Chapter 27: Six taels
Before Shu Tongshu left, Su Ruojin secretly gave him a tip. If this tip still couldn't get her to meet Lord Fan, then she had no choice. The gifts were all made by her own hands anyway, and the thought behind it might be great, so it was enough as long as the gift was thoughtful.
Before going out to play, Su Ruojin reminded her, "Mom, you should give your aunt a holiday gift, right?"
"This is not waiting for the same book."
They were all waiting for Uncle Shu Tong. Uncle Shu Tong was really a busy man. The Su family really needed to have a new member. Let's celebrate the New Year first. Su Ruojin suppressed the idea of having a new member and went to the alley to play with Yang Si Niang.
In the afternoon, the sun shines in the alleys. It's a rare occasion that the northwest wind isn't blowing so hard. The children who have been confined at home go out one after another. They gather in groups of three or five to play shuttlecock, roll hoops, or throw sandbags... The laughter and shouting are so loud that it can make one's head explode.
Su Ruojin thought to herself, is she old?
Yang Si Niang kicked the shuttlecock towards her. Seeing that it was about to fall to the ground, she was so anxious that she shouted, "Hey, Ah Jin, catch it!"
Su Ruojin quickly stretched out her legs to catch it, but she was a step too late and the shuttlecock fell to the ground.
Yang Si Niang came over with her mouth puffed out, "Ah Jin... why don't you answer it?"
"It's too... the sun is shining in my eyes. I didn't see you kicking over here."
Yang Si Niang didn't believe it. She stood next to her and was blinded by the sunlight. "You are so stupid. Why can't you move to the side?"
Su Ruojin was absent-minded, letting the little brat yell at her, and smiled, "Let's start over."
"Kick it to me first this time." Yang Si Niang asked Su Ruojin to pick up the shuttlecock and kick it.
"Okay." Su Ruojin bent down to get the shuttlecock, but someone picked it up first.
Yang Si Niang leaned forward and shouted angrily, "Xue Wu Lang, why are you picking up our shuttlecock?"
Xue Wulang ignored the fierce Yang Si Niang. He faced Su Ruojin, pursed his lips, as if he had something to say, but did not open his mouth.
Su Ruojin waited calmly for the shuttlecock in his hand.
Xue Wulang lowered his head slightly when the young lady looked at him, and twirled the shuttlecock in his hand.
Yang Si Niang's father, Yang Jingzi, was a censor. Although his rank was only seventh grade, he supervised all officials, inspected counties, corrected criminal justice, and rectified court ceremonies, which was equivalent to the prosecutor of the Supreme People's Procuratorate today.
According to Su Ruojin's inquiries, there were only six Censors in the Dayin Dynasty, who were in charge of the six ministries and hundreds of departments and had great power in their hands. Therefore, nine out of ten outsiders who entered Guihua Lane were most likely to look for Censor Yang.
Some time ago, when Su Ruojin was selling candied haws wholesale to vendors, too many vendors came, which caused dissatisfaction among the visitors. Madam Yang sent the housekeeper Aunt Zhang to talk to her tactfully. From then on, Su Ruojin asked Uncle Feng to pull the candied haws out with a mule and directly meet with the vendors in the street market.
The neighbor on the left, Xue Wulang's father, Xue Changcheng, was one of the officials of the Ministry of Works, and was a sixth-rank official. He was in charge of the construction procedures of civil engineering in cities other than the capital (the capital was under the charge of the Shaofujian and Jiangzuojian). Regardless of the size of the official position, officials from the capital were always popular when they went to the local areas, but they were often away from the capital and had less time to spend with their families.
Xue Wulang was slow to speak. Yang Siniang seemed to know what he wanted to say and winked at Su Ruojin while looking at her purse.
Su Ruojin understood, it turned out that...
Perhaps sensing the two young ladies' glances, Xue Wulang's ears turned red and he raised his head slightly, "Su... Su Erniang, are you selling your lollipops?"
In the whole Guihua Lane, no other child except Yang Si Niang has such a beautiful lollipop. If A Jin gave it to him, wouldn’t she be the one and only?
Yang Si Niang was extremely nervous, thinking to herself, Don’t give it to me… Don’t give it to me…
Su Ruojin shook her head slightly.
Yang Si Niang was instantly proud. Humph, it was your fault that you didn't let us play with the clay dolls that your father brought back from other places last time, and you still want our lollipops? Dream on!
Xue Wulang didn't expect that the young lady would reject him as soon as he said it. His face turned red, but for the sake of his crying sixth sister at home, he still tried to get her to buy him one. "Can you just sell me one?"
“I won’t sell any.”
Wow, Ajin’s refusal was exactly what she wanted. Yang Si Niang was about to laugh triumphantly.
"I'll give you two." Su Ruojin asked with a smile, "What are your and Liu Niang's zodiac signs?"
The seven-year-old boy was so depressed that he almost ran away one moment, but the next moment, his eyes lit up and almost burst into stars, "Really?" He didn't expect that even he was involved, what a surprise.
Yang Si Niang was so unhappy that she almost cried, "Ah Jin..."
In order to appease the little brat, Su Ruojin had to comfort her, "I'll give you another one, you can choose it."
"Wow..." Yang Si Niang was happy again, "Can I help my brother pick one?"
As for children, as long as they like the lollipops, they will give them to the children around them. Su Ruojin brought the two children home and let them choose lollipops. The friendship between the children came so quickly.
The area around Kangpingfang was inhabited by high-ranking officials and nobles of the Dayin Dynasty. Although the 26th day of the twelfth lunar month was the first day of rest for officials, there was a constant stream of people coming to the Fan Mansion to pay their respects. When Su Yanli arrived at the gate of the Fan Mansion, it was already 2 o'clock in the afternoon, and there were still several groups of people in front of him. He had no choice but to stand aside and wait. It was not until 3 o'clock that it was Shu Tong's turn. Before going forward to ask questions, he said nothing, but just quietly stuffed two taels of silver to the gatekeeper.
The gate value is pushed back.
Shu Tong added another two taels.
The doorman was secretly startled and subconsciously pushed the door back.
Two more taels of silver were added to the book.
Hey, it’s already six taels!
As the gatekeeper, those who can lead guests into the mansion during the New Year holidays are all smart and well-connected young men. Generally, people who come to the mansion will give some silver as a tip, but it is rare to see someone like Shu Tong who gives six taels at once!
This amount was almost as much as the monthly salary of a ninth-rank official. The gatekeeper stopped pushing back.
Shu Tong took the opportunity to strike the snake with a stick, and said in a low voice with a smile: "It's winter and the northwest wind is blowing hard. Buy some wine for the boy to warm himself up."
To be honest, the young man saw them coming half an hour ago, and he had already thought of what excuse he would make when it was their turn. He didn't expect that the poor Dr. Su was not here to borrow money, so... it should be okay to let him go in and see the adults!
For the sake of money, the doorman rushed out, "Okay, go in quickly, and don't talk too much. Come out quickly after you finish speaking. The master is very busy."
Of course Shu Tong nodded and agreed to everything, and then he quickly called his master into the Fan Mansion. He hadn't had the chance to come in that year, but finally he got in again at the end of the year.
Lord Fan was a little surprised to see Su Yanli: "It's been a long time since I came."
Su Yanli was secretly shocked. Doesn’t the Lord know that he had been here more than two months ago?
still……
Lord Fan saw that his clothes and spirits were better than before, and he seemed to be doing well recently. He nodded and smiled, "Are you doing well in the Imperial College?"
"Reply to teacher, everything is fine."
"That's good."
After a few questions and answers, the relationship between teacher and student seemed to be established, and the study room suddenly became uncomfortable with its silence.
Of course, the one who was uncomfortable was Su Yanli. In order to get rid of this embarrassment, he had to make small talk: "Teacher, are you eating well now?"
(End of this chapter)
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