"As soon as I arrived at the pier, I went straight there. Of course I met your brother and your sister-in-law when I got there. After saying a few words, I took a carriage and came over here, the new official residence." Chen Tianhua replied with a smile.

"Then why are you standing here? It's such a cold day. Let's go inside." Li Shuzhen boldly stretched out her delicate hand and grasped Chen Tianhua's big hand.

"Well, take me to meet your father and your mother first." Although Chen Tianhua was a little excited when he saw Li Shuzhen, etiquette and rules always came first.

"Okay, let's go. My parents have been talking about you these past two days and asked when you would come to pay New Year's greetings."

Li Shuzhen took Chen Tianhua's hand and walked towards the main building of the inner courtyard of the official residence affectionately.

…

During the late Qing Dynasty, all officials of the Qing government had a week-long holiday in the first month to visit relatives and friends.

During this seven-day holiday, all government offices are closed, and official seals, big and small, must be sealed in advance.

Starting from the seventh day of the first lunar month, the government offices will reopen and provide normal business operations and reception.

Starting from the eighth day of the Lunar New Year, the weather in Hangzhou city was not very good. It rained continuously and continuously. It was damp and cold everywhere, making people not want to go out.

Most rooms in the official residence have fireplaces or heaters, and the warmth is flowing throughout the room, making it very comfortable to stay there.

In addition to going out for business, the family in the mansion would sit around the fire to keep warm.

Chen Tianhua has been staying at the official residence these days, sticking together with Li Shuzhen, enjoying their love world.

Except for sleeping in the guest room at night, he usually spends time in the west wing. He hardly goes out or shows up in the past few days.

Li Shuzhen wanted to study in the UK and study music. Li Cunzhi and Bai Suling asked Chen Tianhua for his opinion, and he expressed respect for Li Shuzhen's choice.

As for whether he himself will also study abroad, Chen Tianhua said that he still hopes that it will not be too late until his career has a certain foundation.

Therefore, these days, he accompanied Li Shuzhen in her own study room in the west wing to review the Bible, English and other things.

On the morning of the eleventh day of the first lunar month.

Bai Suling checked the weather and saw that it was not raining. She decided to visit Ms. Lin from Santa Maria Church School in Hangzhou.

Mainly because of the issue of studying abroad for my two sisters, Li Shuying and Li Shuzhen. The church recommended that studying abroad in the West would be a matter of course and they could go to a good school.

She planned to take the two sisters Xiuying and Xiulian with her. She first arranged for the housekeeper to prepare gifts and asked the maid Xiao Yuer to inform the two ladies.

Chen Tianhua did not follow him. He went out early in the morning to the south bank of the Yunsi River to pay a visit to Chen Zongyu's house.

Both of them are usually busy, and during the first month of the year, the businessman has more free time, and he happened to be in Hangzhou, and Chen Tianhua happened to go to visit and have a chat.

Bai Suling and Li Shuying finished dressing up and waited in the living room of the main building for about a quarter of an hour, but they still didn't see Li Shuzhen coming from the west wing.

"Have you made it clear to the third lady? Tell her to hurry up!" Bai Suling raised her temples and asked the maid next to her, Xiao Yu'er, her eyes filled with displeasure.

"I have told you, but the third lady said that she needs to go to the toilet." The maid Xiao Yu'er replied in a low voice.

Li Shuying was impatient, "She goes to the toilet so slowly, like a country person. We wait for her every time, and there are no rules at all!"

While he was complaining, Li Shuzhen came over from the west wing.

She wore a white fox waistcoat, half of her white neck exposed, a golden necklace given to her by Chen Tianhua, and leather gloves he also bought for her.

Bai Suling showed a happy smile.

"Oh, my dear, is it so difficult to ask you to go out? It's etiquette to pay a visit to Ms. Lin, the supervisor of your school."

"Um!"

I thought to myself: I'll see you soon, just a few words of criticism. Anyway, I want to catch up with my English scores and pass the test, so I'll be fine.

The three mothers and daughters also had smiles on their faces.

There is a luxurious long-column carriage in the official residence, which is specially used by the family members and ladies when going out.

The carriage is very spacious inside, and six or seven people can fit in the two rows at the front and back.

Later, Bai Suling and Li Shuzhen occupied the front seats, leaving Li Shuying to sit in the front passenger seat.

Li Shuying felt very wronged. After all, she was a sister, so why did she have to give in to her in everything since she was a child?

He was born to his concubine, could it be that she was born to his wife? Humph!

"Sanniang, I don't want to sit in the passenger seat. It's so embarrassing for a girl to sit there!" Seeing that the back seat was still empty and it was winter again, Li Shuying pouted and started to make a fuss.

Bai Suling leaned forward and grabbed her arm, scolding her in a low voice:

"Three people are crowded in the back, and the front is empty. You are sick. You think it is embarrassing to sit in the passenger seat. Then look at how many people in the city can ride in such a luxurious carriage when going out in the first month? Don't be born into a blessing.

"

Li Shuying sat down on the passenger seat with a sad face and gritted her teeth to bear it, because her biological mother was not a housewife who took care of things.

Bai Suling has a saying that is very right: Don't be born in blessings and don't know the blessings.

How many people in this city can't even afford to eat during the first month of the year and are worrying about a carriage seat?

Ms. Lin came from a prominent family in the capital. It is said that her ancestor was an in-law of a certain prince, and she was considered a noble family.

With such a high status and a member of the church, Ms. Lin has never been arrogant. She is a well-rounded person and has made friends with people from all walks of life in Hangzhou. This is called ability.

At the end of the Qing Dynasty, although people were following the foreigners and engaged in Westernization, social activities were not very fashionable yet.

Women are generally called miss, madam or madam. Western-style titles like madam are really rare.

Therefore, Ms. Lin is very different. In the upper class society of Hangzhou Prefecture, it is not easy to be addressed as a lady.

It is said that Ms. Lin’s husband’s surname is Wang. The Wang family used to be a large merchant in Hangzhou, but they were not among the top merchants.

Perhaps due to Ms. Lin's ancestry or some other special reason, she got involved with the Catholic Church in Zhejiang Province a few years ago and became one of the agents of the foreign church.

Therefore, in the upper class society in the provincial capital, everyone knows that the most senior church school in Hangzhou is managed behind the scenes by the 30-year-old hostess of the Wang family, Mrs. Wang.

When a married woman goes out to pursue a career, not only is she not scolded as "showing herself in public, it is unseemly." On the contrary, everyone respects her and fawns over her, which shows that she is very skillful.

As a result, the Wang family became prominent and even richer than the rest of the country. This "Mrs. Wang" played an indispensable role. The family's status soared, and she became independent and became Ms. Lin of course.

Ms. Lin was the supervisor of the entire church school, that is, the school supervisor in the yamen in the late Qing Dynasty. She was also a member of the church school council.

In the current education sector in Hangzhou, there are two main schools for upper-class aristocrats: Santa Maria Church School and Chongwen Women's Church School.

Santa Maria Church School has a long history and is a comprehensive school for men and women with a large scale.
Chapter completed!