The Red Mansion Big Liar.

Chapter 171 Gossip
It's already the twelfth lunar month.

There was no snow in the entire capital city in the twelfth month of last year. However, since the beginning of winter this year, it has snowed every few days.

Huifang Garden was already covered in silver, and the bluestone path was also covered with a thick layer of snow.

Zhang Yunyi, who got up early, didn't want to mobilize a large number of people, so he simply changed the way he did morning exercises.

"Master!~"

You Erjie's fair arms went around his waist from behind, and she pressed her jade-white body against his back. She pressed her forehead, which was covered with white sweat, against the crook of his neck and rubbed it, saying in a tender voice, "Or give my round fan to my younger sister. I see she's been feeling depressed these days."

"You can't be soft-hearted. If you don't tame her, something will go wrong sooner or later."

"Hey!" You Erjie knew her sister's temper, so she stopped talking and suggested, "I'm worried that she might get sick from holding it in. How about we take her to the hot springs to relax?"

"There are limited houses at the manor. It might be inconvenient for her to live there."

He was not trying to refuse. After all, his time was limited and he could only stay there a few times a year. There were only three or four main rooms in the hot spring villa, and he did not want to let Baozhu and Ruizhu down and make do with the maidservants.

In other words, pregnant women should not take a hot spring bath, and Xiangling and Fengshi would not follow them, otherwise they might not be able to get a room.

"Can I squeeze in with my elder sister?" You Erjie pressed the softness of her body against his back and said tenderly, "Well, we don't have to live separately. Doesn't the master like me to live with my elder sister and Qin?"

Zhang Yunyi felt short of breath. He was unwilling to admit it and just said perfunctorily: "Let's talk about this later. The roads are slippery due to the snow. It's also the end of the year and the government is busy."

Although auspicious snow means a good harvest, there were no modern means of snow removal in ancient times, and everything depended on manpower. Heavy snow also caused inconvenience in transportation.

There were still people clearing the main roads in the capital and the official roads out of the city, but the road to the hot spring resort outside the city was already blocked.

The roads were slippery due to the snow, and the women in the mansion were not very active, so Zhang Yun逸 was also worried that the carriage would slip and make the journey difficult.

In addition, the glass was being prepared for export, and it was the end of the year. There were a lot of tedious matters such as year-end assessments, condolences, and New Year exchanges. He was also hesitant about whether to wait until the end of the year to go.

Today, the output of Tianjin Institute of Technology has gradually shown benefits.

Although the imperial merchants were not under his jurisdiction, as a business unit, Tiangongyuan would also be responsible for the annual arrangements and tributes.

However, the Xue family, who is close to the water, has not come to take care of things yet.

As the roads were blocked by heavy snow, he had rarely visited the glass factory recently. When he arrived at the yamen, he saw Gu Wenhui and Lai Shangrong walking in carrying three brocade boxes as big as coffee tables.

After carrying the brocade boxes to the table in the duty room, Gu Wenhui opened the top box and said, "Sir! These are the three old ginsengs sent by Master Dong."

Zhang Yunyi stood up and took a look into the box.

The roots are so long and spread out that they fill up a brocade box the size of a coffee table. Just looking at the reeds and knots, you can tell that they are all old mountain ginseng that are over a hundred years old.

Gu Wenhui seemed to be very familiar with ginseng. He introduced: "Ginseng is easy to be eaten by insects and needs to be stored in a sealed container to keep it from spoiling over the years. I have already asked the glass factory to blow glass bottles of sufficient size for you to store them. This year's old mountain ginseng, soaking a strand of its roots in water can keep it alive..."

In fact, for Lin Daiyu, one ginseng of this age is enough for several years.

But the medical level in this era is limited, so he also needs to keep some as a backup.

Especially, Xiangling is pregnant now. There was no caesarean section in ancient times. Giving birth is like walking through the gates of hell. If she is weak after that, a sip of ginseng soup can really play a crucial role.

Old ginseng of this age cannot be bought just by having money.

Zhang Yun逸 immediately took a genuine painting of Mi Fu that he had bought from Boguzhai in advance and rushed to Guangchusi in person to express his gratitude to Dong Guangrun.

……

Rongfu, the Xue family courtyard in the northeast corner. Aunt Xue came back in the snow, and as soon as she entered the door, she took off all the burdens on her body and leaned on the warm kang, breathing heavily twice.

He kept complaining, "The heater at your aunt's house is too strong. It's making my mouth dry."

She had now stripped off all her clothes, revealing the lavender lining underneath and a large area of ​​jade-like skin.

As he spoke, his hand gently stroked his neck, his fingertips brushed the collar, inadvertently revealing a touch of white.

Xue Baochai followed her into the room, took off her fur coat, took a blanket from the kang and covered herself with it.

"Although it's hot in the room, mother should wrap herself up tightly. The cold air will inevitably invade if the door is opened and closed. If you catch a cold, you will suffer. Even if you really feel unbearable, just drink more water."

Aunt Xue responded with a smile, threw away the blanket, propped herself up, stretched out her legs, and sat cross-legged on the kang.

Then, she stretched out her hands to hook the fleshy feet wrapped in silk stockings, bent and twisted the plump body at will, stretched her muscles and bones, and then she exhaled a foul breath and said, "Now that the New Year's arrangements have been made, I can have some free time."

Xue Baochai shook her head slightly, put the blanket on her again, and said, "Mom is confused! Everything else has been arranged, but Brother Yi's place has not been arranged yet!~"

"Yeah!"

Aunt Xue suddenly loosened her hands, and her plump body, bent like a soft bow, suddenly broke open and trembled continuously.

"You are the one who thought it through and let your brother make friends with him. Last time Lian Er came back, he specially invited him to his home. Now, not only did he not mention the share of sugar, but our family also got a share of the profits from the glass this time."

"Then how come mother has forgotten it?" Xue Baochai glanced at the blanket that she had shaken off and frowned.

"How could I have forgotten? Wasn't it just a matter of time before I thought about it?"

Aunt Xue caught a glimpse of her daughter's eyes, gathered her delicate body, picked up the fallen blanket and put it between her chest and abdomen, and sighed, "I heard that Xiangling is pregnant. I don't know whether I should give her a share of the gift?"

"I heard that the old lady and my aunt sent people to visit her. She left our house, so it's not good to pretend that she didn't know!"

Aunt Xue complained helplessly, "Your aunt sent someone without telling me, so I couldn't even get a ride. If I asked your brother to give me a ride, that would obviously be inappropriate..."

Although she was sure that she was right, she was still a little scared when facing Zhang Yunyi alone.

After all, Xiangling almost became Xue Pan's wife, and it would be inconvenient to ask him to bring some gifts.

"Let my brother take Brother Yi's and leave Xiangling's to my daughter!"

Xue Baochai pondered and said, "I heard that Brother Yi built a glass house in Huifang Garden. Not only does it not affect the view, but it is also warm and cozy. Tanchun has been clamoring to go and see something new. I will take her with me when the time comes."

"Glass... a house made of glass? How much glass does it take?"

Aunt Xue just felt a pain in her flesh.

Xue Baochai seemed to have seen something and advised, "Mom, don't think about those nonsense. This glass was made by him, how can it cost money? Besides, the caustic soda business was originally his business. The debt to the East Palace has not been paid yet. Even if he embezzled it, it would only be used to make up for the deficit."

"Oh! How much will it cost to build the glass for the house? Even if the eight families share one, they can get half a wall, right?"

To a hammer, everything looks like a nail. Although the imperial merchants are not businessmen, they have been influenced by this habit and think of business in everything they see.

Upon hearing this, Xue Baochai pursed her lips and swallowed back what she had heard earlier, that Zhang Yunyi had built a greenhouse in his farm outside the city.

Just when she was about to persuade her not to think too much, she heard the maid outside announce, "Miss Shi is here, she's at the old lady's place!"

……

(End of this chapter)