There is a stove for boiling tea and hot snacks below, as well as a clean room, and a place for the servants to rest, all of which are separated by wooden boards one by one, so that they will not be confused.

Above is a large flower hall separated by walls on three sides, facing the river, which is built like a terrace for people to watch the game.

The large flower hall is also divided into several small halls by a half-height wooden fence, each with a table, and at the back of the flower hall is a cubicle for changing guests' clothes.

Outside such stands, each of these flower halls is separated from each other by wooden railings.

The stand they were assigned to was the first from the left.

Mei Xiaotong was very satisfied.

came in and took a look, and asked Imperial Physician Du, Mrs. Qi, and Mrs. Zhang to sit on it, and she went down to instruct Mrs. Wu and them to work.

Mrs. Qi couldn't stay idle, so she dragged Mrs. Zhang and followed, leaving Imperial Doctor Du alone on it, looking at the river in a daze.

There is a stove underneath, but there is no charcoal.

But on the way here, they saw that near this stand, there are many small businesses, all of which serve this stand.

Sure enough, Mrs. Wu went out for a while, and brought in two vendors, one carrying a basket of charcoal and the other carrying a load of water.

Seeing Mei Xiaotong looking over, Mrs. Wu explained: "We all need water for boiling water, although it is close to the river, but there are many people today, and this water may not be clean." I saw that there was a water seller outside, and I asked, it is the famous Mengquan water in our Jing County, which was picked down from the mountain early in the morning, and it is the most suitable for making tea. So he brought the generals to the people on his own initiative—"

When Mei Xiaotong heard this, she nodded again and again: "Aunt Wu, you are thinking about it very much, I didn't think of it for a while, you all help you in a comprehensive way." ”

Mrs. Wu relieved her heart, she also saw that Mei Xiaotong was not such a petty master, and thought that it was a major event for the main family today, if it was done well, the main family would also have a good reputation in the future, if it was done badly, I was afraid that if the main family wanted to enter this circle in the future, it would take a lot of twists and turns.

Now that she is a member of the Song family, she naturally has to think about the main family, the main family is good, and they have the face to be subordinates, right?

Mrs. Qi over there saw it in her eyes and nodded secretly, although this Xiaotong and the sister of the Zhang family don't know much about this, but the mother-in-law who bought it is a good one, and she is willing to think about the main family.

That's good, when people are masters, they can do whatever they need, as long as the people below can, they can tribal the people below.

Mrs. Qi looked around, seeing that although she was busy, she was busy but not chaotic, and she also brought a maid over, and she also supported her to help watch.

Looking left and right, there was nothing to do, so he simply pulled Mrs. Zhang up.

Mei Xiaotong first asked the coachman to go back to pick up Mrs. Li and her family, and at this moment, she saw that the stalls outside below were all complete in color, some sold charcoal, some sold water, and some sold flowers, and sold all kinds of pastries and food.

There are also a lot of neatly dressed teenage boys, all waiting for them

Nearby, these are specialized in running errands.

If the nobles in the stands need something, they will order their subordinates, and the subordinates will call these errand boys to buy them back, and then give a few big bucks, and the errand boys are also happy, and the people are also happy.

At this time, Mei Xiaotong only looked at the door, and the clever one came over: "What do you have to say?" ”

Mei Xiaotong was stunned for a moment, but immediately reacted, isn't this the ancient courier brother? Intra-city express!

After thinking about it, he said, "Buy me two fresh bouquets of flowers." ”

"Okay!" The boy bowed down and listened, and without striking a single one, he turned and trotted away.

Mei Xiaotong was dumbfounded, what are you in a hurry? I haven't given the money yet!

Mrs. Qi's maid on the side said with a smile: "Don't worry about them, Xiucai lady, they are ghostly, they are familiar with those vendors, so they can naturally take things first and pay later." ”

Mei Xiaotong then understood, and suddenly he felt that he was really a dirt bun.

After a while, the boy returned, carrying two baskets made of bamboo, a basket of white jasmine, dotted with green leaves, exuding a faint fragrance, and a basket of gardenias, the fragrance came to the nostrils.

Mei Xiaotong likes to smell the fragrance of gardenias, otherwise she would not have run to Li Zhuye's house in Qilidun to transplant a gardenia to her home, and later moved to a new yard, she remembered this flower, and specially dug it into the backyard and planted it.

At this moment, I smelled the familiar fragrance of gardenias, and couldn't help but smile: "Little brother, how much does this cost?" ”

The kid secretly glanced at Mei Xiaotong, and hurriedly lowered his head: "It's good for the nobleman to give fifty big money." ”

This flower was originally planted by his family, and the nobles of this stand today usually buy some and put them on it to decorate the house, so this price is really not expensive.

Mei Xiaotong didn't care too much, and motioned to Gu Yu to give the kid a hundred dollars, and said by the way: "Do you know people with that kind of flowers, I want to buy a few flower trees to plant in the yard, jasmine, gardenia or honeysuckle, if there are climbing roses, it would be better." If there is, you will take Ren Ming'er to the second house at the mouth of Swallow Lane. ”

The kid's eyes lit up, and he took a hundred dollars, and looked at Mei Xiaotong like a fairy.

Such a generous nobleman not only gave half of the errand fee, but also bought flowers and trees, and was immediately grateful, and thanked him again and again.

After saying thank you, he simply didn't leave, and helped downstairs.

He was originally from the neighborhood, he came to run errands at the age of seven or eight, and now he has been two or three years old, and he knows everything about a piece.

Whose dim sum is clean, whose things are cheap, and whose things are good, they are all familiar with it.

It just so happened that the charcoal seller came over with a basket of charcoal, and was about to settle the bill, and the boy went up and said a few words to the peddler with a smile, and the peddler took a sip of the boy, and finally spared the price a little.

and the man who delivered the water, when he saw the kid, he asked two more words: "You are today."

Why don't you run errands outside, but run inside? ”

The kid didn't answer, but only asked the man to make it cheaper by two cents with a hippie smile.

The man couldn't, and he agreed.

That kid is very good at reading people's faces, he is average, and after a while, he can see that only Gu Yu is the most honest, and while helping, he will just talk a little.

Although Gu Yu is honest, she remembers to be strict, no matter how much the kid pleases and behaves, she doesn't know if she asks.

The kid touched a soft nail, and he didn't get angry, but he still smiled to see who was inconvenient, so he went up to help.

After a while, Mrs. Li and her husband arrived, both husband and wife came to help, and the manpower was sufficient, and soon, the water was boiling, the hot tea was brewed, and the snacks were also hot.

Mei Xiaotong saw that she didn't have to worry about the following things anymore, so she went upstairs with confidence to accompany Imperial Doctor Du and Mrs. Qi to talk.

Only Mrs. Zhang was with her, and she was still a little worried.

Unexpectedly, when she went up, she found that Mrs. Qi and Mrs. Zhang were chatting very speculatively, and even Imperial Doctor Du, although she was impatient, didn't say anything, and honestly accompanied her.

Seeing Mei Xiaotong carrying a basket of jasmine flowers, a basket of gardenias came up, full of fragrance.

Mrs. Qi stood up first: "What an interesting flower, where did it come from?" ”

Mei Xiaotong saw that Mrs. Qi liked it, so she handed over the flowers: "Find the errand boy below to buy it, the price is not expensive, and it is fresh." ”

Mrs. Qi took the flowers, and couldn't put them down in the hall to see where it was appropriate, and said, "Ask that kid in a while, and buy a few baskets to take home." ”

Mei Xiaotong naturally agreed.

While looking at Mrs. Zhang with concern, she was afraid that she would be uncomfortable.

Mrs. Zhang's old god was there, looking at the flowers, and laughing: "Speaking of my old wife, when I was young, I also loved flowers in the countryside, wild rhododendrons and wild jasmine on the mountains and planted them at home." Now that I'm older, I don't have this mind, but my daughter likes flowers with me. ”

"In the yard of our hometown, my daughter planted a lot, and there was a gardenia in the eldest one, which was white and fragrant, and when the flowers bloomed, they could smell a yard. When I came to the city, the courtyard was not big, and I was sick, so I didn't have the heart to do it. When we're free, let's plant another gardenia in our yard, and I think it's good. ”

Mei Xiaotong smiled: "I thought of going with my mother, and I told the kid below first, asking him if he knew that kind of flower, if he knew Ming'er and brought it home." When the time comes, I will also honor the Lord and Mrs. two! It's just that in this place of Jing County, there are no precious flowers, they are all flowers of the mountains, and Mrs. should not dislike them when the time comes. ”

Mrs. Qi smiled: "It's just some mountain grasses and wild flowers, easy to feed!" Our master is born with a spicy hand to destroy flowers, no matter how expensive our flowers are, as long as they pass through his hands, there will be no way to live. I don't know how many pots of flowers I've been raised! I thought maybe I could raise some of these wild grass and flowers, and I could earn a way to live under our master!

”

Mei Xiaotong couldn't help but laugh.

Mrs. Zhang still thought that this was her daughter's master, and she barely held back.

Imperial Physician Du's face couldn't hold back, his face turned red, and he reluctantly defended a few words: "Didn't I study the medicinal properties?" How did you know that these flowers are so delicate? ”

It's okay not to argue, but even Mrs. Zhang couldn't help it, and Mrs. Du got up angrily: "I'll go down and go around-"

He walked away.

Everyone laughed for a while, Mrs. Qi put two baskets of flowers on the table, and at this moment, Mrs. Qi's maid brought tea and snacks.

The three of them laughed for a while.

At this moment, people have arrived at the stands one after another, and people have also come to the stands next to them, and they have also begun to work up and down.

On the grass on the banks of the river, on the stones, and on the trees, people also began to take their places.

There are people who are particular about it, bring a piece of oilcloth, spread it on the grass or stones, there are naughty children or men, disgusted to see not far from the ground, have already found the branches, climb up in three or two, you call me, I call yours, into a mess.

There are also good people who come together, children play together, and adults sit together and gossip.

In a short time, the riverside was almost overcrowded.

The trees were also full of people, and in the distance, eight dragon boats had already been in place, and at this moment, the participating students from the eight academies had also arrived near the dragon boats one after another and began to prepare for the activities.

The guests also came one after another, Gu Niangzi's family hired a carriage and dragged the family to the stands, and Mrs. Wu at the door was sharp-eyed, and she first stepped forward to say hello and welcomed the family upstairs.

Upstairs, half of the people who are already sitting at the moment are the family members of An Huahao's classmates and friends.

There are not many family members, only two or three families, and because they are studying outside, the population is not large.

Some bring their wives and children, and some bring their parents before they are married.

Because An Huahao is going to compete today, he can't be entertained in person in the stands, and those classmates are all understanding people, and they only let the female dependents of the family return their children.

In this way, there were seven or eight people, who had already been arranged by Mei Xiaotong, served tea and snacks, and said something with them.

The younger ladies and children are at the same table, so they have something to say.

Older ladies also have a table.

Originally, Mei Xiaotong was going to arrange for Mrs. Qi to be alone, so it was good to let Mrs. Zhang accompany her, so that she wouldn't be able to go with others.

I'm afraid that someone won't be able to speak and offend Mrs. Qi, and it's not good to hurt your face.

But Mrs. Qi doesn't care about this, she has never seen any high-ranking ladies in the capital, there are too many rules, but she thinks that although this county is a small place, it is also a little interesting.

Especially when she thinks that she can talk about going together with Mrs. Zhang, it seems that several older female dependents are not difficult to deal with, so why should they be separated like this, but let others have ideas in their hearts.

Now that she is in the county seat, she is bored every day

At home, there is no one to talk to, but I am looking forward to finding two people to talk to, and I can pass the time on weekdays, right?

Mei Xiaotong didn't mind seeing Mrs. Qi, so she just left.

Anyway, with his own mother here, he must be fine.

At this moment, the dragon boat race has not yet started, and the ladies are also sitting, eating snacks and greetings.

The children couldn't sit still for a long time, lying on the stands, looking at the river on tiptoe, hoping that the dragon boat race would start immediately.

However, Imperial Doctor Du didn't come back for a long time, and it took a long time for someone to come back with a message, saying that they had met Governor Chen and they were invited to their stands, so don't wait for him.

Originally, the reason why Imperial Doctor Du wanted to come today was also worried that his apprentice would be the owner, and the man who gave birth to the apprentice would participate in the competition, and there was not even a man in charge at home to greet him.

That's why he came to the town in person, there are really male guests, with him next to him, no one else can gossip, and no one dares to make trouble when he wants to.

This is the heart of his fist protector.

But I didn't expect that the apprentice's men were barely able to come to things, and the people they dated were not that kind of reckless, and there were no male guests today, all of them were women and children.

It's not good for him to come back, so he just happened to run into Governor Chen and Zhu Haoran, as well as Lu Wenguang County Ling and the dean of the academy to come to the stage, so he followed the situation.

Mei Xiaotong still didn't understand anything, she was grateful, thought about it, and saw that the errand boy from before was still below, so she asked people to pack up a few plates of snacks that Taiyi Du loved, especially the tea he liked, and asked him to follow the person who sent the message to Taiyi Du.

The kid had made up his mind, and now he was here to help, because he was called out to buy two more things, and on the way he met a boy who came to run errands together.

couldn't help but say to him: "Little Wu, are you stupid?" What a noble person today, you are not waiting outside, why are you guarding the family? I don't think that house is a rich person, and the guests you don't see, except for the first time they came together, they looked a little rich, and the others were just so. How much oil and water can I earn? Are you stupid? In the past half a day, you have only run twice, how much money can you have? You see, we've been running seven or eight times in just a while, and I've got forty or fifty dollars for a reward today. ”

"But no, little fifth brother, you send the things quickly, come with us, there are a lot of nobles over there waiting for someone to call, let's be tired for a day today, we can't say that we can earn one or two hundred dollars!"

……

The kid next to him also persuaded that everyone had been doing this for several years, and if it was in previous years, they would have to compete for guests.

But this year, I heard that there are nobles from the capital to watch, this year's dragon boat race is different from previous years, that is, people from nearby counties have come to see, there are many more people than in previous years, and they are not enough to run errands.

In addition, Xiao Wu can also be a person on weekdays, and he has a good relationship with everyone, and everyone wants him to make some money with him.

Xiao Wu smiled: "My leg hurts a little today, and I can't take on so much work, I'm afraid that I will delay the hour and make the nobles angry." It's better to run errands for this family, anyway, there aren't many things, and you can do it. ”

After hearing what Xiao Wu said, everyone was not easy to persuade, after all, it was necessary to run errands for the nobles.

If they take the job, they are still grinding and chirping, and the nobles are angry, who of them can afford it.

They all had to pat Xiao Wu on the shoulder, thinking that he had bad luck this year, so they dispersed.

Xiao Wu and the others dispersed, patted the dust on their clothes, and hurriedly returned to the stands.

Just finished handing over the things, because he was here before, his hands and feet were diligent, and everyone saw that this time he went to buy things, which was to give him money directly.

Xiao Wu knew it in his heart, and when he came back, he honestly finished the account, saying how much he spent on which one and how much was left, and handed it over to Mrs. Wu.

Mrs. Wu counted the money, looked at the things, and they were all right, so she was satisfied and stuffed the little May Day plate of white sugar cake: "Take it and eat it, when the matter is over today, I will take you to find our lady to receive the reward." ”

This white sugar cake is white and sweet, soft as cotton.

Xiao Wu was flattered and took the sugar cake, wanted to eat it but was reluctant to eat it, looked around, and endured the pain to share it one by one with the people who were helping to eat.

Not to mention anything else, these people who are working below really don't lack this stuttering, not to mention Mrs. Wu and Mrs. Li, and Mrs. Qi's maid, which is even more of a girl in the high gate, and has eaten things that are a hundred times better than this, where can I see this.

But seeing that this little five is a heart, he has two more good feelings for him.

Seeing that he was reluctant to eat, Mrs. Ding simply took him a piece of brown paper: "We don't eat this, you have to be reluctant, wrap it in this, and take it back to the family to taste." ”

(End of chapter)