Chapter 8 Another idea came to my mind when I rented a house
Song Jin didn't go anywhere else. When the noodles were cooked, the old woman kindly scooped a large spoonful of broth and a few pieces of meat into them for her. Then she lay on the small table in the kitchen and started to eat.
"Mancao," said Mrs. Li, looking embarrassed. "They said you have spiritual powers?"
After hearing this, Song Jin smiled and said, "It's just that I dreamed of going to a certain place when I had a high fever."
"Where is it?" The old woman refused to give up.
Song Jin replied: "A cave."
"Have you seen a god?" Everyone in the kitchen gathered around, except Mancao's mother, Mrs. Chen, who looked unhappy.
Song Jin was not panicked. He ate his noodles while answering, "I did meet a few old men, but I didn't know them very well."
"But you were able to write after seeing it, so you must be a very powerful deity, right?"
Song Jin smiled but did not answer, continuing to eat noodles leisurely.
"Can you please ask me how long I have lived?"
"Also, who should my daughter marry?"
"Can my old man's illness be cured?"
......
Everyone asked questions at once, and Song Jin listened to many questions, but no one was thinking about whether he could get rid of his citizenship.
People are the product of their environment. To be honest, as slaves, being able to work in the kitchen is already pretty good.
How can I get rid of my status if I have no land, no money? How can I eat and drink after getting rid of my status? It is better to stay in the big yard of the Bai family, at least I can have enough food.
After everyone asked a lot of questions, they suddenly realized that Song Jin didn't answer a word, and they all looked at Song Jin for a moment.
Song Jin smiled gently: "I can't communicate with the gods now, so I can't ask."
After saying that, he lowered his head and continued eating noodles.
"I said no..."
Everyone left in disappointment, but Granny Li stayed by the table and asked quietly, "Why did you go to Zizhu Garden? Can you take my Dongzhi with you?"
Song Jin was stunned at first, but then he understood after thinking about it.
Dongzhi was a maid in the room of Zhao Yiliu, the second mother.
Speaking of which, Zhao Yilu is also pitiful. It's miserable enough that her family has fallen into poverty, and then she happens to meet Bai Xiaonan who takes advantage of the situation.
At the beginning, Bai Xiaona married her as a concubine, but because of her elegance, she was not allowed to enter the house and had to live outside.
When the incident happened, Wen Ya made a big fuss, and Bai Xiaonan simply broke off relations with her and insisted on bringing Zhao Yiliu back home. The Bai family also supported her, saying that it was all for the sake of their offspring.
It turned out that Zhao Yilu had only secretly married the second wife, and thought that she would be legitimate after entering the family. However, he did not know that the eldest lady Wenya was so fierce that no one could compare to her.
The hard times began the moment you stepped through the door.
Because Zhao Yilu's family was weak, she was a concubine, she was both gentle and fierce, and she was also the legal wife, so she openly put a lot of obstacles in her way and made her suffer a lot.
So in order to survive, she was more and more afraid of Bai Xiaonan coming to her room. Whenever he came, she would always talk about the difficulties of the eldest grandmother and tell him to stop coming. Bai Xiaonan was very upset. So the eldest wife didn't go, the second wife didn't come, and she ran directly to the brothel. That's how Sanniang entered the house.
Without the love she loved, Zhao Yiliu stayed in that yard all day long. She didn't have to worry about food and drink, but she was very lonely. However, she could endure it.
One advantage of such a well-behaved master is that he will not beat or scold his servants at will.
There is a disadvantage to being such a contented master: his servants will be looked down upon by the servants in other courtyards.
It’s different in Zizhuyuan, the grandmother’s yard, where the maids walk out with straighter backs than those in other courtyards.
Whether it's bullying by taking advantage of one's power or bullying others by relying on the power of another, the maids in Zizhuyuan are superior to others.
No wonder Mrs. Li said this to Song Jin. Who doesn't want their daughter to marry into a rich family? In the future, when choosing a servant to marry in this courtyard, they will have more options than others.
"Granny Li, I just went there. I haven't worked for two days. How can I lead others? You think too highly of me."
Song Jin spoke with a smile, but Mrs. Li could sense something different in her voice. Mancao could never have said this before.
It’s different when you understand God.
"I'm not saying I'll go right away. I know your difficulties. I just thought that if the grandmother needs a maid to sweep the floor someday, you can help recommend my Dongzhi."
After hearing this, Song Jin smiled and replied, "Okay."
She had no idea how many bad checks she had written in the past, so she wasn't afraid of this one more.
The Bai family spent two days in peace.
The fourth sister Ye Wenfu moved to Meilinyuan quietly. The third sister Xu Cuiyun lived in the main house because she arrived the earliest. The second sister Zhao Yiliu lived in the west wing. The fourth sister Ye Wenfu, who arrived the latest, lived in the east wing.
Because of the severe sunset, Ye Wenfu made a scene.
In the past, she was the only one in Xiyuan, so she was always invincible. But Xu Cuiyun in the red-light district was not a person who would just eat and work. It was fine if they hadn't met before, but now they were at loggerheads, arguing endlessly, leaving Zhao Yiliu alone, crying in the room.
Because she came in late, and Xu Cuiyun disliked her and insisted on supporting Zhao Yiliu, Ye Wenfu never won, so the three rooms were decided.
Ye Wenfu suffered a loss and kept quiet for quite a while, but she held a heavy account with Song Jin.
While the Meilin Courtyard was arguing, the Zizhu Courtyard was quiet and peaceful. Because of the distance, Wen Ya could hardly hear their quarrels. Occasionally, she could hear the echoes, but she just thought it was interesting. In short, she was happy when they were not doing well.
During this period, two sets of clothes tailored according to Song Jin's body shape were also delivered to the Bai family.
With the name of Wen Zijin, he no longer had to wear mourning clothes for the master of the Bai family, but could wear ordinary men's clothes.
Song Jin took the two sets of clothes back to his room to change, and Lian Xin would go in to help when she had time.
He took off his mourning clothes and put on a wide-sleeved blue cotton robe and red square-toed shoes. He let his hair down and tied it up on top of his head, wrapped it with a piece of blue cloth, and then put on a square scarf made of black lacquered gauze. The daily attire of a Ming Dynasty man was complete.
After Song Jin finished dressing, he shook his big sleeves and couldn't help but wonder: Why did people in the Ming Dynasty love to wear Taoist robes?
"Sister, you really look like a man when you dress like this."
Song Jin smiled and looked down at herself. She indeed did not have any feminine features.
"Okay, from now on you have to call me Master Wen in front of outsiders."
Lianxin laughed when she heard this, and pretended to bow and say "Greetings, Master Wen". The two of them burst into laughter.
They were having fun here when Dujuan came in and said that grandma had sent someone to deliver an invitation to the Wen family, and Wenxin would come to the Bai family tomorrow to look for her to see the yard together.
Song Jin agreed after hearing that, and knew in his heart that he had to prepare to go out and do things.
Elegance does not support idle people.
The next morning, Song Jin got dressed, ate early with the maids, and went back to his room to wait.
Sure enough, just after Wen Ya finished her breakfast, Song Jin saw Wen Xin coming in from outside the yard, so he tidied his clothes and went to the yard to wait.
The air was fresh in the morning, and the sweet scent of honeysuckle mixed in the morning mist, which made Song Jin turn around and look for it on his own. However, before he found the flower, Dujuan came out to call him.
She followed Dujuan into the main house, bowed, and stood there waiting for instructions.
"Mancao, from now on you should call yourself Zijin when you are outside. He hasn't been in contact with my family for several years, and no one in the Bai family knows you. Today, you should follow Wenxin and go out to see the yard together. It's better to settle the matter early and get it done."
Song Jin answered respectfully, and after listening to a few more instructions, he followed Wen Xin out of Zizhu Garden and went out to do some work.
The Bai family's house is large, and when they have money, they don't care about any rules at all, and they live as luxuriously as possible. When thinking of this, Song Jin began to carefully look at Wen Xin who was walking in front.
The two were dressed similarly, with the same square scarf, but they were wearing different things.
Wen Xin was wearing a Taoist robe with a silver-grey satin pattern of flowing water and falling flowers. In his hand he held a mud-gold fan with a red apricot lake stone as the fan head and a white jade double-sided fish-shaped fan pendant at the bottom. He looked much more stylish than her.
Some people say that businessmen can’t wear silk, but it is obviously the poor who can’t wear silk. Who wouldn’t wear it if they can afford it?
Song Jin thought a lot in his mind, without saying a word. He silently followed Wen Xin from the backyard to the main hall, then passed through the tea room to the sedan chair hall.
Wen Xin's sedan chair was waiting there, and Song Jin also had a sedan chair.
Song Jin, standing in the sedan hall, looked at the sedan and couldn't help rubbing her nose. She was not used to being carried by someone, but this was the rule here.
In Suzhou, people travel by sedan chair and in the north by horse. It is not very convenient to ride a horse or a carriage, so people of some status or women travel by sedan chair.
Rich families prepared their own sedan chairs and bearers, while poor families would hire one temporarily when they wanted to go out. In short, women would not walk on the streets easily, except for older women and maids, as a woman's face naturally could not stand being seen in the light of the outside world.
Now that Song Jin is using Wen Zijin's identity to do business, he can barely be considered a young master and can ride in a sedan chair.
Thinking of this, Song Jin bent down and got into the sedan chair with the curtain opened.
As the sedan shook and left the ground, Song Jin nervously clung to both sides of the sedan with his hands, pushed the ground with his feet, and unconsciously squeezed his buttocks together, for fear of rolling down from the front.
Fortunately, the sedan bearers were well-trained. Once they were out of the door and on the street, the sedan was extremely stable, and Song Jin gradually got used to it.
The sedan stopped in an alley, and as soon as Song Jin got out of the sedan, he saw a courtyard gate.
"This is a good place. The owner is moving to Nanjing, so it's now vacant. It's convenient to buy or rent it."
Wen Xin found the courtyard, so he stood aside and introduced it to Song Jin.
"My aunt wants to have a place outside. This place is secluded and will not attract attention. It is a great place."
Song Jin smiled and said, "Why don't you open the door and go in and take a look."
After hearing this, Wen Xin waved his hand, and an old man walked to the door, unlocked it, and invited everyone to come in and take a look.
Song Jin followed Wen Xin into the yard. Looking around, the yard had two entrances. In the front was a gatehouse and servants' quarters. Across the small patio was a sitting room, above which was a small attic, and behind it was a main courtyard. There was a main room plus left and right wing rooms, and there were rooms upstairs.
Song Jin thought about it and decided to hire servants, hide some silver, and arrange for one or two family members to live in and look after the house. That would be enough.
Just as Song Jin was thinking seriously, Wen Xin's eyes fell on her and never left her.
This man is obviously a family slave, but now he is dressed up as a relative of the Wen family. How come he looks more like a master than him?
Song Jin was thinking, and he was also thinking, and another idea came to his mind.
"Brother Wen Xin..." Song Jin suddenly turned around and spoke, and met Wen Xin's eyes that were staring at her. The look in his eyes was like he was staring at prey, and her heart skipped a beat.
She forced herself to calm down and continued, "Let's choose this place. Let's go back and report to Grandma. Let's rent it as soon as possible so that we can buy some things."
Wen Xin gave a harmless smile and said hello.
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