When I walked out of the Kindergarten Academy, I met a little girl who came with an umbrella, who looked thin and small, and was also wearing patched clothes, about eight or nine years old.

"Chloe!" Si Yan hurriedly went up to say hello, "Are you here to deliver food to Mr. He?" ”

The girl, who was called "Kou'er", smiled shyly, "You're Huzi's sister Siyan, right?" ”

On the way back to Su's house, Si Yan drove the carriage and said, "Ko'er is Mr. He's daughter, she is ten years old this year, and she comes to deliver three meals a day!" ”

Su Lian said "oh", it turned out to be a person who already had a wife and daughter, and unconsciously felt a little lost, and then laughed at herself, what is she to lose?! In this era, it is normal for people who are twenty-six or seventeen years old to have a ten-year-old daughter.

According to her, Mr. He's name is He Qing, the words are far and turbid, and he won Xiucai very early, but the strange thing is that he did not continue to take the exam, but came here to run a You'an Academy, relying on teaching to make a living, and living a very poor life. Although Chloe is only ten years old, there are already nearby gentry who want to marry their son! Speaking of which, Si Yan is very envious.

The girl was pregnant with spring, and Su Lian couldn't help but laugh.

"Madam, Mr. Ho, he ...... I lost my wife six years ago. Si Yan suddenly said this.

At this time, the students were bowing their heads to eat the lunch they brought, and Mr. He Yuanxun ate similar to them, which was the pancakes and cabbage sent by He Qianer.

"Daddy, I just saw the fourth lady of her family," He Ko'er whispered, "that lady is very young and beautiful, and she has a very gentle temperament. ”

He Yuanxun put down his chopsticks and said, "I'm just here to hide from the rain." ”

He Qian'er said: "I heard Si Yan say before, that lady is a person who has no husband, she is alone, she has an excellent temperament, and she is also very lenient to her subordinates. ”

"Don't be cranky!" He Yuanxun couldn't help laughing, he didn't even say a word, but it was just a one-sided relationship.

"Daddy, you don't think you're disgusted that someone is still alive, right?" Chloe asked hurriedly.

He Yuanxun looked very helpless, looked at his well-behaved daughter a little dotingly, and said: "I am such a poor and sour talent, my family is surrounded by four walls, only people dislike my share, how can I dislike other people's share?" ”

Chloe's eyes lit up: "Didn't the emperor make an order to set up an erudite and scholarly course?" Li Xiancheng doesn't appreciate his father's talent very much, and he will definitely be willing to recommend his father, when you become an official master, how can that lady dislike you? ”

He Yuanxun's face suddenly turned cold, "I won't be an official for the Qing court, there is no need to say this again!" ”

"Daddy!" Chloe couldn't help but look complaining.

"That's it!" He Yuanxun interrupted his daughter's words in a hard voice, "Go home, I'm going to teach." ”

In the late autumn, there are servants who come to collect taxes, and the tenants have just paid the rent, and there is not much left to pay the taxes!

Si Yan looked very sad: "Madam, this is not possible, or you can add two percent of the rent!" Anyway, in the past, it was 50% of the harvest! ”

Su Lian shook her head, the people who scavenged in the land were already bitter enough, why did she squeeze the two taels of oil from the poor, and said: "Don't worry, madam, my family has a very thick foundation, and I will not worry about eating and drinking for the rest of my life." It doesn't matter if this 100 acres of land doesn't make money! ”

Hearing her say this, Si Yan was relieved, "Madam is really a good person, the old man in charge of the past was not short of silver, and he still collected fifty percent of the rent!" ”

was talking to Si Yan, but saw Wang Yan lead He Qian'er, who met outside You'an Academy that day, in, Wang Yan said: "Miss Co'er passed in front of our house and wanted to come in and beg for water!" ”

He Ko'er looked a little embarrassed, and she gave a salute: "Excuse me!" ”

This girl is well-behaved and clever, Su Lian naturally won't dislike it, hurriedly put down the dumplings in her arms, beckoned her to sit on the mattress of the beauty couch, and told Si Yan to make tea, "I only have green tea here, I don't know if you are used to drinking it." "Su Lian doesn't drink much tea on weekdays, and this tea is only used to entertain guests, or to ask Wang Yan to make tea eggs.

He Qian'er was like a shy little jasper, she smiled and said with a red face: "Green tea is very good, thank you madam." ”

Because the kitchen needs to boil hot water first, it takes a while, He Qian'er looked at the three fluffy dogs on the ground, and was a little stunned. Su Curtain pointed at them one by one and told her that this was just a ball, it was just a hairball, and the black one was called a black ball, looking at He Kou'er's liking appearance, Su Curtain was about to say that he would give her one when he gave birth to a little ball, but when he saw the patch on Kou'er's clothes, he swallowed the words back. The scholar's family is poor, and he is afraid that the food he eats is not rich, so where will he get the surplus food to feed the dogs? The Chow Chow is not one of those stout country dogs, and it must be carefully raised.

Chloe seems to like hairballs and dumplings very much, and can't help but reach out to touch them, the Chow Chow is a kind of dog that is very close to humans, not afraid of life, obediently called to touch, Chloe was very happy for a while.

"I just saw the servants in the yamen going out of my wife's house, but what happened?" He Kou'er asked.

Si Yan happened to come in with tea, and when she heard He Qian'er's words, she sighed and said, "I'm here to collect taxes!" The lady only collects 30% of the tenants' rent, and this time she pays it, there is nothing left! ”

He Ko'er looked at Su Lian, and her eyes couldn't help but contain a little admiration: "The gentry next to her are all harvesting fifty or even sixty percent, and Mrs. is really a good person." ”

Su Lian said casually: "It's not easy for them, not to mention that I don't point to this idea." ”

He Kou'er drank tea, talked to Su Lian for a while, and saw that the sun was getting higher outside, so she said goodbye and said that she was going to deliver food to her father. Su Lian asked Si Yan to send her out, and suddenly felt that He Ko'er, who had just known her for a short time, seemed to be too close to her. But when she thought about it, she didn't care about what a little girl could do.

Autumn is getting deeper, and He Ko'er often passes by Su's house, and she is familiar with it when she comes and goes, from begging for tea to coming in to roast the fire. In the blink of an eye, it was already a snowy winter day, and the dumplings were furry and hairy, so they were naturally not afraid of the cold, and they rushed into the front yard to roll in the snow like joy, and they were crazy. Su Lian stood in the porch and watched, and he also felt cute.

In the winter, Su Curtain saw that He Kou'er was dressed so thinly, and she had to go to You'an Academy to deliver food to her father once a day, and felt that this girl was pitiful, so she asked Wang Yan to make winter clothes when she also made a body for Kou'er, and now it was just done, so she gave it to her.

"You put it on and try it, if it fits, you can wear it directly to the academy, if it doesn't fit, I'll ask Wang Yan to change it for you." Wang Yan and Si Yan are servants in Su Lai, and they naturally distribute clothes for the four seasons, which are just ordinary cotton fabrics, which are ordinary in the eyes of Su Lai, but they are extremely rare in the eyes of poor people. This body for Kou'er is very thick, using crimson cotton fabric sprinkled with flowers, which is very festive and bright, with thick cotton in it, and the close-fitting lining is soft and delicate silk.

Chloe's eyes immediately became wet when she saw it, and she hurriedly excused herself: "How can I ask for such expensive clothes from my wife!" The thought of not wearing a new winter coat for two years made Chloe cry unconsciously moved, but her tutor since childhood did not allow her to ask for such valuable things from others.

"It's okay!" Su Lian hurriedly took a silk to wipe her tears, "Didn't you see that Wang Yan and Si Yan are wearing new clothes, and they are not the only ones who make new clothes for you." Now that it's been cut, this size is not suitable for others to wear, so you can keep it! With that, he asked Si Yan to take Kou'er to the inner room to change clothes.

After changing into new clothes, Kou'er was much more energetic, and her crimson clothes made her face blush, which was particularly pleasing. Su Curtain could see that Kou'er also liked this dress very much, she lowered her head, her little hand stroked the moire pattern on the lock edge of the soft sleeve, the expression on her face was very mixed, she liked it naturally, she was naturally very moved, but she was a little embarrassed and wanted to refuse.

But Su Curtain clearly looked at the chilblains on her hands, which was more serious than the previous heel, she really didn't want to hurt the little girl's self-esteem, so she didn't dare to use the precious silk silk, only used a lot of silk in the inside, Su Curtain praised with a smile: "It really fits!" You are also very good-looking, and it is not in vain that Wang Yan wasted time and effort. ”

"But—" Chloe bit her lip, "this material, this cotton, is very expensive. ”

Su Lian's heart turned, and he coaxed her softly: "Actually, the cotton fabric and cotton were all extra gifts from the shopkeeper when I bought silk and satin a month ago, and I didn't spend money." ”

When Chloe heard this, her eyes lit up: "Really? ”

Su Lian smiled and bowed his head, the child is simple, and it will be done with a little coaxing.

Kou'er replied shamefully and thanked her again and again.

When the snow stopped outside, Su Lian asked Si Yan to send Kou Er out, the two of them wore cotton clothes of the same color, like a pair of sisters, but Si Yan was tall and strong, and she ate well and worked easily as a maid in Su Curtain House, and now she is a lot fatter, and Kou Er is much more slender, and the child without a mother is distressed to look at.

(The second one is served!) ）