Two days before the Mid-Autumn Festival, Shen and Ziqing went to the city to send some vegetables and eggs to Zhou, Shen also planned to buy some things for the festival, and when they arrived at Zhou's, Zhou's legs were already good and could go to the ground, but they were still limping when they walked, and Ziping went next door again, saying that she was learning embroidery. Shen Shi tactfully mentioned, "Girls still have to be in front of themselves to feel at ease, especially such a big girl." ”

"My Ziping is the most well-behaved, since I was a child, I know how to help me do things, firewood, pigweed, pigs, chickens have never done anything, now in the city, I can finally relax, she wants to go next door to learn embroidery, how can I still stop? Besides, she doesn't go anywhere else. Zhou said.

"Sister-in-law, I'm not worried, our Ziping is getting older day by day, it's twelve this year, it's time to say kiss in a few years, girls still have to hug tighter, and it won't be a few more years."

"But no, I'm just this one child, I often detain her, don't let her go out, a woman next door with a child at home, she just often goes over to talk with her, learn some embroidery, and when she is older, I won't let her go anywhere."

Coming out of Zhou's house, Shen sighed and said I hope it's okay, it's best if it's okay. Then he said, "But why am I not sure in my heart?" ”

"Mother, you just think too much, always thinking about this, can you have a down-to-earth?" Having said that, it's not good to do anything, if there is something in the future, you can't blame yourself for half your life, but, after saying it, people may not be able to listen to it, these are all speculations in Ziqing's heart, where can it be put on the table to say, if you don't make a good one, you will be splashed with dirty water, saying that you know these things at a young age, it can be seen that you have learned something usually, so you have to scold your own mother.

When she came back from Anzhou, Ziqing was wilting, and even Zilu saw that something was wrong, and said: "Qing'er, when you come back from school today, the second brother will take you to pick up the pine tower, it's time to burn the tower, the second brother still knows where there are many wild eggs, the second brother will take you to find them, and the second brother will roast wild eggs for you to eat, so that you can have fun." ”

"Second brother, I'm going too, you didn't take me with you last time you went to catch loaches, and if you don't take me this time, I won't close the door for you." Zishou pouted on the side and said, Zixi is still younger in the end, and will only learn to say: "Eggs, eat eggs." ”

Ziqing gently twisted Zixi's little face and said with a smile: "Okay, my sister will find eggs for Xiaosi to eat." ”

Ziqing's mood was a lot brighter, and she would talk about it later, humming a little song to steam egg custard for Zixi.

After the Mid-Autumn Festival, Ziqing suddenly remembered that she had said that she would sell lanterns for the New Year, but now, the sky still does not fulfill people's wishes, since the late rice planting, it has been painless to have a little sporadic light rain, the potatoes are still so-so, the paddy fields are dry, and then there will be no heavy rain, the reduction of late rice production is inevitable, and the life of the farmers is not good, who can have spare money to buy lanterns?

Ziqing thought about it again, it was better to simply make high-end ones and sell them to big families in the city, and made up her mind, Ziqing asked her third cousin to help her cut a few bamboos and slice the thin green skin, because this green skin has the best flexibility. Ziqing experimented for a day, and with the help of Zilu, she really made a pumpkin-shaped prototype, and she could also open and close it at will, and it was a pumpkin when she opened it, with eight petals, and when she closed it, she was tied with four bamboo strips, which saved a lot of space.

Ziqing took out a piece of red cloth from Shen's, compared it for a long time, cut two small pieces of cloth with two tips in the middle, sewed it up and removed it, and finally He compared the size and cut it into sewing it, which is the same thing, Ziqing left a movable cloth, opened it to put candles in it, and directly used the cut waste bamboo to make candle holders, which also saved trouble.

Ziqing showed it to the Shen family, showed it off, and said her plan, "Mother, don't you know how to play with you?" You put it on a string and hang it underneath, it must look good. ”

In fact, it is best to use a red Chinese knot, but unfortunately Ziqing will not, anyway, it means auspicious. Shen didn't agree with Ziqing to do this business at first, he couldn't stand Ziqing's soft grinding and hard bubbles, and Zilu also helped to speak, "Mother, this lantern is still made by me and my sister, you let us try, you see, we sold couplets in the old year and didn't it work together with a few people, and it's not the first time, I believe we can do it." ”

"That's it, mother, why don't you believe me, look at the barren mountain I bought, how well it is well managed, isn't it wasted? Besides, I don't need much silver, but I can't do it, can't I borrow you? Ziqing continued to grind.

He felt sorry for the child, and said to Shen: "I see that this child is demonic, so you agreed to her, according to me, this lantern is also a little interesting, not necessarily the child can't do it." Heng Zhu said that the bottom of the family also relied on this child, and you gave her a few more taels of silver, how big of a deal can it be? ”

Ziqing saw that the Shen family was finally reluctant, so she hurriedly asked the Shen family for five taels of silver, saying that she would hire Uncle Santang to make a lantern rack, two pennies a piece, mainly because it was troublesome to cut bamboo and cut bamboo, and her family couldn't do it at all.

Shen agreed, and said with a smile: "With this silver, your third uncle's family can also have a good year." ”

Not long after the fourth child of Zeng Ruiyu's family was full moon, when the Shen family went to give the full moon gift, Aunt Santang also said that thanks to Shen's help this year, the child would not be able to raise it.

Ziqing made a sample and showed it to Uncle Santang, and asked, "Third Uncle, do you see that you can make 2,500 of these shelves, can you finish it before the moon?" It's more troublesome to cut bamboo and cut bamboo, it's not troublesome to do, this shelf can also be done by my third aunt at home, it's very simple, two pennies a piece, do you think it's okay? ”

"You don't need two pennies, you can do one. But what do you want this for? And so much more. Zeng Ruiyu took it and looked at it carefully.

"Just two pieces of paper, I want it in a hurry, you send me the one that day is made after dinner every day, will you count it?"

Zeng Ruiyu touched his head and smiled honestly, "I can only count to a thousand, I won't remember." ”

Ziqing told him to count himself, and also said that he would make one, with a small bamboo bowl with a diameter of one inch square, and simply pick it with discarded bamboo. After speaking, Ziqing handed over five taels of silver, who knew that her third uncle would not accept it, and she would have to give it after she had done it, saying that she had never seen such a big silver ingot, or the copper plate looked at ease and was easy to spend, Ziqing smiled and said, "Then settle the bill as soon as you send it, and give you as much salary as you send." ”

Zeng Ruiyu also smiled and said, "It's still like this." ”

Early the next morning, Ziqing asked Shen to accompany her to the city, there was nothing to do, Shen asked He to go shopping, Zixi was almost two years old, and he walked very steadily, besides, there are so many people watching, and they are not afraid. So five people, old and young, took a donkey cart to the city, first went to Zhou's shopkeeper to deliver eggs, generally Shen is saved two baskets and sent them, after sending eggs, the group went to the vegetable field again, this time Ziqing bought more than 50 chickens, and also bought six lambs, saw that there were oranges sold, Ziqing first bought one to taste, and bought more than 30 when he saw that the taste was okay.

Put the things in the shopkeeper Zhou, a few people went to the cloth shop, Shen looked at a big red silk, asked for one or two six silver horses, and looked at the fine yarn, asked for eight hundred wen a horse, Shen was a little too expensive, and asked: "The shopkeeper, is there a cheaper one?" Don't use the best. ”

The shopkeeper said no, but the guy next to him said, "Shopkeeper, aren't there still those cloths in the storeroom?" ”

The shopkeeper was stunned for a moment, reacted instantly, and said: "This sister-in-law, there is a batch of red yarn in the warehouse, which was sent by some dampness, and the color is not correct in some places, I don't know what you plan to do?" It's okay to deal with it cheaply, so you can take it for 200 wen a horse. This batch of cloth, the owner is really at a loss. ”

After speaking, let the little guy bring a horse, Shen opened it and took a look, the color is a little lighter, a little deeper, it is really not suitable for making clothes, no wonder the shopkeeper said that the price is cut, it should be just right for Ziqing, the lantern is divided into eight petals, just one is deep and one is shallow, Ziqing pulled her mother's hand and asked her mother to lean over, whispered a few words, and then Shen asked: "Shopkeeper, how many pieces of cloth do you have?" Can we all be cheaper? ”

"One hundred, you have to ask for them all, I can also talk, one hundred and eighty horses, no less."

Shen didn't bring the silver, so he asked for fifty horses first, and said that he would come back one day, and after buying the cloth, Shen asked for some colored threads from the store, there were too many things, and the shopkeeper asked the two guys to send the cloth to the grocery store, and the shopkeeper Zhou also specially sent a donkey cart to send them back.

In the evening, Ruiyu sent twenty lantern racks, Ziqing gave him forty yuan, then Yang He's cutting, Ziqing's sewing, Shen's playing, several people divided the labor, Ziqing's process was the slowest, and when they were both done, Ziqing only made seven or eight. Fortunately, there is no hurry, slow work and meticulous work, Ziqing's requirement is to be exquisite.