Red Mansion Huacai

Chapter 176 Rambling

Tan Chun pulled Xichun, his face raised and he admired Li Weijian even more. It's almost freezing, but the greenhouse is full of greenery. Only fourth brother Jian has such ability.

Turning his head, he suddenly caught a glimpse of Daiyu looking at the young seedlings thoughtfully. Tanchun joked: "Sister Lin, do you want to move the poppy plant in the back garden?"

Li Weijian followed the reputation and thought to himself that it turned out that Sister Lin often went to the small garden. I don’t know if I’m going to see the flowers or on the other side.

Daiyu raised her eyes and briefly looked at Li Weijian. She shook her head with a smile and said, "Flowers and herbs are wild animals. They can grow strong after going through wind, frost, rain and snow. If you move it to this greenhouse, the care will be too meticulous and the original intention will be lost. It's hard to say sick."

Li Weijian smiled and praised: "Sister Lin's words are extremely reasonable."

Daiyu added: "Besides, flowers and plants are human beings, aren't these young seedlings too? One day the flowers will bloom everywhere, I will definitely come and take a look. It's interesting to think about it."

After she finished speaking, Wang Xifeng suddenly clasped her hands and said, "That's right, Brother Jian's greenhouse can probably only be used for growing vegetables. I'm afraid you won't be able to grow vegetables."

Several girls quickly asked what the reason was. Wang Xifeng frowned and shook his head: "I don't know about this. I only heard people say that growing in winter is against the harmony of nature, so most of the warm soup vegetables only bloom but do not bear fruit."

Only flowers but no fruits? That means there is no pollination.

Wang Xifeng looked at Li Weijian and said, "But it's not bad to just grow vegetables and eat them."

Li Weijian smiled and said, "Second sister-in-law, this greenhouse of mine is different. I have planted watermelons on one side. When they bear fruit in the twelfth lunar month, I will invite my second sister-in-law to taste the watermelons in winter."

How can Wang Xifeng believe it? The triangular phoenix eyes squinted and said with a sideways smile: "Brother Jian, could it be that he really learned the magic from Maoshan? Giggle, if you really planted watermelons in winter, then I, the sister-in-law, will definitely have a drink to show off your worries in the future. From now on, Brother Jian I believe everything you say.”

Li Weijian suddenly became happy, pretended to think about it, nodded heavily and said: "In this case, I will make this bet with my second sister-in-law. I would like all the sisters to be witnesses."

Jia Lian smiled and said: "Do you need others? My witness is enough."

Tanchun joked: "I trust Fourth Brother Jian, why don't I make a bet with Second Sister-in-law too."

Wang Xifeng was surprised and said: "Is it possible that Tanchun knows the inside story? This is not possible. If you want to take advantage of a rich family, you have to find your elder sister-in-law. My second sister-in-law is very poor."

Li Wan blinked and said happily: "You bet on yours, why does it involve me again?"

Xichun said: "The eldest sister-in-law and the second sister-in-law are both wealthy people. If we, the sisters-in-law, are not looking for two sisters-in-law to fight in the autumn wind, who else can we look for?"

Everyone talked and laughed, lingered for a while, and then returned to the main room.

At this time, noon was approaching, and a banquet was arranged in the main room, and the invited Huiban began to sing in the courtyard.

After all, Li Weijian's mansion is not as good as Rongguo Mansion, because the doors and windows can only be opened so that one can have wine and watch a play at the same time. It was late autumn, and the hall was as warm as spring. The girls were originally wrapped in cloaks, but in a blink of an eye they were relieved from the heat.

Tanchun looked around and saw no braziers or smoke cages around. Instead, there were a few square wooden boxes with carved hollows under the windows and beside the walls. When Tanchun got closer, he felt heat waves escaping from inside.

It happened that Qingwen led the maid in to pass the dishes. Tanchun stopped Qingwen, pointed at the wooden box and asked: "Qingwen, what is that?"

Qingwen said: "Fourth Master said it is a heater. It is made of cast iron pipes and radiators. The other end is connected to the boiler room in the east cross courtyard. In this way, there is no need to see an open fire, and there is heat in the room. There is no need to worry about it. Poisoned by charcoal."

Tanchun seemed to understand, but he just praised: "Fourth brother Jian is really amazing."

Qingwen curled her lips and complained: "Fourth Master is good at everything, but he just spends money lavishly... Originally, the main house and several side rooms where people live in are just equipped with these heaters, but Fourth Master doesn't, even the servants live there. The empty houses and unoccupied warehouses were also installed.

This is good, now I need to find a warehouse to store some frozen goods, and they have to be sent to the side garden. "

At this time, Hongyu led people in. After hearing this, she said: "That's not all. Has the third girl seen the water pipes in the courtyard? The fourth master has buried water pipes everywhere. He only waits for the tap water to be installed here next year. Everywhere, if connected, there will be running water.”

Qingwen said again: "I'm afraid the open fire in the boiler room won't be able to stop. The fourth master always talks about 24-hour hot water, saying that he doesn't need to boil water for bathing in the future. Tsk, such a waste of money. The cost of coal alone will be several hundred taels higher next year!"

Only a few hundred taels? Although Tanchun is young, she has been raised under Mrs. Wang's knees since she was a child, but her temperament is more refined than that of an ordinary girl. It's only a few hundred taels, but the master of Rongguo Mansion spent one or two thousand taels of charcoal every year.

Although Rongguo Mansion is much larger than Fourth Brother Jian's house, don't forget that Fourth Brother Jian's several hundred taels of silver can benefit everyone, while the one or two thousand taels of Rongguo Mansion are only for the masters. If the charcoal money belongs to people above and below me, I'm afraid it will go up even more.

Where is this waste? Obviously a lot of savings.

Tanchun thought about it in his mind, but he saw through it without saying anything. Fourth Brother Jian's house, whether it's the reserved water pipes, heating or the green greenhouse, is full of novelty. In contrast, the entire Rongguo Mansion was gloomy, as if it was about to die.

She was asking questions, but the second girl on the side, Yingchun, didn't listen. With all the events of yesterday clearly in mind, the second girl felt shy and thinking about what Li Weijian said yesterday, so she paid more attention to the house. I don’t expect anything new to welcome the Spring Festival, but I feel that everything in this house is satisfactory.

Just now she looked into the Nuan Pavilion from a distance, and when she saw only one quilt, her heart suddenly felt like it was ironing. Although Brother Jian took in a concubine, he never allowed the concubine to move into the main house.

Fu Qiufang sat next to the second girl, asking questions from time to time and entertaining her. The second girl came into contact with him twice, and saw that he was dignified and quiet, and had no other bad intentions, which made her feel more satisfied. Nowadays, he looks at Li Weijian secretly from time to time, hoping that the reply will be good news in the future.

There were two banquet tables set up in this hall, separated by screens. Wang Xifeng heard what Qingwen and Hongyu were talking about, and felt that it was so nice that there was no smoke in the room. Because it was time for Fu Qiufang to take care of the two girls to welcome the spring, he took her to ask questions.

After asking, Wang Xifeng was secretly speechless. Dongkuaoyuan'er demolished the house and built the current greenhouse, which cost at least 20,000 taels. By comparison, the boiler and heating cost several thousand taels, and the reserved water pipes cost another several thousand taels. Not counting other things, Brother Jian just threw in 30,000 taels of silver in an invisible place.

Calculating it this way, if the entire Rongguo Mansion undergoes such transformation, I'm afraid it will only be a lot more! She thought to herself and asked Brother Jian later to find a way to save money by remodeling the old lady's house.

After listening to the play for a while, Wang Xifeng saw Li Weijian and Jia Lian on the other side of the screen. It was not easy to find Li Weijian to talk to. Because his heart moved, he said: "I think it's better to remove this screen. There are relatives on the left and right. They were gathered together just now. They are just eating wine and listening to a show. Who are you showing off to?"

Li Weijian and Jia Lian on the other side looked at each other and smiled, and immediately ordered someone to remove the screen. In this way, the two tables are only three feet apart, and they can see each other by raising their eyes. The drama changed one by one. After three rounds of wine and five tastes of food, Li Weijian and Jia Lian only had a light drink at this table, while the girls on the other side became lively.

I don't know who made the joke, which made the girls lean forward and back. Even the second girl, who is usually the most reserved, laughed so hard that she couldn't even sit down at her desk.

Wang Xifeng said: "'Madam please parade', giggle, sister Lin's mouth is really unforgiving, even if she scolds her, she will make people laugh to death."

Daiyu smiled and said, "Second sister-in-law said this too much. What I just said was just a joke I read in a book."

Tanchun said: "Sister Lin has passed the test this time, who is still naughty?"

While talking, Tanchun looked at Li Wan. Li Wan smiled and shook his head: "I've probably heard all the jokes from my daughter-in-law and son, and saying them out loud is just a joke. I think it's better to let the men talk. Maybe you have some new ideas?"

Baochai then said to Li Weijian from afar: "Brother Jian, why don't you just tell a few jokes to make things exciting?"

Li Weijian glanced at her, and then looked at Daiyu with a look of expectation in her eyes, and nodded and said, "Okay, then I'll tell you something."

After thinking for a while, he said: "It is said that Wukong was passing by a place in the West to learn Buddhist scriptures. He accidentally dropped the golden cudgel on the ground while playing naughty, and it disappeared. Wukong was furious, and immediately summoned Tu Tu and asked: 'Old Tu Tu, what are you doing? Where is my golden hoop?'"

After a pause, Li Weijian finally said: "The old man looked up and down for a long time, then he handed over his hand and said: 'Go back to the Great Sage, your tight-fitting stick matches your hairstyle perfectly!'"

As soon as the words fell, Daiyu, Tanchun, and Baochai all burst into laughter, and even Li Wan also pursed his lips and smiled. Xichun was young and didn't know why, Yingchun didn't understand it, and Wang Xifeng didn't understand it for a while. After Tanchun Bianle explained the inner truth, the remaining people also became very happy.

After a while, Li Weijian saw Jia Lian yawning profusely, so he asked the general. Jia Lian only said that he had not slept well yesterday, so Li Weijian asked someone to lead Jia Lian to the guest room to rest.

He was the only one left at the wine table, and Li Weijian was impatient to watch the Hui Troupe perform, so he simply got up and walked out, asking Fu Qiufang to take care of everyone, and strolled to the side garden to sober up.

It was just late at this time, and the sun was setting in the west. Li Weijian stopped by the pond, and saw the withered lotus and fish playing in it. There is also smoke from neighbors' cooking, which can be said to be "the cool autumn breeze blows from the Hengtang Pond, and the gentle whistling smoke waves bathe in the setting sun."

Li Weijian was slightly stunned, thinking about the future plan. Suddenly, a pebble fell on the pond in front of me. I thought it must be Qingwen who was so naughty. When I turned around, I saw the smiling Baochai!

Li Weijian was surprised and said with a smile: "Why is Sister Xue here?"

Baochai Pingting walked to Li Weijian's side, looked at the remaining lotus in the pond and said, "The heater made it a little stuffy, so I went out for a walk, but I didn't expect Fourth Brother Jian to be here."

Li Weijian said: "I just came here to sober up after eating wine."

Baochai said casually: "Second sister-in-law gave me a pair of Western candlesticks. They are shiny silver and look very unique."

Since it is a warm pot, everyone always gives some gifts to celebrate the occasion. Wang Xifeng and Jia Lian received great benefits from Li Weijian. Since they had previously taught Jia Rui a lesson and owed him a favor, this gift was naturally more valuable. The rest of the people wrote poems and paintings just to suit the occasion.

"Really? Then I have to look back carefully." Li Weijian was not satisfied with the brightness of the candle, but Dashun was poor in oil. He wondered when Dashun would be able to expand into Borneo, so that there would be no shortage of oil. .

Baochai said again: "Brother Bao lost his temper this morning and made a fuss about coming. Neither the old lady nor the madam could stop him. Later, it was the second sister-in-law who said she wanted to invite the master, and this scared brother Bao. "

Li Weijian didn't care at all and said: "The old lady is too worried. Brother Bao was just crazy last time, and he can't do it again and again." He was worried that Baoyu would make another fuss. When Daiyu saw Baoyu clearly, This person naturally has a balance in his mind.

Miss Lin doesn't care about family background or future, but she cares about a person's true heart.

Baochai glanced sideways and said in a low voice: "Speaking of which, Brother Bao is making trouble to come because of Miss Lin."

Li Weijian smiled and said, "It's hard to say that. Brother Bao's temperament may be just for fun, or to play naughty with his sisters. If it's just for whom, it's hard to say."

Sister Bao wants to give herself eye drops? How could Li Weijian be fooled? Looking over with a smile, he said: "When I posted yesterday, I heard from the old lady that Brother Bao has been a lot more diligent recently and has gone to private school. I guess Sister Xue must be responsible for this."

Baochai said: "What Fourth Brother Jian said is wrong. I'm just an outsider, so how can I influence Brother Bao? After a few words of persuasion last time, Brother Bao got annoyed."

"Brother Bao is still young. In the future, he will always know that what Sister Xue said is the truth."

The two tried it out but couldn't come up with the result. Baochai bit her lower lip and suddenly said: "Looking at this pond, I couldn't help but think of the mistake of Fourth Brother Jian's help when I entered Beijing that day. I'm afraid the consequences will be disastrous."

Rehash the past?

Li Weijian smiled and said: "Sister Xue is serious. The inspection department came very quickly that day. Even without me, I think Sister Xue will be fine."

Sister Bao smiled and said nothing. Suddenly a gust of autumn wind blew by. Sister Bao looked up at the dark clouds covering the sun and said, "The wind has picked up. Brother Jian, please go back quickly."

"Well, I'll go back after I take a drink."

Baochai was blessed for a moment, then turned around and walked away.

Li Weijian stood there for a long time, guessing that Baochai had gone back, so Shi Shiran walked back. When they arrived in front of Deyue Gate, they saw Lianqiu wanting to speak but stopping.

Li Weijian simply stopped and asked a few questions before Lianqiu said: "Miss Xue went to find the master first, and then two girls came, one slender and the other plump. Seeing that the master was talking to Miss Xue, the two girls returned ”

Li Weijian blinked, and then he suddenly felt enlightened. The plump one is definitely the second girl welcoming the spring; the slender one is definitely Daiyu!

No wonder Sister Bao was talking here and there just now, never understanding what she meant. It turns out that was the plan!

　I stayed up until four o'clock to finish writing, I was so sleepy. If there are any typos, please help me pick them out.

　　

　

(End of this chapter)