Dong Fu, the maid of the inner courtyard, quietly came to Zhongqin courtyard.
The arrogant Mrs. Ling immediately went out to greet her after hearing the news, saying to please her: "What mission does Miss Dongfu have? Is it about the governor?"
Dong Fu had no expression on his face and said slowly: "By order of the young lady, I came to pick up a girl from your place."
"May I ask which girl it is?" Mrs. Ling asked.
Dongfu said: "Zhao Zhenfang."
Mrs. Ling's face looked a little unhappy, but her smile returned instantly, and then she scolded the maid next to her: "Why don't you go and bring Zhao Zhenfang!"
"No need, I'll go there myself." As he spoke, Dong Fu had already taken a step forward.
Mrs. Ling hurriedly followed, looking for something to say: "It's rare for Miss Dongfu to come to Zhongqinyuan, why not have a cup of tea before leaving? A few days ago, my wife went to Gongbeiyuan to serve as an errand, and the master rewarded her with two taels of fine river black tea. .”
He black tea is a local specialty of Qianshan. It has been sold all over the world and is very popular among European aristocrats.
"Since this is such a good tea from the master, I, a maid, may not be able to enjoy it." Dong Fu walked slowly to the east chamber without squinting his eyes, and knocked gently on the door, "Brother Han, are you here?"
Zhao Han pushed open the door and walked out: "I just want to say hello to my sister."
Dong Fu finally smiled and introduced himself: "Brother Han, my name is Dong Fu, and I am the young lady's maid."
"It turns out to be Sister Dongfu." Zhao Han bowed in greeting.
Dong Fu explained his purpose: "I am here to take Miss Zhenfang to the inner courtyard."
Zhao Han greeted him respectfully: "Sister, please come and sit in the room."
"That's alright, let's go and sit down." Dong Fu smiled and entered the room.
Zhao Han said again: "Mrs. Ling, please come in."
This title made Mrs. Ling a little panicked, and she subconsciously looked at Dong Fu.
Dong Fu had already entered the house without looking back, and seemed to have heard nothing.
Mrs. Ling followed in anxiously, looked around at the furnishings in the house, and said loudly: "It's a bit shabby. This washstand is broken. I don't know if it has been used for many years. I will have someone send a new one later."
Zhao Han said: "Thank you madam for your kindness. I am just a houseboy and my body is not that precious."
"Don't call me madam. Isn't it ruining my life?" Madam Ling became more and more attentive. "Brother Han is respected by the young master and the young lady. If you still use a broken washstand, won't you lose the face of the young master and the young lady?"
While talking, Zhao Zhenfang took the initiative to pour water for the guests.
A chipped porcelain cup, an old clay pot, and ordinary cold water.
Dong Fu picked up the cup and drank. At the same time, he looked at Zhao Zhenfang and praised: "You are indeed well-behaved and sensible."
Mrs. Ling seemed a little disgusted. She picked up the broken cup without drinking, and was embarrassed to put it down. She even thought the bench was dirty and broken, and was afraid of staining her clothes. She just stood there holding the water cup and smiling, which could show her respect for Dong Fu. .
After taking a few sips, Dong Fu put down the cup, took Zhao Zhenfang's hand and said, "Let's go with sister."
The brother and sister communicated last night, and Zhao Zhenfang said reluctantly: "Second brother, I'm leaving."
"Go ahead, Haosheng is obedient." Zhao Han said with a smile.
After sending his sister to the gate of the inner courtyard, Zhao Han returned to Zhongqin Court alone. Mrs. Ling had already disappeared.
Qin Xin, Jian Dan and Jiu Po, the Heng Ha trio, came to congratulate each other.
There are almost no male servants in the inner courtyard. The maids and maids there really eat and sleep with their masters.
Despite their lack of presence, they almost never show up, but when anyone comes to Zhongqinyuan, Mrs. Ling has to take care of them carefully.
The little sister was taken to the inner courtyard. Not only was she worth a hundred times as much, but Zhao Han also benefited from it.
Does Zhao Han need to take advantage of it?
He just admired the young lady Lou for her kindness and power without making people feel disgusted.
The little girl was taken to the inner courtyard for training, which could be regarded as a reward or as a hostage.
Whether it is kindness or power is entirely up to Zhao Han's own choice.
…
In the afternoon of that day, Zhao Han was reading "The Law of the Ming Dynasty".
He forgot to return this law book when he left Jinghai County, and the old county officials didn't want to ask for it.
Suddenly, the maid Mo Xiang came to the east chamber and issued an order: "Qin Xin, Jian Dan, Jiu Po, and Brother Han, pack your bags and go to Yongping Town immediately!"
The trio of Hengha who were playing cards in the room were immediately in a state of panic and were hurriedly preparing to go on a business trip.
Mo Xiang handed Zhao Han a book box: "Brother Han, this is your outfit."
"Thank you, sister." Zhao Han smiled and took the book box.
Mo Xiang shouted into the room again: "Hurry up, brother, hurry up. Pick up your clothes and leave. You can change your clothes after getting on the boat!"
It seems the mission is urgent.
"Just come, just come!"
The trio ran out of the house, Qin Xin carrying a qin, Jian Dan carrying a sword, and Jiupo carrying a jar of wine.
Zhao Han left with them through the side door of Fei's house and jogged all the way to Ehu Town. Someone at the dock picked them up and boarded the boat.
The passenger ship was sailing down the Xinjiang River, its oars rowing very fast, as if it was in a frantic hurry.
Tired from running all the way, Zhao Han lay down on the boat to catch his breath for a while. Finally, Zhao Han calmed down and asked, "Why are you so anxious?"
Qin Xin guessed: "It must be the governor who has temporarily changed his itinerary and wants to go somewhere else for sightseeing."
Jiu Po took out a comb and a red headband: "Brother, let me comb your bun first."
"Why is it red?" Zhao Han was somewhat resistant.
Jiupo was holding a red headband and said with a smile: "Red is festive."
Zhao Han asked: "Are there any other colors?"
"How about this?" Jian Dan handed over a navy blue headband.
"It's okay." Zhao Han reluctantly accepted.
Jiupo combed Zhao Han's hair, and Jiandan combed Qin Xin's hair. It was soon styled into a double bun. Please refer to Nezha for the specific hairstyle style.
After combing each other's buns and putting on work clothes, the four of them lay down in the boat with their eyes closed and chatted.
Qin Xin was already fourteen years old, and in two years he would be ordered to change jobs. He didn't know which unit he should go to, so he took advantage of his free time on the boat to ask his brothers to give him some good advice.
Jian Dan suggested: "Go to the academy, work as a handyman in the library for two years, then study with your husband for a few years, and then you can be a teaching assistant to teach children."
Jiupo said: "Although being a teaching assistant has leisure and dignity, you can't earn much money. It's better to get a job in a shop or go to a paper mill. The shopkeeper can get ten taels a month, so I can pay it back at the end of the year."
There are dividends.”
Qianshan is not only a trade distribution center, but also has many specialty products.
Qianshanhe black tea is sold all over the world, and Qianshan Lian Si Paper is also famous. The papermaking industry can be traced back to the Later Han Dynasty.
Qin Xin muttered: "I want to be leisurely and decent, but also want to make enough money. Brothers, do you have any ideas?"
Jiu Po couldn't help but smile and said, "There is a way."
"What method?" Qin Xin asked quickly.
Jiupo gave detailed instructions: "Get out of the cabin, jump into the Xin River, reincarnate, and be a young master in the next life."
"Hahahahaha!" Jiandan laughed heartily.
Zhao Han couldn't help laughing, gave a thumbs up and said: "It's really a good idea."
Qin Xin could only roll her eyes in return, slumped down and said, "Well, then I'd better go to the academy. At least I can be decent for the rest of my life."
"Stop talking, it's still early to go to Yongping, let's play cards for fun." Jiu Po took out a pair of silent cards from his arms.
This thing is the predecessor of Mahjong, but it is still in the form of playing cards. It is divided into three suits: Wenqian (cake), Suozi (bar), and Wanguan (Wan).
The two pieces of mahjong tiles probably originally represented two pennies, while the two pieces of mahjong tiles represented two pennies.
Zhao Han quickly understood the gameplay and was thinking about improving it one day, because this first-generation version of mahjong only had 60 tiles, and three pairs plus one pair (11 tiles) could win the game.
After playing a few games, I felt uncomfortable because there were only two cards of each suit.
Since there are only two cards of the same suit, they can't touch each other, and there's no way to open the bars. What's the point of mahjong without the flowers on the bars?
Zhao Han suddenly asked: "Who still has the cards?"
"I have it." Jian Gu also took out a pair.
Zhao Han said: "Two decks of cards are played together, and each player starts with three cards."
"Then how to play?" Qin Xin felt unreliable.
As a result, Zhao Han taught Mahjong step by step, and the three of them soon became addicted to it.
There are already red hits, fortunes, and white boards, but unfortunately the east, west, and west winds are currently missing.
In the evening, we finally arrived at Hekou Town.
The boat did not stop, but lit the lantern, turned and sailed into Qianshan River, heading straight for Qianshan County.
The four of them took out dry food, sat around in the cabin, and ate cakes with clear water.
By the way, I stayed up late at night and continued playing mahjong with the oil lamp on.
When we docked at Yongping Town in the middle of the night, everyone was shocked to realize that it was late, so they quickly put away their mahjong and fell asleep.
The whole journey from Ehu to Yongping was simply because the governor of Jiangxi Province suddenly wanted to pay homage to Xin Qiji's tomb because he had a fit.
