Beautiful step by step

Chapter 87

The small courtyard under the big locust tree is not that big. There are three main rooms, the east wing and the west wing on both sides. The west wing is connected to a simple kitchen. The layout is somewhat similar to the courtyard house of the Wei family in the capital.

Same as when he was in the capital, Wei Wei lived in the west side room of the main house, and brought in Yan Heng, a large piece of luggage.The east side room with the best location, after Mother Wei and Ding Youdeqian gave way, the former took Ayun to live in.The two rooms on the east side were reserved for Uncle Wei, under Wei Wei's apologetic gaze, Ding Youde happily walked to the west room with a simple package.

As soon as he arrived at the door of the west wing, his eyes lit up: "This lock is really exquisite."

The small courtyard is built on the back of the palace, and is only used as a temporary residence for officials when the holy car arrives.The emperor's tour is such an important event, and there are not so many officials accompanying him, so the residence is definitely not as spacious as when they were in their respective homes.Most of the time, several low-level officials live in a small courtyard.For convenience, every house in the courtyard is locked.

On the gate of the courtyard is a Yuyue Longmen lock, and every room in the courtyard is a lotus lock.

Holding the lotus lock in the palm of his hand, Ding Youde said in surprise: "I saw this kind of lock in the illustrated book of the Ministry of Industry in the past. I thought it had been lost, but I saw it here. It is indeed a newly established one after the establishment of the Dai Viet Dynasty. Youzhou City, from entering the city to now, I have seen several things that the capital does not have."

Wei Wei asked with a smile: "Just now, there is also a unique carp lock on the gate. When it is opened, the tail of the fish is upturned."

Ding Youde looked at the lock intently: "Yes, that's what's recorded in the documents of the Ministry of Industry."

While speaking, he took out the key and inserted it into the lotus seed in the center of the lotus. With a sound of "click", the twelve-petal lotus that was originally in bud bloomed instantly, and the copper-cast petals were shining brightly.

"it is as expected."

After taking off the lock, Ding Youde looked at it carefully.It didn't take long for him to smile with relief.

"So that's the case, it's just an extra mechanism, it's very simple. But in this way, the lock cylinder has to bear more pressure..."

When it comes to the field he is good at, Ding Youde concentrates on it, thinking about it, discussing what material the lock cylinder should choose so as to withstand the extra pressure brought by the mechanism.It may be that he is not very good at arithmetic, which makes him look quite distressed.

Seeing this, Wei Wei suggested with a smile: "Anyway, casting locks always have to be molded. Brother Ding will take it apart first and have a look. If you don't know what things are used."

Ding Youde slapped his head: "That's right, why didn't I think of that."

Glancing at Wei Wei gratefully, he plunged into the west wing holding the lock.

Gu Yu came over with the quilt in her arms, and asked with her eyes if she wanted to send it to the West Wing, Wei Wei stopped her: "It will be a while, Brother Ding probably doesn't want to be disturbed by others, so put the things in the main room first."

After giving the order here, she also started busy putting things away.

The courtyard was cleaned very clean, the tables, chairs and benches were all new, and there was no damp smell or dilapidation after more than ten years of unoccupied people.It can be seen from this that Governor Yuan is not greedy for the special money allocated by the imperial court to repair the palace every year.Otherwise, it has only been one month since the notice of Shengjia's visit, and even if there is an urgent rush to repair it, the repairs will not be able to reach this level.

The small courtyard has fully met the standard of living in with bags, but Wei Wei still wants to use the daily necessities he brought with him if conditions permit.

The quilt was remade, her rhinoceros horn comb and jewelry were placed on the dressing table, and the teapot and tea bowl on the Eight Immortals table were replaced.Putting the things she brought, the strange small courtyard immediately became familiar.

Mother Wei finished her busy work in the East Wing, knocked on the door and walked in, her expression blank for a moment.

"This... looks like our home in the capital."

Wei Wei smiled and said: "That's not true. Some of the things we brought back to Liangzhou were bought by my mother; A Heng bought those according to my mother's previous practice. The same things will definitely look alike when displayed. Mother It’s hard to come here once, so naturally you have to arrange it according to your liking.”

The daughter even thought of this, she is really filial.Mother Wei's heart was moved, but she complained: "You child, it's inconvenient to march with a large army. You don't want to let people talk about bringing so many things."

"what did they say?"

Wei Wei's face is innocent, but his voice is full of embarrassment: "Our family is not like those families where concubines and concubines have a lot of children. There are a lot of people in the family, and everyone brings a little bit. The accumulation of luggage is like a mountain. .I’ve tried to bring as much as possible, and even brought some of my uncle’s luggage, but I still haven’t used up the quota allocated by the governor.”

What the daughter said seemed to make sense.

Having stayed in the Hou Mansion for most of her life, Wei's mother understood very well that it is not necessarily a good thing for a wealthy family to have many children and grandchildren.Giving birth to a child in a poor family is nothing more than adding a ladle of water to the pot when cooking, and raising it until it is sensible to sell it or go to work in the fields. For this kind of family, a child is a kind of wealth.However, the money of rich and noble families mainly comes from the accumulation of their ancestors, especially those who are officials, the older they live, the more valuable they are and the more they earn.For this kind of family, one more child means one more head to share the family property.

The same is the Hou Mansion, the Zhenbei Hou Mansion only has Brother Lian and Sister Xian, a concubine and a concubine, and Sister Xian is a concubine, who can give ten miles of red makeup when she gets married.However, her in-law's family Weiyuan Hou Fu Shan Hou Ye's own branch has seven legitimate sons and concubines, plus nearly twenty legitimate daughters and concubines juniors.The son could barely scrape together a dowry gift, but the concubine's daughter was very poor when she got married.Without a generous dowry, the family is full of things and the mother-in-law is too busy to raise the concubine daughter. Even if such a girl gets married, life will be difficult in her husband's house.

Thinking of this, she became more and more satisfied with her daughter's marriage.

Ah Mao's biggest disadvantage is that she doesn't have a biological brother to help her. Even if she has a sworn son, but with the past events in mind and the Wu family making so much trouble, they can't get too close to the Hou's mansion to avoid suspicion.At first she was still worried about this matter, but she didn't expect that the time will turn around. The husband and son-in-law married by Ah Mao are good-natured, motivated, and love his wife, so it doesn't matter if there are brothers from her natal family to help her.

"You, Brother Heng, being good is one thing. Don't take it for granted. I don't know if you listened to what I said before I got married."

What Wei's mother said made sense, Wei Wei nodded: "I almost forgot, why don't you say it again?"

Ah Mao is willing to listen?Mother Wei looked nervous.

"What happened, your mind turned around."

Wei Wei blushed and looked around.After setting them up, Yan Heng went to the front to stand by, and he took away Ayun and Batu along the way, Gu Yu and Wulan's mother were busy cleaning up the East Wing, and Ding Youde was researching the Lotus Institute in the West Wing.Now the main room is quiet, only she and Wei's mother are talking about themselves.

"Mom, I don't know what to say about this."

Wei's mother grabbed her matching fingers: "I raised you with one hand, so why are you embarrassed about me?"

"This... Ah Heng is very kind to me," Wei Wei counted Yan Heng's favors bit by bit with his fingers: "After coming to Liangzhou, Yan Baihu, that is, Ah Heng's father, took his stepwife Zhou Shi He came to the door to ask for trouble, and used me as a hacker. It didn't work, so he tidied up the two of us. I told you this in the letter; not only that, he cooks three meals a day for both of us, and I'm afraid of the cold Afraid of heat, he has to get up several times every night to fiddle with the stove, and..."

Wei's mother nodded: "Isn't he treating you very well?"

Wei Wei was distressed: "But mother, I feel a little tired after a long time."

Wei's mother put on a late mother's face, hating iron for not becoming steel, and said: "I don't think you are tired, it's because the life is going too well and you want to die."

"Mother, even if I really died, don't say it so bluntly."

Wei Wei didn't know what happened to her.Regardless of appearance, figure, ability or attitude towards her, Yan Heng is perfect in every aspect.After marrying him, she spent almost every day in the honey pot, but after a long time, she began to miss the excitement brought by the wind, frost, rain and snow outside.

"If I don't tell you, who do you expect to talk about you? The servants will only support you. As for Brother Heng, I think he is more tolerant of you than the servants."

Seems to be the case, Wei Wei bit her lips: "Mom, what do you think I should do?"

Mother Wei shrugged: "How do I know?"

Wei Wei wanted to scold someone.If she doesn't know and still breaks the problem, isn't this just adding trouble to her?

Wei's mother was very frank: "It's not been half a year since I married your dead ghost father, and he followed the current Zhenbeihou to the northwest. A big living person passed by, and all he came back was a dirty piece of clothing."

"Mother," Wei Wei moved his buttocks and sat down next to her: "Don't think about those, it will only make you sad."

Wei's mother smiled sarcastically: "Birth, old age, sickness and death are so normal, there's nothing to be sad about. Even though you were a little sad at first, when you were born, seeing that it was a girl, the Wei family hurriedly asked me to take a son to raise. When I want to give it all to the son who can't beat him, I will understand everything."

There is such a thing?Wei Wei looked at Wei's mother distressedly, how difficult she was at that time.

"Ah, mother told you this to tell you that the world is more tolerant of men than women, so that each man is raised without knowing the heights of heaven and earth. There are even many women, such as the grandmother you have never met. Women think that men are born to be superior to others. She is picky about her granddaughter, but she loves and spoils a baby boy who is out of reach."

Wei Wei nodded heavily, the reality is indeed so.Even many years later, in a society with such advanced technology, many elders still want their daughters-in-law to have sons and grandchildren.

"You are lucky to meet someone like Brother Heng. One must cherish blessings while alive."

"Mom, I understand all this."

"Understood or can't control yourself, right?"

Wei Wei nodded like a chick pecking rice. She could restrain herself from doing too much, but she couldn't restrain the growing boredom in her heart.

"Then find something to do. Mom knows you're smart, and ordinary things won't bother you. Doesn't Gu Yu like to inquire about the family's family? When you have time, you can listen to her talk about other people's affairs. Hear how hard the other mistresses are. The more you listen, the more you will be able to stabilize your temper."

(End of this chapter)