CHAPTER IX

"Han Leng, have you packed it up? Let's go, go to the main hall with Erniang for a light meal. Tang Wanqiu turned out of the arc-shaped arch, followed by a very delicate little maid.

"Eh, it's all right, Erniang, I'm coming out." Han Leng stood up and hurriedly combed his hair in the mirror, the dust along the way had made the ends of his hair look a little greasy, Han Leng thought about washing his hair later, and then covered the door and walked towards Tang Wanqiu.

The small courtyard is paved with smooth stones, and there are weeds growing out of it between the irregular stones, and stepping on it, sometimes soft, sometimes hard, but also interesting. It hadn't been long before Han Leng saw a pair of clear and round pearl earrings under Tang Wanqiu's earlobes, the pair of beads were of excellent color, shaped like a pear, and the color was soft, and Tang Wanqiu's cream-like skin was more smooth and delicate when he shook it.

"Han Leng, have you ever eaten any of our snacks here?" Tang Wanqiu smiled solemnly, looking at Han Leng's two pairs of pink eyelids hanging down and fascinated, "It is said that the eyes of the third aunt are charming, and I see that the eyes of Han Leng in our family are even more attractive." ”

"Erniang, don't be kidding, how can Han Leng have such a sign of the third aunt." Han Leng said and buried his head deeper, "Han Leng has eaten Yucheng snacks, and he has seen the good skills of their cooks when he was in the Lin family. ”

"Oh? So what kind of snacks does Han Leng prefer? Tang Wanqiu asked again with interest.

"Han Leng remembers that there is a dish of tofu that is very well done, crispy on the outside, fresh and smooth on the inside, the tofu seems to be poured with a layer of gravy, well, and sprinkled with a handful of green onions, the taste smells a little strange at first, this is a careful smell, the smell is still a little fragrant, and then the more you eat it, the more fragrant it becomes." Han Leng described the food he ate in the Lin Mansion as colorful and flavorful.

"Oh, our Han cold taste is really sharp, that is a famous snack in Yucheng, called stinky tofu, presumably our chef is also prepared, later, there will be a rice cake crab, you can eat more, that rice cake is specially brought by our chef from his hometown Lianghu water mill rice cake, that Lianghu water mill rice cake is very glutinous, is made by the method of making tofu, the rice cake made by that method is smooth and delicate, chewing in the mouth is very soft." Tang Wanqiu smiled and got closer to Han Leng.

In the Gu family's mansion, the small pavilions where you can sit down and rest are one after another, and Han Leng is dazzled by it, and between the woods and travertine stones, the bubbling spring water is endless, dripping on the slippery moss, reflecting the dazzling blue sky. In the deep verandah, the light curtain is stirred by the hot wind, and in a waist-shaped cage made of wire, the red-billed and green-haired parrot is tirelessly imitating the human voice......

Han Leng tilted his head, listened to Brother Parrot's cry, and smiled: "This Brother Parrot really has aura." ”

"Where is this parrot aura, our family Nanjun has a heart, this parrot brother just grew a hair when he caught it, trimmed the tip of the tongue into a circle, taught this poem in a quiet environment every morning, and carefully raised several meals a day, so as to achieve this good appearance today." Tang Wanqiu said, a light flowing in her eyes.

Han Leng smiled and hooked a hand on the glossy cage net, thinking to herself that maybe one day many years ago, Nanjun when she was young also hooked this cage with her hand like she is now. When the parrot in the cage saw that a living person had come up, he shrunk his neck back, and swayed slightly from side to side, and finally fluttered his wings as if he had been frightened.

When Han Leng saw it, he couldn't stop laughing: "This parrot brother is so interesting." ”

"Han Leng, let's go, let's come and see this bird when we're free." Tang Wanqiu stepped forward and shouted Han Leng down, "Erniang told you, Nanjun loves to eat Shao shrimp balls made in the kitchen, and when it is on the table, you will sandwich the roast shrimp balls with Nanjun diligently, Nanjun Zhun Bao will be happy, and Erniang will also say to the maid that it is okay, and put the roast shrimp balls on the edge of your table." ”

"Erniang treats Han Leng really well, Han Leng has thanked Erniang here." Han Leng smiled and his eyebrows flew, and his stomach was full of girlish feelings.

Entering the main hall, after the pastel flower and bird screen, everyone has sat down and prepared to start the banquet, the mahogany three lions round table is embedded with a black rhine-grained white marble stone surface, some refreshing cold dishes are placed on the table stone, and the salted edamame is drained of water, full and fresh; The shrimp is mixed with coconut white, light red and tender white, crispy and delicious; The white meat with garlic is pleasing to the eye, the garlic flavor is strong, and the meat is tender......

"Second sister, it's too late, I'm afraid that Miss Kuo from Shanghai is dragging your legs." Yao Mei didn't forget to sneer at the dinner table, and there were a few more gorgeous hairpins and hairpins on top of the heavy bun.

"What is the third sister talking about, it is the second sister who loves beauty by herself, and she likes Miss Han's curls very much, so she has to pester Miss Han to ask how her curls came out." Tang Wanqiu skillfully took the knife from Yao Mei's mouth.

"Oh, what did the second sister ask?" Yao Mei glanced at Han Leng with her eyes.

"Why, does the third sister also like curly hair, such a good-looking style, since it is the craftsmanship of the master master in Shanghai, you and I can't envy it." Tang Wanqiu replied to Yao Mei.

Yao Mei didn't make a sound when she heard it, and chewed a candied date in her mouth.

After entering the table, the plate of Shao shrimp balls was really placed in front of Han Leng, Han Leng and Gu Nanjun were not far away or close, Gu Nanjun needed to stand up if he wanted to clip the roasted shrimp balls, Han Leng also tasted the Shao shrimp balls, the fried golden egg shreds were crispy and oily, the shrimp in the middle were tender and delicious, and then dipped in the sweet noodle sauce in the center of the plate to eat, the taste was beautiful. During the banquet, Gu Nanjun also accepted all the shrimp balls sandwiched with Gu Nanjun, and Han Leng was overjoyed.

After the banquet dispersed, Han Leng left Gu Nanjun and Tang Wanqiu and went to his residence, Tang Wanqiu sent a clever personal girl to follow, first, for fear that Han Leng would get lost, and secondly, by the way, he took care of Han Leng's diet and daily life in the past few days.

"What's your name?" Han Leng asked.

"Slave Liuyun." This girl looks like she is only fifteen or sixteen years old, with thick and neat bangs on her forehead, on both sides of the bangs, two twisted braids rolled into a clump make her face look more immature and lovely, her skin is white, her facial features are also thoughtful, and the position distributed on her face makes people feel very comfortable.

"Liuyun, wait for me to wash my hair later." Han Leng lowered his eyes and looked at Liuyun gently.

"Okay, Miss Han." Liuyun was raising his head and looked at Han Leng obediently.

By the time I got to the residence, the petals in the copper basin had already wilted, and the places that had been badly bumped had left a series of marks that were darker than the primary color. Some bulge upwards and plunge into the water; Some are recessed downward, and half a scoop of water floats; Some were already broken, rolling in and down.

"Miss Han, you wait here for a while, I'll go get a bucket of clean water, by the way, does Miss Han like to wash her hair with soap or tea bran?" Liuyun had already carried a wooden barrel and walked out of the door, then turned around and asked Han Leng again.

"Tea bran, that taste is special, I like it very much." Han Leng smiled at Liuyun outside.

"Okay, I'll bring a piece of tea bran back to wash Miss Han's hair later."

After Liuyun left, Han Leng moved out the bamboo chairs and wooden benches in the house and put them in the small courtyard, where the sun was bright outside, warmer, and his hair was easier to dry. Sitting on the bamboo chair, the tied curls were scattered, gently pulled behind his ears, and held the silver gilt hairpin in his hand, which was embedded with a blue gem like a star idea, and her mother said, the blue is gentle, she hopes that Han Leng can learn to be quiet and skilled in the future, so that it will be pleasing to people.

When Liuyun came back, Han Leng stood up, scattered his hair in the clear water, and Liuyun poured a curtain of water with a bamboo and wooden tube, drenched his hair, scrubbed it with tea bran blocks, wiped out a lot of white foam, and then washed it with water, dried it some, and basked in the sun. The masonry on the ground was wet, and the washed water spread down the crevices of the grass.

There was a faint scent of tea seeds in his hair, Han Leng felt that the sun was slightly stronger, moved the chair into the shadow of the tree, and looked up, the leaves were pressed together, and the branches looked particularly black, vigorously extending a majestic curve, and when the wind blew, the leaves rubbed against each other.

"Liuyun, what have you been watching me do?" Han Leng was a little embarrassed by Liuyun.

Liuyun saw that Miss Han was beautiful, so she wanted to watch it all the time. Oh, by the way, the kitchen made mung bean soup to relieve the heat today, does Miss Han like to eat it? Liuyun was embarrassed.

"I'm not a picky eater, you can go, go and serve a bowl." Han Leng said as he held the hair that grew to his waist in his hand, and moistened it with some water, which needed more sunburn.

After Liuyun left, Han Leng got up and walked around the courtyard, the trees in the courtyard had been some years old, peeling off the old bark, and someone had carved a column of small characters on the trunk, and the engraving time was afraid that it would be a long time, and he couldn't see what was written, Han Leng only knew that the person who carved the words was probably a child at that time, and the words were engraved low, only a little bit higher than his waist.

The mung bean soup sent by Liuyun is very thick, the soup is green and clear, and some lilies are mixed in it, which is contained in a hand-painted blue and white sunflower bucket pottery bowl, scooped up with a pastel spoon, the entrance is sweet, chewed in the mouth and soft, and from time to time there are some lilies that are bitter and melted inside.

The sky gradually darkened, Han Leng paced in the courtyard for a while after eating, thinking that Nanjun had never come to the courtyard to see himself, he couldn't help but feel a little lonely, approached the house, lit the kerosene lamp on the table, a small room was brightly illuminated, and the shadow of the sunflower on the windowsill was quietly cast on the table.

"Is Miss going to sleep? The flowing cloud went first. Liuyun poked his head in the door and asked Han Leng.

Han Leng raised his head, looked at Liuyun and said, "Just go to sleep, you go first." There was a squeak, blocking a few rays of moonlight like water.