Chapter 21 Chapter 21 Stealing a chicken but losing the rice (plus more)…
Although the porch was where the second young master temporarily lived, it was still not sloppy. In the middle of the newly built small study, there was a desk with a raised head and an armchair behind it, separated by a mother-of-pearl screen. Behind it was a small couch, and next to the couch were a mahogany bookcase and an incense table.
On the incense table was a pot of thin bamboo in an orchid porcelain pot. Jinniang saw it at a glance and came over to cut it immediately.
Cui Xian also introduced: "Our Second Master usually rests in the study when he is tired from studying."
Jinniang cut off the thinnest one. Hearing her say this, I thought to myself, I didn't ask, why are you telling me this. But as a courtesy, she still smiled and said, "Really? Haha."
Jinniang should stay away from these young masters. Even the eldest girls' room is full of fights, let alone this room.
After cutting the thin bamboo, she sat down in the outer room. Without having time to greet everyone, she began to compare the lengths needed for the bamboo clothes, marked them, cut them directly, and then began to separate the threads. What she learned on the first day of learning embroidery was to separate the threads. Her basic skills were very solid.
After sorting the bamboos in order, she carefully rounded the edges of the cut bamboo joints. This is a delicate job; if you are not careful, the already tiny bamboo joints will break.
Just as she was concentrating on making it, Bi'e from the Second Young Master's room personally brought a plate of meat pancakes. She also said, "This pancake is not a good thing. The kitchen made it for Madam's birthday and sent some to us. It's always a happy occasion."
Although the name of this meat pancake sounds ordinary, it takes a lot of effort to make it. It is printed with a flowery mold. Jinniang thanked her quickly: "Thank you for giving me such a delicious food. I'll try it after I finish making it."
Bi'e saw that Jinniang didn't say anything and just kept doing her work, so she didn't disturb her.
No matter where you are, people will ultimately have to speak with strength. And if you are strong and know your limits, ordinary people will not dare to ignore you.
Qin Shuang'er obviously didn't think so. She definitely wanted to stay in the Zhou family. She was once a daughter of an official family. If her father hadn't died, she would not have become a slave. But now she was at a loss, and Wei Jinniang had seen through her thoughts. She didn't know how Wei Jinniang would deal with her.
Otherwise, she should strike first. Thinking of this, Qin Shuang'er went to Fang Qiao Lian's table first. She had just left in a hurry, and the pearl hairpin that her favorite old lady had given her as a reward seemed to be placed on the table.
Qin Shuang'er held the pearl hairpin in her hands. Her heart was pounding, her hands were shaking, and her steps were cold. But after thinking about it again, she put the hairpin in the basket behind Jinniang's bed without hesitation. She knew that Jinniang was very lazy and devoted herself to embroidery, and she hardly even knew how to clean up.
Last time, Fang Qiao Lian lost twenty copper coins. At that time, she was the only one doing embroidery with Jinniang, and she became suspicious of everything. Stealing is a serious crime in this mansion.
After putting it away, she took the opportunity to go out again.
Jinniang had just finished grinding the bamboo tube and started weaving with ramie thread when she saw Zhou Cunzhi coming over from outside. He said unhappily, "Why haven't you taken my bamboo clothes yet?"
"I was just wondering. We asked someone outside to find an embroiderer who could not sew this bamboo dress, but they all said they could not do it. Fortunately, our embroiderer can do it, and since it requires thin bamboo, we asked her to sew it here." Cuixian said hurriedly.
Zhou Cunzhi entered the inner room. Jinniang quickly got up and prepared to salute. He pressed his hands down and asked, "How long will it take to get better?"
"To answer Second Master's question, it will take at least three quarters of an hour at best," Jinniang said hurriedly.
Zhou Cunzhi stood with his hands behind his back. Although Jinniang had a plain appearance and figure, her fat hands were very flexible. She could weave such a thin thread through the threads like a butterfly fluttering into the bushes. It was really a great skill. He secretly admired her.
This bamboo coat was to be given to a very good friend of his. This kind of thing might not be available even if one had money, so he just sat aside and waited.
Wherever Zhou Cunzhi was, the rather arrogant Bi'e ordered tea with her delicate hands, and Cuixian brought over seven or eight kinds of top-quality snacks. But it was obvious that Zhou Cunzhi had no interest in these tea and snacks. He was only concerned about whether the bamboo clothes could be made well.
However, he was not impatient.
In fact, it was not easy to repair it. Jinniang was also glad that she had read the book. She first passed a very thin ramie thread through the last bamboo tube, and then tied the ramie thread with the side thread, and then she breathed a sigh of relief.
"Second Master, the clothes have been sewn."
Originally Zhou Cunzhi thought he would have to wait a long time, but he didn't expect that everything was repaired in less than a cup of tea. He asked Cuixian to take it and look at it. It was intact and there was no visible trace of sewing. He said three "good" words in a row.
Cui Xian said at the side: "We asked Chen Niang, but she didn't know how to do it. Only Jin Niang knew how to do it. Second Master, you must reward her well."
Zhou Cunzhi looked at Jinniang and said with a smile: "What reward do you want?"
"If possible, please give me a set of paints. I am not allowed to go out on weekdays. The ones I am using now were given to me by my previous teacher. They have been used up a long time ago. I am worried about where to buy paints." Jinniang said.
Zhou Cunzhi originally thought that she would be coy and say something about her duty, but he didn't expect that she wanted paint. She was young, had high skills, and was not tainted by the world. He immediately agreed and asked, "How did you know about Zhu Yi?"
Jinniang said, "The Second Madam once gave me a copy of 'Records of Natural History'. I saw in it that bamboo clothes existed during the Tang Dynasty, so I know a little bit about it."
"So you can read." Zhou Cunzhi nodded slightly, quite appreciative, and said, "Okay, don't worry, I have a paint palette with 42 colors in total. I'll have someone deliver it to you later."
Jinniang was overjoyed.
Cui Xian personally escorted her out and wrapped two rings in a handkerchief for her: "If it weren't for you, I would have been in trouble today. These are not expensive things, take them."
Jinniang took a closer look and saw that one was a copper ring with a small pearl, and the other was a gold bracelet. She waved her hands and Cuixian said, "I have a lot more, just take them."
Only then did Jinniang accept it.
But she didn't expect to see Si'er as soon as she left the old lady's place. She said anxiously, "Sister Jinniang, you asked me to help you guard the house all the time. I secretly saw Qin Shuang'er put Sister Qiaolian's hairpin in the basket behind your bed. What do you think we should do?"
Si'er and Xiaohe were both maids who were pawned in the mansion last year. The Zhou family paid their parents all the money for their bodies in one lump sum, but how could Madam Chen and the others tell others about their meal? This is a skill. Jinniang watched the two of them for a while, but later, seeing that Si'er was quite loyal and helped her with things several times, she would secretly give Si'er some money. The last time Si'er was scolded, it was Jinniang who spoke up for him and saved him from danger.
Therefore, when Jinniang was not in the sewing room, she asked Si'er to be her spy.
Of course, if she could really help, Jinniang would respect her from then on and would also teach her some embroidery. To be honest, it is not easy for everyone. After they left, Si'er would have a foothold in life.
Jinniang is not like Qin Shuang'er, who has friends all over the world. She knows people in every room and knows everyone she goes out with, but she knows how to win over the people in her own area very well.
"Come closer and I'll tell you what to do." Jinniang whispered a few words into Si'er's ear, and then said, "You're quick, go and do it, and then come back."
You, Qin Shuang'er, have such evil intentions.
It was not until the evening that Qin Shuang'er came back from outside. When she entered the house, she saw that Jinniang and Fang Qiaolian had both washed their hair, and both of them were twisting their hair with a dry towel.
I also heard Jinniang asking: "Have you seen Qiaolian's hairpin? It disappeared without a trace."
Qin Shuang'er felt guilty, but she shook her head calmly: "I don't know either, and you don't know either. I was dragged away by the eldest lady's birthday banquet today." After saying that, she looked at Fang Qiao Lian with concern: "What's going on? Last time your copper coins disappeared for no reason, and now your pearl hairpin is missing too. Could it be that there is a thief in our sewing room?"
"I don't know either." Fang Qiao Lian felt that she was a little careless today. She thought she could just go there and come back soon, but she didn't know so many things about Miao Xiaoniang.
She didn't know who took the copper coins before, but Jinniang was the only one there at that time, so she naturally thought that Jinniang would not take it. After all, her monthly salary was higher than theirs, but some things were hard to say.
No matter how small a fly's legs are, they are still meat.
Qin Shuang'er got excited when she saw Fang Qiaolian's eyes: "We can't let our sewing room quarrel internally, can we? You suspect me, I suspect you, and then we will become strangers. What's the point? Why don't we each take out our things and search."
After she finished speaking, she looked at Jinniang. Sure enough, this lazy fat girl knew nothing and still said, "Okay."
Fang Qiaolian said, "No need, what else are you searching for?"
Qin Shuang'er said righteously, "As the saying goes, if you don't do anything wrong, you don't have to worry about ghosts knocking on your door. We are such good friends. Although we have quarrels occasionally, they are just minor fights. Stealing is a serious crime."
Jinniang curled her lips and pretended to yawn, "Who should start first?"
In order to highlight that she had not stolen anything, Qin Shuang'er said, "Search here first, Jinniang. You search here, and I'll search yours later."
"Okay." Jinniang yawned and said, "Hurry up and go to bed. I'm so tired."
As she spoke, she pulled out the drawer of her cabinet and looked at it. Qin Shuang'er looked like she had a clear conscience and even said, "You can also take out the box inside and look at it."
Wait a minute, wait a minute, and you, Jinniang, will know how powerful I am.
Unexpectedly, Jinniang saw the shoes over there. Qin Shuang'er was a little nervous. Her monthly allowance was hidden there. Although she didn't have the pearl hairpin, she didn't want others to know about her monthly allowance, so she hurriedly said, "The shoes are very smelly. You'd better not take them out. Don't worry about getting them dirty."
"Don't worry, just like you said, we searched carefully, if there is nothing, no one will have any grudges." Jinniang covered her nose and threw two pairs of shoes aside. When she touched the third pair of shoes, she made a "hiss" sound, "It seems to be a hairpin."
She took it out directly, and Fang Qiaolian immediately said, "This is my pearl hairpin."
Qin Shuang'er had no idea how the pearl hairpin that should have been with Jinniang ended up with her, but she saw Jinniang saying, "Look carefully, don't accuse a good person."
Fang Qiaolian took it in her hand and examined it carefully: "Yes, this is my pearl hairpin. Look, this style is the one from the old lady."
Qin Shuang'er felt that she had no way to defend herself: "Qiao Lian, I don't know how the hairpin got to me. I definitely didn't steal it."
"Then you wanted to stop me from searching your shoes just now." Jinniang muttered softly.
Qin Shuang'er quickly opened her small box: "It's not like I don't have jewelry, why would I steal hers?"
"But all you have added up is not even as much as one of the old lady's. Let's tell Madam Chen and Madam Kuang tomorrow." Jin Niang looked at Fang Qiao Lian and said.
"No, that won't do." Qin Shuang'er said. If she was labeled as a thief, she would be doomed.
Fang Qiao Lian felt that her things had been returned, so she didn't want to push anyone so hard, but she wouldn't forgive Qin Shuang'er either, so she just kept silent.
"It's easy. I'll write a note. As long as you promise to put your fingerprints on it and not to cause any more trouble in the future, we won't tell Madam Chen or anyone else. But if you don't admit it, don't blame us." Jinniang sneered.
Qin Shuang'er had no choice but to agree.
Jinniang wrote two copies, which stated that on a certain day of a certain month of a certain year, a pearl hairpin belonging to Qin Shuang'er's roommate Fang Qiaolian was found in her room. She promised not to do such a thing again in the future, and took this as evidence, and everyone would let it go. Otherwise, they would definitely file a complaint.
Qin Shuang'er fell to the ground and reluctantly pressed her handprint. Jinniang said to Fang Qiaolian, "We can rest assured now."
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