Mrs. Song rushed in, only holding her grandson in her arms. There were congratulations everywhere, so she could come out with the swaddled baby in her arms. She said to Li Shu and Li Wan: "Two aunts, look, oh, you are pregnant. My heart is also at ease.”
Li Shu thought to herself that Mrs. Song only had her grandson in her heart and didn't think about the mother at all.
Liwan knew that Lishu was a bit left-handed, so she quickly said: "Yes, she was born well. Your family is really lucky. After all, she is the eldest son and grandson, so it makes a difference."
"Let's go in first and see how eldest sister is doing? Madam, do you have a doctor at home?" Li Shu slightly lifted the hem of her skirt and went up the steps.
Mrs. Song is not afraid of her daughter-in-law, but she is a little worried about her third sister, the first lady. She obviously has a good face, but she doesn't like to laugh much. She is not as kind as Miss Liu's fourth sister. But she is very cunning, and ordinary people have to be careful when speaking in front of her.
"We all invited imperial doctors we are familiar with." Mrs. Song said with a smile.
Lijia's situation was obviously not very good. Giving birth to a child was originally a hellish experience. Lishu also struggled to give birth to a child in her previous life. She was proud of the fact that she rode horses a lot and had a longer body to give birth. What's more, Lijia originally gave birth to a child before. When my daughter was born, she was too young and didn't know how to use force to hurt her body.
"You guys are so good at taking care of big sister. We will come back in a few days." Li Shu saw that Li Jia was unconscious, but her life was not in doubt.
But Liwan still wanted to stay here a little longer, and Lishu didn't force it: "Second sister, I'll trouble you here."
She was about to go out when she heard that Zheng Hao was coming to pick her up, and Li Shu went out in a hurry. Originally Zheng Hao just came to pick up Li Shu, but Song Shilang was at home and wanted to talk to Zheng Hao. Now Li Shu saw another side of Zheng Hao. He was really good at socializing.
What you say may not sound nice, but what you say is polite and appropriate.
After he finished speaking, Li Shu went home with him. As soon as she got on the carriage, she said tiredly: "We stood outside that yard for a long time, and Mrs. Song only cared about her grandson and didn't care about others. Fortunately, My eldest sister is fine, she just passed out. But it will be difficult to regenerate."
"It is indeed dangerous." Zheng Hao held her hand and remembered the past. If the birth of his mother's younger brother had not been so difficult, the second brother would have been born with weak bones.
When she returned home, she heard that Zheng Qing and Tan had had a quarrel. In Lishu's heart, Zheng Qing had never had much sense of existence. He was probably sick and weak, and people around him were very cautious about him. Everyone thinks that patients generally have good tempers, but Li Shu has heard a saying that lame people are sinister, dumb people are vicious, and blind people are suspicious. The more sick a person is, the more sensitive and suspicious their mind will be.
Therefore, Lishu told the story of the Tan family's loss in business with the Wang family, and said: "The same is true for the second sister-in-law Che next door. She was a little better and only paid five hundred taels."
Zheng Hao shook his head: "Five hundred taels are not too few for them. This is not because of their own greed. Businessmen are doing business without capital. Can they outsmart others? It doesn't matter if they can read the account books. What others do If it weren’t for the Yamen’s false accounts, who would be able to find out clearly.”
"But I say that Mr. Wang is also short-sighted. The rabbit won't eat the grass beside the nest. If this happens, I don't know how many troubles will be caused in the future when he is in office." Li Shu had already spoken.
Zheng Hao spread his hands: "That's beyond our reach. Although I may inherit the position of clan leader in the future, that's still the case.
In the clan, when he goes out to be an official, he must abide by the court laws. Besides, my fourth brother Naze has a gourmet grandmother, two daughters who are waiting to be married, and a son who spends money like water. His wife is not willing to take out the money from her dowry. , but you have to think of ideas elsewhere. "
Li Shu was speechless: "This is the first time I know what it means to be rich and unkind."
When faced with the quarrel between Zheng Qing and Tan, the couple chose to pretend they didn't know about it, so as to save face. Li Shu took out her account book at night and calculated. She didn't have much land as a dowry, only three hundred acres plus an ordinary small village. , and there were two other small shops, but Li Shu didn't think much of it, because these were carefully purchased by her mother and her anyway.
Among the three hundred acres, there are two hundred acres of paddy fields, fifty acres of woodland, fifty acres of wheat and sorghum, etc.
She calculated the approximate amount, and saw that what Zhuangtou sent was almost the same, so she didn't care. But the family couldn't eat all the rice, grains and preserved fruits, so Li Shu kept some of it to make her own rations, and sold the rest.
For example, some of the chickens, ducks, fish, meat and deer robes fed by Zhuangzi were handed over to the public school. After all, she brought the companions here. These people also have to eat better during the New Year holidays, and the Zheng family who eats their own food will not say anything.
Moreover, she now has five taels of silver a month, which is enough for her hairpins and rings on weekdays. She wears two of them a year, and makes some new clothes to buy her wardrobe, which does not exceed two hundred taels at most.
Li Shu quietly calculated and found that if this continued, she would make a profit of more than 700 taels every year, which was considered very good.
One of her shops is Kaimipu, which is not big and is in an average location. The other shop is slightly better and is a tavern in Tongpingfang.
As we all know, pawnshops and banks are the richest businesses. I heard that the most profitable part of the eldest aunt's dowry was a bank, and this bank is now accompanying Li Zhen.
Li Shu knew that she had just taken over and could not make changes at will or use the capital to open a new store, but she could still make the business of the two stores better.
She doesn't have as much capital as Li Zhen, and she's not greedy. She just wants to take it step by step steadily.
Born in a noble family, it is natural that there are many books in the house. For example, the wine shop she owns is just for selling wine. I heard that the young Fu family just bought the shop.
"Call Shuizhi over. I have something to tell her." Li Shu said.
After a while, Shui Zhi came over. When she heard Li Shu mentioning the wine shop, she smiled and said: "My man was talking about this, but he and grandma wanted to go somewhere together. He only sells wine. The wine is just ordinary wine, and the business is mediocre. I thought that the next door was opened, and I could make some snacks to sell together. "
"It's a good idea. I know the recipe for braised vegetables. I can braise some vegetarian vegetables on weekdays, and make some kidneys and pork heads. As for the wine, we have to make a wine that is cheap and affordable for everyone. That kind of ordinary turbid wine is too bad, but it can't be withdrawn for a while. I think it is better to use pine needle wine as the main drink. People in Beijing like to drink these. There are also seasonal festivals, such as the Double Ninth Festival, which sells chrysanthemum wine. On weekdays, there are many fruits in the village. , we should make some fruit wine." Li Shu said something casually.
But then I met Tong Shuner again and heard him talk about his plan to expand the store. He seemed to be talking eloquently.
Li Shu nodded: "I will pay you half of the money first, buy the next door, and then ask the master in the shop to bring me the wine to taste. If it works, I will invest more money. If it doesn't work, I will lay off the manager, be careful." . When the time comes you
His face is gone, and Shuizhi’s prestige around me these years is gone. "
It is easy to be awkward when doing things with acquaintances, but this does not apply to Li Shu. Tong Shun gave her the opportunity to manage the shop. If she did not have diamonds, she should not take on the porcelain work.
Tong Shun was shocked and quickly knelt down to show Li Shu the list he had written.
Li Shu glanced at ten lines and only named them a few times. Seeing that Tong Shun'er was not wrong at all, she felt relieved: "Okay, you go down first, and I will ask someone to give you some silver later. Once you've done it, I'll If I buy a new shop, you can take care of another one for me."
Give a stick to a sweet date, especially since the winter solstice and twelfth lunar month are coming soon, wine is the best seller.
…
She has no business talent, and it should be said that she has not been exposed to it much. After all, Xiao Fu only has one shop as her dowry, and she usually takes care of the family business. Lishu can only learn so much. This is the first time she has done anything since she got married. big decision.
After making the decision, she was very concerned about it.
Zhulan said to Lishu in private: "Girl, I see that the Wu family seems lively and lively. The dowry of 170,000 taels seems very small, which shows that they have a lot of money. But the Zheng family has been a family of officials for generations, but the wife never shows off. Mountain dew, why do you bother?”
Li Shu looked at Zhulan and couldn't help but praise: "You are very insightful." Indeed, Mrs. Zheng didn't even blink when she heard Mrs. Wu give her daughter 170,000 yuan, and the Zheng family only had Zheng Hao and Zheng Qing. Two brothers, their only daughter L is already married. Zheng Hao's grandfather was prime minister and died at the age of seventy-eight. His great-grandfather was also a governor, and Zheng's father became Minister of War, so their family's money would only increase.
"What insights I have, I didn't learn them from the girl." Zhulan said with a smile.
Lishu knew that Zhulan was her confidant and explained the reason: "Any truly wealthy family is afraid that others will care about their family's money, so it doesn't matter if I am the eldest grandma. If you show that you treat their family's money as nothing, It's better to be dirt. Besides, I'm still young. Even if I have some skills, I may not know everything. I can be easily fooled as soon as I get started, so I might as well start from a young age. I can't even run a small shop, so what? When managing a big shop, I always feel that everything must start from small things.”
When Zhulan heard this reason, she admired her very much: "Grandma really makes me admire you."
It is really extraordinary for ordinary people to be able to remain calm in the face of huge fame and fortune.
In a blink of an eye, it was Lijia's son's third party. Zheng Hao sent Lishu there. He still had to go to the Yamen and could only make it in the afternoon. Unexpectedly, I met Li Zhen on the road. Li Zhen came in a carriage with a canopy. She was very impressive and attracted a lot of people at once.
Zheng Hao glanced over there, smiled and said to Li Shu: "You go in first, I will go to the Yamen."
"Okay." Li Shu nodded.
When Li Zhen saw Li Shu, she spoke in a familiar tone: "Third sister, have you heard? Fourth sister is already pregnant."
Li Shu knew that her dog's mouth couldn't spit out ivory, but she wasn't angry either. She just said with a smile: "I heard about it yesterday. I heard my grandmother said that when Aunt Ding was let in, it was the Ding family who said Ding Auntie is born to look like a man, and Lirou's figure looks very much like Auntie Ding, so there's nothing strange about that."
"It's just that third sister, you came in earlier than fourth sister?" Li Zhen asked deliberately and doubtfully.
As soon as she saw Li Shu like this, she knew that she had no food in her belly, no meat, and only the Zheng family
She let her go and even held two flower banquets to make her famous.
But if she couldn't give birth, it would be over. Zheng Hao was in her late twenties.
Just as Liwan came over, Lishu greeted her: "Second sister, just now the fifth sister said that the fourth sister is pregnant, and you came in early..."
Li Zhen got a lot of benefits from Li Wan. When she saw Li Shu confusing right and wrong, she pointed at her and said, "You are really shameless. I'm talking about you."
Liwan felt choked in her heart and didn't want to get involved between them. Knowing that Lishu deliberately provoked her, she said, "Okay, just stop talking."
"Okay, anyway, I don't know who is causing trouble every time?" Lishu didn't get angry and left calmly.
Li Zhen came in angrily. Li Wan suddenly glanced at Li Shu, but remembered that Li Shu would never drag her into a fight and spoke very measuredly. Why was she like this today.
Zhulan also asked Lishu this question on the way: "Why are you treating the second girl like this today? You were always very considerate in the past."
"Because it was like this many years ago. I used eye drops in front of my grandmother. I was just repaying these two people." Li Shu smiled slightly.
I still remember that Liwan once told the old lady that she was diligent in studying and was not filial in front of the old lady.
Li Zhen thought that she was the wife of the eldest son of the Hou family, and her status was higher than that of her sisters. She should be aloof and surrounded by stars, but in fact, Li Shu still didn't pay much attention to her.
But it doesn't matter, as long as the Zheng family supports her.
Of course, the Zheng family was very polite to both her and Lishu. This was because Liu Chengxu himself was now the governor of Hedao. If he returned to Beijing in the future, he would probably be appointed as a senior official at the ministry level.
At this time, compared with the rise of the Liu family, the Song family seems to be a thing of the past.
Moreover, Zheng Hao is now in the Hanlin Academy. He is still so young and has an official career of at least forty years. No one can say what the future will bring. Moreover, after Lishu married into the Zheng family, she personally held two flower banquets. The Song family members They have all played together in the past, and they are actually more familiar with her than Li Zhen.
Others admire Li Zhen, but they may not fall out with Li Shu.
Therefore, Lishu also has people who can talk to her. For example, Zeng Yunxi’s wife, the Princess of Jintan County, is also the daughter of Princess Longchang. Since her sister was elected as the Crown Princess, she also married into the Zeng family. .
Li Shu thought that Princess Longchang was really cruel. She made Prince Yun's Princess Shao'an marry her, and then made her fiancé her uncle.
The Lord of Jintan County and her sister, the Lord of Jinxian County, are completely different people. She is handsome and gentle, and has a gentle temperament. She is a woman who regards her husband as her first priority. Zheng Hao introduced Zeng Yunxi to the teacher who is currently studying the Book of Changes. Mrs. Zeng San came to Zheng’s house several times to thank him.
In fact, Li Shu also lamented that if a man is not able to get married, he can still marry a noble wife, but no matter how good a woman is, it will be difficult for her to marry a good man once she breaks off the engagement. Zeng Yunxi was able to marry a good wife no matter what.
After dinner, they went to watch the third day of washing. On the day of third day of washing, the people who came were usually close relatives. Common people's homes usually gave the mother some food such as oil cakes, osmanthus stoves, broken edge stoves, eggs, brown sugar, etc., or Give children clothes, shoes, socks, etc. as gifts.
Wealthy people also give these, but they are much more luxurious.
The Song family set up an incense case outside, enshrining Bixia Yuanjun, Empress Qiongxiao, Empress Yunxiao, Empress Jisheng, Empress Songzi, and Empress Douban.
There are thirteen statues of gods including the Empress and the Empress of Eyes. Li Jia's sister-in-law, Song Mingcheng's wife, placed a copper basin containing soup made from locust sticks and mugwort leaves as well as all ceremonial items on the kang. At this time, the grandma who gave birth took the baby in her arms and "washed it"
It officially started. The Song family members take the lead in adding a small spoonful of water to the basin, and then put some coins in it, which is called "adding the basin".
.
If the gift is gold and silver, put it in a basin. If the gift is banknotes, put it on a tray aside.
Lishu gave ten gold ingots with the meaning of "lucky and rich", while Liwan gave two purple gold ingots with the meaning of "ruyi". Although Lirou didn't come, she asked someone to send a lot of small clothes. Lishu originally thought that Li Zhenhui generously gave away gold and silver ingots, but she didn't expect that she only gave away six gold ingots for "the number one scholar and the first place".
Li Zhen did not expect Li Shu to use ten gold ingots. Although she did not show it, she still asked Li Wan privately: "Master Zheng has resigned, Zheng Hao is a poor official, and Li Shu's dowry is only that." Like, why did she give away so many?"
Two ingots of gold are equivalent to a dozen taels, and ten ingots are equivalent to hundreds of taels.
The general gift given by the Hou Mansion is no more than a pair of gold ingots, that is, two ingots.
It was Li Zhen who wanted to outdo everyone and give such gifts.
After the third bath, everyone went to see Lijia. Lishu also took a look at Lijia and saw that she had a thick bandage on her head and no blood on her face. She could only look at the child next to her with relief.
"Eldest sister, congratulations. Now you have a son and a daughter. You really have the word 'good'." Li Shu stepped forward and said.
Lijia pursed her lips and thanked: "Third sister, thank you."
Li Zhen rushed to hold the child, as if the child was very close to her. Li Shu only thought it was funny. It was said that before Li Zhen got married, her aunt specially asked a doctor to treat her so that she could become white. Li Zhen was indeed more luxurious and graceful now than before. She held the child and glanced at Li Shu again.
I really didn’t expect that Li Zhen would still be so fond of Bi after getting married.
Li Zhen is indeed better. She always thought that she might not be favored when she married. Unexpectedly, she was very lucky. In fact, Cen Shifang was not as promiscuous as the rumors outside said. Those were just promiscuous in his youth. Now he is extraordinary. Treat her as a mistress with great respect. He didn't even go to their room with the beauties Meilan, Zhuju and Zhuju.
The only thing is that her mother-in-law is difficult to deal with, but it is probably because of her family background and dowry, and she is polite on the face.
Even when she goes out now, there are people supporting her wherever she goes. Even her grandmother looks up to her.
Lishu knew that she was newly married and her status had suddenly risen. It was easy for ordinary people, not to mention her, to become arrogant. But Li Shu had known for a long time that Cen Shifang was an unscrupulous person. With the methods he used to marry Li Rou, and Mrs. Cen's cruelty to Cen Shiyan, it was not easy for the mother and son to survive.
So she wouldn't say these words, she just wouldn't say much to Li Zhen.
In the evening, Zheng Hao came to take her back. Li Shu came to life as soon as she saw him. Zheng Hao smiled and said, "I have a happy event for you today."
"What's the matter?" Li Shu asked.
Zheng Hao said: "You said you were going out on your birthday. I don't think it's good to offer incense. The Gan Nian Temple is on a mountain with a lot of snow, so I found someone to book a place. You can listen to the rustling in front of the bamboo house. With the sound of snow, we can build snowmen together, enjoy the snow, and eat barbecue."
"Don't invite anyone here." Li Shu emphasized.
Zheng Hao nodded: "Don't worry."
Li Shu stepped forward and hugged his arm, wishing she could hang on him all the way.
After so many birthdays, she disliked sitting with a lot of people with whom she was not close, and not to mention being hypocritical. Her birthday party was also watered down, because the next Lijia's birthday party was grander than hers.
Sure enough, on the day of her birthday, she was blindfolded and went to a place. She originally thought it was a bamboo door to watch the snow. Unexpectedly, she was in a place that looked like a bamboo door, but there was a glazed wind lantern hanging at the door, which was probably some whale oil. , the wind does not extinguish the snow even when it blows.
Above the bamboo door are crystal tiles that are so transparent that you can almost see the falling snow. The wind chime at the door makes a crisp sound, but the back room is extremely warm, even wearing a single coat is enough.
The inside of the bamboo door was very delicately tidied, and everything was something Li Shu liked very much. It was fluffy and soft, surrounded by various orchids and peonies, as if it were surrounded by a sea of flowers.
Delicious delicacies were placed on the tables in front.
Zheng Hao whispered in Lishu's ear: "At night later, you will be able to enjoy the snow scene better under the warm lights."
"Aren't we going back tonight?" Li Shu asked.
Zheng Hao nodded: "Of course, aren't you willing to spend the night with me?"
Li Shu shook her head: "I'm so willing. I really didn't expect that I would have such a birthday." I remember that on this day in her previous life, she got married to the Yu family. She traveled a long distance and was actually raped on the night of her wedding. Take the drug and immediately fall into hell.
In this life, she spent her birthday with the one she loved. Lishu was pulled out by Zheng Hao. Zheng Hao signaled: "Come and paint eyes on the snowman."
"Okay." Li Shu picked up the pen and drew the eyes of the snowman.
As if to put the finishing touch, the snowman instantly became naive.
They tasted delicious food and sat on the couch to enjoy the snow. Lishu felt very relaxed. For the first time, she felt, wow, life is so beautiful.
After pouring a glass of wine, Li Shu raised her glass to Zheng Hao: "Thank you for taking the time to celebrate my birthday."
Zheng Hao also raised his glass and touched her glass lightly: "You don't spend so much thought on me on weekdays. You also obey my parents and help my mother take care of the family business. You care about my food and drink more than myself. These are all things that should be done.”
The two drank it all in one gulp and looked at each other and smiled.
After drinking a few more drinks, Li Shu was slightly tipsy. She looked at Zheng Hao and said: "Some time ago, Li Zhen teased me and said that I entered the house earlier than others, but I didn't have any children yet. In fact, I know that you are the eldest son and grandson, so I should have done it earlier. It’s only right if you’re pregnant. But I just feel like, so what if I’m not?”
Zheng Hao rarely heard Li Shu tell him such concerns. The couple usually just talked about calligraphy and painting, or how to deal with housework.
Therefore, when Zheng Hao heard what she said, he was actually very distressed: "It doesn't matter if I don't have it. There are many people vying to be my son. When the time comes, we will let those smart and well-behaved people in the clan stand in front of you. It’s your choice.”
Li Shu wrinkled her nose: "If you tell lies, you will definitely have to take a concubine."
"Nonsense, any man will be pushed to the bed if he doesn't want to. If you are like my mother who almost died when you were pregnant, and the son you gave birth to is unhealthy, I would rather you have a good health than suffer damage to the mother and son. Stay with me." Zheng Hao smiled.
Li Shu raised her glass again and said three times: "Okay, okay. In fact, I am very satisfied after hearing what you said." She drank a glass and seemed to be drowsy again.
She didn't know if it was a dream, but she heard someone whispering in her ear.
How do you know that what I said is not what I think? !
