Cai Damei instructed Ye Yunniang to continue talking about Courtyard No. 8.
A family of five used to live in courtyard number 8. The man died in an accident. The woman, unwilling to be a widow, sold the house and remarried a man in Chaoxia Lane who had lost his wife.
The buyers of No. 8 courtyard were a father and son. Cai Damei heard that the other party's surname was Tie, but she didn't know anything else.
The knocking on the gate came again.
"Coming," Cai Damei replied, getting up to open the door.
Ye Yunniang followed them out, and when she saw the person at the door, she gasped.
A burly man stood at the door, half of his face covered by a large beard.
Granny Zhang just came by; the gate to her house wasn't closed.
"Who are you looking for?" Cai Damei asked, taking a step back.
Ye Yunniang quickly walked two steps to Cai Damei's side.
"My name is Tie Yi," the man introduced himself, taking a dagger from the basket.
"What are you going to do?" As soon as Cai Damei saw Tie Yi take out a knife, she quickly picked up the wooden stick she used to block the door and gripped it tightly with both hands, pointing it at the person outside the door.
Ye Yunniang picked up the wood-chopping axe leaning against the wall.
The actions of the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law made Tie Yi outside the door laugh, revealing a set of big white teeth.
“I’m not a bad person. I just moved into No. 8 Courtyard. It’s not right to visit neighbors empty-handed. I’m a blacksmith, so I brought a dagger.”
Tie Yi lifted the bottom of the basket to show them; inside were several sharp daggers.
At this moment, Tie Yi also realized that it was a bit scary to visit a neighbor for the first time and bring a dagger.
"I'm really not a bad person," Tie Yi said, putting the dagger on the ground. "I'm going to visit the next family."
"Wait a minute." Cai Damei called out to Tie Yi, who had left to watch, and turned to go into the kitchen. She quickly came out carrying a small basket.
The small basket contained two small cucumbers, a bunch of greens, and some chili peppers.
“It’s from the backyard of our house, you can take it and eat it.” Cai Damei stretched out her long arm and handed the basket to Tie Yi.
"I won't stand on ceremony. From now on, we're all neighbors. Let's visit each other often." Tie Yi smiled as he took the basket and walked towards the neighboring No. 5 courtyard.
Cai Damei quickly closed the door. Leaning against the door, she gasped for breath; it had really been frightening.
Ye Yunniang was also terrified.
When Tie Yi first arrived at Wanxia Lane, he gave his neighbor a dagger as a gift. This made him quite famous in the surrounding area.
Everyone knows this blacksmith.
Tie Xiong overheard the discussion at the Tie family's house in courtyard number 8.
"Didn't I prepare some snacks? Why are you bringing me a dagger?"
Tie Xiong knew that his uncle didn't care about anything other than blacksmithing. So he specially bought and packed the pastries in advance and instructed each family to send a packet of them.
Even so, it still managed to make a mistake. Tie Xiong was truly helpless and speechless.
"You're blaming me? It's all your fault. You ate my dinner without even telling me. I was busy until the middle of the night and came home to a cold stove and empty pots. There was nothing to eat except for those few packets of pastries." Tie Yi felt that the blame mainly fell on his nephew.
"You've eaten it, haven't you thought about buying more?"
"Didn't you say I had to visit the neighbor the next morning? How am I supposed to find the time to buy it? Besides, the dagger I forged is something most people can't even buy."
Tie Yi is the master blacksmith. When the blacksmith shop takes on jobs, he usually instructs his apprentices to forge iron.
"Okay, my mistake." Tie Xiong didn't argue with Tie Yi. "Tell me about the situation of these companies?"
"The family in No. 1 courtyard is surnamed Ma, and they're all stingy."
The No. 2 courtyard is rented out, and the three families inside are arguing non-stop every day. It's so annoying.
No one lives in Courtyard No. 3.
The family in courtyard number 4 is surnamed Li. Both the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law are widows, which is pitiful.
The man in courtyard number 5, surnamed Xu, sells noodles at a street stall. His noodles are just average, but the price is reasonable, so they're worth it.
The family in courtyard number 6 is surnamed Zhang; they slaughter pigs and sell meat. Granny Zhang makes delicious spicy jerky, perfect for pairing with drinks.
"No. 7 Courtyard," Tie Yi said, his face full of disgust.
"What's wrong?"
"The tenant in courtyard number 7 is surnamed Wang. The man, Wang Qiang, is a castrated man, and his wife is named Hongyan. Hongyan was bought by Wang Qiang's parents from a slave trader. Wang Qiang cannot have children, and the man who shares a room with Hongyan is his father."
The Wang family has two children. They're said to be Wang Qiang's sons, but everyone knows they're actually his younger brother. Many neighbors know this. "You should avoid contact with the Wang family," Tie Yi instructed Tie Xiong.
Tie Xiong nodded. "In courtyard number 4, is the widow and her mother-in-law being bullied?"
Upon hearing this, Tie Yi looked Tie Xiong up and down. "Oh, you've taken a fancy to the young widow?" Recalling Ye Yunniang's appearance, fair and delicate, he said, "The young widow is quite pretty. You like her? I'll go find a matchmaker to propose marriage tomorrow."
"What nonsense are you talking about?" Tie Xiong interrupted, frowning. "She is Li Jun's wife."
"Li Jun? Oh... the Li Jun who died protecting you?" Tie Yi remembered.
"Li Jun died because of me, and I have a responsibility to take care of his family." Tie Xiong felt extremely guilty and remorseful when he thought of his good brother.
"The best way to take care of her is to marry her," Tie Yi encouraged Tie Xiong. "You're not getting any younger. Your parents wrote to me the other day, asking me to urge you to get married and have children soon."
Tie Xiong picked at his ear. "Uncle, you're the one in the family who should be getting pressured to get married the most. You're 40 and still a bachelor."
Tie Yi flung the dagger in his hand at Tie Xiong, "You brat, how dare you talk to your uncle?"
Tie Xiong reached out and caught Tie Yi's dagger. "Uncle, we're both equally bad. I won't say anything about you, and you shouldn't say anything about me either."
***
Hearing the discussion outside about Tie Yi's gift, Ye Yunniang asked Cai Damei curiously, "Mother, what did you give her back then?"
"Insoles." Cai Damei didn't have much money at the time, so she gave away insoles she had sewn herself.
Cai Damei also told her neighbors that she sold her insoles at the Zhou family's shop, and if they needed to buy any, they could mention her name and get a one-cent discount on two pairs of insoles. This brought some business to the Zhou family.
"Mother is truly amazing," Ye Yunniang praised, raising her hand.
“When we were young, your father and I went to sell vegetables together. I was the one who did all the talking and hawking. Your father was a quiet, unassuming man.” Time heals all wounds. Now, when Cai Damei mentions her deceased husband, she feels nostalgic, but she no longer cries or grieves.
"Mother, let's sew insoles together." Unable to think of anything else to do, Ye Yunniang decided to sew insoles as well.
"No need. Your aunt came the day before yesterday and told me to stop sewing insoles. There are quite a few left in the shop." Cai Damei sighed as she spoke, her heart also filled with worry.
Shoe insoles are not a long-term business.
"Mother, is there an embroidery shop nearby?" Ye Yunniang thought that she could sell embroidery products to make money by learning the new embroidery technique from Shiliu.
"No, it's bad for your eyes," Cai Damei disagreed. Embroidery is harmful to the eyes.
“I embroider during the day. I don’t do needlework at night.” Ye Yunniang held Cai Damei’s hand. “Mother, I need to do something.”
Doing nothing all day but eating is so unbearable.
Knowing Ye Yunniang's personality, Cai Damei relented and agreed.
Cai Damei took Ye Yunniang to the embroidery shop. The Baise Embroidery Shop was next to the Zhou family's shop.
Cai Damei delivered shoe insoles to Zhou's shop.
Ye Yunniang walked into the Baise Embroidery Shop with her embroidered handkerchief in her hand.
"Shopkeeper, do you buy handkerchiefs?"
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