Chapter 389: A Crowded Visitor
Today it's not just Qin Chi and Song Jin.
The other people in the family were equally busy. The busiest one was probably Sanlang. He set up a table and chairs in front of the yard to receive gifts, and he was responsible for recording the gift list.
The invitation Qin Chi sent out indicated that no gifts would be accepted. However, this did not mean that others would not come to give gifts. Sanlang sat here early in the morning and really received so many gifts that his hands were full.
The crowds are just like this.
These gifts were sent by various families in the capital, 90% of them were from civil and military officials, and those who had a good impression of Qin Chi. Wen Gelao and Zhang Shilang almost quarreled with Qin Chi in the palace because of an invitation. The officials present wanted to say that they didn't know, but it was not right.
It doesn't matter if you didn't receive an invitation.
Sending a servant to deliver a gift is considered as a way to establish good karma.
The person is not here, but the gift is.
For example, the Ningguo Mansion and the Lingyuan Marquis Mansion both sent gifts. Some people who didn't send gifts saw it and followed suit and prepared a gift to send to the Qin family. After all, Qin Chi's status is now very important.
Taking this opportunity, it would be good to show off one's presence in front of Qin Chi. As a result, although the Qin family only had a few tables, the front door was extremely lively with many people coming and going.
People who met in front of the gate greeted each other.
The warm and familiar atmosphere made him chat more freely than with the Qin family. Of course, he was not familiar with the Qin family, but was more familiar with other families.
Old Li saw that something was wrong.
As the temporary housekeeper, he immediately called for a group of people to barely entertain the guests. Otherwise, there would be no one available to serve tea.
Old Huo is responsible for the security of the mansion.
He has a group of guards under his command, who work diligently to maintain order.
Qin Ba became Qin Chi's permanent attendant.
As soon as he saw Xia Wei and his wife, the first guest to arrive with an invitation, he immediately led them to the main hall for receiving guests, and then ran to the main courtyard to report to Qin Chi: "Sir, Lord Xia and his family are here."
"So early? Okay, I'll be there soon." Qin Chi replied to the door.
Song Jin urged him to entertain the guests.
When a female relative comes to visit, she should be led to the backyard, where she will also have to greet the guests.
According to custom, when entering a new house, one must check whether it contains yang energy.
The banquet is usually held in the morning.
Because most of the invited guests were colleagues who had to go to the government office to work in the morning, Qin Chi did not want to cause many people in the government office to ask for leave because of his banquet, so he changed the banquet to noon. In this way, colleagues could come to Qin's house after leaving the government office.
Only Qin Chi dared to do this.
This is not even giving people an excuse to ask for leave.
Qin Chi went out first to entertain the guests.
Qin Qi and several maids were responsible for leading the family members who came this time to the backyard.
Song Jin came out to receive the guests.
The one who arrived earlier was Mrs. Xia.
Mrs. Xia was a slightly plump woman with a fair and round face. She was not dressed in luxurious clothes, but had a kind smile, which gave people a sense of intimacy. This time she came with only a nanny and a maid. Perhaps Xia Wei had asked her to come earlier to see if she could help. This was also because Song Jin had never attended a banquet and was not familiar with the wives of the various mansions in the capital.
Only Madam Xia was sitting in the hall.
The moment he saw Song Jin appear, he was stunned.
The first thought was who was so wicked as to spread rumors outside, saying that such a beautiful woman was ugly? Song Jin's makeup suppressed her appearance by 60 to 70 percent, but who was Madam Xia? She had seen many beauties, and when Song Jin came over, Madam Xia knew that she was a beauty, and a beauty that was beautiful in her bones.
Dress and wear makeup appropriately.
His manners and etiquette also show that he has been well-educated since childhood.
Graceful and elegant.
Song Jin smiled gently and said, "It is a great honor to invite Madam Xia to this festive day. If there is any inadequacy in the hospitality, I hope Madam will forgive me."
"No, no, I'm sorry to bother you in advance. I hope you don't mind." Mrs. Xia came forward and took Song Jin's hand. She didn't care at first, but when her eyes touched Song Jin's soft hand, she was stunned for several breaths, especially when she compared the other's hand with her own.
I have to admit that it is not as good-looking as others.
Mrs. Xia's little action was very subtle and Song Jin didn't notice it.
"My master got up early and rushed to take me out, saying that your family's wife asked him to let me look after something." Mrs. Xia said happily.
There is no wrong version in the 1619 book forum!
Song Jin's cheeks flushed slightly when she heard Madam Xia's teasing. "I'm sorry to make you laugh. My husband just loves to worry."
"Hey, young people's feelings are just great."
"I heard that you and Minister Xia are also very good friends. This is the most rare thing."
Song Jin's words made Mrs. Xia smile even more deeply.
This is indeed rare.
When you are young, it is nothing for a couple to have a good relationship. It is rare to have a good relationship for decades. However, Xia Wei still has two concubines in his backyard, who were brought up from slaves, not from outside. But even so, compared with other officials, his backyard is rare to be clean.
The two started chatting again.
It was hard to imagine that the two of them had just met for the first time given the friendly atmosphere they showed.
Mrs. Xia was no different from Song Jin in that she had never been out for social events. She often attended banquets held by various families in the upper class circles. Song Jin couldn't catch up with her in this regard. Mrs. Xia took the opportunity to chat and talked about some interesting stories, such as which family had taboos, which family had a feud with which family, etc. Several of the people mentioned might come today.
Song Jin knew that Madam Xia wanted to give him some advice, so he took the opportunity to humbly ask a few questions and immediately asked the servants to correct the omissions.
It’s almost noon.
Gradually, fewer and fewer people came to the Qin family to give gifts.
Only one or two come occasionally.
This is the time when guests who actually hold invitations come.
Some of them came from the yamen half an hour earlier, still wearing their official uniforms. Qin Chi said he would not accept gifts, but those who came would not come empty-handed. Everyone was carrying something in their hands.
Most of them are common things, not expensive, such as fresh cakes and fruits, or a jar of wine, or a bag of tea, spices, or unique calligraphy and paintings and four treasures of the study. The unique calligraphy is a handwritten copy given to oneself, and the calligraphy and paintings are painted by oneself.
These things are not expensive. It can only be said that they are just right for their status.
The Qin family held a banquet today, and the guests did not see any expensive decorations on the way. In the upper circles of the capital, it could be called "shabby", but no one who came here said it was wrong.
As the saying goes, a lid fits the pot. Qin Chi has been like this since he came to the capital. He has always lived openly and honestly, not shying away from his humble origins. Instead, he has been looked up to by others.