Uncle Lai in the Red Chamber

Chapter 16 Qingwen collides with Si Qi

The next day.

The wind stopped and the rain stopped, the golden rooster broke at dawn, and the morning light was soft.

The cool fashion show last night gave him inspiration. When he got home, he took Qingwen to explain the idea of ​​the cheongsam camisole in detail.

Just as I was getting ready to go to bed, a sudden heavy rain hit the roof, the windows and the pond outside the house. The noise was so noisy that people were distracted and had no intention of sleeping.

He had no choice but to pull Qingwen along and perform an alternative piece of music together with the sound of wind and rain outside.

Lai Shangrong glanced at Qingwen beside him. Like the green pines and green willows in the courtyard after being watered by rain, they became more and more dazzling.

Qingwen is quite talented in needlework. Although the Lai family is not as good as the Jia family, they don't have many high-end materials for her to practice. Fortunately, Grandma Lai has noticed her talent and occasionally asks Jia's mother for some to practice with her.

In this era, although concubines and aunts in large families did not have any serious jobs, it was necessary to master skills such as needlework and cooking.

The virtue of a gentleman has been exhausted for three generations, and the ups and downs of the family are normal. At that time, the livelihood of the family's children was a problem, and they were useless scholars.

But as long as the aunts in the family master one or two skills, even if they decline, at least these masters and young masters will not starve to death, and they can even be able to study.

In his previous life, Lai Shangrong heard about a famous private restaurant, but his family was in decline. With his aunt who was proficient in cooking, he later had the opportunity to flourish.

Compared with cooking, it is even more rare for female needleworkers to be good at needlework. After all, they all need to practice their hands, and high-end textiles are much more expensive than ingredients.

Silk in ancient times was already very expensive, but brocade was even more expensive. Usually, a piece of brocade cost as little as 200 taels or as much as 300 taels, which could only be used to make one set of clothes, let alone Kesi, Yun brocade and the like, which were more expensive than gold. Unless it was really A wealthy home will not be abandoned if it is damaged.

The repair of brocade must follow the warp and weft of the brocade, which cannot be mastered without a lot of practice.

There are few people who can repair it, so the price goes up.

In the original work, Jia Mu wanted Qingwen to be Baoyu's concubine, so she may not have had this consideration.With her skills and some sewing work, Baoyu would not be too bad even if he had to make a living.

Although it may not be possible to buy high-end products such as bird gold fur now, tailor-made clothes are made with more materials and less use. With Lai Shangrong's drawings, it is even easier to get it.

Lai Shangrong helped Qingwen measure the size, and then rushed to the school to teach.

Just like yesterday, Jia Huan was lonely with his homework. Lai Shangrong didn't bother to talk to him, and he couldn't help but breathed a sigh of relief.

Seeing Jia Huan's enthusiasm for school a while ago, he was really afraid that he would outshine Baoyu and make Mrs. Jia and Mrs. Wang dissatisfied. Seeing that he was completely ruined after the passion, he was also relieved.

After finishing class as usual, he assigned homework. After school, Lai Shangrong was not in a hurry to leave and sat in the classroom to rest.

The steam engine had been in place for two days, and everything was ready in the papermaking workshop. He was too lazy to go home for dinner, so he had already ordered a carriage from home to deliver meals and take him to the workshop outside the city.

Under Pan Youan's attention and courtesy, Baoyu came closer to him shyly and slowly.

"Brother Lai! Did you have anything interesting yesterday?"

Lai Shangrong didn't want to end up with the reputation of instigating Baoyu to stay in a brothel, so he laughed and said a few words that were too drunk. He only remembered the lingering sound of Yun'er's song "Ambush from Flying Daggers", so he asked him to ask Xue Pan and others.

At the beginning, Pan Youan didn't know the reason, but he thought that he deliberately prevented him from getting close to Baoyu, and he couldn't help but blame others.

When the sanitation work was finished, he still didn't leave, so I became anxious.

The last time Si Qi went to his house, he was scolded by Mr. Qin, so the two decided to take the place in the school.

I originally thought that there would be no one in the school after school and it would be a private meeting, but I didn't expect that Lai Shangrong would linger after school.

Lai Shangrong didn't leave, so there was no need to explain to him, but if he didn't go back, it would inevitably arouse suspicion. If Si Qi came over later and vented his anger...

Thinking of this, mother Qin's words were still in her ears, and she panicked for a moment. She couldn't care about her cousins, she just wanted to clear up the relationship as soon as possible so that she could be removed.

In fact, he just had to wait on the road that must be passed by the chess player, but at this time he only thought of himself and was afraid of being seen by Lai Shangrong who was leaving on the road, so he didn't care much and hurriedly left with Qin Xian and others.

Not long after they left, the Lai family's carriage also arrived at the academy. The coachman Hu Si parked the carriage into the stable, put down the feed, and leaned against the front room of the carriage with his eyes closed to meditate.

Qingwen got out of the car carrying the food box, twisted her waist, came to the school, and shouted: "Uncle! You're not hungry!"

"Why are you here?" Lai Shangrong asked angrily.

He was impatient to run in both directions, so he specifically asked for a meal to be delivered. He planned to take the food box directly to the outside of the city after the meal. Unexpectedly, Qingwen made her own decision. Now it was okay. He would send her back later, wasting time in vain. .

Qingwen pouted, and while placing the food on the table, she muttered: "You treat your kindness like a donkey's liver and lungs, and send you the food and the place where you went wrong? Then... whoever do you want to do that shameful thing? , I won’t do it anyway!”

He spoke harshly, but the work in his hands did not stop. It was not until all the food in the food box was put on the table that he ran to the side and sat down, sulking alone.

"Anyway, I'll give you five days. If you don't do it well, you'll be punished!"

Lai Shangrong said something lightly, and ate with his head down.

As soon as she heard that she was going to be punished, Qingwen immediately fainted and said shyly: "Those things of yours are not for serious people to wear!"

"It's not like I'm going to wear it out. I'm thinking about it for you. You don't think you have nothing to cover every time. You don't have to wear a bellyband in the future. This one has more fabric!"

Lai Shangrong is good at tempting.

No matter how angry Qingwen was, she did not dare to discuss this with him in broad daylight. She was too embarrassed and angry to be afraid that he would say something crazy again, so she was too lazy to talk to him anymore. "Okay! I'll take you back first!" After dinner, Lai Shangrong stood up and said.

"It's not like I don't have any legs. Don't you still want to go outside the city?"

"I don't worry about you going back alone. It won't waste much time."

Qingwen's heart warmed when she heard the full concern. She stopped talking back, agreed, put the dishes in the food box, and followed Lai Shangrong to the hospital.

Just as he was about to call Hu Si, he saw the door slowly opening, and a tall, plump woman dressed like herself sneaked in with a baggage under her arm.

It was Siqi who came in, and she was surprised to see Lai Shangrong and Qingwen in the courtyard.

When I saw that the door was ajar, I thought it was Pan Youan who had opened the door for him. Unexpectedly, I didn't see my cousin when I came in, but I was bumped into by the two of them.

"Lai...Uncle Lai!"

"Hey! Siqi! Why are you here?"

Qingwen glanced at Si Qi, then lowered her head and glanced at herself, feeling wary.

Yin and Yang said angrily: "No wonder the uncle didn't let me come to deliver the food. The relationship is about making an appointment with the best friend!"

Siqi suddenly saw the two of them flustered for a while, but now he heard Qingwen falsely accusing him of having an affair with Lai Shangrong, his temper also came up, and he retorted: "Who is a good friend? Where did the little hoof come from, and you are here!"

"Hey! You're not a good friend. What are you doing here now? Seeing your attire, you probably belong to someone's maid in the Second Mansion! Shameless!"

"This is Jia's family school, it's none of your business if I come here if I like!"

Neither of them is a fuel-efficient lamp, and they were at odds with each other for a while.

Qingwen saw that Siqi was carrying a bundle in his arms, making the two lumps on his chest even more obtrusive, so she dropped the food box and stepped forward to grab the bundle.

He yelled: "Sneaky! Let me see what's hidden in here!"

Originally, Qingwen, who was a chess player, couldn't get it right, but when she saw Qingwen come up to drag her burden, her momentum was already weak by three points. These were two pairs of shoes she made for her cousin. If anyone found out, she would say Not sure anymore.

Seeing her dodging, Qingwen became more and more sure that something was going on. As she moved forward and backward, the baggage spread out, revealing two pairs of men's shoes inside.

"Hey! These shoes are already made, and they say they are not suitable for you! Come on! Let us try them on to see if they fit!"

Si Qi saw that his secret was exposed, he smashed the jar and said, "Who cares about making it for him? You are the one who is making trouble here and has probably climbed into your master's bed long ago!"

Qingwen didn't think she was telling the truth at all, and raised her chest and said: "So what? I am a person in the house that the old lady nodded to, unlike you who do all the sneaky things! You are still talking harshly here, you are not giving it to me. Our master did it, but who did you say it was for!"

"This..." Si Qi was suddenly speechless. Even with the noise in the yard, his cousin didn't come out. He was probably not here.

Considering that Qingwen was carrying a food box when she came out, it is estimated that Lai Shangrong did not go back after school for some unknown reason, and his cousin saw the opportunity and ran away early.

Although he was a little angry, he was also glad that he saw the opportunity early, otherwise he would be caught and the news would spread. He didn't care that he had his grandmother to protect him. At worst, he would be kicked out, but his cousin may not be so lucky, and he would be given a meal at least. If the board is too heavy, your life will be at risk.

Even if he was given a lighter sentence, my cousin's body would not be able to withstand it, and I couldn't help but feel frightened when I thought about it.

But today I was caught carrying men's shoes. I had already committed an affair with my foreigner. If the government found out, they would definitely investigate thoroughly. The relationship between the two cousins ​​was not a secret, even if I refused to admit it, It is inevitable that the melon fields will be under the plums, and the family will definitely send him away.

He gritted his teeth and said bitterly: "Yes! Since I can't hide it, I won't hide it. I just made it for Uncle Lai, so what?"

The idea is very simple and very effective. Pan Youan is a foreigner, so why not Lai Shangrong. Since they discovered the matter, if they bite him hard, will he still report on him?
Lai Shangrong has been watching with cold eyes. He has the perspective of God, and he has long guessed that Siqi is looking for Pan You'an.

The main reason why he indulged Qingwen was to take the opportunity to take advantage of her and make Si Qi have some scruples, so that he could think more when faced with Pan Youan's sweet talk in the future, so as not to be unable to look back.

Unexpectedly, Si Qi didn't play according to the routine, didn't ask them to keep it secret, and instead bit him.

Seeing Qingwen looking at him with red eyes, she smiled and said, "You are here to see Pan You'an, right? He has been gone for a while, don't worry, we won't tell others about this!"

"Anyway, she is also a girl in the uncle's house, so there is nothing to hide!"

Si Qi just thought that he was cowarded, but he refused to let go, insisting that he was here to find him.

Although he insisted that he was looking for Lai Shangrong, the tone of his words with resentment and anger was still different.

Qingwen was smart and noticed something fishy. She looked at the shoes and smiled and said, "How shameless! You still dare to mess around. Since your shoes are made for me, why don't we try to see if they fit!"

Lai Shangrong was tall and tall, and his feet could not be smaller. Pan Youan was not fully grown yet, so even if Si Qi had made some measurements, it was impossible to put it on.

"Anyway, I gave the shoes to Uncle Lai!"

Si Qi threw his shoes into Qingwen's arms, turned around and ran away.

Qingwen wanted to chase her, but Lai Shangrong grabbed her.

"Forget it! I'll take you back and go outside the city."

(End of this chapter)