[Red Mansions] The big maid struggles daily

On March [-]th, it is the universal celebration.When Jia's mother governs the banquet, she will invite the female relatives of the second mansion; Jia Zhen of the East Mansion also invites Jia Amnesty, Jia Zheng, Jia Lian, Baoyu and others to go to the theater and guess the order for fun.

Early this morning, Mammy Zhu went back and forth with Mother Jia, and wanted to take Zhu Xiu out to her uncle's house for festival tea, and would come back in the evening.Jia Mu readily agreed, and also rewarded Zhu Xiu with a satin embroidered cloak.

After getting in the carriage and going out from the corner gate, Mammy Zhu smiled and said: "Your uncle has long wanted to take you out for a relaxing time, but I just came back because it was the first month of the month again. There is no reason for it this time. He heard that there was a decree from the Holy Spirit that there would be no curfew for five days in the capital, so he came to discuss it with me in a hurry... It's boring to ask your uncle to meet you today, and it's boring to stay in the back house all day long."

Zhu Xiu has been here for six or seven years. At first, she was worried about her life, and then she was trapped behind the second gate of Rongguo Mansion. She has never seen the bustling scene of the capital so easily.Immediately, I lifted a corner of the car curtain, greedily looking at the scenery and people outside, and felt that a pair of eyes were not enough.Grandma Zhu just smiled and let her go.

When we arrived at Gulou West Street, there were clusters of horses and sedan chairs, and the noise was extraordinary.The driver stretched his neck to have a look, then walked into a small alley, and stopped in front of a black oiled gate on the back street. The driver said: "Auntie, Auntie, please get off the car." .”

Zhu Xiu was taken aback for a moment, Zhu Nanny laughed and said, "Uncle Cheng Liu, why are you joking with the younger generation?"

Zhu Xiu only knew that the handlebar was an old man from his uncle's family, not from Jia's family.Hurry up and go back with the money-sleeves you prepared, and sending such an old man with silver beans is humiliating and humiliating.

Uncle Cheng saw that the front street was so congested, and he had expected that the old sixth uncle would have to go to the back street, but now he opened the door wide to welcome him out.

The two uncles and nephews have been communicating with each other for a long time, and this is the first time they have seen each other since Mammy Zhu left Beijing that year.Compared to the day when Grandma Zhu recognized her daughter, both sides were still unfamiliar and polite, but now they are very familiar when they see each other again.

Grandma Zhu saw the nephews and uncles muttering some business ideas back and forth in the courtyard, she ignored them and went into the hall to have tea and rest.

After a while, the two came in. Uncle Cheng smiled at Mammy Zhu, "It's just a matter of giving my auntie a good time today! Let's have dinner first, and at noon my sister will take Xiu'er to have a good time on this West Street .I reserved a table at Fengtai Building on Zhengyangmen Street. Let’s rest there after dusk. It just so happens that lantern dances, lion dances, and acrobatics are coming up.

Zhengyangmen Street has been the busiest market in the city since the former dynasty. The Fengtai Building is also one of the "eighth floors" and has a long-standing reputation.

Grandma Zhu saw her brother and daughter talking, and there was a little aunt in the conversation from time to time, and she knew that this was the brother's love for the niece, so she let him go.

Daqing is different from the previous dynasties. Most families regard their daughters who have not betrothed to others as very dignified. The first-born eldest daughter even has the right to speak in her mother's family after she is married.Over time, people who value their daughters often call the girls in the family "aunts".

By the time the lanterns first come on, Zhengyang Street is already full of red lights, singing and dancing, and singing, dancing and a hundred operas have been competing in colorful squares set up everywhere.When Zhu Xiu watched it, it was mostly a song for gods to celebrate their birthdays.The lights on the nine-story high floor are lit up layer by layer, and the atmosphere is perfect. They are led by the elders and gentry in each square, and the sound of shouting long live resounds through the sky.

Zhu Xiu knelt down with the crowd, truly seeing the prosperity and prosperity of this era.

Young women can be seen everywhere on the street, there are groups of small family jaspers, and there are also big ladies surrounded by servants and family members, which is much more lively than the Shangyuan Festival.Mammy Zhu held Zhu Xiu's hand tightly with one hand, and opened the other hand in a semicircle to prevent anyone from rushing in front of her. Uncle Cheng was on the other side, trying to hide the two girls behind her head as much as possible.

"There are too many people here, let's find a restaurant to hide for a while, just in time to climb up to see the scenery."

Grandma Zhu gave her brother a white look.Uncle Cheng smiled mischievously. He volunteered to personally guard his niece and play instead of teaching his servants to follow him. He regretted it now, obviously there were not so many people two nights ago.

Zhu Xiu held her mother tightly with one hand, and tugged at the corner of his uncle's sleeve with the other. If they were separated at this time, it would be difficult to get together.As he followed the flow of people, he suddenly heard the sound of a child whimpering behind him, as if someone had covered his mouth and nose.

Zhu Xiu's expression froze, could it be that the kidnapper is kidnapping a good family's little child?He stopped abruptly and turned around, and saw a woman wrapping a little boy in a cloak. The little boy was sobbing just now, but he seemed to have fallen asleep in a short time, being held in his arms without making a fuss.The woman and the man who was guarding her seemed ordinary at first glance, but upon closer inspection, one could find that the eyes of the two were drooping and scatter in all directions.

Seeing Zhu Xiu turning her head, the woman stared at Zhu Xiu's face clearly, but couldn't hide the greed on her face.

The man beside her was extremely vigilant and hurriedly urged the woman to leave quickly.The woman lowered her head and patted it twice, as if to put the child to sleep, but her feet seemed to be oiled, she turned around and walked quickly in the other direction.

Zhu Xiu was afraid that the two of them would get lost in the crowd in the blink of an eye and they would never be found again, so she was about to shout loudly and call the tourists around to block them.

Unexpectedly, at that moment, a goose feather scabbard flew out of Zhu Xiu's hair with a "swish", and hit the back of the man's neck. The man fell headfirst to the ground without making a sound.The person next to her was so scared that Hu Lala ran away.

"That's a kidnapper! Don't tell him to run away!" The first three soldiers from Wucheng Bingmasi caught up, and the last one shouted while running out of breath.

As soon as they heard it was a kidnapper, no matter if they were ordinary people or wealthy officials, their first reaction was to look at their own children, and everyone deeply hated these villains who caused their families to be separated.The woman wanted to run, but was held down by the young man long ago, and the little boy in her arms was also carried into her arms by the nearby old woman.

The leader of the soldiers held a bright Yanling knife in his hand, and he threw the scabbard.Although his face didn't look very big, he was taller than the young and strong people around him. Besides, he had a cold and serious face, and the blade in his hand was shining so scary that no one dared to talk to him.

It was the man who fell behind and shouted, someone dared to bow to him: "This official..."

In the end, the man wiped his sweat with his sleeve, and cursed: "You dare to make trouble on the Longevity Day of the old sage, you really think your neck and head are heavy!" He cupped his hands at the crowd again, and comforted: "Our Everyone has been scattered, and there are people patrolling every square and every street. This child will be seen by a doctor in a while, and a notice will be posted tomorrow to find his family. Don’t worry about it, everyone, let’s have fun.”

Everyone applauded.

The leader had already picked up the scabbard and put it on the knife. Seeing that the bun on a girl's head was taken away by the scabbard thrown by him, he didn't make a sound, only bowed to the other end to express his apology.

Uncle Cheng didn't think that the kidnapper was right behind him, so he was terrified, and now stood in front of him, seeing the soldier bowing, he hurriedly cupped his hands.

These soldiers are really experienced: one went up and punched the man awake, and gave the back of the knife a few times to the legs, and then lifted the man who was tied up; the woman was not beaten, but was also tied firmly; The oldest and most inconspicuous soldier picked up the child from Linren's arms, and seeing his old appearance, he knew that he was used to holding children and grandchildren at home.The crowd burst into laughter, and hurriedly gave way to the three people. The cold-faced man in the lead opened the way, the one who spoke was holding two ropes, and the one in the end was holding the child, and disappeared within a moment.

These few people went to the temporary office in the back street, handed over the prisoners and children, and someone else took care of the rest.The three hurried back to the front to inspect again.

The talkative man named Deng Ji said, "After running for half the night, our brothers have done meritorious service!"

Deng Ji looked at the two brothers beside him who were more bored than the other, and had no choice but to say again: "Thanks to Dongzi's good eyesight, or else he would have slipped under our noses." Check around the crowd.

Deng Jihu laughed, "Dongzi's moves are really neat, and he almost ran into another girl... Not to mention, that girl is younger and looks pretty good. If her family didn't watch closely, I'm afraid the two abductees would have been killed." But I won’t let it go. If only I knew which family it was from, I’ve been flattering for a few years, maybe they will marry their daughter to me..."

The oldest Xu Haiweng spit out two words: "Dream!" Ren Deng Ji stared angrily, and did not speak again.

Zhan Dong ignored it, the little girl's face flashed in his mind, but what caught his attention was the man standing in front.Although the actions, voice, figure, and attire are very ordinary, Zhan Dong can still see that this is a person who has passed away, but I am afraid that he did not enter the palace gate... Zhan Dong was raised by his grandfather when he was a child, and he knew that he had been in the palace. Internal officials have to bend their backs all day long, even if they come out, their backs are also bent.But they didn't commit crimes, Zhan Dong thought about it and then forgot about it.

On this end, it was hard to come up to the restaurant, and Zhu Mama recombed her daughter's hair, feeling distressed at the same time, "The scabbard has lost a strand of hair, does it still hurt?"

Nanny Zhu and Uncle Cheng were not allowed to go downstairs anymore, but fortunately this restaurant has three floors, and after watching the fireworks show in Xuchu upstairs, Uncle Cheng personally sent the two girls back to Rong Mansion.

-

In the blink of an eye, it's the end of autumn and the beginning of winter, and the weather is getting colder day by day.Every household is doing winter things.

On this day, Zhu Xiu, Yuanyang, and Hu Po took advantage of the good sun to take out their bedding and bedding to dry, and did not allow the help of the rough envoys below.

For a while, Jiuqiu came in and saw that the yard was crowded with cotton-wort mattresses, and said with a smile: "But they are all together, how will they be separated when they are collected later?"

Then she said to Zhu Xiu: "Sister Zhu Xiu, the girl said that if you are free, please come over."

Yuanyang and Hupo hurriedly pushed Zhuxiu, telling her to go by herself, "We'll finish it in a few strokes, and I'll go to serve the old lady in a while, and I'll finish it after you answer a sentence, don't dawdle, let's go."

Just as we were talking, another little girl ran up and shouted: "Second Mistress asked in front of the old lady, 'Where is the mandarin duck and little hooves, ask me to work for her', which made the old lady laugh. Second Mistress was telling other jokes, Sister Yuanyang, come and see." Sister Feng and Yuanyang often set up a platform for each other to attract Jia Mu's liking, and after hearing this, they hurriedly adjusted their clothes and went forward.

Just in front of and behind Zhu Xiu, there was only Hu Po left in the backyard. Hu Po called two Dali nuns, and they spread it out in two or three strokes, "Without her two moji, I would have done it a long time ago."

When I arrived at Meishouyuan, Daiyu said: "I sent osmanthus wine for the Mid-Autumn Festival. Uncle An said that my father was very useful, and he poured a bell every day to drink it. Sister Xiu, how about we brew a few more jars?" Uncle An said It was Lin An, the big housekeeper of the Lin family, and Daiyu brought wine to Lin Ruhai during the Mid-Autumn Festival, and it was Lin An who went back to the south to do it himself.

Golden autumn osmanthus, the sweet-scented osmanthus wine is afraid that Daiyu will be homesick and get sick again.Zhu Xiu pulled her to do it herself. Tete bought an old osmanthus from Duzhong Xiajia Osmanthus Bureau and transplanted it in the backyard garden.The Lin family bought extremely fine snowflake white sugar from outside, mixed the sugar and flower petals together, and then mixed it into the home-brewed rice wine, sealed it in the cellar, and the sweet-scented osmanthus wine was ready.Daiyu got three jars in all, and sent them to Yangzhou.

Zhu Xiu heard that Lin Ruhai had already opened it and drank it, so she smiled: The filial piety of her daughter is mostly used here, otherwise it has only been stored for a long time, I am afraid that the sweet-scented osmanthus has not been melted into the wine, so I will use the rice wine brewed by myself to enhance the taste It's not as good as those that have been in the cellar for several years.

Pointing to the crabapple tree full of red fruits outside, he said with a smile: "Where are there still sweet-scented osmanthus at this time?" Then he pointed to the needle in Daiyu's hand and said: "Whenever the girl makes it herself, one sleeve is long and the other is short. , Mr. Lin only likes it, and it is very useful."

Daiyu laughed and said, "You're getting more and more narrow now. I'm just saying, I don't really want this sweet-scented osmanthus wine." She came to hold her hand again, and said: "My dear sister, you have so many new tricks, help me think about it. Think, what kind of wine should we make?"

Zhu Xiu looked at the crabapple tree outside which hung like little red lanterns, and said with a smile: "Isn't this far away from the horizon? The fruit bears so well, wouldn't it be better for us to pick some to make wine? "

Maybe it's because Grandma Zhu likes to pour the remaining water on the tree. The tree is nourished and grows better. Although the fruit it bears is also sour, it can't hold the tree full, and the scenery is very beautiful.

Daiyu likes this tree, but the crabapple fruit is not delicious, so no one is allowed to pick it, and only hangs on the branch to watch the scenery and listen to the wind.Hearing this, I was a little bit reluctant, and wanted to give my father something to drink.

Zhu Xiu had already set his sights on this tree full of red crabapple fruit.Begonia is flat in nature, can dispel rheumatism, calm the liver and relax tendons, promote body fluid and invigorate the spleen, and eat it to strengthen the body.I searched the entire Rongfu, and there is no other crabapple tree that can produce fruit comparable to this one. Besides, there are only some fruit trees planted on Zhuxiu's wife's village, so I have to wait for such a good fruit.

This fruit has survived the frost and snow in the winter, and it will be useless when the leaves grow next year. Isn't it just a waste of time to see the scenery, so Zhu Xiu can't help but be tempted.

Daiyu has often read for entertainment this year, and has read one or two medical books. After hearing Zhu Xiu talk about the magical effect of this fruit, she was also moved by the talk: "That's all, that's all, don't let me see you picking the fruit. Today's The tree was plundered, and I cried a lot for the crabapple."

Zhu Xiuyin said with a smile: "Miss, don't be busy, I have something to discuss with you... The chrysanthemums in the garden outside are blooming very well, how about we brew some more chrysanthemum wine?"

Daiyu held her chest, she couldn't believe that she tossed her own crabapple tree, but also stared at the chrysanthemums in the garden!

Before she could speak, Zhu Xiu said with a smile: "This chrysanthemum wine is also called longevity wine. It is a good product in Chongyang, but there is no leap month this year, and the days go fast. After Chongyang, the chrysanthemums will bloom. I didn’t mention it a while ago. Isn’t this what we want to make wine for? In a few days when the frost comes up, the chrysanthemums on the branches will be useless. Why don’t you ask me to make wine, which is more valuable.”

Daiyu covered her chest with one hand, pointed at Zhu Xiu and Xingyue with the other, and said, "Did you hear that? Mr. Dongpo even said, 'The chrysanthemums are still in ruins'. The chrysanthemums haven't withered yet. She's about to get her hands on it!" After laughing for a while, he finally said: "It's not my garden, I can't see it and my heart won't let it go, just don't tell me, if it's mine, I won't follow it!"

Xingyue next to her looked at her nose and heart, and said in her heart, my girl, go to our backyard and take a closer look, except for the few sika bamboos you often see in the front, what are the ones behind?The girl Zhuxiu almost plucked all the bamboo leaves, she not only plucked the bamboo leaves, but also secretly made bamboo juice for you to drink.

Xingyue remembered that her daughter had a cough, and she didn't need to take medicine. After drinking the bamboo leek for a few days, she was fine, and she didn't say a word.Zhuxiu girls are all kind-hearted, besides, she picked bamboo leaves to get bamboo lees, those bamboos are not only not 'thin', but also grow better.