Chapter 30 The Library Gets a Brand New Look
The young master gets up at the hour of Mao every day, and Chunnuan takes care of his daily life, and must prepare for it half an hour in advance.
The young master had gone to bed too late last night, and she didn't want to disturb him with the cleaning noises in the outer courtyard, so she called the little girl outside the door: "Xiao Que, come here!"
"Sister Chunnuan, good morning!"
The little bird ran over cleverly with a sweet mouth.
"Tell the maid to sweep the floor later so that the young master can sleep a little longer."
Chunnuan used a piece of silk to cover her yawns and whispered instructions.
"Sister, why are you so sleepy? Did you sleep late last night?"
Chun Nuan didn't respond, but just told her to hurry up. Xiao Que responded and trotted out, but secretly made a note of the matter in her heart.
Yesterday, her godmother gave her a bag of snacks she had bought from outside, telling her to pay attention to the young master's behavior and tell her if he was different from usual. If he did well, she would have a delicious treat every time. The little girl was greedy and agreed without thinking twice.
The young master is always punctual, and even Sister Chunnuan has never gotten up yawning. Is this unusual?
With his hands on his hips, Xiao Que bossed the cleaning lady around in a domineering manner, then returned to the inner courtyard in a triumphant mood. However, he saw the young master's personal servant Qingquan waiting outside the house, looking as if he had not slept enough.
While Chunnuan was still inside, Xiaoque took out a small bag of snacks and handed it to Qingquan, saying, "Brother Qingquan, did you just get up? This will fill your stomach."
"Little girl, you're quite clever!"
Qingquan got up late, wiped his face with cold water and hurried over. He looked at the time and saw that it was exactly the hour of Mao. He breathed a sigh of relief. He was starving, but the sight of Xiaoque'er eating made his eyes light up.
Worried that the young master would wake up and call him at any time, he didn't dare to chew slowly. He opened the oil paper and poured the food into his mouth.
Xiaoque was originally a maid who ran errands for Chunnuan. She waited with Qingquan and watched him finish the snacks in no time.
"Brother Qingquan, I still have some!"
Qingquan shook his hand: "No, just enough to fill my stomach, otherwise I won't be able to eat breakfast."
"Don't you have to wait on the young master while he goes to the garden to practice swordplay? How can you have time to eat?"
"Not today. I can eat it after I go to the warehouse."
How could Qingquan know what was in the little girl's mind, so he just answered casually.
Xiao Que usually helps Chun Nuan out, running errands. She knows who has been to the West Courtyard. The warehouse had just delivered a batch of items to the study a few days ago, so why did Brother Qingquan go there again?
She had to find a chance to talk to her godmother.
Wanyi lived in the west wing of the east courtyard. When she heard the maid say that her cousin had arrived at the flower hall, she rushed over.
"Sister Ying'er, this is the book I told you about."
Wanyi handed her a copy of "Internal Training". There was indeed a corner missing from the beginning of the volume, and that corner took up more than half of the beginning of the volume. The remaining pages were also curled up.
"It's all my fault for not being careful enough. I couldn't do the homework the teacher asked me to do. I got angry and pulled it, and I never thought it would be like this. The teacher doesn't usually smile, and she always says that studying is like being a person. If this book is missing a corner, she will definitely say that my moral character is unstable."
Wanyi was a little nervous, not knowing if she could fix it. She stared at Su Ying's face with her round eyes, afraid that she would shake her head and say no.
"It's not a big problem, but you have to help me."
"Okay, okay, as long as it can make up for it, Sister Ying'er, I'll do whatever you want me to do!"
Su Ying smiled when she heard this. She really liked Wan Yi's innocent and romantic nature. She said, "Some books in the library need repairing. I'm just short of some materials and tools. If you help me get these items, I'll help you repair the books. How about that?"
Sometimes, helping someone in need can make the relationship between two people go from distant to close, but if you keep giving without getting anything in return, the relationship that was once close can go from warm to distant.
Su Ying will not help Wanyi unreservedly. If their relationship is to last long, it would be more appropriate for them to have a give-and-take relationship.
Wanyi felt relieved when she saw Su Ying didn't even frown. After thinking for a moment, she nodded and said, "I'll provide the materials and you'll do the work. We'll each do our best. It's a deal!"
Su Ying felt relieved when she heard this. Wanyi was indeed clever, innocent yet quick to grasp the truth. Just like that day when she exposed Nanny Li's scheme, Wanyi was able to reprimand her at the right moment while also minimizing the damage. This was the way a rich young lady, the future mistress of the household, would behave. Su Ying couldn't help but wonder who had raised Wanyi so well? Or was it true that all the masters of the Du family were like this?
Thinking of this, Su Ying couldn't help but sigh. Ever since Cheng Shi spoke rudely to her that day, she did have some prejudice.
Over the past few days, copying the scriptures had gone much more smoothly than expected. Originally scheduled for seven days, the copying was completed today, waiting only to be sent to the old lady for review. Su Ying used the remaining time to list the items needed to complete the book, handing them to Wanyi: "Actually, they're not hard to find, just a bit miscellaneous."
When Wanyi heard this, she looked through it carefully with curiosity: "Rattan paper, glue, bamboo clips, cotton thread..."
Su Ying explained, "I can use rice paper to cover your books today, but some of the books in the library require rattan paper. This rattan paper has to be purchased separately, so I can only ask Miss Du for help!"
The last sentence was both sincere and a joke. She didn't want her aunt to spend money, and now that she had helped Wanyi, it wouldn't be too much of a ask to ask her for money.
Wanyi smiled and replied, "Then please ask Master Su to repair it carefully and make sure to return the book before the female teacher comes to the mansion. I will then complete everything according to your detailed instructions and we will settle the bill!"
After saying goodbye to Wanyi, Su Ying saw that it was still early, so she decided to go to the library to take a look.
After Wanyi agreed to help buy some things, the list she originally wrote was able to be shortened a bit. Now is a good time to check it again to see if there is anything else that can be cut down.
As soon as I pushed the door open, I felt the atmosphere in the room was a little different, no longer as cold and deserted as before.
She was startled, then slowly walked closer. Unexpectedly, the items she'd originally listed had all materialized, safely placed inside the house. They were even more luxurious than what she'd listed, and even had some extras not on the original list.
The desk is still the same desk, but all the four treasures of the study on it have been replaced.
The ink is pine soot ink, the pen is a Huzhou pen, the inkstone is a Shezhou inkstone, and the paper is Chengxin paper. This is what it takes to be the top scholar, right?
There was also a small and exquisite wind screen, a glass oil lamp and a pair of bamboo paperweights on the desk.
Su Ying felt warm in her heart. It must be that her aunt saw the list she left in the house last night this morning. She never thought that her aunt would have the library renovated so quickly.
Knowing that it would cost her aunt a lot to replace the entire set, she thought about telling her aunt that she didn't need to buy other items, especially the miscellaneous materials for repairing books, as she had already asked Wanyi for help.
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