64 Childhood Sweethearts

◎Not only are there people in their shop, but they are also very beautiful!◎

Song Yunting was brought in by a maid. His face was sickly pale and listless. He looked listless and as if he was terminally ill.

Song Zhangye was afraid that this was the first time he had seen his son in such a long time, and he couldn't help but feel pity for him. He instructed the housekeeper: "Tomorrow you go to Doctor Wang's house and personally invite him to show him to Ting'er."

Song Jinyi looked at him steadily without saying a word. She rinsed the easily digestible green vegetables in a copper pot and placed them on the small plate in front of Song Yunting.

Song Yunting's lifeless eyes saw the dish as if he had seen a source of water in the desert, but he didn't dare to pick up his chopsticks directly. He glanced at the people around him timidly and asked Song Jinyi, "Is this for me? Can I eat it?"

At the dinner table, no one spoke except for the sound of boiling water in the copper pot, which made his words particularly obvious and everyone looked at them.

He was overwhelmed by so many gazes, so he shrank his neck and grabbed Song Jinyi's sleeve.

Song Jinyi's expression was calm; this was exactly the effect she wanted.

She exchanged a glance with Shen Lingyu and noticed that the other person's expression was unusually calm.

She said softly to Song Yunting, "Of course it's for you. I boiled it for you. Try it."

At first, Song Yunting just chewed the food in small bites. After eating a few bites, he found that no one was paying attention to him, so he let down his guard and ate the food in big mouthfuls.

The "slurp, slurp" swallowing sound was out of tune with the solemn atmosphere. He didn't seem like the young master of this family, but more like a little beggar from somewhere.

Eating hot pot is a leisurely and leisurely way to eat while it is being boiled. He inhaled the food like crazy, and by the end of the meal, Song Jinyi's speed in boiling the dishes could not keep up with him.

Almost as soon as she picked it up from the pot, he swallowed it immediately. The dish was still steaming. Song Jinyi felt hot just looking at it and her face twitched unconsciously.

She quickly stopped him and gave him a cup of warm tea, "Why are you eating so quickly? Could it be that your family doesn't give you food?" As she said this, she looked at Shen Lingyu meaningfully.

Shen Lingyu's expression became completely ugly, and she stared at her coldly.

Song Zhangye quickly glanced between the two of them, his eyes darkening.

Song Yunting hissed, and Song Jinyi lifted his chin and asked him to open his mouth. "What happened? Did you get burned?" She took a closer look and saw several white blisters on the tender skin on the outer wall of his mouth.

Song Jinyi immediately wanted to ask for some ointment, but after observing Song Yunting carefully, she saw that he looked much better after his meal. The mutton was nourishing, and the hot pot warmed him up, causing him to break a sweat and look much better.

She changed her mind and decided to invite the doctor to diagnose her in person. If she waited until tomorrow and Song Zhangye was not around, then whatever Shen Lingyu said would be the final word.

She thought about it carefully and said, "Father, Ting'er was careless while eating and got a few blisters by accident. Why don't we ask the doctor to come and see him right away?

Before Song Zhangye could say anything, Shen Lingyu couldn't sit still and said, "Burns are common in children. It's not a big deal. I have prepared some ointment in the hospital and asked someone to bring it over to apply. The doctor may not be willing to come during this holiday. Even if he does, it will delay things."

Song Jinyi said with a smile: "I am not thinking about you, Auntie. Ting'er is pale and thin, and he eats like a hungry tiger. People who know him know that you treat him as your own son, but he is seriously ill and cannot bear your kindness. People who don't know him will think that you are abusing Ting'er. It is better to ask a doctor to take his pulse and verify his true condition.

It can not only silence those who gossip about you, but also reassure your father. It's a win-win situation, so why not do it?"

Her attitude was sincere, and she seemed to be really considering Shen Lingyu and offering a good solution.

Shen Lingyu's smile was stiff, and she held the chopsticks tightly in her hand. This girl was so sharp-tongued.

No one touched their chopsticks for a long time. The water in the copper pot was bubbling and boiling, and the cooked mutton and green vegetables inside were constantly rolling.

Finally, it was Song Zhangye who spoke up, "Today is the first day of the new year. The most important thing is for the family to be together. We can talk about the rest tomorrow."

Seeing that her goal was about to be achieved, Song Jinyi was unwilling to give up. When she was about to open her mouth to argue, she felt her wrist sink.

She looked down and saw that it was Song Yunting who had grabbed her wrist. He put his little face close to her ear and said in a buzzing voice, "Sister, don't do this. I'm scared."

Song Jinyi sighed inwardly. Although this child was not very smart, he had learned to read the expressions in the troubled Song Mansion.

Sad and pitiful.

As if to appease Song Jinyi and compensate Song Yunting, Song Zhangye said, "Since Yunting is not in good health, leave him by my side to recuperate."

Shen Lingyu said softly: “Master, you have a lot of things to do, and there are not a few careful and decent people around you. How can you take good care of him? Why not…”

As soon as she said "not as good as", Song Jinyi could guess what she would say next. She interrupted: "Father doesn't have anyone around him, but I have someone to recommend."

The person recommended by Song Jinyi was none other than Madam Yun's dowry - Aunt Bao.

Aunt Bao held Song Yunting in her arms. Although he was only seven or eight years old, he was very light, about the same weight as a cat. After eating some carbohydrates, he felt sleepy and fell asleep leaning on Aunt Bao's shoulder.

Song Jinyi said half puzzled and half angrily: "I don't understand. He must have been able to see that Yun Ting was harmed by Shen Lingyu, so why did he keep that woman?"

Aunt Bao lowered her voice and said, "Perhaps it's because of what happened a few days ago. The young master took the blame for the young master Yun Ting. Plus, Madam Shen was the old master's childhood sweetheart, so she's particularly forgiving."

The boy comes riding on a bamboo horse, playing with green plums around the bed. Living together in Changganli, the two children have no suspicion of each other. [1]

*******

The fifth day of the New Year.

Song Jinyi and the others got up early in the morning before daybreak. Li He rubbed his eyes and muttered, "Why do we have to get up so early today? The store isn't open yet."

Ever since the Chinese New Year, when the store closed, everyone in the house has been sleeping in every day and has never gotten up at this time. For a while, she was a little uncomfortable.

Song Jinyi had gone out to wash her face a long time ago, leaving her and Xu Ruolan alone in the room. Xu Ruolan rolled up her sleeves and patted her head when she heard her say that. "It's already late. Today is the birthday of the God of Roads. Believe it or not, when you go out and take a look, everyone on this street will be up and busy.

As soon as Xu Ruolan finished speaking, she heard the sounds of gongs and firecrackers outside.

Li He was completely awake now. She stretched lazily and squinted her eyes. "Sister Ruolan, does the Road God have any advice?"

The God of Roads is also known as the God of Five Roads. He is the partial God of Wealth. On the fifth day of the Lunar New Year, we pray to the God of Wealth. The earlier the ceremony is performed, the more auspicious it is. This is called "Jie Lu Tou".

Seek wealth on the fifth day, and a year's wish will be fulfilled in one day. Beware of other places welcoming the gods too early, and rush to get ahead the night before.

A group of four people held incense and candles and went to the temple's God of Wealth Hall to worship. Song Jinyi made a pious wish to get rich.

When I returned to Tianshuipu, the craftsman who had made an appointment with me before the New Year came to continue the unfinished work.

Song Jinyi noticed that one of the craftsmen looked unfamiliar, so she asked him and found out that the original craftsman had broken his leg while repairing the roof during the Chinese New Year, so he handed the job to his cousin.

Song Jinyi didn't say much, as long as things were done right.

The man who took the job was named Zhang, about 40 years old. He heard about this job from his cousin and thought it was good, so he took it. He didn't expect that the employer was such a young woman, only 16 years old.

He owns his own shop at such a young age. I heard that the business is pretty good. Look, it has started to expand. I am so envious. Why isn't his own child the one who has this ability? If his own child had this ability, why would he come out to do this hard work at this age?

Since the boss didn't provide meals, he went to the stall in front and bought a pancake, waiting for his family to bring him some hot dishes.

He waited for about five or six minutes before getting impatient. A little later, when his daughter came to serve him food, he was furious at her cowering appearance. He pointed at her head and cursed, "You idiot! Can't you even serve a dish? Look, these two dishes are clumped together. How am I supposed to eat them? Can't you run faster?"

The more Zhang the craftsman cursed, the more angry he became, as if it was his child's fault that he couldn't give birth to a daughter who could earn money.

The girl, with dry yellow hair, stared at her worn-out shoes and muttered in defense, "This potato pudding is mushy to begin with."

"You little girl! How dare you talk back?" He looked around. After all, they were outside and there was nothing convenient for him, so he kicked the person twice, knocked him down, pulled off his shoes and hit the girl.

The sole of the shoe was so thick that it made a "bang bang" sound when it hit the flesh wound.

A couple who were buying braised meat at the shop next door couldn't stand it anymore. They had children of their own, and usually when they were disobedient and mischievous, they would just scold them, but they had never hit them in front of outsiders, nor had they ever used such heavy hands.

This place sells braised meats, and the food is good. The man is big and strong, and he went up to him and grabbed his hand, "Stop!"

"This is my family affair. Even if I beat her to death, it has nothing to do with anyone else."

Seeing the situation getting more serious, another craftsman who was working on the job tried to smooth things over by saying, "Alright, alright, she's still young. What if she learns some skills and becomes as skilled as the boss?"

This remark froze Zhang in his tracks, like a flash of inspiration. It wasn't for anything else, but simply because of the question, "What skills did you learn? You're as good as the boss."

That evening, when he returned home, he said to his older son, "Tomorrow you will bring me food. Come early. I will then tell the owner to let you learn the craft from them."

His son held his head with his hands over his ears and said disdainfully, "Oh, I won't take a woman as my teacher."

"What the hell do you know? Who told you to learn a craft? How long would that take? There are three women there. If you could just hook up with one of them, wouldn't our family be rich and prosperous?"

His son rolled his eyes cunningly, with a sly smile on his face, "Dad is still smart."

"They are good at crafts. If they marry me, won't the money and the woman belong to our family? But your son is so handsome. What if those three women all fall in love with me? What should I do?"

"Just marry them all!"

The father and son thought about this wonderful thing until the next day.

After finishing his morning work, Craftsman Zhang didn't even buy any cakes. He waited for his son. He waited a moment longer than yesterday before he saw the man come over reluctantly.

He couldn't wait to stand in front of Song Jinyi, and said with a smile: "Shopkeeper, I have an unreasonable request. You see, there is no male laborer in your shop. My son Changgui is hardworking and honest. I beg you to take him to work. No wages, just a meal will do."

Song Jinyi looked him up and down. Zhang Changgui, the man working in the fields, had clean fingers without any calluses, which showed that he was very precious at home, so she was reluctant to let him work.

She felt offended by his gaze and looked at her in a lewd manner.

She narrowed her cold eyes and felt a sinking feeling in her heart. She could finally see what the father and son were planning.

She said calmly, "You're wrong. I have a boy here, but he has nothing to do, so I just asked him to rest. Besides, it's such a small shop, four people are enough, but we can't take in anyone else."

Carpenter Zhang was not discouraged and shamelessly tried to sell the product a few more times.

Song Jinyi said bluntly: "Even if you want it, she must be well-behaved and smart, and not have any messy thoughts." This last sentence pointed out the dirty thoughts of the father and son.

At this time, Xu Ruolan pulled out the face of the store - Xie Wuyang. She had just heard what Zhang the craftsman said outside, and like Song Jinyi, she guessed what they were thinking. Are they here to learn a craft?

This person wants to pick cabbage.

She went to the back to pull out Xie Wuyang to show these two toads that not only was there someone in their store, but she was also a beautiful woman!

【Author’s words】

Xu Ruolan, who was taking Xie Wuyang out for a stroll, said: I have an inexplicable sense of pride. Such a good-looking child is mine!

【1】-Li Bai

【2】- Bamboo Branch Poems