After coming out of the government office, Yuan Ziwen asked Wei Yan: "What did the prefect tell you just now? I think he seems to appreciate you very much."
Yuan Ziwen has already seen through it. It is normal for a person with outstanding talents and character like Wei Yan to be appreciated by others.
If he persists in this matter, it will be detrimental to his relationship with Wei Yan in the long run.
When he said this, his tone was very calm and there was no jealousy at all.
Wei Yan smiled and said: "The prefect asked me to stay in Fucheng for a few more days. He said he could also give me some advice on my article."
Although Yuan Ziwen had already figured it out, when he heard this, he still couldn't help but envy Wei Yan for winning the favor of the prefect so quickly.
He took a deep breath and then said: "That's unfortunate. My family wrote a letter asking me to go back early. I'm afraid I won't be able to stay with you for a few more days."
Wei Yan didn't force it. He knew Yuan Ziwen's temperament. If he stayed in Fucheng and saw him coming in and out of the government office every day, I'm afraid it would be detrimental to the relationship between the two over time.
But when Yuan Ziwen left, he was the only one left in the inn.
Fortunately, there is Shen Xiu.
When Shen Xiu came to see him in the afternoon, Wei Yan asked her when she planned to return to the county town.
Shen Xiu also wanted to discuss the matter with him.
"Miss Lu and the others plan to go back in the next few days, but I want to stay in Fucheng for a few more days." Shen Xiudao, "After Miss Lu and the others leave, I plan to move here to live with you."
Lu Caiwei and the others came to Fucheng mainly to see each other. Now that they have seen each other and the two parties have verbally agreed on the marriage, Mother Lu wants to go back in the next few days.
Shen Xiu didn't plan to go back so early because of the double-sided embroidery in Tao's hands. However, Mother Lu and the others were leaving, and Shen Xiu couldn't live in the Yu family, so she wanted to come to the inn to live with Wei Yan.
Of course Wei Yan would not object, so Shen Xiu helped with the luggage in the evening and brought Da Ya with him.
The eldest wife of the Yu family and Yu Shuya both tried to persuade them to stay, but Shen Xiu declined their invitations on the grounds of reuniting with Wei Yan.
The inn is very quiet now, and the students who came to take the exam have left one after another.
The inn used to be full of candidates, but now only seven or eight rooms on the second floor are occupied.
The room where Wei Yan originally lived had poor lighting. Taking advantage of the fact that many rooms were vacant in the inn, Shen Xiu chose a spacious and bright room for him. She and Da Ya chose the room next door to his.
In the evening, Shen Xiu waited for Da Ya to go to bed, then came to Wei Yan's room to chat.
She had just taken a shower and her hair was still a little wet. Wei Yan wiped her hair and said, "If you are free tomorrow, the three of us can go out for a walk. I heard that there are many places of interest in Fucheng, so I would like to take advantage of this opportunity."
As long as I have some free time during this period, I will accompany you for a walk."
Shen Xiu also had this plan. She had been busy for so many days and wanted to relax.
So the next day, Wei Yan asked the inn clerk to hire a carriage and took Shen Xiu and Da Ya around the city.
At noon, the three of them felt hungry. Shen Xiu looked at the restaurants around him and saw a queue in front of a restaurant, so he suggested going to that restaurant to eat.
The three of them queued outside for a quarter of an hour before they had their turn to be seated.
The business of this restaurant is very good, because there are so many people, seven or eight people are needed to serve a table.
After Shen Xiu sat down, she realized that there was an old man sitting opposite. This old man was kind-hearted and his clothes looked ordinary, but they were made of fine plain satin.
Shen Xiu saw the old man eating a bowl of wontons and asked the waiter for three bowls of wontons.
The waiter asked: "There are two kinds of wontons here, one is made of flour skin, and the other is fish skin. I wonder which one your guest wants?"
Shen Xiu had eaten a lot of wontons, but she had never eaten wontons made with fish. She asked the waiter: "What are the wontons with fish skin like? The skin won't break when cooked!"
The waiter said: "How come? Look at the old gentleman opposite eating wontons with fish skin."
Shen Xiu glanced at the wontons in the old man's bowl, then felt relieved and ordered three bowls of wontons.
"Ms. sir, what do you think the fillings of these fish-skinned wontons will be?" Shen Xiu asked Wei Yan after the waiter left.
Wei Yan shook his head and said, "I don't know about that."
Shen Xiu smiled and said: "I guess it should be stuffed with mutton. Only when fish and mutton are added can it be called delicious."
"The young lady guessed it right." The old man opposite had already finished his wontons and said while drinking soup, "It seems that the young lady is also a real foodie!"
Shen Xiu smiled and said: "The old man said this, he is obviously a fellow-minded person. It's a pity that there is no wine here, otherwise I would like to toast you."
The old man smiled and said: "Since the little lady can guess that the wontons with fish skin are stuffed with mutton stuffing, let me test you again. Do you know what the soup base of these wontons is made of?"
Shen Xiu glanced at the soup in the old man's bowl, thought for a while and said, "It shouldn't be chicken soup. Chicken soup would cover up the deliciousness of the fish. It should be soup made from pork bones, right?"
The old man smiled and said: "My lady's guess is absolutely correct. This soup is indeed made from pig bones. It is rich in fragrance without taking away the freshness of the fish. Coupled with the mutton stuffing inside, you will never forget it once you eat it."
I will forget. I don’t like crowds of people, but because of this bowl of wontons, I have to come here every once in a while to satisfy my craving."
He even frowned when he said he was unhappy with many people.
Shen Xiu smiled and said: "My husband-in-law doesn't like crowds, but it seems that you two have the same temperament."
The old man's attention was originally on Shen Xiu, but now after hearing what Shen Xiu said, he glanced at Wei Yan and asked: "Your husband-in-law should be a scholar, right?"
Shen Xiudao: "How did the old man know?"
"Anyone with a discerning eye can tell at a glance that he is bookish." The old man had finished drinking the soup and asked the waiter to pay the bill. "You guys eat slowly, I'll leave first."
When the waiter came to pay the bill, the old man took it out of his pocket for a long time, but did not take out the wallet containing the money.
The old man felt a little embarrassed, but the more he searched, he couldn't find his wallet.
Seeing that the waiter was about to say something unpleasant, Wei Yan took out his wallet from his arms and said, "Man, how much is that bowl of wontons? I paid for it for the old man."
The waiter then said: "A bowl of wontons costs twenty cents."
Wei Yan counted twenty copper coins and handed them to the waiter, then settled the bill for the old man.
After the man left, the old man bowed his hand to Wei Yan and said, "Thank you, my dear husband, for your help. I am old and I forgot to bring money when I went out this time."
Wei Yan said warmly: "Don't worry about it, old man, it's just a bowl of wontons."
In the eyes of Wei Yan and Shen Xiu, this matter was just a minor incident. Neither of them took it seriously.
After the old man left, the waiter brought their wontons. Shen Xiu tasted the wontons and then drank the soup. It was indeed delicious.
In the next two days, Wei Yan took Shen Xiu and Daya not only to visit the places of interest in Fucheng, but also to eat a lot of Fucheng's delicacies.
On the fourth day, it was the day when the Qin magistrate asked the Wei banquet to go to the government office.
Wei Yan went there early in the morning.
Shen Xiu felt that she had not seen Mi Xinzhi for a long time, so she took Daya to Mi's house.
Mi Xinzhi liked children very much. She asked the maid to bring snacks and fruits to the eldest girl, and asked Shen Xiu: "Why didn't you bring her here a few days ago?"
Shen Xiudao: "Da Ya is still young and has never seen the world. I'm afraid she will bump into you."
"How could it be?" Mi Xinzhi said, "I love children the most. Unfortunately, my eldest sister married far away, and I have never met my two nephews so far."
Seeing that she liked children so much, Shen Xiu thought it would be a good thing to bring Da Ya here.
Mrs. Tao came over after finishing the housework. Seeing that Mi Xinzhi and Shen Xiu were chatting happily, she didn't go over to disturb them, but just looked at them from a distance.
Later, Mi Xinzhi took Daya to fly a kite in the garden, and Shen Xiu was invited over by Mrs. Tao.
As soon as Mrs. Tao saw Shen Xiu, she smiled gratefully and said, "Thank you, Mrs. Shen. My heart is much better now than before, and I am willing to laugh."
Of course, Shen Xiu couldn't reveal that Mi Xinzhi had a heart disease, so she only said: "Second girl's disease is actually not difficult to treat. She is so happy today because I brought my niece. She likes children so much, so why not take care of her more often?" It will be very helpful for her to visit and have more contact with children."
Mrs. Tao thought about it and became a little worried, "But I'm also afraid that she will lose her temper after going out."
Shen Xiudao: "Probably not. The second girl is much more cheerful now, so she shouldn't be locked up at home. Even if she loses her temper, it's normal. Which young lady doesn't lose her temper willfully?"
This is true, but Mr. Tao is still not at ease.
Shen Xiu then came up with another idea for her, "Now that summer is coming, Madam, why not take the second girl to Zhuangzi to escape the summer heat."
Mrs. Tao thinks this is a good idea. If Mi Xinzhi likes children, and there are many children in Zhuangzi, she can get close to whomever she wants. Even if she loses her temper occasionally, people below will only think that she has a bad temper and will not think of other places. go.
"Then I will take her to live in Zhuangzi for a few days." After making this decision, Tao felt that she had found the right person when she asked Shen Xiu to help with the treatment.
"My father-in-law asked about the two camellias these days. I wonder if Mrs. Shen has finished embroidering the camellias?" Tao said, "Whenever Mrs. Shen finishes embroidering the camellias, I will give you the double-sided embroidery as a reward." .”
Although Mi Xinzhi's illness is not completely cured, she is much better than before.
Mrs. Tao is also a generous person. Since Shen Xiu has a way to cure her daughter, she plans to give the reward to him in advance.
Shen Xiu did not expect such an unexpected surprise. If she had known that Mrs. Tao would say this, she would have embroidered the camellia as soon as possible.
It's a pity that she didn't like Mr. Mi's personality, so she only embroidered the beginning of the camellia. If she wanted to embroider it well, she would have to wait for several days.
Tao said: "Since Mrs. Shen hasn't finished the embroidery yet, let's wait for a few days. Anyway, we won't be leaving in the next few days."
Shen Xiu was a little anxious. She had been thinking about the double-sided embroidery of this era for a long time.
Unfortunately, every time he came back disappointed. Last time it was Luo Gong who sold fake handkerchiefs, and this time it was Mr. Mi who planned to use the double-sided embroidery from the previous court to make up for the price.
Fortunately, Mrs. Tao also had double-sided embroidery and wanted to give it to her in advance. Of course she had to seize this opportunity.
She planned to embroider camellias when she went back, and after she finished the embroidery, she would exchange the camellias for the double-sided embroidery in Tao's hands.