Dao Chi thought for a while about the twelfth room, and only saw Mrs. Wang Cui. It was not clear whether the old lady had big feet or small feet. There were two mothers and daughters, Mrs. Wang Yang and Wang Rongniang. The former acted a little "graceful".

I originally thought that women in ancient times walked like this, but now that I think about it, isn’t it just the inconvenience caused by having feet bound?

Wang Rongniang? The Taoist idiot is convinced that that person's feet should not be bound, or her feet should be bound and then put on. Although she is gentle and quiet in front of others, in private, that person's temperament is valiant and generous, and she has a certain ability in her actions.

She is definitely not the kind of woman with small feet who needs someone to support her when walking.

Thinking like this, Dao Chi couldn't help but look at Wang Ning, wondering whether the old lady was wrapped up or not.

When Wang Ning saw Dao Chi looking at her, she thought he was afraid of strangers when he arrived at his new home. She smiled more lovingly and said to Wang Shunniang: "The second man just came to the house, so I will cook two more dishes in the afternoon."

Wang Shunniang agreed with a smile, got up and left the east wing where the Taoist Chi was. She didn't need anyone's help, but she still felt a little uncoordinated when walking. After all, there were only two servants in this family, Yan Boyan and his wife, and they both went up.

years.

According to Wang Ning's advice, Grandma Yan is getting older and has lost her physical strength. Now most of the housework and kitchen chores fall on Shun Niang.

This made the Taoist idiot puzzled. Even the housework had to be done by the little girl herself. Naturally, she was not raised as a charming lady, and the grandparents and grandchildren depended on each other. Why did the old lady cruelly bind her granddaughter's feet?

But these words are not something that can be asked right now. Dao Chi stood up and said: "Grandma, grandson, go help your sister light the fire."

Wang Ning didn't mention the instruction of "a gentleman stays away from the kitchen", and his eyes became softer: "Mother Yan is helping Shun Niang. If Erlang is not lacking, can grandma take you around the house?"

That's right, since the adoption into the outer ninth house, Dao Chi, the "Silang", has become Wang Xiaoer, known as "Erlang".

"Yes." Dao Chi nodded in agreement, without saying anything like "trouble". After all, he is now a member of this family, and the old lady in front of him is his relative, so there is no need to be so polite.

Wang Ning's expression became softer and gentler. Dao Chi stepped forward and held Wang Ning's right arm.

Wang Ning smiled and scolded: "It's just a few steps at home, and you need someone to help you?" She said, but she didn't push Dao Chi away and allowed him to hold her.

Because there is a road separating it from the south wall, the yard is very cramped. Looking around the buildings in the yard, in addition to the three main rooms and the two left and right wing rooms, there are also two small rooms between the left and right wing rooms and the south wall.

The room on the east side has a chimney and a water tank in front of the door, which is obviously the kitchen; the one in the southwest corner is probably a clean room.

Between the main house and the east and west compartments, there is an open space of one foot square each. There is a well in the east open space. On the ground around the well, there are several ridges of vegetable fields and several common vegetables are planted. In the west open space, there are

There is a thin bamboo fence with seven or eight chickens inside.

When Dao Chi helped Wang Ning stand outside the fence, the big rooster in the chicken flock walked out with maple steps and head held high. The comb as big as a child's hand trembled, looking very majestic.

Dao Chi looked at the big rooster intently, while Wang Ning looked at Dao Chi. The more he looked at it, the more satisfied he became.

She knew that Dao Chi had once returned to the Twelfth House. In the early years when Ding You, the Twelfth House, Wang Ning also came to the door with her clan members. They were both members of the clan, and there was a high-ranking official there, but she was just trying to live a life.

Even if the Taoist idiot is smart, he is still a child in his teens, and it is human nature to be unable to bear poverty for a while. Unexpectedly, this child followed him over, and when he saw the small courtyard and the not spacious east wing, he did not show the slightest bit of pickiness and indifference.

dissatisfied.

I was right. Not only was this child not a creature in the pond, he was also an honest and honest person.

This small area in the inner courtyard only took a dozen steps to circle around. As for the main room where Wang Ning's family was, when the Taoist idiot first entered the door, he followed Wang Ning's family to see it and lit incense in front of the memorial tablet in the east room.

.

The next thing we looked at were the three south rooms in front. One was the residence of Grandma Yan Boyan, so there was no need to go in; the other two rooms had no partitions and were the living room.

Six chairs, two square tables and three small tables occupy most of the space in the hall. In addition to these, there are also several paintings and calligraphy hanging on the wall. There is a table under the north window with a pair of bottles on it. This is the living room.

All the furnishings.

Before coming out of the south hall, I heard a knock on the door, and then Uncle Yan raised his voice and said: "Old lady, the two ladies from the east courtyard are here!"

While he was talking, Uncle Yan had already opened the door to let people go and led them to the south hall. Seeing that he brought people in without asking for permission, it was obvious that the person coming was a very familiar person.

Wang Ning said to Dao Chi in a low voice: "The old man living in the east courtyard lives in the eighth room."

Two middle-aged women came, dressed similarly, except that one was in her forties and the other was slightly younger. Even if they were not wearing silk and satin, the material of their clothes was better than that of Wang Ning's ancestors and grandsons.

She has thin gold earrings on her ears and a silver hairpin on her head.

Each of them held a small basket about one foot long in their hands. When they entered the house, they knelt down and said long blessings to Mrs. Wang Ning. Then the older one said: "Today, my aunt has an heir, and my father-in-law and mother-in-law sent my nephew to me."

The daughters-in-law came over to congratulate my aunt, this is a little thought from the family, and I ask my aunt to accept it."

The other one looked at the Taoist idiot and said in a loud voice: "With such a handsome appearance, he must be my aunt's grandson. My aunt is so lucky."

Both baskets were covered with floral cloth, so it was difficult to see clearly what was inside.

Wang Ning was still hesitating, but the two women had already put down their things and said: "Auntie will have a family dinner here today, so we sisters-in-law won't disturb us. My father-in-law said that we should let our nephew rest for two days first.

On the next two days, we will serve wine and invite my aunt and nephew to come over and have a drink."

Wang Ning smiled and said: "In this case, the old lady will be ashamed of this gift. In two days, the old lady will take her grandson to pay his respects to his great-uncle and great-aunt."

The two sisters-in-law left with smiles on their faces. Wang Ning carried a small basket herself, and the remaining one asked Dao Chi to carry it. The grandfather and grandson returned to the inner courtyard.

Shun Niang wrapped her hair, came out of the kitchen, and said doubtfully: "Grandma, just now, grandma said that two aunts from the east courtyard came to give gifts? How could they come here to exchange favors if they are not young and unfaithful?"

Wang Ning said: "Today is a good day for your brother to come home. What's so strange about them coming to congratulate him?"

Shun Niang took the basket from Wang Ning's hand and whispered: "Who doesn't know that except on New Year's Day, Bafang never shows up to take favors?"

While they were talking, the grandparents and grandchildren entered the main room.

There is an Eight Immortals table in the main hall, surrounded by four chairs.

The grandparents put the small baskets on the Eight Immortals table and opened the floral cloth on it. One contained eggs, bacon, and rice cakes, and the other contained two pieces of azure fine cloth.

Maybe this is nothing to other people, but to Waijiufang, this etiquette is really not a big deal.

Shun Niang did not take out the things, but looked at Wang Ning and said, "Grandma, this gift is too heavy. Do you want to return it?"

Wang Ning shook her head and said: "What's the point of returning the gift you received? Just keep it, just in time to buy Erlang some new clothes, and I'll find an opportunity to return the gift in a few days."

Shun Niang looked at Dao Chi and said with a smile: "Erlang's body fits so well. He needs to let out an inch of it. It's the time to grow taller."

Wang Ning smiled and nodded, and then said to Dao Chi: "Erlang, Dongyuan is a serious family. The son and daughter-in-law live at home and rarely go out to visit. Outsiders say that the eighth old man is stingy, but it's just a matter of jealousy.

Their family is living a good life. Although the eighth old man has a temperament that refuses to take any loss, he acts in a measured manner and has never taken advantage of others in his life. The reason why I sent your two aunts to give gifts today must be because I accepted them.

The nine taels of silver were a bit embarrassing. Speaking of which, they deserved it, and there was no need to feel guilty towards my family. Speaking of it, the eighth family member is the closest relative of our family. When we move around, we will always keep an eye on each other.

That’s fine.”

The Taoist idiot nodded and said he would take note of it. To put it bluntly, this eighth old man has a hard-earned temperament. He lives behind closed doors and rarely has any favors from the clan, but he never takes advantage of others. Although he accepted nine taels of silver today

, but the old man felt uneasy, so he took the next step of favor. Not only did he send his wife a four-color gift, but he also took the initiative to invite them over for dinner.

Shun Niang was listening, her face turned pale, and she said, "Grandma gave the eighth uncle's family nine taels of silver? Does that mean there are other people in the clan and the tenth uncle's side?"

Wang Ning nodded and said: "If this were not the case, I don't know how the Shifang people would bother me. Just to break their minds, I can't save this money."

Shun Niang let out a long breath, forced a smile and said, "It's exactly what grandma said, this money is just money, otherwise you can't expect to live in peace." After that, she stood up and said, "Granddaughter, go to the kitchen to see if the food is ready."

After saying that, Shun Niang hurried out of the main room.

The Taoist idiot saw that this girl was frightened by the huge debt of "twenty-seven taels".

Before returning to the city today, Dao Chi had already heard Wang Zhen mention that there was no labor in the outer nine houses, so the twelve acres of land could only be rented out. The annual output was only a dozen kilos of rice, which was not enough for the four masters and servants.

, usually have to rely on their grandfather and grandson to do needlework to supplement their livelihood. This is also because Wang Ning is kind-hearted. Even if life is difficult, he still maintains two old servants. If it is replaced by other unkind people, in order to save money,

If it is chewed, I am afraid that Uncle Yan and Aunt Yan will have been sold at a low price or driven out.

This time, the clan took the initiative to lend money to Wang Ning, but Wang Ning just thanked her, signed the receipt, and did not mention a date for repaying the money. She thought it was because she had no spare efforts.

Dao Chi sighed inwardly. He didn't want to make the strong old lady in front of him feel aggrieved or make that little girl Shun Niang frown because of himself. He took out a small cloth bag from his sleeve and gave it to Wang with both hands.

Ning came up to him and said, "Grandma, this is a gift from my grandmaster before my grandson came down the mountain. You can keep it and exchange it for silver to supplement the family income..."

Hearing the Taoist idiot mention "exchanging silver", Wang Ning picked up the cloth bag and felt that it was heavy in her hands. When she opened it, she found a thick stack of gold leaves inside, weighing a dozen or so.

Although Wang Ning was a little surprised, she soon calmed down, took a deep look at Dao Chi, and said, "I'll keep it for Erlang to spend on studying."

Dao Chi shook his head and said: "It is better to provide subsidies to support the family, so that my sister will not be worried. At the same time, I should let my sister have a good rest. I see that my sister's eyes are not in good condition. Should I ask the doctor to prescribe two medicines to treat it?"

Neither the grandfather nor the grandson mentioned the matter of repaying the twenty-seven taels of silver to the clan. They seemed to be well-connected people and knew that to the clan, the clan would be more satisfied if they owed that sum of money than if they paid it back.

Fang took the initiative to lend a helping hand and lent money to Waijiu Fang, not to be Waijiu Fang's creditor, but to sell favors to Taoist idiots.

Shun Niang's eyes were blue, and her eyes were a little squinted when she looked at people. According to later generations, the little girl was probably short-sighted. In later generations, it was just a matter of a pair of glasses, but it was not a trivial matter at this time, so Daoist idiots took the initiative to mention it.

When Wang Ning heard this, her eyes were red and she said hoarsely: "It's the old woman who has dragged your sister down. It's the old woman who is useless."

Dao Chi said: "With my grandson, my grandmother and sister can have a rest..."
Chapter completed!