The Coral of the Red Mansion Does Not Return

Chapter 120 Red beans, strawberries.

"Red beans are grown in the southern country, and a few branches will be distributed in spring. May you pick more, this thing is the most lovesick."

He has always loved those poems with gorgeous rhetoric and lingering fragrance on his lips and teeth. Today, he knows that the unrestrained affection contained in ordinary words is worth chewing repeatedly.He learned "Lovesickness" written by Wang Mojie of the Tang Dynasty very early, but only now has he realized the tender feeling of looking forward to the person in his heart picking red beans.

Baoyu stared blankly at the bean-sized red flower in front of the window, his face full of infatuation.

The two women who were pruning the flower branches whispered: "Second Master, what's wrong? You are so stupid, what are you doing standing there?"

"Don't mention it, I heard that Second Master Kaichun went to Rong Mansion, and it became like this."

"Second master went there once in the first month, and he was beaten by the master when he came back; the former son went there again, and he looked like this when he came back." Mrs. Zhao, who was speaking, glanced around and saw no one around. He lowered his voice and said, "Tell me, did the second master have an affair with the Rong Mansion?"

The other old lady Huang laughed a few times, and said slyly: "Do you know that the new cousin girl from Rong Mansion looks like a fairy?"

"People don't go out of the door, how can I know what she looks like? What does it have to do with the second master—ah, could it be..."

"Hush, keep your voice down." Mrs. Zhao gossiped, "My daughter-in-law's younger sister's second sister-in-law's family's little granddaughter was working in the second master's house, and she went with her that day. It is said that when Miss Lin walked over in a light yellow dress, When the spring breeze blew, the sleeves fluttered, Huo, she thought some fairy had descended to the earth. At that time, the second master was dumbfounded, and his saliva was about to flow down, and he didn't know."

"Impossible? There are a lot of maids in the second master's room, with that face, that chest, that waist, and they twist their waists in front of the second master all day long, pinching flowers and so on. How could the second master be fascinated by a cousin girl? I I heard that this cousin girl is younger than the second master. Besides, didn't the second master just clamor to buy a maid yesterday? It was the one called 'Qingwen' later. This tricky and weird name is a mouthful. I see Pass her, hiss, I have never seen such a beautiful maid, and she has a bad temper, I think the wife will have to deal with her sooner or later." Huang Pozi said with a smack of her mouth.

"What do you know, those maids are beautiful, but people are tired of seeing them." Mrs. Zhao said as if she had seen the cousin girl with her own eyes, expressing her high opinion, "The cousin girl is not only beautiful, but also immortal. Stand there , Just like that, Fairy Luoshui. The Qingwen you mentioned, I heard, looks somewhat similar to a cousin girl. Think about it, she looks somewhat like this—so beautiful, myself How beautiful is it? An ordinary man can take a look at Amitabha!"

Mrs. Huang didn't believe it, she was still talking about Qingwen, "That girl is really not in charge of the family, and she doesn't know the price of firewood, rice, oil and salt. The fan made of silk can be torn as soon as she wants to. That day, the little girl who packed things was very distressed. That girl said a few words too much , then Qingwen pinched her mouth, I watched, and now the mouth is still swollen."

Mrs. Zhao sneered, "What's this called, 'a thousand gold with a smile', Qingwen is just relying on her appearance. When the second young mistress comes in in the future, she will feel better."

The two women spoke up, and their voices became louder.The two of them were startled, they stopped talking quickly, and looked again, the second master was still staring at the little flower obsessively, not knowing what was so interesting about it.

After Baoyu came back, he became such an idiot, and the one who was most anxious was Xiao Wang.

Watching his son see a flower, he said, "Sister Lin will definitely like this"; seeing a maid who looks a little like Daiyu, let her tear up the fan, no matter how many porcelains are broken; Yes, one time Baoyu ran out, and a lot of people searched the house, but he was not found. Later, he was found at the root of the wall on the east side of Rongfu-the east of Rongfu was a lotus pond, where Daiyu lived. Shanghexuan is located not far from the lotus pond.

Knowing all the abnormalities of Jia Baoyu, Jia Zheng frowned and scolded: "What kind of decent!" He wrote a letter to Lin Ruhai in a blink of an eye.Baoyu is his only second son. Seeing that the clever Baoyu seems to have lost his soul, how could Jia Zheng not feel distressed.

Lin Ruhai, who was far away in Yangzhou, suddenly received a letter from his second uncle, and was stunned.He and his second uncle have not been in the same room for a long time, and even the mid-autumn and Chongyang festivals are sent over by the Rongfu along with the New Year's ceremony.Why did you suddenly think of writing to him?

Confused and puzzled, as well as a little bit of curiosity (Jia Hu, a nephew, often gossips about his second uncle's family), Lin Ruhai opened the letter.

As a result, he was so angry that he almost hit someone.

Lin Ruhai can be regarded as self-restraint, for the whole letter about "a fair lady, a gentleman is a good man", Baoyu "falls in love with Daiyu at first sight" and is "fascinated" by her, this kind of words that ruin Daiyu's reputation is just He tore it into pieces and set it on fire himself.Then I wrote a letter of refusal with strict words and firm will to my second uncle.

He slandered that since he stopped being an official, the second uncle has become more and more shameless, and he can speak such old and unrefined words.

Daiyu is his only flesh and blood, and her husband, Lin Ruhai, must be easy to choose.As early as when he decided not to continue, Lin Ruhai thought about the possibility of Daiyu's second son inheriting the Lin family.To meet this condition, Daiyu's husband's family must be a family with a clean and honest family style, so that the contract will not be broken after he leaves.Baoyu from the second uncle's family does not comply with this first one.

Someone coveted the precious girl, which made Lin Ruhai realize that his daughter had grown up.After another calculation, Daiyu will be married next year.When she becomes a filial piety, it will be the year of breaking the melon, and the marriage should be worked out early.Thinking about it this way, Lin Ruhai wrote another handwritten letter, and then he stopped writing and ordered someone to send it to Shandong.

When Jia Zheng received the reply, he felt really regretful.In his opinion, there is nothing wrong with Baoyu and Daiyu.It's not that he is boasting, although he always scolds Baoyu for being evil, but Baoyu has a natural aura and is born with jade, so there will be good luck in the future.But the brother-in-law wanted to let the son-in-law adopt the second son, so Jia Zheng just let it go.His grandson must be named Jia anyway.

Regret in my heart, but traces were naturally revealed in my actions.

On this day, Mrs. Wang mentioned the Xue family that his wife's sister married, and said that the daughter of the Xue family was coming. Jia Zheng rarely said: "Brother-in-law Lin doesn't like Baoyu anyway, let's see if Baochai can do what you said." Can you cure Baoyu's dementia?"

Xiao Wang immediately asked questions with raised eyebrows, Jia Zheng thought she cared for Baoyu 12 points, explained it casually, and didn't take it to heart afterwards.Unexpectedly, Xiao Wang's heart exploded at that time, and it was only through the concentration of more than [-] years that she kept her face stiff.

Because of this public case, when Xiao Wang met Xue's mother and daughter, she inevitably paid more attention to Xue Baochai.

In the not-so-glamorous main room, Sister Bao sat reservedly on the embroidered pier, listening to Mother Xue and Mrs. Wang exchanging greetings.Out of the corner of his eye, he pays attention to the interior, secretly estimating the value of the furniture.With this mental calculation, Baochai couldn't help being startled: Although the Jia family is an ordinary commoner, after all, it is only a branch of the Rongfu. How could it be so destitute?

Xiao Wang didn't know that Sister Bao was displaying her true qualities as a businessman. She saw Xue Baochai's skin was smooth, her waist and buttocks were plump, and she looked very good.

This alone is much better than Lin Daiyu who can be blown down by a gust of wind.

Looking at its appearance, it is the dignified and majestic one that ladies like most; when you look at your demeanor, you can advance and retreat with restraint, and your gestures are indescribably comfortable.Probably because of Baochai's kindness to others, it makes people feel like a spring breeze.

Little Wang nodded inwardly, and said with a smile to Mother Xue: "Mrs. Xue is so lucky. Baochai is such a good person. I can't wait to snatch her away. I don't know who will get the better of me in the future."

Xue's mother hurriedly said, "Mrs. Jia shows her love." She also explained that Baochai had signed up for the general election, "...the primary election will be in June, and her aunt found a nun who came from the palace and learned some rules. Be naughty, it's good now."

Xiao Wang wondered: "Baochai is going to enter the palace too? It's a coincidence that the second girl from our East Mansion is also participating in the general election. I heard that many people have been released from the palace, and they are planning to invite one for Tanchun."

"The girl from your family also wants to run for the election?" Mother Xue asked doubtfully, isn't the daughter left behind by her sister already a nobleman?

"No, no, no," Xiao Wang shook her head. Tanchun is a shrewd person, and she has a younger brother. If she becomes powerful, it's not certain who she will help. "It's just that Tanchun is already fourteen, it's time to get ready." What to prepare is self-evident.

After hearing this, Baochai thought to himself, "This is the style of a big family."That's right, the Xue family is an imperial merchant after all, since the family is separated, how can the money of the uncle's family compare with that of the Xue family.It's just that the noble family has a beautiful atmosphere. Although the money is not enough, the ostentation is not bad.For example, Tanchun in Mrs. Jia's population, as a concubine, Mrs. Jia actually invited a foster mother from the palace.Looking at it this way, the treatment he received because he wanted to enter the palace was simply incomparable.No wonder ladies always look down on business girls like me.

It's just that Baochai doesn't feel inferior because of this, she believes that there are few people like me in the world, even if she is the daughter of a duke, Xue Baochai is not afraid.When Tanchun also came to see the guests, Baochai saw that although it was a fragrant and thorny rose, it was rare in the world, and he stood beside her, refusing to give in, and he was even more determined.

Seeing the grandeur of Jia's family, Xue's mother still has regrets: the branch of Rongfu is like this, but what about the main family.I heard that the Ningrong Second Mansion just occupied most of Ningrong Street just because of the mansion. It is magnificent and the houses are exquisite.If my sister is still there, I can still ask her to take me to Rongfu to open my eyes, but who knows that she is not blessed, so she went early.

The Xue family intends to cling to the Rongfu, but there is no way out, and the posts they post seem to disappear.Mother Xue felt regretful, she only said that the threshold of Rong Mansion was high, and merchants such as me were not allowed to enter through the door.

Unexpectedly, Xue Pan was very upset when he heard this.

He has always been domineering in Jinling, but he can't use his hands and feet in the capital, which is full of nobles.Rong Mansion and his family are also in-laws after all, and Jia, Wang, Shi, and Xue Nai are old relatives, and now Xue's family can't even enter the Rong Mansion's door, how can Duan Bawang not be angry?

He made up his mind to do a big thing, so that his mother and sister would impress him.

Not to mention how Xue Pan mobilized his new friends, just said that today is Xiu Mu, and Jia Hu, who was resting at Zhongshun Palace the night before, got up early in the morning.After dragging Zhou Su up from the bed, after breakfast, the two went to Longyuan Building to listen to the opera.

As soon as you hear the name, you know that this theater has something to do with the royal family.In fact, it was built with funds raised by several senior clans, and almost no one dared not give it face.Any new theater troupe can't be considered famous if they don't sing a few plays here.Or well-known opera troupes from other places, Longyuanlou regularly spends a lot of money to invite them to come to the capital to sing.

Even Zhou Su, who has his own troupe at home, can't help but want to come up and hear about it when he hears that Longyuan Building has hired a famous troupe, or has a new play scheduled.

Therefore, Longyuanlou had said earlier that there would be a well-known Huiban coming to the stage today, Zhou Su was looking forward to it, and Jia Hu, who didn't want to be alone, naturally followed.

Before the big play started, Zhou Su stared at the stage with good eyesight, and subconsciously patted his fan.

Jia Hu looked at it, amused in his heart, and ordered someone to bring over the tea, fruit and snacks he had prepared.The tea and snacks brought by Longyuan Building are good, but Jia Hu is more used to his own tea.

Soon the drama kicked off and things came up.Zhou Su listened intently to the opera, while Jia Hu could not stand the slow plot of the drama no matter how long he listened to it, or there was no real content at all, only the beautiful singing voice could be heard.Jia Hu directly regarded it as background music, squinting his eyes while eating fruit and listening to the song, enjoying it quite a bit.

The maid brought another plate of fruit.Seeing this, Jia Hu straightened up involuntarily, and risked his lover's anger to wake up Zhou Su, who was immersed in the opera and shaking his head.

Zhou Su, whose interest was disturbed by someone, turned dark, and turned to see Jia Hu, with the corners of his eyes raised, with a bit of coquettish willfulness, he said displeasedly, "What are you doing?"

Jia Hu smiled silently, rubbed against him, and put his hand on his shoulder, "Your favorite strawberry is here."

Only then did Zhou Su look at the bright red and tender fruits on several blue and white porcelain plates, and was surprised: "So many? Don't we need to buy this year's ones?"

It turned out that a few years ago, Jia Hu ordered farmers to start cultivating strawberries.

In the beginning, I just brought a few bags of seeds from overseas and raised them carefully.Later, when the number increased and experience gained, we dared to cultivate on a large scale.

Because strawberries are sweet and sour, have a good taste, and they taste very good. The concubines who have eaten them a few times fell in love with them, so strawberries became a "tribute".Especially after strawberries have been grown in greenhouses, strawberries have become a favored figure at palace banquets in recent years.

However, strawberry is still a crop that has emerged in recent years, and the number has always been small.At the same time, if this delicate fruit is a little bit bumpy, or it has been stale for a long time, the appearance will be poor.Good-looking ones are given priority to the palace, and many honorable families can’t afford them; those with poor-looking ones are naturally made into various snacks and appear on the dining tables of high-ranking families.

Of course, to Jia Hu, none of this was a problem.

He asked someone to grow the strawberries, and no one could say anything about some of the tributes given to the emperor for his own consumption.

However, this plate of strawberries was not only very fresh and untouched, but what was rare was that they were both large and small, in good shape, and there were so many of them, much more than last year, that's why Zhou Su was so surprised.

Jia Hu said with a smile: "It's not that you don't know that the boats that went out to sea last year didn't suffer any losses. I asked people to collect half of the boat's seeds, and I asked people to plant them before the Chinese New Year. Now the harvest is bumper. After entering the palace, I think the family of the ministers below can get a plate."

"When the rewards from above come down, they will no longer be fresh." Zhou Su shook his head, and opened his mouth to bite the strawberry delivered to his mouth.

A piece of white jade-like finger is particularly beautiful against the backdrop of the delicate and bright red strawberry.Zhou Su ate the strawberry with his fingers, the strawberry's mouth broke, and the red juice flowed out, Zhou Su sucked it on his fingertips, making the sound of tsk tsk...