In addition to the Guanyin statue, the embroidery items Li Miaoer brought back also included several pieces of Jiangnan fashionable embroidery items.
These embroidery items were all made by the best embroiderers in the south of the Yangtze River. Shen Xiu compared these embroidery items with her own embroidery items. She had to say that the embroidery skills of these embroidery girls were indeed superior to hers.
With a learning attitude, she took apart all these embroidery pieces, and then sewed them according to the original stitches, and gained more insights.
With these insights, Shen Xiu became more and more skillful when embroidering orchids and screen embroidery, and the orchids she embroidered were more delicate than before.
In two or three days, Shen Xiu embroidered two clusters of orchids.
At this rate, this orchid embroidery screen should be completed by the end of the year.
She didn't know why Li Miaoer was so anxious to get this orchid embroidered screen, but the other party helped her bring back such a precious embroidered screen from Jiangnan, so she had to repay the favor and embroider the orchid embroidered screen as soon as possible.
Li Miao'er only stayed in the county for three days. Before leaving, Li Miao'er sent someone to deliver the ginseng and Ganoderma lucidum that Shen Xiu wanted.
The ginseng was as thick as a little finger and had slender fibrous roots, which was considered to be of medium-to-high quality among ginseng of more than ten years old. And several Ganoderma lucidums were each about the size of a baby's hand.
At this time, there was no artificial cultivation, so this ginseng and several Ganoderma lucidum can be considered wild.
Shen Xiu had personally tried the effects of wild ginseng and Ganoderma lucidum, so he went to Li Miaoer to buy some.
The medicinal power of wild ginseng was so great that Shen Xiu did not intend to use all of it. He only took some ginseng roots and planned to stew them in chicken soup when Wei Yan came back next time.
As for the Ganoderma lucidum, Shen Xiu picked two large ones and soaked them in shochu. Taking a glass of them every night not only calmed the nerves but also nourished the brain.
Ganoderma lucidum is ready to drink after being soaked for seven or eight days.
On the fifteenth day of the twelfth lunar month, when Wei Yan came back from the academy, Shen Xiu brought him a cup of soju.
"Ms. sir, have a cup of soju to ward off the cold." Shen Xiu didn't say there was Ganoderma lucidum in it, she just brought the wine in front of him.
Hearing that shochu can dispel the cold, Wei Yan did not hesitate and drank the shochu directly. As soon as he took the shochu in his mouth, Wei Yan felt a burning sensation in his throat. However, after a while, the burning feeling disappeared.
It's also warm.
At this time, Shen Xiu brought stewed chicken soup from the stove. The chicken soup was stewed with pheasant and ginseng.
Shen Xiu originally wanted to buy some old hens, but at the county market he met a female hunter who came to the city. The female hunter happened to hunt a few pheasants, so Shen Xiu bought them all.
Pheasants are not as fat as old hens, but they are more nutritious.
Shen Xiu stewed it with ginseng and wanted to nourish Wei Yan.
There are only a few months left until next year's county examination.
In order to live up to Master Li's expectations, Wei Yan worked harder than usual these days.
"Ms. sir, drink some chicken soup." Shen Xiu took the initiative to serve a bowl to Wei Yan, "I see you have lost weight again recently."
Wei Yan had caught a cold some time ago and had recovered from the cold in the past few days. He didn't want to worry his family, so he didn't mention it.
But he didn't mention it, and Shen Xiu also saw that his face was a little yellow and his eyes were a little blue. It was obvious that he was weak and had worked too hard.
It seems that she was right to buy ginseng and Ganoderma lucidum. According to the other person's temperament, she will resist even if she feels uncomfortable.
Shen Xiu stared at Wei Yan from behind and drank three bowls of chicken soup before she felt relieved and asked, "Ms. sir, when will your academy have a holiday?"
The chicken soup made from pheasant and ginseng must be drunk every day to be more effective.
Shen Xiu planned to wait for Wei Yan to have a holiday and cook it for him every day.
Wei Yan said: "The academy usually has a holiday on the 23rd of the twelfth lunar month, and then it will be on the 15th of the first lunar month."
It is now the fifteenth day of the twelfth lunar month, and there are eight days left until the 23rd day of the twelfth lunar month.
The closer this day comes, the less interested the students in the academies are in studying. After all, the end of the year is coming soon, and the students are thinking about the New Year and have almost no intention to study.
Of course there are exceptions, such as Wei Yan and Yuan Ziwen, who are not affected at all.
Wei Yan wanted to live up to Master Li's expectations, and at the same time, he also wanted to pass the examination as a scholar as soon as possible and change his family's situation.
Yuan Ziwen, on the other hand, wants to marry his fiancée home as soon as possible. If he can pass the scholar examination next year, he can discuss marriage with the Lu family as soon as possible.
Therefore, the two most diligent people in the academy often study late into the night after class.
Also staying up late at night were Qu Huan and Luo Gong. However, instead of books, they had roast chicken and rice wine in front of them.
Qu Huan took a sip of rice wine, tore up a piece of chicken, wolfed it down and said, "I obviously gave that handyman a tael of silver, but he must have wasted half of it."
Luo Gong, however, ate elegantly and said while drinking: "There is no way, who makes it impossible for us to get out now. If he wants to be greedy, then he can be greedy, it's only one tael of silver."
One tael of silver was nothing to Luo Gong, but it was different for Qu Huan. One tael of silver could at least buy a pair of bright clothes.
"Brother Luo, you told me earlier that there would be a good way to make a fortune in the near future. Are you true or false?" Qu Huan asked, holding a chicken leg.
Luo Gong poured himself a glass of wine nonchalantly, "I lied to you for what purpose. Now I'm eighty-nine points accurate, so it doesn't matter if I tell you."
He signaled Qu Huan to come over and lowered his voice: "I asked a friend in the capital to help me with activities in the Ministry of Civil Affairs. My appointment letter will be issued next spring."
"What appointment letter?" Qu Huan didn't understand what Luo Gong meant.
Luo Gong explained to him: "It is the document used by the Ministry of Personnel to appoint local officials."
The local official, Qu Huan, became more and more puzzled, "Brother Luo, what does this have to do with you?"
Luo Gong said directly: "Let me tell you this, when my brother-in-law leaves office next year, the position of county magistrate will fall on Shi Xian Cheng. And Shi Xian Cheng's position will be taken over by me.
"
The county magistrate, the eighth-grade county magistrate, Qu Huan didn't even bother to eat the chicken legs, "Brother Luo, do you want to be the eighth-grade county magistrate?"
"Don't make such a fuss. He's just an eighth-grade official, not a seventh-grade county master." Luo Gong said, "I'd like to get a seventh-grade official to do it, but unfortunately I don't have that much money."
"What does this have to do with silver?"
Luo Gong said: "It's a big deal. As long as you have money and connections, it's not a problem to buy a seventh-grade county magistrate, let alone an eighth-grade county magistrate."
Luo Gong was unwilling to return to the capital for the sake of that marriage.
But he also knew that hiding in Huaian County like this was not an option. He had to find an excuse to stay for a long time.
It happened that he knew from Wen Min that County Magistrate Zuo would leave office next year, and Shi County Cheng would most likely take over as County Magistrate.
If Shi Xian Cheng is promoted to the county magistrate, then the county magistrate's seat will be vacant.
Luo Gong thought this was an opportunity.
He had been living in the capital for so many years, so he naturally had his own connections, so he immediately came up with the idea of donating a county magistrate.
After all, the county magistrate was also a court official. Once appointed, he had to stay there for five years.
When his parents found out, it was already a done deal and it was difficult to take him back.
He could afford to wait for five years, but that girl Qin couldn't afford to wait.
Luo Gong didn't want to marry an ugly wife, so he decided to use the procrastination trick to see who could outlast the other.
He had such an idea and was afraid that Wen Min would tell the truth if he found out, so he didn't tell anyone.
At this time, he was almost certain, so he told Qu Huan.
However, for the sake of caution, Luo Gong repeatedly told Qu Huan, "Don't tell others about this yet. When I take over the position of county magistrate, your benefits will be indispensable."
Donating an eighth-grade county magistrate costs three thousand taels of silver. Luo Gong didn't have that much money on hand, so he asked his friends to pay for it first, and then he would try to repay the money after he became the county magistrate.
However, the county magistrate is an official after all, and there are some things that it is difficult for him to come forward to do.
Fortunately, Qu Huan had a good relationship with him and he was a local. Luo Gong adhered to the principle of not leaking wealth and water, and planned to bring Qu Huan with him to earn some money, so that he could repay the three thousand taels of silver as soon as possible.