Red Mansion Huacai

Chapter 191 You reap what you sow

Qianxue said: "That's what I said just now, but You Laoan shook his head and said he would not leave until he saw the master."

Li Weijian put down the melon rind, and Qingwen immediately gave her a handkerchief to wipe her hands. He then smiled and said, "How could such a good person be robbed by a thief? Forget it, I'll go over and take a look to see what kind of medicine is sold in this gourd."

Qingwen wanted to accompany her, but Li Weijian refused, leaving her to continue eating watermelon while he and Qianxue went to the front yard.

Entering the side hall, I saw an old man, two young men, three women and two maids. The second sister You was sobbing and crying, while the third sister was saying something angrily beside her.

Seeing Li Weijian's arrival, the three women hurriedly stood up, and Mrs. You said with a smile on her face: "Master Li is well."

Li Weijian nodded slightly, sat down and asked, "You Lao'an is looking for me? What's the matter?"

Mrs. You said: "My lord, I don't know, but my house was just robbed!"

But when the banquet was over, Mrs. You and her two daughters all drank and went to have a rest. Second Sister You was so drunk that she washed up briefly and then took off her clothes and got on the kang. Unexpectedly, she heard a faint sound and felt a cool breeze. Second Sister You opened her eyes and vaguely saw that the tiles on the roof had been removed at some point, and a dark face was staring at her.

Second Sister You screamed in fright, which attracted the maid to check, and then the thief was frightened away.

You Lao Niang was shocked and frightened, so she quickly sent people to Shuntian Mansion to report to the official, and also sent her subordinates to look around. It's just that the You family's yin is strong and the yang is declining, and Mrs. You is not rich. She only has an old servant and two young men in the front yard. The old man is old and the young man is young. If a strongman climbs over the wall and gets in, how can these three people be opponents?

I have the intention to live somewhere else, but it is already too late. So the three of them discussed it and came to Li Weijian for help.

Li Weijian saw that he was cheating and he thought: "As the New Year is approaching, there are more thieves."

Then Sanjie You said: "What thief? I think it is Zhang Hua who is here to seek revenge!"

"Third Sister!" Mrs. You scolded, then smiled and said, "Let's hear what the lord has to say."

Li Weijian said: "I have one of my men who can be used. Why don't you send him to take care of him? Don't worry, you three, he is a serious practitioner, and three or five people can't get close to him."

"This -" Madam You bowed and murmured: "Thank you, Lord, for taking care of me, but now my daughter is frightened and I'm afraid she won't dare to live in that house. It's getting late now, so it's not easy to find an inn. I With a shy face, I begged the Lord to take my daughter in, and after two days, I will take my daughter to Ningguo Mansion to hide for a while."

Seeing that Li Weijian was hesitant and silent, and Mrs. You still wanted to plead, Third Sister You said, "I guess Mr. Li doesn't like us in his heart, so I'd better not ask. Why don't we beg my brother-in-law? At least we can have a place."

You Lao Niang scolded her again and again, but she didn't mention it.

Li Weijian secretly thought to himself that they already knew each other, but they were in trouble again, so it was hard not to reach out. Otherwise, I'm afraid it would be hard to talk to Jia Zhen and Youshi when they met during the Chinese New Year.

He nodded with a smile and said, "What Mr. You Laoan invited is really unexpected. I just thought about it, I'm afraid there will be a lot of inconvenience in this inner house, but there is a floor in the side garden where you can live. If the three of you don't mind it - —”

You Lao Niang suddenly said happily: "What the Lord said, being able to let us live is a favor, how can we dislike it?"

At that moment, Li Weijian said no more and sent Qianxue to lead the three girls of the You family to settle down, while he Shiran returned to the main house.

When I went back and talked to the girls, although the girls didn't say anything on their faces, they were secretly wary in their hearts. Are you afraid to live in your home if there is a thief? What's the point of this? He clearly wanted to use this to get involved with his master. Hongyu and Qingwen exchanged glances with each other, and their minds were clear. During this period of stay, the fence must be tightened to prevent anyone from taking advantage of the situation.

Hongyu was still thinking that she would have to discuss it with Fu Qiufang before going back.

Let's not mention this side of the room for now, but say that Mrs. You sent the maid back to get the bedding, and she, her second sister, and her third sister followed Qian Xue into the side garden, walked through the bamboo forest and arrived in front of a building.

This building was originally an embroidered building built by General Fengen for his daughter earlier. After Li Weijian took possession of it, he only repaired it slightly and kept it.

When You Lao Niang and the other three girls entered it, they saw that it was not luxurious and the displays inside were simple, incomparable to the Tianxiang Tower of Ningguo Mansion. The third sister could not help but curl her lips.

The second sister felt a wave of heat coming towards her face, so she asked in surprise: "Could it be that the earth dragon was burned down in this building?"

Qianxue said: "That's not true. During the previous repairs, the master installed a heater, and that's what -" Qianxue pointed to the radiator under the bed and said: "-where hot water flows from the boiler room, and cold water flows back. Boiler room, if you repeat this, the room will get hot."

"Heating?" Mrs. You walked over, touched it, and was shocked: "It's so hot, no wonder it's so warm in this building."

Qianxue said: "That's not all. The master has also reserved a tap water pipe. He said that when the tap water is spread in the coming year, it will also be connected to the building, so that there is no need to send people to carry it." After a pause, he added: " There is a valve on the side of the heater. When you turn it on, hot water will flow out. If you three want to clean your face and wash your feet, you can use this water. If you want to drink it, you should send the maid to get it elsewhere."

The second sister asked: "Can't you drink this water?"

Qianxue said: "Master said there is rust in it, and it will taste strange when you drink it." She said with some luck, "There is a bedroom upstairs. You three can arrange it first. If anything happens, just send the maid to look for me."

Qianxue left, and after a while the maid brought the quilt. The three girls of the You family had eaten wine before and were frightened. They were extremely sleepy now. After a few words, they settled down separately.

Early the next morning, the maid Nianxia brought a food box. The third sister happened to be hungry at the moment, so she spread out the food box and was immediately surprised.

Inside are a stack of leek yolk eggs, a stack of cold cucumber shreds, goose breast, chicken gizzards, butter cakes, and green stem rice porridge. This kind of food is normal in summer and autumn, but it happens to be the twelfth lunar month in winter.

The third sister sighed: "It seems like the Li family's wealth is on the inside but not on the outside."

You Lao Niang said: "No matter how rich you are, how can you compare with Ningguo Mansion? Ningguo Mansion is a wealth that has been passed down for hundreds of years, and every object in the house has its own meaning. I'm afraid there are only a dozen or so newly wealthy people like Lord Li. In twenty years, I can’t accumulate those items.”

The second sister picked out a chopstick of shredded cucumber, which was immediately refreshing and refreshing. She couldn't help but squint her eyes in pleasure. Said: "It is really refreshing to have a bite of cucumber in winter. Usually I spend money to buy warm soup vegetables, which are just some leafy vegetables such as leeks and garlic sprouts, but this shredded melon is still delicious."

Just as he was sighing, Nian Xia sent another food box and said, "My aunt is serving the master right now. I am afraid that the three of you will not eat well, so I specially prepared some fruits."

Madam You and others thought they were just apples, tangerines and the like, so they just thanked them casually and took the food box. When the third sister unfolded it, she suddenly exclaimed.

"Ah! Where did the watermelon come from?"

Nianxia smiled and said: "My master planted it."

Third Sister You’s eyes widened: “Can your master grow watermelons in winter?”

Nian Xia said: "Why can't this be done? This melon is grown in the greenhouse of Dongkuaoyuan. In addition to watermelon, there are also cantaloupe." The three girls of the You family suddenly looked at each other. I secretly thought to myself that Li Caishen is so capable. He can grow watermelons in winter. Will he be able to turn stone into gold in the future?

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Regardless of what the three members of the You family were thinking, the next day was already the twentieth day of the twelfth lunar month. You Lao Niang went out early in the morning and went to Ningguo Mansion to beg for help, leaving only her second and third sisters at the Li family.

Li Weijian took a rest that day, thinking that there would be so many guests during the New Year, and he was afraid that it would be difficult to give New Year gifts. Because I simply sent it early today.

The first one to send it was from the teacher Yan Xiyao’s family. That's all the delicacies, game, and seafood. The cart of fruits and vegetables, especially the four huge watermelons, made everyone in the Yan family marvel.

When the mistress was so happy, she even decided to cook for Li Weijian herself at noon. Li Weijian was so frightened that he quickly said that he would go to Rongguo Mansion to deliver New Year's gifts, and felt extremely sorry for it, so he revealed the matter.

Just kidding, apart from the fact that Master’s wife’s craftsmanship won’t kill anyone, Zhenzhen’er has no merit at all!

When he followed his teacher Yan Xiyao into the study room, he saw Yan Xiyao's eyes filled with resentment... Li Weijian managed to escape, but Yan Xiyao, who was sleeping, might not be able to escape.

Li Weijian just pretended not to see it, and then talked about government affairs with Yan Xiyao. As Li Weijian expected, not only the rice was changed to mulberry, but also the issue of Huo Huo's return to the public was now being debated.

Emperor Zhenghe and Chen Hongmou set the tone that Huo Huo must be returned to the public. What they are now arguing about is how much of the money will be retained by the local government and how much of it must be turned over.

The two talked for a long time. When Yan Xiyao saw his disciple Li Weijian hesitate to speak several times, he couldn't help but smile and said, "If you have anything to say about Fusheng, just say it."

"Yes," Li Weijian said, "Teacher, since Huohua has all kinds of disadvantages and facilitates corruption, why not just mint coins? Wouldn't this save Huohua?"

Yan Xiyao blinked and laughed loudly: "Taizong not only said this about rebirth back then, he also actually implemented it."

"Ah?" Has Li Guo done this before?

I just heard Yan Xiyao tell me in detail that Li Guo actually did it to his lover, but it ended in a hurry within two years.

Not to mention the East, but the whole world. For a long time, due to insufficient technology, the silver coins produced were not up to par. The edges were uneven, the size and shape were not fixed, and pure silver was soft and easily deformed.

Taizong probably knew this and didn't know why. He got a hydraulic press and made a lot of silver coins. However, there is no metal mixed inside, which makes the silver coin soft. It is okay to keep it, but it will deform when used.

Then someone smart discovered the business opportunity and specially purchased silver coins. He used small scissors to cut off the edges, or simply used a file to file off some silver shavings.

There is a great wisdom, and there must be a lot of great wisdom behind it. So you cut it, I cut it, you filed it a little, I filed it a little, and eventually the silver coin shrank seriously, and the government saw how it could work. He quickly reported to Taizong Li Guo.

Li Guo didn't know whether to laugh or cry. It happened that the war was going on at that moment, so he simply canceled the matter of minting coins.

After listening to this, Li Weijian thought to himself, it seems like there should be a circle of serrations around the silver coins to prevent them from being cut, right? In addition, what is added to the silver dollar to increase its hardness? It's been a long time and I really can't remember it. I have to try it later.

Seeing that it was approaching noon, Li Weijian hurriedly said goodbye and left, leaving only teacher Yan Xiyao with a look of resentment on his face.

After dinner at home, Li Weijian ordered two carriages to drive to Rongguo Mansion.

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Yingchun courtyard.

When the new year was approaching, Jia Mu sent a message and asked the nanny to go home and rest for a while. Since it was the third spring, she had some free time.

On this day, Yingchun was sitting around chatting with Tanchun. The two sisters were chatting. Suddenly, Siqi came in happily and said: "Miss, third miss, Fourth Master Jian came to the house and gave a cart full of new year's gifts." .”

Yingchun's face was startled, but Tanchun was already beaming with joy and said: "Fourth brother Jian is here? He must have brought a lot of good things. Second sister, please close the chess game for now. Let's play again after I come back."

Tanchun said that he left the spring breeze and left behind.

The faces of the two girls were filled with anticipation and joy, but also sadness and sorrow. Of course, Yingchun had already heard about the marriage discussion at that time. Fortunately, Li Weijian came forward to defend it and made a three-year agreement, which at least saved Yingchun's face. If not, how will she, the second girl, stay in the house in the future?

During these days, Si Qi and Xiu Ju also came to comfort them, and the depression in the two girls' hearts was somewhat relieved. Now that he has come to visit again, I wonder if he will come here to take a look as usual.

The second girl felt sour in her heart, thinking that this situation would probably be the same, right? There was no discussion about the marriage, whether it was to avoid suspicion or to be a sideshow, Brother Jian would not be able to come here again.

So Yingchun began to feel sorry for herself. While he was feeling sad, Xiuju came in again and said happily: "Girl, Fourth Master Jian has spoken with the old lady, and she is coming this way right now."

"Ah?" Yingchun was so happy that he stood up and hurriedly walked inside to look in the mirror and said nervously: "Siqi, look at my bun. Is it messy? And this hairpin doesn't seem to match well."

Si Qi hurriedly came over to help Yingchun dress up. After a while, there was a sound from outside, but it was Xiuju who introduced Li Weijian into the main room.

Xiuju smiled and said, "Fourth Master Jian, sit down for a moment. The girl is dressing up. I'll bring a cup of tea to Fourth Master Jian."

Li Weijian nodded in agreement, but did not sit down. Instead, he walked towards the center. After a moment, the two girls saw Brother Jian's smiling face behind them in the mirror.

Yingchun said shyly: "Brother Jian, my... hair is messed up."

Li Weijian simply said: "It looks good even if it's messy."

Yingchun was so embarrassed that she didn't know what to say. Si Qi put the phoenix hairpin on him and immediately stepped back with a smile, leaving only two people inside.

Li Weijian looked around, then suddenly shook his hand, and reached out to Yingchun with his sleeved hand: "Second sister, take it quickly."

"what?"

Yingchun stretched out her hand to hold it, and felt her hands sink. She looked carefully and saw that it was a big melon!

"Melon? Where did it come from?"

Li Weijian said proudly: "Where else could it come from? Of course I grew it."

(End of this chapter)