Most of the people present were women, and they all had children at home. Even if they were a little partial, they loved their daughters and had never thought of selling them, let alone selling them to that kind of place. They all felt that the Luo family was too much and too bullying. Originally, women who were divorced or divorced could not take their children with them, but they subconsciously hoped that Lin could take her two daughters with her. Even if life was hard, this was not a famine year, and as long as they were diligent, they could survive.
"That's right. Aren't you afraid of God's punishment that will break out all over your body? What a shameless old woman! You've lost all conscience. And how did your man become someone else's father? He's your own flesh and blood, you black-hearted bastard..."
The woman in the market used vulgar and ugly words to scold people, which made Luo Dagen's face turn red.
"Isn't Luo Dagen a peddler? How dare you buy something so wicked? If he really dares to sell his daughter to a place like that, don't worry that he'll steal your child away and sell her later. After all, if he even sells his own daughter to Xiangmanlou for money, what else would he be afraid of?"
"That makes sense. Next time you see him, stay away from him..."
When Luo Dagen heard this, he panicked instantly. He was a peddler who walked the streets. If the people of Yuanbao Town no longer patronized his business, how could he make money? Wouldn't that cut off his source of income?
Old Lady Luo was about to start a quarrel with the women, but the county magistrate suddenly slammed the table and shouted, "Silence!"
After clapping the table, he asked Luo Dagen, "Luo Dagen, what do you think? Are you willing to let Lin write an IOU for twenty taels of silver, and then give Da Niu and Er Niu to Lin to raise?"
Luo Dagen nodded without thinking, "Sir, I am willing."
Since he could get money, he didn't want to sell his daughter to that kind of place. Selling her there would only earn him a few more taels of silver. Moreover, he was afraid that if he didn't agree, the people in Yuanbao Town would hate him. Then when he went from street to street selling goods, no one would pay attention to him. Without a way to make a living, what would happen to him in the future?
He began to feel afraid, thinking that if he could get money anyway, it would be better to sell it with a good reputation.
"Da Gen, no." Old Mrs. Luo was anxious.
She paid Dagen to divorce Lin because she wanted to separate them. What was the point of Lin writing the IOU now? Whether Lin could earn twenty taels was another matter.
Wasn't her money given away in vain?
Luo Dagen said angrily: "Mom, stop talking!"
The county magistrate nodded and said, "Since you agree, I will have someone write a document, and you will affix your fingerprints and the official seal, and the matter will be settled."
Luo Dagen nodded in agreement, and Lin also cried with joy.
The women around couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief.
Old Mrs. Luo wanted to say something, but Luo Dagen held her back and told her not to talk nonsense.
Lin couldn't write, so the county magistrate had someone write a promissory note for twenty taels of silver she owed Luo Dagen, stating that the payment should be made monthly and in full within ten years.
There was also another letter of severance, which stated that Luo Dagen accepted twenty taels of silver from Lin, and Luo Da Niu and Luo Er Niu followed Lin and left the Luo family and were raised by Lin. From then on, all matters concerning Lin and her two daughters had nothing to do with the Luo family, and Lin set up her own family with her two daughters.
The two of them pressed their fingerprints, and the county magistrate also stamped the official seal on the letter of marital separation. Three copies were made, and Lin and Luo Dagen each took one copy, and the other copy was kept in the yamen.
From then on, Lin finally got what she wanted. Although she was in debt of twenty taels of silver, she was happy with it.
Aunt Bai sighed after reading it, and couldn't help but worry about Lin and her daughters. After Lin took her two daughters away, she couldn't even go back to her parents' home. She heard that Lin's parents' home were not good people either, otherwise they would not have been so cruel as to accept the high betrothal gift of twenty taels of silver from the Luo family and let Lin marry a man like Luo Dagen.
Moreover, Lin's mother has never visited her over the years. Lin has two sisters-in-law at home, and they would never let her bring her two daughters back to the Lin family.
The only possibility of making Lin return to her parents' home is to let her remarry.
After watching the excitement, Aunt Bai went to find Gui and naturally told her about this matter.
So after Xu Qinyu and Wen came back in the evening, Gui also talked to them about it.
After hearing this, Xu Qinyu didn't speak for a long time.
Wen couldn't help but ask, "Is Yu Niang worried about Lin?"
Xu Qinyu shook her head. "If it weren't for the famine, I wouldn't be worried. After all, we wouldn't starve to death."
She just felt that the status of women in this era really made her worried. They were bound by all kinds of shackles. There were actually many cases like Lin's, but other women were not as lucky as Lin. Although Lin paid twenty taels and later set up her own family with her daughter, many women who were divorced would be sold by their parents to marry other men. These women had no say at all.
Lin was lucky. She took the first step herself and was not kicked out by the county magistrate when she went to the yamen. The county magistrate was kind and helped her. Not only did he allow her to leave the Luo family with her daughter, but he also allowed Lin to set up her own business.
But don't underestimate this opportunity to set up your own business. With this document from the county magistrate, Lin and her two daughters are one family and no longer at the mercy of anyone. Even if Lin's parents-in-law come to visit, since Lin has her own business, they can't take her away.
In this era, there are very few women who can set up their own homes. They have to spend a lot of money or have a bit of luck to do so.
In short, Lin set up her own business and raised her two daughters well in the future. She no longer had to worry about being sold by her own mother, or about her daughters being sold, nor was she afraid that her daughters would be sold to others as wives for a high bride price when they grew up.
Wen couldn't help but ask Gui, "Where does Lin live with her two daughters?" She couldn't help but mutter, "The Luo family has done such a ruthless thing, aren't they afraid of divine retribution?"
Gui said, "From what your Aunt Bai said, it seems that she and her daughter are living in that shabby wooden shed at the entrance of town. These past two days, Lin has been doing odd jobs for other families with her daughter, so she can earn a little money to support herself."
There were a few kind-hearted people who were willing to let her wash their clothes.
…
The next day, Xu's Restaurant opened its doors. By noon, all the breakfast guests had left, and Xu Qinyu had also finished washing up.
As summer came, the weather became even hotter. She would sweat all over after making breakfast and only felt better after taking a shower.
At this moment, she was sitting in the front living room to rest, and several children were helping to kill fish in the kitchen to prepare fish balls and other snacks for the afternoon.
Xu Qinyu also changed the names of several children. The one-eyed boy was named Xu Feng, the ugly boy was named Xu Diao, the lame boy was named Xu Yu, and the six-fingered boy was named Xu Shun.
Derived from the phrase "good weather and favorable harvests".
They all took her surname, and she had discussed this with her family. They said that since they were all beggars, she had no intention of taking them as slaves. They could be her apprentices or her adoptive parents. It was also nice to have them take her surname. Xu Qinyu thought of this word overnight and named the four of them.
The four children were so happy to have new names that they would call each other's names when they were free.
"Xu Feng."
"well!"
"Xu Diao."
"well!"
"Xu Yu."
"well!"
"Xu Shun."
"well."
Xu Qinyu laughed so hard that she let them do whatever they wanted.
She was sitting in the living room and resting, thinking that she would have two days to rest again. She couldn't lie at home anymore and had to go to the mountains to pick some mushrooms. The wild grapes on the mountain were ripe. They were very sour and no one would eat them. They could only be used to make wine or as an ingredient for cooking sour plum soup. The taste would change a little, with more grape flavor. She could make some then to see what flavor of sour plum drink everyone liked.
Everyone was resting at the moment, and Lin happened to pass by. She had just helped a family wash clothes, and they gave her five cents.
When she passed by Xu Ji, she saw the notice posted outside the door. She could not read very well, but she had heard about Xu Ji Sun's and Ping'an Restaurant. She guessed that Xu Ji might be short of waiters now, and the notice posted outside might be recruiting waiters. Lin hesitated for a moment and stepped into Xu Ji.
She actually guessed it right.
Xu Qinyu has been recruiting waitresses these days, and quite a few women have come, but Xu Qinyu did not recognize them and was afraid of meeting someone like Sun, or someone who was sneaky and cunning, so she just asked these women to tell her name, age and where they lived, and she would inform them after she selected someone.
Lin went into Xu's and saw Miss Xu sitting on a bench by the window, her chin supported by her hands and her elbows resting on the table. She had probably just finished her work, her snow-white face was still a little red, and her eyes were watery, but her gaze was a little wandering, as if she was in a daze.
Lin went over and called out softly, "Master Xu."
Xu Qinyu woke up. She was just daydreaming about recipes. Thinking about recipes sometimes made her mind go blank. She was just thinking about the proportions of ingredients and seasonings for some new recipes.
Even for ordinary dishes, her recipes are different from others. In fact, cooking is the same after all, and the main thing to highlight is the taste, the difference in taste.
Xu Qinyu smiled when she saw Lin, "Sister-in-law Lin."
Lin stammered, "Boss Xu, is Xu's hiring waiters? I, can I come to work at Xu's? Boss, don't worry, I'm very hardworking and can do any job."
Last time, Miss Xu had refused to let her be a waitress, but this time she still wanted to give it a try. If Miss Xu still refused, she would just be content to do odd jobs like sweeping, ironing, and washing clothes, and on weekdays go to the fields and lotus ponds to catch some river shrimps to sell.
Xu Qinyu said directly, "Okay, you can come to work tomorrow."
She knew Lin quite well. Lin used to be weak, but that weakness was caused by the environment and family she was in. Lin could do so much for her two daughters, so there was absolutely no problem with her character. Character was also what she valued most when recruiting employees.
The reason why they didn't agree before was because of the Luo family. Now that Lin has gotten rid of the Luo family on his own, there is nothing he can't use.
"Tomorrow, tomorrow to work?" Lin was stunned for a moment and stammered to repeat it. She did not expect that Miss Xu would agree so readily this time.
Xu Qinyu nodded. "These past few days, the other two aunts have been serving as waiters and washers. The work is a bit heavy. If you start working soon, they'll have some free time. Let's make it clear first. The monthly salary is 800 wen, including breakfast and dinner. If there's any extra food in the restaurant on weekdays, you can take it home. If you do a good job, you'll get a red envelope during the New Year, and your salary will increase in the future. You have to be diligent and keep your eyes on the work. Don't be distracted. Don't tell others about anything that happens or says in the restaurant without asking."
Lin's face flushed with excitement, and she nodded repeatedly, "Okay, okay, boss, don't worry, I'll save it."
Xu Qinyu thought about it, then went to Wen and asked for 800 coins to give to Lin. "I'll pay you a month's salary in advance. Go rent a house and settle the eldest and second daughters first."
Lin suddenly wanted to cry and wanted to kneel down and kowtow to Xu Qinyu to express her gratitude.
"Hey, don't kneel down to me." Xu Qinyu's voice changed a little, and she even dodged to the side.
Lin couldn't kneel down, and was too embarrassed to look up and thank Xu Qinyu again.
After Lin left, Xu Qinyu went outside to take down the notice recruiting waiters.
Lin took eight hundred coins and took Da Niu and Er Niu to rent a house first.
Big Girl and Second Girl were still waiting for her outside. After hearing Lin's words that Xu Ji's boss was willing to let her come to work, Big Girl looked back at Xu Ji with a firm look in her eyes. She held her mother's hand tightly and said, "Mom, the boss is a good man. Second Girl and I are both grown up. Every day when you go out, I will bring Second Girl to work for the boss. Although we are young, we can still do odd jobs. We don't want any wages."
Lin smiled and said, "Okay."
She was also worried about leaving her two daughters home alone, for fear that they would be taken away by Old Lady Luo.
Lin took her two daughters to rent a house on the north street. The houses on the north street were cheaper than those on the south street. She spent 150 coins to rent a small courtyard, which was enough for her and her two daughters to live in.
Lin rented the house for 150 coins, kept 150 coins for herself, and gave the remaining 500 coins to the Luo family in Guihua Lane.
Fearing that the Luo family would default on the debt, she specially found a piece of paper and asked someone to write forty five-hundred-coin notes on it. From then on, she would give the Luo family five hundred coins every month and ask them to put their fingerprint on the bottom. In this way, she could pay off all the debt in more than three years.
When Lin went to the Luo family to give the money, she also asked her neighbor's aunt to help her witness it, so as to prevent the Luo family from cheating in the future.
When Mrs. Luo saw her take out five hundred coins, she asked her angrily if she had taken away the money she had secretly saved in the Luo family.
Lin said coldly, "It was the kindness of the owner of Xu's Restaurant who agreed to let me work there. He even gave me a month's salary in advance so I could settle down. From now on, I will give you 500 coins every month."
This matter cannot be concealed. The Luo family will find out sooner or later, so there is no need to hide it. If Old Lady Luo really dares to make trouble at Xu's, she will dare to drive them out with a knife.
"What?" Old Lady Luo was furious when she heard this. "Well, didn't that little bitch stop you from being a waiter before?"
Lin's expression turned even colder. "Speak nicely. If you scold Miss Xu again, don't blame me for being rude."
Old Mrs. Luo curled her lips.
When the woman next to her heard this, she also condemned Old Lady Luo and said that Miss Xu was really kind-hearted, letting Lin work well there and raise the two daughters.
Old Mrs. Luo was tired of listening and looked at the half-string of money in Lin's hand and was about to take it.
Luo Dagen suddenly came out. He had heard everything that was said outside. He took the half string of money and asked Lin to give all the money to him in the future.
Old Mrs. Luo wanted the half-string of money, but her son certainly wouldn't give it to her.
Luo Dagen felt a little regretful when he knew that Lin worked at Xu's, but when he thought about the fact that Lin couldn't give birth to a son, he had nothing to regret. He wanted a son even more.
Lin gave the money and went back.
The next day, Lin took her two daughters to work at Xu's.
Xu Qinyu didn't say anything about the two extra children. She asked them to help in the kitchen with Xu Feng and the others. However, this made the kitchen quite crowded because there were so many children. In fact, Cheng Ge'er was still a half-grown child in her eyes.
When the big girl was helping, she saw Xu Qinyu making dumplings with braised pork, and she said, "Boss, I can also make pleats."
Xu Qinyu smiled and said, "Okay, then you try it."
After washing and drying her hands, the girl began to pinch pleats on the buns, imitating Xu Qinyu's way. She was not fast, but not slow either, and looked more skilled than many novices. After she finished, Xu Qinyu took a look and found that the pleats were not round enough and were a little crooked, but they looked better than those pinched by many people.
Xu Qinyu was surprised. "Is this your first time pinching pleats on a bun?"
The big girl nodded. Her family had never eaten buns before. She just watched the boss make them and thought it should be very simple, so she wanted to help.
Xu Qinyu was a little happy. This child was quite talented in making pasta. Pasta was the process of making noodles. Regardless of whether she could make other kinds of noodles, the folds of the buns made by the girl for the first time were more beautiful than those made by ordinary people. This was a kind of talent in making pasta. Maybe she could teach the girl how to make pasta.
She gave the girl a ball of rough dough and asked her to practice pinching pleats. She would help her pinch pleats first and then slowly teach her other skills.
The big girl took a ball of rough noodles and went over to pinch the wrinkles.
When Lin learned about this, she was a little frightened, afraid that the boss would misunderstand that the eldest girl wanted to steal her skills. However, Cheng Ge'er told her not to worry, saying that the fourth sister-in-law was an excellent cook and just wanted to find a few apprentices to spread her cooking skills.
Lin finally felt relieved and felt even more grateful to Xu Qinyu.
…
Two days later, Xu Ji took a rest. Xu Qinyu borrowed a donkey cart from Mrs. Xia and prepared to go to the mountains outside the town to pick mushrooms. Because they also wanted to pick wild grapes, they took Cheng Ge'er and Gong Ge'er with them to leave the city. Finally, Xu Feng and the other four wanted to go with them, so they all went together. Even Wen went with them because she was worried about Yu Niang and the children.
In fact, the family already had enough money to buy a donkey cart, but they were too busy on weekdays. Xu Qinyu planned to ask Cheng Ge'er to help run errands to buy a donkey cart when he came back this time. It would be more convenient for him to drive the donkey cart to buy vegetables.
We left the city and headed towards the mountains.
Going to the mountains, Xu Qinyu went to pick wild mushrooms.
Wen was worried about Yu Niang. There were many snakes, insects, rats and ants on the mountain. She was afraid that she would be hurt or encounter hunters on the mountain. Yu Niang was pretty, and she was afraid that she would meet people with bad intentions, so she asked Xu Feng to go with Yu Niang, and she took Cheng Ge'er and others to pick wild grapes.
As summer arrives, there are more delicious wild mushrooms in the mountains, especially those with bright colors. Some are edible and some are not.
In fact, at least half of these colorful wild mushrooms are absolutely inedible.
But looking at the other colorful mushrooms, Xu Qinyu was drooling. Although these mushrooms are slightly poisonous, if they are handled well, they are real mountain delicacies. The delicious taste lingers on the tip of the tongue, and no one who has eaten it will forget this delicious taste.
In later generations, many people knew that these wild mushrooms were slightly poisonous and would bring harm to people if not handled properly, so why did they still eat them? It was because they were delicious.
When Xu Qinyu was picking the mushrooms, she also told Xu Feng not to pick them randomly. After all, these mushrooms, even if they are of the same kind, actually have slight differences. One kind can be eaten, while the other cannot be touched at all.
Xu Qinyu picked these mushrooms for her family to eat and did not plan to sell them to restaurants, lest others learn from her and go up the mountain to pick mushrooms and cause trouble.
Xu Feng was very obedient. If Xu Qinyu didn't let him pick the bamboo shoots, he wouldn't pick them and would help Xu Qinyu find bamboo shoots.
The bamboo shoots in this season are not as fresh and a bit bitter. They are the bitter bamboo shoots that only appear in summer, but they are still edible. You can blanch them to remove the bitterness and stir-fry them to make sour bamboo shoots or stir-fry them with meat.
In addition to these mushrooms, Xu Qinyu also picked a lot of other edible mushrooms, dried them, and crushed them into powder for use as seasoning.
When Xu Qinyu saw some edible wild vegetables, she picked them up as well.
At about the end of the hour of Wei, Xu Qinyu and Xu Feng came down the mountain. The donkey cart at the foot of the mountain was already piled with wild grapes, and Cheng Ge'er and his friends had picked quite a few.
When driving the donkey cart back to the town, he unexpectedly ran into a group of ragged and skinny people, all of whom were carrying their families and luggage. With just one glance, Xu Qinyu knew the identities of these people. They must be people from the north who fled after the snowstorm last year. More than half a year had passed, and they had actually come to the southwest.
Most of the victims went to the south or Beijing. I didn’t expect that there would be more victims coming here.
They probably didn't take the official road, otherwise they wouldn't have come here.
Xu Qinyu looked at those people with numb eyes and felt uncomfortable.
At this moment, she couldn't give the bitter bamboo shoots and wild vegetables on the donkey cart to the victims, for fear that they would snatch them and hurt the children, or that they would steal the mushrooms and eat them and cause trouble.
In fact, there are many mountains in the southwest, and you can fill your stomach with wild game, wild vegetables, and other wild fruits. Even if you can't find these, there are many fields, ditches, ponds, and small lakes outside the town, and you can fill your stomach by fishing in them.
When you go to the southwest, you will never lack food and drink.
Xu Qinyu was not worried that they would come to steal the things on the furnace cart. Wild mushrooms and wild vegetables were all in baskets, and the donkey cart was full of wild grapes. These things were sour, and even the refugees were unwilling to eat them because the more they ate, the hungrier they became, and it would also cause sour stomachache.
Just looking at the disaster victims, one of them was a man carrying a woman on his back. The woman's face was covered with rashes, and her cheeks were sunken. She looked like she had fainted. Seeing this, Xu Qinyu's face suddenly changed a little. She whispered to Cheng Ge'er, "Cheng Ge'er, take the other side of the road. Don't walk with these refugees. Don't get close to them. Then drive faster and pass them quickly."
Cheng Ge'er didn't ask any more questions and immediately drove the donkey cart along another path, speeding up.
Xu Qinyu also quickened her pace, and the others behind her naturally followed suit.
As they waited to overtake the refugees, Xu Qinyu whispered a few words to Wen. Wen's expression changed slightly, "Okay, then you and Cheng'er should hurry back to town with your donkey cart and tell the county magistrate to stop them outside the town first. I'll take Feng'er and the others back as soon as possible."
Xu Qinyu nodded and got on the donkey cart. Cheng Ge'er immediately drove the donkey faster.
The two of them returned to the town in less than half an hour. The town was also guarded by soldiers. People in the town could enter and leave freely, but people from outside the town had to pay a toll of two cents if they wanted to enter the town.
After entering the town, Xu Qinyu asked Cheng Ge'er to take her to the yamen. She got off the donkey cart at the yamen and asked Cheng Ge'er to take the things on the donkey cart back to the restaurant first.
Cheng Ge'er didn't ask any more questions, just nodded and drove away in the donkey cart.
Xu Qinyu did not knock on the drum of the yamen, but went to the backyard of the yamen and knocked on the door. A maid opened the door. She recognized Xu Qinyu and knew that she was a friend of her daughter, so she immediately invited her in.
Yang Zhizhi was also very happy to see Xu Qinyu, "Qinyu, why are you here?"
Xu Qinyu didn't have time to say more to Zhizhi. She said with a serious expression, "Zhizhi, I want to see the county magistrate."
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