Chapter 24 Calculation
That day she was doing needlework under a locust tree and heard people in the alley talking about the newly moved-in Madam Cui.
"That young lady's surname seems to be Cui, and she looks like she comes from a wealthy family."
Ever since that day when Cui Qingyi brought sweet cakes to visit every household, although the master and servant rarely went out, the topic of her has never stopped in the alley.
Therefore, whenever the topic of the newly arrived Miss Cui was brought up, everyone was particularly interested.
"Yes, I see that they don't go out to work every day, but they have enough food and clothes, and their life is not bad."
Mother Gu, who had been listening quietly, muttered in her heart that it was not just that they were living well. In just the past month, she had to pass by the Cui family's house every day when she went out. There was often meat stewed in the kitchen. She didn't know how it was cooked, but why did it smell so good?
The people in the alley could all make a decent living, but none of them had meat to eat every day like they did.
Someone laughed and said, "Oh, I saw that Miss Cui the other day. She's so pretty. Whoever marries her will have a great life in the future."
The speaker may not mean it, but the listener may take it seriously. Mother Gu's heart suddenly moved.
There should be no one left in Madam Cui's family. If her son Erlang can marry Madam Cui, she will take care of his studies and imperial examinations in the future. Then the worries of her and the old man will be solved.
Her Erlang is already twenty years old this year. His marriage has been delayed due to studying and taking exams in recent years. The more Mother Gu thought about it, the more she felt that Cui Qingyi was a good choice.
After thinking about it for a few days, Gu's mother secretly told Gu Erlang her thoughts.
Gu Erlang was reluctant at first. He did not want to get married casually. In the end, his mother persuaded him with a few words:
"Your father and I can see that we won't be able to do this for many more years. Now your eldest brother is only concerned about his own family. Madam Cui must be from a good family and can be of some help to you in the future."
Gu Erlang thought about it for several days and decided to listen to his mother. He knew that if he did not continue his studies and lost his parents' care, his future would be uncertain.
Thinking of Miss Cui, he had met her several times in the alley and she seemed to be very pretty.
So when he happened to meet Cui Qingyi in Moxiangzhai today, Gu Erlang bravely bumped into her, but Mrs. Cui's reaction was different from that of the girls he had met before.
Gu Erlang wasn't sure.
Here, Cui Qingyi didn't know that less than a month after she moved to Huaihua Lane, someone had already set their sights on her.
At this moment, she was holding a small stick and a few pieces of cake to teach Wangcai how to shake hands and lie down with some simple instructions.
Konjac watched from the side. At first she thought it was funny. "How can a dog understand any instructions? It's a waste to feed it those things."
But after about a quarter of an hour, Konjac opened her eyes wide. She saw that Wangcai, who had been confused and kept repeating the orders of "lie down" and "stand up" to her girl a quarter of an hour ago, had now mastered the skills.
Her daughter gave the order: "Wangcai, lie down."
The big black dog Wangcai skillfully stretched out his front paws and lay on the ground. After getting a small piece of cake, some flattery could be seen on the dog's face.
"Wangcai, stand up." Seeing the black dog do as she was told, Cui Qingyi looked at the shocked Konjac with some pride.
I don't know if it really understood human nature, but the dog also gave her a smug look, as if to say, "You are the stupid dog."
Konjac stammered, "Girl, could this dog really be a spirit?"
Wangcai rolled his eyes slightly at this remark, and Cui Qingyi burst into laughter again when she saw it. "How can it be considered a spirit? It stays with people all day long, and over time it will form reactions to fixed words and sentences. Some are smart and need a quick response, while others are dumb and need a long response. It's just like people, nothing special."
After listening to Cui Qingyi's explanation, Konjac also laughed. She pointed at Wangcai, who looked a little proud after receiving the praise, and said with a smile: "So we are still the lucky ones. We even picked up an exceptionally smart one."
Cui Qingyi laughed out loud. She was becoming more and more relaxed at home now, and had long forgotten the previous rules of not showing her teeth when smiling.
Although Wangcai is not a spirit, he is indeed a smart dog. Otherwise, he would not have run to the Cui family's door with a broken leg in order to survive.
Now seeing that his master Cui Qingyi was smiling happily, and knowing that it was his own contribution, he tried even harder to please Cui Qingyi.
Cui Qingyi spent the whole afternoon with Wangcai. In the evening, Konjac specially stewed a pot of lamb bones for Wangcai as a reward, which made Cui Qingyi happy for half a day.
With a way to kill time, Cui Qingyi was too lazy to go out. She sat comfortably under the eaves all day, drinking tea and reading, or teaching Wangcai some new commands. Her life was very comfortable.
She didn't know that there were people outside who were looking forward to her going out every day, and their necks were almost growing long from anticipation.
Although Gu Erlang had some resistance to his mother's proposal before, after meeting Cui Qingyi in Moxiangzhai that day, he no longer had any resistance to marrying Cui Qingyi.
Madam Cui was a beauty, a very lively one, more beautiful than any other woman he had ever seen in Dongping County.
Mother Gu looked at his restless appearance, feeling both distressed and relieved. She felt distressed that the son whom she had raised for so long had not even brought her, a hard-working old mother, a cup of hot water, and in just a few days, his heart had fallen on a woman.
She was relieved because she felt that her son was not a blockhead after all, and he finally listened to what she said.
Of course, there was some secret unhappiness that she didn't even dare to think about.
As for whether Cui Qingyi would like Gu Erlang, Gu's mother was not worried at all.
Her Erlang is a good student. Even the teachers in the academy said that he failed to pass the imperial examination in recent years because of luck. In the past few years, many people came to propose marriage to her Erlang. If she didn't want Erlang to get married so early, it would not be Madam Cui's turn.
She had been sitting under the locust tree these days and had heard others say that Madam Cui had moved to Sophora japonica Lane with her maid, and no relatives had visited her in recent days.
Most likely, she had to live alone because her family had suffered a disaster or for other reasons. If they were willing to accept her at this time, why would she not want to?
Gu's mother was satisfied with the fact that Cui Qingyi had no relatives. If she had no other relatives, she would be able to take care of the family wholeheartedly after marrying Gu Erlang.
Anyway, she and the old man are not the kind of mother-in-law or father-in-law who would treat their daughter-in-law harshly, so Cui will only have a good life after marrying into the family.
Gu Erlang wore a long gown and was meticulously dressed. "Mom, I'm going to the bookstore to see if I can meet Madam Cui.
For Gu's mother, her son's study was a top priority, so she naturally wouldn't stop him. She waved her hand cheerfully, "Go ahead, and come back for dinner sometime."
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