Chapter 99: Laughing at her for having something to do, someone to love, life is just a little bit of life...
For three consecutive days, it snowed continuously in Luoyang.
The two little ones in the Prince Pingning's mansion were in a dilemma.
Going to school is already difficult enough on weekdays, but now that the temperature is getting colder, the very first step of getting up each day is enough to keep the two kids busy.
The caregiver, Granny Liu, stood guard by the young prince and princess's bedside, bending over and trying to wrest the blankets from them, almost pleading, "My darlings, get up quickly, or we'll be late! Master Chen will spank your hands, but don't cry..."
However, the young prince Yuan Muze kicked his little legs and whimpered, "Mother Liu told us to sleep a little longer, just a little longer!"
Princess Yuan Jianping was so sleepy that she didn't even open her eyes. She simply left the battle of protecting the blanket to her brother, turned her head to the side, rolled into the corner, and continued to sleep.
Old Mrs. Liu was kind-hearted and sighed repeatedly when she saw the two boys in this state. She then turned to look for Jiang Yingyun.
"Sigh, knowing full well that there's school to attend, I still played so late yesterday. It's all Qing Si's fault... Miss Qing Si!"
Mother Liu kept nagging, unable to bear scolding the two children, so she blamed the person who had taken them out to play. If it weren't for Qing Si making crystal ice lanterns for them last night, the two children wouldn't have stayed up all night excitedly to watch them.
Before she could even step out the door, the person in question arrived and bumped right into her.
Mrs. Liu chuckled somewhat awkwardly, "Girl, look at the two of them, they went to bed late last night and won't get up today. No matter how I call them, they won't get up."
Le Jin smiled, her eyes crinkling, "I came here to see them."
She lifted her skirt and ran to the bedside, patting the small blanket that Yuan Muze had wrapped himself up tightly.
"Didn't the young prince and princess promise me they'd behave? If they don't keep their promise, there won't be any bunny ice lanterns next time..."
With a "whoosh," the blanket was thrown off, and two children rushed towards Le Jin, one hugging her arm and the other wrapping their arms around her shoulders.
No, no, no!
Le Jin couldn't stop smiling; their soft voices sounded like two kittens meowing.
With her around, the two children were exceptionally obedient, obediently opening their arms to let the servants dress them.
Le Jin knew that a small ice lamp was nothing special to the prince and princess and had no appeal in itself. It was only because Le Jin accompanied them every day that the ice lamp had a precious value.
After the two children finished washing up, they were led by Liu's mother towards the clan school, with Liu looking back every three steps.
Le Jin leaned against the door and waved to them slightly, a hint of reluctance in her smile.
It's not just that they like her; if it weren't for these two little ones, Le Jin wouldn't know what to do.
Yuanfang, though from a privileged class, receives a steady stream of money every day without lifting a finger. Such a life was something Lejin had never dared to dream of before, and now that she was living it, she was still adjusting. They had only been married a few days, but their days seemed like blank sheets of paper piled on the corner of the table, making them feel inexplicably wasted.
She watched the two small figures until they disappeared from sight, when suddenly a surprised voice rang in her ears: "What are you doing here?"
Le Jin turned her head and saw that the servants had secretly gone to find Jiang Yingyun early in the morning because they found the prince and princess too difficult to deal with.
"I played with the two kids too much yesterday and knew they wouldn't be able to get up, so I came over to call them. The one who tied the knot must untie it."
Le Jin smiled gently and sweetly, her clean face like a hibiscus flower, reflecting the snow in the courtyard with a pure white halo.
Jiang Yingyun's tense nerves relaxed instantly. She rubbed her forehead, pressed her temples, sighed with a smile, and stood with Le Jin.
The thin layer of snow in the courtyard was trampled into mud by the servants and maids coming and going.
"I really don't know what I would do if it weren't for you today."
“Jingming is helping out at the Meng family, and I’m busy here. I don’t know how crazy those two little brats will get if they take advantage of the situation.”
The two looked at each other and smiled.
The dark circles under Jiang Yingyun's eyes resembled two small dark clouds, raining down a drizzle of worries.
She's been working so hard these past few days, running between the Prince's Mansion, the Meng Mansion, and her own winery and distillery—seven or eight places in a row. Le Jin even suspects she has another alter ego.
"Actually, I envy you..."
Before Le Jin could finish speaking, a maid suddenly led in a middle-aged woman who respectfully greeted Jiang Yingyun.
"This is Aunt Xu, who manages the distillery."
After Jiang Yingyun finished introducing herself to Le Jin, she cleared her throat and asked Aunt Xu what was wrong.
Aunt Xu rubbed her hands, her eyes gleaming: "The wineries in Qingxi Town, once winter comes, either the girls get sick or they go out of business. The wineries can still hold on for now, but if they don't have enough manpower in a few more days..."
Jiang Yingyun frowned and questioned her, "Every winter there are subsidies, and cotton clothes and rice have all been distributed. How come people are still getting sick over there this year?"
Most of the employees at Jiang Yingyun's winery are women, and in previous years, there had never been a situation where a large number of them fell ill.
"I don't know either. Illness doesn't discriminate when it comes to people. There are many cases where one person gets sick and another gets sick as well."
How many people are needed right now?
"I counted, and there are twelve or thirteen."
"Are you still able to recruit people?"
"We're already recruiting! It's just that the new recruits aren't very skilled yet, so we estimate that this year's production in Qingxi Town will be significantly lower."
Jiang Yingyun shook her head. "Don't worry, we'll reduce the dosage in Qingxi so the girls can rest and recover. I want them to have a peaceful and safe New Year."
Yes, yes, yes.
"Um...can I go to a brewery that's short-staffed?"
Jiang Yingyun and Aunt Xu looked at Le Jin, and both of them paused for a moment.
Le Jin's hands and feet moved awkwardly, pawing and drawing randomly in the air. "Since you're hiring, you might as well hire me. I'm just an idle person anyway."
She chuckled, as if she had returned to the days when she was begging for a living from various bosses, but it was also quite different from those days.
Aunt Xu looked her up and down several times, her eyes full of suspicion.
"A distillery is not a place for idle people."
"Alright, then you may go."
Aunt Xu was surprised, blinking frequently, not understanding why Jiang Yingyun accepted Le Jin.
——
"You want me to go check on the situation for you?"
Jiang Yingyun nodded. "I suspect..." She took Le Jin's hand and wrote the word "greed" in her palm.
“When I built the factory, I specifically hired more women. Over the years, I have given them generous subsidies every winter. There is no reason for this to happen suddenly this year.”
Le Jin's eyes darted around, and she immediately understood.
It's estimated that someone embezzled the subsidy, and coincidentally, the first snow of the year came early, leaving the girls unprepared and freezing cold.
Le Jin had seen plenty of things where things were thrown out from above and then blocked in the middle; she hated such people and things so much she gritted her teeth.
She patted her chest and said, "Okay! I'll go and find out for you."
A small flame ignited in her heart, and Le Jin felt warm all over, as if stepping on the snow could melt it.
She was overjoyed; she now had a place in the world.
However, someone was shocked and looked depressed, indicating that he was unhappy.
"Who agreed to this? Who asked me? What kind of newlywed couple separates???"
At night, Yuanfang wrapped his arms around Lejin's waist, protecting her like a precious treasure.
"I'm just going there temporarily in place of my cousin-in-law; I'm not really staying there. Aren't we still going to travel the world? I remember!"
Le Jin patted Yuan Fang Sui's hand, telling him to loosen his grip. But instead, he hugged her even tighter, as if he wanted to stuff Le Jin into his arms.
"Then take me with you!"
"It would be too inconvenient to take you there; it's mostly girls there."
Yuanfang gritted his teeth in anger, making two "clucking" sounds, and bit Le Jin's earlobe, making her laugh out loud, "Ouch, ouch!"
He whispered in her ear, gritting his teeth, "Le Jin, you've abandoned your husband and your king!"
"No, no."
Seeing that he was really angry, Le Jin patted the back of his neck and said sweetly, "How could you bear to?" Then she picked up his puffed-up face and gave him a kiss, demonstrating that she really couldn't bear to.
Yuanfang's resentment and jealousy vanished in an instant, replaced by a kind of pathetic satisfaction.
"Well, well... whatever you want. I'll come pick you up once I've arranged the route south."
"Um!"
Le Jin nodded emphatically, her smile bright and radiant as the red candles flickered.
Yuanfang reached out and wrapped his arms around her neck, tilting his chin up to meet hers, his lips gently caressing hers, their intense affection transforming into a deafening heartbeat.
Le Jin was dizzy from the kisses, feeling as if she were lying on a cloud. In her hazy state, she saw Yuan Fang roll over onto her, unbuttoning her clothes one button at a time, and kissing the spot every time a button was undone.
He was incredibly gentle tonight. Le Jin hugged his full, strong shoulders, feeling a sudden surge of warmth in her heart.
She has things to do and people to love. Her life is gradually becoming more real, like planting many seeds and just waiting for them to ripen and bear fruit.
Le Jin smiled, and Yuan Fang, seeing this, leaned over and kissed the corner of her mouth.
"What are you laughing at?"
When he asked, she laughed even harder, wrapping her sweaty arms around Yuan Fangsui's waist.
"I just want to laugh."
Yuanfang raised a long eyebrow, supported Le Jin's waist with his arm, and turned over to change his position.
He looked up at Le Jin on his body, his hands on her waist, his eyes filled with tender affection.
"Laugh, laugh even harder, you look beautiful when you laugh."
——
Qingxi Town is a small town about 20 miles from Luoyang. There is a clear stream here with excellent water quality, which is why Jiang Yingyun built the winery here.
When we arrived in the town, it started snowing heavily, so much so that we could hardly see the road ahead.
Le Jin's heart sank. In this situation, wouldn't the sick girl be in an even worse condition?
Aunt Xu led her to her lodgings and prepared a table full of delicious food. However, Le Jin simply took two steamed buns and put them in her pocket, asking, "Auntie, which of the sick girls lives closest to here?"
The two trekked through the wind and snow, visiting both families in one day.
One family lived in a nice brick house, with medicine simmering on the stove; the other family was in a much worse situation, living in a thatched hut, and the young woman was constantly coughing, with no sign of her bringing back medicine. However, the two little girls around her bed were dressed cleanly and warmly, clearly children raised with care.
The girl said that the two were her younger sisters. Although the wages at the winery were generous, their parents had both passed away, and she was supporting her two sisters on her own, so life was still very difficult.
These words were like needles, each one pricking Le Jin and making her want to cry.
She comforted the three sisters and left them extra money so that the girl could get medicine and not try to tough it out.
The snow continued on the way back, but this time, when the snowflakes hit Le Jin's face, she felt nothing.
"Aunt Xu, are there girls from impoverished families working at the distillery? How many?"
"Oh, there are so many! If it weren't for poverty, what girl would come to work at the winery!"
Having received this answer, Le Jin walked on silently through the wind and snow.
Perhaps she should tell Jiang Yingyun about this as well. The family is really struggling; could the Prince's Mansion offer some assistance...?
As she was pondering this, and just as she was about to return to her residence, Le Jin suddenly kicked something, yelled, and fell into the snow.
Aunt Xu quickly helped her up, and when the two of them turned around, they saw a man lying in the snow.
The heavy snow covered his body and face. Le Jin couldn't wake him up, so she had to squat down and brush the snow off his face.
However, once the white snow was wiped away, it was revealed that half of the man's face, which had no unusual features, was burned, leaving an ugly scar the size of a palm. This frightened Le Jin so much that she sat back down.
The man seemed to regain consciousness, and his swollen, purplish-red hands tugged at Le Jin's clothes.
"Help...help me..."
His voice was low and suppressed, as if he were about to breathe his last.
Aunt Xu said, "Girl, this person is about to freeze to death!"
Le Jin glanced at the man, then at the house not far away, and looked up at Aunt Xu, her eyes anxious yet resolute, shining like stars.
"Auntie, lend a hand, let's carry him back. He's a perfectly healthy life, we can't just stand by and watch him die."
-----------------------
Author's Note: It's a pity Ah Jin doesn't know that you shouldn't pick up men on the street, because you don't know if they're human or ghost. [dog head with rose in hand]
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