Song He'er guessed that Song Xiaoyu was unaware of the situation. Although he had been in officialdom for so many years, he was still a pure-hearted person and did not understand those treacherous things at all.
Only Song Xiaoqi could do these things so skillfully and shamelessly.
“It’s nothing, Third Uncle. I was just asking. You can get back to work,” Song He’er replied.
Song Xiaoyu was stunned for a moment, then shook her head and continued working.
Ruizhen arrived very late. It was already noon when the sun was high in the sky. She came from a distance with a child who was less than a year old. She looked very haggard.
Zhang Xiue looked up and saw her walking this way, so she went up to her and asked, "Are you not feeling well? Why do you look so pale? If you are not feeling well, just say so. You can come again tomorrow."
Ruizhen shook her head, her pale lips devoid of any color. "It's nothing, I can do it. You teach me, I can do anything!"
Seeing her persistence, one could tell that she was in dire straits recently. She must have been starving and hadn't eaten for several days, which was why she had no choice but to bring her child out to work.
Looking at her swollen body from hunger, Zhang Xiue couldn't help but feel sorry for her. She said, "Alright then, come with me. Leave the child over there to play with Huan Ge'er and the others. He seems like a good boy, so he shouldn't cry for a while."
Ruizhen gave a sad smile, "We haven't fed him for two days. He's too weak to cry..."
Upon hearing this, Qin Xiaoniang's face showed a surprised expression, "The child hasn't eaten for two days? How can that be? Won't the child starve?"
Song He'er looked at the child's small face, which was sallow. Although he was about the same age as Huan Ge'er, he was much smaller. Huan Ge'er was not very fat, but he was healthy.
But this child looked sickly and couldn't be helped up.
"Mother, did we leave a mouthful of porridge this morning? Let's feed it to this child."
"Yes, yes, that's what I think too. But then again, we don't have much food to eat. Don't tell anyone about what happened today. We can't help everyone."
Ruizhen's eyes reddened, and she nodded repeatedly, "I know, of course I know, thank you all kind people, I kowtow to you."
As she spoke, Ruizhen was about to kneel down before everyone.
Zhang Xiue pulled her up and advised, "If you really want to express your gratitude, then learn quickly and do more work. If you earn more money, you won't have to worry about food in the future."
Ruizhen nodded and followed Zhang Xiue to the oil paper, where she began to practice earnestly.
When Song Xiaoyu and Li Qiang finished building the house, they also came to work with them.
As evening approached, the group had made more than sixty oiled paper umbrellas, which cost about one hundred and twenty coins.
Looking at the oil-paper umbrellas that had been hastily made, Song Xiaoyu frowned. "How many is this? Today's output is too small. The employer gave us the raw materials for two hundred umbrellas, and we've only made sixty today. I'm afraid we won't be able to deliver on time tomorrow night. We still owe them money."
Zhang Xiue glanced at the setting sun and replied, "We can just work overtime tonight. You've been busy with the house all day, so naturally we women are working a bit slower."
Zhang Xiu'e's words made sense. The morning sun was strong, so Li Qiang and Song Xiaoyu were busy making adobe bricks and didn't do any work. Chunrao and Chu Chundi were responsible for looking after the children, so only Qin Xiaoniang, Zhang Xiu'e, and Li Qiang's wife were left to do the work. Although Song He'er also worked, she was small and weak, so she worked slower.
Song Xiaoyu sighed, "Well, we'll continue tonight then, but we'll need oil lamps and firewood to start a fire, which is quite a hassle..."
"There's nothing we can do about that!"
As darkness fell, Chun Di began cooking. Seeing this, Rui Zhen decided to take the children and leave, no longer wanting to accept charity.
Seeing her leave forlornly carrying the child, Song He'er quietly followed behind...
Even the poorest people here at least have a shack to live in, but this mother and daughter, along with an elderly woman who can't get out of bed, are crammed into a stone cave to sleep. The cold wind blows in at night, and there's no shelter at all. It's truly pitiful...
Song He'er only glanced at it before hurriedly leaving...
When she returned to the tent, Zhang Xiu'e was serving rice to the children. When she saw Song He'er return, she ladled out a bowl of thick white porridge, put a few green vegetables on top, and handed it to her.
"Haven't seen any fresh vegetables for days, have you? Eat up."
Song He'er looked at the porridge in the bowl, her heart filled with mixed feelings.
"What's going on? Time to eat?"
Song He'er sighed and took the bowl of porridge from Zhang Xiu'e's hand. "Third Aunt, why is it that in this world, it's always men who are unfaithful?"
Qin Xiaoniang was stunned. "What nonsense are you spouting now, child?"
"No, I just went with Aunt Ruizhen to her place. It's so dilapidated, it's practically uninhabitable. And there's an old woman with gray hair there. If it keeps going like this, she'll freeze to death in a few more heavy snowfalls..."
Qin Xiaoniang shook her head helplessly, "Her husband dotes on his concubine and neglects his wife, living on the mountain with a prostitute, completely forgetting that he has an old mother and a child. He is truly worse than a beast, even more despicable than your father!"
Qin Xiaoniang gets so angry at the mere mention of Song Xiaoqi that everyone keeps quiet about his name and pretends he's dead.
“To be honest, this person is indeed pitiful. Although we don’t have the means to help her, we can’t just stand by and watch a good person be bullied to death by bad people. How about this, after we deliver the goods tomorrow, we’ll give her more money. We agreed on one coin per umbrella before, so let’s give her some extra as a gesture of our care…” Zhang Xiu’e replied.
Everyone thought what she said made some sense, so they all nodded in agreement.
......
Nanzhao.
Jiang Huaifu's residence was built in the most secluded place on the border of Nanzhao. He had previously bought the house by the Nanzhao merchant, which was nestled against the mountains and by the water. It was not only quiet but also a good place for self-cultivation.
Living on someone else's territory naturally requires caution and should not be too ostentatious, so Jiang Huaifu had the soldiers change into ordinary civilian clothes.
There's no need to guard outside the courtyard unless absolutely necessary. Only when discussing business with someone will soldiers be ordered to strictly guard the entire courtyard to prevent those with ulterior motives from sneaking in.
"Your Highness, Young Master Zou has arrived."
Jiang Huaifu frowned, put down the ancient book in his hand, and waved to the maidservants serving beside him, "You may all leave..."
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