On the way back to the bookstore, Xu Jiang went to the private school again. She did not disturb the others, but only asked Lin Hongchu about Mrs. Lin's diet. She was relieved to hear that Mrs. Lin had woken up and had two bowls of chicken soup intermittently and had not vomited.
"From now on, I'll bring the soup to her every morning. Watch her eat it and ask Dr. Chen about any dietary restrictions. Write them down so I can avoid them."
"I don't need to." Lin Hongchu stared at her and was about to thank her again, but Xu Jiang covered her mouth.
"Don't say anything I don't like to hear."
Lin Hongchu nodded, and waited until she released her hand before asking, "Is the shop hiring anyone else?"
"Not for now, let's see after the New Year."
"Sister, don't worry about me. If you want to invite someone, it's better to do it sooner rather than later. I won't feel at ease if you're alone."
Lin Hongchu couldn't return to the bookshop for at least three or four years. A child is born three years before being freed from the caress of their parents, and a husband's three-year mourning period is common practice throughout the country. If Madam Lin were to pass away, Lin Hongchu would have to observe a three-year mourning period according to custom. She knew Xu Jiang missed her and was worried she would be upset, so she didn't invite anyone.
Although the bookshop may seem quiet, it actually has a lot of work to do and needs people. If Xu Jiang were the only one in the shop, she would have to close the door to customers whether she was shopping, negotiating business, or attending a banquet. How many customers would she regret losing?
Seeing her caring so much about him, Xu Jiang knew that his love for this girl was not in vain, so he couldn't help but hug her and pinch her face, saying softly: "Don't worry, I'll ask someone to find you after the New Year."
"Yeah." Lin Hongchui smiled, then thought of Lou Yunchun and couldn't help but sigh: "Luckily, there's still Brother Lou. Otherwise, my sister would be so lonely if I left."
Xu Jiang pinched her nose and said, "I would have come here all these years without you, Brother Lou."
Lin Hongchu recalled the way Xu Jiang looked when she first met him, and compared it to how she looked after she met Lou Yunchun. She shook her head, "They're different."
Xu Jiang asked curiously, "What's the difference?"
Lin Hongchu searched for a long time before finally pulling out a sentence from her mind, "Sister is always afraid when she is alone." Xu Jiang was stunned, and then she heard Lin Hongchu say, "But after sister got together with Brother Lou, she is no longer afraid."
"Nonsense." Xu Jiang smiled and tapped her forehead. "What am I afraid of?"
Lin Hongchu couldn't explain what Xu Jiang was afraid of; she just felt it, and so she said it. In fact, it wasn't just that she felt Xu Jiang was afraid; even she, watching from the side, sometimes felt terrified.
Come to think of it, she had parents and a home, but Xu Jiang didn't. She came from nowhere, and it always seemed like she would return to nowhere. Like ink dropped in water, people didn't dare get too close, for fear of disturbing her and fading into nothingness.
But after being with Lou Yunchun, Xu Jiang has changed. She is no longer ink, but floating light, warm to the touch, warm to the bath, and brings peace of mind.
Lin Hongchu sometimes saw a reflection of her father in Xu Jiang. Her father was like that, always seeming to be admired from afar, never approached. But only when he faced her mother did he, like a stone statue imbued with divine water, come alive with all his joy, anger, sorrow, and happiness.
One of them is serious, the other is amiable. Although their personalities seem to be completely different, they are surprisingly similar in this respect.
So, she thought well of her father and mother, and also of Xu Jiang and Lou Yunchun.
Xu Jiang didn't know what was going on in her little head, so she took the food box from her hand and said goodbye to her: "I'm leaving now. I'll come back tomorrow."
It can be said that the saying is true: a bystander sees more clearly.
Lin Hongchu sent her to the door, brought her the donkey, and helped her get on.
Xu Jiang suddenly remembered something and said to her, "Today I gave a set of the plum blossom paper you wrote to Miss Yuan. She loves it so much that she says you're the character in the story and wants to meet you. She's the same age as you. When the time is right, I'll introduce you to each other so we can become friends. Is that okay?"
"She really said that?"
"How could what I heard with my own ears be false?"
Lin Hongchu was very happy to be praised like this, and said, "Okay, I will write a letter tonight and give it to my sister tomorrow. If I see Zeng Zhui going to the Yuan Mansion next time, I will ask him to present it to Miss Yuan on my behalf to thank her for her praise."
"Okay." Xu Jiang patted the donkey and said to Lin Hongchu as they walked, "Her name is Yuan Yanyan, like the willow-colored smoke."
"The willows are as green as smoke, smoke." Lin Hongchu repeated the two words over and over again. "What a good name."
When Xu Jiang returned to the bookstore and saw the door was open, she knew that Lou Yunchun had come.
As soon as she got off the donkey, Lou Yunchun came out to greet her. When he saw it was her, he looked relieved.
"Why do you look like this?" She didn't come back late.
"There are guests in the bar." Lou Yunchun took the reins and looked back at the bar.
"Are there any guests? Lead the donkey in and I'll go and greet them."
"good."
Xu Jiang walked into the bookstore in two steps and looked up to see four students, about twelve or thirteen years old, wearing the uniforms of the Imperial College, sitting upright. Each of them had a stern face and a solemn expression.
What is this doing?
When the students saw that the person who came in was not Lou Yunchun but a gentle and amiable lady, they immediately breathed a sigh of relief. Then they looked outside the door and did not see Lou Yunchun, so they stood up and saluted Xu Jiang.
"Meet the lady."
"Greetings, gentlemen." He then asked, "Are you here to buy books?"
A student who looked a bit older replied, "Exactly. I heard from Song Xuelu that I could buy the 'New Collection of Elementary Studies' here, so I came to take a look."
So that's how it is. Xu Jiang said to them, "Please sit down and I'll go find some books for you."
She kept ten copies of the book, giving one each to Shopkeeper Wang and Lu Zhen, leaving eight. She found four copies and gave one to each of her four students.
"This is it." Several students took the poetry book and flipped through it, all showing joy.
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