Hearing this, Zheng Haizhu secretly cheered.
As a time traveler with a slight God's perspective, she only had a rough impression. In history, Huang Zunsu, as one of the Seven Gentlemen of Donglin, did not have extreme views and ruthless methods. Later, after becoming an important minister during the Tianqi period, not only did he not have any enthusiasm Party struggle, but also efforts to coordinate and ease the relationship between the Donglin Party and other parties.
Nowadays, it seems that a man with a good temperament has a mature concept, which permeates all aspects, not just officialdom, but also artistic accomplishment and attitude towards women.
However, appreciation is appreciation. On the bright side, Zheng Haizhu has certainly seen the subtle changes in Yao's expression.
Zheng Haizhu knew the rules of life and must not chat and laugh happily with Huang Zunsu in front of Yao, especially when the couple had different views on literary criticism.
She then quickly took out a stack of Yexie cloth cut into small strips from another bundle and handed it to Huang Zongyan's wet nurse. She respectfully said to Yao: "Grandma, this is one of our famous cotton cloths in Songjiangding." , although it is far from as gorgeous as the Suzhou embroidery and Hangzhou brocade, it is extremely soft and absorbs sweat. People here love to use it as linings and as diaper cloths for little ones, and it is also very good."
When Yao saw Zheng Haizhu changing the topic with interest, the frost in her eyes faded away. She gave a few polite words of praise, and then asked the wet nurse to put a piece of Yexie cloth on the baby to try, and then asked Huang Zunsu: "Master, what are you doing today?" Are you still going back to the government office?"
Huang Zunsu squeezed his son's cute little pink fist and said, "I still want to go, so I'll leave now."
"Oh," Mrs. Yao's tone suddenly showed sincerity and enthusiasm, "Miss Zheng must have lunch before leaving. I just happened to be asking for advice from the female celebrity."
…
That evening, Huang Zunsu returned home from duty and saw a dish of fish maw soup on the dinner table.
Yellow croaker belly and yellow croaker are both specialties of Ningbo Prefecture. If cooked together with fresh large yellow croaker caught in the sea, it will become the "Three Yellow Soup" that has attracted countless gourmets in the south of the Yangtze River.
But today's yellow croaker soup is stewed with a seasonal vegetable from Liantang Town, Songjiang Prefecture: wild rice.
Huang Zunsu took a sip of the soup and praised: "I didn't expect that cooking wild vegetables from river ponds with seafood is so pure and beautiful. This wild rice is called one of the Eight Immortals of Water in the Susong area, and it is indeed well-deserved."
Then he asked his wife: "Can Miss Zheng have a taste of this soup at noon?"
Sitting opposite, Mr. Yao picked out the most complete piece of yellow croaker belly, put it into the bowl of his eldest son Huang Zongxi, and replied calmly: "I tasted it, Miss Zheng drank a lot. I am an honored guest, so naturally I have to treat her with good soup." of."
Huang Zunsuhun didn't notice his wife's sarcastic tone, and called his eldest son by his nickname with great interest: "Lin'er, come and tell me, what did you teach me today?"
Huang Zongxi, who had just turned six years old, quickly put down his chopsticks and replied: "It's still the "Zengguang Xianwen" taught. It's a close relationship but not a close relationship. It's not a close relationship but a close relationship."
Huang Zunsu smiled and said: "Oh, this sentence. Then Lin'er, tell me, how do you interpret this sentence?"
Huang Zongxi rolled his eyes and looked at his younger brother in the wet nurse's arms. He said seriously: "The meaning of this sentence is that whether two people can play together does not necessarily have anything to do with whether they are from compatriots. For example, My brother and I are both the children of grandpa and mother-in-law, but my brother doesn’t know anything now and is not as fun as the tabby cat in the yard. But Xiaoru and I have endless things to talk about, and she and I are very close."
"Xiaoru" is the daughter of the owner of a tofu shop in the alley. She is also six or seven years old this year and has a very cheerful and lively temperament. Huang Zongxi came to Songjiang with his mother to reunite with his father. Within a month or two, he became familiar with Xiaoru. He loved to watch Xiaoru explain how to make various kinds of tofu at home.
After hearing his son's interpretation, Huang Zunsu couldn't help but laugh and nodded: "Yes, yes, the so-called white head is as new and the cover is as old, it also means the same thing, but it is not as innocent and interesting as my Lin'er said."
Huang Zongxi won his father's praise and was more willing to reveal his inner feelings.
He said with a hint of disappointment: "It's a pity that Xiaoru is a girl. Mother said that girls can't go out to school like my brother and I."
Although Huang Zunsu was upright and strict with outsiders, he was always gentle and loving towards his family members. He was not like some fathers who adopted harsh and rigid parenting methods as their credo towards their eldest son.
At this moment, seeing that the young child was both happy and sad out of his sincere friendship, Huang Zunsu patted Huang Zongxi's shoulder kindly and comforted him: "After I came to Songjiang Mansion to take office, I saw that this place has a new atmosphere. Maybe it's too late." In two or three years, the free school will accept girls."
Huang Zongxi listened to his father's words and just relaxed his brows when his mother Yao on the other side said lightly: "A wealthy family can invite a gentleman to the house to teach the ladies as a boudoir school. One of them follows the family's tofu seller. Little girl, what kind of book should you read? Just know how to calculate accounts."
Huang Zunsu's face suddenly turned cold, and he said seriously to his wife: "Mr. Yangming said that the meaning of enlightenment lies in 'promoting conscience and understanding human relations.' Conscience and human relations can be observed by all people in the world and can be distinguished. There is no distinction between men and women. How can we differentiate between high and low? If you and I gave birth to a female child again, or if one of us was demoted and turned white again, would you still make the remarks you made today? From now on, don’t say such shallow and arrogant words in front of your children. There is no need to bring a seedling crookedly!"
When Mrs. Yao saw that her husband was really sulky, she immediately became timid. She just bit her lip slightly and stared at the table with her eyes down. After listening to these words honestly, she quietly replied: "That's what the master said."
The atmosphere suddenly became cold. Fortunately, the wet nurse was good at smoothing things over. She took a spoonful of fish soup and fed it to Huang Zongyan in her arms. The fish soup was extremely fresh, and the baby was happy to taste it. He pursed his two red and tender lips, looked at the soup bowl on the table alertly, and hummed. Huang Zongxi also knew how to lighten the atmosphere, and lightly flicked his brother's cheek: "What I just said was wrong. You are actually very smart, and your tongue is smarter than a cat."
The two sons were so cute, the adults' discord didn't escalate anymore, and the family finished the meal peacefully.
At night, after Huang Zunsu checked his son's homework in the study room, when he returned to the bedroom, Mrs. Yao was inserting the hairpin into the wooden stand donated by the Han family today.
Huang Zunsu walked over and stared at the four embroidery paintings behind the wooden frame.
Yao said: "Master is right, this Songjiang Mansion really has some new trends. Women can not only open a shop and sell tofu, but also join an official's family as a mistress, and can also help the court fight bandits. It's really better than those on the screen." The embroidery done by Aunt Gongsun is even more impressive."
Huang Zunsu did not respond immediately, but only moved his gaze upwards, looking at his wife's expression when she spoke through the bronze mirror.
Yao's eyes flickered slightly, and he soon stared at her husband in the mirror.
"Master, I have something to discuss with you. Now that the master's official career is going smoothly and he has passed away, it's time for a new member of our family."
