in spring

Chapter 285
Second Aunt Lu gave birth to a big fat boy. Three days after the birth, the blush on her body had faded, and she looked fat, white and cute.Chunying carefully hugged her little cousin, took a sip of his smooth and tender face, which made him snore with his mouth wide open, sprayed bubbles from his nostrils, and twisted his small mouth open head.

Chunying turned around with a smile and said to Second Uncle Lu, "Second Uncle, Xiao Si is so cute." Second Uncle Lu never left his son's eyes, and was very proud when he heard that, "Of course, I don't want to Look whose son it is!"

Mother Lu lifted the curtain and came out from the back room, she couldn't help laughing at him: "I think the child looks like a mother, but only two eyebrows are like your second uncle! Amitabha, Bodhisattva bless you, fortunately there are more elephant mothers, and you can grow up." Be handsome, otherwise you will look like you, wouldn't you have to be old to get a daughter-in-law?"

Chunying and Lu Da laughed, and even the mother-in-law of the daughter who was in the room with her confinement laughed loudly, saying: "What does it matter if you are older? Only when you are older, you will know how to love your wife! As long as the couple are harmonious If you are angry, you are blessed!"

Everyone laughed again, before Lu Yougui asked his younger brother: "Now we only know that the child's baby name is Xiaosi, and what is his first name, have you figured it out? According to me, it's better to wait until the first birthday, and it's not too late to choose another one." .”

Uncle Lu said: "The child was just born before, and I discussed it with his grandfather. I think Dafu Dashou is good, but his grandfather likes the word 'Rong', saying it is Lu Rong Lu Rong, which is the salary of Fu Lu Shou If you are honored again, you must be blessed. I think of the cousin of the Huo family, isn’t he called Brother Rong? He also comes to see the young master occasionally on weekdays. The young master gave me one. The eldest young master said, let’s just have good fortune, longevity, honor and wealth, and name it Siquan, and after the child’s baby name. It sounds okay to me.”

"Lu Siquan?" Lu Yougui thought for a while, "That's all, it's auspicious, but it sounds more mature." He didn't say a word, but the name was too similar to a servant's name. The nephew will be an errand in the eldest and young master's mansion in the future, so of course it is a good name, but if he is like Xiaohu, he becomes a good citizen and can read and write in the future, it will sound a bit rustic.The younger brother was just happy to have a son, and he didn't like to pour cold water on others, so he didn't say anything.

Chunying was not very satisfied: "Lu Siquan? It doesn't seem very pleasant, but Lu Rong is pretty good. If you are worried about offending the young master of your relatives, you can think of other things. Why do you have to use the words Fu Lu Shou Xi?"

Mother Lu smiled and said, "How does your girl's family know these reasons? Newborns should be named with auspicious words, otherwise they should be given cheap names. It's a big girl's name. When your sister went to work in the mansion, the old lady changed her name to Qiuyu. Your name is Chunying. Following your sister's name, you are an old scholar who asked a street stall to write family letters for you. Helped me out. Xiaohu’s name comes from his zodiac sign, so when I go to school in the future, I will naturally ask my husband to choose a more elegant one.”

Chunying was sweating profusely when she heard that, thinking that if she was really called Lu Erya, she would be in trouble, so she quickly changed the topic and said with a smile: "Then let's name the little brother after Xiaohu's name. ? Anyway, I will start again in the future, and now I will be a rustic one, Lu Xiaofu? Lu Xiao...otherwise, Lu Rongshou or something, is better than Siquan?" He secretly wiped his sweat, thinking that he must not call Xiaoshou is fine...

Lu Yougui waved at his daughter: "What's the trouble?! The eldest and young masters have already given names, what else do you want? It's good for the family to be called Xiaosi, and we will talk about the future!"

Chunying curled her lips, looked down, and saw that the little cousin had fallen asleep at some point, and hurriedly handed it over to her mother. Mother Lu took it lightly, and then carried her back to the inner room to be taken care of by her sister-in-law.Second Uncle Lu stretched his neck and followed him with his eyes.

Chunying sat back on the kang again, and asked him with a smile: "Second uncle, sister, can they come over?"

"I came here yesterday. The couple brought Brother Kang and Xiaohu together." The curtain was lowered in the room, and Lu Er angrily looked back, and replied, "It's a pity they didn't come today. The Lu family will take them away in a few days Rent? It’s not easy for your sister to come here once. If I had known that you would come, I would have sent someone to pick them up early in the morning.”

Lu Yougui waved his hand: "Forget it, their sisters are all in the capital, what's the problem if they want to meet? It's just that sister Qiu's family has a lot of things to do, and Chun'er is going to work in the inner courtyard of the East Mansion, so the timing is just unlucky. Lu Yougui The son-in-law is not easy to make a living at home now, and we will go to their house to spend the night in the evening, so we can help the young couple along the way."

Uncle Lu was very surprised: "I only know that his family rents a house for others to live in, and opened a carriage and horse shop, but I didn't know he was so busy."

Lu Yougui smiled: "Before, your sister-in-law and I had some savings, but because we didn't dare to show our wealth, we bought a few yards one after another and rented them out to others, and let our son-in-law take care of them for us. It's 50 taels of silver. Son-in-law Lu also has a few yards to take care of herself, and when she gets busy, she can't take care of her family. Your sister-in-law is worried about how many children your daughter has to take care of, and she plans to move there to take care of her. I'm afraid the superiors will find out. That's why she stopped her." As soon as Chunying heard this, she knew that her father had bought a yard again, but the housing price in the outer city was not very high, so it shouldn't cost much.

Second Uncle Lu had heard about it before, but based on the income of the 50 taels of silver, he knew that the yard bought by his brother might not be one or two.

"Don't be afraid, it's all under the name of your daughter and son-in-law. Even if the superior finds out, it's okay." Lu Yougui smiled slightly, "My money is all clean, and it didn't come from the mansion. What are you afraid of?"

Second Uncle Lu heaved a sigh of relief: "That's all right, but why do you always buy houses and rent them out if you have money? If I were me, I would rather go to the countryside to buy land. If I have land, I will be confident."

Chunying said: "The fields are certainly good, but we have errands on us, so we can't go out often to take care of them. Besides, the weather is unpredictable. If there is a bad year and the fields lose their harvest, then the money will be wasted. It's better Renting a house for people to live in, even if it is relatively deserted at ordinary times, in the year of the scientific examination, or when officials come to Beijing, merchants come to do business, etc., the annual income, after deducting the daily expenses, will have a lot of surplus."

Second Uncle Lu couldn't help laughing: "You child, the older you are, the better your abacus will be! But this is only done by ordinary people outside. We have children from families like ours... Even if there is some wealth, it is not your own. Why bother?"

Lu Yougui said: "It's not that she has a good abacus, it's that you have never thought about it that way." After a pause, he lowered his voice, "You have always been a shrewd person, when you traveled around with the young master in the early years, you still thought about the future How is that, why are you so timid now?" Chunying also echoed: "Yes, yes, I remember that the second uncle said that the young master promised you that he would let you work for the people after the family was divided, why didn't you listen? Speaking of the sequel?"

Second Uncle Lu smiled wryly and wiped his face: "It's not that the young master can't abide by the agreement, it's me... I haven't the guts to mention it again. It's so strange. When I was a little fudao in the past, I thought that I must leave the house in the future. Get ahead! But now I am the manager of the young master’s mansion, the master’s family is very fond of him, he has a wife and children, he has enough food and clothing, there are people in the family to take care of him, and he can command a large group of people every day... My thoughts of leaving the country have faded .I didn’t want to be a slave before because I didn’t have a good life, but now, it doesn’t matter so much whether I get out of the country or not.”

Chunying hurriedly said: "Second Uncle, what's the difference? We were born as slaves, so it's okay if the master's family is good, but what if the master's family is not good? Are you willing to be beaten and scolded every day?! Besides, this is It is related to future generations. You only had a son in your thirties. Do you still want your son to serve others? Like Xiaohu, you can study freely. If you study well in the future, you can also take the exam and become an official. It’s much more convenient to do business if you don’t want to be an official. Don’t be confused about this kind of thing!”

Lu Yougui nodded: "Chun'er's words are reasonable. If you don't change your lowly status, no matter how rich your family is in the future, your children may not have a good future. In our village, the original manager Cao also has money in his family, which is common in nearby towns. Nobody in the family has any money like him, but so what? Because he was kicked out of the mansion, and he didn't take off his lowly status. Originally, a good family liked his eldest son and wanted to marry his daughter. I heard that he My family is not a good citizen, so I didn’t mention it anymore. I was like you at first, thinking that a stable and rich life is enough, and there is no need to fight for the title of a good citizen, but since Xiaohu was released, I changed my mind After all, a good citizen is much better than a slave."

Chunying nodded all the way listening, not to mention how happy she was.Dad finally changed his mind completely, how difficult it has been for her these past few years!
Second Uncle Lu lowered his head and thought for a while, then listened to his son's Yiya voice from inside, his heart softened, and he said, "Forget it, I'll go and find out what the young master has said, and I think it will be based on the friendship between our master and servant." , it is not a problem to ask Xiao Si for a favor."

Chunying hurriedly said: "It's best to ask for your grace. The second aunt came from the embroidery workshop, and she was not a slave in the first place. If the second uncle becomes a commoner, the fourth will be like a child from an ordinary family. It's no different! If you really don't want to part with the young master, you can stay and continue to take care of the house. Didn't the Hou family have children who were released in the past and continued to do errands for the master's family?"

Seeing that his younger brother was thinking seriously, Lu Yougui signaled his daughter to go out with him, and let his younger brother think clearly.

Chunying went out and saw no one around, so she pulled her father's sleeve to the kitchen and whispered: "Father, I want to tell you, if possible, prepare for the redemption as soon as possible."

Lu Yougui became vigilant: "What's the reason? Did something happen to you in Dongfu?"

Chunying quickly shook her head: "I'm fine, the old lady and the wife are paying more and more attention to me. Because of this, I feel that the situation is very good. If I find an opportunity to ask for grace, maybe the old lady and the wife will do it for my sake. Agreed. Now the housekeeper is Miss Si, and she has always treated me very politely, as long as she has a good reason, she will not be afraid even if she is in front of my wife."

Lu Yougui was surprised: "Then why are you so impatient?"

Chunying thought for a while, and then said: "I always feel...the affairs in the East and West Mansions are too complicated, I'm afraid I will be involved, and I won't be able to get out in the future." Thinking of the political crisis in the Hou Mansion, she decided not to tell her father Well, if you tell him about this kind of thing, he can't do anything about it, but it will add to his worries.

Lu Yougui thought for a while, then shook his head and said, "No, I have an errand now, and I'm in my prime, why should I redeem myself? Don't look at the old ladies and wives doting on you, if they know that you want to get the whole family out , you may not like it, if you can’t ask for it once, it will be difficult to ask for it again in the future!”

Chunying said: "How can I not understand this? It's just a matter of opportunity. If you miss it, you may not have it again. If you don't catch up because of lack of preparation, wouldn't it be too bad? I know I can't ask for it right now. Grace, but it’s always okay to make some preparations in advance.” She lowered her voice: “The secret business in the village... Father, are you still involved? I remember that my wife already knew about it.”

Lu Yougui also lowered his voice: "Although I also helped to take care of them all the way, I never interfered when they were doing business. Now they earn a lot less money. I heard that other Zhuangzi are also doing this business. Well. The Zeng family complained several times because Guanshi Cao lost his job, but still got a share. We all secretly guessed that the reason why the wife heard the news was probably the secret of the Zeng family. Fortunately, The Zhao family has made things right. Now we don’t dare to make big moves, for fear that the wife will come to check.”

Chunying lowered her head and thought about it for a while, before saying: "Since this is the case, no matter how much dad participates, don't participate anymore. Just think of a reason to sue for illness, let alone a serious illness, just say it's leg pain and headache. Ah, dizziness or something, Duoduo pretends to be 'sick' in front of people. First pretend for two or three months, and then say hello to brother-in-law, find a good time, and when the old lady and wife are happy, go ask for grace and mention it Illness, let’s ask my father-in-law and mother-in-law to go home to take care of me. With my help to talk, it shouldn’t be a problem. If I can get a doctor’s medical certificate or prescription, it would be the best.”

Lu Yougui thought it was reasonable, nodded with joy, and asked, "What about you?"

Chunying smiled: "Father is really confused, wouldn't it be easier for me? As long as you all go out, I'll find another chance in a few days and use the excuse that my fiancé has a letter and I'm going to start preparing for the wedding. It just couldn’t be more logical.”

"But... Brother Hu has only been there for less than a year!"

"It's just preparing for the wedding. It's normal to prepare for a year or so. The people in the East Mansion don't know how many years he will be going. Besides, we just need to be able to leave the mansion." Chunying saw her father's expression of disapproval, and then Added in a low voice, "I know, I will try my best to be more cautious. In fact, it is a matter of time before I leave the mansion. I have already mentioned to the old lady and the wife that I am engaged and will get married in the future, so the most troublesome It's you and your mother."

Lu Yougui smiled, and patted her head: "My good boy, we will take care of your mother's affairs, you should work hard in the mansion, don't always think about us. Although the old lady, the wife loves you You, but sometimes the girl is too pampered, and it's not easy to get away, don't listen to, don't talk about, let alone do those secret things, as long as you survive until Brother Hu comes back safely, dad will be at ease."

Why do you have to wait until Hu Fei comes back?Chunying thought disapprovingly.If she could go out earlier, Hu Fei would be happy for her when she came back and found out, right?However, she still kept her father's warning in mind, recalling what she had done recently, broke out in a cold sweat, and decided to keep a low profile in the future.

Looking up at her father, Chunying smiled and said, "Father, don't you still have some money at home? Do you want to buy some land first? It's best to buy it in other places, where no one knows us! Then our family will be rich in the future!"

Lu Yougui smiled, raised his head and knocked on her forehead: "Father has his own idea!" After saying that, he turned and went back to the house, Chunying followed shyly.

After spending most of the day at my second uncle's house, I went back to the back street to meet Shi'er. When Chunying returned to Dongfu, it was almost dark.She was listening to the girls under her hand reporting on the day's work when she suddenly heard a noise coming from the direction of the front yard, so she hurried to the door to see what was going on.

I saw Mr. Xu rushing in in some embarrassment, knelt under the front steps, and shouted: "Old lady, someone is coming from the palace...there is an imperial decree!"

(End of this chapter)