Ma Erniang's Splendid Pastoral

Chapter 82

Zhao Yuyan smiled slightly, allowing the other party to scrutinize and study himself wantonly.

"Marry me and let me live in such a place?" Ma Meier sneered.

Zhao Yuyan shook his head, "Of course not!"

Ma Meier sneered: "Then what will you marry me with?"

Zhao Yuyan Shi Shiran took two steps in front of Ma Meier, pointed at himself, "Rely on him."

Ma Meier stared at him coldly, without making a sound.

"When I'm not in class, I'm earning a job and doing litigation. I've already saved some money. When I go to Fucheng next year, I can rent a yard, which is enough for us to live on."

"You let the young lady live with you in a rented house?" Xiangzhu felt wronged on behalf of his little lady.

Zhao Yuyan said calmly: "Marry a chicken and follow the chicken, marry a dog and follow the dog."

"What if I don't marry?"

"No, you will marry."

Ma Meier narrowed her eyes and stared fiercely at the other party again.

Zhao Yuyan looked at each other: "Because we are the same person."

Ma Meier pursed her lips.

"So you have to trust your own vision, and you have to believe that you will win the bet." Zhao Yuyan narrowed his eyes slightly.

Ma Meier raised her chin slightly: "Just like you, do you believe that you will one day walk under the feet of the emperor?"

"Yes, that's right!" Zhao Yuyan, who looked like a man, was full of charm at this moment, and his fearless eyes were full of relentless vigor and drive.

The corners of Ma Mei'er's tightly pursed mouth loosened, and she showed a slight smile. She stretched out her hand to put on her cloak, and turned around, "Then work hard!" She said as she walked out of three thatched huts.

When they arrived at Zhenkou, Ma Meier got out of the donkey cart and walked on the street, Xiangzhu followed behind, sighing.

"Stop sighing."

The silent little lady finally answered her own words, Xiangzhu hurriedly said: "Little lady, what's so good about him, you want to agree to the marriage?"

"Ambition!"

"Ah..." Xiangzhu was puzzled.

"I don't want to live in this dilapidated town, I want to go back to the capital." Ma Meier stopped and looked at the cramped streets with flat eyes.

"Little lady, it's not that you can't leave..."

"I'm a woman, I can do it." Ma Meier interrupted the girl, "I don't believe in fate, I believe in my own vision."

"Little lady, but... But his talent is only No. 4 in Pingxian County, and his appearance is an ordinary person. I really don't see anything special about him."

"As long as I see it."

"what……"

Ma Meier recalled that evening when she sat in the garden and looked up at the young man whose ambitious gaze made her dazed.

Yunshui town is developing well, the street is much more lively than usual, Ma Jiaer is buying some wedding supplies in the shop, logically, the little lady who is about to get married should not come out, but she is always worried about the servants doing things , You have to go out and buy it yourself.

Met Cousin Mei who was one year older than me, "It's really rare to see you, Cousin Mei."

Ma Meier glanced at her eyes and continued to walk forward.

Ma Jiaer smiled and said, "Cousin, you are one year older than me, I'm going to get married, how about you?"

Ma Meier stopped in her tracks.

"I heard that your grandfather promised you to a poor student. Is it true?"

Xiangzhu immediately retorted, "Who did you listen to, it's nothing."

"Hehe, the training court said that all the students in the academy knew about it, saying that he knelt down in front of his grandfather to ask for it. I wonder if he got it?" Ma Jiaer raised her eyebrows proudly.

Ma Meier said coldly: "You don't need to worry about my affairs."

"What do I worry about, I just feel that you are eighteen and don't have a fiancé, sister Mei, it's pitiful."

"You should take pity on yourself." Xiangzhu was angry, but he really wanted to say that the man who didn't even know he was going to get married often ran over to peek at my little lady.

How could Ma Jia'er have never heard the whispers of the students, she didn't bother to marry the grandson of the pavilion chief, it was for this reason that she agreed to be engaged to the Li family, and she has been married until now.

Ah, since she knew that her fiancé liked another little lady, why did Ma Jiaer agree to this marriage!Be competitive!Seeing people and things that I disdain, I actually like others, and "others" are my daughter-in-law who is higher than myself, and in a fit of anger, I immediately agreed to my marriage.

"Big lady..." The little girl called softly when she saw that her master was not moving.

Ma Jia'er looked away, bit her lips and said, "The Li family is the richest family in Yunshui Town."

"Miss, you are right." The girl quickly agreed.

As winter comes, the leaves of willows, tung trees and other trees in the streets and alleys of the capital are withered in the north wind, and the jackdaws are rustling on the dead branches.Most of the streets and alleys are luxurious mansions, and the owners who live in them are either rich or expensive.

Of course, there are even more prominent ones among the nobles, who possess monstrous wealth that ordinary people can't imagine.We set our sights on a certain luxurious and extravagant small courtyard. At this moment, there are many guards outside the small courtyard, and the guards are heavily guarded.

In the small courtyard, there was no maid or woman waiting for her. It was empty as if there was no one there. In the room, there were two luxurious and natural young people, chatting with each other while drinking tea.

"How is that body?"

"not too good."

"Oh."

After a question and an answer, the room fell into silence. Occasionally, the sound of burning charcoal fire broke the silence.

"Brother Zicheng, what are your plans?" The young man in a black brocade robe inlaid with gold silk was quite handsome, with a pair of single eyelids, and his femininity was full of strength, giving people a thrilling feeling.

The young man on the opposite side seemed to be a few years older than the person who asked the question. He raised his head and did not answer, but asked instead, "I heard you are looking for someone?" His eyes are magnificent, showing the air of a king.

"Ok!"

"who?"

"I used to be a doorman by my side. I didn't think so before. Now that I'm away, I feel uncomfortable. I still want to get him back and use me." Single Eyelid replied.

"did you find it?"

"I heard that I went to Yizhou Mansion."

"Where is Yizhou?"

"It seems to be calming down the area."

"The place where the general's mansion is stationed."

"Ah."

The older young man took a sip of tea, "General Zhen Guo's mansion didn't adjust grain in the south of the Yangtze River this year, so Yao is really capable."

Shan Eyelid asked: "Brother Zicheng, I heard that the person who transferred Master Yao to Yizhou Mansion was for the Third Prince, is it true?"

Liu Mufeng, whose name is Zicheng, was the fifth son of Emperor Zhengxi of the Great Wei Dynasty, titled King Jin. At this moment, he was not in a good mood. He put down the cup in his hand, stood up from the chair, and walked around the room for a few steps.

The man in the black brocade robe raised his eyes, but his single eyelid was narrow and long. His eyes looked lazy but inadvertently sharp, knowing everything unconsciously.

"Zi Li, in your opinion, is it true?"

Single-eyed, the son of the old Ning King——Liu Zaili, titled Yancheng County King, the capital captain in front of the capital palace, is a son of the clan with real power.Hearing my cousin's question, I smiled lightly, "I don't realize it."

Prince Jin, who frowned slightly, frowned suddenly when he heard this, "Oh, who is that for?"

Liu Zaili squinted his eyes and smiled: "Whoever succeeds in the future will be prepared for him."

The corners of Prince Jin's relaxed brows frowned again.

Liu Zaili looked at his thoughtful cousin, stood up, straightened his robe, "Brother Zicheng, do you want to go out for a walk?"

Liu Zicheng shook his head, "I want to enter the palace to fulfill my filial piety."

"Then I will retire first, brother."

"Ah."

Liu Zai left the Jin Palace, turned to look at the plaque behind him, lowered his head and turned to get on the carriage, before the carriage started, a waiter came and replied, "Your Majesty, our people have found out the specific whereabouts of that guest. "

"Just say what I said, let him come back to Beijing to do things for me, and the treatment will be double what it was before."

"Yes, the prince of the county, the little one will be handled immediately."

"Ah."

In the general account room of Ma's General Store in Yunshui County, Qiu Baiyan was doing half-monthly accounts, and several young apprentices were helping him. He could tell at a glance what these qualifications were and what they could do.

"Fu Xiaoyou—"

"The big shopkeeper, the little one is here."

Qiu Baiyan raised his eyelids, "What method did you use to calculate?"

"Go back to the big shopkeeper, abacus and mental arithmetic."

"Abacus mental arithmetic?" Qiu Baiyan asked, "Who taught it?"

"Hee hee, my little boss won't let me talk about it."

Even the honest Guo Daping heard something wrong with these words, there is simply no silver 300 taels here, and he's not allowed to say it, so it's okay to say it.

Fu Xiaoyou seemed unaware.

Qiu Baiyan put down the brush in his hand, and leaned slightly on the back of the chair: "Fu Xiaoyou, do you think you are very smart?"

"No...no!" Fu Xiaoyou grinned flatteringly.

Qiu Bai rolled his eyes, "You said in the morning that you would ask for leave to go home, right?"

"Yes, shopkeeper, we haven't been back since we became apprentices with you."

Qiu Baiyan narrowed his eyes, "Go back."

"Thank you big shopkeeper. When I come back, I will bring you delicious food."

Qiu Baiyan didn't even listen to these words, and waved his hand, "You also go with him."

When Guo Daping heard that he could go back together, he quickly saluted him happily, "Thank you shopkeeper, thank you shopkeeper."

The other three also wanted to go back, but Qiu Baiyan stared back, and the three shrank like invisible people.

In the afternoon, half an hour before the gate of the city was to be closed, Fu Xiaoyou and Guo Daping finally came out of the main shop. Seeing the bustling streets, they took a deep breath and followed the big shopkeeper to learn how to do accounts. It was like being in a prison. Speaking of going to the street, it is rare to give up even the account room.

"Mother, I finally came out."

Guo Daping also sighed.

Fu Xiaoyou looked tired when he saw Guo Daping, who was willing to endure hardships, and said, "Daping, don't you say that I can't endure hardships now?"

Guo Daping glanced at him: "I heard that other apprentices are like this, it's just that Er Niang treated us too well."

"Yeah, so I miss Er Niang, I want to go home and see him." Fu Xiaoyou said with a smile.

"Hey, what nonsense are you talking about?" Guo Daping was startled by his words.

"Er Niang will definitely say that she misses me too, what are you making such a fuss about?"

"This...I..." This is not a couple or... Guo Daping bit his lip, anyway, it's not something people like them can say casually.

Fu Xiaoyou didn't mind at all, "I regard Erniang as a relative, and I think she is not normal, Daping, you are too fussy, so I won't tell you, I will buy Erniang's favorite sweet-scented osmanthus cake."

Seeing Fu Xiaoyou generously talking about Erniang, bouncing around to buy Erniang her favorite things, but Guo Daping only dared to think, no, sometimes he didn’t even dare to think about it, but he did it so unusually, as if They are really like brother and sister.

brother and sister?No, no, no...we are not brother and sister, we...Guo Daping didn't dare to think about it anymore, he quickly raised his feet to follow Fu Xiaoyou.

Mr. Tian and the others sat in the pavilion, basking in the sun, drinking green tea, or walking in the corridor, chatting, and looking at the scenery in the courtyard. The afternoon passed without knowing it.

"Hey, where's my sister, why haven't I seen anyone all afternoon?" It was time for dinner, Zhang Nianmei looked everywhere for her sister.

Ma Qifeng is the host, and he stayed with the guests for a day, and when he heard them looking for his daughter, he hurriedly said: "The nearby villagers came to buy cotton seeds, and Min'er said the seeds had gone."

"I heard that you have a seed shop in the county, can you buy it there?" Zhang Nianmei wanted to get some seeds for her mother's Zhuangzi.

Ma Qifeng shook his head: "It's only been planted for one season this year, not much, and the seeds haven't been brought to the shop. The nearby villagers came over and gave them some because they knew each other well."

"Oh, that's why."

Mr. Tian asked: "So are you going to plant a large area next year?"

"Even if we buy another one or two hundred acres of land next year, the amount that can be planted is limited."

"Then you are..."

Ma Qifeng said with a smile: "The main thing is to let everyone know that there is such a good thing as cotton, and let the big guys plant it, so that the quantity can come up."

"Ah..." Zhang Nianmei opened her mouth to express her understanding.

Mr. Tian smiled: "If cotton is planted, the soldiers don't need to bother with the cotton coats for the winter, and save the need to collect brocade and animal fur everywhere."

Zhuang Hao asked to the point: "Then what are your Ma family going to do?"

"Collect cotton, spin it, weave it, and sell it to everyone."

"It's so!" Mr. Tian laughed loudly, "It's really a good way to do business, a good way!"

"Sir, you've praised me." Ma Qifeng smiled modestly.

Zhang Nianmei and Zhuang Hao looked at each other and smiled, the Ma family was really powerful.

Xia Zhen walked in the front, as if she didn't hear what they were talking about, and didn't care what they were discussing. Seeing that it was getting late, he walked through the corridor to the kitchen.Seeing the little general go to the kitchen, Zhang Nianmei sneered at Zhuang Hao and whispered, "I went to find my old sister again."

Zhuang Hao smiled lightly.

The master was at home, and Ma Miner had to cook a few dishes to entertain them. Winter is coming, and it is suitable to eat some high-calorie meat to replenish physical energy, so that the body has enough calories to resist the cold. She made scallion fried lamb, pork Stewed vermicelli, steamed pork ribs with mushrooms, stewed chicken with mushrooms, hot mixed bean curd sticks, knowing that Xia Zhen has a bad appetite, I made him a steamed egg with wolfberry, peanut and trotter soup, and sliced ​​black fish with pickled cabbage.In the end, I felt that there were too many meat dishes, so I made two or three more vegetable dishes, and the table was full.

When Xia Zhen came to the kitchen, she had all the meat dishes ready, the soup was stewed in the pot, and she was frying spinach. It was winter, and she was so busy that her forehead was sweating.

Seeing the little general come in, Shi Chunyue quickly put down the dustpan and saluted.

Xia Zhen didn't say anything, she stood beside Ma Min'er, Xiaowen asked Shi Chunyue, who was saluting, to do what she wanted and leave them alone.

Shi Chunyue helped Xiaodong's family, the dishes were almost cooked, and she had almost cleaned up, so she hurriedly took the garbage out of the kitchen and put it on the garbage dump. The villagers who raised livestock would come and take away the garbage. will go to waste.

Ma Min'er saw Xia Zhen and said to him: "The kitchen is full of oily smoke, be careful not to choke you!"

Xia Zhen didn't care, and habitually kept silent.

Ma Min'er was busy, so she didn't care whether he could answer or not, "There is one last stir-fried chicken feather dish!"

Heat the oil pan, put the green and juicy chicken feathers and stir-fry, just turn it over with chopsticks a few times and it will be out of the pan. The tar is green and the taste is not damaged at all, which makes people very appetizing.

"Let's go, let's go eat." Ma Miner called with a smile while holding a white porcelain plate.

Xia Zhen with her hands behind her back, just like the old master, followed Ma Miner back to the dining room leisurely.

Shi Chunyue saw the little general standing in the kitchen. He entered the rest room next to the kitchen. His son was sitting on a small stool and eating with a spoon. Inside, you can eat without letting the children crawl and fall out at will, which is really thoughtful.

"Xiao Bao, is it delicious?"

Xiaobao nodded.

Shi Chunyue pointed to his steamed eggs and said: "Mother saw that the little boss also steamed a bowl for the little general. You eat the same as the little general!"

Niu Xiaobao didn't know what a little general was, he didn't know what his mother was talking about, he only knew how to eat with a spoon, and after eating half of it, he shook his head, "Xiaobao is full."

"You have such a good life, child. In the steamed eggs, the little boss even chopped the minced meat for you. What did you say to supplement your nutrition? You really fell into a nest of blessings." Shi Chunyue looked at her son who was raised like a doll in New Year's pictures, all over her body. There was indescribable happiness from top to bottom, and she swept away all the meat and eggs stewed by her son, which she couldn't bear to waste.

After eating, he hurriedly carried his son out, "Xing'er, there may be some extra food in the restaurant, and someone needs to serve it. Take it, Bao'er, and I'll go over and have a look."

"Okay." Xing'er was packing the firewood in the stove, when she heard her aunt calling her, she quickly put down the firewood in her hand, and brushed the dust off her body.

Shi Chunyue obviously felt that her niece had become more flexible in her work.

In the restaurant, there are two tables. Since we have been together for a long time, everyone is casual, and they all eat to their heart's content. After eating delicious dishes, there are even endless discussions.

A meal didn't end until it was dark.

As soon as the table was put away, Shi Chunyue brought up chrysanthemum wolfberry tea for everyone to drink while chatting.

"What kind of chrysanthemum is this?" Mr. Tian asked excitedly.

Ma Min'er replied: "It's the small wild chrysanthemum on the Xiaoniu Mountain. It was just picked a month ago."

"Slightly bitter in the mouth and sweet in the aftertaste, quite good."

"Hee hee, it's okay." Ma Min'er smiled.

Zhang Nianmei took a sip, "Sister, brother, I don't even want to go to the barracks, so what should I do if I want to stay at your house?" After eating and drinking tea, he couldn't think of leaving.

"It's simple, you don't want to be a general anymore, and then you can enter a Taoist temple or a temple, and you can live like this every day."

"Sister, how can you say that about brother?"

"But apart from being a Taoist priest or a monk, I can't think of any reason for a grown man to stay at home and not do things."

Zhang Nianmei rolled her eyes, "Can't I run a private school at home like Uncle Ma!"

"cut……"

"you……"

"Ha ha……"

……

Everyone scoffed at Zhang Nianmei's statement, no one believed that he would have such a heart.He was so angry that he fled back to his room and went to sleep.

Just as everyone scoffed at, Xia Zhen and the others had to go back to the barracks in the morning of the third day after going hunting in the mountains for a day and staying at the little lady's house for another day.

Before leaving, when she was sitting on a tall horse, she wished she could get her daughter-in-law on the horse and take her to the barracks. When Xia Zhen realized that she had such thoughts, she didn't know whether it was shame or impatience, so she pulled up the rein and hit the horse and galloped away.

Oh my god, I finally sent this group of old men away!The girl was exhausted, "Father, I'm going to sleep in the cage, don't call me if it's okay."

"Go, boy!"

Ma Qifeng looked at the galloping horses in the distance and was so worried that he couldn't open his brows. Alas, it would be great if the lady was here. It would be much easier to chat with him. Maybe, if there is a lady, I don't need to worry about this kind of thing at all. !

Seeing that the little generals had finally left, Fu Xiaoyou was about to look for Erniang. Seeing that she was tired and wanted to catch up on sleep, he was not ashamed, and followed his grandfather to take care of the flowers and plants in the yard.

If the master doesn't go out, Niu Dabao will take care of the vegetable beds in the yard. Anyway, the two families can't be free, so they keep the Ma's yard clean and tidy.

The two-year-old Niu Xiaobao carried his little climbing stool and followed Ma Qifeng to the Enlightenment Study Room in the backyard. He sat at the door and listened to the class in a decent manner. read.

After reading, Ma Qifeng explained it to the children, and then asked the children to discuss with each other, and picked out a few boys who spoke well, and asked them to tell everyone their feelings about what they had read.

After sorting it out, I asked the children to read it several times, and almost all the children accepted the question in one chapter. Let them write new characters, copy sentences, and practice basic skills for the rest.

A lesson was supposed to be finished due to his temperament, but his daughter said that children’s attention spans are so long, it’s useless to talk too much, so he just talked, stopped and let the children explain. Take a hand, take a break, and then start again.

Not only that, but also arranged arithmetic, rhythmic chess lessons, storytelling and other lessons, as well as special activities for the children, and the daughter asked her to take the children to play.

"I'm playing with the kids?" Ma Qifeng was incredulous when he heard it, "Won't the parents want to scold me to death!"

"Father, playing is also a science."

Ma Qifeng frowned.

"Father, let me make an analogy, the simplest hide-and-seek, in this game you can discover children's flexibility and coping skills, and even integrate the art of war into it, telling them what it means to be 'soldiers never tire of deceit', 'sneaking in secret' '"

Ma Qifeng smiled, "You child!"

"This is to tell them how to play, instead of blindly playing wildly and fighting wildly, which is so boring."

"Okay, Dad understands."

It wasn't until the afternoon that Fu Xiaoyou was free to talk to Ma Erniang.

"How are you studying?"

"good."

Ma Miner raised her eyebrows, "What do you mean 'it's okay'"

Fu Xiaoyou said: "There is someone like you who teaches things until we understand them. He teaches half and keeps the other half. He thinks about everything by himself, which is very laborious."

"Tsk tsk, Brother Xiaoyou, don't you boast that you are very smart?"

Fu Xiaoyou scratched his head, "I asked for leave yesterday, and I made a fool of myself on purpose."

"What's the matter?"

"That gentleman relied on himself from a big place, so he didn't take us seriously. I used the abacus mental arithmetic you taught me, and the calculation was very fast. He asked me who I learned from, and I deliberately said, 'Little boss. ’ Don’t let him know, let him know it’s you, but it’s not easy to come to you.”

"You cunning, if I were the master, I'd be angry if I heard that." Ma Min'er laughed.

Fu Xiaoyou pouted: "At worst, I don't want to learn from him. I'll stay by your side and learn from you."

"The frog at the bottom of the well."

"what!"

Ma Min'er said: "Learning from me means learning from me, but we need to broaden our horizons and learn from more people. In this way, when we face a wider range of people and things in the future, we will be able to face them calmly."

"Oh." Fu Xiaoyou smiled embarrassedly.

"Brother Xiaoyou, you are already 15 years old. In two years, you will be able to act independently. Don't play such clever tricks anymore." Ma Min'er said earnestly.

"I just can't see him dragging it. I want to tell him what's wrong with the small place. There are such great people as our little boss in the small place."

Ma Min'er rolled her eyes, "It's convincing, is it using such a nonchalant method?"

Fu Xiao shrinks his head.

"Three years of reading for nothing."

"Whee!"

Ma Min'er said: "Where is Daping, how is he?"

"He can sit still, it's okay."

Guo Daping is definitely more serious than Fu Xiao, but in terms of qualifications, Ma Min'er understands that he is only suitable to be a well-regulated accountant. However, with 360 lines, he will be the number one in every line, and as long as he can get into each line, his achievements will be great.

Qiu Baiyan didn't expect that King Yancheng would send someone to look for him, let alone invite him to go back, so he didn't say anything for a long time.

The person on the opposite side waited impatiently, "Qiu Baiyan, the king of Yancheng County doesn't give face to everyone, you have to think about it, if you don't go back with me, there will be no place for you to stand in the capital in the future gone."

Qiu Baiyan raised his head and looked at the man, the domineering and domineering guests of the palace made him feel extremely uncomfortable, after thinking for a while, he said: "Bai Yan is just a small guest, but he knows how to do business, and he can't afford the prince's attention. , and invite Master Hua..."

"You mean never to return to the capital again?" The middle-aged man threatened with narrowed eyes.

Qiu Baiyan pursed her lips tightly: "Since I have traveled far away, I am prepared to die as a guest."

"Okay, good job." The middle-aged man shook his sleeves and walked away.

Qiu Baiyan bowed his head for a long time but did not regain his senses.

Winter in Pingding County comes earlier than other places. In the early morning of winter, even if the sun is shining, the cold wind is still blowing in, piercing the cheeks.

There are shops lined up on both sides of the street, and the heat coming out of the food shops finally makes people feel less cold and has some heating.

The old man with a fortune-telling flag in his hand looked at the steaming shop, looked at it with his head, and asked, "What is this white thing?"

"Mr. Hui, it's tofu curd. Would you like a bowl? Eat it and keep it warm until your stomach is warm."

"How much is a bowl?"

"Five texts."

"It's quite expensive."

"Old man, you are not a peaceful person, are you?"

"Ah."

The little guy smiled and said, "Nowadays, in our Pingding, no one thinks five Wengui is expensive."

"Then you Pingding people are really rich." The old man laughed.

The young man said proudly: "That's right, in the past two years, people in Pingding have been growing food and engaging in sideline businesses. Their small life has become prosperous. They are willing to come to the county to eat a bowl of bean curd and a bowl of mutton noodles!"

The old man smiled, "Come on, little brother, I just said Shenggui, and you can praise Pingding like a flower."

"Hee hee, old man, respect the old man, Sanwen, I'll give you a bowl at the cost price."

"You look like a boy, do you have two articles to post by yourself?" The old man asked curiously.

(End of this chapter)