The Hairpin of the Red Chamber

Chapter 199

The south of the Yangtze River is no better than the capital city. Even the snow falls in a gentle manner, and it is not at all refreshing. The snow in Suzhou is even more stingy. In the morning, it drifts and falls in a thin layer. Kenliu, slowly turning into streams of water spread out, wet and cold everywhere.

For the sake of the scenery, Daiyu specially asked Baoyu to move some Taihu stones to build a low and uneven wall. Snow accumulated on the concave and convex parts of the low wall to get a bit of snow scene.Daiyu took Baochai and walked slowly along the low wall. Along the way, she saw that the flowers, plants and trees were not completely withered, and there were a few spots of yellow and green clearly visible under the snow. It looks like severe winter weather, but it looks like spring.

Baochai followed Daiyu's gaze and saw the grassy spots. She is a business person, but the first thing she thinks about is that the Chinese New Year is coming soon, and she has to arrange many entertainments and accounts. Liquidation, and next year's business also has to be calculated.Thinking of the New Year, it is inevitable to think of my mother and elder brother, Lin Hai, Jia Zheng, Mrs. Wang, etc., and my forehead suddenly hurts, but Daiyu shook her sleeves and said: "Sister Bao, Sister Feng and the others, what should I do at this moment?" Where have you been?"

Baochai made up her mind and said: "I vaguely heard that she is going to Huizhou. If she takes a car, the New Year's Eve will almost arrive. However, the government's deadline is in March, so she probably won't arrive so early."

Daiyu said: "I hope that after this incident, she will know the world is cold and warm, and live a peaceful life with her elder sister."

Baochai wondered, "Why do you suddenly think of them?"

Daiyu said: "I just envy them, they can travel all the way without restraint."

Baochai sighed, "I just heard that my aunt couldn't bear it anymore. No matter how strong Sister Feng is, it will be a lifelong regret not to see her mother for the last time. Besides, the road to Lingnan is far away, and there is no end to the sentence. There are still many sufferings."

Daiyu also sighed: "I know all of these things, I just... feel emotional occasionally."

Baochai was afraid that she would hurt Jing, so she urged: "It's cold, don't stay outside for long, go back."

Daiyu responded, and Baochai helped her walk a few steps, then stopped suddenly and asked, "Dai'er, was what you told Baoyu just now true?"

Daiyu said: "I just said a lot, how do I know what you are talking about?"

Baochai said: "You say, if you can't see it, that kind of heart-wrenching pain is the infatuation of lovers in the world. For this reason, you lose your life, and it's just the result of love."

Daiyu also stood still, stared at her and said, "Isn't it?"

Baochai smiled without saying a word, and led her into the house slowly. When she reached the door, Daiyu stopped again. When Baochai asked her, she said, "I feel that although we have only been together for a few years, it seems... It's been like a lifetime."

Baochai smiled and said, "Fool, we have indeed been together for a lifetime."

Daiyu held her hand tightly and said: "This life is over, and nothing else counts."

Baochai deliberately said: "Then if we are still together in the next life, won't it count?"

Daiyu tilted her head and said, "That counts."

Baochai teased her and said, "What about the next life?"

Daiyu said seriously: "Only we are together all the time, nothing else counts."

Looking into her eyes, Baochai suddenly moved closer, kissed her lightly on the forehead, and said with a smile, "Then from this life to the future, every life should be counted."

Daiyu suddenly saw her openly making out in such a way, her face became hot for a while, and she was a little startled before she understood what Baochai was talking about, so she also blushed and kissed her on the cheek, hooking her hand and saying: "Okay, from now on, we will be together for life after life."

The Holy Majesty wants to show great ambitions, and the situation in the court has changed drastically. Even if the upstarts are proud, their foundations are unstable after all. Caution is the first priority in everything. The veterans are either demoted for some reason, or they have seen the fate of their peers. Trembling and trembling, walking on thin ice, so this year's Chinese New Year, Beijing has lost a lot of the extravagant atmosphere of the past, and has a little more of a clean habit.

In Jia's mansion, when Jia Zheng was about to make his filial piety, several respectable managers and a few Qing guests who stayed in the mansion came to politely persuade him to take care of it and find another errand for the future.

Jia Zheng was undecided, so he walked casually, and unknowingly walked outside the Grand View Garden. Now Yingchun, Tanchun, and Xichun are all married, and Baoyu is an official outside. When the garden was built, it was so splendid, but now it is so desolate and desolate, so I couldn't help sighing a long breath, shed a few old tears, and sighed into the study.

He has no official position now, but still retains his title, and the period of filial piety is over, and he can now participate in the New Year's celebrations - several Qing guests just persuaded him to take advantage of the New Year's time to submit a congratulatory form, and then entrusted Yuanchun to try his best to get The Holy Majesty changed his mind and made him a good one, so this New Year's greeting must be carefully considered.

Jia Zheng stared at the book case for a long while, but couldn't write a single word. When he flipped through a few notes written by Qing Ke, he felt flattery, so he frowned, sat staring blankly at the book case, lost his mind for a while, and called The commander outside asked: "Where is Lan boy?"

The outsider said: "Lang Geer is practicing bow and arrow outside the second gate. His hands are bleeding. We told him to rest, but he refused."

Jia Zheng said: "You just say it's what I mean, tell him to visit his grandmother and mother, and come out with some snacks, and I will tell him about Pobi later."

A few people outside agreed, and they went to talk to Jia Lan. Jia Lan went in, but two women came out after a while, carrying food boxes and other things, and saluted Jia Zheng outside the door: "Mrs. It is said that the things on Zhuangzi have arrived, and there are some wild vegetables that are refreshing to eat in winter, so I called it for the master to taste."

Jia Zheng ordered them to put their things away first, and flipped through the books by himself for a while. He was really unsure, and someone outside urged him: "Master, madam asked if the master is ready to eat. If it is not useful, it is better to go to the back, madam." I picked up the third girl back in the morning, and now I’m in Rongxi Hall, so I asked the master if I want to go there together, so that the whole family can get together.”

Seeing Mrs. Wang's ardent greetings, and seeing Tanchun come back again, Jia Zheng nodded and said, "I'll go." He asked someone to carry the food box from Mrs. Wang and went all the way to Rongxi Hall, where he saw Tanchun and Li Wan. Youshi and Mrs. Xing were all present, and even Mrs. Xing and Jia Huan were present.

When Jia Zheng saw Jia Huan, he had something on his mind. When everyone was saluting, he looked at him carefully, but saw that he not only behaved wildly, was wretched, but also limped and hunchbacked. It is hard to avoid being shaped by color.

When I looked at Jia Lan again, although the grandson already had a somewhat handsome and youthful appearance, the older he grew up, the more he resembled his father. When Jia Zhu saw Jia Lan, he inevitably thought of Jia Zhu. Apart from being sad, Looking back at Tanchun again - after Baoyu took office, Jia Zheng found a local candidate for Tanchun. In his opinion, even if the family was struggling, he must not have the reputation of selling girls for glory, so Tanchun married Although the character and talent of the woman are superior, her family resources are not as rich as Yingchun's husband's family. Tanchun married and followed her husband, but she also had no gold and jade, and she dressed very plainly.

No matter how pedantic and rich Jia Zheng was, he felt desolate when he saw his daughter's attire, which was completely different from that of the old family. Jia Lan and Jia Huan are outside, grandparents, father and son, only three of them, it is not the same as the prosperity and prosperity of the past.

Jia Zheng was already a man of great fame, but he was a little vacillating when he was mentioned by a few clean housekeepers. Then at this family banquet, when he saw his children at home, his desire to seek an official came into play again, and he used it hastily. After a meal, the juniors were dismissed, but they discussed with Mrs. Wang: "The Chinese New Year is about to come, can all the family's New Year's gifts be arranged?"

Mrs. Wang looked sad and said: "This year's harvest in Zhuangzi is getting worse, and there is no income from other places. I'm afraid the preparation is weaker than in previous years, and everyone will lose face. Out."

Jia Zheng said, "How much money do you have at home?"

Mrs. Wang said: "A few years ago I pawned some unnecessary decorations, and the turnover was 800. It's just that Dai's inner minister in the palace said that he wanted to build a house, and it took [-] taels, and then he sent some more. Now there are less than one thousand of the envoy fee left."

Jia Zheng frowned, and sighed, "Move another one or two hundred and give it to the third girl."

Mrs. Wang said: "That's not enough."

Jia Zhengdao: "I vaguely remember that there was a gold paperweight in the outer study, which was once owned by Lai Daxiao, I thought he was vulgar, and it was useless all the time, so I just pawned it."

Mrs. Wang paused, and then said: "Since this is the case, if you move some out, there will always be one or two hundred, and it doesn't have to be for the sake of selling the master's things. But according to me, the one married by the third girl He said that he is a juren who only studies all day long and does not run a family business. I think it is not worthwhile to just study so hard, and relying on our subsidies is not a long-term solution. It is better to ask him to clean up some capital and do some business. The foundation of one's life."

Jia Zheng reprimanded: "Other families have people who are begging to study and refuse to study. My son is motivated, but you tell him to let go of the imperial examination and do business. It's really a woman's opinion!"

When Mrs. Wang was said by him, she was a little embarrassed, so she didn't mention it. She calculated the account in her heart for a while, and seeing that Jia Zheng was still there, she said: "Master first said that he wanted to move his family back to Nanjing. Now It’s time to be a filial piety, isn’t it time to write a book?”

Jia Zheng walked slowly for a few steps with his hands behind his back and said, "Let's not be busy at this moment, you draw up the list of gifts from various places and give it to me, I want to see it."

Seeing that he suddenly changed his mind, Madam Wang glanced at him and didn't say anything. She just ordered Zhou Rui's family to get the account book and make a careful calculation by herself.

Jia Zheng was impatient to see her counting these trifles, so he went out distractedly and went to the front to teach his grandson.