By Jia Xiuzhen

They agreed that thereafter, they would meet at Li Wan's place on the [-]nd and [-]th of every month to open a society and write poems.Since then, girls and buddies have had one more "business" and they can often be heard saying "Tomorrow is the day of the club, so don't be free to do those idle things!" In this world, who is busy and who is free, who should be busy and who should be free, But who is to judge?

The Poetry Club has been disbanded, and the slave master in Qiushuangzhai has to be busy.After everything was cleaned up, Tanchun asked the waiter, "I've been playing around for a long time, but what happened?"

The waiter shook his head, Cui Mo replied: "It's nothing, just now my aunt and grandma sent someone to see the girls, I said I was talking to the girls, and left without saying anything. But Qiu Wen just came over to pick them up Last time, Second Master Bao asked me to put the dishes from Lizhi. We had already cleaned them up and put them away. I saw that the girls were busy, and Second Master Bao was there, so I didn’t report back. I just gave it to her and asked her to take it. .”

Tanchun nodded: "Baoyu has never been in charge of things in Baoyu's room. I don't know which virtuous person thought of this. It's good that the delivery is clear." Then he said to the servant, "You send another Little girl, go to Auntie's place and ask what's the matter." The servant hurriedly agreed to go.

When Li Wan returned to Daoxiang Village, he talked about the future arrangements of the Poetry Club.He laughed and said, "I've already thought about it. In our garden, there are four sceneries, and they can turn around at will. It's easy to create poetry, and it's lively. Nothing could be better."

Nanny Chang laughed and said, "It's rare that Grandma is looking for something fun to play with, and it's better than listening to us talk about how the fields are like all day long."

But Yan Momo asked: "I don't know how much money the host should pay once."

Nanny Chang shook her head: "Here it is again!" She smiled and continued, "It's nothing more than some tea and fruits, how much can I ask for? And it's up to others to be rich and thrifty. Girls come here to compose poems, not to eat banquets." Come on, who will point out that this trip will not be enough? You are really worrying about it."

Yan Momo shook her head: "You have nothing to do with yourself, it's easy to say. If girls want to write poems, they must have paper, brushes and ink, right? Why don't you ask people to bring their share when they come? Tea and snacks Can you use the example of everyone in the house to make do? Or you have to burn some incense and light some dew, grandma is not afraid, the girls only have two taels of silver a month, and they have to pay attention to rewarding people and buying more in the daily life Some things that are not suitable for officials. It's not easy to make a case out of this."

Biyue came in from the outside, stood listening to the mothers talking about this, and interjected: "Last time I heard that the third girl saved up a dime to ask Second Master Bao to bring some interesting things from outside, but Second Master Bao brought them to the public. I bought a whole box of things in the back street, and the guards at the door used them all before carrying them inside."

Li Wan hadn't wandered around in the fireworks and copper tins for a long time, and she couldn't come back to her senses for a while. Madam Yan sighed: "Grandma has forgotten the time when she counted her fingers! There is no big reward, how can I rely on the monthly money?" More than enough? Fortunately, grandmas have age rules, girls and brothers don’t have that.”

Li Wan then said: "What Mammy said, I really haven't thought of that time for a long time. Now that Lan'er is outside, I have given him all his monthly money, and it's not heard that it's not enough. "

Yan Momo said: "My brother is only so old, and he doesn't need to socialize yet. And how can the price of something outside be compared with ours inside? A cake that can be bought for ten yuan outside, costs a hundred yuan inside." I don’t know if I can get it or not. There are rewards along the way, and kickbacks for those who undertake the work. This is all regulated by the ancestors.”

Nanny Chang asked, "Grandma, what is the full number you said?"

Li Wan said: "It's 20 taels for me and him, so I'll give him half."

Madam Yan looked back at Li Wan, seeing Li Wan's expression normal, she could only sigh and said, "Grandma, you are not afraid of spoiling my brother. Girls only earn twenty or two months a year, and my brother pays for it a month." The aunts have been here for half a year."

Li Wan smiled and said, "A poor family is rich." Everyone was speechless.

That Baoyu hurried back to Yihong Courtyard, and asked someone to bring the white begonia here for a reward.He smiled again: "It can be seen that I really failed you in the painting just now. Why didn't I think of you for a while? But Chun Haitang is your sister when you think about it. If you think about it, you won't blame me." Draw her with a pen Shadow' right?" Say it once, laugh again.

Bihen gave Qiuwen a wink, and the two buried their heads in laughter.Xiren glared at the two of them, but couldn't help laughing.Musk Moon said: "What fun do you have, is it the first time to see our second master today?" After hearing this, several people thought it was even more fun.

Seeing that they were busy here, Baoyu put down the flowers and came over to tell what happened today.He said again: "In a few days, when the maple, maple, and cotinus cotinus are all red, I will also start a club. I will come like the tea party organized by sister Lin last time!"

Seeing that he was in a good mood, now that Qingwen is not here, no one would stab him, so he just responded indiscriminately.Baoyu became more and more concerned, and immediately began to calculate everything, and let people remember it for him.

After talking for a long time, the woman who Xiren sent to Shihou's house to deliver things came back and went out to talk.Only then did Baoyu think of Xiangyun, and repeatedly said it was a pity.But the old woman had already told about their poems when they were answering. Baoyu knew Xiangyun's temperament, so she went to find Jiamu to pick him up.Hearing that Mother Jia only promised to pick it up tomorrow morning, she had to come back dejectedly.

I didn't talk about the company for a while, just sat there sullenly.Xiren and the others had long been used to his temperament, acting independently, and didn't take it very seriously.

Jia's mother asked people here carefully, and then she knew that they were doing such a "big event", she said with a smile: "We used to do this when we were young. At that time, it was not only poetry, but also painting, silk and bamboo. It's full of young girls rushing together to have fun. Not only the sisters in my own family, but also the best friends in several houses take turns to play tricks.

For this host, I can't wait to get ready half a month earlier.On weekdays, when the wives of various families want to talk about housework, they don't like to listen.At this moment, it is not too cumbersome, and you have to ask yourself everything before you can rest assured.Seeing that there is still this benefit, the ladies let go of it and let it go.Thinking about it is the same as seeing it in front of your eyes. Now that you are old, let alone painting, you need a mirror to look at it.It's really time. "

Aunt Xue laughed and said: "The old lady's words also aroused our affairs. At that time, my sister and I were looking forward to some relatives and girls starting a company, so that we could disperse in one place and save ourselves doing needlework all day at home." .”

Tanchun laughed: "There are only a few of us in total, and there are still some who want to be lazy. In the eyes of the old lady, aunts and wives, it's really a small fight."

Baochai also said: "That's why I thought of Sister Yun just now. It really needs more people to be lively."

Jia Mu nodded: "Baoyu is burning his ass to find him and wants me to pick him up immediately. It's really childish! If you let the other side know that you are writing poems at this moment, I'm afraid that monkey will also burn his ass and can't sit still." gone."

Aunt Xue said with a smile: "Sure enough, Sister Yun and Baoyu have similar temperaments. It is indeed a speculative agreement."

The next morning, Baoyu came to pester the matter again, so Jia's mother had to agree, and asked to prepare some seasonal things for the girls of the historian, and sent a proper mother-in-law to pick them up.

When I arrived at Shihou's mansion, I saw Mrs. Shi Jia explaining the reason, so I couldn't help asking the people in the mansion what to say.Mrs. Shihou sent someone to tell Xiangyun to clean up properly.There is another meal left here, and I will not go out until the next noon when the sun is not working hard.

When the mother-in-law who followed the car to Jia's mansion and came back was complaining to Mrs. Shihou, the second and third girls raised by Mrs. Shihou came over.Hearing what the woman said about the poem, she said, "Where did she go again? Is her surname Shi or Jia? I don't believe it. No matter how good other people's homes are, they can be better than my own." Comfortable?" The other said: "I'm afraid it's because I'm impatient to do my work and just dodging my laziness."

After dismissing the woman who reported the matter, Mrs. Shi Hou sighed: "What can we do? The old lady over there values ​​her the most. We are not our own mothers and fathers. If we stop it, it will be as if we are really being treated badly and afraid that people will know. "

The second girl said: "Forget it, but she doesn't like to do such jobs. Let's do more evenly."

The third girl said: "It's easy to talk about these things, but now she's talking about others, is it possible that we have to do the dowry in the future? She just goes crazy outside every day!"

Mrs. Shihou stopped her and said: "Come on, go on. She is different from you, don't try to make fun of her mouth, it will make people look down on you! Anyway, it has been tight for the past two years, and it will be repaid after Curry's If you owe money, it will be fine. This needlework is also a job that makes perfect, and it will pay off if you do more!"

But the third girl said: "I just heard from that old woman that they take turns to be the hosts of the society in their house. Now that she has gone, it is better to invite or not to invite? Not to invite would be out of gregariousness. What do we invite when we invite? Cutting this and that and saving, it's better for her to throw her money in such an unimportant place!"

The second girl couldn't hear it: "You are too lenient. She has gone to that mansion, and there are people in that mansion to take care of her, so why do you have to worry about it? Another one, depending on how she spends it, it's nothing more than nothing." What is her own money bothering you? Common mother always said, we are just trying to save money to pay off the debt, but don't really take this care into your own temper, that's the end of it .”

Mrs. Shi Hou also said: "That's the story! After all, how can we be so difficult for a family like us? It's really like a village woman who compares pennies and pennies, and her temper is crooked. What's left!"

The third girl couldn't hold back when she heard this, she hid in Madam Shihou's arms and got entangled.The mother and daughter talked and laughed to get the matter out of the way, but Mrs. Shi Hou was taken by a gossip from her daughter, and she was afraid that something was wrong, so she sent someone to Jia's mansion with some cash.Just say "If you really need it, you will give it to her, don't lose face outside" and so on.

Sure enough, when that Xiangyun arrived, it was as lively as ten more people. She was also known for her talents, and she wrote two poems in a blink of an eye, and everyone praised them.Taking advantage of the excitement, she decided to invite a company first to be the host, and everyone was excited, so naturally they all agreed.In this way, the matter was agreed.

It's just that Xiren has to think more after hearing this--Baoyu's temperament has always been that the wind is the rain. Seeing that Xiangyun is taking advantage of the company today, who knows that Baoyu will also be interested tomorrow?After thinking about it, I went to the Xiaoxiang Pavilion.

Because Daiyu took GUI Liu and Mo Ge'er out, Xueyan helped Mother Xin watch Daiyu's evening soup, and Zijuan was at home alone.Seeing the attacker coming in, he put down what he was doing and said with a smile, "Do you want to borrow a watering can or a broom?"

Xiren came up and joined hands, "What's the reason for this? I really have something to ask you." Then he said what Baoyu said yesterday that he would imitate Daiyu's tea banquet, and said, "I'm here to learn, We have never dealt with this kind of matter. But our master said, if we just hand it over to the kitchen and tea room, it will be the same everywhere. What's the fun? Ask you."

Zijuan smiled wryly: "You are 'asking Yu Blind'! How do I know about those things? It was all handled by the big girls in the girl's house. The tea, snacks, tables, chairs and benches were all brought from home that day. The water for making tea came from the car. I only collected a few clothes made at home for the girl, and I’m afraid you don’t know the rest.”

Xiren spread his hands: "How can this be good? Could it be that the second master still asks Miss Lin if she can borrow someone?"

Zijuan shook her head: "Then I don't know. We have Madam Xin in charge of dispatching here, and there are a group of powerful nuns in charge in the mansion. We can settle everything with just a few words, but I didn't understand it."

Xiren sighed: "It is said that 'a family is like a treasure', but look at our place. Except for those who come to the house to order things, they just take cold shots to beat us, how can anyone point to it!"

But Zijuan said: "Second Master Bao is really true. Why do you want to learn from our girls? Seeing that the three girls did what they did yesterday, they didn't waste anything, and they were all very happy. Didn't you mean to write poetry? Like a tea ceremony After laying it out, where is the time to write poems?"

Xi Ren said, "How can I control this?"

Zijuan said: "I think you should persuade Second Master Bao to change your mind. Our girl is different. The whole house revolves around her as the master. Don't say anything else, just 'entertainment in the boudoir'" One item, in the Lin Mansion, is a separate account. There are also yearly rules, no matter the age. The girls and brothers in our family just point to a few months to make money, can it be the same? If the second master Bao wants to make an exception, Or the old lady will just take care of it. It’s just that, what about the girls in the back? It’s all about things.”

Xiren didn't know this in advance, and now he shook his mind, so he said: "I just heard that Miss Yun is going to be a host tomorrow. Let's see what it looks like before making plans. Yesterday, the third girl was there. Individually, it is impossible to count."

Zijuan said: "That's all."