Chapter 33
The father-in-law was lost in the sound of Zhang Yunniang calling him "Grandpa" and kept trying to sell what he had.
"Here, all for you. Your brother was passing by that place this morning when he saw this fish coming out to breathe, and he scooped it up right away."
"No, no, we can't have this. Take it back and give it to Auntie."
Zhang Yunniang is thick-skinned, but she still has a conscience.
It’s okay to take some vegetables grown at home, but I can’t take this fish.
"I've lived half my life, and I still need these two bites of food?"
The father-in-law threw a bunch of things over to me across the stream and walked away shaking his head.
Zhang Yunniang was so anxious that she jumped up and down. If she took the fish to the market, it would cost more than ten or twenty coins. She didn't want to take advantage of the old man, but he ran fast and the stones in the stream were covered with moss. She didn't dare to run across the stream and was too late to stop him.
"The old man loves you, so just accept it."
"Okay, we'll see each other again if we're destined to."
There was a lot of dry firewood here, so Zhang Yunniang put on her shoes and socks and went to look for firewood. Jun Qingmo had nothing to do, so he just sat there picking vegetables. After he finished picking the vegetables, he started to build the stove.
Maybe because he has done too much work, he is now very good at hands-on work. He thinks that the stove is a place to put the pot. In this case, as long as it can withstand the weight and volume of the pot, it will be fine.
He moved a few large stones around him in a circle, leaving a hole for adding firewood.
When Zhang Yunniang came back and saw that the vegetables had been picked and the stove had been set up, she was so happy that she thought this man had made some progress.
Once subjective initiative is mobilized, anything can be accomplished.
"Wow, how come you can do this? Fortunately I came here late, otherwise I wouldn't be able to put it together. I hope you won't underestimate me."
"Looks alright, doesn't it?"
"That's not bad at all. If you become more skilled, you can become a cook."
"Do you want to cook some noodles? I'll boil the water and cook the noodles." Jun Qingmo was flattered by the praise. It's not like he hadn't been praised by other people before, but Zhang Yunniang's recognition was different.
He had lost too much face in front of her. As a man, he wanted to get back all the lost face!
"Okay, let me try your cooking today."
There is a natural well next to the stream, which is often cleaned to make it convenient for passers-by to drink water.
She filled the pot with water and placed it on the makeshift stove, then went to wash the vegetables.
Jun Qingmo knelt on the ground, his every move was very elegant and calm, as if he was not cooking noodles but tea, which looked pleasing to the eye.
He can now cook many home-cooked dishes skillfully, and cooking noodles is no problem for him.
After scooping up the noodles, I started to add a few green vegetable sprouts and sprinkled seasonings, and two bowls of noodles were cooked.
Zhang Yunniang prepared the fish, applied seasoning on it, skewered it with a wooden stick, took the pot down, and started grilling the fish. The two of them ate while waiting for the fish to be grilled.
From time to time, someone would pass by and the two of them would receive scrutiny.
Jun Qingmo followed Zhang Yunniang and had long forgotten all the aristocratic etiquette. He felt very comfortable now.
You don’t have to care about what others think, you can do whatever you want. I used to be bound by all kinds of etiquette and dogma, but it turns out that after I don’t care, I feel so relaxed and free.
He looked at the person in front of him who was eating happily with a bowl in his hand, with a smile on his face, and felt that such a day was also very good.
"Yun Niang, believe me, I will let you live a good life."
"Sir, I have a bad stomach and don't like to eat cakes. I'll wait until the one thousand taels of silver are paid."
Zhang Yunniang thought, many people can share hardships but not happiness, so don't expect any affection, but money can.
When the lame man's leg was healed, the first thing he threw away was his crutches.
When Jun Qingmo becomes really rich, her best way out will be to run away with the money, so that she can have a good ending.
Once Jun Qingmo becomes successful, he might think of the days when he was "tortured" by her whenever he sees her. By then, his thinking will reach a dead end, and she may not end up well.
She made up her mind that when the time came, she would immediately find someone to fulfill her promise of the 1,000 taels of silver, and would pack up and leave on the same day she received the silver.
One thousand taels is enough for her to live on in her old age, provided she has a house.
Jun Qingmo made a promise in his heart that he would let Zhang Yunniang live a good life.
Zhang Yunniang sounded the alarm in her heart, exchanged a thousand taels of silver and ran away quickly.
The two of them each have their own thoughts and desires, and on the surface, everything seems peaceful.
Back in the courtyard where she lived, Zhang Yunniang placed the aquatic plants she brought back in a basin for disinfection. She also dug some black soil in the wild and picked up some beautiful stones. Once everything was ready, she could start creating the artificial landscape.
After helping Jun Qingmo bathe and change his clothes, he was allowed to sit in the yard and dry his hair.
She took out the dirty clothes and planned to soak them first, but found that the laundry detergent was almost gone.
"I'll go buy some catkins from the alley. Once I dry my hair, I'll go back to the house and take a nap if I'm tired."
Jun Qingmo watched the man pulling the gate to go out, and was just reminding him to be careful on the way, when a changed tone of "Mom" from the other side startled him.
"What's wrong? What happened?"
Jun Qingmo saw the man slip out of the door without answering him. He threw away the towel and rolled the wheelchair out anxiously. He almost fell to the ground in his anxiety.
Zhang Yunniang was giving instructions, but as soon as she opened the door and looked down, she saw a figure crouching in front of it. This would have startled anyone.
The figure on the ground was dirty and looked like a woman.
She stood there not daring to move.
It wasn't until I saw the neck moving up and down that I breathed a sigh of relief. Fortunately, fortunately, at least he was alive.
"Hey, you, are you okay?"
She touched the woman's body. The woman listened to the noise, regained consciousness, and whispered something.
His lips were dry and cracked, and his voice was as soft as a mosquito's. I couldn't hear him clearly. I guessed he might want some water.
Jun Qingmo also came over at this moment, "Master, you take care of her. I'll go get a bowl of water."
She was really afraid that someone would die at her doorstep.
After fetching some water, Zhang Yunniang helped the man up and carefully fed him some.
The woman seemed to have not eaten for a long time. She held the bowl of water and gulped it down in a few gulps.
When the last drop of water ran out, she licked the corners of her cracked mouth, raised her disheveled face, and looked at Zhang Yunniang, "Good sister, please have pity on me and give me a bowl of rice."
The woman had been keeping her head down, with her messy hair covering her face. Now she raised her head, and Jun Qingmo could see her clearly.
He was quite surprised, "Lanzhi?"
Upon hearing this, the woman also looked over in surprise, "Jun, Jun, Jun Gongzi?"
"Why are you here? Also..." Jun Qingmo was interrupted before he could finish his words.
"Do you know each other?"
"She is Lanzhi, Shuying's personal maid."
"In that case, let's go in and talk." The person was right at the doorstep, and if something happened, it would always be troublesome. Zhang Yunniang thought about giving the person some food first, at least to save his life.
Zhang Yunniang didn't mind the dirt on her body and helped her into the yard.
Fortunately, there was still some rice left, so she poured him another bowl of water and went to the kitchen to prepare food. Seeing how hungry he was, she decided to make him the fastest egg fried rice.
Jun Qingmo sat in the yard, calm and looking forward, as if saying, "If you don't tell me, I won't ask."
Lanzhi looked at him and confessed it herself.
"I angered the young lady and was kicked out of the mansion before she got married."
"The young lady gave me some money to support myself because I had served her for many years. I was planning to find a place to stay, but I didn't expect to be targeted by a group of thugs. Not only was my money robbed, but I also nearly lost my name."
Lanzhi looked very bad, with red bloodshot eyes and swollen eyes. It was obvious that she had cried a lot.
"I was going to live with my aunt, but my uncle wanted to sell me out. It was God's mercy that I heard it from the window. I slipped away when no one was looking. I've been hiding ever since, and have survived until now."
Lanzhi was still frightened when she thought of the situation at that time. If she was sold to that kind of place, it would be better for her to die.
"What have you done? After years of master-servant affection, this shouldn't happen."
Lanzhi found it difficult to speak, especially considering Xu Shuying and Jun Qingmo's previous identities. She stammered, "I accidentally broke the token of love that Prince Cheng gave to the young lady. It was an extremely noble piece of purple jade, his Majesty's favorite piece of his coming-of-age gift. Prince Cheng was furious and wanted to execute me immediately. The young lady only drove me away for my own good."
Jun Chengyu is cruel and ruthless, and if he wants to pursue the matter, it will be difficult to let it go.
"You've been with Shuying for so many years, and this was originally a gift to her. How could she not protect you?"
"It's all my fault. Miss also has her own difficulties." Lanzhi buried her head with a sad expression.
It’s not that they can’t keep it, it’s that they don’t want to keep it.
Jun Qingmo didn't say anything else, but he just couldn't understand why Xu Shuying was like this. She even drove out the personal maid who had followed her for many years because of such a small matter.
What exactly happened to Xu Shuying that caused such a drastic change in her personality?
Then I thought that now that the person has passed away, what’s the point of saying all this?
Lanzhi was feeling down, her head bowed and shedding tears. From the kitchen came the sound of oil boiling in a wok, and soon the aroma of egg rice wafted out.
No matter how sad she was, her instinctive reaction of hunger made her swallow her saliva.
Not long after, Zhang Yunniang brought out the fried rice, and also served some homemade pickled vegetables and a bowl of simple tea soup.
"Wait a minute for this soup. There's a layer of oil on the surface, so the heat can't dissipate. It's going to be very hot. Eat some rice first, and then drink the soup later."
Lanzhi nodded, picked up the bowl of rice and started to eat voraciously.
Looking at her like this, Zhang Yunniang felt that she had suffered a lot.
Jun Qingmo was just drying his hair, but was interrupted before it was dry. It was still dripping with water. Zhang Yunniang took the towel and started to wipe it again.
She kept moving her hands while talking to Lanzhi, "Even if you haven't eaten for a long time, you can't eat too much at once. Otherwise, your stomach won't be able to handle it."
The person over there nodded without saying a word. He had no time to respond and just kept shoveling rice into his mouth.
Even after finishing the meal and drinking the soup, I still felt unsatisfied.
Zhang Yunniang was in the kitchen just now and did not hear the conversation between the two.
She didn't want to ask any more questions. Seeing that it was already evening, she asked directly, "Miss Lanzhi, what are your plans?"
When Lanzhi heard this, her eyes turned red. She stood up, walked towards the two of them, and fell to her knees with a thud.
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