"It's not a relative at home, it's actually a stoner from Nancheng Alley. He is holding a box, and I don't know what is inside. He is protecting it like a big treasure. Today is the first month of the year after all, uncle. I had contact with him again. The person in charge couldn't refuse him, so he only led the stone idiot to the front hall to have tea."
"It's him."
Uncle Rong knows how poor Shi Duzi is, so what other gifts can he give? Besides, the Jia family has no contact with Shi DaZi. Shi DaZi is still an idiot with no financial knowledge. The sun is coming out in the west when he comes to visit today.
Very strange.
Uncle Rong left Xiangling behind to talk to the two grandmothers, Keqing and Xifeng. Out of curiosity, the maid who followed the message from the inner house of the mansion went to the front hall, but when she got there, the stone idiot was nowhere to be seen.
"The uncle is here. The gentleman was so embarrassed that he wanted to leave in a hurry. He left a box like this, saying it was for the uncle, and there was something in it that he wanted to say to the uncle."
Uncle Rong had already discovered that the box placed in the front hall originally belonged to Dongfu. That time when Jia She and Jia Yucun blackmailed Shi Duozi's fan, it was Uncle Rong who sent it in this box.
Is it possible that the stone idiot specially sent the box today?
"How long have you been gone?"
"I just entered the hall and didn't even take a sip of tea. Mr. Shi put down the box and left."
What a neat guy. Uncle Rong opened the box and saw a book on the upper floor, and familiar folding fans below.
"Journey to the West"?
There are more than ten versions of Once Upon a Time in the Ming Dynasty in Journey to the West. In addition to the earliest "Journey to the West", "One Hundred Chapters of Journey to the West", and "Tang Sanzang's Journey to the West", "Journey to the West" is the most widely circulated version.
Therefore, "Journey to the West" and "Tang Sanzang's Journey to the West" are readily available for purchase in Nancheng. And because "Journey to the West" has only forty-one chapters, it is much cheaper than "Journey to the West: One Hundred Chapters".
Why are such books delivered in a box?
The gift must be an embroidered version of "One Hundred Chapters of Journey to the West" with exquisite illustrations. It's really not possible to give a copy of "Embroidered Portrait of Plum in the Golden Vase" or "Embroidered Portrait of the West Chamber".
Uncle Rong picked up the book in confusion and opened another fan. He saw a beautiful picture of Xiang Fei painted on the fan. After taking inventory, I found that there were more than ten fans.
Shitaizi sent all the fans.
What does this mean?
"Did he leave anything before he left?"
The steward replied: "Mr. Shi only said that he was anxious to return to Jinling and did not leave any other words."
Back to Jinling?
It's just the Lantern Festival, no matter how urgent it is, it's better to be in such a hurry. He gave his most precious fan away out of nowhere, which is really confusing. Uncle Rong frowned and rummaged through the box again.
No letter was found inside.
"Didn't Stone Dude say that he left a letter?"
The box was thoroughly rummaged through, but apart from a dozen fans, there was only one copy of "Journey to the West".
Uncle Rong curiously opened the book and saw on the first page:
"Chaos is undivided, the sky and the earth are chaotic, and no one can see the vastness. Since Pangu broke through the Hongmeng, it has opened up the distinction between the clear and the turbid.
Encourage all sentient beings to look up to the benevolence and discover that all things are good. If you want to know about the Yuan Gong of Good Fortune, you must read the Journey to the West: The Legend of Shie. "
He suddenly raised his eyebrows and saw that the world was in chaos, and there was no one to see it. 'In one sentence, the two characters 'mangmang' and 'miaomiao' are circled with a red pen.
What the stone idiot wants to say is hidden in the book?
Looking back further, I saw another trace of a red pen circle.
"The moon hides the jade rabbit and the sun hides the crow, and there are ghosts and snakes intertwined. The intertwined phases, the life is strong, but it can plant golden lotus in the fire. Gather the five elements in clusters and use them upside down, and you will become a Buddha and an immortal after the work is completed."
These are the three words "inversion", "Buddha" and "immortal" in the sentence above.
There is no other red pen circle in the whole book at the back.
Vast, vague, upside down, Buddha, immortal.
What do these words mean? What does the stone idiot want to express?
After thinking about it for a while, I had no clue. Boundless and vague both mean far-reaching and vast. In no way can it be connected with upside-down, Buddha, and immortals.
He really couldn't figure it out, so he stopped thinking about it. It's the ink pen that the stone idiot casually circled.
Just as he was about to throw the book aside, he suddenly stopped and curiously opened the last page of the book. There was an illustration painted on it, but it was not the original four people who traveled westward to seek Buddhist scriptures.
The painting shows a group of monks. The one wearing Baina monk robes has a leprosy head, and the one wearing tattered Taoist cloaks is lame on one leg and leaning on a cane.
The word "Mang Mang" is written on the side of the monk's statue, and the word "Miao Miao" is written on the Taoist statue. It seems that 'Mang Mang' and 'Miao Miao' are the names of this monk.
"I can't explain it clearly, so I just answer these riddles." Uncle Rong murmured, calmly closing the book and holding it tightly in his hands. Just ask someone to move the box and the dozen fans inside into Grandma Rong's yard.
The next day, seventeen.
Aunt Xue invited a drink in the small courtyard to the east of Rongguo Mansion. Not only Mrs. You and grandma Qin of Dongfu were invited, but also Uncle Rong.
Although the courtyard is not spacious, it does have a space. It is adjacent to Grand View Garden in the north and Rongguo Mansion in the west. It is also a rare and good place.
At noon, Jia Mu, Aunt Li and the grandmothers and wives of the two houses were drinking in the main room, while Uncle Rong was hosted by Xue Pan in Xue Pan's study. Another visitor in the study is Mr. Lian, and the three of them can relax and have a drink here.
When talking, he inevitably mentioned Xue Pan who went south, and he couldn't help but think about it. He also couldn't help but talk about the marriage between Bao Qin and Master Mei Hanlin.
Brother Rong said: "Uncle Tadashi, there is no need to worry. As long as the Mei family returns to Beijing, can they keep hiding?"
Although Xue Biao is relatively young, his spirit is more mature and steady than Xue Pan. "Although the two families exchange letters, the engagement is rarely mentioned. What the Mei family means, alas..."
Jia Lian asked: "What high branch has the Mei family climbed to in recent years?"
Xue Biao said: "It's not a matter of whether the branches are high or not. Now the two masters in the family are gone, and the mother is ill again. It's reasonable for the Mei family to have concerns, but my mother is seriously ill. In the past two years, girl Qin will not be taken care of. Because of the marriage, if something happens to my mother after two years, Girl Qin will have to wait for another three years. A few years have passed, and Girl Qin is already seventeen or eighteen years old."
Romance
"Seventeen or eighteen is a good time. It's not until eighteen or nineteen that you get married, so there's no need to worry." Jia Lian comforted her.
That's what he said, but everyone knew that the more time passed, the more the Xue family would suffer. There is no one in the family who can support the scene. How can Bao Qin be considered a good family after a few years?
Brother Rong raised the wine and said: "The boat will be straight when it reaches the bridge. With so many shops in the Xue family, they can at least maintain their wealth and wealth. It just so happens that the business between Ningguo Mansion and Uncle Pan has been short of people to take care of recently. Uncle Pan came to take charge. I Don’t worry. The business between the two companies is also closer, you have more income, and the Ningguo Mansion has an extra layer of protection."
He really wants Xue Biao to take charge of the business, even if he shares a share of Xue Biao's family, at least Xue Biao is more reliable than Xue Pan. The most important thing is that Xue Biao's character is guaranteed and his work is well organized. He is trustworthy.
There are not many people around Jia Rong who are trustworthy and reliable. Now Ping'an Prefecture, Jinling, and Heishan Village are all short of people. In particular, Heishan Village is still sending people to Kyakhta, the trade area between Eros and Mobei. He even plans to send a caravan from Kyakhta into the hinterland of Eros to Yekaterinburg, the newly built industrial city in Eros.
Learning from experience is very necessary to develop an industrial city. If possible, Jia Rong even wants to build Montenegro Village into the Yekaterinburg of the East.
Lack of people, lack of reliable people. Fortunately, there is no such thing as child labor in this world, so he can set his sights on Xue Biao.
