Chapter Sixty-Five: The Peddler
That day, Zhang Yili mentioned Wang Tiezhu's sweet talk, which left Xiong Zijuan with a question in her mind.
She wasn't a novice; she had been divorced once and had a baby, so she knew that sweet words wouldn't fill an empty stomach.
When Wang Tiezhu came again, she served him porridge and collected his money as usual, her expression indifferent, without saying anything extra.
Wang Tiezhu seemed to have noticed it too. He came quite often, but he talked less about praising her and how they would live together in the future.
Often, after finishing his work, he would come over, bury his head in a bowl of porridge, put the money on the table, and leave.
Sometimes he would come, stand by the stall for a while, his lips would move as if he wanted to say something, but he wouldn't, and he would walk away with his head down.
Zhang Liuli was busy at the pork belly soup pot, glancing over here out of the corner of his eye, wondering to himself, why has this person gone back to his room again? Has he given up?
Later that afternoon, there were hardly any customers at the stall.
Xiong Zijuan sat on a small stool, bending down to sew up the tear on Xiaobao's bib.
Wang Tiezhu arrived, took out a few copper coins to pay for the porridge, and whether it was a slip of the hand or something else, the copper coins clattered to the ground and rolled far away.
"Hey!" Wang Tiezhu quickly squatted down to pick them up, frantically chasing after the rolling copper coins, looking rather clumsy.
Xiong Zijuan stopped sewing, watched him pick up the money from the ground, picked up the money at her feet and handed it to him.
Wang Tiezhu finally managed to pick up most of the copper coins, clutching them in his hand, unsure whether to accept them or not. He stammered, "Miss... Miss Zijuan, the money... the money is gone..."
Xiong Zijuan picked out two copper coins from what she had collected and put the rest on the table: "You paid for the porridge, you can take the rest."
"Oh...oh..." Wang Tiezhu finally understood, hurriedly stuffed the copper coins on the table back into his pocket, and stood there, his face turning a little red.
Just then, a peddler who often traveled around the docks carrying goods passed by. He saw Wang Tiezhu and greeted him with a smile, "Tiezhu, are you here to see Miss Zijuan again?"
Wang Tiezhu nodded hastily, as if he had seen a savior.
The peddler seemed tired. He put down his load, took a sip of the water he had brought, wiped his mouth, and said casually.
"Tiezhu, that set of sweet talk you learned the other day, all those lines that girls love to hear, who came up with that dirty trick? It just sounds so awkward! When did you become so eloquent? Just be yourself! Normally, you're so quiet you can't even utter a word, and you blush like a monkey's bottom when you talk to a girl. Why are you trying to be so glib?"
The peddler's voice was neither too loud nor too soft, just enough to reach Xiong Zijuan and Zhang Yili's ears.
Zhang Liuyi thought to himself, "Oh, so that's how it is. Those words were taught to him by someone else. No wonder they sounded so awkward."
Wang Tiezhu's face turned even redder, his neck flushed, and he muttered softly, "I...I'm just afraid...afraid I'm bad with words and will annoy people...please don't give me that away..."
The peddler laughed heartily: "What's wrong with being bad at talking? Sincerity is better than any fancy tricks! Look at you now, you can't even hold onto your money properly, that's more like you!" After saying that, he picked up his load, humming an off-key tune, and walked away.
The peddler's words stirred up some interesting rumors.
Xiong Zijuan then realized that those sweet words that made her feel uneasy were not his own abilities, but something he had learned by gritting his teeth.
Looking at his current awkward appearance, with his face flushed, neck thickened, and hands and feet trembling, it actually seemed quite genuine.
The unease she felt seemed to have dissipated somewhat.
She didn't look at him again, sat down and lowered her head to continue sewing Xiaobao's towel stitch by stitch.
When the peddler exposed Wang Tiezhu's deception and Zijuan didn't react, Wang Tiezhu blushed deeply and quickly slipped away.
A few days later, Wang Tiezhu started coming more often than before.
The warmth in her eyes was undisguised, and she kept glancing at Xiao Bao.
He stopped trying to praise Xiong Zijuan and focused his attention more on Xiaobao.
Sometimes he would bring a small grasshopper or frog that he had woven himself from grass stems and quietly place it next to his stall; other times he would tuck a piece of maltose that he bought in town, wrapped in oil paper, and place it next to his bowl.
Xiao Bao gradually recognized Uncle Wang, who often brought him things. When he saw him coming, he would babble "Su Su" and reach out his little hands to grab the new toys in Uncle Wang's arms.
Xiong Zijuan didn't stop her; she just watched from the side.
When Wang Tiezhu teased Xiaobao, the look in his eyes didn't seem fake; he genuinely liked the child.
The sun was quite strong that day.
Xiong Zijuan took Xiaobao to Qiaoshou Cloth Shop to buy a few feet of fine cotton cloth, intending to make two sets of sweat-absorbent clothes for Xiaobao to wear in the summer.
On the way back to the village, walking under the shade of the trees, I ran into Wang Tiezhu, who was also returning from the direction of the town.
He was carrying a small, bulging gray cloth bag in his hand: "Miss Zijuan."
When Wang Tiezhu saw the mother and daughter, he stopped and his face turned a little red: "Going...going back to the village?"
Xiong Zijuan nodded: "Yes, get some cloth."
Wang Tiezhu stood there, rubbing his hands together as if he had made up his mind, and handed over the cloth bag in his hand: "This...this is for you."
Xiong Zijuan didn't answer his question, but asked, "What is it?"
"It's...it's my wages." Wang Tiezhu muttered, "The dock just settled the accounts, this month's. I work on a per-unit basis...I don't know how to manage money. Before, when I got paid, I would just buy some wine and meat randomly, or buy whatever interesting things I saw, without keeping track of the amount, and it would be all gone by the end of the month. You...you can keep it for me."
Upon hearing this, Xiong Zijuan was stunned.
Zhang Yi, who was following behind and pretending to admire the foxtail grass by the roadside, was so startled that she almost twisted her ankle!
This girl isn't even married yet, and she's already in charge of the money?
Is Wang Tiezhu really that simple-minded, or is he just too honest?
Xiong Zijuan looked at the heavy cloth bag he handed her, which contained a month's worth of hard-earned money from a strong laborer who worked from dawn till dusk, carrying heavy loads and sweating profusely.
She didn't reach out, but only said, "Brother Wang, the money is yours, keep it safe and put it away properly."
"I...I trust you!" Wang Tiezhu raised his head, staring intently at Xiong Zijuan. "I know you're good at managing money, better than me! If I leave it here...I'm afraid...afraid I won't be able to control myself and will spend it recklessly, and won't be able to save any. You...you hold it for me first, and I'll ask you for whatever I want to buy...okay?"
Xiong Zijuan looked at his rough, trembling hands and the fine sweat beading on his forehead, and her heart stirred.
She thought for a moment, then reached out and took the cloth bag.
“I’ll take the money.” Xiong Zijuan didn’t give him a friendly look: “I’ll keep track of your expenses. If you need it, just tell me. I won’t embezzle it.”
"Okay, okay." Seeing that she accepted it, Wang Tiezhu felt a huge weight lifted off his shoulders, let out a long sigh of relief, and smiled with satisfaction.
"Thank you so much, Miss Zijuan!" He wanted to say something more, but after glancing at Zijuan, he opened his mouth, then closed it again, finally only managing to stammer, "Then...then I'll head back now?"
After receiving Xiong Zijuan's nod, he turned around and walked briskly towards the town entrance, his back view looking much more relaxed.
Zhang Liuyi then walked over and looked at the gray cloth bag in Xiong Zijuan's hand: "Sister... he's... neither of them is married, and you're taking his money? Aren't you afraid..."
Xiong Zijuan weighed the bag in her hand; it was heavy.
"My sister does have a good eye for people, and I'll keep it for him, untouched. I don't believe he can cause me any trouble." Saying this, she hugged Xiaobao closer, supporting him with her arm, and continued walking home.
Having made up her mind, Sister Yizijuan didn't say anything more.
When she got home, Xiong Zijuan didn't cook dinner first.
She first took the gray cloth bag into her room and opened the old wooden box under the dressing table.
Inside the wooden box were a few small pieces of jewelry she couldn't bear to throw away, as well as some of her savings.
She put Wang Tiezhu's money bag inside and placed it at the very bottom.
Then they found a small booklet that was neither new nor old; it contained embroidery patterns.
In the blank corner, he copied the characters "王" and "九吊钱" and wrote them down.
That evening, Zhang Yili was cooking when she couldn't help but talk to Xiong Zixiang about it.
Xiong Zixiang was helping to chop wood when he heard this and laughed: "This Wang Tiezhu... is quite interesting. You could say he's stupid, but he knows to hand over the money to someone who knows how to manage it. You could say he's shrewd, but his approach is particularly unreasonable."
"Hmm." Zhang Yi added a piece of firewood to the stove. "Sister seems... less indifferent to him than before. She takes the money quite seriously. But we should keep an eye on things. If Wang Tiezhu wants to use this money for something, we'll have a plan."
"Hmm." Xiong Zixiang neatly stacked the chopped firewood. "There's a long road ahead. My sister has her own judgment. Let her see how things go. We'll talk about it when he's ready to be family."
From then on, Xiong Zijuan's attitude towards Wang Tiezhu was indeed not as indifferent as she had predicted.
She still didn't say much. When Wang Tiezhu came to the stall again, she would serve him a bowl of porridge and give him an extra bite of pickled vegetables.
Occasionally, they'll ask, "Do you have enough money? Do you need to buy anything?"
Wang Tiezhu always chuckled and scratched his head: "Enough, enough, I don't mind you taking care of it, there's nothing else to add!"
Sometimes, when there's something heavy to move from the stall, or when there's a lot of stuff to pack up, Wang Tiezhu will lend a hand.
He was not particularly tall, but he was strong enough to lift a sack of rice onto his shoulder and put it where it was supposed to go. He was clearly used to this kind of work.
Xiong Zijuan didn't refuse, and after finishing the work, she would say, "Thank you for your trouble."
Upon hearing this, Wang Tiezhu felt as if he had eaten honey, and he worked even more enthusiastically.
In the late afternoon, as the sun began to set, it was time to close up shop.
This morning, Aunt Song, my neighbor, rushed over with a worried look on her face: "Zhili, I'm really embarrassed to ask this... Shuanzi's father's old ailment has flared up again, he's writhing in pain, we need to get the cart ready and take him to the doctor in town to have him checked out."
Upon hearing this, Zhang immediately put down his work: "There's nothing to be embarrassed about. Getting him treated is the priority. Aunt Song, you wait here, I'll go and get Dazhuang out to hitch up the cart!"
As she spoke, she quickly walked back to the original courtyard.
Aunt Song followed behind, thanking her repeatedly: "Oh, thank you so much for thinking of me! You've saved me from this urgent situation! I'll remember this kindness!"
Zhang quickly harnessed the cart and handed the reins to Aunt Song: "Auntie, hurry up and go, don't delay us, be careful on the road."
"Oh! Oh! Thank you! Thank you!" Aunt Song nodded repeatedly and hurried away with Dazhuang.
Zhang Liuyi watched Aunt Song's hunched back as she drove away, her heart heavy. Every neighbor has their difficulties; every family should lend a helping hand.
The stall was closed, but it still had a lot of things: a large stack of washed bowls and chopsticks, several jars of pickled vegetables, and leftover porridge.
The heaviest items were the two large iron pots that had just been washed clean. The bottoms of the pots were thick and extremely heavy, and they were tied together with straw ropes.
The absence of Dazhuang has truly been a hardship for the three of them. After pushing the cart for a while, they decided to take a break. Xiong Zijuan and Li Xiulan each took one side to take over, but one of them lost their balance, and the things fell all over the ground.
Wang Tiezhu suddenly appeared out of nowhere.
He stepped forward, bent down, grabbed the straw rope binding the pot with both hands, lowered his waist, strained his legs, shouted a work song, and steadily hoisted the bound iron pot onto his shoulder.
He walked to the cart, bent down, and put it down.
With a muffled thud, the iron pot landed steadily on the car.
Both Xiong Zijuan and Zhang Yiyin were stunned.
Wang Tiezhu turned around and carried the heavy earthenware jars containing seasonings one by one, placing them steadily on the cart with nimble movements.
After finishing, he dusted off his hands, stood next to the cart handle, looked at Xiong Zijuan, and tentatively asked, "There's quite a lot of stuff... I... I'll help you push it back?"
Xiong Zijuan glanced at him, said nothing, and simply put the rag she had picked up, along with a few small brooms, spoons, and other odds and ends, into the car.
Wang Tiezhu immediately understood, a smile appeared on his face, and without saying anything more, he stepped forward, steadied the handlebars, lowered his waist, and pushed the bike away.
The wooden wheel creaked and groaned as it rolled on the dirt road.
Xiong Zijuan stood there, watching the figure pushing the cart and walking forward step by step.
The setting sun shone on his back, darkening a patch of his sweat-soaked shirt.
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