、、、、、、、、、、 On the second day, the weather was fine and the temperature was suitable, so I got up early in the morning, dragged Yingniang, Rong Niang, Liu's mother, and Dump and others with me, and counted the people who served, a total of more than 20 people, large and small, with two mule carts full of eating utensils and the large purple-spotted peony she dug out, and drove to Fangyuan.

After about half a mile out of Qixiamen, Aunt Feng pointed to the two people not far in front of her and showed them to Peony: "Danniang, don't you see that Jiang Gong and Manager Wu?" ”

Peony looked at it fixedly, and saw that the two of them were slowing down, laughing and laughing as they went, walking slowly, like this, his large group of people was afraid that it would not take a moment to catch up with them. Anyway, it is impossible to avoid it, Peony immediately stepped forward and took the initiative to greet: "Gong Jiang, Manager Wu, you are also setting off at this time?" What a coincidence. ”

Wu opened his mouth to speak, Jiang Changyang grabbed in front of him and smiled: "Yes, the weather is good in the morning, neither hot nor cold, the most suitable for going out." I thought you had gone to the front. He looked at the peony with a smile, his black eyes shining in the morning sun, his young wheat-colored skin exuding a healthy and soft color, and the corners of his lips were filled with heartfelt joy, which looked very pleasing to the eye.

Peony couldn't help but look at him twice, and said with a smile: "We have a lot of people and things, and we are always very procrastinating." "She is wearing an emerald green skirt today, this color is not so easy to grasp, and she accidentally dressed people as vegetable green insects, or the kind with a green mouth and green face, but the peony has a good complexion and is dressed very beautifully. Coupled with the lazy fallen ponytail and a transparent crystal hairpin in the hair, how good it looks.

Jiang Changyang thought silently, since he knew her, he had never seen her make a mistake in her clothing. He thought about the peony's outfit in his heart, but a sentence came out of his mouth: "Although we have few people and few things, Wu is also quite delayed, otherwise we would have arrived a long time ago." ”

Wu's mouth suddenly opened into an O-shape, and he looked at Jiang Changyang with a little anger, and he didn't know who was deliberately rubbing, but at this time, he put all the blame on him. Jiang Changyang received his indignant gaze and stared at him with an unkind expression, Wu suddenly closed his mouth, and said with a smile: "Yes, people are old, they have a bad memory, they always lose their minds, and they often forget their own things." ”

Jiang Changyang just didn't hear it.

Peony saw it in his eyes, smiled slightly, and introduced Jiang Changyang to Rong Niang and Ying Niang, who were curiously and secretly looking at Jiang Changyang on the side: "Rong Niang, Ying Niang, this is Jiang ......"

Before the words fell, Rong Niang and Ying Niang had already exchanged a look with each other, and laughed in unison: "Uncle Jiang is good." "This Jiang Gong, I have heard of his name for a long time, but I have never seen him, it turns out to be such a person. At this time, it looks pretty good, but I don't know if I am as understanding and amiable as Uncle Li's cousin.

Rong Niang and Ying Niang are only a few years younger than Peony, Jiang Changyang and Wu didn't know that this was Peony's niece, they just thought they were her friends, and when they heard such a title, their expressions were a little daze for a while. Wu instantly curled the corners of his lips, just waiting to see Jiang Changyang's joke.

No matter whether you are a man or a woman, you don't like people to call you old. Peony also noticed Jiang Changyang's expression, so he was not in a hurry to explain the identities of Rong Niang and Ying Niang, and looked at Jiang Changyang playfully, and saw how he responded.

Jiang Changyang quickly adjusted after being stunned, and smiled calmly: "Hello." Then he looked at Peony: "This is your niece, right?" ”

Peony saw that his brain was spinning fast, so he had to say, "It's the eldest daughter and second daughter of my eldest brother's family." ”

Jiang Changyang suddenly laughed, laughing so inexplicably that Rong Niang and Ying Niang were embarrassed. Peony couldn't help but ask, "What are you laughing at?" But are we rude? ”

Jiang Changyang waved his hand and said, "No, I think I really owe you a blessing, and I was called uncle by such a big girl at the age of twenty." ”

Wu's face twitched. Twenty years old, I know that you are not old, but you are not young, others can ride horses at your age, why do you bother to explain it.

Peony only knew that he was twenty years old. After thinking about it for a while, he said with a smile: "I think Jiang Gong is about to get married, right?" When the time comes, you have to talk to me, so that I can prepare a generous gift. She had long known from Mrs. Bai that Jiang Changyang had never been married, but she asked this question on purpose.

Jiang Changyang glanced at her quickly, lowered his head and muttered in a low voice.

Peony didn't hear clearly, looked at him inquiringly, and Wu said loudly: "I'm not afraid of He Niang's jokes, my father-in-law has a very high vision, he is heroic and capable, and he has a good heart, and I don't know whose mother has this blessing!" Before the words fell, he was whipped by Jiang Changyang.

Peony looked over from the side, but after seeing that Jiang Changyang told Wu to shut up, he didn't look at anyone again, and only looked intently at the rice fields that had been harvested almost in the distance, but he didn't know that his face was already red to the root of his ears. Anyone knows he's actually shy. Peony lowered her head and smiled slightly.

Seeing this, Mother Lin, who had been observing the situation by the car window, smiled at Aunt Feng, retracted her head, and hid in the shadows to observe Jiang Changyang's every move carefully and carefully, not letting go of any word or look.

In the end, it was the curious Yingniang and Rongniang who had countless questions to save Jiang Changyang from the embarrassing predicament, and when he arrived near his village, he had already told the names of the various birds that had appeared in the fields, the habits and Yingniang, and Rongniang.

Wu reminded him inappropriately: "Gong, our village has arrived." ”

Jiang Changyang looked at the sky and said without thinking: "I heard that it takes a lot of time to pick up peony flowers, I think we should go directly to Fangyuan with He Niang, pick out the flowers first, and save He Niang from delaying." Speaking of this, he looked at Peony inquiringly: "I don't know how He Niang arranged it?" Convenient? ”

Originally, he was not in a hurry, Fangyuan was not far here, and it would not be too late for him to come over after lunch, but since he opened his mouth, Peony was not easy to refuse him, so he smiled and said: "I originally planned to do this today, and it would be better if I could finish it as soon as possible." ”

Jiang Changyang whispered a few words to Wu, Wu nodded, rode quickly into the trail, and went straight to Jiangjiazhuang. Peony said: "Isn't Manager Wu going with us?" ”

Jiang Changyang smiled: "I'll let him go to the village to get something." Come later. ”

When everyone arrived at Defang Garden, they saw Wu Zongma chasing after him, and there was a dripping bamboo cage hanging next to the saddle. ”

Peony smiled, and secretly guessed in his heart that the bamboo cage must be aquatic products, but he didn't know if it was fish. Yingniang couldn't help it, leaned over and said, "Manager Wu, there is still water in here, what is it?" ”

Wu smiled and mysteriously opened a crack in the bamboo cage cover for her to see, Yingniang couldn't help but exclaim in a low voice when she saw it, and Rong Niang couldn't help it, so she quickly jumped off the horse and went over to see.

Peony threw the reins and horsewhip to the servants on the side, and said with a smile: "What is it?" So amazed the two of you? ”

Rong Niang clenched her hands, couldn't control the joy on her face, and whispered: "Auntie, it's a crab!" ”

Hearing this, Peony frowned slightly. Crab was a delicacy that was cherished by people at that time, that is, the He family loved to eat and eat, and they didn't eat it often, and they still ate processed bad crabs and sugar crabs, and live crabs were not easy to see. It's no wonder that Rong Niang and Ying Niang are happy to be like this.

Jiang Changyang observed Peony's expression on the side, but seeing that her expression was faint, she was not as happy as she imagined, so he said cautiously: "It was given by a friend during the Mid-Autumn Festival, I am alone at home, I have no appetite for anything, it is a waste, not to mention that it is better to be happy alone than to be happy, I hope you dislike it." ”

Peony saw Yingniang and Rongniang looking at him expectantly, so he had no choice but to say: "This is not an ordinary ingredient, it makes you break the bank." ”

Jiang Changyang was a little unhappy, pursed his lips, and said, "No matter how good it is, it's just eating, and you have to eat anyway." It's a waste to reluctantly give it to someone you don't like. ”

Peony smiled slightly, and beckoned Ah Tao to send these crabs to the kitchen, thinking that since Zhou Banniang can make toads, it should be okay to make these crabs.

Jiang Changyang became happy at this time, and saw that the peony was busy placing Yingniang and Rongniang, and transplanting the purple-spotted peony, so he didn't care about it, and took Wu Yi by himself, wandering around in the Fangyuan that had begun to take shape, chatting with the workers, and enthusiastically correcting several mistakes made by the workers accidentally.

Zhou Banniang really did not disappoint the peony, and everyone was satisfied with a delicious meal. Jiang Changyang washed his hands after seeing Peony eat a crab and didn't eat more, but his expression was clearly still very greedy, and he couldn't help but say: "Since you like it, why don't you eat more?" He has always felt that Peony has lost a little weight, and if he gets a little fatter, he doesn't know what it will look like?

Peony said calmly: "I'm not in good health, and I don't dare to eat more of such cold things." Don't talk about this, even the mackerel doesn't dare to eat more, but it's just to satisfy the tongue. Instead of eating enough in one meal, it is better to save it and eat it slowly. ”

Where is there such a self-exposure of its shortcomings? It's this bad health that kills people! It's all right now! If you don't seize such a good opportunity, do you want to scare people away? When Mother Lin heard the urgency, she couldn't help but pull Peony's sleeve.

Peony remained silent, and gently pulled the sleeve out of Mother Lin's hand to smooth it out. It's never a secret that her health is not good, and rumors are flying all over the sky, so if you want to hide it, how much can you hide it? Why deceive yourself and make people look down on you?

Jiang Changyang saw the small movements of the two in his eyes, smiled lightly, wiped his hands with the handkerchief handed by Shu'er, and said: "He Niang is right, everything is always not enough to eat to make it more delicious, and no matter how good the body is, it will be better to cherish it." ”

Ying Niang and Rong Niang listened, hurriedly stopped, and looked at the peony with blank eyes. Peony smiled: "You are in a different situation from me, you can eat another one, but it's not good to have more." ”

Jiang Changyang saw that Yingniang and Rongniang were restrained, and knew that it was because he was by his side, so he got up and said with a smile: "If He Niang eats well, why don't you go and choose peonies together?" I heard the little monk Ruman say that there are many kinds in your seedling garden, and he can't count them with his fingers and toes, can you take a look? ”

Peony smiled: "Why not?" It's better to plug in all of them. Please wait a minute, I'll go change into convenient clothes, and I'll come with tools. ”

Jiang Changyang chin slightly, watching Peony go, but seeing Mother Lin following Peony's side, frowning tightly, and whispering to Peony seriously, Peony just laughed, without saying a word, seeing that Mother Lin was in a hurry, and when she was about to jump up, Fang reached out and patted her back comfortingly, and whispered a word, Mother Lin looked helpless, reached out and poked her head gently. Peony was not angry, she looked at her and smiled, and Mother Lin also smiled, with a doting face.

Wu said on the side: "He Niang's temper is really good, if my nurse dares to poke my head, see if I don't hit her hand hard, and tell her to chop off her hand and feed it to the wolf." ”

Jiang Changyang glanced at Yuhe, who was standing not far away and waiting to lead him to the seedling garden, instantly closed the smile on his lips, glared at him and said, "Words become water!" ”

Wu said aggrievedly: "Gong, what did the villain say wrong?" ”

Jiang Changyang glared at him angrily, smiled again in an instant, and said in a low voice: "My temper was indeed bad when I was a child, but that woman is not a good thing. Don't you always take it out, okay? Didn't I just throw you a purse? Why do you hold such a grudge? How many days have you been right with me? ”

Wu said in a low voice: "I don't know who the person who holds a grudge is." "This state is so good, it's obvious that I'm afraid that the little maid will hear it, so I'm just so low-voiced.

Jiang Changyang stood in the seedling garden and looked around, and after listening to Yuhe's enthusiastic introduction, he couldn't help nodding secretly. This kind of nursery is divided into several large pieces, one of which is planted with many peonies bought at various prices for use as rootstocks, these peonies are not treated differently because they are not well planted, and are also taken care of vigorously; the other is planted with a peony that is also kept as a rootstock; There are also small grass sheds made of cool, ventilated and sheltered from the rain, and the peonies that have just budded are sheltered, and there are various famous peonies that are purchased at high prices to thrive.

Jiang Changyang said with certainty: "In the future, this garden will definitely become a famous garden in Beijing." ”

Yuhe smiled with crooked eyebrows: "Ask Jiang Gongjiyan." If this is the case, it is not in vain that my mother has spent so much effort and is tired like this. ”

Jiang Changyang said with a smile: "The emperor lives up to her wishes, she will not work in vain." ”

Yuhe's eyes rolled, and he deliberately led him to a grass shed, and pointed to a few peonies that had just been picked up not long ago for him to see: "Look, this is what our mother specially picked up for you, there are Yulou Diancui, Yao Huang, Wei Zi, and one is Erqiao." The rootstocks and scions used are carefully selected. ”

Jiang Changyang looked at it silently for a long time, and then asked: "I remember that He Niang planted a batch of seeds some time ago, but did they sprout?" Where is it, why haven't you seen it? ”

Yuhe hurriedly led him over and pointed to a few rows covered with straw curtains: "It's here." ”

Jiang Changyang curiously lifted the straw curtain and took a look, only to see a bare piece of mud with a few green grass sporadically rising on it, so he said, "This is the peony seedling?" ”

Peony had already changed into a dress that was convenient for work, and before she looked at it, she said with certainty: "No, it's a weed." As he spoke, he squatted down and mercilessly pulled up the weeds and threw them aside.

As soon as the peony approached, a thin fragrance entered Jiang Changyang's nose like a galloping arrow, shot into his lungs accurately, and then transmitted this smell into his brain, he was a little dizzy, he only knew that it smelled good, but he couldn't tell what the specific fragrance was. He heard his own voice say dryly in his ear: "I remember that you have been planting for a long time, and you have not budded for so long, will it not come out?" Isn't it old? ”

There was silence all around. Wu hated and looked at him with iron and steel, and he was shocked to realize that he had said the wrong thing in ignorance, but he didn't know how to remedy it, he just looked at Peony apologetically: "I don't understand anything, don't be angry." I only hope that she is not the kind of person who takes the omen too seriously, and will think that his words will make this whole peony plant not bud.

Peony just smiled slightly and said softly: "I won't be angry." After the peony is planted, it can send out young roots after ten days, and then it grows all the way down, and we can't see it above. To see the sprouts emerge to the soil, you have to wait for the spring of next year to see, about the end of February, the beginning of the month is basically complete. ”

It sounded like it was growing very slowly, and Jiang Changyang decided to finish it: "When will it bloom?" ”

Peony said: "It grows very slowly, and it will take many years to be able to do so." ”

Jiang Changyang let out an "ah" and couldn't help but say, "Isn't that a good deal?" ”

Peony pointed to the pile of inferior peonies and peonies in the distance, and said with a smile: "So it mainly depends on their grafting." Okay, come and pick the flowers you want to pick. Does Lingtang prefer a more elegant color, or a brighter color contrast? ”

Jiang Changyang was still annoyed that he had said the wrong thing before, and said a little sullenly: "I don't know anything about this, no better than you are an expert, just help me decide." ”

Peony saw that he was a little wilted, and didn't understand how his interest suddenly became low, so he enthusiastically recommended several plans to him: "One can be picked up by Zhao Fen, Bai Yu, Luoyang Hong, and Er Qiao, and this one will bloom a little earlier; There is also a kind of Hu Hong, Lantian Jade, Yao Huang, Luoyang Red to pick up, which is a medium flower; You can also use bean green, purple cloud immortal, Shengdan furnace to pick up, this is the evening flower, which one do you think Lingtang will prefer? Or, when was her birth? ”

Jiang Changyang listened to her gentle words, and couldn't help but laugh at himself secretly, and said with a smile: "Her birthday is not in the spring, you think the best look is that, I believe in your vision." ”

People like Mrs. Wang have a clear love and hate, so I think they will prefer the ones with strong colors and strong contrasts, right? Peony made up his mind: "Then use Hu Hong, Lantian Yu, Yao Huang, and Luoyang Red to pick it up." She looked at Jiang Changyang with a smile: "If Lingtang doesn't like it, you can't rely on me." ”

Jiang Changyang hurriedly showed a row of white teeth: "No, no." ”

Peony carefully selected a single trunk and multi-branched Luoyang red tree about a foot high as a rootstock, carefully looked up and down carefully, took a sharp knife in hand, and skillfully cut the lower end of Hu Hong's annual foot bud prepared in advance into a wedge shape that was slightly thicker on one side and thinner on the other side, and left half an inch on the surface. Then he took a relatively thick branch of Luoyanghong in his hand, lightly flattened its top, and vertically cut a crack half an inch long at half of the cross section as an interface, and inserted the lower end of the Huhong branch bud so that the two cambium layers were opposite. Then wrap it tightly with hemp from top to bottom, and neatly attach the wax to the joint, sealing the gap between the rootstock and the cuttings.

In this way, the peony breathed a sigh of relief, and methodically and sequentially connected the branches and buds of several species with different flower colors and flower types, such as Lantian jade, Yao Huang, and case red, and the flowering phenology and growth were basically the same.

In the process, Jiang Changyang stared at her brightly from the side, from her focused expression, slightly trembling curly eyelashes, to her small and delicate nose with a little fine hairy sweat, to her lips that were tightly pursed and slightly deformed because of excessive investment, and then to her dexterous and white hands. Those hands were not big, and there were faintly blue slender blood vessels under the white jade-like skin, which looked very delicate, and could not be compared with his hands with thick bones at all. But when she held the knife to cut off those valuable flower buds, she was not the slightest bit late, very decisive, and did not drag the mud and water.

Jiang Changyang couldn't help but raise his palm and look at it, he believed that when Peony held the knife to cut flower buds, it was the same as when he held the knife to do the work he had to do. In their respective fields, he was as perfect as she was when it came to handling that knife.

When the peony connected the last scion he had prepared, he let out a light sigh, looked curiously at the peony that had been reborn, and said in a low voice: "In this way, will it be able to bloom a few colors of flowers next spring?" ”

"Well, as long as it's properly managed, it's okay to think about it. Next spring, nearly half of the buds may bloom, and it will be necessary to wait until the year after next to reach their full bloom. Peony picked up a knife to remove all the sprouting tillers at the root of the rootstock, and wiped off all the axillary buds and adventitious buds on the branches, and fertilized and watered it himself.

Wu was just about to reach out to hold the flower pot, but Jiang Changyang had already squatted down and hugged the flower pot, and said with a smile: "I'll come." Then he carefully brought the flower pot to the grass shed, and when he saw that the flower pot was tilted and uneven, he picked up a small stone and flattened the flower pot.

Wu didn't bother to fight with him, just there lazily smiling and watching him move.