The two-bedroom house is adjacent to the three-room house, only separated by a sandwich alley, coming out of the side door of the Wutong Courtyard where Xie Jinzhi lives, and then passing through the side door in Qingyun Lane, it takes a few steps to arrive.

Wen ordered the girl to carry the lamp in front of her to lead the way, walked behind, talked to the two children, and introduced the layout of the second room to her daughter.

The ancestors of the second old lady Song family are actually northerners, and when they built a new house, they built this house into the form of a five-entry courtyard, which is very different from other clansmen. Wen felt that her daughter might be surprised that she had never seen such a house, so she specially reminded her.

Xie Mulin thought to herself, her familiarity with the northern courtyard house may be better than that of Jiangnan architecture. Not only did she live in a courtyard house in the northern countryside when she was in high school, but she also traveled to Beijing and lived in a hotel converted from an old-fashioned courtyard house. As for the palaces and mansions in the places of interest in the north, it is not to mention.

Xie Mulin walked into the two-bedroom house, although he entered from the side door, as long as he entered the courtyard, he could clearly see the internal pattern of the building.

It's just that if you take a closer look, you will find that these buildings are still in the Jiangnan style with blue tiles and white walls and leaky windows, instead of the red pillars and green windows and blue and green color paintings that she knows. Maybe it's because the local craftsmen don't understand the decorative style of northern architecture, or maybe the courtyard building itself has not yet developed to the stage she is familiar with, anyway, this house is like a Jiangnan house with more east and west wings to her.

The two-room house has five entrances before and after, the first one is the front yard and the outer courtyard, and the main house enshrines the ancestral tablets, as well as various documents and vouchers for the second old lady Xie Zechuan when he was in the second class during his lifetime, as well as the two holy decrees of the first emperor that he received when he was in the Hanlin Academy.

If he hadn't returned to his hometown to run a school on the orders of his father-in-law, he might have become an important minister - of course, he might have become cannon fodder in the battle for the succession of the first emperor in the last years.

In addition, he also has the current emperor just ascended the throne, heard that he ran a school in his hometown, quite successful, specially inscribed a picture for him, praising him for teaching and educating people, and his merits are immeasurable. Because of this imperial pen, Xie Zechuan has been teaching in his hometown all his life, and he has never had the idea of returning to be an official. But at the same time, there is no one who is not long-sighted and dares to come to the door to bully him. This character is now enshrined in Zhushan Academy, not in the two-room house.

The east and west wings of the first courtyard are all outer study rooms, with tens of thousands of books, all of which have been collected by Xie Zechuan and his wife over the years, as well as ancient books and manuscripts of the Song family's marriage. These books are open to the children of the Xie family to copy and read, anyone can come, just let the old servant who guards the door register the name clearly, and there is no need to alarm the female relatives of the back house. Because of the reputation of the Xie family's book collection, in addition to the Xie clan, gradually there are also the children of relatives and friends or readers in Huyin County, and there are people who come to the door every day to ask for a copy. The Song family is up and down Huyin County, and her reputation and status are becoming more and more transcendent, and the local scholars and people in the forest respect her very much.

The courtyard of the first entry was very lively during the day, and it was only after dark that it closed the door to thank customers, and only then did it regain its calm.

The second courtyard is a place for the formal hospitality of the second room, with a living room, a flower hall, a place for the discussion of the family, and a place for the temporary residence of the uncle Yang Yiquan when he came by chance.

The third courtyard is where the Song family lives.

The fourth courtyard is where Yang Chun and Yang Yuan live and sisters, but at the moment only the latter lives. Yang Yiquan's family is in Huyin County, but his own small family is in Zhushan Academy, where husband and wife usually live. The two children lived with their grandmother Song when they were young, and when their eldest son Yang Chun grew up, they moved to the academy to study with their parents, while their daughter Yang Yuan still lived with Song most of the time.

The fifth courtyard is a long row of back rooms, except for the kitchen and storeroom, which are the residences of the male and female servants of the family.

Five into the courtyard, the layers are clear, and the door is rigorous. Xie Mulin listened to Wen's introduction all the way, and had a rough understanding of the style of his grandmother Song.

When they arrived at the main courtyard, the Song family had just had dinner and were chatting while drinking tea. Seeing that Wen came over with his children to say goodbye, Xie Meijun immediately got up with a smile and greeted the door. Yang Chun and Yang Yuan brothers and sisters also followed behind their mother and came to greet the Wen family and meet Xie Jinzhi and Xie Mulin brothers and sisters.

In addition, it is Xie Meijun's husband Yang Yiquan, who is also here today. A few days ago, he went to visit friends in other places, and only returned yesterday, and when he heard that Wen's mother and son had returned to their hometown, he specially sent his wife and children back to their parents' house to meet them.

Everyone greeted each other, and after greeting each other, they sat down and spoke.

Xie Mulin quietly glanced at his uncle Yang Yiquan. It was a middle-aged man in his thirties, with a medium build, good facial features, a small beard, not gorgeously dressed, he looked like an ordinary scholar from a well-to-do family, and his temperament was very gentle, but his sense of presence was not very high, and he was a little taciturn.

Xie Mulin remembered that Wen mentioned that he seemed to be a lifter, but after failing in a meeting, he had not taken the exam again for several years, and he was currently teaching at Zhushan Academy and helping to preside over general affairs. As the son-in-law of founder Xie Zechuan, he has basically booked the position of the next mountain chief.

As for his eldest son, Yang Chun, he is a gentle boy of thirteen or fourteen years old, who is not as handsome as the Xie brothers, but he also has good facial features, quite like his father, and his lips are a little thick, which gives people a sense of generosity at first glance. However, this child may be in the period of voice change at present, and occasionally speaks, but his voice is not very good, so he rarely takes the initiative to speak, and sits a little shyly to listen to others, or smiles at Xie Jinzhi in a friendly manner.

Xie Jinzhi took the initiative to sit next to him and talk with him, and it didn't take long for him to agree to read books and review homework together.

Xie Mulin was entangled by Yang Yuan. Yang Yuan asked her: "Yingfen said that my sister has a lot of dim sum recipes here, which I have never seen before." I wonder if my sister can lend it to me? Although Yingfen and I had a birthday in August, it wasn't a long time, so we had to hold a dim sum banquet so that everyone who was invited to the ceremony would praise them, and we had to prepare well in advance. ”

Xie Mulin smiled: "What's so difficult about this? It's just that my luggage is still being sorted out at the moment, and at least tomorrow, I won't be able to find out the copied recipe. When the time comes, I will go through the relevant books and notes first, filter out the dim sum that is easy to obtain and relatively simple to use, and then show it to Cousin Yang and your fourth sister. How about you two pick your favorite and ask the cook to help you buy the ingredients and try it out? ”

Yang Yuan clapped his hands and smiled: "That's great!" Thank you sister! ”

Xie Mulin smiled, and the Song family who was sitting in the seat turned his head to look over and asked, "What are you talking about?" Yuan'er is so happy? ”

Yang Yuan hurriedly ran over and hugged her arm and told her about the situation.

Song poked Yang Yuan's head with his finger, and said angrily: "Your cousin has something to do, and you still have to make trouble for her." Now that your birthday is almost three months away, what's there to worry about? Your cousin's pastry recipe is placed there, and you can see it morning and evening, so why rush? ”

With that, she turned back and continued to talk to Wen. Only then did Xie Mulin notice that they were discussing the matter of worshipping Xie Zehu, the old lady of the third room.

The Wen family had already ordered people to prepare sacrifices and incense candles, and, according to her plan, the person who presided over the ceremony should be Sun Xie Xianzhi, the head of the third room, not her daughter-in-law. Because she, Xie Jinzhi, Xie Mulin, mother and son, all belong to the second room in terms of etiquette, and are not the serious descendants of Xie Zehu, during the sacrifice, they can only be used as a sacrifice attendant, as a nephew, nephew, and granddaughter, and follow the children in the third room to worship incense.

Xie Mulin didn't expect this matter at all, and he hadn't heard Wen mention it before, so he couldn't help but be a little surprised.

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