After the meal, everyone sat together and talked for a while, and Mrs. Han sighed for a while when she talked about Xue Jiao's "Twenty-Four Bridges Bright Moon Night" recipe, and said that Xue Jiao was a person with ideas at a young age.

“…… Seeing that you are so young at this age, you can protect your mother in the future. Old Mrs. Han rubbed Xue Jiao's head and sighed.

Xue Jiao covered her sleeves and smiled: "Grandma, I'm embarrassed that you praise me." ”

Everyone laughed.

"The girl's family should be more cool, those virtuous and virtuous virtues are all nonsense in the book, I tell you girls don't believe the drama and the book. I think I will be widowed when I am young, and I will be pulling Xingjian's father, if I don't give up my face and take Xingjian's father to sell oil tea fried fritters, I can have this day. Mrs. Han talked about the past, "The people of the old Han family, one by one, are like wolves and tigers, and they want to give me the land to the clan, I sat at the door with a knife and scolded for three days, you say that if I am softer, I will not be bullied." ”

Mrs. Han gestured, and everyone was dumbfounded. Xue Jiao wants to be fierce with Mrs. Han, not to mention ancient times, even in the past life, modern times are also a woman who does not let her eyebrows go.

After talking for a while, Han Xingjian took Qi An, Gu Siyuan, and Huang Sanlang outside. As if she remembered something, Xue Jiao pulled Qi An under the eaves and told him to buy some shrimp skin, star anise, and cinnamon, and she went home to make zuò seasoning.

There were only a few girls left in the room to chat, and Mrs. Han confided in her experience.

Bi Tao said with a smile: "Milk, you like to say this every time, and last time I pulled Xue Jiao to talk non-stop, I'm afraid she will get tired of hearing it." ”

Xue Jiao smiled and said, "I'm not tired, how can I get tired of listening to it." ”

The last Xue Jiao was not the Xue Jiao at this time, and the Xue Jiao at this time was the first time to listen to Mrs. Han speak. Xue Jiao's confidence rose in her heart, since Mrs. Han had survived so hard when she was young, and she accompanied the shopkeeper Han to earn a family business, then she could too.

Thinking like this, Xue Jiao and Mrs. Han became closer, and Mrs. Han wanted to take off the ring on her hand and give it to her, but Xue Jiao desperately refused.

Mrs. Han is an interesting person, she lost her father at a young age, was widowed at a young age, and pulled her young son, all of which she has experienced one by one. Those hardships did not knock her down, but sharpened her into an optimistic, enthusiastic and cheerful person, and in her later years, she was able to talk and laugh and tell the little characters about those hardships.

Compared with Mrs. Chen's bitter gourd face, Chen Xuejiao loves the chrysanthemum pleats on Mrs. Han's face.

The inflammation in Mrs. Han's eyes was just right, and Zhou and Bi Tao coaxed her to take a nap inside.

Bi Tao pulled Xue Rujing into her boudoir, and Qi Ping also followed in at a young age.

Bi Tao's boudoir is in the west wing of the courtyard, next to Mrs. Han's room. Walking into the boudoir, a sweet and greasy aroma came to me, looking around, the tables and chairs carved from sandalwood were carved with delicate patterns, there was a jujube wood table on the ground near the north window, there were glass bowls on the table, the bowls were filled with all kinds of fruits, and there was a brown concubine on one side of the table, and the clothes of the peach were randomly put on it. Under the south window is a dresser, which is also carved with a fine pattern, and there is a bronze mirror on it, but there is no incense and powder that girls use every day on the dresser, and there is an abacus and an account book on it.

Xue Jiao picked up the abacus and tossed the abacus on it and said, "Sister Bi Tao likes to plan the plate." ”

Bi Tao said while grabbing the fruit for Qi Ping, "I like to settle accounts." Then he picked up a handkerchief with half embroidered lotus leaves and said, "Daddy indulged me, saying that there is nothing wrong with settling accounts." But my mother always said that the girl's family was not the bookkeeper, and it was not as good as embroidery to settle accounts all day long. Frowning and looking at Xue Rujing: "You see that I have embroidered this handkerchief for a month, and it is still like this, my mother asked you two to ask for advice." ”

Sure enough, she is the daughter of a businessman, and she likes to settle accounts and doesn't like women.

Xue Jiao also wants to learn abacus, she thinks that she will do business in the future, and in this era, there is no computer and she can only rely on abacus.

She plucked the beads, recalling that she had learned abacus in elementary school in her previous life, and her mouth was full of words: "One by one, one by one, one by five, one by one, two by two, by two, by five, by three, by three, by three, by five, by two, by three, by seven, by one, ......."

Bi Tao looked at her in surprise and asked, "Xue Jiao, you can also abacus?" ”

Xue Rujing was originally holding Bi Tao's half-embroidered handkerchief to study how to remedy it, but when she heard Bi Tao say this, she also looked at Xue Jiao with wide eyes.

Xue Jiao thought for a while and said with a smile: "I saw it in the book, but I don't know much about it, I only remember this mantra." ”

Bi Tao excitedly took Xue Jiao's hand and said: "Finally found a fellow Taoist, Xue Jiao, I see that you are different from others, from the time you sell crabs and chrysanthemums, I know that you are like to do business like me." ”

Bi Tao said that she didn't care about the embroidery, but waved her hand at Xue Rujing and said, "The two sisters will see how to embroider the handkerchief, and I will teach Xue Jiao to plan the plate first." ”

Xue Jiao pursed her lips and smiled.

Bi Tao pulled Xue Jiao to sit on the chair, and moved the abacus head to head.

“…… Every day, my father asked the bookkeeper to bring me the ledger and let me do the calculations. Bi Tao laughed as she ate.

The two of them were counting the chapter, Qi Ping didn't eat the fruit and leaned over to look at it intently, and suddenly a number came out of his mouth, and Bi Tao and Xue Jiao couldn't close their mouths.

"You know how to do abacus?" Bi Tao asked.

"I'll remember what you said just now." Qi Ping said ignorantly, and nodded again: "I like this, it's better than my brother's reading." ”

Xue Jiao was surprised and surprised. Qi Ping is six years old this year, it stands to reason that he has reached the age of enlightenment, it is said that Qi An will memorize the three-character scripture at the age of three, but Qi Ping will not be able to teach Chen Xiucai. Chen Xiucai thought about waiting for him to be seven years old in enlightenment, but Qi An usually taught him to read and write, and he was always absent-minded, which often made Chen Xiucai feel that children were not wise. Li listened to Chen Xiucai's words and said: "It's okay if you don't study, you can still be by my side when you farm in the township in the future." ”

Unexpectedly, the toddler who made Chen Xiucai think that he was unwise would be able to memorize the abacus mantra all of a sudden.

Xue Jiao thought that Qi Ping was so sensitive to numbers, maybe he would be a good business player in the future.

Bi Tao didn't believe that a six-year-old child could memorize the abacus formula just by listening, so he said a few more strings of numbers, and Qi Ping actually memorized them all.

Bi Tao became interested and pulled Qi Ping and Xue Jiao to settle accounts together.

After calculating the sun's shadow to the west, Xue Jiao is still unsatisfied. Xue Ru and Jing picked up the remedial handkerchief, and Bi Tao was amazed again.

The original lotus embroidery was crooked, and Bi Tao embroidered the leaves in a hurry, and Jing Hao and Xue Ru embroidered a dragonfly in the broken place with double-sided embroidery, which looked the same as the real thing.

Xuejiao wanted to go to the clean room, and Bi Tao asked the little girl to take her there. When I came out of the clean room and passed by Mrs. Han's room, I heard someone talking quietly inside.

“…… In the afternoon, Chen Xiucai came and brought two brothers to carry him back. It was Zhou's low voice.

Chen Xiucai, could it be Chen Zimin. Xue Jiao's footsteps paused and listened.

"Where's the beating? What about his cousin. Mrs. Han asked.

"It's like opening a jam shop with a slap on the face, and I can't see anyone anymore because my eyes are swollen." Zhou sighed.

"He deserves it, an honest farmer, what did he do in that fireworks field, and he robbed people with Zhang San, and he couldn't complain about others when he was beaten." Old Lady Han's voice.

"Who said it wasn't, it's just that Chen Xiucai suffered, and he was also a showy person with face, but now he was ruined by his brother, and there were many people watching it, that Zhang San said that if it wasn't for Chen Xiucai's people, he would have been killed long ago." Zhou is pouring water.

"You help me up first." Mrs. Han said: "Don't say it in front of the child when you look back, after all, it's Xueru's uncle, and she is holding her father quietly." ”

"I know."

……

Hearing this, Xue Jiao quickly walked into Bi Tao's room.

Who was beaten? Who is Zhang San?

From the conversation between Zhou and Mrs. Han, it was roughly understood that Chen Zichang was beaten. Xue Jiao thought of seeing Wang Baozhu and Chen Zichang in the fireworks field in the morning, and her heart sank.

At this time, Han Xingjian came back with Qi An, and Qi An's face was very ugly. Zhou asked Gu Siyuan and Huang Sanlang why they didn't come with him, and Han Xingjian explained that he had gone to Xuzhou Mansion temporarily.

Mrs. Han had already gotten up and was feeding the chickens in the yard.

Qi An was going to take his sisters and younger brother home, and Zhou and Mrs. Han would have dinner before going back.

Qi An reluctantly smiled and said: "It's enough to bother, there is something at home, I want to go back, let Bi Tao go home for a few days in the future, my mother misses Bi Tao very much." ”

Seeing Qi An's reluctant smile, Zhou and Mrs. Han knew in their hearts, but they were afraid that Qi An already knew about Chen Zichang's beating in Fireworks Alley.

Bi Tao pulled Xue Jiao to let her stay for a few days and go back, saying that she wanted to teach Xue Jiao to plan the plate, but Xue Jiao refused.

Zhou and Mrs. Han brought Li a return gift, two pieces of cloth, four kinds of pastries, two catties of sugar, a roast chicken, and a few dried fruits.

"Xingjian, you go and send them off, and when you arrive, tell your master that the master has always taken care of you, let you read and write, and thank me for me. Also, these two pieces of cloth are for your aunt to honor her master, and your aunt's cousin wants to study under your master, and he will come to the door in person in a few days. Zhou commanded the two maids to carry the things onto the carriage and said to Han Xingjian with a smile.

Bi Tao said goodbye to Xue Jiao, Xue Jiao invited Bi Tao to come to the house to play, and Zhou answered on behalf of Bi Tao and waited for Aunt Bi Tao to come to the door together.

Xue Jiao sat in the carriage, thinking about Chen Zichang's beating, Qi An's face was silent, Xue Jiao thought that he must have known about it.

The carriage entered the village, the twilight was four, the smoke was curling, and from a distance, I saw that the door of Chen's house was full of people.