106 Chapter 106
◎The Year of the Flower◎
Wanli sharpened the knife, Guier walked to the kitchen and took a look. He used a dagger to slaughter the sheep and a knife to cut the meat.
"It needs to be placed at this angle..."
"Grind along this way."
Guier showed him how to sharpen the knife.
While Cao Bai and the other man were boiling water, Li Yan removed the door panel, cleaned it with a straw, and then spread half of the pork on it.
Gui'er rolled up her sleeves and said, "Move aside, I'll divide the meat."
Guier picked up the knife Wanli had sharpened and tried it out. "It's almost there."
She drove Wanli down from the bench and personally fetched water to sharpen the knife.
"Go and slaughter the sheep."
The sheep was eating the rope that tied it up. Wanli untied the rope, and the sheep started eating Wanli's clothes. Wanli turned around and slapped the sheep twice, saying, "You eat everything!"
Li Yan chuckled, and Wanli asked him to hold the sheep down.
The sheep cried out in a hoarse voice.
"Wait!" Cao Bai felt a little reluctant, "Wait a moment before killing. I'll go take a look first."
Wanli: "What is he looking at?"
Gui Ze said, "A mad woman."
Cao Bai opened the door and saw the crazy woman squatting under the wall opposite. She stood up out of fear at his presence.
"Go, go, go!" Cao Bai shouted at her.
The crazy woman didn't move, and Cao Bai pretended to hit her, so she took two steps in fear.
She heard the bleating of sheep from the house, and she stopped again, looking eagerly in the direction of the sound.
Soon, the sheep's cry became shrill, and then stopped abruptly.
Tears welled up in the mad woman's eyes and she fell down, looking at the blurry sky.
She is wearing thin clothes, is too cold, and has lost feeling on half of her body. Let's take her with us.
"Little Dad, she's still breathing, she's not dead."
When Xiao Liu and the others came back, they saw the person collapsed at the foot of the wall. Mu Yun stopped them from getting close. Xiao Liu leaned forward to see clearly, "Daddy, she's alive! Huh?"
Mu Yun also recognized her. This was the butcher's wife.
He just glanced back at the two children. Xiaoliu immediately took out a Hu pancake and Muyun placed it on the woman. "Let's go. Don't lie here."
The crazy woman's weak eyes fell on Xiaoliu's face, who kept looking back, and suddenly a trace of vitality was injected into them.
The freshly baked Hu Bing in the North Building is filled with meat and sprinkled with sesame seeds. It is fragrant and crispy, salty and fresh, and is perfect with dried fruit tea.
"Mom, do you know who we met when we went to buy Hu Bing?"
"who?"
"The grandmother and young lady from the village head's family who came to our house a few days ago."
"oh?"
The Hu Bing they brought back were distributed to everyone, and Cheng Mu heated up the remaining two on a small red clay stove.
"They were talking to Xiaodie and wanted to invite us to sit upstairs, but Xiaodie refused. They wanted to give us the Hu Bing, but Xiaodie didn't want it either."
The last time they came to the house, they didn’t see Mu Yun, but this time... they saw him.
"Hmm." Cheng Mu asked Xiao Liu, "Do you want to eat more?"
"Eat it, Mom. Xiao Qi and I finished eating while we were standing there waiting for the guys to pack it up. I'm going to go help Aunt Gui pickle the meat."
Xiaoliu ran out and came back, "Mom, there's something I forgot to tell you."
She told Cheng Mu about the crazy woman at the door.
After eating the Hu Bing, Cheng Mu went to the door to take a look and found it was still there.
She was holding the cold Hu pancake and biting it.
"Madam Cheng?" Wanli glanced outside. "I'll chase her away."
"Forget it, she will leave sooner or later."
In the evening, a group of people sat around the charcoal fire with a faint flame. The meat on the grill crackled and the aroma filled the air, making people's mouths water.
Cheng Mu prepared dried fruit tea, but Guier insisted on drinking it as she had been craving it for a long time.
Wanli asked her how much she could drink, and Guier said she wouldn't get drunk after drinking a hundred cups. "How about we have a competition?"
"No, no, no, you just came out of confinement."
Guier picked up the cup and said, "From now on, I will get angry with anyone who mentions confinement. From now on, I, Zhao Guier, and you are all brothers."
Cao Bai teased, "You don't want to be a good woman, you want to be a man?"
Gui Er toasted Cheng Mu, "Madam Cheng, from now on I will wear men's clothes. I can do everything Mu Yun can do. From now on I will be a man."
Mu Yun, who was grilling meat silently, paused for a moment and glanced at Cheng Mu inconspicuously.
"You're already drunk before you even start drinking?" Cheng Mu smiled bitterly and said angrily, "To act like a husband, it's not about wearing men's clothes, competing in drinking, but about being worthy of heaven and earth."
Xiao Qi recited word by word: "Looking up, I am not ashamed of heaven; looking down, I am not ashamed of people."
Li Yan praised: "Seventh Young Master has literary talent."
Gui Ze looked up and asked, "What do you mean?"
Cheng Mu explained: "Ups and downs are our every move, and heaven and earth are morality and conscience. This sentence means that people should be like pine trees, with straight spines, and act like rivers, flowing freely. They should not deceive in secret, but be open and honest."
Several escorts agreed deeply and nodded continuously.
Gui'er knocked on her wine glass. "Are you all learning here? We're all rough people. Let's drink! Eat meat! Let's play finger-guessing games for fun. Do you want to play?"
Everyone laughed and started to make a noise.
Halfway through the meal, Xiaoliu and Xiaoqi felt sleepy, so they washed their hands, rinsed their mouths, and scalded their feet by the stove. Cheng Mu then took them to bed.
After Wanli finished releasing the water, he opened the door and took a look, muttering, "Why is it still there?"
When they got back and talked about it, Gui Ze asked, "What did Madam Cheng say first? The one about heaven and earth?" Cao Bai added, "Moral conscience."
Gui Ze said, "Yes, you should have a conscience. This is her sheep, let her have a taste." Gui Ze stood up and filled a bowl with the roasted meat. "Eat it and teach her that humans are humans and animals are animals."
Today, they were going to get clothes. Cheng Mu woke up Xiaoliu and Xiaoqi. Guier came out of the room and stretched herself.
Her face was pale and her eyes were slightly hazy. Cheng Mu asked, "How long did you drink yesterday?"
Gui Er had a slight hangover headache, but she didn't want Cheng Mu to nag her, so she said nonchalantly, "It wasn't long before they finished the wine and left."
"That's a jar."
"When are you guys going out? Wait for me, I'm going to wash my face!"
A few bowls of fried flour and some dried fruits make a simple breakfast. Cheng Mu also made some fruit tea for Guier to sober her up.
Since Gui'er was accompanying him, he didn't plan to bring a bodyguard with him.
When they went out, they didn't see the crazy woman. Perhaps she couldn't stand the cold night and left.
When they arrived at Yuan's clothing store, the shopkeeper went to pick up the clothes prepared for Xiaoliu and Xiaoqi, and Guier wanted to see some men's clothes.
She had a broad figure and could hold up men's clothes, so she quickly chose two sets.
Xiaoliu and Xiaoqi's clothes were made according to their preferences. They were in high spirits and started playing and having fun after putting them on.
Cheng Mu paid the bill and when she was about to leave, she ran into Wang Bingren.
"Madam Cheng, wait a moment, may I have a word with you?"
Wang Bingren led the two women to the clothing store and cordially asked Yuan Ying to go and greet them, fearing that someone else had come to visit.
Wang Bingren asked for a secluded room, and Cheng Mu asked Guier to look after the two children outside.
Because Wang Bingren was rejected, Wang Bingren wanted to find out the truth.
"Whose wife has your young master chosen?"
Cheng Mu folded her hands and said politely, "His mother is in Yunzhou City, so I won't worry about him."
Wang Bingren didn't know their relationship yet and was a little confused. "Your mother-in-law?"
"No. He just recognizes my husband as his elder brother. We are not from the same clan. I have taken care of him since he was a child, so our friendship is different."
"Oh, so that's how it is. Madam Cheng, you're right not to care." Wang Bingren stopped insisting on finding a wife for Mu Yun, but felt a little sorry. "Uncle's temperament and appearance have attracted many women. Alas, I have so many of them, but none of them are destined to be with me. I don't know which one of them will be chosen by Yunzhou City in the future."
"Let the Iceman worry about it."
"I'm actually worried about that—" Wang Bingren's eyes roamed over her. "When was Madam Cheng born?"
Cheng Mu was not used to recording events using era names. "I am twenty-three years old this year."
"Oh, you're in your prime!" Wang Bingren smiled in an intriguing way, and Cheng Mu felt inexplicably uneasy.
Wang Bingren held her hand and asked lovingly, "Madam Cheng's husband passed away before he even saw his two children, didn't he?" Seeing her nod, Wang Bingren sighed, "He's unlucky. He can't enjoy such a good wife. Madam Cheng, your happiness is yet to come."
Cheng Mu smiled awkwardly, but then she said, "Trust me, I will definitely find you a good family and let you live happily."
Cheng Mu declined the offer, "Please don't make fun of me, Bingren. I just want to raise my two children well and have no intention of remarrying."
"You're still young, and you have a lot of life ahead of you! Listen to me, Auntie. While you're still young, find yourself a shelter and have a few more babies."
Cheng Mu hoped she would give up the idea quickly. "I have two children, I'm not good at housework, I'm not good at needlework, and I don't know how to respect my parents-in-law. Wang Bingren, please stop wasting your time on me."
Wang Bingren shook his head repeatedly. "None of this matters. You just need to clean up. Most women can't compare to you. You, your man left early, and you don't know those men. They value appearance very much. Just listen to me. I won't say much to you today. Go back and think about what I say. When I find the right one, I will come back to find you."
Without waiting for Cheng Mu to say anything, she left first.
After leaving the inner room, Gui'er came up to ask, "What were you talking about? I heard that girl is the Iceman? Is she going to propose marriage to you?"
Cheng Xi smiled helplessly, and Gui Er exclaimed, "She really wants to tell you someone! Did she? Which family?"
"No, she has this idea, I don't have this plan."
Cheng Mu stopped her from talking and gestured for her to go home.
Wang Bingren asked Cheng Mu to think carefully about her suggestion, but Cheng Mu didn't take it to heart at all. However, Guier couldn't help but think that Madam Cheng could definitely remarry, so what would happen if she remarried?
When they were buying candied haws on the road, Xiaoliu quietly pulled Cheng Mu's sleeve and said, "Mom, look."
The crazy woman who was in front of the house yesterday had caught up with them again at some point.
They didn't even notice that she followed them when they went to Yuan's clothing store?
Without lingering on the street, they went straight home. When they arrived at the gate of the house, Cheng Mu asked the two children to go in first.
"Gui'er, invite her over to talk."
Cheng Mu entered the lobby and Wanli brought her a stool, which she gestured to be placed at the door.
"Madam Cheng, that's a crazy woman. What do you want to know? Let's ask."
Everyone said she was a crazy woman. Cheng Mu asked Wan Li, "How do you know she is crazy?"
Wanli thought for a moment, "Cao Bai and the others said that the woman's husband said so."
Gui'er forced people to come, and the woman didn't dare to go forward, so Gui'er chased her from behind.
Her hair was disheveled, covering her face, and her clothes were tattered, with holes showing that they were filled with wool.
"Why are you following us?"
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