Sometimes Zhou Yun would bring her son over to play, but the weather was cold and she didn't come often.
Shen Hua and Xu Ying's little brother is already two years old, named Xu Xin, brother Xin.
There is a greenhouse in Painter Shen's house. The Shen family and his wife have not returned to Pingcheng and have been staying with him in Shengjing. However, he still doesn't like to stay at home and often brings Brother Xin to Li's house.
Without him, it was because of the Xu family.
Last year Shen Hua built a greenhouse at his home, and this year Xu Ying's parents came to Shengjing from Hexi Prefecture.
Xu Ying got married to Shen Hua before going to Beijing to take the exam. At that time, Xu Ying had a falling out with her family. Later, those who followed Xu Ying to Beijing were Xu Ying's uncles, cousins, and others.
Xu Ying's parents have been staying in Hexi Mansion.
After Xu Ying was admitted as a Jinshi, she could have returned to Hexi Prefecture during the holidays, but because Shen Hua had already taken the job of designing clothes for the Royal Cloth Shop, Xu Ying did not return to his hometown at that time.
I didn't go back then, and so far, I have no chance to go back.
Xu Ying's parents have not seen Xu Ying for six years, including when Xu Ying was falsely accused and imprisoned, and Xu Ying's parents did not come to Beijing.
But now the official road from Hexi Prefecture to Shengjing is paved with cement, which is not only smooth, but also takes much less time, so Xu Ying's parents came to Shengjing.
The couple were old, but the house where the Xu family lived did not have a greenhouse, so they went to the house bought by Shen Hua in the east of the city every day to stay in the greenhouse, to see Brother Xin, and to urge Shen Hua to have another baby as soon as possible. The fat son will leave Xu Ying as a heir, otherwise Xu Ying will have to take concubines, and the Xu family cannot be cut off from the heir.
He also said that even if the Xu family was wrong and did not care about the Shen family's kindness to Xu Ying, now that Xu Ying has been the son-in-law of the Shen family for six years, the Xu family's face has been completely humiliated, so the Xu family is no longer I owe it to the Shen family.
In short, when Xu Ying's parents came to Beijing this time, they did not target Shen Hua like the Xu family did before, but they accurately grasped Shen Hua's weaknesses and caused Shen Hua's diaphragm to break.
After all, Xu Ying's parents were his serious parents-in-law, and he couldn't let others grab a broom and kick the couple out.
Sometimes his parents would get angry and quarrel with Xu Ying's parents, but because he did not give birth to a son for Xu Ying, Xu Ying's parents would often criticize him and they would be speechless.
Out of sight, out of mind, he simply took Brother Xin or himself to the Li family.
That afternoon, when Tao Zhu and Fan Yuanyuan came back from outside the city, it was almost dark.
In fact, it is not yet evening, but it is cloudy today and there is no sun, so it is only three o'clock in the afternoon, and candles need to be lit indoors.
Fan Yuanyuan came in through the gate at a trot. As she ran towards the leisure room, she said to Tao Zhu behind her: "Uncle Zhu, I'm going to go to the greenhouse to warm myself up first. Follow me quickly!"
"You go first." Tao Zhu replied with a smile. He looked at Li Ji, who was currently in charge of chores in the front yard: "Are elder brother and sister-in-law back?"
"As for Master Zhu, the eldest master and eldest lady have not returned home yet."
Li Ji replied while handing the key to the corner door to Li Man so that Li Man could take the carriage back to his house.
"Then you send someone to the north of the city to invite them back. It's cold today. If it gets dark later, it will definitely be even colder."
Tao Zhu ordered.
The couple's sweet potato workshop is in the north of the city. It was extremely cold today. When I went out in the morning, I felt almost the same as yesterday. As a result, it became colder and colder throughout the day.
When they returned to the city just now, the small stove in the carriage was burning brightly, and he and Fan Yuanyuan were wrapped in thick fox fur cloaks, but they still felt cold.
No, Fan Yuanyuan ran to the greenhouse as soon as she entered the door. She couldn't stand it for a moment.
However, they had to prepare a quilt for the couple to wrap themselves up in, otherwise they would feel as cold as he and Fan Yuanyuan did.
Of course, there is also Li Qiao.
In addition, there were several people from Li Shu Li Dashan who were working in the shop, and they had to be given bedding to avoid freezing.
After arranging a series of tasks, Tao Zhu entered the leisure room.
As soon as he entered the door, the hot air hit his face, and his cheeks, which were red from the cold, were enveloped by the hot air and suddenly felt a little warm.
He raised his hand and patted his face and looked indoors.
"Eh? Brother Hua, what's wrong with you?"
He was a little surprised.
Shen Hua was lying on his side on the kang, his face facing him, his eyes were red, showing that he had just cried.
Fan Yuanyuan sat aside, looking a little at a loss.
She was not familiar with Shen Hua.
"It's okay, Brother Zhu, you're back. Sit down." Shen Hua sniffed and his voice became hoarse. He put his hands on the kang and slowly sat up.
"Er Bao and Brother Ju shouted that they wanted to see Xiao Rui Chang Feng Yun Fan, so Brother Qian and Brother Xia took them there."
"Yuning is reading in the concubine's room, while Xiaolan goes to the kitchen to arrange dinner."
"You're crying like this, but you're still okay." Tao Zhu frowned and walked towards him: "It must have been Xu Ying's father and mother who said something."
"What they said is true. I did not give birth to a son for my cousin."
Shen Hua's mouth tightened as he spoke, and tears welled up in his eyes.
Tao Zhu: "..."
He took two steps to the kang, grabbed Shen Hua's hand and shook it gently: "Xu Ying doesn't care about this at all. Don't cry. As for what Xu Ying's parents say, don't take it to heart."
Shen Hua sniffed and said nothing, but his head hung down, and big tears kept falling down.
After a while, he whispered: "I'm just annoyed. When will this kind of life end?"
In fact, Xu Ying didn't care whether she had a son or not. He only cared a little bit.
But after Xu Ying's parents came, they talked about it every day, and the small indifference in his heart was magnified.
In addition, he couldn't just hold his neck and make a fuss with the Xu family and drive people away at will, so the frustration was kept in his heart and he couldn't vent it.
Anyway, he's been in a bad mood lately.
Even if Xu Ying took care of him in every possible way, he didn't want to go home.
The conflict between Shen Hua and the Xu family was an old problem, and Tao Zhu had no good solution. He could only sit with him and talk about other things to divert his attention.
Soon, the Li family members came back one after another.
Shen Hua still didn't want to leave, so he had dinner with the Li family.
Halfway through the meal, Xu Ying came.
Xu Ying was a little embarrassed and sat down to eat with the Li family. After the meal was finished, Tao Zhu took Shen Hua to the main room, while Li Qiao and Xu Ying went to his study.
"Brother Xu, I shouldn't have interfered with your family's family affairs, but it's not an option if I keep going like this. I see Brother Hua is depressed all day long. After a long time, his health may not be able to bear it."
When Xu Ying heard this, she immediately smiled bitterly: "I have already thought about it. In two days, I will hand over a note to the Holy One and invite myself to go out. I will go to a remote place. If so, my family will definitely not follow me."
He couldn't completely sever ties with the Xu family, so it was the best choice for him to leave Shengjing with Brother Hua.
"Is this what you planned?"
Li Qiao was surprised: "But if this happens, Brother Hua will have to stay away from his parents. Moreover, Brother Hua will suffer with you."
"I know."
Mentioning this point, Xu Yingqiang couldn't hold on to the bitter smile. He had a look of pain on his face and his body was leaning weakly in the spacious Taishi chair. He raised his hands to cover his eyes. When he spoke again, his voice was choked: "It's me. Incompetent, sorry Brother Hua."
It was the first time that Xu Ying showed his pain so frankly. Li Qiao couldn't help but frown: "...Brother Xu, is Brother Hua willing to go to the Shantang to help? If he is willing, he can go to the Shantang." "
"In this way, he doesn't have to stay at home all day. He sees more, his horizons are broadened, and he doesn't have to deal with trivial matters at home all day, so his mood will naturally feel better."
He really wanted to find Shen Hua a serious official position that was not within the Dasheng official system and did not require Sheng Hong to pay his salary, but in this case, the Xu family's family ugliness would be spread in front of Sheng Hong.
He is an outsider and inappropriate.
Moreover, his character is to not interfere with the promotion of officials.
Therefore, he could only let Shen Hua leave that home first to prevent Shen Hua from becoming depressed.
"Um?"
After hearing what Li Qiao said, Xu Ying, who was covering her eyes and soaking in coptis juice, couldn't help but move her hands away. He looked at Li Qiao in surprise: "Shall Brother Hua go to Shantang?"
"Yes, I will give him wages. However, it will be very hard for him. He also has to paint clothes and take care of Brother Xing."
"This..." Xu Ying hesitated. Just thinking about it could tell how hard it was for Brother Hua.
However, if Brother Hua follows him to a remote and cold place, it will definitely be more miserable...
"I'll ask him when I get home today." He didn't answer in one word.
It depends on the painting brother's opinion.
After getting on the carriage home, Xu Ying talked about Li Qiao's proposal. As soon as he finished speaking, Shen Hua's still swollen eyes suddenly lit up.
Go to Shantang to work with his Brother Zhu?
He is willing!
He doesn't want to go home, he doesn't want to face Xu Ying's parents talking about him, he wants to escape!
He would rather go to work and work harder than stay at home and be upset and depressed.
If he stays in that home any longer, he will suffocate!
Shen Hua, eager to escape Xu Ying's parents, came to Li's house the next day and wanted to go to Shantang with Tao Zhu.
Tao Zhu gave him the information about the shantang and asked him to familiarize himself with the affairs of the shantang.
The temperature dropped sharply yesterday, but today it doesn't seem to be rising again. The charity has received some donations again.
At the same time, the prices of charcoal, coal, dry firewood and other supplies have risen again.
The weather is too cold and people are reluctant to go out, which even affects the business of Li's shop.
Among them, the most influential one is the hot pot shop.
Hot pot restaurants are not allowed to take out and can only dine in. Those rich and noble people who love hot pot are unwilling to go out, so the business of hot pot restaurants is naturally deserted.
In the afternoon, Li Dashan had someone send back some meat, radishes, cabbage, potatoes and other vegetables. The ingredients at Li's hot pot shop are always fresh ingredients purchased on the same day and are not sold overnight.
There are fewer people eating hot pot today. If these things cannot be sold, they can only be eaten by their own family.
Wang Guihua was at home today and did not go to the sweet potato workshop. She felt very distressed when she saw the ingredients sent back.
These things were all bought by the shop assistants from the vegetable market in the freezing cold early in the morning, but they couldn't be sold.
Suffering and working in vain, when will this cold weather be the boss!
It’s not just the shop assistants who suffer, but also the people at the bottom.
Vendors in the vegetable market, small vendors on both sides of the street, farmers, butchers, and vendors who deliver vegetables and meat to the city all have to get up early every day to work on their own business.
