Chapter 696: First Visit to He's House
He Shujun was the fifth among the main branch of the He family. When the old housekeeper of the He family saw him, he ran over excitedly.
He Shujun hurried over and said happily, "Butler He, you're here."
The two exchanged greetings for a while, and the students of the He family greeted Butler He one after another.
Steward He was in his fifties or sixties, tall and thin, with a pair of lively eyes. When he saw Sun Shan, he smiled and asked, "Are you the grandson-in-law of the third old master?"
He Shujin smiled and said, "Yes, Sister Yun'er's husband will go to the capital with us."
Butler He and Sun Shan greeted each other quickly.
Steward He looked at the endless stream of people at the dock and said quickly, "Fifth Young Master, let's go back first. Zhangjiawan is still some time away from the capital."
Butler He brought several servants over, put Sun Shan and his party's luggage on the carriage, and left immediately.
Gui Ge'er asked anxiously, "Brother Shan, are we going to the He family?"
Gui Ge'er asked the question even though he knew the answer. Sun Shan could see that he was nervous.
The feeling of arriving in the capital was completely different from that of arriving in Nanjing, and Gui Ge'er felt uncomfortable all over.
The same thing went for Sun Dali and Sun Dingnan. They always felt out of place in the capital and seemed particularly vulgar.
Sun Shan said soothingly: "Don't be nervous. People in the capital are also human beings. We can just do things as usual."
It would be a lie to say that he wasn't nervous. Sun Shan's hands were sweating and he was very nervous.
I don’t know why, but as soon as I arrived in the capital, I felt a particularly solemn feeling, not free at all.
Sun Shan had been to Beijing in his previous life and was deeply impressed by how dry Beijing was.
I rarely used moisturizer before, but as soon as I arrived in Beijing, I had to use it.
It's the same at this moment, my whole face is dry and very uncomfortable.
Sun Shan took out a bottle of ointment from the sack, rubbed it on his face, and then on his hands and feet. Only then did he feel a little more comfortable and no longer feeling tight.
Then he handed the ointment to Gui Ge'er, Sun Dali, and Sun Dingnan and said, "You guys should apply it too. Your face is very dry. It will be uncomfortable if you don't apply it."
After Sun Shan said this, Gui Ge'er and his two companions really felt that their faces were dry, but these facial creams were precious and not something that they, the country people, could afford.
Gui Ge'er shook his head and said, "Brother Shan, you use it, we don't, our faces won't be dry."
Sun Shan shook his head and said, "I made these facial creams myself. They are very cheap. You can use them without worry."
When Sun Shan said this, Gui Ge'er smiled and said innocently, "Brother Shan, you should have told me earlier. It's so expensive to buy it outside. I can't bear to buy it."
Sun Dingnan and Sun Dali nodded quickly and said, "A little bit of facial cream costs dozens of coins, but the wife at home insisted on buying it. She really doesn't know how expensive firewood, rice, oil, salt, sauce and vinegar are."
Gui Ge'er agreed and said, "Yes, I bought a small bottle for Jinhua. It cost 1 yuan. It's very expensive."
Guiger was really reluctant to buy it, but Jinhua didn't need it and her baby in her belly was feeling uncomfortable, so she had to grit her teeth and buy it.
Then he said to Sun Shan: "Brother Shan, if you can do it earlier, just tell me and I will buy it from you."
Sun Dingnan asked, "There's still some time before the imperial examination, why don't we make some facial cream and sell it. Ah Shan, you give us the recipe, we'll make it, and we'll sell it. Haha, maybe we can make a lot of money like we did when we planted orchids and sold them in Nanjing."
The farmers were honest and didn't realize that the recipe was a secret and couldn't be asked easily. Sun Dingnan thought they were working for Sun Shan, making facial cream, so they didn't think about the secret recipe of facial cream.
Sun Dali's eyes lit up and he said happily, "Yes, we can make facial cream and sell it. We have nothing to do anyway. Haha, I was planning to carry sacks at the dock. Facial cream is so expensive, we might be able to make some money by selling it."
Sun Dali has already found out from He Shujun's servant that the capital city is prosperous, with many people and goods, so it is easy to find work.
As long as you are willing to endure hardship, you can work as a porter at the dock, which requires no technical skills.
Sun Dali thought that he was very strong and was most suitable for hard labor.
Haha, carrying sacks at the dock is tailor-made for him.
Sun Shan smiled but said nothing. In fact, the facial cream was not made by him, but bought by Yun Jie'er from the rouge and powder shop.
I've been busy studying, so I don't have time to do these things.
But I really know how to make facial cream, which is the well-known Wu Zetian lard cream. The method is very simple, but the cost is a little higher. 5g of Trichosanthes, 12g of Magnolia bark, 6g each of Asarum, Chuanxiong, White Aconite, Magnolia, Angelica, Bamboo, Chinese Yam, and Astragalus, 1000ml of lard. The three of Gui Ge'er have been imagining how to sell ointments, which has dissipated a lot of the tense atmosphere.
It seems that talking about random things can distract attention and make people happier.
After driving for two hours, Butler He stopped the car to rest for a while.
It takes eight or nine hours to get to the capital from Zhangjiawan.
Sun Shan arrived at the dock in the morning, and it would probably be evening by the time he got back to the He family.
The capital is divided into the inner city and the outer city. The He family lives in the inner city's West City. When housekeeper He saw that everyone had rested enough, he set off again. Inner City and Outer City In the early Ming Dynasty, Sun Shan was content with his circumstances and followed the He family's arrangements.
I came here in a horse-drawn carriage, carefully lifted the curtain, and looked at the scenery outside. I was overwhelmed by a feeling of unreality.
Not knowing what his future would be like, Sun Shan was inevitably confused.
In winter, the days are short and the nights are long, and it gets dark quickly. By the time Sun Shan and his party arrived at their destination, it was already dark.
When I got out of the car, I saw the words "He's House" hanging high on the gate.
Butler He led everyone in through the side door, then asked the servants to take Sun Shan to his residence and then go to report.
It was dark and the cold wind kept blowing. Sun Shan couldn't help but sneeze, and He Shujun and others also sneezed one after another.
He Shujun shook his body and his voice trembled: "It's so cold. The winter in Beijing is really cold."
Another student from the He family also said, "Yes, it's too cold. It's so uncomfortable. My hands and feet are numb. Oh, I hope it won't be cold in February next year, otherwise it will be difficult to take the exam even if I enter the exam room."
Speaking of the imperial examination, all three students of the He family had experienced it, except Sun Shan, who was a greenhorn and knew nothing.
But it doesn’t matter if you don’t understand, you will understand sooner or later. There are still two or three months before the imperial examination, so you can slowly get used to the coldness of the capital.
Sun Shan followed the servant. It was dark and the lights were dim, so he couldn't see clearly what was going on in the courtyard.
Walk across the bridge corridor, through an arched door, through another arched door, and then walk to a small courtyard.
The servant smiled and said, "Fifth Young Master, we're here. You guys should pack your luggage first. The old master has instructed us to do it slowly, there's no rush."
He Shujun thanked him quickly and the servant left.
Sun Shan thought He Shujun would give him a red envelope to express his gratitude, but He Shujun just said "thank you". It was totally different from what was shown in the TV series.
Sun Shan opened the room according to the servant's instructions. Gui Ge'er and the other two quickly moved the luggage in and helped Sun Shan pack it.
Not long after, the servants came over and brought charcoal fire and ginger soup for Sun Shan and the others to warm up.
The servant smiled and said, "Fifth Master, the Madam has ordered you to drink ginger soup to prevent colds."
He Shujun's face fell, and he said helplessly: "Every time I go to the city, the first thing I eat is not some delicious food, but a bowl of ginger soup from my grandmother."
You can tell at a glance that He Shujun doesn't like ginger soup, but he has to drink it.
The servant said with a smile, "Fifth Master, the Madam said that others don't need to watch, but you must watch. If you don't watch, you will definitely not drink it. When the Fifth Master saw ginger soup when he was a child, he ran away when he smelled the smell from a distance. Haha, the Madam said that if you don't drink it, I can't leave."
As soon as he finished speaking, He Shujun smiled helplessly, while Sun Shan and others laughed loudly, which did a lot to drive away the cold.