The caravan stayed in Jiangcheng Prefecture, and Hao Sanqian specially sent a carriage to take You Miao to Youfu in Pei County.
The tea mountains along the way were dark green, and tea farmers were picking the last wave of winter tea seedlings before the Great Cold. There were thousands of hectares of fertile fields and thousands of tea houses. The windows were wide open. You Miao leaned against the window and said proudly to Li Zhifeng: "Look at this mountain, this land, and this river."
"... Trees planted on the mountain, fish raised in the river, birds and animals, flowers, birds, insects and fish." You Miao smiled and said: "They are all my family's property, all mine."
Li Zhifeng couldn't help but show surprise in his eyes, and nodded slowly. You Miao put one foot on Li Zhifeng's thigh. The carriage stopped and started. The mist in the tea mountains began to rise. The road was very wet after the rain. Breathing a breath of fresh air in the mountains, compared with the noisy capital and the rolling yellow sand in Saibei, this place is a fairyland on earth, a paradise on earth.
At noon, the carriage stopped by the roadside. The driver invited You Miao to have a meal. There were four kinds of steamed tea, two-color fried rice, and fried live shrimp. The sliced winter snow fish was wrapped in eggs and flour and fried until 70% golden yellow and 30% sour. It melted in the mouth. You Miao was in a good mood after eating this meal. He
had been away from home for three years and had not eaten the good food of Liuzhou for a long time. You Miao said to Li Zhifeng again: "When you get home, you can eat much better than this."
Li Zhifeng nodded, holding a large bowl, squatting at the door of the restaurant to eat fish ball noodles, which were full of freshness.
The proprietress served You Miao tea and smiled: "Master You hasn't been home for several years."
"Isn't it?" You Miao took the teacup with a smile. The green rain and sunny day Maojian floated in the broken flower porcelain cup, and the full cup of tea was full of fragrance. You Miao used to be approachable and handsome. The tea farmers in the nearby area worked as long-term workers for the You family. They loved him when they saw him.
But today the proprietress looked hesitant to speak, and You Miao was eager
to return home, so he pointed at Li Zhifeng and said, "This is my waiter in the capital, he's a very honest man." The proprietress smiled and nodded, and asked, "Master You asked the young master to come home, but does he have any instructions? Does the young master know?"
You Miao thought for a while and said, "Either he wants me to get married or take over the Bi Yu Tea House. What else can it be?"
Although his father was determined to send him to the capital to study and find an official position, if he changed his mind halfway and wanted to keep him in Jiangbei, it might not be impossible. You Miao smiled again and said, "When I take over the tea house in the future, it will be the same. I will never increase your rent by a penny, so don't worry."
The proprietress said, "The young master is naturally a nostalgic person. It is our blessing to be able to follow him."
You Miao nodded. The proprietress went out to hang up the clothes and sighed. Li Zhifeng, who was eating noodles, was moved and looked up at her.
After lunch, You Miao ordered the carriage to go back. It was less than ten miles away from Biyu Villa. When he was close to his hometown, he was filled with thoughts of home and planned to walk all the way back.
The road was wet, Li Zhifeng said, "Master, I'll carry you."
You Miao was not polite and jumped on his back. Li Zhifeng carried him and walked slowly. Along the way, someone drove a bullock cart, and You Miao called him. When passers-by saw You Miao, they all said, "It's Master You."
"Master You is back--"
"Why don't you take a ride?"
You Miao smiled and said, "Go home and visit."
You Miao's baggage was robbed, and his belongings were gone. His only property was Li Zhifeng. He talked and laughed along the way until the Biyu Villa appeared halfway up the mountain. He then jumped down. It
was almost evening. Two servants were sweeping the floor. They looked at him from a distance. One of them wanted to go in and report, but the other held him back and waved his hand. You
Miao finally felt something was wrong. Suddenly, he thought of many things that he had not thought about before - what was this saying? He had already arrived in Pei County, but why didn't anyone come to pick him up?
"Young Master."
"Young Master is back."
Two servants bowed and saluted. You Miao said, "He's back, why is no one here to greet him? Where's Uncle Hu?"
You Miao walked towards the main gate. A servant who was dozing off woke up immediately when he saw that it was You Miao who came back. The other two servants stepped forward and kicked him, saying, "You must have fainted! Young Master is back home!" Then they smiled at You Miao and said, "This is the new guy."
You Miao said, "No problem. Where's the sedan chair? Why isn't there any sedan chair prepared?"
The servant winked at the other two companions. Several of them looked hesitant, and one of them answered, "To answer Young Master's question, the master went out today with Da... Da... and... and the sedan chair is in the villa. I'll ask someone to send it down now."
"Is Uncle Hu here?" You Miao said, "Ask him to make a sign for this man."
He pointed at Li Zhifeng and said, "His name is Li Zhifeng. It was too cold, so Shi Qi'er didn't come back with me. He's following me."
"Yes, yes." The servants nodded in unison, and one of them said, "Young master, you have... no luggage?"
You Miao smiled and said, "He was robbed on the road, but he escaped harm."
The three servants looked at each other, and one of them suddenly said, "Young master, Uncle Hu went home."
You Miao said, "Got home?"
"Yes." The servant replied, "He retired and went back. The mansion has a new housekeeper named Lin Si. The second housekeeper, Uncle Wang, also left. Now the money is managed by a new accountant hired by Aunt Ma."
Why didn't they send a letter informing them of the change of housekeeper? Even the accountant was changed. You Miao waved his sleeves and said, "Forget it, the sedan chair hasn't come down yet, I'll go up by myself."
There was a screen wall in front of the villa's gate. Li Zhifeng, carrying a bag, followed You Miao and started climbing the mountain. It's good to exercise occasionally. At dusk, the fog in the distance dissipated, revealing a golden edge dyed by the setting sun between the cirrus clouds. Thousands of tea trees in the mountains were bathed in the twilight, which made You Miao nostalgic for his hometown. After
entering the second gate of the villa, You Miao smiled and said, "I'm back."
Several maids who were drawing water from the spring looked at You Miao and were a little worried. After a long time, a maid bowed and whispered, "The young master is back."
You Miao's heart sank, and he finally knew something was wrong.
"Oh, he's back--" The woman's voice came before she arrived. In an instant, a woman came out, wearing a lotus-colored long skirt, a pink flower in her hair, and thick rouge on her face.
This person is Ma, the concubine of You Miao's father You Dechuan. The one the servant calls "Auntie Ma" is her. After You Miao's mother passed away, Auntie Ma never gave birth to a son or daughter for You Dechuan. As You Miao was the legitimate son, he was only polite to her and didn't chat much.
But at this time, another woman stood in front of Auntie Ma. She was wrapped in a light blue brocade apron, a fox fur collar around her neck, a horse bun, and a jade hairpin. The gold and jade on the pendant swayed in the sunset, reflecting the flowing light.
Judging from the woman's appearance, she was about fifty years old, with crow's feet at the corners of her eyes, and she didn't wear lipstick, but she had an overwhelming momentum. You Miao thought it was a relative who came to the house, but he had never seen this woman. He was about to greet her, but the woman spoke first.
The woman was not polite at all and asked Aunt Ma, "Is this You Miao?"
You Miao raised his eyebrows, but before he could say anything, Aunt Ma spoke before You Miao.
Aunt Ma looked at the woman and said, "This is our lady, You Miao. According to the rules, you have to call her Madam." Then she looked at You Miao with a smile and observed his expression.
Madam? ! !
You Miao was completely confused. His mother was the You Madam who was married in a formal way. How come after three years away from home, another Madam suddenly appeared? What was going on?