Chapter 13 Mrs. Snail

Hu Xueyan's mood during the Chinese New Year this year is not as good as in previous years. Naturally, it is because Qigu's grandma has a stroke, which makes him feel a kind of guilt that cannot be explained by himself. However, it cannot be seen on the surface that the Hu family's year is still full of flowers, bustling and lively.Among them, the busiest one is "Mrs. Luosi" - this title has a long history. Her surname is Luo, Xingsi. "Sister" is an honorific title.This Fourth Sister Luo has a keen eye for heroes, and helped Hu Xueyan when he was down and down.It's a pity that Hu Xueyan has already married a wife, and although they both have a love for each other, they can't get together.Before long, Changmao made a disturbance and fled one after another. They couldn't hear from each other. After nine years of separation, they finally met again.

Hu Xueyan remembers very clearly that it was the sixth year of Tongzhi, and he had been appointed to preside over the Western Expedition and Transportation Bureau and was stationed in Shanghai.Not long after the Qingming Festival, Hu Xueyan's old partner, Fatty Zhang, passed away. He was doing Buddhist ceremonies in Jing'an Temple. When he went to worship with Gu Yingchun and his wife, he saw a young woman with light make-up who was burning incense. Where have I seen it. After burning the incense, the young woman left with a thirteen or fourteen-year-old lady.Hu Xueyan didn't give up, and quietly followed behind, walking all the way, thinking all the way, who is it?

Jing'an Temple is the first ancient temple in Shanghai. It was built in the tenth year of Emperor Wu Chiwu. , the water in the well is tumbling all year round, just like boiling water. Shanghainese say it is a sea eye.Those who first came to Jing'an Temple must go to have a look.The young woman was no exception, Hu Xueyan followed her step by step, pretending to be a tourist visiting the boiling well, and stopped to watch the movement. "Ah Hua, be careful, be careful, fall into the well, I will kill you!" It turned out that the eldest lady looked down at the boiling well, walked very close, and leaned forward again. This action was very dangerous, so the young woman warned loudly—a Hangzhou dialect helped Hu Xueyan knock on the door of memory, and she was surprised and happy I was thinking, isn't this Luo Sijie?

I wanted to scream, but after confirming it, I went forward to say hello.But there are a lot of tourists, and although the atmosphere in Shanghai is relatively open, it is not yet to the extent that Westerners and men and women can greet openly among the crowd, so after thinking about it, I turned around and asked Shutong Guisheng to bring Qigu Grandma with me as soon as possible. The young lady who came called one, the sooner the better. Guisheng rushed away, and he didn't need to tell Grandma Qigu first. Among the two young ladies brought by Grandma Qigu, he found Caifeng who was better than him, and said, "Come with me, I have something important to do. Hurry up." quick!"

Caifeng only thought that he had caused some trouble, and hurriedly followed behind him. Guisheng stopped when he saw Hu Xueyan's shadow. "It's our master who wants to call you." "Caifeng," Hu Xueyan pointed quietly, "go up and ask her if she is the Fourth Sister Luo from Hangzhou? If she says yes, you can say that our grandma is a relative of Master Hu, and ask her to meet your grandma." Caifeng was very clever, so she thought for a while and asked, "What if she doesn't want to go?" "Just turn around and look at me, and she will definitely go."

Sure enough, just as Hu Xueyan estimated, when Caifeng stepped forward to talk, she seemed to be in a situation where it was difficult to communicate, and then Caifeng turned her head to look at Hu Xueyan, and then the young woman followed her gaze to search, looking into the distance. Go, it seems quite shocking. Knowing that he had succeeded, Hu Xueyan quickly turned around and went straight to a meditation room that was used as a resting place for the guests. He found another little eldest sister of Qigu's grandma, and asked her mistress to come out and talk. "Seventh Sister, Fourth Sister Luo, whom I talked to you, do you still remember?"

Grandma Qigu thought for a while, then nodded and said, "I remember." "She is here today. My name is Caifeng, 'fake imperial decree', saying that you and I are relatives, and invite her to meet. She will come soon. Seventh sister, please invite her to your place, and ask carefully. She, she's like a widow there." "Okay, okay!" Grandma Qigu agreed again and again, and then asked, "Little Grandpa, how about you?" "I went to the bank. I have something important to do. I'll be here right away." After Hu Xueyan walked away for a while, he saw Caifeng leading a pretty young woman in plain clothes with lotus steps slowly coming, holding the young lady's shoulders.Grandma Qigu was impatient, she put aside a pair of big feet and went up to meet her.

"Is that Miss Luo Fourth?" "I dare not. My surname is Luo, your surname?" "My husband's family name is Gu, and my maiden name is You, Xing Qi. Our uncle calls me 'Sister Seven'. Sister Luo, you can call me that too." Grandma Qigu is straightforward, and she said it out of her head, but Fourth Sister Luo heard something wrong, since she is a "little uncle", why do you call her "Seventh Sister"?But this mystery is still secondary. There is a most important sentence in front of you, you must ask it clearly before you can talk about other things.

"Excuse me, Mrs. Gu, who is your 'little uncle'?" "Who else? Isn't it the Hu Xueyan you knew a long time ago, the owner of the well-known Fukang Bank." Fourth Sister Luo was surprised and delighted.She had also heard that the owner of Fukang Bank, Hu Xueyan, who used to work as a clerk at Fatty Zhang's, had always wanted to inquire, but had no chance.I don't want to really have such a thing. "Fourth Sister Luo," Grandma Qigu said, "you know we are our own people when you hear me call him Uncle. You must invite me to sit with you for a while. The benefits you treated our Uncle back then, he You told me too. He will come later."

Fourth Sister Luo thought to herself, Hu Xueyan really has a conscience!Just in that flash of thought, my heart suddenly turned up and down. "Fourth Sister Luo," Grandma Qigu urged, "Are you willing to save face?" "Hey, Mrs. Gu, your words are too polite. I really dare not take them seriously." So Grandma Qigu paid her farewell to the bereaved family, and brought Sijie Luo back home.Seeing the grandeur of her family, Qigu's grandma is also warm-hearted, and Fourth Sister Luo is determined to make friends, so she changed her name and talked about her life experience in depth.

It turned out that Fourth Sister Luo fled with her parents back then, and traveled thousands of miles. On the way, her parents died, and she was alone. It was not the end, but she had to choose someone. There were three families together, two of whom were unmarried. Of course, her son in his twenties is always looking for opportunities to court her.One of the two families is rich and the other is poor, but Fourth Sister Luo picked the poor one, surnamed Cheng, and she is the only son. "Seventh sister, I am because he is poor and willing to make progress. As long as he is willing to make progress, I am sure to help him get ahead. Besides, there is only one old woman on the top, which is no different from the other family. They have both parents, three brothers, and two sisters. Marrying and being a daughter-in-law must be like putting on a stone mortar, and it is thankless." "Fourth Sister Luo, if it were me, I would be like you and would rather choose this one." Grandma Qigu had noticed that she was wearing a white-headed chrysanthemum by her temples, but she deliberately asked, "Where is our brother-in-law Cheng? Please come and see me when." "Not anymore." Fourth Sister Luo said sadly, "He died at this time the year before last." "Poor, poor!" Qigu's grandma held her hand tightly, but there were words of comfort. "It's not my fault to say it." Fourth Sister Luo said, "He learned the craft of engraving. He once told me that two years before Changmao came to Hangzhou, he took the provincial examination for Juren. The master went to the examination room to engrave the question paper, stayed up late until dawn, and thought to himself: "I have also studied, and I also stayed up all night. Why don't I go to the examination room and sit here and be a low-spirited engraver. If I write a wrong word, at most I will post the "Blue List", and if I engrave a wrong word, I have to slap my palm, "Eat life"?" I said, "You really have the heart, put away the signboard, and study hard.I take care of the seven things about opening the door, so you don't need to worry about it. 'He really listened to me, the lights were on at three o'clock and the chickens were on five o'clock, and he was bored reading—" "Fourth Sister Luo," Grandma Qigu interrupted her and asked, "How do you manage the seven things you open the door?" "I embroider. Not only do I embroider, but I also go to pick up items for the embroidery shop. Later, I make 'small packages'. I pack a batch of embroidery goods and distribute them to others. I live a very comfortable life. Seventh sister, a bustling place in Shanghai , money is everywhere, as long as you are willing to spend time to pick it up. To tell you the truth, I don’t believe that there are people who starve to death in the world. There are people who starve to death. It’s because money can’t buy rice, isn’t it? Buying rice with copper coins. This is different. Seventh sister, don’t you think so?” "Why not?" Grandma Qigu laughed, "What you said is very similar to my uncle." She then asked, "What happened later?" "Later, Hangzhou was restored. He told me that you have to go to Hangzhou to take the exam for the examination of scholars. Go back to Beijing directly to take the Juren examination, and pass the examination in the autumn of the first year, and then take the Jinshi examination in the spring of the second year. If you pass the Juren examination in Zhejiang, you still have to go to Beijing for the Jinshi examination. It is not worthwhile to go through the same procedures twice. Thinking about it right, I collected two hundred taels of silver and donated a prison student for him, so he worked harder. Alas!" Fourth Sister Luo sighed and couldn't continue. "Is there something wrong with working hard?" Grandma Qigu, who is well-versed in human feelings, asked. "First he vomited blood." Fourth Sister Luo said in a low but calm voice, "He still kept it from me. He vomited blood in a handkerchief, and the handkerchief went to wash it by himself. His face became paler and paler. In the second half of the day, his cheekbones fell It was like putting on rouge. I was ignorant and didn’t take it seriously. One day when he came back from an engagement, I took off his robe and fumbled in my pocket, and found a blood-stained handkerchief. Only then did I realize that he was Tuberculosis." "Consumption?" Grandma Qigu looked nervous, "What happened next? I still rushed for the exam?" "No. How can he hurry up for the exam like this?" "What about the future?" It is natural to recuperate in the future.Tuberculosis is commonly known as "gluttonous tuberculosis". If you want to eat this or that, Fourth Sister Luo always does it according to his temperament. When he does it, he just tastes it and stops. What is left is not only food, but also his guilt. "I've heard people say that as long as you have a good appetite for tuberculosis, it doesn't matter. Like him, he is so greedy that he has no appetite at all. People are getting thinner every day, but it only takes three months. Sigh!" Fourth Sister Luo said again It was a long sigh. Grandma Qigu didn't need to talk about her husband any more, she felt that she was concerned about Fourth Sister Luo, "Where do you live now?" she asked. "Nanshi. Behind the Catholic Church." "Have you had a hard time?" "It's okay." Fourth Sister Luo replied flatly. "Are there any children?" "No." Fourth Sister Luo said simply, but she couldn't help but feel sorry in her heart. "I have no children, and my age is too early for the word 'old'—" Qigu's grandma suddenly swallowed. After all, it was the first time we met, so how could we talk so deeply. Seeing that there was nothing to say, Fourth Sister Luo left immediately, "Seventh Sister, I'm leaving." While speaking, she stood up, "I'll come see you again tomorrow." "No, no!" Grandma Qigu hurriedly stopped, "Why wait until tomorrow? We hit it off right away, you don't want to see outsiders, and have dinner with me, and I will take you back in a carriage." Fourth Sister Luo was looking for something to talk to, and had no intention of leaving. Seeing that she was very eager to keep guests, things went smoothly. "Seventh Sister's words are right." She sat down again, "I also think we hit it off right away. Probably because of fate in a previous life." "Fourth Sister Luo, when you mention 'fate from previous life', I won't let you go back." Grandma Qigu's heart became hot again, "This is not the end for you. Widowhood seems easy. , It’s actually very difficult, I advise you——” She didn't finish her words, but she knew what she wanted to persuade without expressing it.So he answered very frankly: "I don't want to build a 'Jiexiaofang' either, but this time I have to choose carefully." While talking, Hu Xueyan came, "Sure enough, it's Fourth Sister Luo!" He stared at her blankly, with mixed feelings in his heart, there were countless things to say, but they were all stuck in his throat, and he didn't know which one to say. In contrast, Fourth Sister Luo looked calmer, stood up and said, "I used to call you by your name, but now I don't know what to call you?" "You can still call me Xueyan." "It's not decent. You're the big boss now, so you can't call me by your name, it's too inappropriate." "That's good." Grandma Qigu interrupted, "Everyone calls him Mr. Hu Da, or Mr. Da, Fourth Sister Luo, you can call him that too." "Okay, okay. This is an honorific title. Mr. Big, we haven't seen each other for nine years, right?" Hu Xueyan counted silently, "Nine years!" He said, "Although nine years, it's the same as in a lifetime. After Hangzhou was liberated, Lord Zuo asked me to deal with the aftermath, and I asked people to visit you everywhere, but there was no news. Where were you at that time? ?” "I'm already in Shanghai." "Oh, how did you end up in Shanghai?" "That's a long story to say." Grandma Qigu thought to herself that fourth sister Luo would spend a lot of time talking about her life experience, she had already heard about it, so she didn't need to waste time here, so she got up and said, "Fourth sister Luo, young uncle, you all have to deal with it." Let’s have a casual meal here, I’ll go and cook, and you guys talk slowly.” The so-called cooking is just a matter of explaining a few words. One is to order food in the restaurant, and the other is to inform Gu Yingchun that there are guests at home, and Hu Xueyan is also there.Then he sat in the small room next to the living room, opened the door, and closed his eyes to rest while listening to their recounting. "Sis Luo," she heard Hu Xueyan say, "you have helped me a lot in the past. Now that I have finally stood upright, I don't know if there is anything I can do for you. Please just tell me." "Thank you. I can still get along. When I can't get through, I will ask you, Mr. Big, for help." "It's not an ending for you to mess around like this alone." Hearing these words, Grandma Qigu's heart moved, she got up quietly, and looked at each other from a distance, only to see Hu Xueyan and Fourth Sister Luo staring at each other, thinking in her heart, their old relationship has been provoked again. She guessed well.Hu Xueyan felt that she hadn't seen her in nine years, but Fourth Sister Luo had changed. She used to have a long braid tossing back and forth, twisted her waist badly when walking, looked left and right, and Xiaojiabiyu who didn't blush when she saw strangers; He is also much fairer. On his oval-shaped clear water face, those black and white eyes are not as flexible as before, but he glances at him once in a while, as if he has countless things to confide in. The most touching thing is a chrysanthemum with a white head and a knot next to the ponytail. Hu Xueyan chooses the color and likes young widows, so this white chrysanthemum with filial piety is the most amusing. "Is this good," Hu Xueyan said, "I'll help you open an embroidery shop in Hangzhou." "No! I don't want to go back to Hangzhou." "why?" "I'm used to living in Shanghai." "Then, the embroidery shop is opened in Shanghai?" "Thank you." Fourth Sister Luo said, "Let me think about it." Grandma Qigu wanted to hear more, but when Gu Yingchun came back, she had to stop him first, and after briefly explaining the stranger's background, Fang Shi took him to the living room to meet Fourth Sister Luo. "Oh," Fourth Sister Luo graciously put on her lapel as a salute, and called out, "Seventh Brother-in-law." It was such an intimate address that Gu Yingchun quickly lost the feeling of strangeness, and started talking like an acquaintance.Soon, the food was delivered from the restaurant, and the generals were seated. Everyone honored Fourth Sister Luo to sit on the table, but she refused to say anything. In the end, Hu Xueyan was still the first seat. There was an Eight Immortals table, four hosts and guests, each occupying one side. "Fourth Sister Luo knows how to drink." Hu Xueyan said to Grandma Qigu, "And she can drink very well." "In this way, the wine is too light." Grandma Qigu asked, "Sister Luo, what kind of wine do you like? Would you like to burn flowers and carve it?" "Thank you. I don't drink now." "Why do you want to quit drinking?" Grandma Qigu said, "You are alone, and you are about to drink, and you will relieve your worries when you get drunk." "Look at you!" Gu Yingchun complained, "You didn't drink, and you were talking drunk. Fourth Sister Luo is living a good life, why use wine to drown your sorrows?" "Okay! I guess I was wrong." Grandma Qigu gave in, and persuaded the guest again, "You start the precept for me, and I will have two drinks with you." "Don't dare to do it, don't dare to do it. If Seventh Sister wants me to eat it, I'll do it." "That's good. Tell me, what kind of wine do you want to eat?" "What do you eat, what do I eat." "I ate it for fun. I'm afraid you don't like it." Grandma Qigu went to the cabinet to fetch a bottle of mint wine, a gourd-shaped bottle, green wine, very cute, and it aroused Fourth Sister Luo's enthusiasm for drinking. "I'll also have a glass of mint wine." Hu Xueyan teased, raised his glass, looked at Qigu's grandmother and said, "I persuade Fourth Sister Luo to open an embroidery shop, do you think it's okay?" "Mr. Big, I've thought about it." Fourth Sister Luo interjected, "Thank you for your kindness, but I can't do what I want. Even though the capital is yours, you still need a manpower. I can't take care of it alone." "What are you afraid of? Please Seventh Sister to help you, and Ying Chun to take care of you outside. In addition, I will send you two experienced and reliable guys. You can be a ready-made boss." "Eating ready-made meals is also meaningless." Words are a bit off.Gu Yingchun felt that it would be better not to talk about this matter for the time being, so he dragged the conversation away. Of course, the host should choose a topic that the guest is familiar with or interested in, so he naturally talked about "Gu embroidery". There are three schools of embroidery in China. Apart from Hunan embroidery and Suzhou Suzhou embroidery, Shanghai is called "Gu embroidery". Among them, there is a long history, and there is a story that Fourth Sister Luo can talk about very clearly. "Everyone knows that Gu embroidery was passed down from an aunt of the Gu family in Luxiangyuan. The place where I live now is the foundation site of Luxiangyuan—" Luxiang Garden is located in the northwest corner of Shanghai. It was first built by Gu Mingru, the magistrate of Daozhou in the Ming Dynasty. Its real name is "Wanzhushanju".Gu Mingru's younger brother is Gu Mingshi, who was a Jinshi in the 38th year of Jiajing. Unexpectedly, this place was originally a pond, as evidenced by a stone tablet dug out.The three characters "Luxiangchi" are inscribed on the stele, and it was written by Zhao Ziang.Therefore, Gu Mingshi changed the name of Wanzhu Shanju to "Luxiang Garden". Of course, the pond remains the same, and it is still called "Luxiang Pond". Gu Mingshi has many concubines, one of them is Miao. She learned embroidery when she was in the capital, and it was a trick passed down from the palace. Aunt Miao is talented in this area, and she has improved and become more subtle.The five-color silk threads are broken, and the fine needles are densely threaded. The colors are from light to dark, and they are integrated into one. The beauty of color matching is not to mention.The most distinctive feature is that Gu embroidery uses needles instead of pens, silk threads as paintings, and famous traces as blueprints. Landscapes, figures, flowers and birds are all vivid and exquisite, and they were called "painting embroidery" at that time.Aunt Miao once imitated Zhao Ziang's embroidery, and Dong Qichang thought that even Zhao Ziang's own pen could not beat her.I also embroidered a picture of "Standing Stitches", which was really poor and beautiful, and I couldn't tell whether it was a painting or an embroidery.Later, a salt merchant in Yangzhou exchanged a Hanyu chain and a picture of a beautiful woman painted by Zhou Fang, a famous Southern Tang Dynasty artist. Because of Aunt Miao's teaching, all the female relatives of Luxiangyuan, down to the girl, can embroider, and they are very good. Once after drinking, he complained a lot, saying that he "put his name between your ten fingers". However, it was called "Gu embroidery" after entering the Qing Dynasty.Gu Mingshi has a granddaughter whose married surname is Zhang. She is a twenty-four-year-old widow and has a one-year-old son.Care of orphans and keeping festivals depends on slender fingers. The embroidery is not inferior to that of Aunt Miao, but besides embroidering paintings, she also embroiders ordinary patterns. north and south.At the same time, "Gu Embroidery" has also become a famous property in Shanghai. Every family learns it, and even men learn embroidery. Fourth Sister Luo spoke clearly and logically, and Hu Xueyan and Grandma Qigu also listened with gusto.However, Gu Yingchun was a little absent-minded. What he cared about was that Hu Xueyan had six or seven social gatherings in Changsantangzi that day, and he sat at each place for half an hour. Even the journey would take at least four hours. When it was time to come to an end, I reminded him, "It's time to go." Upon hearing this, Hu Xueyan frowned, "Which places are there if you don't have to go?" He asked. "It's best to go to both. As a last resort, then, there are two places that must be visited." "Okay! Let's go to these two places." Hu Xueyan asked, "Where is Fourth Sister Luo? Someone should see her off." "No more." Grandma Qigu said, "The city is so far away, and it's night again." Grandma Qigu couldn't help saying that she was going to stay overnight.Fourth Sister Luo also wanted to stay, but there was only one old man looking after the door at home, and she didn't go back all night, which made the old man anxious and felt unbearable. "That's easy." Gu Yingchun said, "Please Fourth Sister Luo tell me the address of the house, and I'll send someone to notify you." So Hu and Gu left the table first, and Grandma Qigu accompanied Fourth Sister Luo to finish her meal, then led her to the guest room for inmates, checked the bedding and asked Fourth Sister Luo to remove her make-up, and then drank tea comfortably chat. When it came to midnight, the Gu family had a midnight snack every day as usual. While eating porridge, Gu Yingchun came back, accompanied by Hu Xueyan. "Young grandpa didn't go back?" Qi Gu's grandma said casually. "I want to eat porridge." Hu Xueyan also replied casually. In fact, everyone understood that he came to see Fourth Sister Luo.After removing her make-up, she wore a big loose braid, loose trousers, and a jacket. According to the rules, she was dressed in a bedroom, and she was not seen as an "official guest".But since the officials and guests bumped into him, they had no choice but to treat him as if nothing had happened. "Which two families did you leave?" Grandma Qigu asked. "The five old houses of Yajun in Huile, and the four old houses of Qiuyuelou in Huajinli." Gu Yingchun replied. "Isn't the fourth child in Qiuyuelou a good man?" Grandma Qigu asked, "Could it be that 'I took a bath' came out again?" "It's not that she wants to 'take a bath'," Hu Xueyan replied, "It's because the eldest wife of the Qiu family kicked her out." "Oh." Grandma Qigu asked, "Is the fourth child still so thin?" "Slightly fatter." "Well, she needs to be fatter to look good." When they were talking, Fourth Sister Luo kept looking around, showing surprise. Grandma Qigu noticed it, "Sister Luo," she asked, "Have you visited the hall?" "No." Fourth Sister Luo replied, "I haven't even heard of it." "Women go shopping, only our wife." Gu Yingchun said a little embarrassedly, "Sister Luo, do you want her to take you to broaden your horizons?" "Thank you, thank you!" Fourth Sister Luo shrank her hands while laughing, "I dare not." "What are you afraid of?" Grandma Qigu encouraged her, "If you don't know anything, you won't gain wisdom. You have to go to the hall to know why an old man in his fifties or sixties will be handed over to the tomb treasury. You understand the meaning of it." For the same reason, your master will not hand it over to the tomb treasury." "What's the point of this?" "Because you understand, what a woman should look like in order to win a man's heart. Don't force him to do things he doesn't like. If he doesn't like to hear, you don't say much. You don't like things he likes." You have to take it to heart as if it were your own business. At this point, even if you let him go out to shop and eat flowers and wine, his heart is still on you. " "No wonder!" Fourth Sister Luo laughed, "Seventh Brother-in-law listens to you like this." "It's not likely to listen to her." Gu Yingchun said mockingly, "But it probably won't be delivered to the tomb treasury." "Isn't it?" Grandma Qigu urged, "Let's go to have a tea party, and if you are interested, have another drink, and you will learn a lot. If you don't stay with their men's family, what are you afraid of?" "I don't need this insight. I'm alone, and I don't need this insight." As he spoke, he raised his head, and his gaze happened to meet Hu Xueyan's.She hurriedly avoided, but met Grandma Qigu again. Seeing her half-smile expression, Fourth Sister Luo blushed with guilt for no reason, and was a little at a loss. So Hu Xueyan yelled: "Seventh Sister, Ying Chun!" Then he talked about an irrelevant matter, the purpose was to attract the attention of the couple and help Fourth Sister Luo out of the siege. "I can't eat any more wine." Sister Luo found a gap in the conversation, touched her slightly feverish face and said, "If I eat any more, I will get drunk." "No. You can tell if you can drink well or not." Grandma Qigu said, "I'm afraid it's because the wine doesn't suit your appetite." "Probably. Mint wine has a sweet taste, and people with a good capacity for alcohol don't like sweet taste." Gu Yingchun asked, "Sis Luo, would you like to have two glasses of brandy?" "Eat two kinds of wine and you will get drunk." "No, no!" Grandma Qigu said, "Foreigners have to drink several kinds of wine for a meal, some wine is before the meal, some wine is after the meal, and they eat all kinds of miscellaneous things in their stomachs, and they don't even look at them. There's something wrong." "real?" Seemingly not refusing, Gu Yingchun got up to get a bottle of Samsung brandy, and when he was uncorking the cork with a corkscrew, Fourth Sister Luo spoke. "I heard people say that if you wipe the crescent-shaped signboard on this wine with a wet towel, there will be three blue marks. The wine without blue marks is fake." "This is the first time we've heard of it, let's try it out." Asked someone to wipe it again and again with a wet towel, but there was no response, Fourth Sister Luo said calmly: "It can be seen that what you heard is unreliable. How can the wine in the house be fake?" "It's not necessarily true, you have to taste it to count." Grandma Qigu got up to get two crystal wine glasses, and said to her husband, "You are the only one who will accompany Fourth Sister Luo." "Mr. Hu Da, what about you?" Fourth Sister Luo asked. "I drink lightly, please." "Fourth Sister Luo," Grandma Qigu mentioned about visiting the hall again, "how is it, which day?" "Seventh Sister," Hu Xueyan interjected jokingly, "Can you help me make a 'Bordered Tea Wai'?" "Which one wants you to 'fringe'? Not only do we not want your fringe, but we also want to 'cut' your 'edge'!" Fourth Sister Luo saw that they were joking around so casually, without the slightest affectation or unnatural look on each other, she knew that their friendship was deep enough.Moreover, grandma Qigu was not only hearty and enthusiastic, it seemed that Hu Xueyan listened to her very much.She was thinking in her heart that if she had any plans for Hu Xueyan, she must first get through Grandma Qigu. As a result, her tone changed. When she first mentioned "Tangzi", she thought it was an indecent place, and she didn't even want to talk about it. At this time, she asked automatically, "Sister Seven, what do you mean by 'cutting your sides'?" "'Cutting edge' is to snatch other people's friends." Grandma Qigu leaned over and said in a playful and curious manner, lowering her voice slightly, "I'll take you to see my uncle's friends, who are really from Suzhou. , just listening to her talk, you don't want to leave after sitting down." "Really from Suzhou?" Fourth Sister Luo didn't understand, "Could it be that there are fake Suzhou people?" "Why not? When asked, it is said that he is from Mudu, Suzhou. In fact, he is just Su Bai who has learned the 'Tangzi accent'." "Su Bai is just Su Bai, what is Su Bai with Tangzi accent?" "I won't say, you will know after listening." "Okay!" Fourth Sister Luo, who had been steadfastly refusing, took advantage of this and said, "When will I go with Seventh Sister to broaden my horizons?" "Whether you go or not," Gu Yingchun warned half-truthfully, "Beware of "Shenbao" publishing your news." "Oh," Hu Xueyan suddenly raised his voice and said, "Ying Chun mentioned "Shenbao", and I remembered something. After the telegram from Tianjin to Shanghai last winter, I saw that some news in "Shenbao" were I sent a telegram back. Sheng Xingsun is the general manager of the Telegraph Bureau, and he is very well-informed. Some businesses are up, and our news is later than others. Even if we are only one step late, we will suffer a lot. So I have an idea, , do you think I can ask the interviewer of "Shenbao" to help?" "Is it a report?" "yes." "Then, let's send someone in Tianjin and send it with a password every day." "That's not very useful." Hu Xueyan said, "Some market conditions can only be obtained by interviewers. Moreover, not only market conditions, but also market conditions in the court. Like last winter, when Mr. Li Da participated in the case—— " "Mr. Li Da" refers to Li Hongzhang.Grandma Qigu's temperament is rough on the outside and delicate on the inside. When she heard about the official turmoil of the current elders, she knew that there were many related words that should not be heard by irrelevant people. If it was spread, it would cause trouble. Hu Xueyan and Gu Yingchun It was useless, so he quietly pulled Fourth Sister Luo, and at the same time gave a wink to signal her to leave. "They can't finish talking about this, let's go to the side and talk about ours." Fourth Sister Luo was very knowledgeable, and immediately catered to Grandma Qi's intention and said, "I also have something to say, so it's inconvenient to talk about it in front of them. Sister Seven, I feel a little flustered." "Why?" Fourth Sister Luo answered immediately, pulled Grandma Qigu aside, and sat down side by side on the long red velvet "easy chair", holding Grandma Qigu's hand with one hand, while the other hand was only touching her face, which was flushed from wine. Face. "Are you feeling unwell?" Grandma Qigu asked anxiously, "Why do you behave so well that you feel flustered?" "It's not that I'm not feeling well." Fourth Sister Luo said as if struggling, "I never dreamed that suddenly there would be a day like today, meeting Xueyan again, and getting acquainted with you, Seventh Sister, like buying a handful of firewood 'The family said that one day they won the 'White Dove Ticket', and they don't know what to do." Although Qigu's grandma is from Songjiang, she also understands Hangzhou dialect because of Hu Xueyan's relationship. Fourth sister Luo means that Shengdou Xiaomin suddenly won the lottery, which is to use the metaphor of a poor boy getting rich to describe her own state of mind.Grandma Qigu thought her words were pleasing to the ear, and she thought she was very good, but now she is even more right. But it was hard to find the right words to answer, so she just smiled and said, "How can it be? How can it be?" "Why not? I'm a widow, how could I have such a life of talking, laughing and drinking. He wants to help me open an embroidery shop, and you want to invite me to go shopping, not to mention this life, I have never thought of it in my previous life." .” The smugness was palpable, of course Grandma Qigu could see it, she grabbed one of her hands, put it together in her warm palms where there was only flesh but no bones, and asked quietly: "Sister Luo, he wants to open the door for you?" Xiu Zhuang, it's just a matter of one sentence, what do you mean?" Fourth Sister Luo didn't answer, she lowered her eyes, as if she had something to hide and couldn't speak. "Just say something! If you want it, you will, if you don't want it, you won't. It's something you can't force." "Why would I not want to? But, Seventh Sister," Fourth Sister Luo suddenly raised her eyes, "What am I?" "Lady boss." "The boss pays the capital, but the capital is not mine." Grandma Qigu was surprised at the beginning, being a ready-made boss is a great thing, what else is there to think about?Then he suddenly realized, and blurted out: "Then is the proprietress?" Fourth Sister Luo lowered her head again, and said softly, "I'm afraid people think like this." If you don't talk about yourself and others, the implication is very subtle.When this happens, Grandma Qigu won't keep her mouth shut. If there is a sense of propriety, she will grasp the propriety before she is willing to speak. "Fourth Sister Luo," she finally asked, "You are still young and have no children, so it's pointless to keep it." Before the midnight snack, Fourth Sister Luo had talked about her life experience. At that time, she vaguely stated that she had no children. Now she heard Qi Gu's grandmother say this, and she felt that she should correct it in time to appear honest. "I have a daughter," she said, "at my grandmother's." "Hangzhou." "A daughter is no better than a son, she is always someone else's. In the future, relying on the son-in-law, it's good for the young couple to have a good relationship, otherwise, this bowl of ready-made rice is also unpalatable. Especially if there is a mother-in-law, the face of the in-laws is really ugly." "I will never rely on my son-in-law." Fourth Sister Luo replied, her voice was very flat, but her words were clear and she seemed very confident. "So which one do you rely on?" "On their own." "It's even more important to have something reliable to rely on yourself." The intention was to persuade her to accept Hu Xueyan's sponsorship, but all kinds of distracting thoughts in Luo Sijie's mind before and after this supper gradually condensed into one purpose, to accept Hu Xueyan's benefits, not just one embroidery shop, otherwise Would rather not.So he knew what it meant, but pretended not to understand. Of course Grandma Qigu didn't believe that she didn't understand this, she kept silent, she must have ulterior motives, so she asked: "Are you talking about what I said? It's a matter of ambition to rely on yourself, but there is always one thing to grasp." It’s in your hands. The ability to embroider is all about being young, bright-eyed, and accurate in your hands, and within a few years, you won’t be able to rely on it.” The most reliable one is Xiuzhuang.Fourth Sister Luo will no longer pretend to be ignorant, and think about it: "If I want to open an embroidery shop, I will work hard for two or three years, and I will invite one or two sisters to find a partner, and I will be able to open it." Could it be that Hu Xueyan didn't help enough?Or are you outspoken and unwilling to accept favors from others?Grandma Qigu couldn't see it for a while, so she kept silent. "Seventh Sister," Fourth Sister Luo suddenly asked, "Is the old lady of the Hu family still alive?" "It's very healthy." Grandma Qigu asked, "Have you seen it?" "I've seen it." "So, what about Mrs. Hu? Have you met?" "I've seen it too." Fourth Sister Luo suddenly sighed faintly. At this moment, Grandma Qigu suddenly realized.Hu Xueyan has not forgotten the old love, and Fourth Sister Luo has not forgotten the old love.There will be no obstacles on Hu Xueyan's side. If Fourth Sister Luo is willing to be wronged in this regard, it will not be a good thing. Emotional matters must be consensual.Grandma Qigu made a decision at that time to give them a chance to get close by themselves.Sure enough, there is a destiny, and the two love each other, depending on the situation at that time, it is not too late to be a ready-made matchmaker. "Ah Qi," Gu Yingchun shouted, "Uncle is leaving." When Qigu's grandma turned to look, the little eldest sister was already waiting for Hu Xueyan to put on a mandarin jacket. "Uncle," she said, "Today doesn't count. I will formally invite Fourth Sister Luo tomorrow night. Are you free?" 胡雪岩尚未答话，罗四姐抢在前面谦谢，“七姐，七姐，”她说，“你太客气了。” “不是客气，道理上应该。”七姑奶奶又说，“就算客气，也是这一回。” 罗四姐不做声了，胡雪岩便笑着向她说道：“你看，七姐就有这点本事，随随便便一句话就能够把你的嘴封住，没话可说。” “我话还是有的，”罗四姐说，“恭敬不如从命。” “你这话，”七姑奶奶说道，“才真的太客气了。” “那么，还有句不客气的话，只此一回，下不为例。” “好，好。下不为例。” 古应春与胡雪岩互相看了一眼，有同感的默契，罗四姐也是个角色，针锋相对，口才上并不逊于七姑奶奶。 “闲话少说，”七姑奶奶问道，“小爷叔，明天晚上你到底有没有空？” “没有空，也要抽出空来啊！” “罗四姐，你看，你多有面子！” “哪里，我是沾七姐你的光。” “地方呢？”胡雪岩插嘴问说。 “你看呢？”七姑奶奶征询丈夫的意见，“我看还是在家里吧！” "Also." “那就说定了。”七姑奶奶又说，“小爷叔，还有句话，我要言明在先。罗四姐今天住在我这里，明天早晨，我送她回去，下午再去接她。不过，晚上送她回家，小爷叔是你的差使了。” 这是试探罗四姐，如果她对胡雪岩没有意思，一定会推辞，一个男人，深夜送单身女子回家，那会在邻居之中引起极多的批评，罗四姐果真以此为言，七姑奶奶是无法坚持一定要胡雪岩送的。 推辞也很容易，最简捷的办法，便是说夜深不便，仍旧想住在古家。可是，她不是这样说，说的是：“胡大先生应酬多，不要再耽误他的工夫了。” “没有，没有！”胡雪岩赶紧接口，“明天晚上我没有应酬。” 七姑奶奶看着罗四姐笑了，这一笑倒使得她有些发窘，将视线避了开去。