Pei Yao carefully pulled Zhang Niangzi's arm and gently pulled back the wound that was being covered by her clothes.
His thin, sallow arms were covered in bluish-purple bruises, new and old, countless wounds overlapping each other.
Pei Yao couldn't believe that this was a woman's arm.
Those wounds were like sparks that jumped into the calm surface of oil, instantly causing a huge uproar.
Pei Yao stared intently at the wound on Zhang's arm: "Was this all inflicted by Qi Dayong?"
It was absolutely shocking.
Zhang Niangzi lowered her head and nodded blankly: "Yes, he will attack me whenever he is unhappy."
Seeing the worried expressions on Pei Yao's and the others' faces, Madam Zhang pulled her clothes down a little and forced a smile: "But it's alright, he always holds back when he hits people."
Pei Yao: "You call this holding back?!"
Yunniang was also furious: "You have borne him three children, how could he possibly do this to you when you are so frail!"
Upon hearing Yunniang's words, Zhang Niangzi's crying intensified:
“A few days ago, he got involved with Widow Xia from the next village. I didn’t want to get involved, because all I wanted was for my child to grow up safely. I didn’t care about anything else. But lately, everyone in the village knows about his shameless affair with Widow Xia.”
Madam Zhang wiped away her tears and said, "I don't care, but the children are chased and laughed at whenever they go out. They come home crying every day, and gradually some people even bully them."
"I wanted to talk to him about it, at least to stop doing it so openly and making the child a laughingstock, but as soon as he heard that, he immediately started hitting me..."
Zhang Niangzi's words struck Pei Yao and the others like a powerful punch.
Women already have it tough in this world, and if they don't help each other out, life will be even harder.
“Mrs. Zhang, if you get a divorce, you can come work for me for a long time. If you are worried about who will take care of your child at home, you can bring your child with you.” Pei Yao comforted Mrs. Zhang while speaking to her earnestly.
She stared blankly at Pei Yao for a long while before she came to her senses.
"Really? Is it really possible?" Then she quickly lowered her head and shook her head in denial: "How could that be? Who would want a woman who has been divorced by her husband and has three children to go to work?"
Pei Yao pulled Zhang Niangzi close, looked into her eyes, and said firmly, "Zhang Niangzi, women are no less capable than men. Don't underestimate yourself just because of the divorce."
Zhang Niangzi looked at Pei Yao's eyes and remained silent for a moment.
Pei Yao's image was reflected in her eyes.
Her words spread rapidly in people's hearts like a seed.
When Yunniang paid Zhang Niangzi's bill, she deliberately took some money from her own account and put it in Zhang Niangzi's purse.
Yunniang knew that Zhang Niangzi never counted the money when she delivered goods and received payment. She always said that she believed the Pei family would not shortchange her by a single penny.
As soon as Madam Zhang received the money pouch, she immediately realized what had happened.
After all, I only have so much stuff, but right now the weight in my purse is completely wrong.
It's much heavier.
"Madam, you gave too much money." After saying that, Madam Zhang emptied all the money out of her money bag.
Sure enough, Yunniang had secretly stuffed a lot of silver into the purse.
Because she was afraid of being discovered by Zhang Niangzi, Yunniang stuffed only loose silver coins into the bag.
When Yunniang was discovered, she stopped pretending and earnestly pulled her aside, saying:
“Zhang Niangzi, keep some of the extra money for yourself. It’s getting cold, so buy yourself some nice clothes. Don’t give it all to Qi Dayong.”
Zhang Niangzi looked at herself wearing layers upon layers of thin clothes.
Even though I wore many layers, it still wasn't warm.
The wind felt bitingly cold on my skin.
"Madam, I can't take more of your money. You've already helped me a lot. If it weren't for you giving me this job, my three children and I would still be living the life we used to live, where we couldn't even afford to eat."
At least now, every time Qi Dayong takes the money away, he leaves them some money to eat their fill.
At least the children won't go hungry anymore.
Zhang Niangzi insisted on not accepting more money from Yunniang, no matter how much Yunniang tried to bribe her.
Yunniang had no choice but to give up.
Pei Yao: "Madam Zhang, please wait here for me."
After Pei Yao finished speaking, she pulled Yun Niang back into the house.
Pei Yao found a few old cotton-padded jackets in the house; they were all ready-made clothes that they had bought in town a few days ago.
At that time, Yunniang and Chen Fang couldn't afford to buy the best, so they settled for the cheaper ones.
Right now, Yunniang and Chen Fang have made new jackets with new fabric.
So the padded jacket I bought earlier is now just sitting unused.
Although I've worn it for a while and it's gotten a bit old, it's still warm enough for this weather.
As Yunniang searched, she asked in confusion, "Yao'er, why are we sorting through these old cotton-padded jackets?"
Pei Yao: "Give this to Madam Zhang."
"Give it to Madam Zhang? But why are they giving her old clothes?"
Yunniang was somewhat puzzled. Giving away old clothes to others seemed inappropriate, especially since they were some worn-out old clothes.
Pei Yao picked up the old coats, four in total:
“Mother, although Zhang Niangzi is not living well, she is unwilling to accept charity. You see, she always did more work than others when she was working. Today, she refused to accept the money you secretly gave her. So if I give her new money, she will definitely not accept it. She will only accept old money.”
That's why Pei Yao looked for the cotton-padded coat she had bought some time ago.
Yunniang still didn't understand, but she still obediently helped Pei Yao move things.
What she didn't understand was, Zhang Niangzi was already so poor, so why was she still refusing?
"Zhang Niangzi, here's a cotton-padded coat for you. You're dressed too lightly." Pei Yao handed two cotton-padded coats to Zhang Niangzi, and Yunniang also had two.
Just as Zhang Niangzi was about to refuse, she realized that cotton was precious in this era, and most villagers wore the same cotton-padded coat for generations.
If clothes are torn, mend them; if they can't be mended, remove the cotton, replace the fabric, and make a new one.
Pei Yao's four cotton-padded jackets are still very new; they look like they were bought this year.
Madam Zhang said, "Miss Pei, your coat is still very new; you can still wear it yourselves."
Zhang Niangzi knew all too well how precious a cotton-padded jacket was.
Pei Yao stuffed the coat into her hands: "Madam Zhang, please accept this. This coat is old and thin, and it's not warm enough to wear, so I'm giving it to you. If you don't want it, I'll just have to throw it away."
Sure enough, when Madam Zhang heard that such a nice cotton coat was going to be thrown away, she was immediately conflicted.
Miss Pei's family is so wealthy; they run a big business in town.
This cotton-padded coat is made of gray linen, so I guess it's no longer suitable for people who would want it.
She had heard from a fellow villager who had worked as a maid in a wealthy family in the county that rich people would only wear their cotton-padded jackets a few times before throwing them away.
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