Peasant Girl Bookseller

Chapter 110 Liu Huilan Enters Tong's House
The next day, when Mai Xiang came out of Tong's house, holding the money bag given by Mrs. Tong in her hand, she saw Liu Huilan standing at the door, quickly raised the things in her hand, and smiled brightly at Liu Huilan.

"How much did you give?" Liu Huilan was a little nervous. This was the biggest job she had ever taken on in cooperation with Mai Xiang.

"Master, I told you a long time ago that Mrs. Tong is very trustworthy, she can get as much as she promised, and my family also gave five hundred dollars a piece." Mai Xiang also earned two taels of silver.

"Based on this calculation, if we work hard for another month, we should be able to build a few more houses." Liu Huilan breathed a sigh of relief and smiled. She never thought that she could earn money in more than half a month. To ten taels of silver.

"That's hard to say. Mrs. Tong said that she will take it for a trial sale first, and then write to us in a few days. Another point is that the weather is getting colder. Even if people buy this curtain, it won't be of much use, Mrs. It’s better to make longevity flower pendants.”

"That's true, forget it, I should be content, now I can have a good family." Thinking of this, Liu Huilan became content again.

As for Mai Xiang, she was a little worried. What should she do next?

"Master, I see a toothbrush with bald hair on your kang. I want to ask, how much did you pay for this toothbrush?" Mai Xiang remembered how many toothbrush handles she had at home. Useful?
"That, that's not cheap. It's ivory, and it was given by someone else. We used it at home in the south, and it was also made of ivory. It cost four or five taels of silver." After Liu Huilan finished speaking, she suddenly remembered something. , looked at Mai Xiang and asked again: "Why are you asking this?"

"Master, I know you are good at needlework. As for me, I have asked my father and Uncle Wu to polish several toothbrush handles, but I can only leave the sewing work to my wife."

"This? You can do this too?"

"Ever since I saw this thing at your house and Ge Ge's house, I have been thinking about it, but I don't have ivory, it's made of wood, it's guaranteed to work, it must be easy to use, let's go, Master, let's find the point of selling meat Pig hair go."

After Mai Xiang finished speaking, she was about to pull Liu Huilan away when she ran into Tong Liwen and Fengnian head-on.

"Mai Xiang, when did you come? Are you leaving?" Tong Liwen's eyes lit up when he saw Mai Xiang.

"I've been here for a while, and I've met my wife, and I'm planning to go home." Ever since Mai Xiang knew that he had a pre-determined wife, the little flame in his heart had been extinguished long ago.

"This must be Mai Xiang's mistress, right? Hello, mistress." Tong Liwen noticed Liu Huilan next to Mai Xiang. Liu Huilan's temperament and image were still very different from those of peasant women, so Tong Liwen boldly speculated on her identity.

"Hello, you are the young master of Tong's family, right?" Liu Huilan was not stupid, she met at the gate of Tong's house with a servant, her identity was obvious.

"Hi, mistress, you can just call me Tong Liwen. There are many young masters and masters. I heard that mistress and sir are very knowledgeable. I still want to find a chance to visit, but I'm afraid of being rash." Tong Liwen said politely, saying After that, he took a special look at Mai Xiang.

Tong Liwen finally remembered, that day in his mother's room, why did it sound harsh to him when Mai Xiang called out "eldest young master", because he felt that Mai Xiang had a quarrel with him.

After hearing this, Liu Huilan looked at the other person's expression, then looked at Mai Xiang, and said with a smile: "It's just a few words that I can't recognize, how can I learn? I don't know where the young master of the Tong family is entering the museum now?"

"I'm studying at the Eight Banners Official School in the town. Because I want to take the children's examination next year, my family hired another gentleman."

"It's no wonder that Young Master Tong has extraordinary bearing at such a young age. This young master who has studied is just different."

"Master, don't laugh at me. By the way, Mai Xiang, I seem to have heard you say what kind of pig hair you want. What's the use of pig hair?" Seeing that Mai Xiang hadn't spoken for a long time, Tong Liwen quickly looked at Mai Xiang and asked.

"I want to make something."

"Well, that place is not clean, and it's not suitable for you girls to go. Let Fengnian go there."

"No need, no need." As soon as Mai Xiang finished speaking, Feng Nian ran away.

"Is there anything else you want to buy?" Tong Liwen asked again.

Mai Xiang would be very embarrassed. If she said yes, seeing Tong Liwen like this, she would definitely follow her, but if she didn't leave, what would happen if she always stood at the gate of Tong's house?

Liu Huilan obviously also considered this, and said: "There is nothing to buy, we were planning to go home."

She thought that Tong Liwen would understand what it meant when she said this, but she didn't expect Tong Liwen to say: "Since there is nothing wrong, Master, why don't you go in with me and drink a bowl of sour plum soup to relieve the heat."

"No, don't bother me anymore." Liu Huilan hurriedly refused.

Tong Liwen looked at Mai Xiang, and Mai Xiang quickly waved his hands and said, "I really don't want to go, my wife gave me a drink just now."

Tong Liwen wanted to persuade him later, how did he know that when the boy at the door saw Tong Liwen coming back, someone had already reported to Mrs. Tong, and Mrs. Tong heard that her son had talked with Mai Xiang and a woman in her 30s at the door for a long time, but she didn't come in. , I felt strange, so I came out to have a look.

"Mai Xiang, why don't you go in and talk if you have something to say, standing here in this scorching heat? What are you doing with us, child?" Mrs. Tong looked at Mai Xiang and asked as soon as she came up.

After Mrs. Tong finished speaking, she hurriedly turned to Liu Huilan and asked, "Who is this?"

"Ma'am, this is my mistress and my godmother, mistress, this is Mrs. Tong."
"It turns out that you are the mistress that Mai Xiang never leaves her mouth. I have wanted to see you for a long time, and so do you, Mai Xiang. The mistress has already arrived at the door of the house, so you don't want to bring her in." Mrs. Tong said with a smile.

To be honest, Liu Huilan was a little scared by Mrs. Tong's enthusiasm. She knew that Mrs. Tong treated Mai Xiang well, but she didn't expect him to be so easy-going and airless. She was a little confused. Why?
After all, Liu Huilan has lived in the mansion for so many years, and she is not the kind of awkward little woman who has never seen the world. Therefore, there is no reason not to come out to meet Mrs. Tong in person, and she also wants to know more about it. This Mrs. Tong is a person, so she hurriedly said with a smile: "Then it is better to be respectful than to obey, and disturb Mrs. Tong."

"Where, it is our honor to invite you." Mrs. Tong has been managing her husband's business for many years, how could she not see the difference between Liu Huilan?

Although the woman in front of her was dressed poorly, every move she made showed that she had a good family education, she definitely did not come from a poor family, presumably because of some downfall.

Also, she has long judged that Liu Huilan's craftsmanship is good from Liu Huilan's needlework, she has become curious and wants to make friends, and now that the other party has arrived at her door, how can she miss it?

Mrs. Tong brought Liu Huilan and Mai Xiang into the side hall, and as soon as the guests and hosts were seated, the maid brought cold sour plum juice, and Mrs. Tong whispered to the maid to serve some watermelon.

"Mrs. Tong, don't bother." Liu Huilan said hastily.

"By the way, don't you know your wife's last name?" Mrs. Tong asked, she saw how much older Liu Huilan should be than her.

"My husband's surname is Cao, and my wife can just call me Mrs. Cao. Thank you Mrs. Tong for taking care of us these days. After Mai Xiang went back, she said a lot of good things about Mrs. Tong. I didn't expect to have the opportunity to say thank you to Mrs. Tong in person today."

"Mrs. Cao is too polite. When it comes to taking care of me, it should be Miss Mai Xiang who takes care of me. This child has a clever mind, and the things he makes are novel and beautiful. Many people praise him."

"It's also a small and worthless gadget. It's rare that Mrs. Tong doesn't dislike it."

"That's not bad, how old is she? Speaking of the things she made, our old lady was really happy for several days when she received the longevity flower pendant last time, and she praised Mai Xiang a lot."

Mai Xiang watched the two of them being courteous to each other, and she felt a little drowsy.

"By the way, I've always had a question. When I saw Mrs. Cao today, I dared to ask. Mrs. Cao's embroidery stitches are very different from ours. I don't know where Mrs. Cao learned from?" Mrs. Tong asked. .

She has always thought that Liu Huilan's craftsmanship is good, and she once took it to someone to appraise it, saying that it is a typical Su embroidery, so she would like to ask and try it out at the same time.

"I'm from the south, and I learned Su embroidery from my family when I was young." Liu Huilan didn't shy away from it, because she guessed that the other party had already seen this.

"No wonder I say it's different. Mrs. Cao, are you interested in making large items? If it's double-sided embroidery, the price will be more favorable. Don't worry, with Mai Xiang, I will not treat you badly." Tong The wife has been thinking about it for a long time, and wants to accept a decent and good embroiderer.

"I don't know if Mrs. Tong has tricks?" Liu Huilan was worrying about the rent, how could she give up this opportunity.

"Flowers? I heard that your south side looks better, so I want your south side goods."

"Okay, I promise you. It's just a little slow, please don't worry, Mrs. Tong."

The two discussed the size and use of the embroidery,
Fortunately, it was the first time we met. After the discussion, Liu Huilan drank a bowl of sour plum juice, looked at the sky, stood up and said, "I'm in a hurry today, so I'll take my leave first. I'll talk about it another day when I have a chance."

Mrs. Tong also knew that she couldn't force her to stay, and said with a smile, "I've known each other today. Next time I have a chance to go to town, I'll ask Mrs. Cao to step down and let's have a good chat."

"Okay, sure." Liu Huilan responded with a smile.

Mrs. Tong delivered Liu Huilan and Mai Xiang to the gate in person. Fengnian was carrying a basket and peering inside. Seeing his wife sending them out in person, he was startled, and it was too late to hide.

"What are you holding in your hand?" Mrs. Tong glanced at Fengnian as she passed by.

"This is the pig hair Miss Mai Xiang wants."

"Pig hair?" Mrs. Tong looked at Mai Xiang after listening.

"I want to come and make something, but I don't know if it will be possible." Mai Xiang didn't say what to do.

There are only a dozen of these toothbrushes at present, and she wants to send them to Amusin and Uladomin's family, because last time she has seen that Amusin's toothbrush is very old and very old.

"Really, then I'll just wait."

"Madam, don't worry, if it happens, I will have to trouble my wife." Mai Xiang also agreed very happily.

On the way back, Liu Huilan asked about the details of Mai Xiang's acquaintance with the Tong family, sighed, and wanted to say something, but she didn't say it.

(End of this chapter)