The Qi Mansion's preparations for the Spring Banquet gradually came on the agenda.
Mrs.
Wu knew that Mrs.
Lu was determined to train Rong Zheng, so she was very patient and did not show off in front of Rong Zheng, but discussed with her seriously.
Wu handed Rong Zheng two lists and said to Rong Zheng: "The people on these are all people who have dealings with our family, and they may be close or distant.
You should take a look first and get to know them better."
Rongzheng thought to herself that she would not be in charge of the Rong family's middle affairs in the future, so she knew that these would not be of much use, but after thinking about it, she still studied them very carefully.
"You can draw up a list and give it to me tomorrow."
"I plan" Wu smiled and nodded and said, "Yes, you try it first.
It doesn't matter.
It doesn't matter if you make any mistakes.
Let's discuss it together."
Rongzheng had to pay attention.
In her previous life, she also did several important things when she was in charge of the Liao family's middle school.
The Liao family was in decline at that time, and it wasn't very good to begin with.
Mrs.
Liao was also a very face-loving person, blindly seeking favors, and allocating money to But not much.
A clever woman cannot make a meal without rice, and there is nothing she can do if something goes wrong, which makes Mrs.
Liao very dissatisfied.
Rongzheng returned to Baoxia with the two lists given by her eldest cousin Wu.
She started studying the two lists.
Halfway through the study, she thought to herself, are all the people on these lists going to be invited?
After thinking about it, she went to find Mrs.
Lu to inquire.
"Grandma, how many tables do you plan to open?"
Mrs.
Lu squinted her eyes and thought for a while, then replied gently: "These were all examples in the past, but when your uncle and aunt lived together in Bianliang, they came and went more often.
Now it is not so lively. .
There must be a dozen tables.”
Rong Zheng estimated the number of people.
I have a rough idea in mind.
I went back and carefully considered the two lists, and went to Mrs.
Lu's roommate to inquire about some details.
Before dark, I finally drew up a temporary list.
A total of twenty-one families were invited.
In the afternoon of the next day, she went to her cousin's sister-in-law with the order.
Wu smiled and said, "You are quite nimble."
Rong Zheng said: "Isn't it pretty quick?
My cousin said I would hand in the order today."
Mrs.
Wu smiled, glanced at the people on the list, nodded and said, "That's interesting.
How did you decide on these twenty-one people?"
Rong Zheng said: "I went to ask my grandma how many tables she planned to open.
Then I went back and figured it out on my own.
I just don't know what else is wrong."
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Wu nodded and said: "I can't see anything for the moment.
It seems that you have put a lot of thought into it.
Let's take it to the old lady to see."
When the Wu Gang list was handed to Mrs.
Lu, Mrs.
Lu looked at it carefully while holding her glasses, nodded and said, "It must have been written by Sister Zheng."
Wu was slightly surprised.
He quickly asked: "How did the old lady know that it was written by Sister Rong?
We didn't say anything."
Mrs.
Lu smiled and said: "This character belongs to Sister Zheng.
There is no other girl in our family who can write it so well.
And when Sister Zheng came to ask me yesterday, I was already a little confused.
Expected it.”
Wu clapped her hands and said, "You are indeed an old lady.
I can't hide anything from you.
It seems that you are not old at all."
"How come I'm not old?
If I didn't have these glasses, I wouldn't be able to see clearly."
Mrs.
Lu then expressed her own opinion on the list and said, "Please invite all twenty-one of them, but I will add two more. " Mrs.
Wu hurriedly asked the maid to bring paper and pen, and asked Rong Zheng to add more.
Mrs.
Lu said: "The first person I want to invite is Mrs.
Huang."
Rongzheng was a little surprised.
Grandma's illness was caused by Mrs.
Huang.
It was said that her grandma and Mrs.
Huang fell out at that moment.
Why is there still a post for the Huang family here?
Wu is also puzzled.
"Why does the old lady want to invite Mrs.
Huang?
Isn't it causing trouble for herself?"
"What's causing trouble?
You are still children after all, and you don't quite understand some truths.
I have my own ideas.
Write them down quickly."
Rongzheng heard her grandmother urging her and quickly added something.
Mrs.
Lu then added: "The second person to add is Princess Duanhui."
Rong Zheng said hurriedly: "I heard that the princess went to the capital years ago, but I don't know if she will be back at this time."
"Really, I forgot about this.
It seems that my memory is not good.
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Then I need to find someone to find out.
If the princess returns to Bianliang, I really need to invite her to sit down."
Wu thought for a while before saying: "The princess is a widow after all.
Will she be willing to participate in these lively scenes?"
Mrs.
Lu said: "The princess's clothes should be full.
She is not asked to attend the wedding.
What can she do to avoid suspicion?
We will post a message for her.
Whether she comes or not is her business."
Rongzheng marked "To Be Determined" in a smaller size after Princess Duanhui's name.
After deciding on the list, the next step is to start working on the banquet, including which troupe to invite, what kind of porcelain to use, and whether to rent some new flowers and plants from a gardener outside the city for decoration.
Rongzheng suggested: "Everyone has different tastes.
How about we find out in private and put a small table in front of everyone and make a collection box?"
Mrs.
Shen Er glanced at Mrs.
Ren San, but Mrs.
Wu smiled: "Sister Rong's idea is quite new.
No one has done this before.
But it's a little troublesome, and you have to find out everyone's taste.
It’s easy to handle, but the others are difficult to handle.”
Rong Zheng smiled and said: "As long as you put some effort into it, there is nothing that can't be done.
Since we are going to hold a spring banquet, we might as well make it unique so that it can leave an impression on others and give the Qi family face."
Rong Zheng's intention was good.
When Mrs.
Shen Er saw that Rong Zheng was so assertive, she pursed her lips and said nothing.
Mrs.
Ren's third wife didn't care much about this matter at first, so she let her second room take care of it.
Mrs.
Lu listened to Rong Zheng's suggestion, nodded and said: "Yes, just do what Rong Yatou said.
You can discuss the matter with the troupe."
After deciding on the date, Rong Zheng helped write a post and asked people to send it separately.
Mrs.
Wu took the key and opened the warehouse, picked out a twelve-leaf tapestry screen made of wenge wood, and searched out all the storage boxes at home.
Rong Zheng looked at it carefully and saw that all the storage boxes were of the same color, and the patterns on the boxes ranged from sunflowers to peonies, and each one was different.
Although the Qi family is not as prosperous now as it was back then.
But the foundation remains.
Wu asked Rongzheng again: "Which porcelain should I choose?"
Rong Zheng said: "Which one is complete?"
Mrs.
Wu glanced at the record and said: "The five colors of the official kiln are quite complete, but it is not very outstanding.
The best one is the rose purple porcelain of the Ru kiln, but it is a pity that it is not complete."
Rong Zheng thought for a while and said: "Then I'd better use the official kiln.
I'm going to pour the pot myself."
Wu smiled and said, "There are many tin pots at home, this one is enough."
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Rong Zheng nodded, thinking that was good.
Although the Qi family also has gardeners to take care of the flowers and plants, they don't have their own greenhouse like the Wang Mansion, with dedicated people cultivating them.
The required bonsai had to be bought or rented from flower farmers outside the city.
Wu then told Rong Zheng, "I'm afraid my sister and I will have to go together to do this."
Rongzheng nodded and said, "Okay."
Mrs.
Wu went to report to Mrs.
Shen Er.
Mrs.
Shen Er only said: "Go back quickly.
Arrange a few more people to follow."
Wu said: "Madam, don't worry."
At that moment, she took the right cards and arranged the car.
He took Rong Zheng out with him.
The gardener they knew lived outside Jinlin Pond, and the journey probably took nearly an hour.
Wu asked Rong Zheng to sit in the same sedan chair with her, so that they could talk with each other.
Wu is only two years younger than Ma.
I have a son and a daughter.
The eldest uncle's family is in office in Jiangxi, but the eldest cousin is an official in Cangzhou, Hebei.
Wu also lived in Cangzhou for a period of time, but was not accustomed to the climate.
He lay down as soon as he went there and had no choice but to return to Bianliang.
With a pair of children, Mrs.
Shen now helps with the housekeeping.
The Wu family is also from a well-known family.
She has a gentle temperament and is not picky at all in her dealings with others.
Rongzheng also likes her as a cousin.
Although there was a certain age difference between the two, Rongzheng felt that Mrs.
Wu was very warm.
"I heard from the maid that you are tailoring clothes for the old lady."
Rongzheng nodded and said with a smile, "I can't hide it from my cousin."
Wu said: "It's rare for you to have such a novel idea.
I seldom use needlework now.
Firstly, I am too busy.
Secondly, I can't sit still at all."
Rong Zheng smiled and said, "There is no shortage of needlework from my cousin at home.
Anyway, there are people who are sewing and threading, so just give me any instructions.
Earlier I saw my grandma asking tailors from outside to come in and help make clothes."
Wu said: "The old lady sometimes thinks that the styles made by tailors outside are good.
So she will find people to come in to help.
In recent years, the number of servants in the family has been reduced."
Rongzheng thought, her three uncles and two cousins were all working as officials, and the Qi family owned a farm of over a thousand acres in Hubei.
The situation was supposed to be good, but why was it getting worse and worse?
However, since my grandfather left, the Qi family has not been as prosperous as before.
And because there are few people who are good at managing general affairs, the Qi family's properties have suffered a lot in recent years.
Several of Qi's shops have been sold out.
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Although there are quite a few officials in the family, the Qi family has a large population and limited salary, so those who get in less will get out more.
Over time, it is inevitable that there will be some shortcomings.
Take this spring banquet as an example.
Mrs.
Shen Er originally said that she would only spend fifty taels for expenses, but when she invited the De Yao Troupe to sing an opera, the reward seemed to be around ten taels.
She had to make saving boxes and put up bonsais, so there was a bit of a shortage.
Mrs.
Lu had to contribute some of her own money to make up for the shortfall.
"Actually, the Qi family has a great business and was much more prosperous than the Rong family in the early years.
It would be different if there was someone willing to come out and take care of the general affairs."
Wu said: "The men in the family are all thinking about their own future and fame.
Who is willing to take care of it?
Your three uncles and two cousins are all in the official career, so naturally they can't take care of family affairs.
Just look at the following few I'm afraid your fourth brother won't want to, and the fifth brother's second wife is so precious, so the rest will be my cousin."
Rongzheng thought that was true.
If there is an official to do it, who would be willing to come back and guard it.
"The old lady has experienced prosperity, and if she suddenly wants to be frugal, she is afraid of being wronged.
So in the past two years, whether the family has laid off servants or cut off the monthly schedule, the old lady has not been counted.
She has survived.
There is no reason for her to be uncomfortable when she is old."
Wu remembered that the old lady gave Rong Zheng a lot of nice things at the beginning of last year, which aroused several discussions.
They just said that the old lady was partial.
Everything is biased towards my granddaughter.
"If my eldest cousin didn't tell me, I wouldn't have known that the Qi family has reached this point."
Wu smiled and said: "You will know after you have lived at home for a long time.
The old lady said a while ago that she would use some personal money to go to Suzhou and Hangzhou to buy some good shops and some sacrificial fields.
Unfortunately, there is no one at home.
The people who take care of it have no choice but to forget it.”
Rongzheng thought that if she had known that the Qi family was in trouble, she would not have helped with this idea, and she felt a little regretful.
The aunt and sister-in-law talked all the way, and soon they left the city gate and headed towards Jinlin Pond.
An hour later, we finally found Jianghua Farm.
Mrs.
Jiang's wife knew Mrs.
Wu, and when she saw her coming, she hurriedly greeted her with a smile.
"Grandma Qi is here.
You are here to choose flowers today."
Wu nodded and said with a smile: "I may want more flowers today."
Mrs.
Jiang's wife hurriedly invited Mrs.
Wu and others to enter the flower shed to choose flowers.
Rong Zheng also followed into the flower shed.
I saw someone else in the flower shed.
He was wearing an indigo jacket and had his hair combed, and his figure seemed a bit familiar.
Rong Zheng called out with some uncertainty: "Could it be the fifteenth lady of the Li family?"
When Li Wuniang heard someone calling her, she turned around and saw that it was Rong Zheng.
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Her face lit up and she hurriedly came up to talk to Rong Zheng.
"Miss Eisan, how come I meet you here?
What a coincidence."
Rong Zheng smiled and said, "My eldest cousin and I went out to choose flowers.
Did Miss Fifteen also come to choose flowers?"
Li Wuniang smiled and said, "I'm here to take a look.
I'm here to ask Lady Ginger how to grow peony."
The two are about the same age and have similar personalities.
They rarely meet each other, but when they do meet by chance, they always have a great understanding.
They held hands affectionately and talked for a long time, until Li Wanniang's ninth sister-in-law came over and said to her: "You are really talking about it, why don't you come over and have a look."
Li Wuniang was a little apologetic: "Miss Rongsan, I will write to you later.
I have something else to ask you."
"Okay, but I've been staying at my grandfather's house recently.
You have someone deliver the letter to the Qi family in Wuxue Lane."
Li Wuniang pursed her lips and smiled and said, "Okay, I'll note it down."
Li Wuniang and her ninth sister-in-law pulled Li Wufanniang away, walked to the side, and lowered her voice and said to her: "You have forgotten my wife's warning, telling you not to get too close to the third lady of the Rong family. , you won’t listen.
I’m afraid my wife will have to lecture you again if she finds out.”
"Miss Eisan is not the kind of person you are talking about.
How about I say a few words to her?
I can't stand the way you look at others with strange eyes."
The ninth sister-in-law of the Li family was speechless and choked.
She lowered her face and said, "I can't control you.
If my wife wants to blame me later, she won't speak for you."
Wu also asked Rong Zheng to help choose flowers.
Rong Zheng took a look and found that although the Jiang family's flower shed was large, the variety of flowers was not as complete as the ones in the palace.
It may be because the Jiang family did not build a greenhouse, so some rare flower species found only in the south were not available here
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