When they arrived at Jixiang Hall on Dengshikou Street, Huang Wanzhen handed Gao Zhixiang over to Xiuqing and Xiulan, explained his identity, and returned to the backyard of Gezi Hutong.
Huang Wanzhen first washed up, then lay down on the bed and slept soundly. She slept until the sun rose the next morning, then she went to the kitchen with an empty stomach to look for food.
"Dahua, is there anything to eat? I'm hungry."
Zhao Dahua put down the chopping knife, picked up a large porcelain bowl, opened the steamer on the stove, and picked up two buns. "I steamed some meat sauce buns. Mr. Huang, please make do with some for now. I went to the foreign store to buy some beef and will make meatballs for you later."
Huang Wanzhen shook her head. "Two isn't enough. Give me two more."
Although Zhao Dahua wanted her to leave some room for the beef meatballs, she did not dare to contradict Huang Wanzhen and had to give her two more braised pork buns.
Huang Wanzhen finished her buns and strolled to the shop in front. "Good morning, Zhixiang! Good morning, Xiao Shitou! Good morning, Xiulan! Good morning, Xiuqing! Chunhua, why do you look so ethnically dressed?"
Li Chunhua covered her mouth and laughed, "My great aunt came to Beijing. She married far away, in Guizhou, where there are many Yi people. This style is what the Yi people are used to wearing."
Huang Wanzhen asked curiously, "Why marry so far away?" Transportation is not well developed now, and it is not easy to go to Guizhou.
"Hey, my grandma's hometown is in Jiangxi. When she was fleeing famine, she ran everywhere and settled wherever she could survive."
Huang Wanzhen also knew that in this world, the lower-class people had a hard time living. Often, when there was a disaster in another place, there would be many people fleeing famine in Beijing. She was no longer surprised.
However, Li Chunhua's clothes gave Huang Wanzhen a lot of inspiration. Afterwards, Huang Wanzhen asked Xiulan, Xiuqing and Zhu Xiqin for the store's account books, took them to the office, and sat behind the desk to check them.
When Song Wenyin came to discuss with her when to report to the school and take the make-up exam, she finally came to her senses. Now the most important thing was not work, but preparation for the exam. There was no other way, Huang Wanzhen could only cram and read books for half the night. The next day, with eyes as bright as a national treasure, she went to Beiman Girls' High School.
Miss Green saw her eyes and treated her like a national treasure, saying she could just take the make-up exam three days before school started and there was no need to rush. She then told her to take care of herself and to ask her if she had any questions or to call her if it was inconvenient.
This gave Huang Wanzhen a few more days to review. Except for eating and going to the toilet, she almost never left her room. Her score in the supplementary exam was quite ideal. Although she did not make it into the top three, she did not fall out of the top five. Song Wenyin actually improved two places, which really surprised Huang Wanzhen.
"I've already told you that learning doesn't rely on rote memorization, it relies on your brain. When I was applying to Beiman Girls' High School, I read novels every day, and I still passed on the first try."
Her words reminded Huang Wanzhen that she had a student who was going to take the entrance exam to Beiman Girls' High School this year. Without caring about anything else, she ran to call Xu Shengyi. When she learned that Xu Shengyi had been admitted to Beiman Girls' High School, Huang Wanzhen laughed happily, "Okay, I'll help you celebrate. We'll be at Linglong Pavilion."
Xu Shengyi was overjoyed to hear this. She'd been accepted into Beiman Girls' High School, and her mother had made her a ton of clothes. Her father had only said, "Not bad," and neither of them had thought of celebrating. This had made Xu Shengyi, already a homebody, even more so, spending her days at home reading British novels. Ever since Huang Wanzhen introduced her to Pride and Prejudice, Xu Shengyi had fallen in love with foreign romance novels. And Su Jingyuan, who catered to her tastes and occasionally gifted her an original English novel, only made her even more engrossed.
On the wedding day, not only did Xu Shengyi invite Su Jingyuan and Su Jingyi, Huang Wanzhen also invited Shen Junru, He Lanshan, Song Wenyin and Miss Bella. Except for Miss Bella, everyone else was there. They also drank a bottle of wine. Xu Shengyi was obviously more outgoing than before. He felt that the cookies with chocolate were more delicious and gave one to Su Jingyuan. Su Jingyuan would also considerately help Xu Shengyi get drinks. The two of them had a tacit understanding, and it was known that their relationship had developed rapidly during this period.
He Lanshan saw this and couldn't help but envy, "I wish Qi Xunyuan could be so considerate."
Huang Wanzhen clinked glasses with her. "It's a shame that Wenyin and I couldn't attend your engagement party. When you get married, I'll pay for your clothes and makeup."
Song Wenyin interrupted, "You've taken both, what should I give you?"
Huang Wanzhen turned her head to look at her, "You can't only own one piece of clothing. I give mine and you give yours."
Speaking of clothes, Song Wenyin's eyes lit up with excitement. "Lanshan, I've collected a lot of fabrics, lace, and various yarns for skirts in Shanghai that aren't common in Beijing. I can't even carry them, so I've had to ship them. I'll make you a skirt using the fabrics from Shanghai. When are you getting married?"
He Lanshan smiled and said, "The ninth day of the twelfth lunar month, I'll ask the master at Fulu Temple to calculate the date."
Huang Wanzhen suddenly thought of Tian Xiangyu. "Tian Xiangyu is also getting married at the end of this year. I asked her to do something for me before. She said she would send me invitations when the wedding comes. But she took my money and didn't do it before. She ended up splashing mud all over me. Later, I went to great lengths to find someone else."
Song Wenyin knew about this. It was she who introduced Tian Xiangyu to Huang Wanzhen. She had never expected that person to disregard the friendship of classmates. "Hey! I get angry every time I mention it. If I had known that she didn't care about the friendship of classmates, I shouldn't have introduced you. I didn't expect that I couldn't help you and even held you back."
He Lanshan asked curiously, "There's such a thing? How come I didn't know about it?"
"You didn't come to school at that time. I guess you went to find a man. But you have been looking for such a long time, why did you find such a small family? He is not worthy of you." Song Wenyin shook the wine glass and looked at the waves in it.
He Lanshan curled her lips. "You know, my family is originally from the south, but we've been in Beijing for so many years that we've lost contact there. Isn't this a bad situation? Qi Xunyuan's ancestral home is also in Zhejiang. After we get married, we're going to go back to the south to develop our careers. His family has already found him a position in the Shanghai Agricultural Bureau. Even if there's a change of dynasty, it won't affect him. My mother wants me to live a stable life."
Huang Wanzhen and Song Wenyin exchanged a glance. "After we get married, we're going to Shanghai? You don't need your diploma anymore?"
He Lanshan waved her hand unenthusiastically, "The certificate of incomplete studies is just as useful. I'll see if it works out, and then I can transfer to a school in Shanghai. It all depends on whether the Qi family is willing for me to go to school outside. Once I'm married, I can't compare to what I have now."
Huang Wanzhen lamented, "Life is even worse after getting married, so why get married in the first place?"
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