allonlinenovel Chapter 253 Seeking cooperation
Chapter 253 Seeking cooperation
"Uncle, where are you going with your hoe?" Gu Qingqing and her group came down from the mountain. She was walking in front and met a villager and greeted him with a smile.
"It's Qingqing. I'm going to the fields to weed the weeds so that I can till the soil after it rains. You guys came down from the mountain so early? Hey, what are you holding in your hands? It's furry."
Gu Qingqing smiled, "Hey, we went for a walk in the mountains, and our dog found a bamboo rat, so we caught it and brought it back."
"It looks quite big. After removing the skin, there must be at least two pounds of meat."
"That's right, uncle, you are busy, we will go back first."
Along the way, we met many villagers who were carrying farm tools to the fields. Their attention was particularly attracted by bamboo rats and spring bamboo shoots.
"Qingqing, look." Wen Wuyan raised his hand and pointed at Dahei, who was walking in front with a proud look on his face, and showed it to Gu Qingqing.
"It caught the bamboo rat, how could it not be proud? Its tail is almost raised to the sky, as if it was afraid that others don't know that it caught this thing." Gu Qingqing said with a smile to Dahei's back.
......
Old Man Yang seemed like an old man waiting for the children to come home. Especially when he saw them coming back, he greeted them with a smile, "You're back! You found bamboo shoots. Hey, you dug so many? Are the ones on Niutou Mountain growing so fast?"
Old Yang wanted to ask if there were any bamboo shoots, but he saw Wen Wuyan carrying a bamboo basket back.
"Grandpa Yang, what did we catch?" Li Xin was walking at the end, holding up the bamboo shoots that were not completely dead in his hand to show to Old Yang.
"What? I caught a bamboo rat. If you can lure it, you can catch it. Otherwise, it's hard to catch."
"Grandpa Yang, this was discovered by Dahei. After we helped drive it out of the cave, Dahei followed and caught it." Li Xin happily recounted Dahei's glorious deeds.
Old Yang looked at the still struggling bamboo rat and asked Wen Wuyan, "Are you planning to keep it as a pet? I'll find some sticks to make a cage later."
"Uncle Yang, we won't keep this one. We'll eat it tonight. Its body has been scratched by Dahei." Gu Qingqing was holding a basket with wild shepherd's purse in it.
When he heard about eating, Old Yang began to salivate. "This is great, with fat turtledoves in the sky and bamboo rats on the ground. Okay, give this to me. I'll prepare it this afternoon so it's delicious. Give me the food, and you guys go wash up and eat. I've cooked some kaoliang rice in the pot. I saw a few cakes in the kitchen cabinet, so I'll heat them up together. After you finish eating, go to town."
Old Yang took the bamboo basket off Wen Wuyan's back and spoke to them at the same time.
"Mom and Dad, you're back! Let me see, let me also see what Brother Daxin caught." Erhua got up without combing her hair and ran out like a little madman.
Gu Qingqing ignored Erhua and carried the basket to put the wild shepherd's purse into the kitchen.
After washing up, he ate hurriedly, changed into clean clothes, and told the children to stay at home.
She took the silver, the freshly dug bamboo shoots, and loaded the cart with Wen Wuyan to go to town.
When you get to town, go to the Shen Mansion first.
The doorman already knew them. When he saw the couple coming, he took the bamboo shoots they brought and led them into the yard.
Over there, Manager Shen saw the two of them smiling so happily, "I heard that the magpie on the treetop was calling early in the morning. It turned out that Wen Tongsheng and Wen Niang are here."
"Ah? How did Steward Shen know that Wuyan had become a tongsheng? Could it be that someone in his family also went to take the exam?" Gu Qingqing was now more familiar with Steward Shen and spoke more directly.
After all, this was the news released by the county yesterday, and they only found out about it in the afternoon. They didn't expect that the Shen family had already received the news by then.
Manager Shen laughed, his round face almost looking like a Maitreya Buddha. "Mrs. Wen's guess is correct. The young lady's nephew is also participating this time. When they came to deliver the letter yesterday, they mentioned that there were more than a dozen students from Taohua Town who passed the exam. I guess they had heard of you or Niutoushan Village before, so they mentioned this when they were chatting. Now that I heard it, I knew it was the Wen family."
After Steward Shen finished speaking, he continued, "Mr. Wen, my master happens to be free right now, shall I take you there?"
Since he said he had some free time, Gu Qingqing thought he must have reserved time specifically for Wen Wuyan.
Wen Wuyan and Gu Qingqing looked at each other and smiled, "Then I'll have to trouble Manager Shen to lead the way."
"I also want to find Mrs. Shen. I want to talk to her about something. Is it convenient now?" Seeing Manager Shen looking at her, Gu Qingqing asked with a smile.
"Yes, yes, Madam estimated that you would come in the next few days. You must be waiting for Madam Wen in the inner courtyard now. I will send someone to take you there in a few days." After Manager Shen said this, he waved to a little girl not far away.
The concierge who came with him was guarding a basket of fresh bamboo shoots. He just said, "Butler Shen, this is what the Wen family brought. Shall I give it to the kitchen?"
Manager Shen nodded to the concierge and said to Wen Wuyan and Gu Qingqing, "You guys just came, but why did you bring so many bamboo shoots? It's not the season for bamboo shoots yet, so you must have put a lot of effort into this basket, right?"
"The villagers are familiar with this, so it's not a big deal!" Wen Wuyan said.
Gu Qingqing felt embarrassed. She still didn't have much money. The most valuable thing in her family was the sixty-odd taels of silver. She couldn't just give the silver as a gift, could she? How could the Shen family be short of silver?
Then there are three hens, a rooster, and two rabbits.
So sour!
Although the house is big, there is nothing worth showing off.
I don't know how to sew, so I can't give Mrs. Shen an embroidered sachet she made herself.
Gu Qingqing followed suit with a guilty conscience, "This thing is just for a bite, I just happened to see it on the mountain, so I dug some up. You guys chat, I'll go to the inner courtyard first."
Gu Qingqing went to the inner courtyard first, knowing the way well. She not only met Mrs. Shen, but also Mrs. Shen's eldest daughter-in-law, Jiang Qingxue.
But as soon as he opened his mouth, there was a sense of confusion about the generations.
"Mrs. Shen, how are you doing recently? Qingxue is here too!" Gu Qingqing spoke first.
"Qingqing is here, please sit down!" Mrs. Shen waved at Gu Qingqing.
Mrs. Shen is twenty years older than Gu Qingqing. Based on age alone, it would be acceptable for Gu Qingqing to call her aunt, but she knew Shen Chenan first, and Shen Chenan called her aunt, so now she can only be of the same generation as Mrs. Shen.
It was hard for her to accept Jiang Qingxue, who was five years younger than her, calling her "Aunt is here."
"Yeah." Gu Qingqing felt unworthy.
"Good, it's good. Wen Shulang passed the examination and became a Tongsheng in one try, and I haven't congratulated you yet! Hey, why are you here today? Why didn't you bring the child?" Mrs. Shen saw her come in and couldn't control the child, so she asked.
"The children were very noisy, and we were worried that they would disturb Mrs. Shen's rest. We happened to have other things to do in town today, so we left them at home!"
"I like children. Next time I come, remember to bring all the children with me."
"Okay, let's do as Mrs. Shen says."
After chatting for a while, Gu Qingqing finally found an opportunity to ask, "Mrs. Shen, excuse me, is there a rouge shop among the various businesses in the Shen Mansion?"
......
"Mr. Wen, can you take part in the county exam this year?" Shen Lin asked while sitting at the desk in the study room in the front yard.
"I am lucky to pass the examination and become a student. I dare not take part in the county examination this year." Wen Wuyan is very clear about his own weight and said very modestly at this time.
"Mr. Wen, there's no need to underestimate yourself. I think you can give it a try this year and use it as a chance to gain familiarity with the exam room." Shen Lin gave his advice.