Half a year has passed since the painting "Fishing in Songxi" came into the Yu family's possession. One thing after another, the Yu family has been in a state of anxiety. Now that they can finally get rid of the blame, both Yu Wen and Yu Yuan feel relieved, and feel that the long-lost peaceful and leisurely life will soon return to them.
"We just need to listen to Master Pei San about the matter of Yutu." Yu Wen said to Yu Yuan happily, "We can start preparing for the New Year at home."
Yu Yuan's face flushed.
He and Miss Xiang have already been engaged, so he has to go to Xiang's house during the New Year to send New Year gifts and discuss the wedding date. He also has to open the shop on Changxing Street.
Yu Wen then told him: "Miss Xiang's situation is special. I will ask your aunt to go to the Wei family to ask whether Miss Xiang will spend the New Year at the Wei family or return to the Xiang family. If Miss Xiang stays at the Wei family for the New Year, you may have to give her two identical gifts this year."
On one side is the grace of raising a child, on the other side is the grace of giving birth to a child. It is not good to neglect either one.
Yu Yuan nodded repeatedly.
Yu Wen asked Chen to visit the Wei family.
Chen rarely socialized with others, and Yu Wen was in charge of most of the family affairs. Although she thought Mrs. Wei was a very nice person and they got along well, she was not sure about such things. Especially during this period, Yu Tang performed very well, and even Yu Wen began to listen to her opinions. Psychologically, she gradually began to rely on her daughter. When she heard Yu Wen say this, she pulled Yu Tang along: "You accompany me over there, just in time to say hello to your aunt Wei."
Since leaving the Pei family, Yu Tang has been busy with Yutu's affairs and has not seen anyone from the Wei family for some time. He feels that it is time for him to go to the Wei family and say hello to Mrs. Wei and others, so he happily agreed.
Seeing this, Chen took her to the Pei family's gold building again and made her some gold and silver jewelry suitable for a little girl. She said, "I estimate that after the fifteenth day of the first lunar month, the wedding date of your brother and Miss Xiang can be set. There will definitely be many guests at home during the New Year, so you have to dress up nicely."
This is the right time for all the wives to get to know Yu Tang, and it is also a good time to ask them to help Yu Tang find a husband.
Yu Tang didn't think much about it. She had been thinking about Pei Yan's matter these days.
The man himself was so particular about his appearance, yet he still tried to look simple, like a hypocritical fellow. He also liked girls to dress up gaudy, which was not in line with the impression he gave people at all.
This person must have a lot of tricks up his sleeve in private.
The New Year is coming soon, and there is still no news about the auction. He will need his help to decide with whom to cooperate and introduce partners to his family. The Yu family must give him a New Year gift that suits his taste.
If you can’t buy it in Lin’an City, then let my brother go to Hangzhou City.
And there is Gu's family.
Gu Xi has the best relationship with her brother Gu Chang. Li Duan's family caused trouble and split from the Li family. She also needs to find out what the Gu family thinks about this matter.
I also need to find out why the Li family's main branch wants to separate from the Li Duan family. Maybe it will be useful in the future...
Yu Tang felt like there were a lot of things going on when he thought about it.
But now that she was no longer worried about her life, she was no longer as anxious as before. She felt that there was still hope. Instead, she did not think it was a problem. After deciding on the jewelry, she urged Chen to go to the antique shop and have a look: "We need to choose something for Master Pei San that can be used as a holiday gift this year."
Chen touched her purse and said, "How about you and your father come and have a look?"
Yu Tang laughed and said, "What doesn't Master Pei San have? If you want to give him a New Year gift, you have to spend time to find it. He may not like things that can be easily bought with money. Expensiveness is secondary. What matters is that it is interesting."
Chen thought about it and said, "Then tell your brother. He might meet someone suitable when he is out there."
Yu Tang nodded with a smile, and went into the antique shop not far away with Chen.
Chen saw the brush washer with a lotus pond and thought of the new jewelry she had just ordered. She couldn't help but ask, "Didn't you like simple and bright styles before? Why do you choose only flowers now?"
Yu Tang smiled and said, "Doesn't it look good?"
"It looks good." Chen smiled at her daughter and said sincerely, "Our daughter has bright eyes and white teeth, and she looks good wearing those flowers. But you were stubborn and bothered before. Have you grown up now?"
no.
She was afraid that Pei Yan would ask her to dress properly next time.
But she couldn't tell her mother this, so she smiled and pointed to a Ruyao plum vase next to her and said, "Mom, look! Is it beautiful?"
Chen said, "Of course it is beautiful. But what about this plum vase?"
Even if their family didn't set a date for Yu Yuan's wedding, they couldn't afford it.
Yu Tang smiled and said, "I just want you to see it."
One day, she'll be able to buy whatever she wants.
Chen heaved a sigh of relief.
Yu Tang saw a bronze animal-shaped door ring next to it. He couldn't tell what kind of mythical beast it was, but the beast looked simple and rugged, and a bit heavy.
She couldn't help but smile and said to the accompanying waiter, "Do you still sell this in your shop?"
The young man knew everything in his shop like the back of his hand. Hearing this, he smiled and said, "Miss, you don't know, this door ring is very exquisite. Can you recognize what kind of mythical beast this is? It's a Pixiu. You didn't expect it, did you? This is not the most amazing part." As he spoke, the young man took out the beast-shaped door ring, then pulled down the ring, and a small beast that looked like the mythical beast came out of the beast's mouth.
Yu Tang and Chen both found it interesting.
When the boy saw it, he pulled the newly spitted-out animal ring again.
A smaller beast came out of the beast's mouth.
"Interesting, interesting!" Yu Tang said, and after the boy stuffed all the newly spitted out little beasts in, she started pulling again.
Seeing that she was interested, the clerk hurriedly introduced the history of the door ring: "This is the door beast of the secret room of the former Princess Jinyang. It is in charge of the property. Originally there was a pair, but the other one was lost..."
Things like this that cannot prove their lineage are mostly just nonsense.
Yu Tang said, "How about I take it to the shopkeeper Tong to have a look."
The boy shut up.
Yu Tang asked him, "How much is this door ring?"
The young man hesitated for a moment and said, "Ten taels of silver."
Yu Tang bargained with him: "Go ask the shopkeeper if he will sell it for two taels of silver?"
The young man, with his face flushed with embarrassment, went to find the shopkeeper and the deal was settled for two taels of silver.
Chen remained silent until they left the antique shop and whispered, "You, are you going to give this to Master Pei San?"
"Yes!" Yu Tang said with a smile, "Take it as a pathfinder. If he stays, we will know what to give him in the future."
Chen didn't comment, but Yu Wen also found it interesting. He played with it at home for a long time before finding a brocade box to put it in, ready to send it along with the New Year gift to the Pei family.
As for the Wei family, Miss Xiang will be married off in the early spring of next year. Although she has spent the New Year at the Wei family in previous years, this year Mrs. An from the Xiang family personally sent someone to pick her up, saying that it was wrong for Miss Xiang not to be married off at the Xiang family, and if she didn't go back to celebrate the New Year at this time, it would mean that she didn't want to live.
Mrs. Wei did not dare to keep Miss Xiang any longer. She smiled bitterly and said to Chen: "I don't know how this child will be tortured after she returns."
Mrs. Chen comforted Mrs. Wei: "It will only last for this Spring Festival at most. Just bear with it and think of it as a calamity sent by the Bodhisattva to help her overcome it. From now on, she will have a good life."
Mrs. Wei shook her head, not wanting to talk to them about this. She pulled Yu Tang aside and started talking about New Year greetings: "Come with your mother on the fourth day of the New Year. Your sister-in-law will be back by then, and I'll have her play mahjong with you."
Miss Xiang laughed and said, "Aunt, looking at peach blossoms, eating fruits, and throwing pots, which one is not fun? Why play mahjong?"
Everyone laughed.
Yu Tang really liked Miss Xiang's cheerfulness and suddenly felt that she had become much closer to him.
After returning from the Wei family, she began to help her mother prepare New Year gifts. Yu Bo also returned from Jiangxi at this time. He came back from Jiangxi with a boatload of goods, and also recruited two lacquerware masters from Jiangxi. The eldest uncle was busy with the tasks of settling the masters, rebuilding the workshop, displaying the goods, and planning the guests to be entertained for the reopening. The task of sending gifts to the Xiang family and the Wei family was handed over to Chen.
Yu Tang also started to get busy.
Pei Yan was also a little busy.
But he is busier than Yu Tang. Everything in the family has routines, and he only needs to make decisions on things that go beyond the routine. Plus, everyone is celebrating the New Year, and Zhou Zijin has gone home, so he has more free time than usual and can do what he wants.
He focused his energy on the auction of public paintings.
When the Yu family father and daughter left, they left the Yutu with him. He first wanted to try to copy it himself, but later found it too troublesome and it would be faster to paint it himself, so he wrote a letter to his senior brother Tao An, whose family was in the maritime business, asking him to send someone to copy the Yutu, and told Tao An that it was a navigation map from Guangzhou to Daqin.
Tao An did not reply to him. After the Laba Festival, the chief steward of the Tao family and one of Tao An's aides brought two masters who were able to copy the painting of the imperial edict and rushed to Lin'an City. They also brought two large boxes of gold.
"Our master said that the Pei family is also a family with a long tradition of poetry and literature, and the third master is even more noble and pure. These few things are just subsidies for us to stay in the Pei Mansion. Please don't take it to heart." The chief steward of the Tao family was very humble. "Our master was afraid of delaying the third master's business, so he asked us to rush here directly from Guangzhou as soon as he received the third master's letter. If you have any requests, just tell him directly."
Pei Yan hissed in his heart.
This senior brother of his was known as "Meng Changjun" among his peers. He was usually very generous, but to be so generous... He curled his lips. If it wasn't for helping the Yu family, he would have pretended to be deaf and dumb and not known.
"Does your master have any other instructions?" he asked directly, "If not, you can start copying the painting for me after dinner!"
"Yes, yes." Tao Dachang recalled that his master had told him to speak frankly in the letter, and said hurriedly, "Our master also asked me to take the two masters back home after the meeting if it is convenient."
A teacher who copies usually takes great risks.
Just like those masters who know how to locate graves and repair tombs, once they encounter secrets, it is very likely that they will not be able to go back.
The Tao family wanted to take the two masters back, of course not just to save the lives of the two masters, but also to ask Pei Yan if the Tao family could have a share of the pie!