The Hairpin of the Red Chamber

Chapter 67

Although Baochai has hidden many stories, Baoyu is still terrified by hearing them.He was not completely unaware of his family's situation, Daiyu and Baochai repeatedly reminded him, even the old lady often lamented that the situation of the sisters at home was far inferior to that of Jia Min.However, he always thought that no matter how poor the family was, it would not be short of him and Daiyu, and at the very least they would not be able to have their own children, and they would be able to spend their lives happily as a farmer for the rest of their lives.

But the scene Baochai described was so miserable that Baoyu would never have imagined it in his life.

When Baochai talked about the decline of Jia's mansion, Baoyu asked, "How is the defeat? Is it poorer than Lai Da's family?" Lai Da was his servant, and now the family also built a house. Baoyu thought it would be okay if Lai Da was like that.

Unexpectedly, Baochai sneered and didn't want to answer him at all.Baoyu had no choice but to ask again: "How is it better than Qin Zhong's family?"

Daiyu said: "You don't even have to be an official. Why do you still compare yourself to other people's homes?"

At this time, Baoyu felt horrified, and asked cautiously: "Isn't it...worse than Xiren's house?" The girl at home, he has only been to Xiren's house so far.

Baochai smiled: "At that time, you still depended on her for a while, what do you think?"

Baoyu was stunned. Given his life's situation, he couldn't imagine what it would be like to be worse than Xiren's family.

Seeing his blank look, Daiyu burst into a smile, took out a copper coin from her bosom, shook it in front of Baoyu, and said, "Do you know him?"

Baoyu was in a frightened season, and said displeasedly: "Don't make fun of me, isn't this making money?"

Daiyu smiled and took out some broken silver from her bosom, a small piece like the tip of a finger, and asked Baoyu, "Do you know how much silver this is?"

Where did Baoyu know two catties of silver?Just shook his head and didn't answer.

Daiyu was playing with the silver and said with a smile: "This is five silver coins, which is worth three to five hundred copper coins, enough to spend half a month for a middle-class family. When you are down and out, copy ten days for others." You have to dig out such a copper coin in the mud, and put it away, because such a small penny is worth several pages of pen and ink."

Baoyu said: "I don't believe it! No matter how poor my family is, it is also the family of the founding fathers, generations of hairpin tassels, and the court is sympathetic to the elders. It will never end here!"

Baochai said: "You are a man, and you often walk around outside. Don't you see how the descendants of Prince Yizhong are? The clan is like this, not to mention that your family is just a degraded duke, and you are not the eldest son or grandson of this family. "

Baoyu said: "There are so many old relatives and friends in my family, don't they all see us in exile?"

Baochai said: "The so-called prosperity is all prosperity, and every loss is loss. You often boast that you have read a lot. Don't you know this truth? Besides, the world is cold and warm, haven't you seen it in this mansion? Your good brothers, brothers, and nephews When you came to fight the autumn wind, how did the slaves below treat them? You really don’t see it? Those nephews and nephews wished they could be closer than their own father when they saw you. Do you say it out of your heart? Don’t say that they will not Willing to help you, I'm afraid you will be ashamed to come to the door."

Baoyu was silent.

Baochai said again: "Let me just talk it out with you, even if you try your best to become an official and get a seventh-rank post-the magistrate of the country, the annual salary is only more than [-] taels, You have to pay for the miscellaneous servants in the yamen, and you have to support your family, develop your servants, and maintain the scene. You can figure it out for yourself. Is it enough for your usual expenses? The few Zhuangzi in your family have even produced businessmen. , I have done the calculations for you, a year can only be tens of thousands of silver at most, and there are twenty or thirty masters in a family, big or small, and each has ten or twenty servants. This item is tens of thousands of expenses, thousands of children in the family, and tens of thousands of monthly money, clothes, and seasonal rewards every year. The jewelry and clothes of the wives and girls, the repair of the family temple, the maintenance of the ancestral hall, the ethnology, the chronology of the clan, the expenses of the garden and the mansion, piles and piles, where is it not a place to spend money? Let alone such things as corruption and defacement, you Even if the family is undefeated, how much money must be recorded in the account a year to maintain such a family business? What if the family is stolen again? Think about it."

Baoyu's forehead was covered with cold sweat, and he said with a trembling voice: "You...it's just a dream...my sister...my sister is in good health, my father...my father is also very good...uncle, uncle he Although it's a little absurd inside, it's still good outside, Brother Lian is still a co-confessor... a co-confident..." His voice gradually faded, his eyes straightened, and he just stared at the small shard in Daiyu's hand. Silver is in a trance.

When he went out, he took a bag of small change with him, and there were tens of taels. Sometimes he was in a hurry to buy things, and he didn't even count the number of cigarettes. He just took a piece out of the wallet and gave it. Saying one tael is one tael, and two taels is two taels, never caring.

How many times have he thought that this small piece of silver is actually his rations for ten days and half a month?No, it's not just rations, but also clothes, or daily herbal medicine. He has no illness for a year, and he has to visit the doctor several times. Once, they gave him money, was it one tael, or two taels?Anyway, it's much bigger than this one.

So, what should he do if he is sick in such a life?Baochai didn't say who the wife in his dream was. Baoyu intuitively felt that it was Daiyu. It's no wonder that ever since Baochai had that dream, he saw that his eyes were not eyes, his nose was not his nose, even thinking about it, he felt ashamed!

When Baochai saw Baoyu's appearance, he was afraid that today's strong medicine would frighten him. He is a weak person, so it's not good to get sick from such a fright, especially if he and Daiyu are still here. Get up, two people can't get rid of the relationship.Then Baochai grabbed Daiyu's mischievous hand, took the piece of silver from her, handed it to Baoyu, and said, "Think about it yourself, and we won't disturb you."

Baoyu dumbly took the little white thing that he never liked, and didn't even remember to send it off, just lost in thought.

Seeing this, Daiyu stuck out her tongue, and took Baochai out quickly. When she reached her own room, she asked Baochai again, "Sister Bao, Baoyu is very reliable even if I look at him. See how he can't stand it." like."

Baochai scratched her nose and said, "When you heard me say this, you couldn't sleep for several nights, but this time you forgot and just made fun of others?"

Daiyu said, "Then I'm not as stupid as him."

Baochai laughed and said, "I have only had one Daier in a hundred years, so it is naturally different."

When Daiyu heard her praise, she grinned, and was slapped on the head by Baochai, saying, "Don't get carried away!"

Daiyu stuck out her tongue again, and took Baochai to tell her about the new game record of Yingchun.

But it is said that Jia Lian is still raising money in the south of the Yangtze River, and Jia Amnesty has already forced people to measure the land and calculate the size of the garden.

Because the family really has no money, it is not as extravagant and luxurious as in the previous life. Although it is still a mile and a half, the pavilions and pavilions inside are much less than the previous life.

Aunt Xue saw people coming and going here, building up walls, planting trees, and building houses, making a lot of noise. It was really inconvenient for her and Baochai, an orphan and widow, because she told Mrs. Wang that she wanted to clean up Beijing. Middle-aged and old house, move out.

Baochai didn't want Aunt Xue to think of such a thing now, and she didn't want to, but when it came to the inner house, Aunt Xue was uncommonly firm, and within a few days, the housekeeper of the old house had come to report back, saying that everything was in order and that they could move out up.

Baochai had no choice but to give up Daiyu with tears in his eyes. He made an appointment to meet each other in a few days, and Fang followed Aunt Xue step by step and went out the door.

The old house of Xue's family is not far from Jia's mansion. Although the place is not as big as Ning Rong's two mansions, it is better because the ancestors were from noble backgrounds and the houses are elegant. Baochai entered his own courtyard. The decorations are more and more elegant, and it looks like the Xiaoxiang Pavilion back then. It suddenly arouses melancholy, and after parting for only half a day, I have already quietly called Yinger: "Let your brother go to Zijuan's house behind Jia's mansion to bring a message, if Zijuan Go home and ask her to say hello to her girl for me, and if anyone comes from Zijuan's house in the future, come directly to your house and don't go through the door."

Ying'er responded, and when she was about to leave, Baochai stopped her again and said, "The winter solstice is coming soon, you take the crispy radish we made ourselves last time, the mutton is not good after a night, but the radish is easy to let go, call She serves it with rice. In winter, she always thinks that the big kitchen over there is full of meat and oil. If she doesn't like to eat, then it's better to just eat a little bit of it. Even take a jar of wine and drink it every day. A little bit, it’s best to warm your body—isn’t it time for the winter bamboo shoots? Then get some bamboo shoots, no, she doesn’t have a place to cook them, and next time when Mom is going to go, ask the kitchen to make them and bring a box Give it to her, just now the kitchen said that there is ready-made steamed plum cake, but I can't give it to her, what a pity! What a pity!"

Ying'er stopped and listened, and Fang asked: "My younger brother is not on duty yet. I'll ask him to go to Zijuan's house every day to ask. If Zijuan is here, let her wait a while. Let's go get some snacks now." make."

Baochai said: "Alright, you can tell him to go home and get a walking mule to come and go quickly. From now on, tell the kitchen to steam plum cakes every day, and even prepare yam and jujube cakes. She has a bad stomach, and eating this is good for digestion." .”

Ying'er wrote it down one by one, and then she left. Sure enough, Baochai stopped her again and said, "Go and ask, is there enough bird's nest for her? If it's not enough, just ask someone to come and get it. It's all deducted from her dividend, no, you can get some ideas now, last time I asked my brother to buy some good blood swallows from the south, just to tell her not to eat those sloppy goods."

The shabby goods were also found by Baba for Daiyu, but now she says they are worthless, and Yinger wants to laugh but dare not laugh, so she stands for a while and sees that she has nothing else to say, so she goes out to have a closer look Instructed once carefully.