Chapter 148 Destitute
Yun Li, who had been sitting quietly in the back without making a sound, immediately buried her head like a quail when she heard Yu Qingci mention her affairs, and seemed completely lifeless.
Looking at Lu Yunbing, he seemed unconcerned.
Indeed, it is said that Lu Yunli's marriage is completely hopeless, and the Wu family sent a matchmaker to take back the betrothal letter.
As for Lu Yunbing, since the Wang family is marrying an unfavored illegitimate daughter, the engagement hasn't been called off. Moreover, Madam Ma is particularly troublesome, so it won't be easy for the Wang family to break off the engagement. However, the Wang family's current attitude towards this marriage is not very positive.
After talking for a while, the children in the hall gradually became restless. Qian Ge'er and Huai Ge'er were the first to get up and start playing. With them taking the lead, the other children naturally joined in quickly, and the large main hall became even noisier.
Lu Yun Chu secretly walked up to Yun Li when no one was paying attention, poked her arm with her finger, and Lu Yun Li looked up. When she saw that it was her cousin Yun Chu, she smiled shyly.
Lu Yun Chu winked at her, and the two sisters held hands and secretly slipped out.
Yu Qingci pretended not to see it. Her cousin Yun Li was so quiet back in the General's Mansion that she was practically invisible. Now that she finally had a chance to go out, she let the sisters have a proper chat.
After socializing for a while, Madam Ning excused herself and went back to rest.
As the mistress of the house, Yu Qingci could not abandon them. Seeing that these people were still eating and drinking and showed no sign of leaving, she had no choice but to instruct Granny Pei to prepare another dinner.
It wasn't until after dinner, when it was already dark, that everyone was full and ready to leave. Before leaving, Madam Wei and Madam Ma, along with several of their wives, packed up the snacks and leftover wine on the table and took them with them.
Old Madam Ning and Yu Qingci pretended not to see it, while Granny Wang, Granny Pei, and the others exchanged bitter smiles. These people are becoming more and more shameless, even eyeing such a small gain.
As snow fell heavily in the dead of night, the bustling capital city quieted down, with only the occasional crackling of firecrackers breaking the silence.
Located in a secluded, low-lying alley, where all the neighbors were fast asleep, the sound of a woman's intermittent, sorrowful weeping could be heard from one of the houses.
"Xiao Wu, my poor Xiao Bao, his father, please think of something! The child has had several seizures. What will happen if the fever continues? Xiao Wu is our only son. We can't let anything happen to him."
In the simple courtyard, the kerosene lamp in the main house never went out. A middle-aged woman with a sorrowful and sallow face looked at the man who had just returned from outside with tears streaming down her face.
The man, afraid that the cold on his body would affect his wife and children, stood under the eaves and shook off the snow from his head and body before coming in. But as soon as he entered, he heard his wife crying anxiously.
The man disregarded everything else and walked quickly to the bedside to check on the child wrapped in the quilt.
The woman's voice rang out again: "Dad, have you borrowed any money? The child's illness really can't be delayed any longer."
This man is Yue Wu, and the woman beside him is his wife, Yue Liu Shi.
Yue Wu's trembling hand lightly touched his son's forehead before quickly removing it. He frowned and said, "Didn't your fever break this afternoon? Why has it come back?"
The woman said, "The child's illness has been dragging on for so long, and we don't have money to buy medicine, so of course he won't get better on his own. He developed a fever just a short while after you left."
Seeing her husband's distressed expression, the woman knew he hadn't managed to borrow the money, and a wave of disappointment washed over her as tears welled up in her eyes again.
Yue Wu said with difficulty, "Search the house again and see if there's anything you can pawn."
The woman shook her head: "We've looked through it several times. Everything that could be pawned has been pawned. What's left is just junk that the pawnshop doesn't want."
After a moment of silence, the woman said again, "The child's illness really can't be delayed any longer. You should go and beg the shopkeeper tomorrow if he can advance some wages. Or I'll go with you tomorrow, kowtow to them, and beg them to have some compassion and lend us some money to save the child."
Yue Wu frowned even more. He had tried to plead with the shopkeeper before, but the shopkeeper wouldn't listen to him finish speaking and had him thrown out.
He was a brewing master at the Qiao family's winery, and he had worked there for more than ten years. Logically speaking, the family would usually give him some face as a craftsman.
But the Qiao family was no ordinary family. The head of the family was a high-ranking official in the court, with deep roots in the government. They also had a daughter who married into the Nanping Earl's Mansion and became the head of the household. In the capital, the Qiao family was a prominent and powerful family.
But what does the master’s nobility have to do with them, the lowest-level laborers? Yue Wu has worked in Qiao’s winery for so many years, working diligently and never daring to slack off, but his wages have never increased, and he is often cheated by the manager and never gets his wages. He has always lived a frugal life.
As if things weren't bad enough, my son suddenly caught a cold and fell ill. I thought that drinking a few bowls of ginger soup and resting for a day or two would be enough, as usual, but this time the ginger soup had no effect at all, and his condition was getting worse.
The couple cherished their only son, and upon seeing the situation, they hurriedly took out all the money they had to take him to see a doctor. Unfortunately, the medicine had no effect whatsoever.
The money ran out quickly, and he even borrowed some from his neighbors to send to the clinic, but the child's illness got worse and worse. He went out again today to borrow money, but unfortunately, he walked around for most of the day and didn't get a single penny.
Looking at his son, whose face was flushed from the fever on the kang (heated brick bed), he hesitated for a long time before finally saying:
"You stay home and take good care of the children. I'll go and kowtow to them alone tomorrow. It's the New Year, so maybe the shopkeeper will take pity on me and lend me some money."
The next morning, Yue Wu went to Qiao Family Winery again, bypassing the front shops and going directly to the back door.
The distillery was closed for the past few days due to the Lunar New Year, and most of the staff had gone home. However, he knew that the owner's family lived in the backyard, so he came directly here to knock on the door.
The door opened quickly, and the person inside tried to close it as soon as they saw him, but Yue Wu hurriedly reached out to stop them, pleading:
"Uncle Wang, please tell the manager that my child is very sick. Please lend me some money. It will be deducted from my wages after I start work. I have worked in the distillery for so many years and I would never default on my debt. I kowtow to him."
The gatekeeper sighed deeply and said, "You've come several times already, and I've informed him before. The manager said to go back to where you came from. He doesn't have time to see you. Even if you kneel here to your death, it won't do any good."
Also, the steward from Vice Minister Qiao's residence is here today and is drinking with the shopkeeper. The shopkeeper has no time for you, so hurry up and leave. If you disturb the steward, you'll be in even more trouble.
After saying that, he was about to close the door again when Yue Wu panicked. He suddenly pushed the gatekeeper away with all his might and ran inside. The gatekeeper shouted after him in a hurry.
Soon a commotion erupted in the courtyard.
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