Chapter 45
After a bumpy journey, we finally arrived in Yu County.
Yu Ying asked Uncle Chen to deliver the jelly to the restaurant, while she took her sister-in-law straight to the county government office.
Nowadays, people are both in awe of and wary of the county government office, so they tend to avoid it. When they have problems, they usually ask the village head for help, and then the head goes to the county government office.
Yu Ying could see that her sister-in-law was also afraid, so she asked her sister-in-law to wait outside the yamen while she went there.
But compared to being afraid, my sister-in-law seemed to be more afraid of being alone, so she had no choice but to follow me.
After Yu Ying told the servant outside the yamen that she wanted to find yamen runner Huo, the servant immediately went to pass on the message.
After a while, Yachai Huo came out of the yamen.
Because this woman was very thoughtful in all matters concerning the return trip to the quarry, and she was not a difficult person to deal with, Huo Yacha was willing to give her some face.
Yu Ying placed her hands on her abdomen and nodded slightly towards Huo Yachai, being very polite.
Huo Yacha asked, "What's the matter, Madam Yu?"
Yu Ying replied, "It's unbearably hot today. I made some ice cream and left it with Manager Chen at Wu's Restaurant. Clerk Huo will fetch it at noon for you officials to cool down."
Huo Yachai was a seasoned man after all, and he could tell that the woman wanted to talk to him about something else, so he walked down the stairs and moved away from the gatekeeper.
Yu Ying also followed.
Huo Yacha glanced at the woman behind her, then looked back at Madam Yu without much concern and asked, "What does Madam Yu want to say?"
Yu Ying said, "There are indeed two things I want to ask Chief Huo."
Huo Yacha said calmly, "Go on."
"First, I want to rent a few acres of land in Lingshui Village. How do I file a registration?"
Huo Yacha said, "Just find the head of your Lingshui Village." After a moment's thought, he added, "In a few days, the heads of each village will come to the yamen to report their populations. I'll then remind the head of Lingshui Village to allocate you a few acres of good land."
Yu Ying smiled and said, "Thank you, Mr. Huo."
Since it was just a casual remark about the farmland and not a big deal, Huo Yacha didn't take it too seriously.
"Another incident is that a woman from the same village, when I went to the quarry to pick up my brother and his wife, falsely accused me of eloping or having an affair. She even took advantage of the fact that my nephew was alone at home with his elderly family and children, and violently assaulted him. I'm wondering if this situation can be reported to the police?"
Wen Xing, who was following behind, was extremely shocked when she heard that her sister-in-law had actually reported the matter to the government office.
When my sister-in-law said yesterday that she was going to the government office to sue Aunt Cuilan and the others, Wen Xing, like everyone else, thought she was just trying to scare Aunt Cuilan and didn't expect that my sister-in-law was serious.
When Huo Yacha heard what Madam Yu said, he frowned.
Gossips are everywhere. There is no telling how many murders have been caused by gossips in Yu County. Even so, if the matter is not a big deal, it is really difficult to deal with it.
Huo Yacha said, "At most, we'll give you a warning or two, but the county magistrate won't officially accept the case."
Although it will not be formally accepted, the warning will be enough to make Aunt Cuilan frightened for a long time.
Yu Ying had an idea in mind.
She had a general understanding of the character of this yamen runner Huo based on her experience in redeeming her elder brother and sister-in-law.
Although the yamen is not a clean pool, and although Huo Yachai will also make money from it, fortunately he will still get the job done after taking the money.
Thinking of this, Yu Ying had an idea in mind.
She said, "She originally wanted to extort a hundred coins from me and then make my nephew kneel and kowtow to her son. But she was clearly the one who insulted me first and even hit my nephew. I was so angry that I asked her to pay me a hundred coins as well. If she refused, I would report her to the government. But she obviously knew the government would not accept the case, so she continued to make such a fuss, which made me angry."
At this point, Yu Ying looked up at the yamen runner and said slowly, "If a warning or two can get that woman to pay a hundred coins and apologize, I will give that hundred coins to the yamen as money for the officials' carriages, horses, and tea."
When Huo Yacha heard the last sentence, his brows twitched slightly, and he confirmed again: "Are you really willing to pay the compensation to the Yamen?"
Yu Ying nodded and replied, "If the government intervenes and frightens that woman into admitting her fault, I'll have vented my anger. Silver or not won't matter."
Huo Yachai pressed his sword, thought for a moment, and said, "This gossipy woman has no respect for the yamen and speaks without restraint. To prevent her from causing more serious trouble in the future, I will go to Lingshui Village tomorrow morning to warn her and ask her to apologize to you."
After a pause, he added, "Tell me in detail what family that woman is from and what her name is."
When Yu Ying went to the He family yesterday, she had already found out all the details about Aunt Cuilan, so she told it clearly now.
When leaving the yamen, Wen Xing was still in shock and trance.
It took her a long time to come back to her senses. She lowered her voice and said, "Sister-in-law, I thought you were just trying to scare Aunt Cuilan when you said you were going to file a complaint with the government."
Yu Ying smiled and explained, "The more everyone thinks I was just trying to scare her, the more I'm going to file a real complaint. That way, I can frighten the people of Lingshui Village, and no one else will dare to bully our Fu family anymore."
Of course, Yu Ying’s thoughts were not limited to this, she had other ideas.
When she delivered 500 kilograms of medicinal herbs in October, word would surely reach several medical clinics. If she didn't have any connections by then, she would be completely defeated when several medical clinics joined forces to resist her, with no power to fight back.
And now if we let this yamen runner Huo help deal with Aunt Cuilan, others will think that she has a friendship with the yamen runner and has some connection with the yamen. Then we will have to think carefully before dealing with her.
Yu Ying was thinking to herself. After a few breaths, she came back to her senses and found that her sister-in-law had not caught up with her.
Turning her head to look back, she saw her sister-in-law looking at her in a daze.
Yu Ying asked, "Sister-in-law, what's wrong?"
Wen Xing gradually came back to her senses, knowing that her sister-in-law's method would definitely be effective. She stared at her sister-in-law with eyes that seemed to sparkle with light, and exclaimed, "Sister-in-law, you are so smart and amazing."
When she was in Lingshui Village, she knew that Aunt Cuilan was a powerful character. The whole Lingshui Village knew that Aunt Cuilan was difficult and shameless, so no one wanted to have anything to do with Aunt Cuilan.
Yu Ying felt a little embarrassed by her sister-in-law's praise and changed the subject, "Let's not talk about this for now. Let's go buy the fabric first."
Wen Xing nodded repeatedly, walked over quickly in small steps, and followed closely by her brother's wife.
The two sisters-in-law went to the fabric store. Yu Ying picked out an indigo fabric and asked, "Sister-in-law, what do you think of this color?"
Wen Xing nodded lightly: "It looks good."
"Then how much material do you think I'd need to make clothes for my brother?"
Wen Xing was stunned, her eyes wide with surprise. She quickly waved her hands and said, "Sister-in-law, you don't need to prepare clothes for us..." She paused for a moment, thinking of the clothes she was wearing, and then she quickly said, "I'll change them when I get home, wash them for my sister-in-law, and then return them."
Yu Ying said to her, "Don't misunderstand, sister-in-law. I'm buying fabric for you and your brother to make clothes now. You can pay me back when you earn money from your work. It's not like I won't pay you back, right?"
Wen Xing said, "Even though I say that, I haven't paid back the money I paid back yet, and I have to spend my sister-in-law's money again. I feel uneasy." At the end of her words, she glanced at the work being done to entertain other guests and whispered to her sister-in-law, "Why don't we just make do with it for now and come back to buy it when we earn more money?"
Yu Ying thought for a moment and then changed the question: "Then let's not ask how much cloth it takes for Big Brother to make clothes. I'm just asking how much cloth it takes for Erlang to make a set of clothes."
Fu Wei's several sets of clothes were brought from Wuling County in April and May. The weather in Wuling County was still a bit cool at that time, and those clothes were a bit thick in this hot summer.
Hearing that it was the second brother, Wen Xing breathed a sigh of relief, then thought carefully and asked, "How tall is the second brother?"
Yu Ying had never seen Fu Wei stand up and was not sure how tall he was, but when she examined his legs, she knew that judging from the length of his calves, he should be about the same height as her elder brother.
Yu Ying said, "Although not as strong as you, he should be about the same height as you."
Wen Xing thought for a moment, then gave an approximate size for a short-sleeved shirt and trousers: "The top is about nine feet long, and the trousers are about four feet and five inches long."
Yu Ying asked again, "How much fabric would I need for something like this?"
Wen Xing looked up and down, left and right, and thought for a while before answering.
With these two sizes, Yu Ying made a quick calculation and knew how much cloth to buy for her elder brother and sister-in-law.
Yu Ying planned to make two more sets of summer clothes for Fu Wei, and then two sets for her elder brother and sister-in-law.
Yu Ying felt that if she moved any more violently, the old clothes her elder brother and sister-in-law had worn at the quarry would be torn apart.
It is definitely not okay to dress like this, so I have to make two sets of clothes for changing.
As for her, Fu'an and Funing, and Luo's clothes, they would wait until the medicinal herbs were sold and the weather got cooler before making thicker ones, which would save them some money.
Yu Ying pulled out a lot of cloth, and Wen Xing felt something was wrong. This was clearly enough cloth to make six or seven sets of clothes, which was too much.
But she thought that it was her sister-in-law's own money, and she could make as many clothes as she wanted, so she couldn't interfere.
After buying the cloth and needles and thread, Yu Ying asked the shopkeeper to sell her some leftover cloth at a lower price.
This trip to the cloth shop cost almost five hundred coins.
In order to redeem his elder brother and sister-in-law, Yu Ying had previously prepared eight taels of silver after conversion, and now there is still about three hundred coins left.
Now all the money is spent on buying cloth, and some is even subsidized.
Although she knew that every penny she spent was wisely spent, Yu Ying still felt that she was spending too lavishly and thought she had to save more in the future.
After buying the cloth, I bought an oil lamp, and then a small half box of eggs that could be kept for a long time. After thinking about it, I bought a few pounds of flour and ten pounds of rice.
Although she didn't buy the meat, Yu Ying still bought a few pork ribs to make soup to nourish her body.
Although she did not take her elder brother and sister-in-law's pulse, Yu Ying could tell from the two examinations of observation and auscultation that their physical condition was not very good.
After buying everything, I returned to Wu Ji Restaurant.
Since she hadn't come for a few days, Manager Chen hadn't counted the money. Only after she came did he settle the money for the past few days.
Three days' worth of silver was only sixty or seventy coins, and that was only when there was lychee ice cream. After a few days, when there was no lychee ice cream, I guess there wouldn't even be twenty coins left per day.
Shopkeeper Chen said, "The novelty has worn off, and not many people are coming to try it anymore. We'll have to make smaller quantities in the future."
Hearing this, Yu Ying secretly breathed a sigh of relief. She had expected that the ice cream business would not be good for too long, but being able to maintain an income of ten cents a day was already very good.
Shopkeeper Chen continued, "Although it's not selling as well as before, this ice cream is unique to our restaurant. Those who want it still have to come to our shop. And some people even eat at our restaurant just to eat it, so they still have to keep getting it from Madam Yu. Madam Yu, please don't think the money is too little and stop making it."
Yu Ying is still very short of money now. Besides, she hardly has to take care of the jelly now, so how could she not continue to make it?
She smiled and replied, "As long as the restaurant continues to accept my ice cream, I will keep delivering it."
After talking for a while, Yu Ying told Manager Chen that at noon, Huo Yacha came to pick up the extra ice cream she had sent.
Then Yu Ying said goodbye to the shopkeeper Chen, bought two steamed buns with her sister-in-law to fill their stomachs, and waited to go back at noon.
Yu Ying wanted to discuss the matter of the crutch with the bamboo craftsman in detail, so she did not return to Lingshui Village but went directly to Chenjia Village.
Chenjia Village is much richer than Lingshui Village. At least what Yu Ying saw were no longer all thatched houses, but many adobe houses.
The bamboo bed was already made. It was bigger than the one that his elder brother and sister-in-law had previously used. According to the price paid by fellow villagers, Yu Ying spent sixty-five cents on it.
Thinking that Luo Shi still hadn't found a place to sleep, Yu Ying planned to order a single bamboo bed.
Upon hearing this, the bamboo craftsman brought out a single bamboo bed.
She said that they would usually send them to the city to sell, and these were the leftovers, so she would charge her thirty cents per piece.
Uncle Chen and the bamboo craftsman helped move the two bamboo beds onto the ox cart, and then returned to Lingshui Village.
The time they returned to Lingshui Village was about the same as when Yu Ying had returned from Yu County. Gazing from the oxcart at the village entrance, they saw two adults and one child standing there.
Who else could it be other than Fu Zhen and his two children?
Seeing her husband and children, Yu Ying's sister-in-law beside her immediately smiled and a faint dimple appeared on her cheek.
She raised her hand and waved forward, then said to Yu Ying beside her: "My dear sister-in-law, look, it's An An Ning Ning."
Uncle Chen wanted to deliver the bamboo bed to their home. Yu Ying and her sister-in-law got out of the car, carried An An and Ning Ning into the car, and then walked back together.
When the villagers saw the Fu family and the two bamboo beds on the ox cart, they couldn't help but secretly click their tongues, wondering how come the Fu family's life suddenly got better?
Not only did he immediately pick up Fu Dalang and his wife from the quarry, but he also bought two bamboo beds in one go. Where did all the money come from?
Could it be that Yu really dug up some Ganoderma lucidum or ginseng?
Yu Ying noticed the surprised looks from the others, but she didn't react in kind. Instead, she felt a bit wary. But thinking of the Fu family's eldest brother's physique and the shock he would cause tomorrow, the villagers were likely wary, and would think twice before attacking the Fu family.
When she returned to the door of her house, Mrs. Luo, who was cooking, heard the noise and quickly stuck her head out, squinting her eyes and looking outside the yard.
Faintly, she saw an ox cart parked outside her yard. She walked outside suspiciously, and only when she got closer did she see two bamboo beds on the ox cart.
Mrs. Luo was surprised and asked, "Didn't I only buy one bamboo bed? Why did they send two?"
Yu Ying explained: "I had been thinking about ordering it, and I bought it when it was available."
Fu Zhen was very strong and he moved the bamboo bed down by himself.
Uncle Chen confiscated Yu Ying's silver. As it was getting late, he took down the bamboo bed and went back.
The single bamboo bed was placed in the big room, and the double bamboo bed was placed in the small room.
But because there was a straw bed in the house, Fu Zhen carried Fu Wei outside the house and sat him down.
Yu Ying planned to clean up after sending Uncle Chen back, but when she came back, her sister-in-law and Fu An and Funing had already moved the straw bed outside the yard, and her eldest brother had also moved the bamboo bed into the house.
Yu Ying was also able to relax.
After these two days, she really felt a lot more relaxed.
Because it was still a little cool, we burned some grass in the yard to repel mosquitoes, moved the bamboo table outside, and ate in the yard.
This was Fu Wei's first time eating outside. Feeling the cool breeze, he felt much more relaxed.
While eating, Fu An suddenly mentioned: "Aunt, Aunt Cuilan is here today."
Yu Ying asked knowingly, "What is she doing here?"
Fu An smiled and said, "Aunt Cuilan's face and neck are all scratched, and there are many small bumps. Aunt Cuilan must be suffering retribution for this, but..."
Having said that, Fu An frowned again, looking very unhappy.
"But she kept saying that my aunt poisoned her and wanted to sue my aunt."
Fu Wei said calmly at this time: "There is no evidence, don't pay attention to her."
Fu An nodded and said, "I didn't talk to her either. She just dared to stand outside the yard, sometimes begging my aunt to help her get rid of the poison, and sometimes scolding my aunt for being vicious. When my father came back from cutting bamboo outside, she ran away in shame."
Mrs. Luo said from the side, "Don't worry, Liu Niang. Everyone in the village knows what kind of person she is. They definitely won't believe her nonsense."
Yu Ying responded calmly, "I'm not worried. I went to the yamen today and told the yamen runner about Aunt Cuilan."
Hearing her words, not only Luo was surprised, but Fu Zhen also showed a little surprise.
Before Yu Ying could say anything, Wen Xing beside her said urgently, "I originally thought your wife was just trying to scare Aunt Cuilan, but I didn't expect her to be telling the truth. She's quite capable, and she quickly persuaded the yamen runners to come to Lingshui Village to question Aunt Cuilan."
Upon hearing this, Fu Zhen looked at his wife who was shy and introverted when he went out in the morning, but now called her "brother's wife" all the time.
As he spoke, his eyes were bright and shining. It seemed that my wife really liked this brother's wife.
Yu Ying instructed: "Don't tell anyone about this yet, just wait."
Sister-in-law Wen Xing nodded the fastest, followed by Fu An and Fu Ning.
After dinner, the eldest sister-in-law took over the cleaning work and let Yu Ying rest.
It was dark, and there were oil lamps in the yard, illuminating the area around the bamboo table.
The family enjoyed the cool air under the endless night sky. The bright moon was rising, and the breeze brought the scent of grass and trees.
This is a rare comfort that Fu Zhen and his wife have experienced in many years.
This was also the first time that Fu Wei sat quietly with his "family" to enjoy the cool air and admire the moon, and he felt a subtle mood.
At this time, Fu Wei turned his head and looked at Yu Ying beside him.
Yu Ying noticed his gaze, turned around and smiled at him, then raised her head and looked at the sky.
Fu Wei's heartbeat slowed down when he saw that smile, and then he turned back quietly and sat with her to admire the moon.
After sitting for a while, they took turns to take a bath.
Yu Ying went to wash up, and Fu Wei quickly finished washing up with the help of Fu Zhen.
In the past, Fu Wei would not ask Fu Zhen for help, but now it is different from the past.
——Now he no longer sleeps alone.
When Yu Ying came back, Fu Wei had already changed into dry clothes and was sitting on the new bamboo bed.
Yu Ying looked at the clean and much more spacious Hsinchu bed and was in a very good mood.
She placed the oil lamp on the edge of the bamboo bed, then found a pile of scraps of cloth that she had bought cheaply today, and then sat on the edge of the bed to sew the scraps together.
"What are you doing?" Fu Wei asked.
Yu Ying, sewing under the oil lamp, replied, "I want to make a few pillowcases and put some hay inside."
Without a pillow, she didn't sleep that comfortably.
Fu Wei saw that she had a pile of scraps of fabric to sew, so he asked, "Do you have any needle and thread?"
Yu Ying was about to nod, but suddenly realized what was happening and turned to look at him: "Do you need a needle and thread to help me sew?"
Fu Wei nodded slightly: "Although it's not very big, it should still be sewn together."
Yu Ying didn't think that men couldn't do needlework. After all, whether in later generations or in this era, many tailors were men.
Besides, Fu Wei had nothing to do on weekdays, so it was a good opportunity for him to kill time by sewing scraps of cloth.
Yu Ying gave him the needle and thread in her hand, and then taught him how to sew in a gentle voice.
There were gentle whispers in his ears and white, slender hands in his sight. Fu Wei's mind was a little distracted, but the sewing movements on his fingers were proceeding in an orderly manner.
Yu Ying looked at the long, slender and powerful fingers with distinct joints moving slowly and methodically between the scraps of cloth and the needle and thread. She suddenly felt that other people's mending was just needlework, but Fu Wei seemed to be concentrating on making an expensive and exquisite handicraft.
Thinking about the fact that she would have to sleep on the pillowcase sewn by Fu Wei from now on, Yu Ying's ears felt inexplicably hot and uncomfortable.
She stood up and said, "You sew for a while while I count the money we have now."
After saying that, she put a piece of cloth on the bamboo bed, placed all the copper coins on it, and then began to count.
Fu Wei paused his finger movements and turned to look at the small pile of copper coins on the bed.
He had never cared about these copper coins before, but after arriving in Lingnan and being bedridden with his legs injured, and seeing her getting up early and going to bed late every day, he realized how hard it was to earn a penny.
His eyes slowly moved up from the copper coins to the woman's expression as she was counting the copper coins seriously.
For a moment, Fu Wei felt that they got along just like a real couple.
After she finished counting all the copper coins, Fu Wei put away his inappropriate thoughts and asked her, "Are you running out of money at home?"
Yu Ying used a piece of cloth to string the copper coins into small strings of ten, sighed, and said, "Silver money is really hard to spend, but fortunately, even after renting out the land, there will still be a few hundred coins left."
Yu Ying had previously saved one tael and five hundred coins, but the silver was not spent frequently, so she took out an extra three hundred coins.
Now, including the remaining ones and the more than eighty copper coins, the total amount is less than 1,300 coins.
She had asked Uncle He, and they rented an acre of paddy field, and had to pay two hundred coins and one stone of grain a year.
If you think about it carefully, after paying the silver and grain, the remaining grain is only enough to make a living.
Since ancient times, harsh government has been more ferocious than a tiger, and being able to make a living is already considered good.
Fu Wei saw her worried expression and after a moment's contemplation, he said, "When my legs are healed, I will go with you into the mountains to collect herbs."
Yu Ying came back to her senses from the harshness of the government and smiled at him: "You must come with me to collect herbs, but you can't eat for free."
Fu Wei raised his thin lips slightly, nodded slightly, and then continued to make a pillowcase for her.
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