The Red Mansions Across the Four Seas

Chapter 346

As the twelfth lunar month enters, the atmosphere of Chinese New Year becomes stronger day by day.

The country people around the imperial capital also began to enter the city one after another, and began to buy new year's goods to prepare for the new year.

The number of people in the city increased, as did the number of ox carts and horse-drawn carts.New Year's goods that are not usually seen in the market have also appeared one after another.

Due to the cold weather, some seafood can be preserved for a long time, so they were also transported from Tianjinwei, Tangshan and other places to the imperial capital.

However, most of them are all kinds of mountain delicacies.Wild boar meat, roe deer meat, hare, pheasant, flying dragon, etc. are also on the market, but beef, mutton, pork and donkey meat are more popular.

Of course, mushrooms, dried vegetables and the like are also indispensable.

After almost everyone walks around the market, their hands are full of big and small bags.These things will be fragrant and delicious on every family's New Year's table, accompanied by fine wine for family reunion, joyful laughter and heartfelt blessings.

That is the taste of Chinese New Year, the taste of family reunion.

At the same time, there are also many wanderers who are far away from home, traveling day and night, in order to have a reunion dinner with their families at the moment of New Year's Eve.

From the day of entering the new year, the sound of firecrackers has been sounded one after another, and some anxious families have already hung up the lanterns in advance.

Gradually, the night in the imperial capital also became brighter.I don't know when, many night markets have appeared, and there are more pedestrians at night.Walking on the street, from time to time, I was startled by the firecrackers set off by some children.

The situation on Rongning Street is the same.However, because this is where Rongguo Mansion and Ningguo Mansion are located, the atmosphere of the New Year seems to be stronger than other places.

The big stone lions in front of the gates of the two mansions have also been cleaned, and red lanterns have been hung on the gates early, so that they can be seen from a distance at night.

The mansion is naturally very busy.

The housekeepers come in and out every day, busy buying all kinds of New Year's goods, and every time they come back, the car is almost full.

This year, the business of the two prefectures is very good, so before the New Year, the ancestors ordered that this year's New Year's expenses should be [-]% more than in previous years.

Not only because there is more money and more money this year, but also because there are so many happy events this year.

In addition to the booming business, the main reason why the eldest girl was conferred the title of noble concubine and Jia Min led the government corps to win the victory in Bukui, and then the children of Jia's family were promoted collectively.

It's just that today is the 27th of the twelfth lunar month, and the two main characters haven't appeared yet.

The imperial concubine is in the palace and cannot come back. Everyone knows this, and no one expects her to come back.The other main character, Fourth Master Min, is said to have been summoned by the emperor, and I don't know if he can come back before the Chinese New Year.

When Fourth Master Min was here, the mansion was always restless last year.This year he left for a year, and the mansion was much quieter.

Although when he was at home, many people were afraid of this man.However, once he was not at home, it felt like something was missing.

Fourth Master Min is not at home, the mansion seems to be a little less angry, it is not as lively as it used to be, and there is not as much suspense and excitement as it used to be.

There was a little snow in the sky, although it was not big, but it kept falling differently.Spread a thin layer on the ground.

It was time to hold the lamp, Baozhu cut off the wick of the candle, and the candle became brighter again.

Qin Keqing was sitting by the desk, her beautiful face was illuminated by the candlelight, and there was an expression of joy and worry on her face.

"Grandma, I just went out to inquire again. Fourth Master Min hasn't heard anything yet."

Baozhu, Ruizhu, and Shou'er are all Qin Keqing's loyal confidantes.The relationship between her and Jia Min is also clear.

Although Qin Keqing didn't specifically order them, after hearing that Jia Min was coming back, she calculated his itinerary every day and asked for news about Jia Min from time to time, so as to come back and tell the master as soon as possible.

They all know what their master cares most about.

"It should be home soon. He always has a plan in his heart when he does things. Even if it is far away, there is a way to come back."

As Qin Keqing spoke, she showed a slight smile, as if Fourth Uncle Min would appear in front of her eyes in the next moment.

I haven't seen him for a year, and I don't know if he has grown taller or if his body has become stronger again, but I really want to see him now.It was freezing cold at Bu Kui's place, and the road was icy and snowy, so don't freeze.

The girls around him don't know how to take care of him?Fourth Uncle Min has always been generous to his servants, even if they are lazy, he is unwilling to tell them. When the time comes, he is afraid that he himself will suffer.

When he came back this time, he didn't know who was by his side.If it's Ping'er, he's still a caring person who will take good care of Fourth Uncle Min from time to time.If it's Qingwen, she's a careless one, and I'm afraid Fourth Uncle Min should take care of her more.

Will Miss Bao come back?How does she treat Fourth Uncle Min?There are enough scheming, but with Fourth Uncle Min, it is better not to use too much scheming, and always meet each other with sincerity, so that it will last longer.

Well, if it were me, I wouldn't make Fourth Uncle Min suffer the slightest bit.Others are not always as thoughtful as I thought.

"Grandma, everyone in the house said that this year's annual meeting is not as lively as last year. At this time last year, we didn't know who would win the prize. Everyone was discussing and guessing every day. This year, no matter what happens, who will win? You already know about the awards, but it’s boring.”

"That's natural. Last year, it was organized by Fourth Uncle Min, so it was naturally lively. This year, Fourth Uncle Min didn't care about it, so it's not as good as last year."

"That's not exactly the case. The main reason is that there is no Best Prodigal Award this year, and everyone finds it a bit boring. Thinking back to last year, the way Bao Erye and the others were anxious every day, everyone still finds it interesting. Woolen cloth."

Speaking of the Best Prodigal Award, Qin Keqing couldn't help laughing.

In the end, Fourth Uncle Min's tricks were clever, just using his name to scare those demon kings to death.

It's just that Uncle Min is not here this year, so they canceled it, so it's a bit regretful.

"Everyone said that if Fourth Master Min was at home this year, the Best Prodigal Award would definitely be selected. As long as there is a review, those few people will not be able to escape. Last time there were still people who fought because of wintersweet flowers I often mention it. Even Uncle Rong, people look down on him."

"It's inevitable that someone will talk about him behind his back for his actions. It's no wonder others, he always asks for it himself."

Thinking of Jia Rong, Qin Keqing couldn't help sighing again.

Although the two of them are almost not in conflict with each other now, their names are still there after all.Seeing others say that Jia Rong is not good, she still felt a little awkward after all.

Thinking of Fourth Uncle Min again, I feel that the two of them are one in the sky and the other in the underground.The mood of looking forward to Jia Min's return became a little more anxious.

This year's annual meeting of the Jia Mansion, just like last year, started preparations.

Originally, Mother Jia didn't care too much about this, but at the insistence of the elders' association, the selection was still carried out.Because this is the best opportunity to demonstrate the status of the Elders Association.

When Jia Mu saw that they were like this, she agreed.Because later I got the news that Jia Min was called back.If Jia Min came back before the Chinese New Year, the annual meeting would not be held, and it would be difficult to explain to Jia Min.

However, at Jia Mu's insistence, two awards were cancelled.One is the Lifetime Achievement Award, and the other is the Best Prodigal Award.

The Lifetime Achievement Award was cancelled, and Jia Dairu and other members of the Clan Veteran Association had no objections.

For this award, in the foreseeable period, no one is suitable to win it except Jia Mu.

However, the Clan Elders' Association was a little unhappy when the Best Prodigal Award was cancelled.

In their view, the Best Prodigal Award is the most deterrent award, and it is also the biggest killer of the Elders' Association.Even Jia Amnesty and Jia Zheng were afraid of this award, let alone others.

Without this award, the authority of the elders' association would be weakened a lot.

However, Jia Min was not at home, and the old lady, Mrs. Wang and Jia Amnesty of the trio agreed to cancel it, so it was difficult for them to persist.

So, they recalled the prestige time when Jia Min was there last year.

When they thought of last year's selection of the Best Prodigal Award, those dignified people in the mansion looked insecure, and they felt infinitely happy.

These two awards are gone, and under the proposal of the old lady and Jia She, a new Best Housekeeper Award was added.The two also jointly nominated Lai Da, the chief steward of Rongguo Mansion, as the only candidate.

It is said that Lai Da and the others proposed this award to the old lady and Jia Amnesty, and Mrs. Wang later agreed.

Although the clan elders basically didn't have a good opinion of the stewards, they had to accept the result with their noses held.

Now, all the awards have been determined, and it has almost spread throughout the mansion.Therefore, this year's annual meeting, apart from the dinner at that time, there is no suspense anymore.

The arrangement of the three-person team is said to be because there will be many happy events in the mansion this year, and the Chinese New Year will come, so everyone will not be nervous.

However, everyone in the Clan Elders' Association understood that the reason why the Best Prodigal Award was canceled was because the ancestors were afraid of Baoyu's embarrassment.

At the same time, Jia Zheng, Jia Zhen and Mrs. Wang also opposed the award.

Everyone knows the reason.If you vote, it must be one of Baoyu, Jia Huan and Jia Rong.Or all three of them were elected.

If they were judged, the ancestors, Jia Zheng, Mrs. Wang and Jia Zhen would lose face.

Although the Clan Elders Association made a compromise, it was not for nothing.The three-person group agreed, and gave each of the four members of the elders' association a bonus of 50 taels of silver, which was regarded as gagging them.

The other gain is reputation.

A few days ago, many aristocratic families in the imperial capital came to learn from the elders' association and ask for advice on how to operate the Best Prodigal Award.

Even people from the Ministry of Internal Affairs came to ask them for advice.

The people who came didn't come empty-handed, they also wanted to give them some gifts, and then invited them to drink.

All of a sudden, a few old fellows of the Clan Elders' Association were imposing, and gained both benefits and respect.I finally got some balance in my heart.

However, after drinking and eating, when a few people came back to discuss together, they were a little bit embarrassed.

The trick of best prodigal award was originally invented by us.Now that others have come to study, we ourselves have been thrown away.

(End of this chapter)