The Red Chamber begins with a bastard

Chapter 75

After entering March, the weather in the capital became warmer, and there was a faint shadow of early summer.

Today is the holiday, and it is also the last holiday before the county examination. Jia Huan took the time to go to the Beijing Palace to take a portrait of the old concubine.

The old concubine was a kind old lady. When she learned that Jia Huan was only eight years old and was about to take the county examination, she couldn't help but praise her and gave Jia Huan an inkstone with the emblem of the champion, implying that she was the champion.

King Beijing rewarded Jia Huan with a black jade ornament named "Blockbuster", which was very valuable at first glance. Finally, he kindly encouraged Jia Huan, telling him not to be discouraged even if he failed the county test. After all, he was still young, so he could accumulate experience on the spot.

Obviously, King Shui Rong of Beijing is the kind of cautious person who thinks about defeat before winning. Jia Huan is not disgusted by this, nor does he feel that it is hurting his morale.

In the end, Princess Beijing also rewarded Jia Huan with a golden unicorn ornament, and gave him food and wine. In the afternoon, she sent someone to send Jia Huan back to Jia's mansion.

Jia Huan returned to the mansion, went to Meng Poxuan to meet Jia Zheng, and reported the process of giving the portrait to the old princess. Jia Zheng was obviously satisfied after hearing it, but he still pretended to reprimand Jia Huan a few words, and then said: "Go to see the old lady and the lady, and show the old lady and the lady what I got, so that they will be happy too."

Jia Huan thought to herself, let's forget about Mrs. Wang, and I'm afraid she won't be happier when she sees her.

At that moment, Jia Huan went to Jia Mu's house to pay his respects. It happened that Mrs. Wang was also there, which saved trouble, and it was over as soon as the salute was done.

Seeing that Jia Huan had received such a valuable reward, Mother Jia was so happy that she could not close her mouth from ear to ear. Mrs. Wang also gave a few words of symbolic praise. As for Wang Xifeng, who was not here, she probably knew that Mother Jia still annoyed her, so during this time, she honestly hid in the room to avoid the limelight, while quietly licking her wounds.

After coming out of Jiamu's place, Jia Huan returned to the residence, handed over the rewards to Ping'er for safekeeping, and then hurried out the door again, because today was the opening day of the ice cream shop, so it was natural to find out how the situation was going.

Soon, Jia Huan and Qian Huai, master and servant, rushed to the ice cream parlor in Nanju Xianfang. Well, the ice cream parlor was the name Jia Huan gave to the ice cream shop.

But the ideal is beautiful, but the reality is cruel. Just as Jia Huan stepped into the shop, he felt a burst of chill. It wasn’t the chill from the ice cream, but it was too deserted. There were only a few people, and Tie Niu and Hong Ling were looking at the sky and chatting boredly. As for Tie Hu, he didn’t know where he was.

"The third master is here!" When Tieniu and Hongling saw Jia Huan, they immediately rushed to meet Jia Huan worriedly, almost writing the word "sorrow" on their faces, and the business was unexpectedly bad.

Jia Huan was clearly prepared, and asked with a smile, "How is the business?"

Tieniu shook his head and said, "One morning, not a single ice cream was sold, and someone asked about the price, but when they heard that it cost twenty yuan a piece, they all turned around and left."

Qian Huai immediately said in hindsight: "I have already said that twenty Wen is too expensive. With this money, you can eat a bowl of beef noodles with eggs. Who would eat this? According to me, let's try it for five Wen."

Hong Ling rolled her eyes at Qian Huai and said, "You put it lightly, the cost is more than five cents."

Hong Ling is currently dressed as a married couple, and ordinary people don't pay much attention and scruples. It's normal to show up in public, and today is an important day for the opening of the ice cream shop, so she also came out to help.

"Then this business can't be done, so it's better to close it quickly, or you will lose more and more." Qian Huai continued to pour cold water, feeling a little gloating in his heart. He had long been jealous of Jia Huan's trust in Tieniu, so he was happy that the ice cream business couldn't be done.

Jia Huan kicked the guy's ass and said, "Go away."

Qian Huai rubbed his buttocks and said coyly: "Although these words are not pleasant, but the servant is also doing it for the good of the third master, stop the loss as soon as possible, and the less you lose, or else..."

Jia Huan frowned and interrupted: "I have my own discretion, go play and come back to pick me up in the evening, so I don't have to make a lot of noise here."

Qian Huai couldn't wish for this guy, so he went for a stroll with peace of mind, and before leaving, he even stole an orange-flavored ice cream and ate it while walking, um, it tastes really good!

After Jia Huan dismissed Qian Huai, his ears finally calmed down, and he said to Hong Ling and Tieniu: "Everything is difficult at the beginning. What we sell are new gadgets, and no one else has tried them, so naturally we don't want to spend money on them. Although Qian Huai's words are ugly, it's not unreasonable. How about it, let's sell one for a penny today."

Tieniu was surprised and said: "Sell it for one penny? That's a big loss. The cost of this thing is almost ten pennies, plus shop rent and labor, it's a big loss!"

Jia Huan said calmly: "As the saying goes, if you don't want your child to be a wolf, you have to burn some money to open up the market at the beginning. It's okay. When the situation is opened, it will naturally go well."

Hong Ling nodded and said: "The head of the family, what the third master said is right, just do as the third master said."

Tieniu immediately lost his opinion when he heard the words. Jia Huan personally wrote a pen and wrote a striking banner on red paper, "Great welcome for the opening, the price of ice cream and ice cream, a penny for a piece, ice cream and smooth, cool in summer, sweet to the heart."

Hey, let alone, once this banner was put up, the effect was immediate. More people came into the store to inquire, and there were always two or three out of ten who were willing to spend money to try something new, so more than a dozen were sold quickly, and some people bought it back, obviously thinking it tasted good.

Tieniu finally had a smile on his honest face, but it was still quite painful, because every one sold was equivalent to a loss of about ten cents.

Jia Huan smiled and comforted him: "Brother Tieniu, don't worry, he will make money back. By the way, where did the tiger go?"

Tie Niu's face turned grave immediately and he said: "When I mention this kid, I get angry. Seeing that the business is deserted, he ran out to hang out with his cronies."

As soon as the words were finished, Tie Hu led a person in and shouted: "Brother, you are crazy, selling one for a penny? Believe it or not... Hey, when did the third master come?"

"It's been a while, is this Brother Stone?" Jia Huan asked with a smile, looking at the man who came with Tie Hu.

Tie Hu immediately pulled the man in front of Jia Huan and introduced him: "Third Master has good eyesight, he is a stone, his name is Xing Wei, my good buddy, and a lifelong friendship."

Xing Wei is about fifteen or sixteen years old. He is not tall, about 1.6 meters, but he looks quite solid and ordinary in appearance, but his facial lines are tough, his eyes are sharp, and there is a naughty smile on his face. He knows that he is not easy to mess with. He saluted with a smile, "Shitou has met Mr. Huan, and he often hears about you. Haha, I didn't expect you to be so big."

Tie Hu slapped Xing Wei on the back of the head and said: "Be serious, put away your ruffian style in front of the third master."

Xing Wei said embarrassingly: "No need, he is your boss, not mine."

"Fart, my boss is your boss, if you talk nonsense, believe it or not, I will beat you." Tie Hu clenched his fists and said.

Xing Wei shrank his neck, and raised his hands as a shield: "Okay, you can do what Brother Hu says." After finishing speaking, he straightened his waist and saluted Jia Huan respectfully: "Xing Wei, I have seen Mr. Huan."

Jia Huan bowed his hands and returned the salute: "Brother Shitou, you don't need to be polite. I have long wanted to ask Huzi to ask you out to meet me, but I am too busy at this time."

Xing Wei smiled and said: "I heard from Brother Hu that the third master is preparing to take the county examination. Of course, studying is important. As for the younger ones, you can see them whenever you want, just let Brother Hu say it."

Jia Huan smiled and said: "It's better to hit the sun than to choose a date. There will be a seat in Zuixianglou, and I hope Brother Shitou will show his face."

Xing Wei's eyes lit up, he rubbed his hands and said with a laugh: "How embarrassing..."

Tiehu made a gesture and wanted to slap him, Xing Wei hurriedly said: "The stone is respectful rather than obedient."

At that moment, the three of them left the ice cream shop and headed straight to Zuixian Tower, where they had a table in the lobby on the first floor. Originally, Jia Huan planned to go to the elegant seats on the second floor, but both Tie Hu and Xing Wei felt that the second floor was deserted and expensive, so they finally chose the first floor.

Soon, the food and wine were served. Seeing the table full of delicious food and wine, Xing Wei was so greedy that he swallowed his saliva. He leaned into Tie Hu's ear and said, "Brother Hu, this Third Lord Huan can handle him, at least he is not a stingy person. This table probably costs a few taels of silver, so it is worthwhile for us to help him."

Tie Hu snorted and said, "I don't know who complained a few days ago."

Xing Wei smiled awkwardly. To be honest, he was really upset a few days ago. After all, he put in so much effort, but after so many days, he didn't even see Jia Huan, let alone any reward.

Of course, Xing Wei is not a person with short-sightedness, but Jia Huan's attitude of ignoring others after using them up still makes him a little dissatisfied. Now this dissatisfaction has dissipated, and he took the initiative to raise his glass: "I have heard Brother Hu say that the third master is generous and benevolent. I have seen it today. Shitou toasts you."

Jia Huan raised his glass and said, "I should respect you."

Tie Hu laughed and said: "We don't care who respects whom, just drink."

So the three let go of their stomachs to eat and drink, while chatting, Xing Wei observed secretly, and found that although Jia Huan behaved politely, he didn't have the sourness of other scholars, and he had no airs, and he didn't mean to look down on ordinary people, so he let go and spoke freely.

This kid was in the market, although he had no culture, he was quite knowledgeable, and from him, Jia Huan also learned a lot of gossip, such as how powerful the Tatars invaded the border, how powerful the Houjin cavalry was, and how the Japanese pirates were raging in the coastal areas of Dajin and so on.

It took more than an hour to finish the meal. The three of them almost walked out of the Zuixian Tower with the help of the wall. As soon as they reached the door, they met a little fat man. When he passed by, Jia Huan felt familiar. The little fat man turned around and chased him back.

Jia Huan took a look, and found that the person who came was the fat little Xu Wei whom he had met in Baomoxuan before, he clasped his fists and said, "Brother Xu, long time no see!"

Xu Xiaopang snorted coldly and asked, "Brother Jia, do you still remember our agreement?"

(End of this chapter)