Chapter 102 The unspeakable career
They left Bamboo Pavilion while her hand was held by Gu Xiran. When they took two steps, Shu Huan lowered her head and saw that there was also a ring on his ring finger of his left hand. It was also made of silver, but the model was simpler. It didn"t have the rubies. Only from those very few not eye-catching lines could it be seen that it was a pair with her ring.
Some sweetness arose in her heart.
The two didn"t say anything. It was the first time, that she held hands like this. While their shoulders moved up and down, they enjoyed the scene and slowly walked back to Lotus Pavilion.
Meijing had long came back to Lotus Pavilion. Seeing the two of them walk hand in hand, she was stunned for a moment and then immediately grinned, "Second young master and mistress, the lunch had been prepared. Should I let people bring it in?"
Gu Xiran nodded. Looking at Meijing cross the threshold, he suddenly shouted at her, "Get another jar of wine."
Meijing promised and went away.
Shu Huan casted him a sidelong glance and smiled, "Why? Do you want to get drunk again?"
Gu Xiran felt shame because of her words, but he didn"t reveal it on his face. He only laughed, "The percentage of alcohol is not high in the wines of here. It wouldn"t matter if you take some at noon."
Moreover, with such an emotion, such scene and this person, one must have wine to enjoy oneself to the fullest.
Lotus Pavilion had another story above it. In the bright and s.p.a.cious place next to the window, a table was placed. The two people sat facing each other and overlooked the lake. Slowly drinking wine amidst the sound of the moving water was also a point of charm.
Not long after Meijing went away, she returned with the wine and laughed, "There are many wines hidden in the resort, but there weren’t many sweet liqueurs. These are j.a.panese rose nectar, Rose intoxication and Osmanthus wine. Second young mistress, have a taste first. If you don"t like them, I will go bring another one."
Shu Huan took the cup of Osmanthus wine that she handed over. Seeing that the color was clear and translucent, she sipped some. A dense, thick and fragrant taste of wine was on her tongue. A slightly sour and sweet taste spread on her taste buds. Then, there was a refined Osmanthus scent that lingered in her mouth. She couldn"t help but nod and smiled, "There is no need to go bring another one. This one is very good."
Meijing smiled, turned and went to bring the dishes.
There weren"t many dishes, but they were of many colors. The shrimp meat with the fragrance of tea, lotus flower duck, tree kingfisher, water bamboo, meatb.a.l.l.s made of three ingredients and a pot of stew.
As Meijing arranged the dishes, she said, "These dishes had been prepared to accompany the rice. When I went to bring the wine, I let the cook cut some pork shoulder and chicken feet stewed in soy sauce and spices. It"s just that they wouldn"t be done so quickly. Second young master and mistress have to wait a bit more."
After having said that, she stood next to the table and held the jug of wine.
Gu Xiran swept a glance over her, took over the jug of wine and smiled, "You don"t have to serve here. You and Huiyun go have lunch first."
Meijing didn"t hesitate a bit. She promised and left. She also thoughtfully closed the door for them.
Gu Xiran laughed, "This maid is not bad. Her conduct is meticulous and not overcautious."
Shu Huan liked the sweet taste of that Osmanthus wine. She was sipping the wine when she heard him say that. She immediately nodded and said, "The maid I picked is naturally better than those at your side."
Remembering the two extremes, Huiyun and Qiaoyun, Gu Xiran was a bit dejected and said, "I can"t be blamed. The original owner"s vision is too bad."
In fact, choosing a maid truly depends on luck. Using vision to compare people"s heart wasn"t accurate. Shu Huan smiled slightly, "Are we too rotten by employing maids like this?"
Gu Xiran took the cup of wine, smiled and casted her a sidelong glance, "You can do everything yourself."
"Forget it. I only felt a tiny bit of guilt, but I will never do things that harm me and that also will not benefit another," Shu Huan said and put down the wine cup. “It was just, when you enter a village, follow the local customs. Also, here wasn"t like the snail"s home where I used to live before. Even if I do everything by myself, I wouldn"t be able to cope. This Gu residence was so big that a half day would be gone when only going back and forth to send a message. If one also had to wash clothes, cook and clean the rooms, one day would be very exhausting. Moreover, if I do all these things, isn"t it that I was stealing their livelihood?"
"I have the same opinion," Gu Xiran laughed. He raised his head and drank all the wine in the cup.
Shu Huan picked up a shrimp meat with tea fragrance for him and said, "Just now I wanted to ask you why do you want to study the aromatic herbs? I saw that the original owner mentioned many things about the aromatic herbs in the ma.n.u.scripts he left. If you don"t know anything, are you afraid to reveal loopholes when we return?"
Gu Xiran shook his head, "It doesn"t matter. The original owner was an invisible person in Gu residence. No one would be tempted to chat with him about this. Even if someone asked about this, it will be fine if I change the topic. I only wanted to learn a proficiency in a particular field. However, Gu residence didn"t have many books about other things. It only has many books about fragrances. The period when I was nouris.h.i.+ng myself back to health, I was very idle. I read a lot of them and remembered a lot of recipes for perfumes."
As he was talking, he pretended to be dejected, picked up the cup and sighed, "Now is not like before. One person is full, the whole family isn"t hungry. If I don"t learn something, how can I support wife and our children in the future?!"
Shu Huan glared at him once, "There are also concubines and illegitimate children."
Gu Xiran almost choked and almost spout out the wine. He quickly gestures with his hand and said, "Forget it. Who want to support whom, they should go support those people themselves. Anyway, I can"t afford them."
Shu Huan smiled and didn"t mention this again. She asked him, "I haven"t asked you yet. What did you study before? Can"t it be used here?"
Forget it, if she didn"t ask. But since she asked, Gu Xiran had the urge to hit the wall and jump out of the window. He was really depressed, "I don"t want to talk about it. The thing you studied can still be used here. What I studied is of no use at all here."
Shu Huan curiously guessed, "Could it be a foreign language?"
Gu Xiran shook his head.
Shu Huan guessed something even more not useful, "ICT?"
"No."
Shu Huan widened her eyes and said, "You weren"t a civil servant, right? Then, you can try to be an advisor of the official or something like that at the feudal office."
Gu Xiran put his hand on his mouth, coughed twice and said, "Don"t guess anymore. All is wrong."
"Then, you say it. If you don"t say it, how would I know."
"You truly want to know?"
"Bulls.h.i.+t. If I don"t want to know why ask you?!"
Gu Xiran frowned and looked out of the window for a while as if he was engaged in a fierce ideological struggle. Finally, he said helplessly, "Lawyer."
"Pfff…" Shu Huan immediately laughed. "A very tragic career!"
It was no wonder that he was eloquent and his mind alert.
Gu Xiran casted her a glance, "I already said that I don"t want to talk about it, but you had to ask."
Shu Huan still m.u.f.fled her laughter and said, "It doesn"t matter…you can be a trial officer…or you can go read some books about the law and go on the street to write written complaints for people…"
Gu Xiran immediately took over and said, "Right! I will earn a dozen copper coins every day, carry one liter of rice and two vegetables back to home and also had to trouble wife to grind the tofu."
It sounded like a very warm-hearted but very tough day.
When it touched the real-life problems, the smiles on the two people became a bit worried. When they looked at each other again, they couldn"t help but sigh helplessly.
A proficiency in a certain field was useful, but useful didn"t meant that they could do it better than the ancient people. The only thing that they were better at than the ancient people was that they had a relatively open mind and wasn"t confined to the formalities like the ancient people.
"Alright," Shu Huan said. "Let"s learn from the scratch. Anyway, Gu household is a producer of perfumes. It was easier to learn how to make perfumes than to learn about other things."
Gu Xiran nodded slightly and said, "If I have studied all, I will think about whether there is a way to improve the recipes."
As he said that, he reached out and held Shu Huan"s hand, "It will be enough to support you. It was just, if you want to live better, I have to work harder."
Shu Huan smiled. She wasn"t worried about this at all. If one day they had to leave Gu household, with the money he got from selling the flowers and plants, if they spend it a bit frugally, in this era of low prices, it would be enough for them to just spend the money without generating any income for a few years. Or they could use it as a capital to invest in a small business. Moreover, not only would he work hard. She would also work hard to earn money. It was easier and more relaxed for two people to live well than one person fighting alone. At least, the heart would be calm and not in fear.
She now had the courage to face the difficulties of the future.