls next to each other on both sides, and there are many people in the middle, and the end of the street is not visible.
It's rare for the sisters to go out like this, and their eyes are not enough. There are the most lanterns sold on the street, and there are many that sell rouge gouache and various jewelry. The children are holding small animal lanterns in their hands, and the big girls and little daughters-in-law are excitedly picking out gadgets.
Although the street vendors are all inferior in their goods, they are better than novelty. The little girl will inevitably be curious, and can't help but go over and take a look.
Girls, don't wait too much time here, it's bustling in the middle of the street. The mother-in-law who came with said with a smile that the old slave came out during the day and saw a colorful shed in the middle of the street.
Youyi then remembered that Splendid Square was on this street. Since the last time she saw her, she hadn't seen Wei Ru again, and now she should really meet her near someone's shop. The others were also very happy when they heard this, and the sisters threw away the street knick-knacks and went straight to the fairlight.
But when they arrived near the Splendid Workshop and saw the situation in front of them, they were really surprised. I saw a colorful shed set up in front of the Splendid Fang, and there were many unique lanterns hanging in the circle, which were very different from the ones I saw on the street. Under the lantern hangs a note tied up in a roll, which is probably a word lantern riddle or something. The stage was covered with a long red carpet, and because the lanterns were lit, it was as bright as day.
In the center of the stage were rows of chairs, already occupied, and seats were empty. There were many people standing next to and behind them, all looking forward to the stage. On the stage stood a man of about forty years old, wearing an inky robe and a mustache, and at a glance he knew that he was an outsider. It is estimated that it is either a guest or a shopkeeper, and the lord who deals with people all year round.
Sure enough, the people next to him were talking about the Splendid Workshop. Youyi heard the wind and knew that the man on the stage was the shopkeeper of Jinxiufang, surnamed Jia, and he was a beggar called Huazi before. It's also very dramatic about him, and it's a long story to talk about. To put it simply, Shopkeeper Jia was originally a small business, but he spent all his savings because his son suffered from a strange disease. Coupled with the fact that his wife ran away with others, he became more and more uninterested in running a business. Later, the business failed and he was in debt, and his son died, and his house and land were used to pay off the debts and he lived on the streets. One day, he fainted at the gate of Jinxiufang with hunger, and was discovered by Wang Weiru, so he ordered someone to carry him in and invited a doctor.
Wang Weiru was very sympathetic to his plight, and heard that he had done business, so she left him to help. Half a year ago, the old shopkeeper went to the newly opened branch in the south to take care of it, and this store was handed over to him.
It's just guessing lantern riddles, how can there be so many people waiting? If that doesn't work, what kind of good-looking performance can't be? Yun Yi tiptoed to the stage, but didn't see any clues.
There was a neatly dressed little daughter-in-law standing on the side, who seemed to be a cheerful person. She looked at the sisters and said with a smile: This splendid workshop is rich and rich, and it will do any activities during the New Year's holidays. On the first and fifteenth days of the new year, there are also bargain sales. But you have to hurry, or you won't be able to buy it. The best brocade is usually 20 wen a foot, and the first and fifteenth days of the new year are only sold for 10 yuan.
This is really wealthy, isn't it always like this waiting to lose money? Looking at everyone's puzzled eyes, she continued: At the beginning, we also felt that Jinxiufang was doing a money-losing business, but it took a long time to figure it out. The cheap fabric of people is only dozens of feet, and there are many cheaper cards, and ordinary people can't pick up much cheap. But when I came all the way, how could I go back empty-handed when I saw the beautiful flower cloth? When a woman's family sees such a thing, they can't move their feet, and if they don't buy more, they should save money and buy less.
Especially if you have a little more money at home, you can also have such a card, which is cheaper to buy and more expensive when you have activities. I heard that if you spend 500 taels of silver in the Splendid Workshop, you will have a tin card, and if you spend 1,000 taels of silver, you will have a silver card, and if you have 5,000 taels, you will have a gold card. This is a long line to catch a big fish!
And people with cards are much more affordable, just like today's meeting, those who can sit in chairs are people with cards. You see, on the surface of each chair there is a piece of paper with four digits written on it, and I heard that it is the last four digits on the card. Take a seat with the right number, and you can't go wrong with any of them.
Who remembers the last four digits of our card? Wan Rou hurriedly asked when she heard this.
Seeing this, the woman next to her looked at them carefully, and muttered quietly, Youka pretended not to understand anything, the temper of the rich man is really strange! After saying that, he walked away.
Wanrou didn't have time to take care of her, and struggled to figure out the number on the card. She was very interested in Naka, and she really looked at it carefully.
I remember, it's the chair on the left side of the third-to-last row. Wan Rou couldn't remember it clearly, but she really remembered it by comparing it to the number on the chair.
When they walked over, a young man immediately greeted them, and he said with a smile: "How many girls are surnamed Jin and Li?" Our boss said that if the four girls of Jinfu came, they would be invited inside.
Mama, I have some friendship with Boss Wang of Jinxiufang, you sit down first, I'll go in and say hello before coming out. Youyi took leave with Mama Li.
Mama Li naturally couldn't stop her, and asked her to bring a girl and a mother-in-law, so she let her in. There is a sick mother-in-law in the house, and of course the Feng family can't come out. Aunt Leigh is a widow, and it is inconvenient for her to show up. All the sisters were brought out by Mama Lai, and she had to make sure that the girls went back unharmed.
Youyi followed the young man into the Splendid Workshop and went directly to the third floor. Going up the stairs and going straight to the innermost, the young man stopped in front of a room, knocked three times and heard someone inside come in, and he asked Youyi to go in by himself.
Youyi pushed open the door and walked in, the light inside was a little dim, and she couldn't see it clearly for a while. The décor in the house is quite simple and somewhat strange.
The floor is covered with wooden floors, and on the west side stands a large bookshelf filled with dense books. There is a small table below, with pen, ink, paper, inkstone, etc., and two half-old futons on the ground, where people should often sit and read.
The lower part of the opposite wall was cut out of a new stove with a square dome, and the wood inside was burning hot, and the heat was blowing in the face.
In front of the stove was a white wool carpet, and Wei Ru sat on the ground, holding a wine glass in his hand, and he could hear a fruity aroma when he smelled it.
You're here, hurry up. She saw Youyi smiling and waving.
Youyi took off her shoes, put on her socks, and sat on the floor like her, spreading her wide skirt to cover her feet.
What kind of wine did Sister Wei Ru drink? Why does it smell so good? Youyi smiled and leaned over to see the delicate cup filled with an amber liquid, faintly smelling of grapes.
Grape wine luminous glass, if you want to play the pipa, immediately urge. Youyi groaned softly, originally I thought that grapes and wine were two different things, but now I know that it originally refers to making wine from grapes. Seeing these two lines of poetry, I thought the latter sentence was very good, but this first sentence had a bit of a patchwork meaning. It seems that my knowledge is too shallow, and I am really ashamed.
When Youyi's soul was trapped in Anfu, her resentment gradually calmed down, and she spent her time reading books when she wandered around all day with nothing to do. Anfu is a scholarly family, the ancestors have Tanhualang, and there is a two-story small building in the family, which is full of books. From official history to miscellaneous talks, from health care to travelogues, from astronomy to geography, the An family has accumulated three or four generations of inheritance, and she can only say that she has read it for more than 40 years, and she knows a little about the content in it.
She couldn't remember which book she had read these two poems, only that there was no name or source of the poet on them, and she threw her hand away when she didn't understand it. I saw Wei Ru drinking wine today, and then I remembered.
Oh? Have you ever read such a poem? Who wrote it? Wei Ru's eyes lit up when he heard this.
I can't remember the source, but the name of the poet is not on it. Youyi didn't understand why she was so interested in these two poems, and always felt that she had a story in her.
Wei Ru's expression darkened when he heard this, and he said softly after a while: Forget it, let's follow the fate.
Youyi didn't know what to take, so she had to be silent. Fortunately, she smiled in a blink of an eye, I brewed it myself, you can taste it. As he spoke, he poured a glass for Youyi.
Youyi likes to eat fresh grapes, she took a small sip, and felt that the sweetness was slightly bitter, and the taste was not bad.
She took another big sip, and Wei Ru saw that she handed over the tray on the carpet, ate some snacks, and drank slowly. Although the taste of wine is not large, it has enough stamina.
Only then did you notice the tray, petal-shaped, with six small compartments inside, each containing dried fruits, candied fruits, and long strips of golden-brown food. She picked one up and put it in her mouth, it was charred on the outside and tender on the inside, and savored that it was made of potatoes.
Dip this and eat it. Wei Ru said, pointing to the red sauce on the small plate.
Youyi tried it, and sure enough, the taste was different again.