The Daily Life of the Daughter of a Minor Official

Chapter 28 As long as it’s not expensive

Because there were so many visitors, he didn’t have time to take a walk to eat. The lunch he had eaten seemed to be stuck in his heart, and he couldn’t even drink tea. Fan Zengxian shook his head and laughed: “You are really old!”

“Teacher has just passed the age of 10, so how come he is so old?” Su Yanli stood up with his hands raised and pointed to the snacks placed on the table by the boy with a smile, “The student brought some hawthorn slices, how about you chew two?”

Hawthorn is indeed a healing thing, so teachers and students don’t need to be too serious when reminiscing about the past. Fan Zengxian nodded and motioned to the boy to bring two pieces over.

Su Yanli took this opportunity to order another gift, "The wine I brought you is also made of hawthorn. The New Year is the time when people exchange favors and eat fish and meat. If you want to drink, just drink two glasses of hawthorn wine. It will not miss the table." The atmosphere also has the effect of appetizing and digesting.”

I didn’t expect the student I hadn’t seen for a year to be so attentive. Fan Zengxian was very pleased: “I brought my family to my lamphouse to drink tea and look at the lanterns during the Lantern Festival.”

The Lantern Festival in the Dayin Dynasty was very lively. The royal nobles would set up tents on the Imperial Street to enjoy the lanterns. Of course, in addition to the royal family, the court officials who were qualified to set up the lantern tents on the Imperial Street must belong to the six tribes except the heads of the three official and six tribes. The adjutant is the assistant minister. Mr. Fan is the third rank of the left assistant minister of the Ministry of Personnel. He is in charge of the evaluation of all officials in Dayin and has a truly high and powerful position. Of course he has a place in the imperial street lamp shed.

Su Yanli was nervous after hearing this: "Will it disturb the teacher?"

Fan Zengxian pinched a piece of hawthorn handed over by the boy and said with a smile: "It doesn't matter." After saying that, he took a bite of the hawthorn and said: "It tastes pretty good."

While praising the hawthorn slices, he looked at the student who was standing uneasily and saw that his expression seemed a little nervous. Could it be that money is tight again? It doesn’t look like it!

No matter how nervous and embarrassed you are, you have to face what you have to face. Su Yanli took out a handout from his pocket and handed it to him, "I have been disturbed for the past two years. I borrowed forty or fifty taels of silver from the teacher. This year, my life is better and I have some surplus. , students can finally pay back their teachers.”

It turned out that it was not the wrong money, but the money being paid back. But where did he get the money from? Fan Zengxian's brows narrowed slightly. The Five Classics Doctors of the Imperial Academy were not involved in common affairs and had no money to deal with them, so there was no chance of corruption. Is that selling calligraphy and painting? I haven't heard of it, so why is his life so relaxed?

As if sensing the teacher's doubts, Su Yanli smiled slightly and said, "In order to buy a dowry for my daughter, the student asked the servant to take care of some common affairs."

 “What kind of general affairs?”

Su Yanli cupped his hands and replied, "The hawthorn slices the teacher ate are sold well in front of the temple, so..."

 Unexpectedly, Su Yuzhi suddenly enlightened and knew how to do business to support his family. Yes, yes.

However, he borrowed a total of forty or fifty taels of silver. When he lent it out, he had no intention of asking him to pay it back. Su Yanli was not willing to accept it, so the teacher and student had to give in and finally asked the teacher to accept it.

The visit was almost over. Su Yanli bowed his hands and bowed to ninety degrees. "I won't disturb you, teacher, students, please leave first."

Su Zengxian waved his hand, "Qi Ran, send it to me."

 “Yes, my lord.”

The boy led Su Yanli all the way out.

In the study room, Fan Zengxian had already eaten one piece. It was sour and sweet, and he became more and more thirsty the more he chewed it. "Take another piece."

The director casually took another slice and said, "Do you think it tastes good, adults?"

Fan Zengxian nodded, "It's very eloquent, it's interesting."

Chang Sui really didn't pay attention to this inconspicuous little thing. Hearing the adults say it tasted good, he couldn't help but open the gift sent by the Su family. The first one was a square box, which had already been opened. , which are hawthorn slices for adults to eat, and there are a lot of them. There are five or six small boxes in the square box, which seems to be enough for adults to eat for a while;

 The second one is two exquisite small jars with bright glaze. "Sir, I'm afraid this is the hawthorn wine that Dr. Su mentioned."

Having heard of sake, rice wine, rice wine, and wine, but never hawthorn wine, Su Zengxian was a little curious, "Pour a glass and let's take a look."

Chang put his hands in front of him and said, "Sir, Madam doesn't allow you to drink more." "Didn't you hear what Yu Zhi said just now? This is a good wine to help you heal."

Mr. Fan has three major hobbies. One is writing, the other is playing chess, and the third is drinking some wine. Su Ruojin didn’t originally plan to make hawthorn wine, but specially made a large vat of hawthorn wine for Mr. Fan, and left out the best to him.

As soon as I opened the cork, there was a sweet and fragrant smell wafting into the study. Then I poured the wine into the white porcelain cup. The red and white matched each other, it was crystal clear and crystal clear. It looked like a top-grade wine. Chang Sui was very surprised: "Sir..." He brought the cup to Fan Zengxian.

Fan Zengxian, who had seen a lot of good things, couldn't help but pick up the wine cup and take a sip. As soon as it entered his throat, the aroma of the wine was sweet, and the taste was sweet and endless: "Good wine."

Dr. Su's gift was finally delivered to the adults' hearts. Chang Sui couldn't help but open the third flat paper box. It was divided into four small grids. The first grid looked like pastries. Why was it so crystal clear? You can clearly see whether the sweet-scented osmanthus inside is curled or soft.

“Sir, look quickly, does this look like the amber I saw in Prince Jin’s Mansion last time?”

Fan Zengxian was also intrigued. He stood up and put one hand behind his waist. He slowly walked to the sweet-scented osmanthus cake, picked up a piece, raised it up to the light and looked at it, "The gift I gave you this year is extraordinary! "

The director listened thoughtfully to the master's words and said thoughtfully: "Sir, does Dr. Su want you to move him?"

Fan Zengxian didn't seem to hear Chang Sui's words, so he looked at the second grid. There were colorful small particles, and he didn't know what they were. Then he looked at the third grid, which was dark red in color and exquisite in appearance. He couldn't tell what it was, so he lowered his head. After sniffing it, a slightly sour and sweet smell hit my nose, as if it was a pastry made of hawthorn. Su Yuzhi must have mixed it with hawthorn.

“Inkstone, how much does a pound of hawthorn cost in the market?”

“When hawthorns are on the market, vendors carry baskets and sell them for three cents per catty, and I heard that grocery stores sell them for three cents per catty.” Chang Sui reacted, “Sir, these snacks look exquisite, but they are actually not expensive.”

Having just passed his forties, Fan Zengxian still has a lot of room for improvement, such as his superior, the Minister of Civil Affairs, and the three central provinces. Therefore, he now needs to be cautious in his words and deeds, and only accept gifts that are innocuous.

 As long as it’s not expensive.

 Fan Zengxian asked the chief attendant to put away the wine, "The rest will be given to Madam."

 “Yes, my lord.”

 In the interactions between officials and officials, the gifts will eventually go to the mistress of the house, and she will return the gifts one by one.

Su Yanli didn’t return home until dinner time.

Cheng Yingzhen stepped forward and asked, "How are you doing, officer?"

Su Yanli nodded with a smile, "The teacher not only met me, but also asked me to go to their lantern shed to enjoy the lanterns during the Lantern Festival."

Su Ruojin's eyes instantly lit up when she heard this, and she couldn't hide her smile.

Shutong saw the second lady smiling like a little fox, so he couldn't help but pull her aside and complained in a low voice, "Six taels, it's almost as much as one month's salary for adults."

Su Ruojin secretly glanced at her parents who were having fun with each other, turned her head, and whispered, "Why is the woman named Xu so jealous but not taking action? Why did the patrol officer from the Military and Horse Division only wander around the stall without daring to use any means? "

 (End of this chapter)