Nowadays, the only birthday gifts given to young people are pens, ink, paper and inkstones. Shen Rui can immediately send people to the bookstore or the Four Treasures of the Study shop to find them.
After returning to the courtyard and thinking about it, Shen Rui still didn't ask Changshou to go shopping. Instead, he picked up an inkstone from the desk in the study.
This inkstone looks plain and unpretentious, with no other carvings. There is only a small word "ye" under the inkstone, which is the mark of Ye Xiang, the first generation of inkstones made in the early Ming Dynasty. This was before Shen Rui returned from Kaifeng three years ago. , I came across it accidentally in the study shop of Kaifeng Mansion.
"Tomorrow is my eldest brother's birthday. This is a birthday gift. I don't have a suitable inkstone box at home. I will go out to the streets tomorrow to find a similar one." Shen Rui cleaned the inkstone and handed it to Dong Xi.
Dong Xi took it carefully and said, "This is my second brother's favorite."
Shen Rui said: "No matter how good it is, it's just a useful thing. I still have it given by Brother Six and the teacher."
As a descendant of later generations, Shen Rui has always had a preference for cultural relics. Wang Shouren and Shen Li felt that this was an elegant habit and there was nothing inappropriate about it, and they did not ask him to change it. In their opinion, it is not a problem for scholars to have this problem. Problem; on the contrary, the more knowledge you have, the more you will make friends in the scholarly community and have more to talk about.
In this way, every time Shen Rui was born, these two people would prepare gifts for him. Even Wang Hua, the master who was not seen in the capital, gave him a pair of jade paperweights from the Northern Song Dynasty.
In fact, Shen Rui has no hobby of collecting. He is just curious, so he played with it a little and compared it with the antique treasures he has seen in later generations. The reason why he keeps using this inkstone is because it has no carvings and is easy to clean.
As for those "gifts from the elders", Shen Rui could only keep them, but he had accumulated a lot of good things. However, he was also inspired that there is no scholar who does not love cultural treasures. When Shen Rui gave Wang Shouren another gift, Shen Rui prepared a gift for Wang Shouren. , so he also came in this direction.
This is the first time for Shen Jin to prepare gifts here.
Although Shen Rui only had four or five glasses of wine, this was the first time his body was exposed to alcohol. It was fine at first, but when he got home, he started to have a headache.
Dong Xi prepared a hangover soup, and Shen Rui drank two bowls before falling into a drowsy sleep. When he woke up again, it was already the next morning.
After seven hours of sleep, Shen Rui's eyes were swollen, his head felt heavy, and his body felt light.
The sky was gloomy outside and snow was falling on the ground.
"The weather has changed again. Second brother needs to wear more clothes." Liu Ya came in carrying a straight wool cloak.
Shen Rui took a look and said, "Why don't you wear this?"
Dong Xi advised: "Second brother ate wine yesterday and sweated. Seeing that he is not very energetic today, he should dress more tightly to avoid being startled."
It's okay if Dong Xi didn't say it, but after saying this, Shen Rui felt his nose was a little blocked. It must have been that after eating wine yesterday, he was seeing off guests downstairs in Bafang and caught the wind after standing in front of him for a long time.
A cold was not considered a minor illness at this time, so Shen Rui poured boiled water and drank several glasses of it. Even though he had no appetite, he drank a bowl of porridge and ate half a plate of rice cakes, and then went to school wrapped in a big cloak.
Most of the people in the school have arrived. Except for Shen Rui, the spirits of those who were drunk yesterday are also very depressed.
On the other hand, Shen Jue's eyes were bright, his face was red, and he looked better than usual. Tomorrow was the Buddha's birthday temple fair, and he had been talking about it for half a month.
Seeing Shen Rui unable to open his eyes, Shen Jue glanced at him with contempt and said, "Why is Brother Rui so haggard? Is this because of the drinking scene last night?"
Shen Rui shook his head and said: "I went to bed last night when I got home. My head was a little confused after sleeping too much."
Shen Jue said with a tone like someone who has experienced it: "This is how it is when you first start drinking. Just drink a few more times and it will be fine. As you get older, you will inevitably have social events and invitations. If you don't have the capacity to drink, how can you still be considered a man?"
With this good brother attitude again, Shen Rui was speechless.
Shen Qin was beside him and laughed out loud: "Brother Jue, didn't you consider yourself a young man yesterday? Why don't you think you are a younger brother now that you have no wine to eat?"
Shen Jue raised his chin and repeated his brother's theory, which only attracted bursts of boos, but no one responded.
Shen Jue shook his head and said: "It's all lumps in the elm wood, my brain is not clear."
The class bell rang, and the noisy classroom became quiet.
After Shen Rui took down his notes, he put down his brush. Thinking of Shen Quan's words yesterday, he looked back at Shen Jia.
Shen Jia was listening attentively, her dull expression full of concentration.
Ethnic Studies starts its annual holiday every year during Laba Festival. Even if Shen Jia has to leave the school, she will not miss twenty days. Shen Rui thought this, but unexpectedly, after the lunch break, Shen Jia mentioned that she would not be able to get up for Ethnic Studies tomorrow. Say goodbye to everyone.
Although Shen Jia was dull and talkative, and usually only stayed with Shen Quan, and had only been in Xia Yun's class for one year, his situation with Dong Shuang was different. Dong Shuang came to the Shen clan halfway to study as a supplementary student, while Shen Jia was a six-year-old boy. He entered the Shen Clan School at the age of 18 and was a classmate in the Mengtong class with Shen Qin, Shen Bao and others. Most of the people here grew up with him.
He is older, honest and kind-hearted, and everyone has always been close to this clan brother. When they heard that he was leaving the clan school, everyone was reluctant to part with him for a while.
However, Shen Jia's clumsiness was as obvious as his honesty. Although everyone was a little sad about his choice, they were not surprised.
Shen Qin suggested: "Last time Quan Sange left, because he didn't get the news in advance, he didn't even have a farewell drink. Today, Brother Jia is leaving. How about we work together to be a host and practice with Brother Jia?"
Everyone looked a little moved, but no one nodded for a moment.
We just had a banquet tomorrow, so we can still explain ourselves when we get home. Even if we have a legitimate reason today, it's hard to explain in front of our parents even if we have a banquet together.
Shen Jia hurriedly said: "No, no, no...I'll get the post in two days, and everyone will come to my house for a drink on the second day of the lunar month..."
Shen Qin asked curiously: "Okay, how can we treat guests to Brother Jia's house? Is it an elder's birthday, or is it?"
Shen Jia's honest face was slightly red. After being questioned several times, she said: "Yes... please eat... please have the engagement wine..."
Shen Jia is the eldest son in the family, and with this look on her face, it goes without saying that there is no one else involved in the engagement.
Everyone came over and congratulated each other repeatedly. Shen Jia became more and more embarrassed, but there was also a hint of joy on her face.
"Which one did sister-in-law order?" Shen Qin asked.
"She's my third aunt's eldest cousin," Shen Jia replied.
When everyone heard this, there was a burst of envy on their faces.
"The man came riding a bamboo horse to go around the bed and make green plums. We have lived together for a long time, and we have no doubts." Shen Rong and Shen Gui clapped their hands.
According to the law of the Ming Dynasty, a man should marry at the age of sixteen and marry at the age of fourteen. Engagement and marriage are not that far away for young people like them.
Marriage has always been a matter of "parents' orders and matchmaker's words". There are many stories in stage scripts about "a clever woman accompanying a clumsy husband", but there are also cases where the woman covers up her shortcomings and gets married.
The childhood sweetheart's little cousin is naturally the best choice in everyone's mind to get married, but not everyone has a pretty old and well-matched little cousin as a fiancée.
Shen Jue said "Ah" and said: "⊥Pink Beauty,? Isn't that exactly what I said yesterday?"
When everyone heard that this was not the case, they were all amazed.
Only Shen Qin still had a smile on his face, but he felt a little worried in his heart. If yesterday's wine lottery really had something to say, wouldn't he be destined to die young? But thinking of the sentence "a thousand years of fame behind him", Shen Qin felt I think too much. Wu Zixu, it is rare for a "virtuous man" like Qu Yuan to appear in a thousand years. I am an unknown child, and I am really not close to this famous person for eternity...
The news that Shen Jia was about to get engaged dissipated the sadness of separation in the school, making the atmosphere in the school less dull.
In the afternoon, there was a magic class, and few people left. Even if they did not take the imperial examination route, they often used magic a lot, and most of them liked this class.
When Shen Rui came home, he got the news that Shen Jin had arrived home.
"The eldest brother came back at noon. He first went to Lao'an's house, had some snacks there, and then went to the study to pay his respects to the master. He didn't stay, and then went to the courtyard." Dong Xi picked up Shen Rui. Wearing a big cloak, he said: "Lao An ordered the kitchen to prepare the banquet, and also sent a message to set up a banquet in Lao An's room tonight, so that the second brother can come over while eating."
So well-informed?
Dong Xi pursed her lips and smiled and said: "It's not that I mean to pry, but Lao An always finds excuses to make people call Liu Ya over. Liu Ya is an honest person and treats people well. The little girls over there are willing to be friends with Liu Ya." .”
When Shen Rui heard this, he couldn't help laughing.
Does Lao An think this is "stealing chicken but losing rice"? He didn't get any useful information from Liu Ya, but he leaked all the information from his own side.
However, the servants were so well-informed and gossip spread so quickly, it was obvious that the four rooms were already in a mess. Neither Zhang Lao'an nor Shen Juren were very good at housekeeping.
Looking at the installed inkstone box, Shen Rui said: "Send someone to go next door and have a look. If the eldest brother comes back, I will go over and give him a birthday gift..."
Before he finished speaking, he heard footsteps in the yard.
It's Shen Jin who's here.
Shen Rui stood up. Shen Jin opened the curtain and came in. He looked at Shen Rui carefully and then said with a smile: "Second brother is back."
The young man's face was still warm, but his eyes were a little more desolate.
Shen Rui bowed his hands and said: "On the birthday of the eldest brother, I wish the eldest brother long life and good health."
Shen Jin helped Shen Rui up and said, "It's just my birthday, second brother, get up quickly."
Shen Rui took the inkstone box on the table next to him and said, "This is my little thought. Please don't be too rude to me."
When Shen Jin took the inkstone box, his expression was slightly startled, and then he showed a bit of surprise: "Here, this was given to me by my second brother?"
Shen Rui nodded and said: "Before, I couldn't prepare a gift for my eldest brother every year when I was away. Now at home, I naturally prepare a birthday gift for my eldest brother."
Shen Jin held the inkstone box tightly, and said with some uneasiness: "I have never prepared a birthday gift for my second brother before."
Shen Rui said: "It won't be too late for eldest brother to prepare for me in the future."
Shen Jin didn't even open the inkstone box, but already looked like she couldn't put it down.
Shen Rui smiled and said: "Brother, please open it and take a look."
Shen Jin nodded and opened the inkstone box. When he saw the She inkstone inside, he felt that it looked familiar. He took a second look at it in his hand and felt something was wrong. He quickly put it back into the inkstone box and said, "Isn't it my second brother's favorite? A gentleman does not take away people's love. The elder brother takes the second brother's heart. Second brother Fang Ye Yan should take it back..."
Shen Rui hurriedly waved his hands and said: "How can I get back the gifts I gave out? If I don't like it, I can just give it away to anyone."
Seeing his insistence, Shen Jin had no choice but to accept it, but her originally desolate eyes gradually gained warmth...