Peasant Girl Bookseller

Chapter 61 Mrs. Tong

Perhaps Mai Xiang had delayed for too long, Mrs. Tong hardly remembered such a thing, when the manager replied, she directly sent Mai Xiang to find the shopkeeper in the shop.

"Go, go, go, our wife said that there is no such thing, and said that she wanted to discuss some business and go directly to the shopkeeper in the shop." The young man waved at Mai Xiang.

Mai Xiang had no choice but to grab another five copper coins and went over, and said with a smile: "Little brother, please go back and say something again, I am the wife I met at the Reclining Buddha Temple and your young master, and I sell wall shoes. Avoid evil wall shoes, your wife bought several pairs of wall shoes from me, and your old lady bought two pairs from me when she made a vow at the Temple of the Reclining Buddha after recovering from illness.”

The boy was a bit disdainful of the five copper coins, but after hearing that Mai Xiang knew the young master of his family, he moved the old lady out again. Only then entered the gate of Tong's mansion.

The Tong family is a typical courtyard structure. When you enter the gate, you will see a screen wall. Turn left, and at a distance of three or four meters, you will find the Hanging Flower Gate. It is a large upper room with a row of carved beams and painted buildings.

Mai Xiang didn't enter the upper room, the servant led her to the moon gate on the west side of the upper room, and said to a woman at the door, "This is the person my wife wants to see."

The mother-in-law asked Wu Fu to stay, and she took the burden of Wu Fu, and took Mai Xiang into the moon gate. Mai Xiang guessed that this was the inner courtyard, and she didn't go far. The mother-in-law asked Mai Xiang to stay in the first wing The door stopped, and Mrs. Tong was sitting inside looking at the accounts.

"Ma'am, someone brought it." The old woman replied.

The mother-in-law let Mai Xiang enter the house, but she still went to guard the moon gate.

Mrs. Tong saw that Mai Xiang had changed into new clothes, took a few glances, and said with a smile: "I didn't recognize you all of a sudden, how are you at home?"

Mai Xiang didn't expect that the other party would chat with her, so she hurriedly replied: "It's okay, thank you for your concern, Madam."

"I've heard from my son about your family. It's hard for you to provoke a family at such a young age. Don't be afraid, I always like smart and hardworking children. You are not only smart and hardworking, but also a good and filial child. " Mrs. Tong said kindly.

"Thank you for the compliment, my wife. I didn't do anything. The main reason is that many kind-hearted people like my wife helped me. I don't have any real skills. I was forced to this point, no matter who it was, it was forced to me. For the sake of it, he has to find a way to make money." Mai Xiang lowered herself a bit.

After hearing this, Mrs. Tong took a closer look at Mai Xiang. She always felt that this child did not speak or behave like a ten-year-old child, but when she thought about what Mai Xiang said, she was right. If she was forced to this position, she had to do it if she couldn't. , This is the so-called children of the poor headed home early.

"What did you bring today?" Mrs. Tong didn't want to waste Mai Xiang's time. More importantly, she was worried that Tong Liwen would be home from school soon. For some reason, she felt that her son seemed to be treating this girl too much. cared for some.

Of course, Mrs. Tong didn't suspect anything else. She knew that her son was still an unenlightened child, and she could also see this Mai Xiang. His eyes were very clean, and he didn't look like a coquettish face.

It's just that Mrs. Tong doesn't want her son to have too much contact with a country girl. After all, they are not on the same level. Her son will take the imperial examination in the future.

Mai Xiang took out the things in the basket, "Mrs. Tong, this is a kite made by our family. This kite is selling well at the Temple of the Reclining Buddha, but there are fewer children there. I want to put this kite in the It’s consigned to my wife’s shop, of course, it’s even better if my wife is willing to buy it, the kite’s pattern is very unique, and the name is nice.”

Mai Xiang held five kites of different patterns and explained the names and meanings of the animals to Mrs. Tong one by one. After talking about the kites, she picked up the five purses and handed them to Mrs. Tong while explaining the meanings of the patterns. She wasn't very sure that the other party would accept these naive and funny things, so she looked at Mrs. Tong nervously after she finished speaking.

Mrs. Tong can naturally see the uniqueness of this pattern, not to mention, whether it is a kite or a purse, this pattern is fresh and interesting. Although she is a woman, she still has the sensitivity that a businessman should have, otherwise She would not agree to let Mai Xiang send the wall shoes.

"Who drew this painting and pattern?" Mrs. Tong asked while looking at Mai Xiang.

"I drew it by myself. I started raising pigs for the family when I was five years old. When I was free, I drew pigs on the ground with branches. After I learned how to draw pigs, I started to draw other animals." After typing, I will make a draft with Cao Xueqin.

Since Mai Xiang intends to rely on this to make money, sooner or later people will find out that she can draw. Instead of trying to figure out how to explain it to outsiders, it is better to admit it openly now.

When Mrs. Tong heard this, she was surprised, and she also looked at Mai Xiang with admiration.

"What else would you draw?"

"There are very few things I can draw, just some animals and simple flowers and plants."

Mai Xiang only learned stick figures, she could only draw a few strokes with charcoal, and then smear with paint, but she couldn't draw anything if she was asked to hold a brush.This has already been tested in front of Cao Xueqin, and Cao Xueqin has no doubts that Mai Xiang is a genius or a monster.

After hearing this, Mrs. Tong gave up the idea of ​​asking Mai Xiang to draw a few tricks. Maybe this child happened to have such a small chance.

"How much can you usually sell your kite at the Temple of the Reclining Buddha?"

"This is really uncertain. I have sold three hundred coins and one tael of silver. My wife also knows that I just want to see the guests happy to reward some silver."

Mai Xiang did not choose to tell the truth. In fact, the highest price her kite sold was three taels of silver, which was offered by Mrs. Wan. of.

Mrs. Tong pondered for a while, and said, "I'll give you three hundred yuan for this kite, and fifty yuan for this purse, and the rest will be at the price we said earlier. What do you think?"

"My wife is taking care of my business again, thank you very much. If my wife sells well, please send someone to tell me, and I will deliver the goods to my wife. If it doesn't sell well, I will think of other ways."

"Okay, I just like a straightforward person like you." Mrs. Tong glanced at Mai Xiang again after speaking.

"I also like Mrs. Tong. It is definitely an honor to know Mrs. Tong."

"You girl, you are not only sweet-mouthed, but also clever. Come, sit down and have a cup of tea, and I will ask the servant girl to find someone to help you settle the account."

"Don't bother, five purses cost 250 Wen, five kites cost 410 Wen, ten pairs of embroidered wall sandals cost [-] Wen, [-] pairs of straw wall sandals cost [-] Wen, and twenty pairs of straw sandals cost [-] Wen. It is [-] Wen, and my wife will give me [-] Wen. Of course, it would be even better if my wife can give me three taels of silver, as copper coins are a bit heavy." Mai Xiang said with a smile.

"Oh, you can still settle accounts, have you ever studied?"

"There is a wife living next door to me, and the aunt next door is also literate. I learned a few words from them."

"No wonder I don't look like a real country girl when I hear you talking. It really has some background." After Mrs. Tong finished speaking, she whispered a few words to the maid beside her, who turned and went out.

After a while, the maid was holding a money bag in her hand, and there were two other paper boxes.

"It's the first time I came to the door, and I didn't have any good things. This is a snack made by myself at home. Take it home and give it to my younger brothers and sisters to taste. It can be regarded as a visit to our Tong's house."

Seeing this, Mai Xiang got up quickly, took the things in the maid's hand, and said with a smile: "Then respect is worse than obedience, thank you madam, I won't bother madam, goodbye."

"Okay, there's no need to thank me. If there is anything new in the future, don't forget about our Tong family." Mrs. Tong admired Mai Xiang's eyesight, and secretly regretted that the girl's background was too poor.

Mai Xiang came out of Tong's house, took out a tael of silver from her purse and gave it to Wu Fu, Wu Fu refused to accept it, insisted on Mai Xiang taking it to supplement the family, Da Fu taught him to make the kite, and the painting was painted by the teacher next door Yes, the kite was sold by Mai Xiang, so he thought the money should go to Mai Xiang's family.

"Uncle Wu, let me tell you the truth. I sold your kites to the Tong family for three hundred yuan each. The Tong family liked the unique paintings on the kites. I painted that painting, so I bought a kite If you want to take one hundred, you can take two hundred. If you want, you can make a few more. I will paint and sell them. Neither of us will suffer, but I don’t want my second uncle and third uncle to know.”

Mai Xiang had seen the kites made by Erfu and Sanfu, and the quality was much worse than those made by Dafu and Wufu, so she also gave up the idea of ​​buying their kites, because she didn't want to ruin her reputation.

"Did you draw that?" Wu Fu was taken aback. He always thought that Mai Xiang asked Cao Xueqin to draw it.

"Well, I keep pigs outside every day. I have nothing to do with painting pigs with branches. And recently, my husband taught me to draw formally. I didn't tell others."

After hearing Mai Xiang's words, Wu Fu hurriedly said: "Understood, I won't tell others. I will make more kites in the future, and we will earn money together."

Wu Fu heard that Mai Xiang could also get one hundred coins, so he happily put the one tael of silver in his pocket.

In a blink of an eye, the Dragon Boat Festival is approaching, and Ye Dafu and Mrs. Zhao can finally stop taking medicine. Both Ye Dafu and Mrs. Zhao can walk a few steps on crutches. Yue delivered two more goods to Tong's house. The kite and purse were still popular, and even the purse made during the winter solstice was sent to Tong's house.

Wu Fu earns three taels of silver a month, and Mrs. Liu is happy to go on a blind date for Wu Fu, and when she hears that Da Fu and Mrs. Zhao can stop taking medicine, Mrs. Liu's brows relax a lot. Zhang Luo wants everyone to celebrate the Dragon Boat Festival together, because After the Dragon Boat Festival, there will be ear seeds, and the summer harvest and summer seeds will be too tired to shed a layer of skin.

(End of this chapter)