Reborn in the last years of Kangxi

Chapter 434 Touring Dragon Dance Daoxiang Village
On July 22, just after the hour, crackling firecrackers began to sound at the southeast corner of Qianmen Street.Amidst the sound of firecrackers, several folks carried a plaque and hung up a signboard.

The shopkeepers and shopkeepers in the surrounding shops all went to the street to watch the excitement.It was a gilt signboard on a black background, with three large characters "Daoxiang Village" written on it.

If anyone didn't understand this, he asked the person next to him, "What kind of business is this? The shop is quite impressive!"

The person next to him replied with a smile: "The pastry shop, this smell has spread to the street!"

The person who asked just now couldn't help but click his tongue, and said: "Isn't this a lot of money? There are also shops on this street who buy pastries. They have tossed out such a big shop with a small profit. Isn't it just waiting for compensation?" .”

Another person said: "That's not necessarily the case. I saw that their family had stocked goods a few days ago. They are really not afraid of expensive. Jujubes from Miyun, walnuts from Fangshan, sucrose from Taiwan, and osmanthus flowers from Yunnan are all first-class good things. .There are also truckloads of white sugar, and jars of sesame oil. Whose bakery can make such a big commotion?"

"Hey, I have to go in and have a good time at that time. My mother likes to eat pasta. The ones from ordinary shops are too hard to buy. The old man is getting old and has bad teeth. This big sugar and oil, Designate soft." The person who asked the question nodded.

Another person said: "It's right to buy it. I heard that this owner is a palace or an earl's mansion. Not only do they have buns, but also pickles and stewed meat that people of all ages eat together with buns. Do you see it? Just go for it." The shop looks cleaner than other shops."

The shop here is Chu Yu's dowry, and the shop is not so big.Because there are many guild halls in the front, no matter whether they are juzi from the south or officials and merchants, most of them live in this area.

Therefore, after discussing with Cao Fang, the Han Jiang family bought the shop next to the shop, opened it up twice, and built a big shop.

Today is the opening day of Daoxiang Village.

This signboard looks inconspicuous, but it is written by Brother Sixteen himself.It was written by Brother Yang Sixteen before Cao Yong's retinue in April.

Not only Qianmen, but also outside Chongwenmen and Xuanwumen in the outer city, each with a shop opened at the same time.

Those two places are also places where guild halls gather. In the three places in the outer city, there are more than 500 guild halls and hundreds of teahouses and restaurants.

In addition to the three places in the outer city, there are also three Daoxiang villages in the inner city, Gulou Street, Dongsi Pailou, and Xisi Pailou.

When Cao Yong was thinking about this business, he never thought about only one company.In addition, it would take a lot of time to go to Guangdong and Suzhou to find a master, so we booked six shops from the beginning.

Three of them were Chu Yu's dowry, and the other three were purchased after looking for a busy location.

From tidying up the shop to hiring masters, to buying raw materials, and studying the shape of the pastry, more than half a year has passed, and finally it is the day of opening.

After all, the Cao Mansion is not a business, so it is not easy to treat guests with such a big fanfare.Therefore, although each shop said that a hundred and eighty strings of firecrackers were set off, the mansion did not show them.

It's just that relatives and friends need more or less greetings.Therefore, Cao Yong asked the shop to carefully prepare more than a hundred boxes of pastry, and sent a copy to everyone he knew, so that everyone could try something new.

*
Dafangjia Alley, Nanxiao Street, Chaoyangmen Nei, Shilang Mansion.

Cao's mansion sent four boxes of pastry, Wu Yashi looked at the exquisiteness, so he left two boxes for gift.For the remaining two boxes, one box was reserved for the husband to try out, and the other box was held by the maid and sent to the girl's room in person.

Ruhui was embroidering purses on the kang, and when she saw her mother coming, she put down her needlework and came down from the kang.

Wu Yashi stepped forward and sat on the edge of the kang, watching the girl's work, but her expression was a little strange.

I have chosen the simplest flower shape, "continuous prosperity", to put it bluntly, it is a peony flower.Ruhui touched the needle thread, it has been three to five days, but it is just two peony petals.

Pink on a blue background should be carmine red, bay red, pomegranate red, peach red, pink from the inside to the outside, so there are deep to shallow.Ruhui's work was mixed together, looking messy.

Seeing her mother's expression like this, Ru Hui said embarrassingly, "It's not that Er Niang doesn't know, my daughter has always been impatient with this."

Wu Yashi sighed, and said: "In this way, it's my fault. I urged you to do these things long ago. Put these down first, and start tomorrow, so you can embroider a cigarette purse. No matter how impatient you are, you are not allowed to do it again." Such a fool."

When Ruhui heard this, her face flushed immediately, but she didn't agree, and she didn't answer.This cigarette pouch is different from the pouch. According to the custom, it is given to the parents-in-law after the daughter gets married.

Thinking of the jade bong in her aunt's room, Ruhui lowered her head and fiddled with the handkerchief without speaking.

Wu Yashi felt sorry for the girl and didn't want to nag her too much, so she asked the maid to put away the sewing box on the kang table and put the pastry out.

Immediately, the room smelled sweet and sweet, Ruhui raised her head, but her face was a little more happy, she leaned forward and was about to eat with her hands, but she was stopped by Wu Yashi.

"Child? You have to stare at Er Niang, wipe your hands first, and no one will grab you." Wu Yashi said with a bit of doting.

Next to it, a maid has already thrown a towel and brought it up.Ruhui stuck out her tongue, took it, and wiped her hands.

Here, Ruhui had already picked a piece of pastry and gave it to her mouth. Wu Yashi saw that her arms were bald, and said, "What about the bracelet, why didn't you bring any?"

"It's strange, I'm tired of sewing. Seriously, Er Niang, what are you buying these things for, and my daughter doesn't like them." Ruhui asked doubtfully.

Wu Yashi said: "You are old after all. You usually go to relatives' houses, so you can't be too plain, so you don't have to make people laugh at our shabby family. Those two pairs of bracelets are the styles from the palace. Er Niang personally I went to Ruihezhai to pick them. I heard that the owner of their family seems to be related to the Ministry of Internal Affairs. The jewelry looks like it was made in-house. The pair of coral inlaid bead bracelets cost 160 taels of silver, and the pair of red gold inlaid with precious stones Bracelets are cheaper and cost 120 taels."

Ruhui was taken aback when she heard this, and said, "It's so expensive, 280 taels, if it's exchanged for gold, it's enough for Er Niang to make a golden face."

Wu Yashi smiled and said: "Although it is more expensive, it looks good on my girl's arm. How can the original patterned bracelet compare?" Speaking of this, he thought of something else and said: "By the way, you Don't you think your necklace is heavy and don't like to wear it, Erniang ordered a beaded Ruyi necklace for you this time, and it will be delivered at the end of the month, the style is exquisite."

Ruhui is already eighteen, and she knows everything in her heart.She also saw what her mother meant. If there were no accidents, her whole life would fall on Cao's cousin.

She took a bite of the pastry, which was sweet just now, but now it tastes like chewing wax.

Thinking of going to someone else's house to be a daughter-in-law and establish rules, Ruhui couldn't help feeling a little panicked.

Wu Yashi sighed, and said: "Speaking of which, your aunt Jia Shuo looks more refined and sensible, and looks like the eldest son than Brother Song. It's just that he is the second son, otherwise it's okay for Erniang to look at him... "

Seeing her mother talking more and more bluntly, Ruhui put down her body and said in a low voice: "What does it have to do with my daughter? Didn't Er Niang say that my aunt has a bad temper? Why are you talking about this again?"

Wu Yashi was so choked that she turned her face and said, "Young lady, what tongue do you want to learn? It's just that Er Niang complained twice in private. Don't talk about it, and let your mother hear it carefully. Think of it as me saying bad things about your aunt in private..."

*
On Qianmen Street, as the sky was approaching noon, there were more and more pedestrians on the street.

At the end of the street, there was a blue cloth carriage parked, and a young couple and a maid came down hand in hand.The young couple were all dressed in monochrome plain satin clothes. The man was in his twenties and looked very elegant; the woman looked younger, with a bit of shyness on her face.The maid who followed looked at the two of them holding hands and covering their mouths with a handkerchief, looking like they wanted to laugh but didn't dare to.

It was Cao Yong and Chu Yu who came here. With the opening of Daoxiang Village today, Cao Yong pulled Chu Yu out, but he wanted to take her to relax.The one who waited in the same car was Xiyun, the big maid next to Chuyu.

Chu Yu was wearing a simple gown with a flag dress, and because of Cao Yong's special instructions, she chose a pair of the shortest flag shoes to wear on her feet.

Just looking at her attire, Chu Yu saw that she was just a daughter-in-law from an ordinary wealthy family, but her appearance and demeanor could not be hidden.

After getting off the carriage, she refused to go, and stood there, staring at Cao Yong's hand with a blushing face.

Cao Yong sighed helplessly, and had no choice but to let go of Chu Yu's hand, who made his little daughter-in-law shy.But if the two of them really walk down the street hand in hand, I'm afraid there will be an old gentleman behind him shaking his head and saying that the world is getting worse.

Chu Yu then smiled, afraid that Cao Yong would be unhappy, so she took the initiative to ask, "My son-in-law, where is the shop?"

Cao Yong probe looked, but it is not familiar.Xiaoman and Zheng Hu followed behind with a few long entourages. Seeing Cao Yong staring at him, Xiaoman took a step forward, pointed to the street corner where many people gathered, and said, "Master, there is a shop over there. When I was young, I went here to find my father!"

A group of people strolled forward, although it was almost late July, which was the end of summer and early autumn, but because it was noon, the weather was still a bit hot.

Cao Yong was afraid that Chu Yu would be hot, so he asked in a low voice, "Shall I sun it?"

Chu Yu shook her head with a smile, and said, "Maybe I stayed in the house. Looking at it under the sun like this, I feel comfortable on my body."

Cao Yong said: "In the future, when I am free in the Yamen, we will come out more and look around. It's boring to be bored in the mansion all the time."

Chu Yu listened with a smile and didn't say anything.There are a lot of housework, and you have to take care of the children. How can it be so easy?
Besides, who said that parents-in-law and mother-in-law are not in the capital, but the rules that should be observed must be followed. How can a daughter-in-law want to go out all day long?

Cao Yong is already a good place to think about the four seasons, Badachu in spring, Shichahai in summer, Xiangshan in autumn, and Xiaotangshan in winter.

Now, the shortfall is over, and the fourth elder brother is also ambiguously flattering him.Cao Yong doesn't want to be too tired, and wants to spend more time with his wife and children.

This month, he thought a lot, the most of which was what he had done all these years.

Worrying all day long, like a little old man, but life, old age, sickness, death, prosperity and wealth, there is nothing he can decide.

It's just doing your best and obeying the destiny.

He was really tired of this world where health and freedom were exhausted and could not be exchanged for.Fortunately, there is this woman beside him who is willing to treat him wholeheartedly and without reservation, so that his heart is not too lonely.

For Chu Yu, he was very grateful, but also very guilty.

When they were about to reach the shop, because there were too many people in front of them, Cao Yong and the others stopped.

Cao Yong pointed to the plaque, and asked Chu Yu with a smile: "Look at this flying white hand, is it a bit of a celebrity?"

Chu Yu followed Cao Yong's expectations, looked at it for a while, and couldn't believe it, and asked: "This is written by Uncle Sixteen? I haven't heard of Uncle Sixteen's good books? Everyone said that Uncle Sixteen is smart, counting He is proficient in both technique and rhythm, but he is also good at writing!"

Cao Yong laughed and said: "Can you deceive people? It was the beginning of April. I personally went to the garden to find him, asked him to write dozens of sheets, and finally found this one that can attract people."

Although there are women on the street, but there are not many young and beautiful ones like Chuyu, and some people can't help but sneak a glance here.

Because Cao Yong and his entourage were accompanied by maids, no one dared to underestimate them, but it was indispensable to take a sneak peek or two.

When Chu Yu noticed it, she couldn't help frowning, and moved to Cao Yong's side.

Cao Yong looked at two people with irregular eyes, grabbed Chu Yu's hand, and said, "Come on, let's go into the shop."

While talking, the husband and wife entered the shop, and there were four or five shop assistants, all speaking Mandarin with a Suzhou accent.

The pastries are all made, put on trays, and placed side by side in the counter, and there are foot-long wooden signs on the walls, with the pastry names written on them.

What kind of food do the guests want to buy, they point out with their fingers and say how many yuan or how many servings, and the guys take it out with bamboo clips...

*
PS: "Feibai" means that in calligraphy creation, there are little white marks in the middle of the strokes, which can give people the feeling of flying, so it is called "Feibai", also known as Feibai calligraphy.

(End of this chapter)