Chapter 16 second quarter

"Psychic monk?" Sitting in the middle of the sea of ​​silk and satin covering the tatami room, the head wife tilted her head and wondered what upper body and hem lining should be matched with the lavender sharkskin pattern cloth sent by the customer.Mao Qi sat cross-legged on the threshold of Touziniang's studio, leaning against a pillar, and sometimes taunted Touziniang's color scheme. After that, the topic of the psychic monk popped up.To be more precise, this is what Mrs. Touzi said: "Oh, this color scheme is the same as what the proprietress of the main house wore when the psychic boy came out."

Mao Qi turned his back away from the pillar and leaned out. "what is that?" "That's it." Mrs. Touzi matched the dark purple hem lining with sharkskin pattern cloth. "Although this is more appropriate, it's boring, right? First of all, it's too expensive. The proprietress of Kamisoya likes youthful attire..." Kamisoya is a large needle and thread wholesaler in Fukagawa Nishimachi, and the head lady always buys needles and threads there. "I'm not talking about clothes, but that psychic monk." "Oh." The head lady laughed. "Did I tell you?"

"I said it. Is there a monk who has efficacious monks in any monastery?" The head lady smiled and shook her head and said, "No. It's a monk, but it's not a monk from a monastery. It's a child, a child." "The boy who is the boy ① "Monk" and "boy" have the same pronunciation, and they are both "Fangzhu" in Japanese. "Yeah. Didn't I give Furisode a few days ago ①A kimono worn by unmarried women whose sleeves hang down to the hem. I heard that Kamisoya's only daughter is scheduled to have a blind date this autumn, so I asked the head wife to sew new clothes.

"I remember that kind of scary Kabuki pattern." "Yeah, it was really nerve-wracking at the time." Now it is this kind of cloth that makes the head girl tilt her head and worry about it. The wealthy customers who ask the head girl to sew clothes will probably bring people from the kimono shop.The shopkeeper, who is good at receiving guests, asked the apprentice to carry a large pile of cloth, and then spread it out in the tatami room. From clothes to lining, belts, coats, etc., the cloth was selected from the beginning.When the customer can't make a decision, the head lady will make the decision, and the kimono shop will also leave a few spare pieces of cloth for the head lady.The kimono shop is probably because the other party is Hui Xiangyuan Moshichi's head wife, so she dares to leave things with just a written receipt.

The same is true for the furisodes sewed by the chief wife of Kamisoya last time. The only daughter of Kamisoya chose the purple chrysanthemum dyeing of the cloth brought by the kimono shop.It is a pattern that has become popular recently after imitating the fame of Segawa Kikunojo, the second generation of kabuki actors in the previous era. The chrysanthemum and the character "Shou" are alternately dyed. It is a gorgeous pattern at a glance. "That pattern has indeed been popular all the time, but now it is usually used on belts. Really, those who dye the cloth have the face to sell it, and those who buy it have the face to buy it."

Kamisoya's daughter is strikingly beautiful and tall, and is very suitable for gorgeous clothes. The daughter said she must have this, and the kimono shop staff rubbed their hands and recommended it. The mother was very happy, but the trouble was Boss lady.So what kind of belt and lining should be matched with the flowery cloth? "As a result, it's a good thing that the other color schemes were plain, and they made a very nice outfit." The head lady continued. "I don't feel heavy when I deliver the clothes. Anyway, the lady in the main house likes flashy clothes. Besides, competing with others is her hobby. This is probably inherited from my mother."

However, the head lady yelled at the back door of the kitchen for a long time, but there was no response when she went to the main house.The head lady leaned over the edge of the floor and shouted several times, and asked the servant girl what happened after she finally came out. The servant girl said that the lady boss and the young lady had completely forgotten about the clothes. "It's because of that psychic boy." Totouzi Niang sewed clothes at the end of the rainy season. It is said that not long after that, there were frequent scenes of will-o'-the-wisps escaping from the Kamisoya house, scorching tatami mats or latticed paper windows and so on.

Mao Qi hummed and snorted, and Mrs. Touzi couldn't help laughing. "You, as long as there are any supernatural things happening in the business, it is always said that nine out of ten are good things done by the helpers." "Furthermore, merchants with such supernatural beings are very strict with their helpers." Employed people—especially business helpers and the like, the master’s family usually has the power of life and death, and the helpers can’t say anything about any suffering.Although they obey their master on the surface, their hearts are not controlled.The helpers sometimes deliberately destroy the things of the master's house, so as to vent the anger that has been accumulated in the chest for many years.Of course, saying it is "intentional" does not mean that the person involved knowingly commits the crime, but does so unconsciously.

For this reason, Maoqi always tries not to find fault with the small fire or theft in the business.Although Maoqi didn't believe in that kind of thing at all, she would sometimes tell the other party that it might be something like possession.In order to get rid of that thing, it is best to accumulate virtue, conduct business in a proper manner, and be kind to the people below——Mao Qi always talks about things like this. "So I also think, ah, there is finally a will-o'-the-wisp in the upper house. I often think, it's only natural, those helpers hate them very much!" the head lady continued.Mao Qi nodded her head.Kamisoya is a merchant who would rather let his daughter compete with others for entertainment than let his daughter eat two meals a day.This thing is quite famous.

"However, Shang Zongwu made a fuss. There must be something causing the will-o'-the-wisp. Not only monks but also wizards were called..." However, after exhausting various methods, the will-o'-the-wisp still hasn't been quelled. "In the end, just when they were at a loss, the lady heard from nowhere that there was a boy in Shenchuan who had a strong sense. He often helped people exorcise evil spirits, helped people find lost things, and even predicted the life span of others. He had a very good reputation. So They immediately invite the boy over." "What's the kid's name?"

"Day Road." "what?" "Everyone calls him Mr. Ridao. Although I only glanced at him, I also saw him in white attire. He is a boy who is not yet ten years old. His parents are by his side, taking care of him like a rich lady. " Mao Qi pondered for a while, and wrapped her arms around her chest again.He wasn't too happy about it. "That kid named Ridao, how much do they charge for meeting?" "It's not a fortune teller, so you can't say it's a matchmaking fee, what about this..." The head lady tilted her neck. "I didn't ask that detailed, but it shouldn't be one or two, two or two. Anyway, Tiaoshen is very expensive." Mao Qi nodded quietly.The whole thing sounds very unpleasant.It seems that it might be better to show your face at Kamisoya. Mao Qi suddenly wanted to smoke, got up and left the boss's mother's work room.Smoking is strictly prohibited in the tatami room because of the need to keep the cloth left by the kimono shop, and because of the work of sewing clothes. Mao Qi came to the yard with a pipe in one hand, looked up, and saw the persimmons on the branches glistening in the setting sun.The fruit that grows on the top is like a drunk person - his face is flushed. That night. The head lady said that she would stay up late to catch up with work, so Maoqi decided to go to Fugang Bridge.He planned to have a drink, and help the boss's wife buy sushi with beancurd. About ten months ago, a bean curd sushi stand appeared on the bank of the Tomioka Bridge in Fukagawa.The identity of the owner is unknown, about the same age as Moshichi, he manages the stall by himself, not only sells beancurd sushi, but also soup, grilled fish, etc., and the taste is so good that even the restaurant is far inferior. The only downside to this stall is that it doesn't sell alcohol.However, starting this spring, an old man named Zhu Zhu started a business next to the bean curd sushi stall, and this shortcoming has naturally disappeared.Maoqi was very interested in this boss who seemed to be a samurai before—and maybe he was quite high-ranking—and he had been coming here often, and now he was drinking, so he was already a regular customer. In addition, whenever Mao Qi was troubled by business affairs, the boss muttered casually, which often made Mao Qi suddenly enlightened.Also, this vendor is already well-known in this neighborhood, and the business is very good. No matter when Maoqi goes, the benches are always full of people, so all the street talk or rumors in the town gather here, which is very important to Maoqi Also very helpful.To be honest, Mao Qi came up with the idea of ​​coming here tonight just because he thought that the boss might know the rumors about the kid "Ridao". The vendor is located at the entrance of the alley where you walk a few steps north by the Tomioka Bridge and then turn right. There is a pink hanging lamp that is similar in color to the bean curd sushi.Tonight is a bright full moon, even if there is no lantern, you can see your feet clearly. Mao Qi puts his hands in his cuffs and walks towards the street vendor. But tonight there was no light. Because it was a little windy tonight, I thought it might be placed at the bottom of the alley, but when I looked closer, there was still no light, and I couldn't see anyone.Of course, there were no long benches, and looking at the nearby ground, there were no traces of cooking or water marks at all.Probably an old man alone can't do business, so there is no shadow of Zhuzhu. (rested tonight...) This has never happened since I met my boss.Although Mao Qi was a regular visitor, he didn't come on a certain day, he always wandered over on a whim.Even so, there was never a break for the vendors. Mao Qi thought, what happened?At the same time, Kajiya Katsuzo's face came to mind. Kajiya is the name of a boat rental hotel in Kuroe-cho, but it is actually a lair of local gangsters, and the owner is called "Seto Katsuzo".To Moshichi, he is like a double sword in his arms; sometimes convenient, but ultimately dangerous. However, these two swords recently, as long as it has something to do with the owner of Doubi Sushi, in a certain sense, it always stimulates Moshichi like a needle.Kajiya's group, who made a living by extorting venue fees from the big and small businessmen in the Fukagawa area, dared not do anything to the bean curd sushi owner.Once, a subordinate who was running errands was beaten by the boss and fled. Shengzang didn't intend to take revenge. Not only that, but when the bonito first came into the market this spring, Mochi saw Katsuzo hiding in the dark and staring at the boss at the stall.At that time, Shengzang looked like he wanted to fight, and his fists were clenched on both sides of his body, but his style of writing didn't move, and he stood stiff in the dark night. Despite all my doubts, it's a pity that I won't have a drink tonight.Mao Qi shook her head, thinking about what to do with Mrs. Niang's midnight snack, then turned and left.