Chapter 24 Dead and Back to Life
The moon hid behind the clouds.
The filthy and chaotic western part of the town was eerily quiet; not even a dog barked. The people here couldn't afford to live, let alone have enough food to feed the dogs.
The old man poured the cooked meat porridge into the chipped bowl, found a wooden spoon, and walked shakily to his wife's bedside.
"Old woman, get up and have some porridge."
The old woman on the kang opened her cloudy eyes, her breath faint, "I've finally waited for this bite. I've been waiting from dawn till dusk. I was afraid I wouldn't get to eat before I die."
"What are you saying, cough..."
The old man brought back the meat and started cooking porridge. He's old and his teeth aren't good, so he wanted to cook it until it was soft and tender.
His cough seemed to have lessened after he bought the meat. The water in the bamboo tube was very sweet, so it must have been sweetened. He added the rest of the water to the meat porridge.
It should taste better with sweetened water, right?
The old man helped his emaciated wife up from the kang (a heated brick bed) so she could sit and eat.
The bowl of porridge wasn't much, but the old woman ate it very quickly, as if she hadn't eaten in a long time.
The old man just stared at her intently.
After finishing eating, he finally had time to speak. "It's delicious! It's the best thing I've ever eaten in my life. I forgot to save some for you."
"Old woman, I'm sorry, I'm so sorry for making you suffer with me."
The old man suddenly choked up. Usually, even if it was just a mouthful of coarse rice porridge, his wife would save half a mouthful for him. But today... he held his wife's hand tightly, trying not to cry out loud.
When did even a bowl of meat porridge become a luxury for them?
The old woman let the old man hold her hand, a smile appearing on her wrinkled and weathered face. "Don't say sorry anymore. In the end, everyone dies, whether they are rich and powerful or beggars."
The old man had only suspected it in his mind, and hearing these words left him feeling uneasy.
"Alright, that's enough. This porridge is really delicious today. I... I have no regrets about following you in this life."
The old woman smiled and closed her eyes.
The old man finally couldn't hold back his tears any longer and began to sob softly.
But old woman, I regret it, I regret it so much! If I hadn't been so stubborn and opinionated back then, how could things have come to this, how could things have come to this…
"Old woman, wake up! Don't leave me alone!"
The old woman slightly moved her eyelids.
The old man's eyes were blurry with tears; he thought he was seeing things and was having hysteria.
"Old woman?!"
"Old woman, old woman—"
The old lady on the kang (a heated brick bed) pulled the quilt over her head and said, "Don't make a sound. I just fell asleep and you woke me up. Aren't you annoying?"
Seeing this, the old man cried and laughed, laughed and cried again.
The old woman was so angry that she sat up abruptly. "This old man, he can't even let me sleep in peace!"
He's not dead, that's good.
...
...
"What did you say? Fang Daru's paintings appeared in Qingfeng Tower?"
Chu Xiujie stood up from the stool. "Where is he? Have you found him?"
He originally thought the poetry gathering was a gimmick put on by the Liu family to make some money for Qingfeng Tower. He even scolded himself for being stupid after returning yesterday, saying it was obviously fake news.
Unexpectedly, there's new information again after only one day.
Fang Daru's paintings have disappeared for ten years. How could they appear in the small Qingfeng Tower? Could they be fakes?
Thinking of this, Chu Xiujie lost his enthusiasm and sat down. "Where did the painting come from to enter Qingfeng Tower?"
“It was delivered by a little beggar who took ten taels of silver from Qingfeng Tower. My subordinate followed him but lost track of him.”
Chu Jiu lowered his head, not daring to look at his boss's expression.
I heard that the eldest brother was splashed with water by a widow when he went out today. Oh no, he's going to get himself into trouble.
Chu Xiujie scoffed, "Ten taels? That sounds like a fake. If it were a real painting by Master Fang, a thousand taels wouldn't be too much."
Ten taels? Qingfenglou will buy that? And they still have the nerve to spread the news that it's a painting by Fang Daru? I bet the people here have never even seen the real thing.
Chu Jiu lowered her head and said, "It's not necessarily true that someone is spreading false information."
"Boss, boss, I've got it! The one I met in the mountains wasn't a demon. If he were, I would have been eaten. And it seems he saved me!"
Wang Dagang ran in, covered in sweat and looking like a wild man.
Chu Xiujie was so overwhelmed by the stench of sweat on him that he stood up and backed away, saying with disgust, "What, not a fairy, but a ghost? You even put on a show of a mountain spirit saving people. Shouldn't you repay me with your body later?"
Fools, they're all idiots.
Wang Dagang said anxiously, "Boss, I'm telling the truth. That person must have stolen my purse. Why didn't I check it? I'm so stupid."
Chu Xiujie rolled his eyes. "So you do know that?"
"Boss, I'll go find him right now, even if I have to dig three feet into the ground!" Wang Dagang clenched his fist and went out.
"Let them investigate on the sixth or seventh day of the lunar month." Chu Xiujie didn't want to stay in the house anymore; it was really frustrating.
By the time this idiot finds the item, it'll be too late.
...
...
Early in the morning, Ye Wan, with dark circles under her eyes, took Sanya out and was seen by the villagers who were going to the fields, and they all started talking at once.
"I heard from Old Sun that Lin Anyuan, this new woman, is selling sweet potatoes at a stall in town. She's quite capable. Look at Sanya, she's already wearing new clothes and has a new hair tie in such a short time."
"Roasted sweet potatoes? Those things are hard to swallow, would anyone want them?"
"I don't know. If you're envious, why don't you go sell them too?"
The man was just asking; if you asked him to go, he wouldn't. Selling things isn't that easy; he needs to buy things to pay rent, and what if he loses money?
"Hey, Old Wang, why are you speaking up for Lin Anyuan's family? You're not thinking of getting your Shitou married to Daya, are you?"
Aunt Wang was about to leave when she heard this and she was furious. "That Ye family bought sweet potatoes from my house. If you keep talking nonsense, I'll tear your mouth apart."
"Oh dear, I was just saying. Da Ya is a good girl, but Er Niu is such an honest kid, how come he..."
Da Ya was forced to cut her hair yesterday, how can these people be so mean?
Ye Wan felt indignant listening to these gossips. But she couldn't argue with everyone who said them.
She wants to leave.
If Sanya is willing to go with her then, and Lin Anyuan agrees, she will take her with her.
Er Ya is out of the question; she doesn't like to cause herself trouble.
As for Daya...
"Lin Daya, you can go home early today. Here is your monthly allowance."
In the embroidery shop at the far east end of town, Da Ya had just arrived and was embroidering when the shopkeeper called her out to settle her monthly wages.
Da Ya was stunned for a moment, but when she saw the shopkeeper looking at her hair, she understood.
She knew that even if she begged, the shopkeeper wouldn't keep her, so she thanked him and said, "Shopkeeper, you can call me again if there's too much work to do."
The shopkeeper was a woman in her early forties. Seeing that the young girl was intelligent and skilled at embroidery, she felt a little sorry for her, but her hair had already been cut...
"Okay, you can go back now."
Daya came out of the courtyard where she was working and glanced back at the embroidery room.
It was called an embroidery workshop, but it was actually a courtyard with seven or eight rooms and four or five embroiderers, who took in handkerchiefs, clothes and bedding from wealthy families.
"Da Ya, Da Ya."
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