Old Mrs. Li scratched her scalp a few times with a needle, then said, "When Jia Huan got married, she gave him quite a lot of things. I reckon she had already prepared for the other boys' weddings as well, and she wouldn't show favoritism."
"Everyone thinks this girl is greedy, but actually, the more she greedies, the more she gives away; she's more like a money-giving child..."
After saying that, she remembered what had happened during the day and quickly took out two hairpins and gave them to Sister Liu and Hui Niang, "These were bestowed by the Empress in the palace. There are twelve in a set, and these two are for you."
"No, Auntie, this is a gift from the palace. We can't give it to you, can we?" Hui Niang quickly declined. She came from an official family and knew some etiquette.
But Old Lady Li waved her hand and laughed, "Just take it. There aren't that many rules. Back in Kyoto, we followed many rules, but now that we're here, the rules have loosened."
"Previously, the national treasury was nearly empty. I heard that the year-end rewards for civil and military officials were all converted into goods, all from the imperial treasury and bearing its mark. If they weren't allowed to resell or give them away, and they were all kept at home as offerings, people would probably starve to death..."
"Besides, the Jade Melon and Golden Fruit were grown together in our village. When they were presented to the palace, the Empress's gifts naturally went to the whole village."
"Moreover, we kept the majority for ourselves, which is enough. The brocade and other fabrics were all sent to the Marquis's residence to have the embroiderers help cut the clothes. The rest of the fine cloth and the like were basically distributed to each family in the village. You also have a few pieces, which I have wrapped up. You can take them with you when you move around later."
Hui Niang and Sister Liu then stopped refusing and helped each other put on the hairpins, both beaming with joy.
Jiayin gave Shuiling a few instructions, telling her to stay in the living room, and then she went into her room and then into her spatial dimension.
The two potted peonies have almost lost all their leaves, and their flower branches have dried up.
Jiayin simply cut the flower close to the root and then planted the flower root directly in the nursery.
The two peony roots were about to sprout new buds, quickly grow branches and leaves, and finally form flower buds. Just as they were about to bloom, Jiayin dug them out with an iron shovel, shaking off the black soil.
The peonies, which had just been reborn and were still immersed in the nourishment of spiritual energy, were suddenly interrupted and became somewhat listless.
The three little foxes ran over, showing no pity, and even lashed out at them twice with their tails.
Jiayin quickly chased away the three dogs, found a new flowerpot, mixed some nursery black soil into the ordinary soil, and finally planted the peony in it. She watered it a little and then left.
Two peonies, each with a beauty that could topple kingdoms, were not only ignored, but also carelessly left to suffice under the tree, staring blankly at each other alongside the little green snake…
The next day, just as Li Lao Er was about to get into the city by carriage, he saw that there were two more pots of peonies, seven or eight jade melons, and a basket of golden fruits in the carriage.
He turned around and looked into the yard, and sure enough, his little niece was smiling brightly and waving vigorously at him.
Li Lao Er laughed, waved a few times to his little niece, and then got into the carriage.
They entered the city and arrived at Baihuayuan Garden, where the Cao family of four were extremely busy.
We're opening tomorrow, so we need to clean the front and back yards and wipe down the tables and chairs.
Then, the potted plants on display should be divided into primary and secondary categories, and by variety!
It's important to distinguish between items that are to be sold on-site and those that are to be kept as store treasures.
Li Lao Er carried in a pot of peonies in each hand. He was about to call Old Cao over when Old Cao, with his sharp eyes, spotted his employer first.
He was about to speak, but his eyes were quickly glued to the potted plant, and he couldn't pull them out!
"Master! Where did these peonies come from? Oh dear, oh dear, why did you water them? You can't water peonies so often!" Old Cao rushed forward, carefully snatched the two pots of flowers, and then quickly placed them in the shade under the wall.
Xiao Cao also ran over to help, shouting, "Dad, we need to prune these leaves! They might bloom tomorrow and fill the pot!"
"You brat, do you even need to tell me? Hurry up and find some scissors! Leave these two pots of flowers here for now, but they must be moved indoors in two hours. They can't be exposed to direct sunlight!" Old Cao nagged, looking at the two pots of flowers like a child.
In just a short while, he had moved the flowerpot three times, trying to adjust the angle so that the peony could receive some of the sun's afterglow without being directly exposed to it.
Li Lao Er, the owner, was once again ignored by this family of infatuated women.
However, he wasn't angry. He walked around the front and back yards and saw that Zheng Feng and Zheng He had put the jade melon and golden fruit into the well water. Then he went to find Mr. Wen.
Mr. Wen asked his boss for leave and casually handed him a note, inviting his boss to visit the Hundred Flowers Garden the next day.
The boss had heard a few lines about the Hundred Flowers Garden before and was also itching to try it out.
After all, the Li family sent a lot of orchids to the academy, as well as cyclamen, a famous flower that appears on the table every five days, which is remembered by flower lovers throughout the capital.
Now that he had received the invitation, he readily agreed and let Mr. Wen leave early so he could go slacking off.
Mr. Wen and Li Lao Er met up and then went to visit two famous scholars who loved flowers.
Such an opportunity to feast one's eyes without spending a penny is naturally something no one would refuse.
Therefore, both distinguished scholars agreed.
Li Lao Er went to Jiulianzhai again and bought several boxes of pastries to entertain guests tomorrow.
Logically speaking, since Jiayin has a snack shop, Li Lao Er should buy his snacks there.
But Jiayin was playful and didn't take the pastry shop seriously after acquiring it.
The traditional dim sum at dim sum shops is really not as good as that of Jiulianzhai, and the newly launched items are too novel.
The guests attending tomorrow's flower viewing party are mostly elderly people, and their tastes may not be suitable for them.
So, Jiulianzhai got the better deal; the four boxes of pastries cost ten taels of silver!
However, Jiayin just stole the recipe for imperial pastries. As long as she puts her mind to it and studies it carefully, the pastry shop's business will definitely boom...
That night, Li Lao Er and Mr. Wen both stayed in the backyard of Baihuayuan Garden.
The Cao family of four, exhausted from a long day, went to bed early.
Li Lao Er kept Mr. Wen drinking a lot of tea, but Mr. Wen was afraid of getting sleepy and refused to drink anymore. Li Lao Er then laughed and said, "There might be a good show tonight. If you sleep soundly, you won't be able to see it."
Mr. Wen was naturally curious, and after blowing out the light, the two spoke in hushed tones.
In the middle of the night, Mr. Wen couldn't hold on any longer and said, "I can't go on, I need to sleep."
Before he could finish speaking, there was a commotion outside the courtyard, which startled Mr. Wen so much that he sat up abruptly.
Li Lao Er wasn't in a hurry. He slowly got up, put on his long robe, and went out.
Old Cao and his son stood back to back in the middle of the yard, holding flower-pruning shears in their hands. They clearly wanted to go out, but dared not.
Upon suddenly seeing their master emerge, they anxiously shouted, "Master, hurry back! There are thieves!"
Li Lao Er waved his hand, then asked towards the outside of the courtyard, "Have you caught the person?"
Someone replied, "Don't worry, sir, all four have been caught."
"Bring him in!" Li Lao Er ordered.
Old Cao and his son realized that their employer had made arrangements in advance, so they mustered their courage and quickly went to open the door.
Soon, six guards entered from outside, escorting four men in black.
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