Minglan has not always been so passive and slow at work. I think back then, she was also a good, hard-working and hard-working child. She wore a red scarf, joined the Young Pioneers, and joined the Communist Youth League. She was always one of the first batch, even though she had not been a member of the Communist Youth League since she was a child.
She has been the squad leader, but she has often been elected as a representative of various committees. When she was a publicity committee member, she won awards for her blackboard report. When she was an organization committee member, she led everyone to visit the sick teacher. When she was an English class representative, she led everyone to read every morning. When she was a study committee member, she also
She successfully organized a one-stop homework copying activity. Except for the time in the fifth grade when she was kicked off as the entertainment committee member, she was basically a good student that the teacher liked and trusted by her classmates.
Unexpectedly, Minglan's fortunes plummeted. When she moved from Wang's house to Mrs. Sheng's house, only Xiao Tao, who was even more stupid than herself, was willing to go with her. The other maids wanted to follow her when they heard about it.
Jiantang would either report illness or ask for leave. Otherwise, it would be up to the family to take care of the matter. The mother even complained that her back ached a few days ago and that she could no longer use it.
"Xiao Tao, why are you willing to follow me?" Minglan asked hopefully.
"Is it okay... not to follow?"
In the changing world, a sense of despair and emptiness came to face. Minglan took Xiaotao's hand and left in disgrace. She felt that this was a crime other than war. It was like being assigned to a nepotistic family business. No matter how hard you work, it will not work.
If you are still a second-class citizen, why bother to make progress? Hey, let's go check out the new unit.
The main room of Ji'antang has five upper rooms, the one in the middle is called the Mingtang, and on both sides are the top rooms and the secondary rooms. There are also several pavilions in the front and rear for the maids and wives to live on duty. This is a typical ancient courtyard building.
The Mingtang is somewhat similar to a modern living room. The top room and the second room are leisure rooms or sleeping rooms. The old lady sleeps in the left room, and Minglan is placed in the left room, because the middle room is separated by a carved yellow pear fan and Minglan.
The place where I live is also called Lihua Cupboard.
The room's mother had just tidied it up last night. The furnishings were very simple and plain, all using cool colors, stone blue, crow blue, navy blue... except for the warm pavilion where Minglan slept, which was bright apricot.
As soon as they settled down, Cuiping, the girl in the old lady's room, came to send a message, saying that the old lady wanted to see Minglan. Minglan followed and saw the old lady wearing a thick black brocade jacket with eight clusters of wishful flowers.
Lying on the kang, there is a scroll of scriptures and some hanging sandalwood beads on the kang table, and there is also a small white jade basket inlaid with gold wire in the shape of a cloud.
She saw Minglan and waved her over. Minglan had greeted her several times and knew the etiquette. She saluted first, then consciously stood beside the Kang at a 45-degree angle in front of the old lady. She raised her head and waited for instructions. Old lady Sheng
Seeing her reserved look like a young adult, he smiled and pulled her onto the kang, and said warmly: "You are the fourth child I have raised. The first three have no fate with me. So what if I don't know you? Let's talk.
, you don’t have to be polite, just say whatever you want, and it doesn’t matter if you say something wrong.”
Minglan opened her eyes wide and nodded. She didn't intend to lie. Compared with these ancient women who stayed in the house all their lives, her little scheming was really not enough to even lift her shoes.
"Have you read a book?" Old Mrs. Sheng asked.
Minglan shook her head and said in a low voice: "Eldest sister was originally going to teach me "Rhythm Enlightenment". As soon as she taught me the first two sentences, she was locked up and went to embroider her dowry. Mother Liu was very strict, and eldest sister couldn't escape.
come out."
Mrs. Sheng's eyes flashed with a smile, and she asked again: "Can you write?"
Minglan smiled bitterly in her heart. She knew how to write originally, but that was not the case here, so she whispered: "I only know a few words."
Old Mrs. Sheng asked Cuiping to bring up a pen and paper for Minglan to write a few words for a look. The ink had been prepared long ago. Minglan smoothed the sleeves on her short arms, stretched out her small palms, and trembled slightly.
Holding the pen, she spent two summers in calligraphy classes at the Children's Palace when she was a child, and only learned the skills of bad calligraphy and pen holding.
She used five short fingers to press, press, hook, push, and resist, held the pen firmly, and wrote a crooked word "人" on the plain paper, and then wrote a few more
Simple words, 'Zhi, Ye, Bu, Ji' and so on.
When the old lady saw Minglan's gesture, she secretly admired it. Although this child was young, his arms and wrists were very upright. His wrists were resting on his arms, his back was straight, and his eyes were focused. However, because he was small and weak, his words were very straight.
It was not very elegant. Minglan finished writing the two or three strokes of the character that she remembered, and finally wrote a bunch of horizontal and vertical ink. The old lady went over and carefully identified it, and it turned out to be the character "SHENG" with complicated strokes.
"Who taught you to write?" the old lady asked. She remembered that Aunt Wei was illiterate.
Minglan was sweating profusely as she wrote. She wiped her forehead with the back of her little hand and said, "It's the fifth sister. She taught me how to draw red."
Old Mrs. Sheng laughed out loud: "Teach you how to draw red? I'm afraid if you make her write, she can be naughty."
Minglan blushed and said nothing, thinking that these ancient women were really powerful.
"Who taught you the word 'Sheng'? Is there a red sticker on it?" the old lady asked, pointing to the unclear ink ball.
Minglan thought for a while: "There are them everywhere in the house, on lanterns, on seals, um... and on eldest sister's dowry box."
Old Mrs. Sheng nodded with satisfaction and touched Minglan's little face. She immediately frowned as soon as she touched it. Children of this age usually have chubby cheeks if they can eat well, but Minglan's little face
But he couldn't get a handful of meat out, so he said with a straight face: "From now on, you must eat well and take medicine at my place, and you are not allowed to be a slut."
Minglan felt that she had to defend herself and whispered: "What I eat is never leftover, it just doesn't make any meat."
Mrs. Sheng's eyes were warm, but she still had a straight face: "I heard that you often vomit medicine."
Minglan felt that she was wronged. She rubbed the corners of her clothes and said softly: "I don't want to vomit, but my stomach doesn't listen to me, and there's nothing I can do about it. Everyone who has vomited knows this!"
The smile in the old lady's eyes grew brighter, she pulled Minglan's little hand away, helped her straighten the corners of her clothes, and said calmly: "Not only does your belly not listen to you, I'm afraid even your maid won't listen to you either.
;I heard that only a little girl came with you this time?"
Old Mrs. Sheng had been lonely for a long time. She smiled one after another today and couldn't help but start teasing her. Unexpectedly, the thin little man in front of her actually replied with a serious face: "I heard my elder sister said that when water flows to lower places, people
But I have to go higher, and no matter where I go, no one is willing to follow me."
"Then why are you willing to come? I am a vegetarian and there is no meat here." The old lady asked.
"It's no big deal if you don't eat meat, as long as you can eat with peace of mind." Minglan shook her head.
The old lady looked at the little girl for a while, with a childlike voice and a sense of sadness. Then she shook her head, hugged Minglan and sighed: "There are only a handful of bones left, so let's eat meat."
In fact, what the old lady said in her heart was that they were all the same.
Old Mrs. Sheng pointed out a new old lady to Minglan. Her surname was Cui. She had a round face. She didn't talk much but looked very kind. She was very gentle when she held Minglan. The old lady looked at Xiaotao and Minglan as master and servant.
Each one was more stupid than the other, and he gave Danju, a little girl next to him, to Minglan. As soon as Danjue came, Xiaotao was immediately compared to herself. She was only one year older than Minglan, but she was steady and careful, and made Minglan's life better.
She was taken care of attentively. Xiaotao was bought from outside, but Danjue was born at home. Her father and mother were outside in charge of the fields in Zhuangzi. Since there were many children in the family, their parents could not see them, so they entered the house at a young age.
Later, Fang's mother took a fancy to him and chose him to serve in Ji'antang.
Mrs. Sheng was born in the Marquis House. Although she lived a simple life, the rules were very strict and she had rules for every word and deed. The little maids and old ladies here seemed to be more honest than elsewhere. Minglan was an adult soul, so naturally she would not do naughty things.
In a naughty manner, Cui's mother told Fang's mother as soon as she took over the job that Miss Six was kind-hearted and easy to take care of.
Before going to bed at night, Danju had already warmed up the quilt with Tangbaozi. Minglan asked Cui's mother to change into her undergarments, hugged her and slid directly into the warm quilt, and then gently patted her to coax her to sleep. She was thirsty at night.
Or maybe it was convenient, Minglan called and someone came to serve her. When Minglan opened her eyes the next morning, a warm towel had been prepared, and a cup of warm golden red date tea was covered in the cage.
First, she lightly applied a towel on her forehead and cheeks. After she woke up, Cui's mother hugged the dazed Minglan and drank it. Then she washed her face, dressed her and combed her hair. Xiao Danjue was waiting for her.
Wear socks and shoes with buttons on, and then go out to say hello to Mrs. Sheng.
The series of movements were smooth and natural, without any stiffness at all. Xiao Tao was dumbfounded as she watched, unable to intervene at all. Ming Lan didn't come back to her senses until she stood in front of the old lady's bed and was about to salute. She felt warm in her stomach.
He looked handsome and wore thick clothes, so it was not uncomfortable at all to get up early in the winter.
God, Bodhisattva, Minglan has been in this world for so long. This is the first time she has enjoyed the honor of not having to move a finger. Ah, corruption, Minglan deeply regrets her corrupt life.
After saluting the old lady and saying goodbye, the old lady put Minglan on the kang and kept her warm until everyone came to say hello. Not long after, Mrs. Wang came with her children, missing Mo Lan and Chang Feng.
She said she was sick, and Mrs. Wang looked concerned. Minglan took a peek and saw that the old lady's expression had not changed at all.
"The two of them are sick together, could it be the cold? This disease is the easiest to spread. I have already sent for a doctor. I just hope that the Buddha will bless the two children and they will be fine." Wang said worriedly.
Ming Lan secretly gave a thumbs up in her heart. Wang's acting skills have been very good in the past year. The expression in her eyes made her think that Chang Feng and Mo Lan were the children of her.
Old Mrs. Sheng suddenly said: "Let me go and have a look later. If two children are placed together, they will easily get sick. Brother Feng is also old, so it would be better to separate as soon as possible."
Mrs. Wang was startled, but she was happy. She was surprised that the old lady had not cared about this for many years, and now she suddenly became interested. What she was happy about was that it was better for the old lady to show off to Aunt Lin than to do it herself.
She was more honest and said quickly: "What the old lady said is that Brother Feng and Sister Mo are the most popular with me. They are sick together this time, so I have to go and take a look."
Old Mrs. Sheng glanced at her lightly and lowered her head to drink tea. Mrs. Wang smiled and turned to look at Minglan. She was wearing a brand new pink feather gauze jacket, standing neatly aside, and asked her after the greetings.
After a few words, Minglan talked about her feelings about moving to a new home, and Hualan made some jokes. After everyone laughed happily for a while, they went back.
After the people left, Mother Fang immediately led a group of maids holding octagonal food boxes in from the outside. She helped the old lady get off the kang. Mother Cui led Minglan to the right room and saw that the maids had already put the food boxes.
The breakfast was placed on a black lacquered hexagonal table with carved patterns. After the old lady sat down, Cui’s mother carried Minglan onto the round pier. As soon as Minglan sat down and saw the breakfast on the table, she dropped a big
Jump - you can't, it's a shotgun exchange for a cannon!
A large and sumptuous table, red jujube cakes, purple yam cakes, a steaming plate of frosted millet cakes filled with aroma, crispy golden fried sesame oil fruits, steamed buns in a steamer, and even a
There was a bowl of buckwheat wontons sprinkled with coriander seeds. In front of the bowl was sweet and glutinous jujube boiled rice porridge. Next to it were a dozen plates of various pickles.
Minglan was holding her chopsticks, feeling a little silly. She was very impressed by the shabby breakfast in Ji'antang. She raised her eyes to look at the old lady and said softly: "...there are so many."
The old lady didn't raise her eyes and started to taste the porridge carefully. Mother Fang added with a smile: "Yes, the old lady suddenly wants to try it today." She refused to listen to her advice for so many years.
Thanks to Miss Six, the old lady was finally willing to stop living such a miserable life.
Minglan was moved and looked at the old lady again, her little mouth moved, she lowered her head, then raised her head and gave her a small look, and said in a low voice: "Thank you, grandma, my granddaughter will eat more meat to grow fat for you."
So much meat.”
When the old lady heard the first half of the sentence, she just smiled inwardly. When she heard the second half, she couldn't help but smile. What about "Growing a lot of meat for you", does she think she is raising piglets? Fang's mother turned her head and covered her mouth and smiled.
.
After breakfast, the grandfather and grandson returned to the kang. Old Mrs. Sheng scooped out a copy of the "Three Character Classic" and asked Minglan to read a few sentences to see how much she knew. Minglan scooped it out with a guilty conscience and decided to give it to herself.
To discredit him, he opened his mouth and said: "The sword of a man gives birth to a wood sheep, a wood jin, and learns a wood element..."
The old lady almost spit out a mouthful of tea and coughed several times. Minglan was startled and quickly walked around the Kang table to pat the old man's back. While doing so, she asked innocently and fearfully: "Old lady, I want to read
is it wrong?"
The old lady took several deep breaths before she regained her composure. Seeing her granddaughter's confused expression, she forced herself to say: "You read... very well, you just made a few mistakes. It doesn't matter. Just learn slowly."
Only two of the twelve words were correct, less than 20% of the time. Minglan felt very sad. Is it easy for a dignified college student to pretend to be illiterate?
Minglan was not the only one who was sad that day. After Sheng Hong came home from the office in the evening, Mrs. Wang immediately reported Mrs. Sheng's original words plus her own interpretation. Sheng Hong didn't even change into his official uniform, with a dark face.
I went to Aunt Lin's place. After closing the door, I didn't know what was going on inside. I could only vaguely hear crying, roaring, and the crisp sound of breaking porcelain...
About half an hour later, Sheng Hong came out with a blue face. When the maid went in to serve, she found that Aunt Lin's room was in a mess. Aunt Lin herself was lying on the kang, crying so hard that she almost fainted.
After learning this, Ms. Wang was so excited that she drank three cups of strong tea, then gave Yuanshi Tianzun and Tathagata Buddha each a stick of incense, and muttered something. Even knowing that Sheng Hong had gone to the study to sleep did not dampen her mood. In a good mood; the so-called enemy of my enemy is my friend. Mrs. Wang decided to be more filial to the old lady in the future.