Xu Lanting and Min Jia took a turn in the backyard, went to the front hall to take a look, and praised Shopkeeper Wu and Shopkeeper Wang Er a few words, and then went back to the house to play checkers.

Min Nan glanced at Min Jia a few times, and whispered to Xu Lanyin, "Mrs. Min is not very happy, saying that even if the elder brother is busy with official business, she should let Sister Jia go back to visit the elders for her father, so that the old ancestor and her can taste the taste of teasing grandchildren...... The eldest lady also asked me if Sister Jia was too sick to get out of bed, I said that my mother and I went to visit the lobby brother and Sister Jia, the lobby brother was so busy that he couldn't go back home, and Steward Hao didn't let us see Sister Jia'er, we don't know what the illness was like. And said embarrassedly, "My mother has always said that I have no heart and lungs, and I don't care about anything, hehe." ”

Xu Lanyin laughed. This girl seems simple, but she is very clever and has no bad intentions. She often interacts with the ladies of high society, and she is becoming more and more comfortable.

Xu Lanyin knew that except for a few old people such as Steward Hao and Mother Liu, who came from the capital Minfu, the rest of the Fujian households bought them in Jiaodong and Ningzhou Mansion. Later, he knew that Mrs. Min was not good, and quietly asked the old lady to transfer the immediate relatives of Steward Hao to a place where Mrs. Min could not control. It is not easy for Mrs. Min to know the real situation here.

Min Can only let Min Nan return to Beijing, and did not disclose the affairs of Min Hu's family, so he should have chosen to take refuge in Min Hu between Min Hu and Mrs. Min Hu.

Although Xu Lanyin has never treated the snobbish Min Can couple very much in her heart, she still really likes the little girl Min Nan.

After Shen Shi, the guests of the teahouse gradually left, and Xu Lanyin also took her two children home.

After that, Xu Lanyin became the shopkeeper, and the affairs of the teahouse were handed over to the shopkeeper Wu to manage, and Wang Sanni would occasionally come to Xu's house to report, saying that the business was very good.

There are a lot of chess students, and sometimes it takes two or three chess players to fight for one chess student. After a long time, the guests knew that among these chess students, the highest level was the youngest Ding Xiaoran, and the person who ordered him had to come early.

There are a total of ten chess students in the teahouse, three of whom are students of Ningzhou Academy, and they can only come when they are resting. The four of them went to school in a private school, and their time was relatively relaxed, and they occasionally took time off to work in the tea house. Except for the rest of the day, there are usually between three and five chess students in the teahouse.

Checkers and military chess soon spread in Ningzhou Mansion, and then spread farther and farther. Many shops have started to sell these two kinds of chess, many teahouses have also introduced these two types of chess, and some teahouses have also recruited chess. Because these two kinds of chess are spread in the Xinyun Teahouse, people still like to go to the Xinyun Teahouse to play. There are many people who like to play military chess, including some military officers and soldiers.

Because of its complexity, Western chess has not yet spread, and those who like to play this kind of chess can only go to the Xinyun Teahouse, or let the chess students accompany them, or two enthusiasts play by themselves. For example, Zhou Shu soaked in the teahouse every day before the academy opened. Chai Jun also postponed his return to Beijing for a few days and has been playing chess in the teahouse. After Xu Lanyin's special approval, he also bought a pair of chess, military chess, and checkers in the teahouse and returned to Beijing.

Xinyun Chess House is not only famous in Ningzhou Mansion, but also gradually spread in Hebei Province and even further afield. Many outsiders who come to Ningzhou have two things to do, one is to go to the department store to buy things, and the other is to go to the Xinyun Teahouse to drink tea and play chess. Of course, that's another story.

On the twentieth day of the first month, Xu Lanzhou went to Ningzhou Mansion Academy and lived there. Zhou Shu not only found him a gentleman who taught him strategy, but also helped find a master who would guide him in riding archery and martial arts.

The Qin family sent a letter to his hometown, saying that Xu Lanzhou was now appreciated by the vice president of Ningzhou Academy and went to the calligraphy exercise. They could only go back to Nanping County before Xu Lanzhou's exam.

Xu Dashi's letter said that the old man Xu was crazy with happiness, and he also went to Daxiang Temple to burn incense and add sesame oil money, thanking his grandson for meeting the noble man who carried him, and he was also a famous Confucian in the provincial capital.

As the weather gets warmer, the trees in the yard are bursting with fresh green, and a few red plums are blooming in the backyard.

Min Jia lives happily in the Xu family. I heard Steward Hao, who occasionally came to visit Minjia, say that Minhu is not in Ningzhou Mansion most of the time, and even if they come back, they rarely go home.

Xu Lanyin bought two more people, one was a thirteen-year-old girl, named Huqi. One is Aunt Qian, who is in her thirties, in addition to helping Aunt Yang cook, she also takes care of Xu Lanting and Zhao Xingchen.

On the twenty-eighth day of the first lunar month, the sky was blue and the sun was dazzling. Although the early spring is steep and the cold wind is blowing, the sun is still very warm on people.

Xu Lanting, Min Jia, and Zhao Xingchen, who had just taken a lunch break, were full of energy. As soon as they finished drinking the honey water, they heard the shouting of "sugar gourd" at the mouth of the alley.

Zhao Xingchen ran to Xu Lanyin and said, "Auntie, I want to eat." ”

Xu Lanyin smiled and took out nine coins and handed them to Min Jia, and several children went to the mouth of the alley under the leadership of Qingyin.

The uncle who sells sugar gourds is already familiar with this child, and he stands here to sell. The three children each picked a string of favorite sugar gourds, and Min Jia handed the big money in his hand to the old man.

A few children ate the sugar gourd in their hands, and Xu Lanting said something, which made Min Jia giggle.

Not far away, Minhu happened to see this scene.

He had just come out of prison and rushed home to take a shower. As soon as he saw such a girl, he seemed to have walked from the harsh winter in the cold wind into the spring full of flowers, and his heart was warm, extremely relieved and satisfied.

The girl has grown tall and fat again, wearing a small green skirt, communicating normally with the people around her, and her little face is smiling like a flower...... Like a bouquet of flowers on that paradise, fresh, free, dazzling, and vibrant—really, really, who is like whom.

More than half a year ago, the girl was like a pool of stagnant water, quietly, no matter what could not stir up a ripple. Everything has changed since she met Miss Xu.

Xu Lanting was the first to spot him and shouted, "Brother Min." And she ran to him.

When Min Jia and Zhao Xingchen saw it, they both ran over.

When they came to him, Xu Lanting and Zhao Xingchen didn't speak, and looked at Min Jia together.

Min Jiaxian grinned and said, "Daddy, I miss you, I think about it, I think about it so much." ”

Min Hu was very moved, and his smile was as bright as the sun in the sky. hurriedly said, "Good girl, Daddy misses you too, I miss you very much, I miss you very much." Then he boasted, "The girl's voice is so good, like a swallow." It's also more beautiful, like flowers. ”

Xu Lanting's eyes widened suddenly, and he said exaggeratedly, "It turns out that Brother Min's mouth is so sweet, sweeter than a sugar gourd." My sister also said that Brother Zhao and I have sweet mouths, and we can't match you. ”