Chapter 262: Look at Xu Zaijing's Birds! [Deep thanks to everyone for your support!]

After the Double Ninth Festival in the ninth month.

Outside Jinming Pool,

the various chrysanthemums inside and outside Madam Wu's polo field had been displayed for several more days.

When they were being rearranged,

an autumn rain happened to fall.

Because of the rain, no one was cleaning the streets for the time being, and the fallen leaves on the city streets suddenly increased.

The weather also became increasingly cold.

However, by Quyuanjie,

in the past few days, business at the stalls of old acquaintances of the Marquis's mansion, such as Uncle Shu, had become better and better.

This was because people from all walks of life who came to visit the Xu family, upon seeing the Xu family's tightly closed doors, would usually sit at the stalls and order some food and drink to warm themselves,

and then chat a few words with Uncle Shu and the others.

After receiving the answer that the Xu family's main gate hadn't been opened for the past few days, they would often reward them with some silver coins.

Today was the same.

Uncle Shu weighed the copper coins in his hand and then put them into the cloth bag in front of him.

Subsequently, he took a boiled corn from the pot on the side and began to gnaw on it.

The pattern of intercropping corn with other crops had already been figured out by agricultural students like Uncle Deng,

and the manor had had consecutive bumper harvests for several years.

Those that were plump and large were naturally kept as seeds by Uncle Deng,

while those that were small and had few kernels were given by the Marquis's mansion as snacks to old acquaintances of the mansion; they could both taste something fresh and sell them.

The cobs from which the corn kernels had been removed were sent to pharmacies because they had medicinal uses.

The corn husks and stalks were finely cut by the servants of the Marquis's mansion with a chopper and mixed into the livestock feed.

In short, not a bit was wasted.

Just past the Wei hour (after 3:00 PM),

at the Marquis's mansion stables,

Xu Zaijing was in front of the horses' troughs, mixing the ground corn powder into the feed.

At first, they didn't know the efficacy of corn, although there was Xu Zaijing's assertion that it could be eaten by livestock.

But in the previous few years, Xu Zaijing's master and Uncle Deng had also verified its characteristics with quite a few physicians and veterinarians,

before they started feeding corn to the stallion that Xu Zaijing had first ridden.

After feeding it for a period of time,

the result was that the stallion became plump and strong, and later on, it didn't really like eating other feed.

At this time,

seeing Xu Zaijing in the stables,

several spirited and intelligent horses were all snorting and moving toward Xu Zaijing.

Although on weekdays it was the master and Alan and others who fed and groomed them, the person who rode them for the vast majority of the time was only Xu Zaijing himself.

Moreover, usually every day Xu Zaijing would also set aside time, either early or late, to give the horses some massages and the like.

Xu Zaijing had great strength, and when he massaged, he pressed thoroughly, and the rhythm was also good, so naturally, he won the "favor" of the horses even more.

The stallion Corn was the first to try it, but the massage was ranked last.

Looking at the stallion's eyes, Xu Zaijing said while pressing:

"There's no help for it; who told you to be the ugliest one among them."

Whether it was disagreeing with Xu Zaijing's statement or being massaged comfortably,

the stallion snorted.

Actually, this stallion was also a rare fine horse if placed outside, otherwise, it wouldn't have been taken a fancy to by his master, but the helplessness was that there were no ordinary ones among Xu Zaijing's mounts.

While massaging, Xu Zaijing patted the horse's buttocks, and the horse paced and changed sides.

Finally, Xu Zaijing brushed the horse with a soft brush before coming out of the stables.

In the racetrack, Qingyun was shooting with a bow with great enthusiasm; the reason...

might be that Alan and Xunshu were standing in front of the target holding shields.

Beside the wooden house on the side of the field, Qingcao and Hua Xiang, the sisters, were sitting at the table, using small round embroidery frames to embroider flowers on handkerchiefs.

Xu Zaijing's master, sitting on the other side of the wooden house, was holding a fine-tipped brush that Xu Zaijing didn't use, drawing on a three-foot wooden plank that was as thick as a wrist and quite straight.

Beside him stood the empty-handed Chu Zhan, and several Bai Gao Kingdom children who were also holding wooden sticks and queuing up.

Xu Zaijing walked over, reached out to a child, took the wooden stick from her hand, and pulled a dagger from the belt at his waist.

He began to whittle it like a wood-whittling machine; in just a few strokes, it was whittled into a wooden strip, which he then handed to the master who had finished drawing.

He then whittled the wooden strip according to the pattern the master had drawn.

When the Li brothers entered the mansion from the small door in the deep alley and came to the racetrack, several children were using wooden swords and sabers to hack and slash in the field in a decent manner.

Jiying Lane

Shou'an Hall

The Sheng family's business in Bianjing was now growing larger and larger,

and the master, Sheng Wei, also stayed in Bianjing for the most part.

At this time, Sheng Wei was sitting respectfully in the lower seat, speaking with Old Madam Sheng, who was on the Arhat chair.

"Aunt, yesterday, Minister Wu of the Left Department of the Ministry of Revenue, together with the steward of the Marquis Tuoxi's family, went to our family's warehouse at Tongjin Gate and directly set a deal for 300,000 strings of cash worth of oilcloth."

"Your nephew is thinking of sending some tokens of appreciation to the Cao and Wu families in a few days."

Old Madam Sheng, turning the Buddhist beads in her hand, nodded and said: "Then what does Wei Ge'er plan to send?"

Sheng Wei pondered for a while before looking up and saying: "In any case, it will be antiques, calligraphy and paintings, fine horses, and jade wares."

Seeing Old Madam Sheng's expression, Sheng Wei said: "Does Aunt think it's not good?"

"Wei Ge'er, you have been doing business for so long, you should know what this batch of oilcloth is used for, right?"

"Your nephew guesses it should be for military procurement, used for tents or rain protection for military supplies."

The Old Madam nodded and said: "I don't understand the oilcloth business. If we make this deal according to the best quality, can our family make money?"

Sheng Wei mentally calculated for a while before saying: "Yes, it's just that the profit is a bit thin."

After finishing, Sheng Wei looked at the Old Madam's smiling eyes, and as his thoughts turned, he said:

"Aunt, then your nephew... will send a piece of the best quality oilcloth over."

"Hmm, this idea is not bad, but don't leave others out. I heard that this business was previously done by relatives of the Duke of Han!"

After hearing what the Old Madam said, Sheng Wei was stunned and asked with some confusion:

"Aunt, then... why did they come to our family this time?"

Old Madam Sheng smiled and said:

"At this Chrysanthemum Appreciation Gathering outside Jinming Pool, someone was made to lose face."

"As a brother from the maternal family, how can one not help her vent her anger."

Sheng Wei blinked and hurriedly said: "Aunt is talking about Madam Wu of the Marquis Yongchang's mansion."

The Old Madam put down the Buddhist beads, picked up the teacup, took a sip of tea, and looked at Sheng Wei with appreciation.

Sheng Wei continued: "Madam Wu is also on good terms with the mistress of our family's relative, the Xu family."

Hearing this, the Old Madam smiled and nodded: "Therefore, making Minister Wu of the Ministry of Revenue's decision appear incomparably correct is better than sending him gold, silver, and jewelry."

Sheng Wei hurriedly nodded.

At this time, a maid announced from outside the door: "The Master has arrived."

Sheng Hong lifted the curtain and entered. Seeing Sheng Wei, he hurriedly cupped his hands:

"Elder Brother Wei."

After taking his seat, Sheng Hong said:

"Mother, today in the court, two branches of the Imperial Guards under the cousin's command have already been decided."

After Sheng Hong finished speaking, the Old Madam sat up straight, her eyes full of solemnity as she looked over.

After nodding and greeting Mama Fang, who was serving tea, Sheng Hong continued:

"One is the infantry Xuanwu Army, totaling 10,000 men, and the other is the cavalry Qingshuo Army and Qinrong Army. Once the cavalry selection is completed to supplement 7,000 riders, they will set out."

"Who will command them?"

"The commanders of the infantry's two armies are the Cao Si Lang of the Cao family and the Little General Fu, who were transferred from the Western Army. The cavalry commanders are the Little General Bo and the Second Young Master of the Zhang family."

Knowing the commanders, the Old Madam's expression softened slightly as she said:

"This is really not bad!"

Sheng Hong said: "Mother, do you have any concerns?"

The Old Madam continued turning the Buddhist beads and said: "The Cao Si Lang Cao is the one who came to congratulate this old woman on her birthday before, right?"

"Mother has a good memory."

"The sons of the Bo and Fu families have also been tempered on the battlefield for many years. The Third and Fourth Young Masters of the Duke of Ying's family and Jing Ge'er are also on good terms."

After Sheng Hong finished listening, he pondered for a while and nodded:

"They are all good sons of our Great Zhou."

They all have good relationships with the Xu family and won't hold them back.

"Then has the Pacification Commissioner of the Hedong Circuit been decided?"

Sheng Hong nodded and said:

"Mother, it has been decided; it is the Grand Minister of the Hai family!"

Hearing this, the hand of Old Madam Sheng turning the Buddhist beads stopped. She then slapped her palm and nodded repeatedly, saying:

"Good, good, good!"

"Since these matters have already been concluded, our family's school can continue to open."

Sheng Hong nodded on the side.

"You two brothers can talk about other things; this old woman will go to rest first."

The Old Madam stood up and left the place.

Sheng Hong and Sheng Wei hurriedly stood up to see her off, and then the two brothers went out of Shou'an Hall together.

Walking and talking about the Sheng family's affairs, Sheng Hong very much agreed with Sheng Wei's new gift.

The small ripples in Bianjing that started on the Double Ninth Festival in the ninth month

gradually subsided as they approached the end of the ninth month.

The main gate of the Marquis Yongyi's mansion on Quyuanjie was finally opened.

The first calling card received was from the Marquis Hou Fu Chang's family.

Previously, when the little princess was a month old, the Xu family's main gate was tightly closed. Although the Rong family had delivered a calling card, it was politely declined.

It wasn't until two days ago, when the Madam of Marquis Hou Fu Chang was summoned into the palace again, that she delivered a calling card to the Xu family again.

This time, it was not refused.

Because Rong Xian was on duty in the Imperial Guards, he did not come along.

Therefore, Xu Zaijing was not kept at home by his mother, but went to the Sheng family for class.

Anmei, who was embroidering her dowry, was called to the front hall to entertain the Marchioness Hou Fu Chang and Rong Feiyan together with Madam Sun.

Anmei quite liked Rong Feiyan; after all, every time she saw Anmei, Rong Feiyan greeted her with a smile, and her attitude was impeccably good.

Looking at Rong Feiyan, who had been maintaining her posture since entering the door, even sitting on the chair with her back straight,

Anmei shook her head secretly in her heart and said: "Mother, I'm taking Feiyan sister out to play!"

Madam Sun nodded with a smile.

Subsequently, Anmei walked up to Rong Feiyan and reached out her hand.

The two of them took the maids out of the hall. Anmei waved to Ye'er and Seeing Xi Bu, who were following behind.

After gaining some distance, Anmei said beside Rong Feiyan:

"You're putting on airs since entering my house; aren't you tired?"

Rong Feiyan shook her head:

"Not tired; I'm like this at home too."

"Also holding your chin up like this?"

As she spoke, Anmei imitated the way Rong Feiyan looked at people with her chin up outside.

Rong Feiyan looked at Anmei's exaggerated appearance and shook her head with a smile:

"No, I don't hold my chin up."

Anmei nodded and said:

"That's more like it."

"There's nothing much to see in my house; the garden certainly can't compare to others'. Come, I'll take you to the front yard to see some rare things."

"Anmei sister, what is it?"

"Xu Zaijing's birds."

"Ah?"

Hearing this, Rong Feiyan, along with Seeing Xi Bu and Ningxiang not far behind, blushed.

In Great Zhou, "birds" were not just those flying in the sky.

Seeing Xi Bu whispered: "Isn't the Xu family's young master at school?"

Ye'er on the side was already immune to poison and said: "They are real birds."

After walking for a distance,

they passed through an inner gate guarded by old women and left the Xu family's backyard.

Rong Feiyan looked at the surroundings, secretly comparing them with the "Xu Family Front Yard Map" in her heart:

"It should be straight through this moon gate."

After turning through a moon gate,

"Pass through another one, and on the left is their family's racetrack."

Sure enough, after crossing another moon gate,

Rong Feiyan glanced to the left and saw a corner of the spacious racetrack; her heart leaped with joy.

After waiting for a moment at the entrance of "Falcon Courtyard," inside the courtyard:

"Greetings, Second Da Niangzi."

"Hmm, put it here, you all go to the side."

"Feiyan sister, come in."

Rong Feiyan entered the courtyard and saw the two spirited Gyrfalcons eating meat.

The two young falcons in the fledgling stage, with fine ropes tied to their claws, were looking at her blankly.

"Wow, what beautiful falcons! Where did they come from?"

Anmei turned her back to Rong Feiyan, her eyes full of pride as she said:

"Someone gave them to him."

"Oh! That was really thoughtful!"

Anmei nodded proudly. This question from Rong Feiyan seemed to suit Anmei's wishes, and Anmei said happily:

"Let's go! While Little Five is not at home, let's go steal a ride on his horses. Ye'er!"

The maid Ye'er on the side hurriedly left to get something.

As she spoke, Anmei led Rong Feiyan out of Falcon Courtyard and walked toward the stables,

saying as they walked: "These two fine horses, except for me and my sister, no one else has ridden them yet."

Rong Feiyan blinked.

Arriving beside the racetrack, Anmei sweetly and skillfully called out "Uncle Yin~~~"

Xu Zaijing's master helplessly opened the door of the small house. After taking a look at Rong Feiyan beside Anmei, he knocked on the door of Alan and the others' room on the side.

Soon, Alan led out two fine horses fully equipped with saddles and bridles.

At this time, Ye'er also returned to Anmei's side and handed the few fruits in her hand to Anmei.

Anmei divided two apples for Rong Feiyan and said:

"Here, these two girls like to eat this the most."

Anmei looked at Rong Feiyan's puzzled eyes and explained:

"Look at their eyes; these two are very intelligent, don't treat them as ordinary horses."

"When eating fruit, scratch their necks for them..."

Rong Feiyan learned Anmei's movements on the side. When stroking the fine horse's neck, she didn't know what she thought of, but her face turned a little red.

Perhaps it was comfortable to eat, the fine horse rubbed against Rong Feiyan's hand, and its large horse eyes scanned her.

Alan on the side said with a smile:

"It likes you."

Hearing this, Rong Feiyan stroked it even more vigorously.

After a while, Anmei and Rong Feiyan rode on the backs of the fine horses together, slowly strolling in the racetrack.

Looking around at the newly renovated houses, looking at the mottled archery targets and wooden stakes, Rong Feiyan said casually:

"It can be seen that everyone in the mansion practices very diligently."

Anmei on the side nodded and said: "There are people who get up early every day; I don't know how he manages to get up!"

As they were talking, the two of them had already ridden their horses to the place in the racetrack farthest from the small house.

Suddenly, Anmei's eyes widened as she looked at the entrance of the racetrack.

There, Xu Zaijing and Xu Zaihang, the two brothers, were riding horses and walking into the field.

"This, why did they come back so early today!!!"

"Whoa~ Whoa~ Go this way! Why aren't you listening!"

Anmei was just about to ride the horse into the stables,

when she felt the fine horse beneath her snort and walk toward Xu Zaijing.

The fine horse Rong Feiyan was sitting on was the same.

After all, it was time for the massage.

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 263 =====