That night, in order to celebrate the official occupancy, the family set up two seats in the inner hall. Considering that he was still in mourning, firecrackers and red paper were all exempted, only eight or nine good dishes were prepared, and a small jar of good wine, and Mr. and Mrs. Su and Master Cheng were invited.

Shuning hadn't seen Mr. Su and Chen for more than two months, and she saw that they seemed to be thinner than the last time they met, but they were in good spirits. Chen was at the same table with Tong, Xiao Liu, Shuning and Master Cheng's wife, and when they talked casually, Shuning learned that they had moved over on the third day after Zhang Bao bought the courtyard.

It turned out that since Mr. Su entered Beijing, he had been borrowing a guest room in the Earl's Court to review his homework and prepare for next year's imperial examination. Originally, everything was fine, but after Zhang Bao was knighted, he often came to him with some so-called fellow villagers, classmates, old or family friends. He originally thought that his situation had improved, and if he could help the deceased, it would be nothing, and if he could find one or two talents with good character, he could also recommend Zhang Bao to be his successor. Who knew that among the people who came to him, there was no one who really had the ability, they all wanted to mix in Beijing and had no way, and they planned to use his light to climb the flames, so he was impatient. Besides, those people come twice in three days, and if they disturb their preparation for the exam, they will annoy the people of the Earl's Court. He once tried to hint that those people should not come to him if they were fine, but unexpectedly attracted some ugly rumors***, saying that when he was developed, there was no one in his eyes, and the husband and wife were so troubled, and they lost a lot of weight.

Later, an elder from the township club wrote a letter to reprimand him, and he became angry, and no one helped him when he was down, but now his life is better, and he is like a fly that does not leave. After he told Zhang Baoyu. The people of the Earl's Court did not let in any more indifferent people, nor did he go out, but devoted himself to his studies. Only then did I get a quiet day. But lately, I heard that Ah Song was inquiring outside, and it seemed that some of his distant relatives who lived in the river had heard that he had made a fortune. When he was about to sell his house and bring his family to Beijing to join him, he was startled, and when he saw that Zhang Bao had bought another courtyard, he asked for permission and hurriedly packed his things and moved over. Except for the people in the third room. The government thought that he had resigned, and the Tong family had issued a clear order to the servants under his jurisdiction not to reveal his whereabouts to others.

Mr. Su came to Fangshan, his own house lived in a courtyard, the mountain house was quiet, and there were no idlers to disturb him, although the house was being renovated everywhere, he still felt very comfortable, and he had already made up his mind. Before the scientific expedition, he will not move back to Beijing. Zhang Bao also agreed, and asked his eldest brother Jin Bao to slowly find one or two good friends for himself.

After listening to Shuning. Seeing Mr. Su smiling and persuading Master Cheng to drink, I believe that this person has really returned to his former free and easy appearance. The last time I saw him. The whole person has a sad face, if it weren't for the fact that his face hasn't changed. She also spoke well, and she thought someone was wearing it.

But according to her, the happiest person after moving here is the Chen family. Chen grew up in Guangdong since he was a child, and he was not used to the diet of the north, and when he was in Fuzhong, he could only eat whatever was sent by the kitchen.

Shuning looked at the dishes on the table with a mixture of northern and southern flavors, and thought to herself: Actually, I can also take charge again and practice my cooking skills.

Cheng Niangzi is only in her early thirties, her face is pale, she is extremely thin, and she heard that her body is just getting better, so she followed her husband in order not to be rude. Tong saw that she was weak, so he ordered a little girl to wait for her, and Cheng Niangzi was flattered and thanked her tremblingly. Tong and the others saw her like this, they knew that she was a woman from a small family, and she was not used to socializing, and it was not difficult for her, except for the necessary greetings, let her eat some dishes comfortably alone, and ignore her rudeness, and after a long time, Cheng Niangzi was also relieved.

Tonight each servant was given two kinds of meat and a bowl of wine, and received a reward according to their rank, and everyone kowtowed to their master in high spirits, and then lined up to eat the wine and food, and then went back to their respective posts to continue their work.

When Shuning returned to her yard, Frangipani and Holly were huddled in the room, jingling as if they were counting something, and when they heard Shuning's call, they hurried to the conservatory, raised the stove, smiled embarrassedly, and boiled water and made the bed.

After washing her hands and feet and sleeping on the bed, Shuning sighed secretly, it was so comfortable. It's not cold tonight, so I didn't burn the kang, covered with a thick quilt, and looked at the whole room, only myself, and the small kang in the corner of the house was also an open space, which felt really good. In the past few months of living in the Earl's Mansion in the capital, she has always had a maid ring in the room, I heard that the house is not enough to live in the place, so that she has been used to sleeping alone for many years, and now, she can finally dominate the whole room.

No, it's not one, it's three, and there's a yard. Shuning shrank into the quilt and grinned. I'm the dividing line for a good night's sleep

When Shuning opened her eyes, she found that the air had become very cold, and there was a "whirring" wind outside the window, which surprised her. When I heard a sound in the house, I looked over and realized that it was Frangipani lighting the brazier. She raised her head and saw that Shuning had woken up, and said, "Is the girl awake?" Slept well, right? In the middle of the night, a strong wind suddenly blew, and it was snowing. After that, he asked Holly to pour water, put the brazier by the bed, and waited for Shuning to get up.

Shuning got dressed and reached into the basin to wash her face, only to find that the steaming water was just warm when she came in. Was it already so cold overnight? Fortunately, the quilt was thick enough and the windows and doors were closed tightly, otherwise, she would have woken up coldly without burning the kang. Holly poured the water and came in with a bowl of hot ginger tea. Frangipani waited for Shuning to comb her hair and asked, "How about I burn the kang when I go back?" It's also warmer in the house. Shuning said: "I want to stay in the main courtyard in the morning, if you want to burn, burn the small kang next to you." It's okay to work there. Frangipani answered, and made a look at Holly, who curled the corners of her mouth slightly, and Shuning didn't see it.

She was about to go out to the main courtyard for breakfast, but when she saw Kou'er cleaning the yard, she greeted her and asked how she slept at night. Kou'er blushed: "The wall is a little thin, it's strangely cold......" Shuning heard the words and went to the backyard to look, the wall of the hugging building was really not thick. Maybe it's because it's only recently added, and it's not a major place. Some cut corners. In addition, the backyard is relatively empty, and there is no kang or brazier in the house, let alone at night, it is not warm during the day.

Shuning frowned and looked at the other room. Seeing that it was the same situation, he returned to the front yard in silence. The two big girls were standing under the porch, and Holly hesitated for a moment and said, "Why don't you ...... Let's let Kou'er sleep in our room first, right? It would be nice to wait for the spring to bloom. Frangipani moved her mouth and did not speak.

Buckle on both sides of the look at the love of the country and the mountains and mountains, and said squeaked: "Actually...... I can live in the hut on the north side...... It's warmer there...... If you don't have a kang, you can also say: "That's a place to put things, and now there are several big boxes, how can you sleep people?" …… Forget it, you might as well stay with us. ”

"As long as there's enough space for the bed. It's okay to keep things there, my hands and feet are clean......"

Frangipani frowned and was about to speak. Shuning spoke: "Since it is your intention, I will let you move to the hut in the north." Go back to Frangipani and Holly and check what is there. If there is anything that can be used, take it out. Then put the empty boxes side by side, and I remember they were all the same size. Then put the bed board on the top of the box, spread the mattress, and move the buckle over. It's just that you said it yourself, and you can't regret it in the future. ”

Gu Er was busy, and Su Xin quipped: "But luckily, we still need two people in a room, but you occupy a room alone." Kou'er just smiled and didn't speak, and hurriedly moved her things.

Shuning turned around and said to the two big girls: "The room in the back is vacated first, and I have my own use." Holly asked what it was for, and she smiled and said, "In our courtyard, only the south house has a stove to make tea, but what is enough?" A bucket of hot water came from the kitchen, and it was all cold. Why don't you make a stove in the backyard basement, or start a stove, let's boil water for our own use, and make some food, just like the small kitchen in the Huai courtyard, okay? ”

Frangipani and Holly looked at each other with some excitement, so that they could save some effort and not have to travel far to get hot water or steamed snacks. But Shuning has another plan, there are two rooms in the back, one of which has only one high window, but it is warmer, and there is a drainage ditch outside the house. Wouldn't it be a bathroom when I got someone to raise the floor with bricks and thick slabs, and made some shelves for things? In the winter, when the water is boiled next to it, it is better to take a hot shower in the bathroom than to make it wet in the room. It is not far from the room, and there are high walls on all sides, so I rushed back to the room after washing, but it was not cold anywhere. If it's summer, it's even more convenient.

This is a relatively large project, and she has to ask Tong first. When I arrived at the main courtyard, I asked my parents to say goodbye, and then went to the inner hall with them for breakfast. After the meal, she told her mother about the renovation plan of the backyard, and Tong thought about it, so she agreed, just said: "Forget it this year, let's talk about it in the spring, and ask Changfu to help you do it." Shuning had no choice but to respond.

The days that followed were a lot of fun.

Shuning gets up early every day, first eats breakfast with her family, and then helps her mother with household chores, and learns some things herself. Then the elder brother came back with the younger brothers to practice archery, and she was responsible for teaching the two little ones. After lunch, she went back to the hospital to take a nap, and then she could arrange her own time to go to the study to write, practice the piano, and see where the books were. I haven't practiced for a few months, and sure enough, my hand was raw, and it took several days of practice to return to half of the original level.

Sometimes when she is tired, she can go back to the room and do needlework with the two girls, or go to the martial arts training ground to see her brother teach her two younger brothers to ride horses and shoot archery, and sometimes she will shoot a few shots, but it turns out that she has no talent in this area, although her strength is greater than that of the two boys, but she always shoots to places outside the target, causing the two stinky boys to laugh loudly.

She didn't believe it, as long as she practiced more, she would definitely be able to shoot in the middle of the target! So she came to every day for half an hour, believing that one day she could surpass those two stinky boys! (It's so unproductive, and it actually targets children.)

Because of the old grudge on the archery field, she deliberately arranged some problems for Xianning and Xiaobao, such as knowing that they didn't like to learn idioms, but she just assigned homework in this area, and waited until they kept scratching their brains and making all kinds of jokes before explaining the correct meaning to them. It's not that she's unkind as a sister, but this method helps them deepen their memory of these idioms, and she won't teach them one by one from the word "one" like she did in high school, she chose those idioms with simple meanings and more interesting story origins, such as "playing the piano to the cow", "the foolish man moves the mountain", "the blind man touches the elephant", "the fox is fake and the tiger is mighty", "waiting for the rabbit", "painting the snake and adding feet", "there is no silver three hundred taels here" and the like, the two children should listen to the story, and they all remember it firmly, It's just that I love to add something to these idiom stories, which makes people a little ridiculous.

When the weather is good, Tong will also let them play in the garden. Although the surface of the lake is frozen, there is only a thin layer of ice because of the flowing water coming down from the mountains, and there is still water underneath. Shu Ning and Yu Ge who came along, as well as Xiaobao's girl Ah Xiu, all kept an eye on the two skin monkeys to make sure they wouldn't do anything dangerous.

After two snowfalls, dozens of plum blossoms on the side of the mountain bloomed excellently, white and pink and red. Zhang Bao sometimes took the Tong family to the house near the water to enjoy the plum blossoms. Several other pavilions, such as Shuning's Pillow Xia Pavilion and Duanning's Guanlan Pavilion, have been named, and the pavilion in the center of the lake has also been named "Lake Center Pavilion" by Tong's very uncreative, but the name of this house built on the platform has not been decided.

Tong felt that it was more appropriate to call it "Plum Appreciation Terrace", Zhang Bao was embarrassed, thinking that it should be called "Lingbo Terrace", and after the couple argued, Tong gave in and finally decided to be Ling Botai.

Shuning asked Tong privately why she wanted to argue with her father about this trivial matter, but Tong smiled and said, "Do you think I'm arguing with your Amma?" In fact, he was even happier when he made such a fuss. Shuning looked at Zhang Bao's triumphant face, and thought so.

Zhang Bao is not so idle every day, he also has to entertain neighbors who come to visit new neighbors, and most of the time, he spends his time patrolling his fields and forests. In addition to 134 hectares of farmland, there are also 6 or 7 hectares of hillside land, and Zhang Bao plans to take advantage of the slack to plan first, and then repair water conservancy facilities.

These industrial management matters were originally the responsibility of the Tong family, who was a housewife, but Zhang Bao thought that he was more familiar with agricultural affairs, so he took over. Tong didn't ask, just took care of everything in the house, but she was a little dissatisfied with Wang Er, the steward of the other courtyard, and felt that he didn't think about many things enough. When Shuning followed her mother to learn housework, she often saw her rejecting Wang Er's request and teaching him how to do it. Poor Wang Er was an honest man, and he was often said to be sweating profusely and full of shame.

Time passed in a hurry, and in a blink of an eye, it entered Layue, and the Tong family took a few henchmen back to Beijing to help the Nala family prepare for the New Year. The family doesn't celebrate the New Year in another courtyard, so they only need to make simple arrangements. Tong explained to Wang and his wife, and ordered Shuning to follow the supervision, and then instructed her husband and son to leave.