Daiyu of the Red Chamber raised a cat

When Lin Ruhai heard about Daiyu going out for a stroll, she didn't say anything, but told her to bring more people with her next time, and to wear the hat and veil well, so as not to be judged by some rascals and spread bad news. words come.

In fact, even without his orders, Daiyu had a sense of propriety.

For the past two days, Daiyu has been thinking about her own property.After several generations of accumulation, plus the dowry of the mistresses of the past generations, the Lin family really has a lot of family property.The more property you have, the more troublesome it is to manage.Needless to say, farms, orchards, etc. are all managed by specialized people who understand agriculture and farming. Even if there is a difference between fertile and barren, there is not much difference if there are regulations from previous years.But the shop is a different situation, some are making money every day, while others are making ends meet.

For example, the Jufeng silk and satin shop I saw that day is a typical example of making ends meet.

The information that Zhou Hang brought was not comprehensive, so Daiyu also sent someone to inquire.

It turned out that the shop was shoddy, cheated, and even forced to buy and sell for a long time, and it has long been notorious.

That day, the woman wanted to buy a piece of calico. She went in and looked at several kinds of cloth, and asked the price one by one. She thought it was very expensive, so she didn't want it and wanted to go out.This is also human nature, and there is nothing inappropriate.Unexpectedly, the shopkeeper blocked the door and refused to let her go, saying that if she touched the cloth dirty, she had to buy it.You said, no one can stand this kind of uselessness, so of course, the two quarreled.

That woman was not easy to mess with, she was so quick-spoken that the shopkeeper was speechless, so he had no choice but to let her go.The man was let go, but the shopkeeper was so angry that he scolded him for a long time.The young guy who came out later, who just went to the shop not long ago, was very warm and humble.Seeing the shopkeeper enter the inner courtyard angrily, he chased the woman out and apologized, his mouth was as sweet as eating bee excrement, which made the woman laugh.

The boy is only 16 years old this year. Because the shopkeeper likes to gamble, he is often not in the shop.In the past, the young men guarded it, and the business was better than before, but because of its reputation, and the cloths were old goods stored in the past, there was no fashionable pattern that people liked, so it was only better, with Compared with other silk and satin shops, it is quite worrying.

In the space, Zhou Hang was drawing something on the rice paper with a homemade charcoal pencil while listening to Lin Daiyu chanting.

"Fatty..."

As soon as Daiyu yelled two words, Zhou Hang interrupted him.

"Good sister, didn't you say that you call me brother when there is no one around, how about you call me brother?"

Daiyu snorted slightly, and said angrily: "Brother Zhou Hang, it's alright! It's just that he is a few years older than me, and he puts his brother's money in front of me every day. It's just your one-sided words, who knows you How old is it? When I saw you, you were just a newborn kitten, and you were only half a year old at the moment."

It means that I am not willing to call my brother, you still have to call me sister after all.

Seeing Lin Daiyu suddenly showing a coquettish look, Zhou Hang couldn't help but put down his pen.Living under the fence since she was a child, Daiyu has developed a lonely and cold temperament, often with a detached attitude, and rarely has such a delicate and willful appearance as a young daughter.Seeing this, Zhou Hang's heart fluttered slightly, and he said with a smile: "Sister Lin, it's not like you don't know what's going on with me. Why don't we compare your stature, you can only come to me." than the position of your shoulders.

Daiyu also heard the implication:

Don't forget, you have only reached the position of my shoulder, do you still want to be my sister?

Seeing his complacent look, Daiyu casually threw the half-woven flower basket on him, snorted and turned her head away.Zhou Hang was hit by the basket on his chest, it didn't hurt very much, he just felt a itch in his heart, a warm current rippling in his chest, feeling like it was about to gushe out at any time.Just as he was about to say something more, seeing Daiyu's expression, he knew that he had offended Sister Lin by mistake just now, and he was angry.Daiyu belongs to the kind of person who is reasonable and doesn't care about anything on weekdays, but when she meets someone she cares about, she changes her appearance. She is self-willed and likes to lose her temper, but she is easy to coax.

Of course, if you can't coax it well, it may blow your hair.

However, sister Lin with fried hair is also very cute.

As for how to coax, direct persuasion or an apology are not the best options. After thinking about it, Zhou Hang suddenly covered his chest with a "ow" and rolled on the ground pretending to be in pain.

Daiyu knew that he was putting on airs, but she couldn't help but stepped forward to check and ask him how he was doing.

Zhou Hang laughed loudly, straightened up, and stood up.Daiyu snorted, stepped forward and snatched the flower basket back and said, "If you want to roll on the ground with you, don't crush my flower basket."

Zhou Hang raised his head, changed the subject and said, "How do you plan to deal with the matter of Jufeng Silk and Satin Factory?"

Daiyu said: "Naturally, we should drive out the shopkeeper and find a better one."

"Why not let the boy be the shopkeeper?"

Daiyu said: "Although he is a good person, he is still too young. I am afraid that he is not stable enough and will be impulsive when encountering things."

"You're pedantic." Sitting up, brushing off the grass leaves on his body, Zhou Hang said, "Talent doesn't depend on age. Gan Luo can be a minister at the age of 12, and King Luo Bin can compose poems that have been sung through the ages at the age of seven. The boy is already 16 years old. According to my investigation, he is very good at management. Why can't he be a shopkeeper? What's more, the silk and satin shop itself can't make ends meet, and it may not be able to do well with another shopkeeper. Why don't you let the boy try try?"

Daiyu thought for a long time, and said: "You are right, I am pedantic."

Zhou Hang laughed and said: "I said you are pedantic just to stimulate you, but in fact you are more enlightened than many people." He found a picture he had just drawn and pointed it to Daiyu, "I saw it, Jufeng Silk and Satin Shop now sells old goods accumulated in previous years, and the materials have been out of date for several years. If the warehouse is not completely cleared and the goods are redistributed, even if it is replaced by a new shopkeeper, it will be difficult to bring it back to life. Since it is necessary to change, it is better to completely change."

In ancient times, those who could afford silk and satin were rich and noble families, and ordinary people in the market mostly wore coarse linen clothes.

Yangzhou is located at the intersection of the Grand Canal and the Yangtze River. It has been an economically prosperous area since ancient times, and now it is the center of Jianghuai salt transportation, where many wealthy salt merchants gather.Merchant families are not as strict as high-ranking families. Those ladies often go out to buy silk, satin, jewelry and antiques. As long as the quality is high, they often don't care about the price. It is not an exaggeration to say that they spend money like water.

Women generally love comparisons, especially rich women.The gatherings of modern girls often compare who bought which brand of limited-edition bags, which designer's limited-edition clothes, or accessories of a certain expensive brand.Ancient times were no exception. The gatherings of ladies and boudoirs were often places to display their fresh clothes and accessories.

Therefore, if you want to make money, you must play new tricks, at least to make people feel bright.

For this reason, Zhou Hang carefully drew a decoration drawing of the silk and satin shop.

That's right, he wants to change the Jufeng silk and satin shop from the inside out.The decoration is naturally still in a classical style, but some new designs have been added, such as a special leisure area, which is filled with things that women and girls like, and separate private rooms with elegant furnishings.The sitting and lying utensils inside are not traditional benches or armchairs, but a special kind of long or short sitting utensils, wrapped with brocade mattresses, and made like a modern sofa.

Of course, the most important thing is the quality of the goods.People in the world have the habit of advocating clothing in Beijing. Zhou Hang suggested that some people should be sent to Beijing to inspect and record the materials and colors of clothes that are popular in Beijing.Of course, the fashionable and popular fabrics in Suzhou, Hangzhou and other places should also be referred to.

After hearing what Zhou Hang said, Daiyu was deeply moved.

She felt that what Zhou Hang said was very reasonable, so she would try it first before talking about it.In fact, there is no need to try, Daiyu also knows that it will work. Although she has never directly intervened in the operation of various shops before, it does not mean that she does not know anything. She still has such insight and insight.

In addition to Jufeng Silk and Satin Shop, the Lin family also has several shops that sell cloth, and Daiyu plans to gradually implement it in other shops.

As for the many cloths accumulated in the shop, it would be a waste to leave them for nothing, and they would not be used up to make clothes for the servants at home. Daiyu planned to have them carted out in a few days and distribute them to the poor outside.The last time she went out, she saw many beggars on the street, as well as starving and emaciated children. They were all naked, very pitiful.Although she doesn't have the ability to make all the beggars in the world live a good life with enough food and clothing, but if she can help some, then let her help some.

Daiyu asked Lin Ruhai for his opinion, and the latter said that the Lin family's property should be disposed of by Daiyu.

He has always been a free and easy person, since he handed over the management of the Lin family's property to his daughter, he completely delegated power and didn't care about it.In his opinion, these things will be left to his daughter in the future, and it is better for her daughter to learn how to take care of them one day sooner than later.Even if she starts to run poorly, it is just a small loss, and it should be paid for tuition.Daiyu is a smart child and will not make the same mistakes. He believes that his daughter can manage these properties well.

While arranging people to follow Zhou Hang's plan, Daiyu sent people to take stock of other shops.One is to see if there are any problems in the operation of these shops, the other is to see if there are phenomena such as shoddy goods, and the third is to see the revenue of each store.

After such an investigation, many problems were found.

For example, the Lin family has three grocery stores.Grocery stores sell more and more miscellaneous items, some are easy to sell, and some are not easy to sell.It is often better to stock up on the ones that are easy to sell, so as not to be out of stock when someone comes to buy; to stock up less on the ones that are not easy to sell, so as to avoid a backlog of goods.But these three grocery stores are all facing the same problem, that is, all the good selling items are out of stock, and it is said that they have been out of stock for a month or two;

After investigation, I found out that Wu Er, the comprador in charge of the grocery store, was greedy for personal gain.Some things that are not used in daily life and are expensive, because they are not easy to sell, those who sell them will bribe Wu Er and sell those things to him at a high price.This directly led to the high cost of the item, and the price was naturally higher when the grocery store sold it, so no one would buy it.As for those necessities for daily use, because there are many people who use them and they don't have to worry about selling them, the sellers are unwilling to give Wu Er money, so Wu Er doesn't buy their things, and naturally there are no goods in the shop.

Gradually, the business of the shop got worse and worse, and the cycle continued indefinitely.

There are many others, there are compradors who falsely report prices, and shopkeepers who fill their pockets.Daiyu memorized the names of these people, and after returning to Lin Ruhai, they all followed the rules, kicked out those who should be kicked out, beat those who should be punished, and reported to officials if they should.

However, within a month or two, the atmosphere of each shop in the Lin Mansion has changed, and the income from the books sent has also increased a lot.

This is not to say that the profits of the shops in the past were not good, but that some shops lost money due to poor management, and the overall performance was relatively good.

After a lot of trouble, the Jufeng silk and satin shop has also been refurbished. In addition to the colorful fabrics, two beautiful maids in their 20s were also invited from the palace.It is said that they used to serve the nobles in the palace, and they were very good at skin care. They wanted to teach the visiting ladies some secret methods of skin care.

If the maids in the palace have reached their age, if they have not been favored by the emperor, according to the rules, they must be released from the palace and take their own marriage leave.But because the maids released from the palace are all above 25 years old, which is earlier than the age for normal women to take their marriage leave, it is fine if they are born noble, but otherwise, it is not easy to marry a good family.Generally, they either marry as a second wife, or serve as concubines to wealthy families.Of course, there are also quite a few high-minded people who think that they have served the nobles in the palace, and their status is higher than others.There are even some girls from poor families who have nowhere to live, and some end up in prostitution.To be hired like this to teach women how to maintain themselves, and to spend a lot of money without relying on parents and brothers to live on their own, is considered pretty good.

The news that Jufeng Silk and Satin Shop had been remodeled quickly spread among the noblewomen of Yangzhou's boudoir.

At the beginning, people were dubious, and a few women went to see it with trepidation, but they found that it had really changed its appearance.The facade has been enlarged, divided into men's and women's areas. The women's area is no longer a waiter for waiters, and there are all teenage girls with good attitudes and sweet mouths, wearing fashionable and uniform clothing.The items sold are good, and the prices are similar to those of other stores. The key is that the service quality is far superior to other stores, and there are two women from the palace to teach the secret skills of skin care.Women don't want to be beautiful forever, let alone these noble wives, which family is not a bunch of concubines, who want to tie the heart of the husband at home, how can they do without looks?

The first people who went home tried the legendary secret method of maintenance, and they were all pleasantly surprised.

Soon this matter spread among the noble ladies, and later even the girls who had not left the cabinet knew about it.

For a while, there was a lot of traffic in front of Jufeng Silk and Satin Shop.The cloth sold from various places was almost sold out soon, so Lin Daiyu had to actively send people to purchase goods from various places.

When Zheng Lihua came to see Daiyu, she wore a satin gown with a beige inlaid collar, a dark green base and a yellow rose pattern, and a pink narcissus flower and green leaf skirt underneath.Daiyu laughed and said, "Most of your body is simple and elegant today." After touching it, she said, "Well, this material is not much, where did you buy it? I will also buy one for clothes tomorrow."

Zheng Lihua said: "It's Tongmao Silk and Satin Shop."

As if afraid that Daiyu would not be able to remember, she hastily added, "Last time when we went to the jewelry store together, we met a man and a woman arguing on the way, please stop, and I said that the silk in that shop was not good." OK, do you remember?"

Lin Daiyu said "Oh", and thought to herself: It turns out that it is her own shop, so there is no need to buy it.

But since she didn't tell Zheng Lihua that the shop belonged to her family last time, it's not good to say it now, and she also wants to know what people in Yangzhou think about that shop, so she smiled and said, "Didn't you say that the shop inside The silk is not good, why do you buy it now and still wear it on your body?"

Zheng Lihua was a little embarrassed, and said with a faint smile: "It turned out to be bad, but now it's fine again."

"How do you say that?" Daiyu asked.

Zijuan, Xueyan, and the maidservants beside them all pursed their lips.Zheng Lihua didn't know, but they all knew that the shop was owned by their family, and it was under the girl's management that it became a blockbuster and the business boomed.

"Sister Lin, you really have to go and have a look!" Since Daiyu gave her a set of red gold emerald emerald haircuts all day last time, the two have become familiar with each other day by day.Zheng Lihua admires Lin Daiyu's self-cultivation and demeanor, while Lin Daiyu likes her lively and clever, and her strange speech, which often makes people laugh.Gradually, she no longer called Lin Daiyu Miss Lin, but called her sister Lin, and Lin Daiyu also called her younger sister.

As she said that, Zheng Lihua opened her eyes wide, and suddenly her spirits rose.

"Just over half a month ago, Jufeng Silk and Satin Shop suddenly reopened, divided into men's and women's areas, as well as private rooms, so women and girls don't have to worry about inconvenience. And they also There is a new shopkeeper, and the waiters in the women's area are no longer waiters but girls. Sister, you don't know, there are seven or eight handsome girls in uniform clothes, looking very fresh. The most valuable thing is their Decoration, you will know it after you go and see it, it is guaranteed to refresh your eyes and ears.”

Having said that, she patted her forehead and said, "There is also something called a sofa, which is soft and comfortable to sit on."

"Then I really want to go and have a look." Daiyu's words were not all perfunctory, she had never been to the silk shop after changing its appearance.It was okay to hear Zhou Hang say it was so lively there before, but now I hear Zheng Lihua say it, and it makes my heart itch.

Zheng Lihua was still muttering to herself: "I don't know whose idea it is, how did he think of it?"

Recently, there is another incident in Yangzhou City that has aroused heated discussions among everyone.

Miss Zhifu got married, not the eldest lady, nor the second lady from the direct descendant, but the third lady.The reason why she married was not a son of a family, nor a son who was studying, but a servant of the official department who died after his wife died in his forties.

Rumor has it that the Minister of the Ministry of Officials is a lustful man, and he already has a bunch of sons, sons, sons, daughters, and daughters.

Rumor has it that the Minister of the Ministry of Officials married a continuation wife less than a year after his wife died.

Rumor has it that it took less than a month from engagement to marriage.

Rumor has it that Miss Zhifu got on the sedan chair crying.

There are many rumors, but none of them can change the facts. At most, everyone sighs when they talk about it.

Lin Daiyu didn't care about these rumors, the operation of Jufeng Silk and Satin Shop was very successful, and she was busy promoting it to other shops.With Zhou Hang's help, things went smoothly.Several loss-making shops in Yangzhou City have now turned their losses into profits, including a cloth shop, a grocery store, and a wood shop.Because the Lin family has always kept a low profile, not many people knew about these properties when they bought them, so everyone didn't know that these shops belonged to the Lin family.

However, there has been a lot of discussion in Yangzhou City recently, and people have speculated that there is an owner behind these shops.

Otherwise, how can the method be so consistent?

Of course, there are also people who are opposed to one, after all, if there is one, there are two.With the first store that makes a profit from it, others will soon follow.

In the blink of an eye, it was May, and since it was the first Dragon Boat Festival when she returned to Yangzhou City, Daiyu planned to pay homage to her deceased mother.A few years ago, I was an outsider in Jia's Mansion in the capital city, so I just burned some paper money in private to remember, and there was no big sacrifice.Because the Lin family's ancestral home was in Suzhou, Jia Min was buried in the ancestral tomb in Suzhou after his death, and only the memorial tablet was paid in the Yangzhou mansion.

After Lin Daiyu paid homage to the memorial tablet, she took her maids to the nunnery outside the city to pray for sacrifices to her mother and pray for her father.Lin Ruhai was unable to send his daughter there in person due to his busy schedule, but he sent many people to follow him.Li Feng took the lead, followed by several housekeepers and many servants to lead the way, followed by Li Feng's daughter-in-law with many women and many maids, and set off in a mighty way.

Daiyu was riding in a car with eight treasures, and Zhou Hang was with her.Behind is the car of Zijuan and Xueyan. In addition to Zijuan and Xueyan, there is also a maid in the car, which is Huier.Because of crimes such as theft, murder of innocent people, and disregard for human life, her mother and two brothers were sentenced to beheading, and it was time to ask for beheading after autumn.Huier didn't go to see them again, but Daiyu kept arguing that they wanted to see their daughter and sister/sister again before they died.Daiyu asked for Hui'er's opinion, and Hui'er thought of being kind, but sent someone to send a set of bedding and a few clothes, and told her mother that since she sold her, it would be irrelevant.

As for her brother and sister, it's their own fault and they don't deserve sympathy.

After Hui'er recovered from her illness, Daiyu took her to her courtyard, where she usually did light work such as embroidery.Gradually, she found that Huier was a good girl, with Zicuckoo's carefulness and her own indifference, she was very considerate and loyal to herself, which was very important.After all, careful maids are common, but loyal maids are rare.Zijuan is one, and Xueyan is also one, and now there is another Huier.

Girls from rich families, including maidservants, usually go out of the gate, so Daiyu took Hui'er out once in a while.She is different from Xueyan, that girl is heartless and doesn't take anything to heart, while Huier is caring, and she has experienced such bad things a few days ago, Daiyu is afraid that she will put it in her heart , not good for the body.

Although she has spiritual spring water, it can only cure her physical ailments, but not her heart ailments.

The name of the nunnery is Yingmei Temple. It is located on a hill outside the city. The incense is very prosperous. The wives and young ladies of rich and noble families in Yangzhou often go here to pray or burn incense and pray to Buddha.The Lin family also provided for him. In the past, Jia Min often brought Daiyu there when he was alive.After Jia Min passed away, the Lin family did not cut off the supply, and even doubled the money for sesame oil every New Year's Day.The return of Lin Ruhai's daughter, Lin Daiyu, is known to all decent people in Yangzhou. The abbot of Yingmei Temple, Master Jing Kong, often walks around the gates of various houses, so naturally he has heard of it a long time ago.Therefore, when I heard that Daiyu was coming to the nunnery to have a funeral, I sent many aunts to greet her outside the mountain gate early in the morning.

Mrs. Jingkong was already waiting in the main hall. When she saw Daiyu, she took a meaningful look at her first, and then welcomed her in with a smile.

Daiyu worshiped the Bodhisattva first, and then Master Jingkong took her into the meditation room, talked for a while, and gave Daiyu an amulet before leaving.The air in the mountains is good, and the trees are more lush than other places. It just rained last night, and the water vapor is very strong, and the air is filled with the smell of green grass and soil.There is a small earth mountain in the distance, the mountain is emerald green, and it is misty from a distance, as if you are in a fairyland.

A few maidservants came laughing and said that the clean room had been arranged, and the master told them to bring the distinguished guests there.Daiyu wanted to take a walk in the mountains, so she ordered Zijuan and Xueyan to take the maids to lay them. There were no outsiders in the mountains anyway, so she would go back after playing for a while.

Zijuan: "How does this work? What is the status of a girl, how can she not bring anyone around her, if she is thirsty or hungry, she can't find someone to serve her."

Daiyu said: "People are everywhere here, where can I not get a bowl of water to drink? It's your noise!"

Zijuan knew that Daiyu was not angry when she said this, but rather a joke.Relying on Daiyu's usual kindness and kindness, and she didn't mind a little confrontation from the servants, she smiled and said: "Young lady said me, and I also want to say it. The young lady is a daughter, and she is different from us. Although there is no such thing in this mountain Beasts, I saw a few of them just now, and they barked wildly there. If we bumped into the girl, wouldn’t it be our sin? Besides, when we came, the master told us to take good care of the girl, in case something happened If you go back and ask the master, we will not be offended. Miss, please do me a favor, at least bring two people with you, and you should just take pity on us servants, and I can explain it to you.”

If Zijuan uttered such a basketful of words, if she didn't stop, Daiyu felt as if she had sinned, so she pouted, held her hand and said angrily: "Okay, my dear sister Zijuan, please Stop nagging, you're more nagging than old mothers, can't I take care of you?"

As he said that, he looked at the kitten in his arms, stretched out his fingers and pointed at the cat's ears, and muttered, "Look, I can't even go for a peaceful stroll with you, that's all."

The kitten returned a lazy look and let out a low cry.

Daiyu couldn't help pursing her lips, and the corners of her mouth curved into a nice angle.Standing beside her were four or five little nuns who were only eleven or twelve years old. They usually chanted sutras in the nunnery. Although they had seen a few stunning women, they were not as beautiful as Daiyu, with icy muscles and bones. You have to be stunned, as if you have cast a hold on your body.

"Zicuckoo, who do you think I should take with me?"

Daiyu asked, and all the little nuns suddenly woke up, looked at it imaginatively, lowered their heads, and felt embarrassed.

Zijuan thought for a while, and said, "Why don't you let Hui'er follow you, and this little master." As she spoke, she pulled a little older nun, who looked about fourteen or five years old, and she was also a little girl. Cleverly, "We are here for the first time, so of course we are not familiar with the place, and we will not get lost if we have a little master as a guide." She is going to tidy up Daiyu's room by herself, and those little girls don't know Daiyu's habits, what place to put what, Zicuckoo is afraid that they put it inappropriate.As for Xueyan, she wasn't careful enough, afraid that she wouldn't be able to take care of her.

Daiyu said hello, and took Zhou Hang, Hui'er and the little nun through a path to the backyard.

Zhou Hang was held in Daiyu's arms.He seems to grow faster than ordinary cats. Although he is only half a year old now, his body has almost grown up. In addition, he eats delicately and has a lot of meat on his body. He is heavy to hold. After a while, Daiyu feels His arm was a little sore, so he involuntarily shifted his focus to the other arm.

A certain cat who noticed it refused to let Daiyu hold it any longer, and struggled to jump off.

Afraid that he would jump off and fall, Daiyu had no choice but to bend down and put him down.

All of a sudden, a certain cat circled around happily, circled around Daiyu again, and then ran forward with cheerful small steps, with its small brown tail standing upright, and ran for three to five steps. Then he stopped, tilted his head to look at Daiyu, and waited until Daiyu caught up.Then run forward, run a few steps and then turn back and wait.His hair is well-groomed, and Zhou Hang likes to be clean, so he has to soak his body in the spiritual spring every day.Therefore, the body is very clean, there is no peculiar smell of cats and dogs at all, and the hair is shiny from root to root, fluffy and fluffy, it is really cute.

The little nun who followed was full of praise.

Therefore, such a scene appeared between the fences of the tile houses in the mountains.A kitten ran in front, and a flowery young lady led a maid and a little nun followed behind.

Hui'er doesn't talk much. In the past, when she went out with Daiyu, Daiyu was in front and she followed behind.

Apart from saying a few words of praise when the little nun was turned into a cute kitten, the little nun was mostly silent at other times.

All kinds of temples and Taoist temples often have their own vegetable fields, which are taken care of by young monks and nuns on weekdays, and provide fast meals for all the people in the temple and pilgrims who come and go.Yingmei Temple is no exception. Daiyu wanted to see it because she had never seen it growing vegetables.

The vegetable garden is in the back mountain, bypassing the main hall, walking through a small path, and then passing through a bamboo forest.

The little nun led the way and led the crowd forward.

Daiyu has been practicing here for several years because she asked the little nun what her name is.

The little nun stopped, clasped her hands together and said, "The poor nun's name is Benchen. I was abandoned by my parents outside the mountain gate 14 years ago when I was still a baby. I already had a piece of paper on my body with my birthday written on it. It was my master who took me in." ’” Said he finally recited the Living Buddha.

Daiyu sighed and said: "It turns out that the little master grew up in this nunnery, so I'm disrespectful and disrespectful." She put her hands together and saluted.

Benchen also put his hands together and returned the gift, because he asked: "I heard that Miss Lin lived in the middle of the capital a few years ago. I heard that the middle of the capital is prosperous, there are many high-ranking officials and nobles, and they are very particular about ostentation. I don't know that the temples and temples in the middle of the capital are better than those in Yangzhou." how?"

Daiyu laughed and said, "To tell the truth, little master, although I have lived in Beijing for three years, because of my poor health, I feel that it is not enough to see a doctor and ask for medicine every day. I have never been out of the house, let alone my aunt who has been there. temple."

After listening to this, Ben Chen sighed a pity.

During the conversation, several people had already arrived at the back mountain and saw the vegetable garden.

The vegetable garden is a large open space surrounded by fences. There are all kinds of vegetables growing in it. At first glance, it is full of greenery. Some Daiyu knows it and some don’t. Five or six little nuns are carrying water and watering the vegetables.Noisy, one said you wet my clothes, the other said you wet my shoes.

Benchen said with a smile: "Ms. Lin knows all these dishes?"

Daiyu said: "I don't recognize it completely." Then she pointed, "I'll recognize it, do you think I'm right?"

"This is a pea, that is a broad bean, this is a green vegetable, and that long and thin one is a leek." Daiyu pointed one by one, and she couldn't help frowning as she spoke, pointing to a piece of green sprouts and said, "This I don’t know what it is, it looks like green onions, but what comes out of it doesn’t look like green onions.”

Benchen said with a smile: "That's garlic, and the garlic shoots that come out of the top, pull it out and fry it, it's very fragrant."

Daiyu said: "I know the garlic sprouts. I ate them a few days ago. I didn't expect to recognize them when I saw them."

Ben Chen said: "Miss Lin is a daughter of a wealthy family, it's pretty good to be able to recognize these things, unlike when we were young and dealt with these things, we can tell what they are with our eyes closed."

After the little nuns finished pouring a bucket of water, they were noisy and carried the bucket again.

Daiyu asked: "These vegetables have to be watered several times a day, do these little masters have to carry them?"

Benchen said with a smile: "I water twice a day, once in the morning and once in the evening. If the drought is severe, I will water again at noon. The work of watering is probably done by the younger aunts. The hostess wife It is said that they are young, mischievous and self-willed, and doing this kind of watering work can exercise their xinxing."

A few more little nuns came in carrying water, and Daiyu took the ladle they used to scoop water, and tried to water the vegetables for a while.

It happened that Master Jingkong sent people to pick vegetables, melons and fruits to prepare for the vegetarian meal, so Daiyu went with them to pick fruits.Not far from the vegetable garden, there is an open space surrounded by fences, where watermelons are grown.Some watermelons are ripe, some are not yet ripe, but they are basically formed, and they are spread out on the ground.Like the nuns asking how to identify overripe watermelons, Daiyu squatted on the ground to check them one by one.

Qu picked up the skin of the melon with her fingers, and Daiyu called out: "Little Master Benchen, come and see, this one is very ripe? I tried the method you taught, and this melon sounds like a 'dong dong' very Crisp sound."

Ben Chen hurried over, also bent his fingers and tapped, saying: "That's right, this one is very familiar."

Daiyu looked at Zhou Hang, who was swinging on the watermelon vine, and smiled complacently, her eyes full of joy.Benchen put a pair of small scissors on the ground, and Daiyu took the scissors and cut off the melon stem without hesitation.

Hui'er stepped forward and said, "My servant will put it away for you first."

Daiyu pointed to a red basket and said: "Put it in the box first, and I'll pick another one later, and carry it together for Zijuan and Xueyan to eat."

After picking watermelons, I went to pick cherries, and after picking cherries, I went to pick peaches.Before she knew it, it was already lunch time, and Daiyu wanted to go for a walk on the mountain, but she couldn't.This is nothing to be discouraged, anyway, she will be here for three days in a row, and she has time to go shopping.

Mrs. Jingkong arranged for Daiyu a rather secluded small courtyard.There are plantains, crabapple, pomegranate and other trees planted inside.When Daiyu went back, Zicuckoo had already led people to tidy up the courtyard, set up soft couches, tables and chairs beside the pomegranate tree in the yard, and arranged tea and fruit products, etc., but waited for Daiyu to come back.

"Zijuan, Xueyan, come out quickly, see what good things I brought you?"

Daiyu walked in, then laughed and shouted.

Zijuan was sitting and playing cards with Xueyan, when he heard this, he was startled.

Everyone said: "The girl is back."

Zijuan and Xueyan hurriedly got up, but seeing Daiyu walking in with a smile, with the kitten on the left, Huier on the right, and two little nuns behind her carrying a basket, they couldn't help laughing and said: "The girl is back, Just now Xueyan and I were talking about it, but the girl is free when she leaves the house, so we wait here, and if she doesn't come back, we will have to look for her."

Daiyu said: "I'm in the nunnery, and I can't lose it. Besides, this is a nunnery, and there are no men, so there is nothing to talk about. Other than us, no one can come in, even the men from our own family They are all camping outside the mountain gate, and they are not allowed to come in without a summons."

As he spoke, he ordered people to bring in all the fruits picked today.

It is said that Daiyu picked it by herself, and the girls are very rare, so they all gather around to see.

Some said: "Girl, did you really pick it yourself? The servants have been serving in the mansion since they were young. They have never seen watermelons growing in the field. Next time, take us to see it, okay?" The scale of the houses of rich families is not small, with pavilions, pavilions, gardens, etc. inside. In addition to all kinds of precious flowers and plants, it is also common to plant some fruit trees such as apples, cherries, and pomegranates, but it is rare to grow watermelons at home.Therefore, many of these maids who were bought into Lin's mansion for peeing had never seen a watermelon, so it was not surprising that they were curious.

Daiyu said: "What's the problem? There are many in this nunnery. If any of you want to see it, you can let the little masters take you there in a while."

Zijuan said with a smile: "Young lady is kind, let them go to play, it is natural that she is lenient. But in case they all leave after a while, who will serve the young lady."

Daiyu waved her hand and said, "No problem."

For a while, the maids chatted and laughed and took the fruit to wash, cut the watermelon, removed the stems from the cherries, and put them in the fruit plate.Daiyu invited everyone to come and eat, except today, so don't pay too much attention.Even though she said so, those girls didn't dare to talk about their dignity.Daiyu had to order someone to cut a lot more, put them on a plate, and set up another table for the maids to sit together.

The two watermelons Daiyu picked were overripe, with red flesh and very sweet.Because watermelon is cold, Daiyu didn't dare to eat more, and stopped after eating only two pieces.After wiping his mouth with the kerchief handed over by Zicuckoo, he turned his head to see that Zhou Hang was gnawing on a piece of watermelon, holding it with two paws in a decent shape, imitating human movements, no, not the appearance, but the root They are human things, and they are eaten all over their heads and faces.

Daiyu couldn't help laughing, so she had to order the servant girl to fetch water, wash her hands first, and then wash the kitten thoroughly.

However, it is said that Lin Daiyu led people out of Yangzhou in a mighty way to go to the nunnery to make offerings, and soon spread to all the famous houses in Yangzhou, and they sent people to send things.Zheng Lihua also specially sent someone to deliver a letter, complaining why Daiyu didn't cry when she came out to pray.He also said that after packing up his things today, she will come tomorrow.

Zheng Lihua's plan ran aground.The reason was that that night, there was a sudden heavy rain, and the noise of lightning and thunder made people sleepless all night, and there was also mixed with the hail the size of pigeon eggs.