Zhong Niangzi Wanfu

Chapter 3 First Acquaintance
一
After getting up from her nap, Wen Shu followed her mother Zheng to the Wenjia Clothing Store to accept new goods, leaving Zhonglan alone.

The Zheng family is capable and well-organized. Apart from the clerk, she has only one wife, Mrs. Zheng, who is timid and has nothing to do. She also has two children, Wen Shu and Wen Yi.

Although the Wen family was rich in business, their status was still at the bottom of the "scholars, farmers, industry and merchants".Wen Yi was talented and intelligent since he was a child, and the Wen family was determined to get Wen Yi into an official position.

Therefore, the management of Wenjia's industry fell on Wen Shu's shoulders.

Fortunately, Wen Shu had some talent in this area, so Zheng often took Wen Shu to the village and shop under her name to familiarize herself with the business. She hoped that Wen Shu could recruit a son-in-law into the house in the future, and the couple would take over the Wen family's property together.

Zhong Lan would follow him at first, but it was still a family matter of the Wen family, and after a long time, she would not be embarrassed to go again.

The sky in midsummer is like a child's face. The sun was shining brightly just a moment ago, but in the blink of an eye it started to rain.

It was raining outside the door. Zhong Lan looked at the begonias that he had been embroidering for a long time but were still in poor shape. He threw them aside with disgust and leaned on the table: "Chang Huan, you said that I can't embroider well, so let me practice at home. I have never been interested in my housekeeper. I originally planned to marry someone and live peacefully for the rest of my life, but now I have someone break off the engagement. Isn’t it a failure?”

But thinking about it, I became angry again and tapped the table with my hand: "But the divorce is mine, isn't it? My eldest aunt seemed to blame all the reasons on me that day. She always regarded herself as the head of the house and the mistress of the house. , meddling in the affairs of the West Courtyard indiscriminately. My tone was a lot inappropriate, but was what I said wrong? "

"There are also those three aunts and six aunts who passed the news about me being annulled back and forth. They spread the news so much that I went to Yong'an to hide for a while, and I heard several different stories."

"Although I told Wenshu that it's the worst thing to do to recruit a son-in-law, I also want to have a man who is full of satisfaction and joy." Zhong Yan was so worried that his five sense organs crowded together.

Whenever it rains, my girl always has a lot of harmless complaints in her head. Sometimes she complains about others, and sometimes she feels sad about herself. It really jumps around a lot. Although it's a little strange, it's still cute.

Chang Huan stood aside, fanning his girl, and said with a smile, "My girl is the best girl in the world, how can I say she is a failure? She is naive and willful. Even if the engagement is annulled, it is because the Young Master of the You family is ignorant. The girl will definitely find a husband who is thousands of times better than Mr. You."

"Really?" Zhong Lan was overjoyed when he heard this and pulled Chang Huan over, "Then I'll lend you a good word. If your girl is really like you said, I will use your uncle's money to take you to eat and drink. .”

"Thank you so much, girl." Chang Huan couldn't help laughing.

"Where's the kite I painted in the backyard this morning? I remember there are still two strokes left to finish, please bring them." Zhong Lan cheered up and got up to study the ink.

Chang Huan searched the table case and bookshelf but couldn't find it, suddenly remembered where the kite went, and said with embarrassment: "Miss, forgive me, Chang Huan forgot to take it back."

"It's not a big deal. It's just idle time. I'll go get it back." Zhong Lan handed the ink stone in his hand to Chang Huan, "You help me grind it, and I'll come back as soon as I go."

"Yes."

two

Zhong Lan went out and walked from the corridor to the backyard. Suddenly he remembered that after finishing his painting, he put it directly on the stone table in the courtyard to dry the ink.It's raining so heavily now, and the kite is probably torn to pieces by the rain.

But Zhong Lan cherished feathers and still planned to get the kite back.

I walked to the backyard with an umbrella and saw only bare stone benches. Could it have been washed away by the rain?She secretly thought that it was a pity that she was ready to leave.

Turning around, he caught a glimpse of a figure holding a book in the pavilion in the courtyard. Thinking it was Wen Yi, Zhong Lan stepped forward with a smile: "When did Brother Yi become so hardworking? He didn't sleep in the room when it was raining..."

The man looked up, but his delicate and gentle eyes were different from Wen Yi's.

Shen Feng was stunned: "Sister Zhong's sister?"

"It turns out to be the younger brother of the Shen family." Zhong Lan recognized the wrong person, laughed dryly and was about to leave, when he saw a kite with peonies and peacocks lying quietly on the stone table in the pavilion. It was exactly what he was looking for.

"I drew that kite." Zhong Yan said softly.

"It turns out to be my sister's wonderful strokes." Shen Feng smiled gently.

"I was studying in the pavilion, when suddenly dark clouds came over the city and heavy rain came. I accidentally saw this kite and thought it was Wen Yi who had dropped it, so I took it to the pavilion."

"Thank you." Zhong Lan held up the umbrella and nodded slightly. He was surprised for a moment that his temperament was always the same as that of Wen Shu. For some reason, when he spoke to Shen Feng, he unconsciously lowered his tone and his voice became much softer.

"Sister, you don't have to be polite. It's a pity that my sister's wonderful pen was damaged by the wind and rain. I just did it with a little effort." Shen Feng smiled and handed the kite to Zhong Lai.

Zhong Yan glanced at Shen Feng's slender fingers and quickly looked away. He didn't see Shen Feng carrying an umbrella. He pursed his lips and said, "How about I hold an umbrella and take you back."

Shen Feng smiled and shook his head: "Thank you sister, but it is not etiquette for men and women to hold the same umbrella together. I may damage my sister's reputation as a good friend. It is better for my sister to go back first."

Feeling that leaving Shen Yan here alone to hide from the rain is not kind, Zhong Yan stepped up to the porch to close the umbrella, and sat on the railing: "You are reading, and I will take a rest under the porch and go back when the rain is lighter."

Shen Feng smiled slightly and warmed up the book softly.

Zhong Lan looked at the lotus flowers planted in the pavilion in the rain, and inadvertently glanced at the eyebrows of the scholar under the pavilion. Suddenly, he felt that the years were quiet, and such an ordinary life was not bad.Unexpectedly, Shen Feng suddenly stopped reading and murmured: "With such heavy rain, the fertile fields that have just turned green outside the city may not be preserved."

Zhong Lan was silent when he heard the sound. He always felt that the scholar was indifferent to what was going on outside the window and only focused on reading the books of sages. Unexpectedly, this little brother of the Shen family actually had the consciousness of caring about the country and the people.

It's just that such worry seems immature to a layman.

"The repair of field ridges in Danzhou is under the jurisdiction of the Prefecture's Farming Department, which is inspected twice a year. Now the director is decisive and unambiguous. The digging and construction of ridges are carefully considered, and the dredging of rainwater is completely Don't worry." Zhong Lan smiled slightly.

"What's more, when the roots and seedlings first break through the soil, they have an urgent need for water. The more violent the blow, the more lush they will grow."

"Sister is right, it's because I have limited knowledge." The sadness in Shen Feng's brows dissipated and she smiled.

If she were in the pavilion, she could see Shen Feng's face turning slightly red.

Shen Feng's politeness made Zhong Lan feel a little embarrassed: "It's just some rough knowledge in the field. My family started out as a farmer, so I naturally know something about it. You are going to be an official, and someone will remember these things for you in the future. You don't have to care."

"Sister, what you said is wrong. The way to be an official is to serve the people. Since I am committed to becoming an official, I must understand my original intention clearly." Shen Feng retorted.

For a moment, Zhonglan suddenly remembered that when he went to Qinlin to visit You Hanting, he accidentally mentioned that the new batch of seedlings planted in his field had a lot of water and might have a bumper harvest.

But even though he was so happy, You Hanting's words really poured cold water on his passion:

"I am an official. Why are you telling me these things that cannot be put on the stage?"

From then on, I felt inferior and never told him about my farming affairs.

"Is there something wrong with what I said?" Seeing that she didn't reply for a long time, Shen Feng asked a little strangely.

Zhong Lan came back to his senses and said hurriedly: "No, there is nothing wrong. You said it very well. It's just that the current official style promotes luxury, and I heard Wen Shu say that the Shen family is a Taiming family. I'm a little surprised why you have these things. idea."

Shen Feng was silent for a while, and then said slowly: "Although the Shen family is from an aristocratic family, it has gradually declined since the generation of our ancestors. I have seen the difficulties faced by farmers, and I have also seen the unfairness of the world to merchants."

"On the one hand, Shen Feng is an official for his family, and on the other hand, he wants to do something for such a family."

The words of the young man in the pavilion touched Zhong Lan's heart.Although his family lived on hundreds of acres of fertile farmland and was barely wealthy, the fate of Wuding City was ultimately determined by officials.

It would be really rare to have a good official speak out for himself and others like the Wen family.

"But now that I'm just a scholar, Sister Lai may feel that what I just said was overestimating my abilities." Shen Feng smiled mockingly to herself.

"It's rare for you to have such a heart." Zhong Lan comforted him with a smile.

The rain in midsummer comes and goes quickly.After the rain, the sky cleared, and a rainbow appeared in the sky. The lotus leaves in the backyard not only showed no signs of distress under the heavy rain, but stretched their graceful figures in the breeze after the rain, as if they were reborn.

"Sister Lai's kite." Shen Feng handed the kite to Zhong Lai humbly.

"Thank you." Zhong Lan took it and pointed to the pool in the courtyard, "You don't have to feel small. Just like the lotus in this pool, it looks weak, but it is very resilient."

"No one knows how many seedlings have sprouted in the mud of the pond, but as long as we keep working hard, one day they will burst through the water and bloom."

After finishing speaking, Zhong Yan smiled embarrassedly: "I don't know how to say big things."

Shen Feng smiled: "No one has told me this before. I have benefited from such insights."

Back in the room, Zhong Lan happened to meet Chang Huan who was about to go out.

"Where has the girl gone? Chang Huan has finished grinding the ink. He can't wait for the girl. He is about to go out to look for her."

"Don't tell you."

Zhong Yan handed the kite to Chang Huan with a smile on his face. He walked straight to the table and drew a picture of lotus flowers in the rain. When the ink dried, he handed the painting to Chang Huan: "This is for the Shen family brother." Send it over."

"Brother Shen?" Chang Huan was stunned.

"Hey, go ahead if I tell you to." Zhong Lan glared at Chang Huan.

Chang Huan walked out of the door in a fog.

(End of this chapter)