Chapter 78: Preparing Gifts Why did he bring you but not me?
Song Jin knew that the doctors and celebrities of the Ming Dynasty would use business cards when interacting with each other, but he had never seen one in real life, so he picked up one out of curiosity and looked at it.
It was a single, folded note. Surprisingly, the note was white, which was different from the Chinese custom of using red notes.
Song Jin rubbed the paper habitually. The surface of the paper was smooth and the color was bright. It was obviously a good paper.
Looking at the words again, it was written neatly: "Servant Lin Xiangming bows his head."
The ink is clean, with no signs of smudging, further confirming that it is good paper.
Song Jin changed a few more to look at. Some of them came with envelopes and had to be opened to look at. Some were made of white paper, some were made of flowery paper, and some even had envelopes that were extremely delicate. As Song Jin looked at them, he actually felt a sense of joy in stamp collecting.
Among the many posts, she saw one that was a little different. It was a bright red post with gold inscriptions. It was obviously sent by a rich person. Looking at the content, it was an invitation to Ji Shubai to attend a banquet.
"Master Ji," Song Jin leaned over and asked quietly, "This Chen Xinyuan wants to invite you to a banquet, will you go?"
Ji Shubai chuckled and raised his eyes from the account book: "What Chen Xinyuan? He is the county magistrate. He just told you to speak properly."
Song Jin was stunned when she heard this. Then she looked at the post again and saw that there was no official title written on it. How would she know?
"Then, sir, are you going to attend the banquet hosted by the magistrate?"
“This is a must.”
Song Jin came closer: "Then can you take me there, sir?"
"you?"
Ji Shubai looked Song Jin up and down and saw that she was wearing a square scarf, a blue shirt and a cloth robe, and her white and black boots were not very clean because she had learned horse riding in the past few days.
"Not very convenient."
After taking a look at him, Ji Shubai rejected Song Jin's proposal without hesitation, but Song Jin was not willing to agree.
"Why? Why can't I go? That day, Chai Heng hosted a banquet for the Censor, and the Censor even asked me to sit down. How could you be so kind?"
When Ji Shubai saw that Song Jin was furious, he simply put down the account book in his hand and reached out to flip through the stack of notes.
Song Jin stood aside and watched. Ji Shubai's hands were beautiful. He looked good when turning pages, holding a pen, and reading posts. It was a pity that she was so angry that she wasted the beautiful scenery.
"Here, you can go."
He took out a note and handed it to Song Jin. Song Jin took it with suppressed anger and saw that it was written on the envelope: "Ce Baibai pays homage to Shu Bai, my dear confidant." He took out the note inside and saw that it was written: "On the 15th of the month, I will prepare a small amount of wine for a gathering of classmates in the county. I look forward to your arrival. Gao Ce, the attendant, bows his head."
She pouted, neither saying she was happy nor unhappy, and muttered something irrelevant.
"This paper is also OK."
"The blue and white bird's eye white recording paper is not only good, it is simply luxurious."
Song Jin felt a little happier after hearing this. She wanted to see a Ming Dynasty banquet. She used to be a cook, but now she was a guest, so the feeling was naturally different.
So he smiled and said, "Then I'll go."
Ji Shubai also smiled when he saw her like that: "For such a small matter, is it that important? Since you want to go, then help me do something."
"What's up?"
"You go out with Dao Qingshan this afternoon and help me prepare the gifts for the visit. Also..."
He glanced at Song Jin's clothes again and said, "You should also have some clothes made. Cloth clothes are not very suitable. Anyway, there are still a few days before the banquet."
When Song Jin heard that it was a tailor-made garment and not just cloth, he was naturally happy, and looked up and down at Ji Shubai.
She saw him wearing pleated clothes, which looked very nice on him and she liked it too.
Ji Shubai felt uncomfortable when she looked at him: "What are you looking at?"
"My Lord, you are wearing beautiful clothes."
Song Jin thought about Ji Shubai's figure and imagined that it would be great if he looked like that.
She is tall, with broad shoulders, a narrow waist and long legs. If she looked like this, she would probably have to take off all her clothes and look at herself for a long time before taking a bath every day. With this figure, she would look good in any outfit, whether it is a long top or a tight top.
Because of some strange thoughts in her mind, Song Jin's smile was not innocent. Seeing this, Ji Shubai stood up and walked to Song Jin with a big stride, with his chest almost touching her face.
"You can't wear my clothes."
The voice came from the top of her head. There was a big difference in height between them, so when Song Jin looked up, her chin almost hit Ji Shubai's chest.
It's also self-humiliating.
Song Jin took a step back consciously and muttered quietly: "I didn't say I had to wear it."
There was a faint smile on the corner of Ji Shubai's mouth, which seemed like a mockery, but not quite.
Song Jin glanced at the table and found an excuse to avoid it: "Then I'll go find Qingshan. Why hasn't the tea come yet..."
As soon as he finished speaking, Qingshan came into the room and happened to hear these words.
"If you think I'm slow, go by yourself next time."
"Master Ji, you don't care about Qingshan."
"I can't even control you." Ji Shubai sat back down and ignored Song Jin's complaints.
Song Jin had no choice but to rub the tip of his nose, ran over to get the tea, and thanked Qingshan again and again, finally getting a good look from Qingshan.
No wonder people say it’s easy to see the King of Hell but hard to deal with little ghosts. She and Qingshan are both hard to deal with little ghosts.
Under Ji Shubai's command, Song Jin went out with Qingshan to buy things that afternoon.
If you think about it carefully, the rules of the Ming Dynasty are similar to those of the 21st century. When someone invites you to a banquet, you have to prepare a gift. Even if you hold a high official position, you still have to follow this etiquette.
Song Jin followed Qingshan and helped carry whatever Qingshan said he wanted to buy.
I didn't buy much, just a purple-hair brush, a piece of pine soot ink, a piece of Duanxi inkstone, and two pounds of snow bud tea.
Qingshan was walking in front, and Song Jin was following behind with something in her hand. She always felt that the thing was too light and it didn't seem appropriate to give it as a gift, but Qingshan was not in a good mood with her today, so she had to coax him.
The more Song Jin thought about it, the more miserable his life seemed. After coaxing the old ones, he still had to coax the young ones. What sins did he commit in his previous life?
Forget it, it’s indeed a sin, just comfort her.
"Qingshan, would you like to stop and have a cup of tea?"
"No!" Without even turning back.
Song Jin laughed, followed quickly, and said, "Your master told me to not bear grudges and not to be angry with you."
"Who is the villain? You are the villain." Qingshan walked straight forward and didn't want to look at her at all.
"Okay, I'm a villain, let's not bear grudges and let this matter be forgotten."
Qing Shan glanced at her, not wanting to answer. Song Jin thought for a moment and said, "Your parents said that I have been around the stove since I was a child and have never seen the world. Unlike you, you follow him every day and have stood at the foot of the imperial city. Naturally, you have an extraordinary tolerance. Even if you are angry with me, it will only last for a day or two. When the anger subsides, you will naturally forget it."
"That's natural."
Song Jin glanced at him and saw a smug smile on his face. He couldn't help but think that this master's tea tasting ability was first-rate, but this kid couldn't do it and needed more practice.
"So where are we going next?"
Qingshan was in a much better mood after being coaxed like this. He turned around and said with a smile: "Let's find a tailor shop to make clothes for you."
Song Jin followed happily.
The shop was not far away, and there were many fabrics to choose from. Song Jin was attracted to one of the fabrics at first sight.
It was a piece of parrot green satin fabric, with many butterflies embroidered on one side of the fabric, yellow, pink, white, of all shapes and sizes. The moment she saw the fabric, Song Jin had already thought about it. If it was made into a stand-up collar and double-breasted cloak, with the hem covered with flying butterflies, when she wore it in spring, she would be the most eye-catching person in the garden.
After living two lives, Song Jin still couldn't escape the consumption trap and grabbed the piece of cloth tightly and refused to let go.
"I want this."
Qingshan took a quick look and realized that the material was only suitable for women and men could never wear it, so she reached out and pushed it open for her.
"You can't wear this material."
"nice."
"You can't wear it even if it looks good. Change into this."
Qingshan handed over a piece of orange satin with auspicious cloud patterns. Song Jin just glanced at it and was extremely disgusted.
That color makes us look dark and not good looking at all. Green is so pretty, it sets off the people and looks bright. Orange is too tacky.
"I don't."
"Do you pay the money or does my master pay the money?"
Song Jin curled his lips and reluctantly let go of the piece of material in his hand: "Then I don't want the orange one either."
"Then you should at least choose something you can wear."
Song Jin puffed out his cheeks and started to choose. He originally wanted to choose green, but was afraid of bumping into Ji Shubai.
Wearing the same clothes is not a big deal. Whoever is ugly will be embarrassed. Even if Song Jin has poor taste, she should know that she cannot match Ji Shubai in men's clothing.
In the end, she picked out a piece of material with a pattern of distant mountains and tortoise shell flowers and asked someone to make her a dress. When taking measurements, Song Jin wanted to make a pleated dress, which made Qingshan tease her a lot.
"Pleated clothes require a lot of work, and we don't have that much time to wait. Either a Taoist robe or a straight dress, your choice."
Unable to buy the material she likes, unable to wear the style she likes, Song Jin feels aggrieved about the clothes she wears.
She sniffed, "I want a straight-fitting top with a white collar, the kind that's snow-white."
This time no one opposed her.
"We only have so many things to bring as a gift. Isn't that a bit shabby?"
Qingshan sat there, drinking tea and saying, "Before we came out, Master Chai helped to prepare some gifts, including a lot of fabrics. We can just take them and give them to people."
Song Jin's eyebrows jumped when he heard this: "Why does your master need Mr. Chai to prepare gifts when he is going out?"
Qingshan was also stunned by this question: "It has always been like this, I don't know."
Song Jin remembered what Qingshan had told her about the relationship between the Chai family and Ji Shubai, and asked Qingshan, "I saw Master Ji today with an invitation from the county magistrate, but he refused to take me. What about you? Are you going?"
"Of course I will."
Song Jin retracted his arms that were stretched out to measure the body: "Why did he take you and not me?"
"Take you?"
Puzzled, Qing Shan glanced at Song Jin from top to bottom and said, "I'll take you there. Who are you?"
Song Jin put his hands on his hips and said, "Do I need a status just to eat a meal?"
"Of course." Qingshan put down the teacup and introduced her: "This is a banquet hosted by the county magistrate. It is a formal banquet. Everyone wears official uniforms. What rank are you?"
Song Jin was deflated when he heard this: "What about you? What are you going to do?"
"Go and serve my master. You have to serve him too."
"I'm busy."
When it comes to serving people, Song Jin suddenly lost interest. Didn't she serve enough at the dinner table in her previous life? Why did she rush to do it in this life? It's not like she was crazy.
"You are really something. How can a servant have such a bad temper? Even my master gives in to you."
"How did he let me? You didn't see him beating me. He whipped me."
Qingshan became excited when he heard this and came over and kept asking questions.
"Why did he hit you? How did he hit you? You must have made a mistake. My master never hits me. How did you offend him?"
Song Jin rolled his eyes in his heart and quickly changed the subject.
"Who is Gao Ce? Why can I go?"
"Gao Ce?" Qing Shan pinched his chin and thought for a while before saying, "I remember now. He was the scholar who went to Beijing to take the imperial examination with my master that year, but he failed. Now that he knows that my master has come to Wu County, he has sent an invitation, so that the scholars who took the imperial examination together that year can get together."
Song Jin curled his lips: "Oh, not a formal official, then I can go."
This sentence made Qingshan laugh: "You can go anywhere, my master is partial. I tell you, behave yourself when you go, don't embarrass my master."
Song Jin swung his arms impatiently: "Your master is so strict with rules. This is not allowed, that is not allowed. Even the king of heaven is not as strict with rules as him."
"What's this? You haven't seen the rules of the capital. They always have officials from the six ministries. Those are the big rules. We have already calculated it."
Song Jin tilted his head and thought, it’s a good thing that he didn’t go to the capital.
"Take my master for example. He is an official in the government office. Although he is not a prefect, he is not someone that ordinary people can get close to. If a scholar wants to see him, it depends on my master's mood."
Song Jin was shocked.
"People who have been officials and those who haven't, current officials and retired officials, officials in Beijing and local officials, people of different levels naturally make friends with different people. Take Gao Ce for example, he is a juren, a local wealthy man, and he has never been an official, so he is not qualified to meet a prefect. He held a private banquet for my master because he was a classmate in the past, otherwise my master would never have the time to meet him. There are so many juren in Suzhou Prefecture, and it is impossible to meet them all."
"Because it's a private banquet, everyone is not so restrained, so my master is willing to take you in. If it were a banquet hosted by the county magistrate, you would just wait to serve tea and water with me inside."
Song Jin slumped there. When he was a slave, he felt discriminated against everywhere. Who would have thought that after being freed, his status would still be like lying on the ground.
Qingshan hasn't finished speaking yet.
"By the way, if you go there as a retainer, you have to submit a business card. You can't go there empty-handed."
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