The Red Chamber begins with a bastard

Chapter 5

Outside the window, the wind was bleak, and the closer it was to noon, the colder it became. The sky was so gloomy that it looked like it was going to snow.Jia Huan stared blankly at the book "A Brief History of Kingdoms and Dynasties" on the case, and after a long time, he whispered to himself: "There is no Ming Dynasty, and the Qing Dynasty has not yet been established, which is interesting."

Jia Huan calculated that it should be around 1628 A.D., which is the end of the Ming Dynasty in the real world. During the Chongzhen period of the Ming Dynasty, there were still 1644 years before the Manchu Qing entered the customs in 16. However, the history in the world of Red Mansions has changed. The Jin Dynasty was only 80 years old, and it was the golden age of national power.

However, according to the information disclosed in this "A Brief History of the Kingdom of China", Nurhaer, the fierce Jurchen in Jianzhou, has already ruled Liaodong.

Just as Jia Huan was thinking about it, it was called lunch outside, he put down his books and went out, and found that Hong Ling was setting the table, taking out the food from the basket, and laying it out one by one, while Aunt Zhao had already sat down, obviously planning to have a meal here.

It is said that Aunt Zhao did not live with Jia Huan, but lived in another small courtyard. Jia Zheng would often eat and spend the night with Aunt Zhao, so Jia Huan usually ate by himself, and he was happy.

There are two types of kitchens in the Jia Mansion, one is the public kitchen and the other is the private kitchen. The Jia mansion has a population of over a thousand. Most of the people eat big pot meals in the public kitchen, and only a few privileged people eat small stoves.

Aunt Zhao and Jia Huan naturally didn't have this kind of treatment. They usually ate big pot meals from the public kitchen. If they wanted to add something special, they had to spend money to let the kitchen cook it.

At this moment, Hong Ling has already laid out the food, three dishes and one soup, which are stewed salted duck with fragrant taro, fried bamboo shoots with smoked meat, minced meat with sauerkraut, and a bowl of egg custard.

These few vegetables are undoubtedly extremely luxurious for ordinary people, but Aunt Zhao was obviously very dissatisfied, she frowned and said: "Why is there no green vegetables, just a bowl of egg custard, Huan'er was seriously injured and bled so much, it's time for nourishment, how can I just eat these hard seeds? Send beggars away!"

Hong Ling was obviously also dissatisfied with today's food, and said resentfully: "The kitchen said that the supply of green vegetables will be short after winter, and the old lady is not enough. How can it be our turn, but Qiuwen next to Master Bao came to cook, and they immediately brought out a large plate of green vegetables and a bowl of ginseng chicken soup. Auntie, grandma, are you angry?"

Aunt Zhao said angrily: "The whores in the kitchen are just bullying us. They take all good things to curry favor with Baoyu, and they only give us pig food. It's unreasonable. See if I don't make him turn upside down."

Jia Huan, who was eating, was so swallowed that he rolled his eyes, he quickly grabbed Aunt Zhao, winked secretly at Hongling, and persuaded, "Don't be impatient, Auntie, why bother to make a fuss just to order food..."

Before Jia Huan finished speaking, Aunt Zhao said angrily: "What do you mean by ordering something to eat? As the saying goes, if you don't steam steamed buns to steam your breath, you are an unlucky seed. Going to make a fuss for your mother is just to make you feel better. If you don't help, let it be. Instead, you will bury your mother."

Jia Huan's head was full of black lines and he said: "Auntie, can you listen to the child first? Although those people in the kitchen are snobbish, they don't want to use ginseng soup to curry favor with Baoyu. Could it be that they pay for it out of their own pockets? Ginseng is not cheap. I guess it was given the materials and money to let the kitchen make extra."

Hong Ling was also clever, and immediately said: "The servant girl asked later, and it was indeed Xiren who gave the kitchen five qian old ginseng and silver in advance."

After hearing this, Aunt Zhao sat down resentfully, and Jia Huan took the opportunity to say: "Look, as I expected, Auntie is too impulsive, if she really goes to the kitchen to make a fuss, it doesn't make sense, it's just annoying, maybe my wife will take this opportunity to punish you."

Aunt Zhao was both ashamed and grateful when she heard the words, but she said stubbornly: "Huan'er, you are only so old, what can you understand, but you have to teach your mother a lesson, you little heartless."

"Yes, yes, the child doesn't understand anything. Auntie, hurry up and eat it while it's hot. It's going to be cold later. Sister Hongling, you can eat it too." Jia Huan began to gobble it up as he spoke.

"You starved to death and reincarnated, eat slowly, and no one will grab you." Aunt Zhao put a piece of duck leg meat into Jia Huan's bowl with a look of resentment.

In the past, Jia Huan was very picky eater, so his nutrition was not balanced. This is probably the reason why he was relatively thin. Once this child was picky eater, he would have a lot of minor problems. Just like Jia Huan's predecessor, he had teeth grinding, hyperactivity, rhinitis, yellow hair, and he was sluggish.

The current Jia Huan is still influenced by his predecessor to a certain extent, but he is consciously correcting these minor problems. Since he exercised for half an hour this morning, his appetite is stronger than usual at this moment, and the food feels particularly delicious, so he ate an extra bowl of rice.

Seeing this, Aunt Zhao was both happy and puzzled, is today's meal really so delicious?She tasted it and didn't think there was anything special about it, but seeing that her son ate it deliciously, she also ate half a bowl more with her.

As soon as Jia Huan's mother and son had finished their meal, they heard the woman outside shouting, "The lady serving the book is here."

Leaning a little, I saw a handsome maid came in, it was Jia Tanchun's personal maid and servant.

When Shi Shu saw Aunt Zhao was there, her expression was obviously a little unnatural, but she still went forward to greet her and said: "Our girl sent a maid to say hello to my aunt, it would be better to ask Mr. Huan."

Just as Jia Huan stood up and wanted to speak, Aunt Zhao sneered and said, "Third Miss is now on a high branch, and she still remembers me as a mother. It's rare."

The servant said with a smile: "Auntie, where did you start talking about this? The girl has forgotten you, Auntie."

Aunt Zhao snorted coldly and said: "It's nice to say, my mother was pregnant in October and gave birth to Tan girl. I have never seen her take the initiative to honor my mother. Instead, she hangs around my wife all day long. The monthly money of two taels of silver is used to subsidize some treasures and jades. My own brothers have never helped me a penny."

The waiter was red-faced and argued: "Every three festivals and two birthdays every year, the girl was short of the filial piety of her aunt and grandma. If you say that, the servant girl will feel wronged for the girl."

Aunt Zhao put her hips on her hips, and said confidently: "She crawled out of my intestines, shouldn't she be filial to me, but you can ask her, how much filial piety is she to her mother, and how much filial piety to that one?"

Shi Shu was robbed of his confession, he was so angry and ashamed that he almost burst into tears.Jia Huan hurriedly said: "Third sister kindly asked the servant to visit me, Auntie, why are you scolding her?"

Aunt Zhao sneered and said: "Tan girl was born for my mother, but her elbows are all turned out. Could it be that she is not allowed to scold her for my mother? If she has a conscience, she will give 50 taels of silver to honor me."

The waiter was so angry that his chest heaved sharply and said, "How did our girl have 50 taels of silver?"

"Hehe, there is no filial piety to my old lady, but there is one who subsidizes." Aunt Zhao sneered again and again.

Jia Huan couldn't help frowning, he couldn't listen anymore, and said in a deep voice: "Enough, Auntie, stop making trouble for no reason, and don't be afraid to spread it to make people laugh."

Aunt Zhao was stunned for a moment, and then trembling with anger, she said, "I made trouble for no reason, a maggot-hearted evil, now my wings are hardened, and I want to follow your heartless sister and leave to climb high branches for my mother? Woohoo, why am I so miserable."

Aunt Zhao howled dryly while wiping away tears that didn't exist.Jia Huan said solemnly: "If you are wise, your ministers will be virtuous. If your father loves you, your son will respect you. If your mother is kind, your son will be filial. Respect and love are always relative. Auntie should think about it carefully. Why doesn't the third sister get close to you?"

It was the first time for Aunt Zhao to see her son so serious and eloquent, her aura was awed by him, she calmed down a bit for a while, and muttered: "The brat is not old or young, I will teach your mother a lesson."

The waiter looked surprised, the sun came out from the west?In the past, Jia Huan always vented his anger with Aunt Zhao, and it was fine if he didn't partner in bullying the girl, but now he actually helped the girl to speak, and the words were quite reasonable, which really made people look at each other differently.

Jia Huan suppressed Aunt Zhao's arrogance for a while, and took the opportunity to say to the servant: "My aunt had a little wine today, so she will inevitably talk nonsense, sister of the servant, don't take it to heart, and don't talk about it for outsiders, so as not to make people laugh."

The waiter hurriedly said: "The servant girl dare not, the third master speaks too seriously."

Jia Huan smiled and said: "I've wronged you, I'm already well, take a word to Third Sister for me, thank her for her concern."

The waiter hurriedly laughed and said: "Third Master, you are being polite, the maidservant will call the girl right now."

Jia Huan asked Hong Ling to send out the servant book, and he didn't forget to reward him with a few pennies for running errands.

Aunt Zhao suddenly became unhappy again, and scolded: "It's fine if your heartless sister doesn't help you, but you should pay her maidservant some money. If you have that money, you might as well be filial to your mother."

Jia Huan said angrily: "Huan'er's monthly money of two taels of silver is kept by your aunt, how can you honor your old age? How about you give back the monthly money to Huan'er, how about Huan'er showing filial piety to you from time to time?"

Aunt Zhao blushed, and said embarrassingly: "I saved it for you to marry a wife for my mother. How can I be ignorant of you? You have no conscience. Isn't the monthly pocket money given to you by your mother?"

Jia Huan shrugged and said, "Okay, let's not mention the monthly money. Why did you suddenly ask the third sister for 50 taels of silver?"

Aunt Zhao snorted coldly and said: "My daughter is a loser, and her body is cheap for outsiders if she keeps her money. It's better to arrest our mother and use it. It just so happens that you want to nourish your body, 50 taels of silver can buy a lot of ginseng and bird's nests."

Jia Huan couldn't help crying and laughing. No wonder Jia Tanchun in the original "A Dream of Red Mansions" was not close to Aunt Zhao.

But I have to say that Jia Tanchun is indeed an excellent and intelligent woman. A rose with thorns is born as a concubine, but she is more respectable than a concubine. Even Wang Feng, who holds the real power in the inner house, is afraid of her. Being slapped by Jia Tanchun and being scolded bloody, tsk tsk, that awe-inspiring demeanor, that clever articulation are really admirable.

(End of this chapter)