Xu Xuzhi

Chapter 42
Early the next morning, the Ning family set off to return to Feng.As soon as they entered the city, the car carrying Mrs. Shou, the eldest sister-in-law and the second sister-in-law accelerated to the front of Feng Jiu's car.

As soon as he arrived at Xiaoshizi Street, Fengjiu suddenly saw a dozen little vagrants, shivering in the cold wind, all of them were wearing unrecognizable dirty and ripped cotton jackets, with a pair of single pants underneath, so thin After taking off his face, all the cotton in the padded jacket ran out, and his slender body fluttered in the cold wind.

Hongji, who was sitting next to the driver, said in a low voice, "These are orphans without father or mother. Some of them were kicked out by their uncles. No one cares about them. They stay here all year round, and after a winter, there will be fewer children." , I don’t know where it died, and in the next year, there will be a few more new ones.”

Seeing their car stop, the children all ran over to beg for something to eat, and surrounded them noisily, their big eyes shining eagerly in their deep sunken eye sockets, staring at them intently. The child put his small hands like chicken paws on the edge of the car window. His fingernails were long and limp, covered with thick black dirt.

"The quail clothes are knotted and dusty, who will pity this down and out?"

Feng Jiu immediately knocked on the back of the front seat to let the driver stop, then took out a few oceans from his small handbag and asked him to go down and buy some food for the children.

The driver was very happy that his young lady was able to help these poor children, so he got out of the car very readily, took the money and went to a steamed bun shop by the roadside, and made rounds for the remaining drawers of steamed stuffed buns stuffed with mutton and green onions.

The children were overjoyed, and bowed to Fengjiu to thank each other. When they laughed, their faces were wrinkled, which was worse than that of the elderly.

Looking at the scene in front of her, Fengjiu felt very sad: Before she got married, she always felt that she was still a child, and when encountering injustice, although she would give a helping hand, she did not feel that she had the ability to truly change the status quo .

But at this moment, she suddenly realized that she was a married woman with a generous dowry. In addition to her mother's inheritance, her father also married two silver villages as a dowry, so she could spend a lot of money. What did you do?

It was the first time to do such a thing, after much deliberation, she still didn't discuss it with Hong Si who was in the same car nearby, but decided to wait for Ning Zheng to come back before asking for his advice.

Ning Zheng happened to be in Fengtian for the past few days, knowing that Feng Jiu would not be able to return from the funeral, so he just spent the night at the military headquarters.Called home this afternoon to know that they have returned, but they are young and thin-skinned, afraid of being laughed at by the elder sister-in-law and the second sister-in-law, so they are still embarrassed to go back directly, so they pretended to go around the military headquarters and suffered for a long time. Then I drove back leisurely, and I didn't forget to take a shower before leaving.

As soon as they met, they hugged their wife and made out with each other as usual, and then the two went downstairs to have dinner while chatting.

Ning Zheng's daily business is not easy, so Feng Jiu would never mention such things at the dinner table so blindly, after all, it is easy to make people feel sad.

After dinner, although it was already late and the north wind was blowing, the two of them walked around the garden for a while to digest food. The winter moon hung brightly in the dark blue night sky, and the stars all over the sky were also shimmering coldly. Fengjiu talked about today's events, and then asked Ning Zheng, what if she took the lead in setting up a poor children's home?If this idea is feasible, how exactly should it be done?What kind of process?Bong Jiu had no experience with such things.

Ning Zheng stopped, and remained silent for a long time. Feng Jiu kept looking at Can Xue on the ground and talking, and then looked up at him wonderingly. Unexpectedly, he saw Ning Zheng with a smile on his face. The well-maintained snow-white teeth gleamed in the night, and he said with relief, "My Feng Jiu has grown up."

After speaking, he unbuttoned the black serge coat and covered her head and face in it.

What kind of words are these, as if he didn't understand things before, Feng Jiu started to earn money, "I'm not cold!"

Ning Zheng patted her on the back: "Okay, let's go back and discuss it carefully, and we must finish it as soon as possible."

Feng Jiu got out of his coat, nodded, but was dragged back by Ning Zheng with a smile.

The couple went back to the room, took paper and pens, and planned little by little. Feng Jiu took out the little gold abacus from the bedside table and calculated all the expenses very quickly. Ning Zheng became interested when he saw it, but Feng Jiu was doing the calculation with enthusiasm, and he didn't bother to bother him until finally, Feng Jiu came up with a figure of almost 4000 yuan.

She turned the abacus beads of the small abacus from left to right with a "wow--" and then said bluntly, "I paid the money."

Ning Zheng was startled, and asked slowly, "Do you know what 4000 yuan is?"

"I know, I can buy seven Ford cars, and I can buy three courtyard houses in Beiping." Feng Jiu opened his mouth and came.

It was only then that Ning Zheng remembered that his wife was different from other women. Before going out every day, he always saw her reading the newspaper very attentively.He had noticed that she was not like the vast majority of women who only liked to read social lace news, serialized novels of the Mandarin Duck and Butterfly School, or articles about home furnishing and clothing. Information such as commodity prices and real estate prices are naturally within her scope.

"Bong Jiu, you are my wife now, and similar things will keep coming to you in the future... Don't rush to refute me, I know you are a rich man, very rich, but you can't start such a boss—— If you rise too high, it will be difficult to descend later.”

While Ning Zheng was talking, he was thinking about what his father said, "What is the bottom is what is the bottom", which is applicable to all aspects; he also thought that Hong Fu secretly told him a few days ago that he had someone secretly evaluate the third young lady The assets of the two dowry banks "Fuyuxiang" and "Qingtaixiang", as well as the property left to her by her mother, combined together, there is no doubt that the third wife can at least rank in the top of the list of the richest women in China The three also said that the fertile land in Heilongjiang, Jilin, and Chahar left by her mother alone is already huge. ...

This is not good.

Originally, Feng Jiu's elder sister Feng Lin's assets should be no less than hers, but who let her elope, so Feng Lin's current net worth is only the dowry left by her mother.

Feng Jiu frowned slightly, thinking carefully about Ning Zheng's words: Using this money is nothing to her who has a dowry of tens of millions, but Ning Zheng said later that, except for such things in the future, it can only be done more and more. In addition, the construction of orphanages will not be completed overnight. After a while, new needs will arise. The construction of poor orphanages must be perfected day by day.

"Then how much do you think is appropriate for me to pay?" Feng Jiu agreed with Ning Zheng's statement after some consideration.

Ning Zheng pondered for a moment and said, "I think it's better for you to apportion the required amount in this way..."

It took a long time for the two of them to finish the discussion. The writer used more than a dozen sheets of straw paper, and Feng Jiu finally transcribed a final draft.

To run a poor children's home, from the construction of residences, cafeterias, schools, playgrounds, bathing pools, to the appointment of the dean, to the hiring of doctors, teachers, childcare workers, chefs... all details need to be carefully considered, otherwise, good things will not be easy to handle .Feng Jiu admired Ning Zheng's meticulous attention to detail. After all, he was a person who had been in the military supply department to the grassroots recruit squad.

Feng Jiu looked up at the wall clock on the wall, it was almost noon, Ning Zheng was not as leisurely as Feng Jiu, and had to go out to deal with business as usual tomorrow.

But Ning Zheng still seized the time to ask him about Xiao Jin’s abacus, which he had always been interested in. When Feng Jiu heard it, he picked it up and shook it nostalgicly. Back then, I didn't like learning to calculate accounts, so my mother asked a craftsman to make me such a little thing to interest me... Isn't it very cute?"

Ning Zheng took the abacus from Feng Jiu and shook it a few times before saying, "It's because you use it that people love you."

Seeing her fair and slender fingers fiddle with the delicate abacus beads, her movements are skillful and free, with a well-thought-out plan, one feels that she can be so attractive while working.

Is this worth it? Feng Jiubai glanced at him, "I'm going to take a shower."

In order to save time, Ning Zheng got up and went to the bathroom of the guest bedroom downstairs. After he went to bed, it was a little while before Feng Jiu wiped his washed long hair and came back with a handful of long hair At first glance, Ning Zheng was lying on the bed, with a smile on his face, propping his head up with one hand, and lifting the quilt up with the other, waiting for her to "fall into the urn".

Feng Jiu frowned, "It's so late, stop making trouble." She wanted to lift her quilt, only to find that the green satin silk quilt had been pressed under her body by Ning Zheng.

"Come in, I want to taste you..." Ning Zheng whispered.

What can she do at this time?They have been married for more than half a year, and after careful calculation, they get together less often and leave more. Ning Zheng's taste is not new, and Feng Jiu went to bed as if he sacrificed his life for righteousness.

As soon as Ning Zheng waited for her to lie down, he eagerly lifted up her silk pajamas, and then bowed his head.

Fengjiu was no stranger to the itching feeling coming from her body. She stroked the thick black hair at the back of his head casually, feeling like she was stroking a donkey in this position.

She suddenly remembered Dr. Hu Shi's "big grandma theory" about women's breast health published at the graduation ceremony of Shanghai Chinese and Western Girls' School a few years ago. Only by feeding healthy children can we improve the physical fitness of weak nationals; so restraining women's breasts is extremely inhumane, ignorant and backward.

When the doctor delivered a speech, he naturally had to give full play to his strengths, citing scriptures and allusions, eloquently, and it was really convincing.This speech aroused strong repercussions at all levels across the country, and since then started the vigorous "Tian breast movement" for Chinese women.

Local governments also came forward to support it. For example, a local government in the south organized women to form a "Women's Liberation Committee."

It is said that there was an old man who was conservative in his thinking and resolutely refused to obey. He demanded that his newly married daughter-in-law must wrap her breasts. As a result, the daughter-in-law went to the street and was fined [-]; At the same time, he asked his daughter-in-law not to go out on the street.

Unexpectedly, the persistent committee would come to surprise the door. After an investigation, the daughter-in-law was fined another [-]... The old man bleeds twice in a row, and the original insistence was thrown to Java. Good thing.

In this way, China's women's liberation movement has made a major progress.

But when she thought of Dr. Hu, who was studying abroad, speaking such vulgar words in a serious manner in such a place full of female middle school students, she couldn't help laughing, and said in her heart, after Tang Fengjiu is over, you will also change. It's so vulgar.

Ning Zheng was extremely dissatisfied with his wife's inattentiveness—what kind of man can't stand his wife laughing on the bed when he is in love with his wife?
He controlled his strength, biting lightly with the tips of his canines, warning her to concentrate, while a pair of slender hands roamed around her body at the same time.At night, his hand would always consciously go straight to where it felt most comfortable.

Feng Jiu shrank back in pain, and pinched Ning Zheng twice.He caressed her, teased her, observed her, she was like a flower bud that was about to bloom, charming and seductive, and gradually bloomed into a half-bloomed flower under his fingertips...

It was late at night, and Feng Jiu had already sunk into a dreamland, but Ning Zheng hadn't fallen asleep yet. He gazed deeply at Feng Jiu's peaceful sleeping face in his arms, and suddenly lowered his head and kissed her cheeks fiercely. Twice, the sleeping Fengjiu subconsciously raised her hand to resist, her delicate brows were also slightly frowned, Ning Zheng grabbed her hand and pressed it to her chest, "The two of us, neither can defeat the other; we coexist and coexist, but it is good?"

After Feng Jiu woke up in the morning, he directly shook the phone to find Lu Guitu, the shopkeeper assigned by his father to help him with the dowry, and told him about the need to withdraw [-] silver dollars in cash, and the shopkeeper Lu readily said that it was no problem.

She thought about it again, and felt that she should discuss this matter with her father again, so around noon, she went to the Border Bank where her father worked.

The private bank of Ning's father and son is located at the entrance of Chaoyang Street, only 10 minutes' walk from the Marshal's Mansion.In the past, when she came to visit her father, she always used the back door of the bank, where there was an external spiral iron staircase, so that she could reach the third floor where her father worked as quickly as possible.

Today, on a whim, she entered the most famous bank in Northeast China through the main entrance for the first time.The appearance of the Frontier Bank looks like a typical Roman Revival style, tall and majestic, with the words "THE FRONTIER BANK" and "Bianye Bank" in Chinese characters engraved on the gray banner.

When you go in, you can see that the towering and resplendent trading hall is full of people and bustling. The floor is covered with black and white diamond-shaped floor tiles. There are many black leather benches in the waiting area for customers to rest and wait. : A purplish-black fine copper fence separates the inside and the outside. There are a total of more than [-] trading windows opened. The sound of being struck was intertwined with the noisy conversation of customers outside, as if people could see the silver dollars converging into a small river flowing quickly.

There are both male and female customers, and there are also many Westerners. Businessmen and depositors from all over the world are in long robes, mandarin jackets, fur and satin, or well-tailored suits. Interest, some are inquiring whether the loan has been disbursed, and some are confirming whether the payment to Guangzhou has arrived, the popularity is strong, and the business is booming.

Feng Jiu found this atmosphere very interesting, and walked back and forth a few times, paying attention to the expressions and conversations of these people.

Feng Jiu knew that the resumes of these employees behind the fence were actually quite brilliant. Most of them were graduates from the Department of Economics and Banking.

Fengjiu once saw several recruitment comments on his father's desk for "member students", that is, ordinary employees, saying that one of them "has an attitude close to that of a young master, not excited, and has not learned thoroughly, but he is quite fulfilling. for C".

Another one is outstanding: double degree, "professional English, good physique, very excited, excellent basic banking knowledge, scored A+".

"Exciting" means treating people with enthusiasm, affinity and appeal.Some employees are accompanied by a trainee, who has performed well among their peers and can lead apprentices.

She was walking back and forth vigorously, and a bank assistant with always good eyes had noticed her long ago. After all, the beautiful and beautiful second lady of General Manager Tang, once met once, who can forget it?
The middle-aged assistant in a dark gray three-piece suit came forward to greet him graciously. Of course, Feng Jiu was embarrassed to say that he was "selling a fool" in the lobby of the bank, so he had no choice but to reluctantly follow this completely The assistant who didn't need to accompany him walked around three flights of stairs before arriving at his father's office.

The door of the general manager's room was knocked, and the familiar voice of his father said "come in". The assistant immediately opened the door, and respectfully stretched out his hand to ask Feng Jiu to come in. have a guest.

This male guest, wearing a blue brocade quilted robe and a horse-gray mandarin jacket with a pattern of pine and bamboo, is sitting on the French Louis XIV period Queen Anne-style teak-filled upholstered armchair opposite Tang Du, with a straight back He didn't lean on the back of the chair, but leaned forward, showing a moderate respect, discussing some business with his father.

When Tang Du called out his name happily, Feng Jiu saw from the side that the guest's back stiffened, and then he turned his head slowly, revealing a handsome dark face. Fengjiu was overjoyed, it turned out to be Bao Buqu who hadn't seen him for more than a year.

He stood up and shook hands with Feng Jiu who stepped forward, Feng Jiu looked at him happily.

He has obviously become more composed, and that energetic Bao Buyi seems to have been out for a long time.

Fengjiu thought that he must have a meal at noon, but now it seemed to disturb their business discussion, so he said empathetically that he would go to the VIP room and wait.

The two men in the room were not willing to let her wait, so they all said that the talk was over, and they only had to sign the contract tomorrow.

As soon as Feng Jiu heard this, he sat down unceremoniously, and in front of Bao Buyi, he talked about the construction of the orphanage, and Ning Zheng's idea.

Father pondered for a while, and generally agreed with Ning Zheng's views, but he also put forward a little suggestion of his own; Bao Buqu listened silently for a while, and when Feng Jiu asked him for an idea, he also agreed, and said Tell Feng Jiu that he can pay [-] silver dollars, which can be used whether it is the initial construction or follow-up work.

Feng Jiu is very happy, who would think too much money?

Father was about to go out for lunch with them, when suddenly he was pulled back by his manager, saying that the manager in Hangzhou had something to call to report. Tang Du knew that the time would be very long, so he had to let the two of them Go dine and don't wait for yourself.

Feng Jiu and Bao Buqu had no choice but to obey. Feng Jiu was also very familiar with the restaurants near the bank. She chose an Italian restaurant. Since they got married, they kept silent about Bao Buqu, fearing that they still had suspicions about him. After all, Fengjiu was not happy to observe the atmosphere between the two when they were in Guangzhou.

Therefore, this plan was dropped immediately.

When they arrived at Burano Western Restaurant, the two ordered a nine-inch thin chicken and mushroom pizza, lemon asparagus, feta cheese vegetable box, two tiramisu and seafood soup. Feng Jiu said that the specialty of this pizza is to use a It is baked in a huge mud oven, so the baking temperature is very uniform, the pizza is rich in flavor, and the ham slices inside are not dry.Bao Buqu tasted it, and it really tasted extraordinary.

While eating, they chatted casually about their recent situation since they parted.

When Bao Buqu was eating at Fengjiu, he would stop involuntarily and watch her silently: the woman in front of her was wearing a simple fishbone braid and her hair was braided into a bun, with thick strands of hair only inserted between her hair. She wore a tulip and emerald hairpin, and the slightly dangling emerald silver earrings of the same shape on her earlobe made her complexion more pink and white, and her figure grew a little longer. She had the charm of a little woman all over her body. The lingering girlish temperament is mixed, making it even more charming.

It can be seen that her married life is very satisfactory.

She talked with Tang Du just now, and heard her talking about Ning Zheng, with an intimate tone. From this, it can be seen that they will discuss everything together, which also shows that Ning Zheng takes his wife's affairs seriously.

that's enough.

In fact, Bao Buyi has returned to Fengtian twice in the one and a half years since Fengjiu left Guangdong. Every time he thinks that he is in the same place as her at this time, he can't help but hope that he will turn around inadvertently. , you can see her... So when Feng Jiu unexpectedly appeared in Tang Du's office today, he was stunned.

God treated him kindly. Thinking of this, a smile slowly spread on his lips, and finally he showed a sincere smile.

After eating, Bao Buqu naturally wanted to send her back to the commander's mansion.

Although it is severe winter now, the sun at noon still shines warmly. The people on Chaoyang Street are bustling with each other. The cries of selling at the door came one after another...

Arrogant foreigners, including Japanese in kimonos and Europeans and Americans in western clothes, shuttled between various famous shops.

As Bao Buqu walked, he protected Feng Jiu from being touched by people or cars. It took them three quarters of an hour to walk for a cup of tea.

Although all the trivial things in life were mentioned along the way, the sense of estrangement caused by time disappeared just like that.

Arriving at the West Corner Gate of Shuai Mansion, Bao Buqu still couldn't hold back, leaned forward and hugged her gently, whispering in her ear, telling her to take care, after all, we don't know when we will see each other next time.

After exchanging treasures, it was parting. Feng Jiu walked back to the little red building slowly, went straight into the study, and began to practice calligraphy.

At night, when Ning Zheng came back, she seemed to have something to say, but in the end she changed the subject and asked about her final decision on building a poor children's home.

Feng Jiu didn't intend to talk about Bao Buyi, because she didn't think it needed to be reported. After all, Ning Zheng would never tell herself about meeting his female friends for dinner and dancing.

Feng Jiu thought calmly, for Ning Zheng, this was an improvement.

She didn't believe that Ning Zheng would not know that Bao Buqu met with her - even if he didn't want to know, someone would rush to report to him.It's as if even if she didn't want to know about Ning Zheng's seemingly non-existent affairs outside, there would always be "good-hearted people" like the fourth concubine who would come to make things difficult for her.

However, when going to bed at night, Fengjiu felt that Ning Zheng's movements were obviously more violent than before, and the strength of her hugs and kisses was also much stronger. When she was about to cry and beat his shoulders with her hands to stop him, he seemed to be After waking up, he still held her tightly in his arms, sucking and kissing her lips over and over guiltily and nostalgicly.

Early the next morning, Feng Jiu still decided to follow Ning Zheng and his father's idea, and seek alms from his aunts and wives: since he decided to do good deeds, if he monopolizes the name of doing good deeds, he might be talked about.

So she brought a few boxes of this year's Tianping Houkui and Xinyang Maojian, got up and went to the residence of the concubines. The three concubines and Mrs. Ning's personal maid Sixi were playing mahjong in a circle, and Mrs. Ning was watching. Fengjiu explained the purpose of coming, and they were very interested when they heard it. After all, Mrs. Ning needless to say, several concubines got a lot of money from the old handsome, and the two who were favored even had several in Fengtian and even Tianjin. Set of houses.

When people get much more money and status than their own extravagant expectations, they will inevitably have a sense of uneasiness that "virtue does not match". Unfortunately, if it weren't for the ancestral precepts not to allow believers in foreign religions, I'm afraid even Catholic and Protestant churches would not be allowed to let go, so now Fengjiu proposes that everyone should do such a good deed without much effort, and everyone agrees.

Fengjiu saw that the old lady and the concubines were very motivated and very happy, so she specially took care of the fourth concubine with her eyes.

The fourth aunt was a little uncomfortable from the moment she entered the room, but when she met Feng Jiu's eyes, she dodged it for a while, and then gave her a flattering smile.

Feng Jiu also smiled back kindly——if people don't offend me, I won't offend others.

Fengjiu asked the old lady to name the poor children's home. After thinking for a while, the old lady said, let's call it "Endetangyuan", so everyone complimented the old lady for the name.

It just so happened that the mahjong of the aunts and wives should be over, Feng Jiu helped the old lady back to the Rongshou Hall, and had lunch together affectionately, coaxing the old man very happy.

Soon, as soon as the money was in place, the matter went smoothly.

Within a few days, the elegant and tidy plaque with the words "Ende Tangyuan" has been hung outside the large courtyard with more than a dozen bungalows in the Great South Pass. This place was given by Ning Zheng. Abandoned unowned property——It's freezing cold, it's serious to let the children live in a school building with heating facilities as soon as possible, and finding a ready-made house is naturally better than building it now.

Feng Jiu became the dean, Mrs. Shou was the vice-principal, Mrs. Ning was the special advisor, and several other concubines also had positions.

The poor children I met on the way back from the ancestral house all lived in the renovated school building, and began to divide classes according to age and literacy: eat enough, dress warmly, take a bath, and the unique children in Northeast China. Fair skin is also revealed.They were neatly dressed and full of vigor, and they thought they were children of a good family when they were brought out.

Feng Jiu smiled comfortably.

The children gathered around the "fairy daughter" they met that day, chirping and reporting the little things in their lives. Feng Jiu bent down and said this while looking at them with relief in his eyes.

From then on, the women in Shuai Ning's mansion have something to do. Mrs. Ning, sister-in-law, sisters-in-law, and concubines all like to go to the orphanage to do some good deeds. Most of the time, they will bring their own I will work with the poor children together to let them know that not everyone can have such good luck.

The aunts and wives think this good deed is good—they can see it with their eyes and touch it with their hands. This is much better than giving offerings to those fat monks in the temple before. After all, Buddhist disciples who should be vegetarians can make themselves fat for nothing, which is really unreasonable.

The good fruits of this kind of good deeds are almost immediate. Seeing those sallow and malnourished children gain weight and become healthy at a speed visible to the naked eye in just two months, this sense of accomplishment is Ningfu. The female relatives have never had it before, so when they mentioned going to Ende Hall, they all happily followed; when they got to know each other better, they simply took their own feet and went there, and when they went, they did what they could. , or bring back the work and find someone to help: cut cotton-padded jackets to make cotton trousers, make sleeves, wadding cotton, wrapping shoe soles, and sometimes call the cooks in the house to make some snacks for the children to take with them.

They feel that life has become more interesting, and even playing mahjong is not as interesting as before. When they get together on weekdays, they often discuss with great interest whether there is any room for improvement in Ende Hall.

The old man heard about it in Beiping, and he also praised the third daughter-in-law very much, saying that the girls educated in the Tang Mansion are different: people are afraid of being idle, and he is actually worried that if the women in the mansion have no business all day long, they will lose their jobs. If you are idle, you will be sick. After all, nothing can make a lot of trouble.

(End of this chapter)