Meanwhile, Pei Dalang and Pei Erlang were in the courtyard holding the oilcloth that Pei Yao had bought earlier.
They nailed all the drafty windows in the house shut.
Otherwise, with the weather getting cooler lately, even if I'm covered with thick blankets at night, I still feel cold when the wind blows in through the window.
It's cold outside, and it's not warm inside either.
When they were poor, they made do with whatever they could, so they didn't bother to repair or maintain the many dilapidated places in the courtyard.
Now that life is better, it's natural that these gaps in the yard should be patched up.
So during this time, Pei Dalang, Pei Erlang, and several other men in the village were helping the Pei family repair their courtyard.
And Pei Ji's business is getting better and better under He Zhanglin's management.
The new year is quietly approaching amidst these busy days.
While Pei Dalang, Pei Erlang, and the other men were busy, Chen Fang and the other women were not idle either.
As the weather gets colder, the season for prickly pear seeds is coming to an end.
There was still a lot of kelp left to harvest in Black Bay, but the weather was too cold, so Pei Yao gave the kelp-picking workers a long holiday.
Tell them to come back when the weather gets warmer.
The workers had earned a lot of money in the past few days, and seeing that the weather was getting colder and the New Year was approaching, they happily went back to rest.
However, if they send over seaweed that they have dried themselves, the Pei family will accept it.
The price will remain the same as before.
Most people are unwilling to go into the water because of the cold weather.
Some are diligent, even when the weather gets cold, they will bring a lot of seaweed over every now and then.
For example...
"Zhang Niangzi, you've dried so much seaweed again." Pei Yao looked at Zhang Niangzi, who had brought over several large bundles of seaweed.
After not seeing her for a while, she seemed to have lost even more weight.
He was wearing only thin clothes. Why thin? Because everyone else was already wearing padded jackets.
Zhang Niangzi was still wearing a thin shirt without cotton padding, and it seemed that she had put on several layers because of the cold.
He wore several thin shirts, making his body look bulky.
It's heavy but not warm.
Pei Yao couldn't bear to look any longer, but she still couldn't help but say:
"Madam Zhang, the weather has been cold lately, so please wear more layers when you go to the beach to pick seaweed."
Zhang Niangzi is very diligent. When she came to work for Pei Yao before, she never missed a single day.
In addition, she sometimes dries seaweed at home and delivers it over, earning two jobs at once.
Despite her incredibly thin figure, she commanded the respect of many women who were taller than her.
The friendship between the women was always kind and warm. Everyone knew that Zhang Niangzi had a hard life, and her husband Qi Dayong often beat her.
So people would often force a steamed bun onto Zhang Niangzi's plate while she was eating a vegetable dumpling.
Or perhaps we could give her the easier tasks so she wouldn't be so tired.
Although everyone was struggling, they were all doing better than Zhang Niangzi.
But Zhang Niangzi always insisted on doing the work, as if she was afraid that if she did not do enough, the employer would lose money.
A smile spread across Zhang Niangzi's face as she handed over the seaweed in her hand:
“Oh, Miss Pei, thank you for your concern. When the New Year comes, I’ll take a piece of floral fabric and make myself a dress.”
The winter sea breeze is cold and harsh, and it feels like knives cutting your face.
Zhang Niangzi's face was also dried out by the winter sea breeze.
When Madam Zhang said this, a hint of longing couldn't help but appear in her wrinkled eyes.
It seems that the only time her mother ever made her a dress was on the day she married Qi Dayong.
I wanted her to have more face in her husband's family so that she could help her younger brother in her own family in the future.
Pei Yao felt a pang of sympathy but didn't say anything more.
Yunniang, standing to the side, had tears welling up in her eyes.
Pei Yao reached out and took the seaweed from Zhang Niangzi's hand, but accidentally touched Zhang Niangzi's wrist.
Zhang Niangzi trembled slightly.
Pei Yao immediately realized something was wrong, grabbed her hand, and carefully tried to check it.
"Are you alright, Madam Zhang?"
Madam Zhang withdrew her hand, trying to dodge, and tugged at her clothes to try and block it.
But Pei Yao still noticed the large and small bluish-black marks on her hands.
Anger rose on Pei Yao's and Yun Niang's faces.
Pei Yao looked at Zhang Niangzi's wrist and asked, "Did he hit you again?"
Yunniang, standing to the side, also looked distressed.
Zhang Niangzi neither shook her head nor nodded at Pei Yao's words; she simply lowered her head, her eyes fixed on those toes.
The skin on his neck, peeling from sun exposure, was exposed because he was looking down, making him look like a rooster stretching its neck out to be slaughtered.
Pei Yao said angrily, "Didn't he promise before that he wouldn't lay a hand on you?"
Previously, Pei Yao had always seen scars on Zhang Niangzi's face. As a woman herself, Pei Yao had also gone to stand up for Zhang Niangzi and seek justice.
Qi Dayong is a lazy and playful person.
Since he started receiving wages from Zhang Niangzi for coming to work every day, his life has become much more comfortable.
Every day after Zhang Niangzi took her wages home, he would take most of it to play with, leaving only a little for Zhang Niangzi and her children to eat.
Zhang Niangzi had no choice; if she resisted even slightly, he would beat her.
But in order for her child to have a full meal, Zhang Niangzi had no choice but to continue working.
Pei Yao found Qi Dayong and warned him that if he saw Zhang Niangzi injured again, she would not allow Zhang Niangzi to go to work.
These words still had some deterrent effect on Qi Dayong, who relied on Zhang's meager wages every day.
If Madam Zhang had no work, how could he still live a carefree life?
So he readily agreed to Pei Yao's request.
Zhang Niangzi gave a bitter laugh, her voice filled with despair: "He promised you, young lady, that he wouldn't let you see my injuries, but he started hitting me where no one could see."
Yunniang looked at the wound on Zhangniang's hand with heartache and went back into the room to look for the ointment that Shen Yu had sent earlier.
Pei Yao was shocked, but finally sighed and asked, "Why not divorce him?"
Pei Yao had heard Chen Fang and the others say that although the Li Dynasty was ruled by a tyrant, if a couple was not on good terms, the woman could still file for divorce.
Pei Yao's words caused the woman in front of her, who had never received any love from others, to burst into tears instantly.
Yunniang had just brought the medicine when she saw Zhang Niangzi crying, so she quickly went to find a clean handkerchief to help Zhang Niangzi wipe her tears.
Pei Yao was also there, gently patting her back to comfort her.
After a long time, Zhang Niangzi cried until she felt she had cried all her tears out.
She looked at Pei Yao, her swollen, red eyes filled with despair:
“Miss Pei, if I get a divorce, Qi Dayong will definitely not give me the children, nor will he let me go. What will happen to my children then? They are still so young.”
Zhang's voice was like a dying dog struggling and howling softly, revealing boundless despair.
But no one could save her.
She is like an isolated island on the verge of extinction.
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