Red Mansion Huacai

Chapter 357: Going with the flow
"Where did the iron box come from?"

Baochai was about to respond when she heard a loud banging noise ahead. She turned around and saw through the window that her brother Xue Pan had left the house angrily. Then Xia Jingui, with her clothes in disarray, chased to the door and shouted a few curses.

After a while, he finally stopped, turned his head to glance at the inner courtyard, snorted coldly, turned his body and walked towards his room triumphantly.

There were only three rooms in the main house. Baochai thought about it and got up, and pulled Aunt Xue to the east corner room to talk. After Aunt Xue sat down, Baochai told her the origin of the tin can.

Aunt Xue was very surprised when she heard this: "Why should such delicious food be sealed in an iron can?"

Baochai explained, "First, it's a roadside dish. This tin can is easy to cook after a little heat, and it's ready to eat right away. Second, it's very convenient to cook fresh food from all over Guangnan during the cold winter, and I think it can sell for a good price."

Aunt Xue nodded repeatedly and said, "My son is very thoughtful. Take lychees for example. In the spring and summer in the south of the Yangtze River, people can eat them whenever they want, but in the capital, they become precious items."

At this time, when tribute fruits were sent to the capital from all over the south, they did not pick the fruits first and then send them by boat or carriage while they were half-ripe. Instead, they simply loaded the entire fruit tree into wooden barrels and transported them by sea or land. The former would take about a month to reach the capital, while the latter would take about two months.

Even so, if 30% could be retained when arriving in the capital, it would be a blessing, so the price of the remaining tribute was extremely high, and even ordinary wealthy families could not afford it.

Aunt Xue became more excited and said, "If there is such a method to seal and preserve it, we can sell some of it not only in the capital but also in various places in the north." She paused and frowned, "But... firstly, this method belongs to Li Weijian, why would he give it away? Secondly, now that our family has moved to the capital, there is nowhere to find fresh fruits from the south."

Baochai said gently, "Mother, have you forgotten the seafood in Tianjin? I've been thinking about opening a canning factory in Tianjin, where we can roughly process and package the fresh seafood and sell it to inland provinces. If we are lucky enough to get a military supply order, we might even make a fortune. As for this method... I've asked Miss Xing, and Miss Xing said that Fourth Brother Jian intends to sell the recipe to a few select stores."

"Would Li Weijian be so kind?" Aunt Xue had suffered a lot from Li Weijian, so she still refused to believe it. Then she shook her head again and again, "No, your sister-in-law is keeping a close eye on all the money in the family now. If you use it at will, I'm afraid it will cause trouble again."

Baochai was very angry and said, "Mother, do you still want to live with your brother and his wife? Haven't you had enough?"

Aunt Xue hesitated and said, "If I leave your brother behind, I'm afraid no one will be able to control your sister-in-law."

Baochai's face was cold and she said in a cold voice, "As the saying goes, one must start a family before one can start a career. Now that my brother has started a family, how he will live in the future is for him and his wife to decide. Why should mother interfere? If it were up to me, I'm afraid that if we move out, my brother and his wife might live a better life."

Aunt Xue was still hesitant, but Baochai saw clearly in her heart. Xia Jingui had been making trouble one after another, and Xue Pan had gradually lost his nerve. Now he was targeting the mother and daughter of the Xue family. I'm afraid he had made up his mind to drive them out of the house so that he could make his own decisions from now on.

Seeing that Aunt Xue remained silent, Baochai continued, "Except for the house we leave behind, the rest of our family property will be given to my brother. My dowry alone will be enough to support the canning factory. If you run it carefully for two or three years, you never know, it will flourish."

At this moment, there was a sudden noise from the front, and Xia Jingui cursed: "You little bitch hid and plotted against me in secret, and you thought I didn't know? I praised you, so you really treat yourself as my concubine? Bah, dream on! If I don't say anything, you will be a cheap bitch for the rest of your life!"

Then Baochan was heard sobbing and saying, "Grandma chased Bilian away, and now she's here to pick on me. I was just taking a short nap, how could I have thought anything against you? Anyway, I'm getting in your way now, so why don't you just stab me to death with a knife!"

"You, you think I don't dare?"

Snapped--

"Wow, wow, wow, I can't live anymore, I'm killing people!"

The mother and daughter glanced at each other for a while, then looked at each other. Aunt Xue asked in surprise, "Why are they making trouble again?"

Baochai winked at Ying'er, who hurried out to see what was happening. After a while she came back and whispered, "Madam, young lady, there was a quarrel between Madam and Miss Baochan, and Baochan rolled on the ground after being slapped. Now she is trying to kill herself with a pair of scissors. Luckily a few maids stopped her."

Aunt Xue immediately complained: "When will this day end?"

As soon as she finished speaking, she met Baochai's almond-shaped eyes that seemed to want to speak but hesitated. Aunt Xue blinked and gritted her teeth and said, "Move! Wait until your brother comes back and hands over all the family property, and we'll move tomorrow!"

Sister Bao secretly breathed a sigh of relief, and immediately ordered Tongxi, Tonggui, Ying'er and others to pack their bags quickly.

In the evening, Xue Pan came back drunk. Before Xia Jingui could find him, Xue Pan was called into the main room by Aunt Xue. Soon, Ying'er invited Xia Jingui into the main room.

Xia Jingui was full of energy, thinking that her mother-in-law and sister-in-law were going to teach her a lesson again, so she was ready to throw a tantrum. The old lady of the Xia family had taught her that between people, if you are more powerful, he will be less powerful. If she didn't control her husband, mother-in-law and sister-in-law, how could she be the master of the house in the future?

Unexpectedly, Xia Jingui entered the room and just sat down when she heard Aunt Xue say with a sad face: "Wenlong is married now, and we can only wait for him to have children and build a family business in the future, so that I can comfort the ancestors of the Xue family. This house has only two courtyards. Firstly, there are too many people and it is not enough to spread out. Secondly, Baochai is getting older and it is not good for her to live with him. So I thought that Baochai and I should move to the outer city first."

My mother-in-law and sister-in-law are leaving? They are afraid of themselves!

Xia Jingui became more and more proud, and hurriedly said: "Mother-in-law and sister think this place is too cramped and want to move somewhere else. I am reluctant to let them go, but what mother-in-law said makes sense, so I won't persuade them any more. The only thing is that this property——"

Aunt Xue sighed and nodded to Tongxi, who then handed her a wooden box. Aunt Xue found the key from her waist and opened it, and saw that it was mostly filled with various documents and banknotes.

Aunt Xue said, "The Xue family's assets will naturally be handed over to Wenlong. These include the deeds to two mansions, several shops, and some banknotes. They all belong to you two young men."

So kind? Xia Jingui smiled for the first time. She stood up and moved the box in front of herself, saying with a smile, "Mother-in-law knows that he is used to spending lavishly. I will take care of this box."

Aunt Xue did not comment and continued, "One of these is a mansion, two shops, a Daxing farm, and ten thousand taels of silver. It is the dowry for Baochai. I have already taken it."

Xia Jingui's hands paused as she was counting the banknotes. She was thinking that the dowry was a bit too much, but she never said a word.

Aunt Xue said, "If you have no objection, Baochai and I will move out of the outer city tomorrow."

Xue Pan was actually quite filial, and couldn't help but say with red eyes: "Mom, I am such an unfilial son."

Aunt Xue also said, "You should live a good life from now on and stop messing around."

Xia Jingui, who was standing by, was complaining in her heart, but she didn't say anything at this moment. With the family property in her hands, the Xue family mother and daughter got out, wouldn't she have the final say in the family from now on? She glanced at Baochan's little hoof again, and she was determined to send this little hoof away sooner or later!

............................................................

Haidian, Jingyuan.

In Qingyin Pavilion, the table had already been set, and because the weather was hot, cold dishes accounted for the majority.

There was no one else in the house. From Daiyu onwards, everyone had taken off their head ornaments and sat around in their underwear, wearing only single clothes. Even Li Weijian had changed into a jacket with short sleeves.

Xueyan and Zijuan were sifting wine on the side. After Qingwen had a few cups, she couldn't help but get wild and stood up to play finger-guessing with Li Weijian. She was only wearing a rice field dress made of jade-colored, red, green, and red satin, tied with a willow-green sweat towel, and a pair of water-red floral trousers with their legs loose. Against the light, her face looked even paler and her eyes were as clear as autumn water.

Although Qingwen was a good bluffer, she lost two out of three rounds of the game of finger-guessing. After drinking a few glasses of wine, her face suddenly turned red.

After a moment, he shouted, "No, no, we need someone else to play finger-guessing with the Fourth Master."

"I'll come, I'll come!"

The silly girl Xiuying was eager to try, but Li Weijian smiled and said, "I can't let you guys take turns with my son. Even if I have a good alcohol tolerance, I'm afraid I'll get drunk by you guys."

Xiangling smiled and said, "Why don't we play a drinking game?"

Xiuying immediately shook her head: "No, no, I only know a few words. If we play drinking games, we can't be too elegant."

Qingwen hurriedly asked, "Why don't we use the dice to grab the red one?"

Li Weijian said, "I think it would be better to take the name of the flower."

Qingwen smiled and said, "That's right, I've wanted to make this thing for a long time."

Daiyu said, "This is good, but it's boring without so many people."

Xiangling smiled and said, "How difficult is that? I see Zijuan and Xueyan have also tried the wine, why not call them over to play with us?"

Daiyu smiled and nodded, then waved to Zijuan and Xueyan to come over.

The Qingyin Pavilion was already paved with wooden floors. Li Weijian and Yingying and Yanyan sat around the table. Li Weijian volunteered and said, "I will be the first one to play."

At that moment, a maid brought the fortune stick box. Li Weijian shook it twice and handed it to Daiyu with a smile.

Daiyu was surprised: "I go first? Shouldn't I roll the dice?"

"I actually forgot." Li Weijian took the dice and threw it on the table. The dice spun around, and the result was still one.

Daiyu smiled and reached out to take a stick. She looked at it and was immediately surprised. Xiangling, who was standing by, came over and asked, "What did you draw, Madam? Eh? It was a poppy!" There was a poppy drawn on the stick, and on the front was written: The flowers are redder than the azaleas, and the dancing petals are scattered. On the back was: The drawer is a glass of wine, describing the story of Concubine Yu drinking the sword.

Daiyu's eyes were full of smiles. Her relationship with Li Weijian started with Concubine Yu. Now after marrying Li Weijian, she won Concubine Yu again in the lottery. It can be seen that everything is destined.

When Zijuan and Xueyan heard that it was Concubine Yu, they smiled at each other. How did their daughter and Master Jian become friends? How could they, as close maids, not know? It was a pity that Concubine Yu was moved to the courtyard behind Rongqing Hall when the Grand View Garden was built. Perhaps because she was not used to the local climate, she died soon after. They were very sad for this girl for a long time.

Xiuying didn't know the inside story, so she just wondered, "What does it mean to describe the incident of Yu Ji drinking the sword?"

Xiangling explained: "It's about Farewell My Concubine. This is to let the Fourth Master learn from Concubine Yu drinking the sword."

Qingwen immediately started to make noises, "Okay, okay, Fourth Master, hurry up!"

Li Weijian would not spoil the fun. He smiled and looked at Daiyu, then shouted, "Bring some wine."

When Qingwen handed over the wine, Li Weijian raised his voice and toasted Daiyu: "Your Majesty, drink this cup."

Daiyu was overjoyed and took the empty cup, pretending to drink it all. Li Weijian then took his own cup and drank it all. Then he picked up the chopsticks and put them across his neck. Daiyu was about to stop him and say "unlucky", but she saw Li Weijian blinking and suddenly singing in a pinched voice: "Love and hate are just a moment..."

After singing four lines, she called out "Your Majesty" in sorrow, then fell into Qingwen's arms with her chopsticks placed beside her.

The girls were all overjoyed, and the silly girl Xiuying was even more so, leaning over the desk and hunching her body. Xiangling smiled and said, "Although the lines sung by the Fourth Master sounded strange, they sounded quite nice."

Daiyu also laughed and said, "I don't know where you learned this, but you are always able to make people laugh."

It was Daiyu's turn to draw the dice. She threw the dice and counted five, which happened to be Qingwen's turn. Qingwen rubbed her hands and drew the bamboo stick. She saw a crape myrtle flower painted on it. On the front was written: Smiling at the sunny people in the wind, welcoming the autumn dew in the morning. On the back was written: Drink one cup by yourself, and the person sitting opposite you will drink one cup with you.

The silly girl Xiuying was sitting opposite him, and the two of them drank a cup together.

The dice were rolled again, and it was Xiangling's turn. Xiangling drew a bamboo stick, and it was a lily of the valley. On the front of the stick was written: "Snowy spirit and icy figure are impervious to vulgarity, the flower god left a hairpin." On the back was written: "Girls at the table who are dressed in the same color and have the same hair ornaments should drink a cup together."

Now Zijuan, Xueyan, Xiuying and Xiangling all drank a cup.

Later, Zijuan drew the camellia, Xueyan drew the frost-resistant flower, and Xiuying drew the wintersweet.

The dice kept turning, but never landed on Li Weijian, who had been drinking with them. Before they knew it, the night was already late, Xiuying was drunk and had already staggered. Qingwen was drunk and was trying to hold on.

Daiyu's face was ruddy. Seeing that the other girls were in the same situation, she said, "I'm afraid it's already the fourth watch. We've had enough fun, so why not go away?"

The ladies agreed, and Xiangling said, "In two years, when the Fourth Master comes of age, we must make the celebration more lively."

Daiyu smiled and said, "Of course we should. We can invite a troupe of actors to come and make it a lively occasion."

After the banquet, Li Weijian and Daiyu returned to the main house first. They were fine on the way back, but perhaps because of the wind, Li Weijian felt drunk when he got to the room.

Daiyu hurriedly helped Li Weijian wash up, and Li Weijian lay down on the bed.

Daiyu was also drunk at this time, so she forced herself to wash up. Zijuan came over and said, "Madam, it's Xiangling's turn today."

Daiyu said, "Fourth brother is tired now, tomorrow you can tell Xiangling to arrange a date."

Zijuan agreed, and Daiyu stood up, feeling her stomach churning. She quickly found a clean bucket and vomited, which frightened Zijuan and Xueyan for a while.

Daiyu smiled and said, "I thought rice wine wouldn't make me drunk, but I didn't expect it to make me drunk. I feel so uncomfortable now. Zijuan, help me to the east end to rest."

Daiyu could not drink much, and every time she drank a few more glasses she would toss and turn at night. She did not want to disturb Li Weijian, so she simply went to the east room.

Zijuan and Xueyan helped Daiyu settle down. Xueyan asked curiously, "Madam, the master must have someone to stay with him, right?"

Daiyu nodded, glanced at Zijuan with a half-smile, and said, "Xueyan stays with me, and Zijuan goes to look after Fourth Brother."

Zijuan knew what Daiyu meant, and her pretty face immediately blushed and she agreed obediently.

Xueyan stayed in the east room, so Zijuan washed up with a nervous heart, and went into the west room with her lips pursed. Li Weijian was sleeping soundly on the bed, breathing evenly. The main house in this garden has only three rooms, but the two rooms on both sides are not connected. The bed is in the north, and there is a warm room in the south.

In summer, the master's house is in the north, and in winter it is the other way around. If it were normal, Zijuan would go to the warm room to rest, but this time, after receiving Daiyu's instructions, Zijuan climbed onto the bed quietly with a worried heart.

As she approached Li Weijian, Zijuan's heart was pounding. The lights were off, and she could only see a few outlines of him in the moonlight outside the window.

Zijuan was thinking wildly in her heart, and she was motionless for a while. She was originally a maid in Rong Mansion, and she had originally thought of promoting the Wood and Stone Alliance, but Master Bao was too disappointing, and her daughter fell in love with Master Jian. She wanted to interfere at first, but Master Jian was too outstanding. He first passed the provincial examination for practical studies, earned a huge fortune, and later was awarded a title for his merits!
Later, seeing that the girl had made up her mind, Zijuan stopped trying to persuade her, and instead helped the girl to communicate with Master Jian Si through letters. Because of this, Zijuan gradually came into contact with Li Weijian more and more, and gradually forgot about the unpromising Master Bao Er, and didn't know when she had Master Jian Si in her heart.

Dowry girls like her were always chosen as maids, to serve the mistress when the mistress was not convenient. It happened that my girl was too young to lose her virginity. The girl was also kind, so she gave her this opportunity.

Zijuan thought about this and bit her lower lip. Her confused mind gradually came to its senses. Since the girl had given her a chance, she couldn't just give up.

Thinking back to the booklet sent by Zhang Yiren, Zijuan's face became more and more red with shame, and her breathing became more rapid. She gently leaned over and whispered, "Master?"

Li Weijian didn't move. Zijuan gritted her teeth and stretched out her hand, reaching down. She was shocked when she touched him, her heart seemed to jump out of her throat, and she instinctively wanted to withdraw her hand, but she endured it.

After a while, Zijuan tried to move. She thought to herself, this is what was drawn in the book, but after a long while, why didn't it change?

After a while, Zijuan couldn't help but feel discouraged, thinking to herself: Maybe there will be no changes if I fall asleep?
Zijuan was suddenly very depressed. She sighed, moved closer to Li Weijian, and fell asleep while thinking about something.

A crescent moon hangs high outside, and frog sounds can be heard in the distance behind the main house.

When Zijuan woke up, she first heard the chirping of birds outside, and then heard someone beside her whispering, "Water."

Zijuan quickly got up and said, "Fourth Master, are you thirsty? I'll get you some water." She landed on the ground, quickly found some water on the table, poured a bowl of it, and returned to the bed in the morning light.

Li Weijian half-propped himself up, took the bowl of water and drank it all in one gulp. He rubbed his swollen temples and then realized that the person next to him was Zijuan.

His expression remained unchanged, and he only asked, "Where is Sister Lin?"

Zijuan said timidly, "Auntie... Madam was also drunk and vomited twice at night, so she went to the east room to rest." After a pause, she hurriedly said, "Madam was afraid that no one would take care of the master at night, so she sent me here."

If she wanted to take care of him, she could just sleep in the warm room. Why would she sleep next to me? Li Weijian was not stupid, so how could he not know the inside story? Zijuan was smart, and if she hadn't received Daiyu's order, she probably wouldn't have dared to do so.

Li Weijian was at a loss for words. Sister Lin was good in every way, but she only cared about the mutual understanding. She didn't care how many women he had married. Not only that, but now she pushed Zijuan, who was close to him, over. Maybe... she was afraid that she would feel suffocated?
He raised his eyes to look at Zijuan. Her middle dress was open, revealing the honey-colored bellyband underneath. Her face was flushed and her hands were twisted together, looking uneasy.

Li Weijian smiled and said, "Thank you for your trouble. Go to bed quickly. It's early in the morning. I'm afraid it's just past midnight."

Zijuan responded in a voice as soft as a mosquito, tiptoed onto the bed, and then with a cry of surprise, she was embraced by Li Weijian.

The girl's breathing quickened. Looking at the face in front of her, she couldn't help but whisper, "Fourth Master..."

"Yeah." Li Weijian responded, then leaned over to kiss those cherry lips.

The gauze curtain was dropped, and a rustling sound was heard inside. At first it was just the sound of rapid breathing, but after a while Zijuan could not help humming.

In the east room, Xueyan had not drunk much yesterday, and because she got up early every day, she woke up at the slightest noise. Birds chirped outside, and Xueyan yawned and stretched her body, then hurriedly looked at Daiyu inside.

He touched Daiyu's forehead and his own body, and was relieved to find that she did not have a fever. Xueyan was also a little thirsty, so she got up from the bed and poured a cup of cold tea. She drank half of it in small sips, and suddenly she heard a sound as faint as a mosquito coming from the west end room.

Xueyan frowned in bewilderment, stood up and walked to the main hall. The voice gradually became clearer, and Xueyan suddenly understood. Wasn't it the same when the master and the mistress did the fake phoenix thing in the past? Yes, yesterday the girl sent Zijuan to accompany the bed, and comforted her privately, saying that it would be her turn next time.

Xueyan tossed and turned for a long time last night, but she didn't hear any movement in the west room, so she fell asleep in a daze. I thought I missed it this time, but I heard it right in the middle of it!

Xueyan's face was flushed red, but she couldn't help her curiosity. She tiptoed to the door of the west room, looked inside through the Treasure Pavilion, and saw two figures rolling into a ball behind the gauze curtain.

In a moment, a foot came out from inside, with five fingers tightly clasped together, and then curled up high. Xueyan's heart was beating wildly as if a rabbit was in her arms, and then she saw the leg stretched straight out and tensed. Zijuan inside was no longer reserved, and a low roar startled Xueyan so much that her whole body went numb, and she almost fell down in front of the Treasure Pavilion.

Xueyan bit her lower lip, resisting the numbness all over her body, and quickly turned her head to the east. But she couldn't help but be curious. The girl was like this before, and now Zijuan is like this... Is that thing... really so soul-stirring?
(End of this chapter)