Xu Lanyin smiled and said, "Thank you, Sister Nan."
Min Nan then recounted the names of the people she had visited since arriving in Ningzhou, the number of close friends she had made, and the people she got along best with. One of her best friends was Qin Hongyu, the daughter of Lord Qin, who was two years older than Min Nan and was fourteen years old this year.
Qin Che is Mincan's direct superior and has a good personal relationship with Minhu. Mincan is Minhu's relative, so it is reasonable for the Qin and Min families to be close.
What Xu Lanyin wanted to know most was about the Qin family.
Min Nan continued, "Sister Xu, Sister Qin's family opened a 'Rongshun Comb Shop'. The combs they sell are very beautiful and exquisite. It's right on Huangshi Street. I heard that Rongshun comb making is a unique skill passed down from the Qin family and is extremely famous in Jiangnan..."
Xu Lanyin had previously bought several combs in Ningzhou Prefecture as gifts, all from the nearby Ruyi Comb Shop on Qingqu Street. Unexpectedly, the Qin family had opened a shop selling combs on Huangshi Street. She thought this was a great opportunity, and decided to take Qin to the Rongshun Comb Shop tomorrow. If Qin really didn't recognize the Qin family's ancestral combs, it would mean she had no connection to Qin Che and that everything was just a coincidence.
She smiled and said, "That's great. I'll go take a look someday."
Normally, when the Min family mother and daughter visited Min Jia, they would stay for no more than fifteen minutes, a sign of their concern for the child. But today, Xu Lanyin was there, and they chatted and laughed until evening.
They stood up to say goodbye. Xu Lan, not being the host, couldn't keep them for dinner, so she took the children with her to the courtyard gate. She even whispered that she didn't want to upset the little girl, and that she would eat dinner before going home...
After getting on the carriage, Madam Min told Min Nan, "That girl from the Xu family is extraordinary. Maintain a good relationship with her in the future."
Min Nan smiled and said, "I've long seen that Sister Xu is smart and a good person. I would have established a good relationship with her without Mother's instructions."
Madam Min said angrily, "When you're with her, don't just play around. Watch her more, learn more, and see how she coaxes people."
Min Nan said coquettishly, "Mom, Princess Ping, Old Lady Min, and Madam Min all said that I have a sweet mouth and can coax people. Do I need to learn from others?"
Mrs. Min was amused. She poked her daughter's head with her finger and said, "They also said you were innocent..."
Min Nan pouted again and said, "What's wrong with being innocent? It's not like I'm really clueless. Don't worry, mother. Your daughter is very smart."
Madam Min was at a loss for words. Regardless, her daughter was indeed well-liked by many. Unlike her eldest daughter-in-law, who thought she was smart but was actually quite incompetent, she regretted it deeply. If she had known her husband was capable of rising to the rank of Tongpan (Tongpan) in Ningzhou, the provincial capital, she wouldn't have let her eldest son marry Shen, knowing she wasn't very smart. Her father was just a Tongzhi (Tongzhi) in a small prefecture...
After Xu Lanyin took the children to eat, she was about to go back home.
Seeing that the little girl was unhappy, he smiled and said, "Tomorrow, please invite Jiaer to go to Aunt Xu's house to play, then go to the street to play, and have dinner in the restaurant."
Min Jia thought that if they stayed up all night, they could go to Aunt Xu's house and play on the street tomorrow, so she nodded in agreement. The little girl was reluctant to leave, so she took Xu Lanyin's hand and walked them to the second gate.
Xu Lanyin walked a distance and looked back. The little girl was still standing at the gate with hanging flowers. Even though the sunset glowed a golden hue on her small body, her face looked pale, full of disappointment and sadness.
Xu Lanyin secretly blamed Minhu for not protecting her daughter and causing her to become speechless. However, she was unwilling to tell the truth out of pride, which made her unqualified as a father. Of course, she was even less qualified as a husband.
Xu Lanyin waved to the little girl before getting on the carriage with the two children.
When we returned to the house in the north of the city, it was already dark.
Qin sat in the corridor waiting for them, and was relieved only when she saw them come back.
Xu Lanyin smiled and said, "Mom, let's go shopping tomorrow and buy some things for my grandma and aunt."
Qin said, "You take the children with you. I won't join in the fun. Remember to buy your aunt a pair of beautiful silver earrings."
Xu Lanyin continued, "Mom, don't you want to see my tea shop?" Then she put her arm around her and said, "Mom has a unique aesthetic sense. Can you help me look at the decoration of the tea shop? Oh, and there's also the department store. Mom wants to go and see if there's our dim sum shop there."
Qin also wanted to visit the tea shop and the shopping mall, but she was still hesitant, fearing that someone she knew would recognize her.
Xu Lanyin whispered, "So many years have passed. Even if I ran into someone I know, I wouldn't have guessed it was you. Look at Zhao Wu. He left the capital less than a year ago and yet he dared to run around everywhere, and no one recognized him. Besides, it's not such a coincidence that you'd run into an old friend the moment you go out."
Qin thought about it and it was true. It wouldn't be such a coincidence if they just went for a visit just this once.
At the Min Tongpan Mansion, Mrs. Min secretly told Min Can about Xu Lanyin's affairs in the Min Hu Mansion.
"Tell me, can that country girl fly up to the tree and become a phoenix?"
Min Can didn't answer. He thought for a long time before saying, "That's really possible. Don't call her a country girl anymore, and don't look down on her anymore, even if it's in your heart." He added, "She's a smart person. When she gave us the Ruyu Shengji Cream, she knew it was a miracle drug. It was given to her by the old genius doctor Zhang. To make it a happy and comfortable gift for us, she treated it like a balm..."
Madam Min felt a little ashamed and angry, feeling that she had been tricked. She frowned and said, "Then what happened to us back then..."
Min Can said nonchalantly, "Anyone would do the same. We were pretty good to her back then. We didn't force her to do anything just because she was a country girl. We paid her money and helped her with a lot of things. Now it seems that she hasn't suffered any loss. Because of her connections with us, Zhao Wucai became a constable. Now he has made great contributions, and she has also made friends with the Min people..." He glanced at Madam Min and said, "You don't have to be angry. Her status has changed, so our attitude should change accordingly. She pretends to be confused, and we pretend to be confused too. This is the smart thing to do. Send a letter to the capital someday, just saying that a girl occasionally goes to accompany Jiajie, and Jiajie is in better condition than before..."
The next day, at the beginning of the Si hour, the little girl brought a few people to Xu's house in the north of the city.
Mother Liu smiled and said, "Sister got up by herself at noon, fearing that she would be late."
After playing at home until noon, everyone rode their horses to the street.
Since he had promised Qin that he would go to see the tea shop and the shopping mall, he went to Qingqu Street first and agreed to have lunch at a restaurant on that street.
From a long distance, you can see a large corner shop standing at the intersection of Qingqu Street. Its pink walls and black tiles form a sharp contrast with the bright vermilion carved doors and windows.
On the roof of the shop stood several large bronze characters: "Ningzhou Prefecture's No. 1 Department Store." The characters were two feet square and shone brightly in the sunlight.
Both the shops and the signs are very grand.
It seems that the exterior of the mall has been completely renovated.
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