To the brothel
At the age of thirty, Sheng went to the border and chased the towns.
In the city,
The streets are decorated with lights and people are walking through the bustling streets, happily preparing for the arrival of the New Year.
In major temples, fireworks are curling, sacrificial activities are taking place, sacrificial bells are ringing one after another, and people come to pray for blessings, praying for peace and success in the coming year and happiness for their families.
There is a wide variety of New Year goods on the market, including New Year pictures, rice cakes, and New Year flowers, each with its own unique characteristics.
The most attractive thing is the street dragon and lion dances and acrobatic performances. Before it gets dark, some people get ready early and dress up to watch.
Outside the city,
"Divide into two teams!" Zhao Wu waved the whip, the sound was drowned out by the sound of firecrackers, and there was another loud bang. Everyone was shocked, staggered, and began to move.
Men and women were divided into two teams, and the team was sparse. The prisoners lowered their heads, feeling excited about finally reaching their destination, but more of fear and anxiety about the unknown.
Wen Jingzhao handed the dagger to He Yingchun and said, "Hide it and protect yourself." He only had time to say a few words before the team separated.
After entering the city, He Yingchun was attracted by the sight of every household decorated with lanterns and colorful lights. Leading them forward was a middle-aged woman, whom the yamen runners called Sister Feng. Sister Feng smiled brightly and spoke in a high-pitched voice as she surveyed the female prisoners. "Oh, there are quite a few of you here this time!"
The way she looked at people was as if she was weighing the weight of the pork on the chopping board to see if it could be sold at a good price.
He Yingchun hid the dagger in her sleeve and held her mother's hand with her other hand. They walked for a long time and came to a building that looked a bit old and dilapidated. The walls were mottled and had some brown marks.
They were taken into a small and crowded room.
"Go! Take them to take a bath!" She wrinkled her nose in disgust and asked two women to take these new prisoners to take a bath.
They hadn't taken a bath for three months, and the wrinkles on their bodies had been rubbed into mud curls. Most of them had lice in their hair. He Yingchun drank the spiritual spring water, so mosquitoes and other insects rarely came close to her. Otherwise, when she saw something jumping out of the heads of people around her from time to time, she would want to twist her hair out.
The conditions were simple, with only a few large wooden barrels. They splashed water on each other and rubbed mud on each other. They didn't care about being embarrassed at this time. The steam made their bodies hot. Their faces, which had not turned white for several months, began to show their true colors.
There were not many female prisoners who survived until being exiled. He Yingchun took a quick look and found that Wen Wanrou was still there, but her mother was no longer by her side. She was wiping her body by herself at this moment. The wound on her face had healed long ago. When she saw He Yingchun looking at her, she glared at He Yingchun.
He Yingchun didn't pay much attention to her and was thinking about how to leave here. Although Wen Jingzhao said that he could rescue her and her mother, he was too busy to take care of himself, so He Yingchun didn't hold much hope.
It was dark when they came out. They were taken back to the room. Sister Feng came over, glanced at everyone, smiled, and raised her chin. "It's a festival today, you're lucky, you can have some dumplings with us! Come and get them, a few each, don't fight over them!"
An empty bowl was stuffed into He Yingchun's hand. Her mother took her to get dumplings. She got four dumplings, and her mother grabbed one more than her. They were close to the military camp but far from the downtown area. Although the sound of firecrackers could not be heard clearly, they could still hear it faintly.
There were a few flickering oil lamps lit in the room, and everyone ate dumplings in silence, chewing them slowly.
"It's not as delicious as the ones we have here." Mom whispered in her ear.
The dumplings were indeed average, with only a few eggs in the leek and egg filling, and a bit too salty. They were just right to eat with soup, but it was their first meal here and they were half full, so it was a good sign.
At night, a group of people squeezed into a large bunk bed. For the first time, they were not cold, and there were no windows or doors to leak air. His mother lay beside him and snored, but He Yingchun could not sleep.
She counted the points she had on hand. She hadn't earned much during this period, and she had spent a lot of money due to the bumpy road. She earned and spent, and now she only had 33 points left in total.
I have previously unlocked a bag of hot pot base, a kitchen knife, and some fragments of a chef's recipe.
He Yingchun was most curious about the recipe, so he took it out and took a look. The recipe only contained a small part, which did record a few dishes, but it was not complete. He estimated that he would have to earn enough points before unlocking it.
She randomly flipped to a page and found the recipe for Roujiamo.
"If you want something oily but not greasy..."
"Bang!!" There was a loud noise outside. He Yingchun's hand shook and the recipe fell on her eyes, making her close her eyes. She quickly put away the recipe.
Listening to the noise, it seemed like it came from next door.
"Why isn't Yuling here today?" A man's voice rang out, sounding as if he was drunk.
"General," said Fengjie, smiling apologetically, "I've gone to Commandant Chen's residence! I won't be back until tomorrow!"
"Chen You..." The man cursed in a low voice, and then there was a fierce slam on the door. Sister Feng said, "General, please slow down."
Then came the sound of a woman's moans, slapping sounds, and painful sobs, which gradually faded away.
Suddenly, there was another commotion, and the man cursed and said it was boring, and then he fell silent.
One night, several people came here to have fun after having dinner and nowhere to go. Fengjie cursed these people in a low voice, saying that they were cowards and had no ability to get married, and that they couldn't have peace even during the New Year.
The women who had just ended their exile were already frightened. They all woke up and covered themselves with quilts. They didn't know who had blocked the door with a bench.
If someone really breaks in, the bed and stools can't block it, they just provide psychological comfort.
He Yingchun and her mother squeezed into the same bed. He Yingchun held the dagger tightly, listening to the sobbing cry, feeling mixed emotions in her heart.
"The young master will come to save us." Mom patted her hands.
"Yeah." He Yingchun nodded with a wry smile.
It's like leaving the wolf's den and entering the tiger's den.
She felt a chill down her spine as she listened to the shouting and cursing from next door. Women here were not treated as human beings at all. They were like animals and grass, to be trampled and insulted.
As she listened, she felt angry. These people only had trivial matters in their heads. They had no abilities and only knew how to take their anger out on women.
The woman's cry seemed like a sharp sword piercing He Yingchun's heart. This night left a deep mark in her heart.
The next day, He Yingchun got up early and went to see Fengjie with a gem that she had taken from the dagger.
"Sister Feng, I found it on the ground yesterday. I think you dropped it accidentally." She handed the gem to Sister Feng with a smile.
Fengjie's eyes lit up at first. She glanced at her, took it in her hand, and held it up to the sun to look at it. "Well, I was wondering where I dropped it, and you found it!"
He Yingchun nodded and said, "It really is Sister Feng's. I said it's so beautiful, it's you!"
After a few words of flattery, Fengjie was coaxed into a good mood. After a while, she asked, "What's the matter?"
"Well, it's nothing serious. I just thought that my aunt and I were both cooks before, and if there's anything we can do to help, you can call us anytime!" He Yingchun waved her hand and said seemingly indifferently.
Sister Feng narrowed her eyes and sneered, "You are quite clever, girl." She waved her hand, "Okay, I got it!"
After saying that, Fengjie twisted her waist and walked away.
He Yingchun washed dirty clothes all day, her fingertips turned white from being soaked, and her mother got frostbite again.
She washed clothes during the day, and at night those people disliked my mother because she was old and skinny. In addition, during the holidays, most people visited relatives, and soldiers rarely came to the brothel, so she spent the day safely.
He Yingchun cursed Fengjie in her heart for taking the bribes but not doing her job.
The next day, Fengjie asked her and her mother to go to the kitchen to help. "The kitchen is busy today, you two go over and help! Be diligent, if anything goes wrong, I will take responsibility for you! "
Sister Feng walked all the way over, gave them several instructions, and when they got there, she handed the two of them over to a steward in the kitchen.
"Were you a cook before?" The manager was called Huo Saner. He first looked at He Yingchun and said, "Sister Feng, why do you keep pushing everyone to me? You look so skinny, were you a cook before?"
"Isn't this causing me trouble?" He shook his head, but didn't make things difficult for He Yingchun. "Okay, go cut the vegetables, and... just follow Zhuozi to light the fire first... Forget it, go wash the vegetables!"
She's not even qualified to light a fire?
He Yingchun really found it difficult to control the fire in such a big pot. She just washed the vegetables. He Yingchun just treated herself as a sweeping monk and washed the vegetables cleanly.
After finishing the work at hand, the group of cooks had not eaten yet and there were some leftover dishes. He Yingchun bravely asked Huo Saner if she could cook a dish.
He Yingchun knew that she was being a bit reckless. Before coming here, she asked Fengjie if the kitchen could accept her and her mother, so that she wouldn't have to serve others all day.
This can be considered a way out. Before, a captain took a woman into his room. The women in the brothel tried all kinds of ways to get out. He Yingchun claimed that he had no other special skills and could only rely on cooking.
Huo Saner was happy, "Okay, make one for me, and let me see what you can do!"
There were not many dishes left, so He Yingchun thought about it and exchanged the packet of hot pot base and used the spicy base to make a spicy hot pot.
"Okay!" He Yingchun nodded in response.
She put several ingredients including dried chilies into the pot, and with the rising heat, added a small amount of hot pot base, water, salt, soy sauce, sugar and other seasonings. After boiling, she turned down the heat and began to stew.
At first, Huo Saner and others looked at He Yingchun as if she was watching a joke, and didn't even look at her directly. A group of people were eating happily with their bowls in their hands.
As soon as the hot pot base smells, wow, the strong and long-lasting aroma rushes directly to the top of your head.
It's so tempting! The food in my hand immediately loses its fragrance!
The aroma and spiciness blended together, and the small kitchen was filled with this smell. Huo Saner swallowed his saliva and looked at the pot with shining eyes.
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