Chapter 44

Not long after, Uncle Tang came over with a woman who was wearing a bun with a brocade silk scarf. She had red flowers on her hair, powdered her eyebrows, put rouge on her lips, and wore a bright-colored blouse and skirt. .

Uncle Tang introduced to Xu Yi that this mother-in-law is the mother who specializes in selecting people for the fireworks pavilion and the placement of outhouse wives for wealthy families. Her surname is Pan, so just call her Mother Pan.

As long as she spends a few hard-earned money, Pan's mother can take a trip for Xu Yi.

Xu Yi calmly invited them into the room to talk.

He did not avoid Cow Dung, but asked him to follow him to the main room, where Cow Dung would explain the situation to Pan's mother in person.

Niu Dung was still very nervous at first, but as he talked, he became less scared.

Pan's mother is a good person. She knew that the young man wanted to buy a girl not for other reasons but to do good deeds, so she praised her sweetly several times.

"Don't worry, young man, as long as the child is still here, I will bring her over." Mother Pan smiled, and the cheap powder on her face fell off.

Under the light, it looks like free flying dust.

Xu Yi said: "Thank you for coming, Mother Pan. Let's take the money to drink from the begging bowl first. When we bring the children over, we will also treat mother to a drink."

Mother Pan was not polite when she saw the ten cents. He took it over and took the opportunity to touch Xu Yi's hand, and said with a smile: "How embarrassing is this? I know you are impatient, so I will stop drinking tea and chatting. I will talk to Xiao Lang again when I bring him here." "Jun, please speak."

Xu Yi took back his hand and said, "..." He wiped his hand behind his back.

As soon as she left, Xu Yi said a few words to Uncle Tang and ran to wash his hands.

Halfway through washing, Xu Yi felt that water alone was not enough, and he had to use soap beans.

The small figure of Cow Dung moved over: "Lang Jun, let me scoop water for you."

Xu Yi: "No, you go and make tea for Uncle Tang."

Cow Dung pursed his lips, lowered his head and whispered: " Sir, I don't know how to make tea."

Xu Yi was stunned: "..."

He had forgotten that poor children in the countryside had never drank tea, let alone made tea.

"It's okay. I've washed my hands. I'll just go." After Xu Yi said that, he felt something was inappropriate and said to him, "We'll have dinner at home. You go wash two bamboo tubes of rice and cook it. It should be thicker." "It's too thin and I can't eat enough."

The cow dung gained momentum again and trotted to cook porridge.

Xu Yi looked at his thin back and frowned silently. Maybe for this child, he was just nice to him and didn't need to ask him to do anything. Instead, it was a burden.

Back in the main room, Uncle Tang said he was going back.

Xu Yi gave him a can of tea and asked him to take it back to drink. Uncle Tang had helped him a lot, so it was not appropriate to just take the money. This can of tea was as big as the palm of your hand, and the teahouse sold it for 28 cents a can, which was not cheap.

Compared with the loose tea that weighs more than ten yuan per pound, it is more suitable for giving away.

...

There was an extra child in the Xu family's house, and they couldn't hide it from their neighbors, Madam He and Madam Chen.

The two of them have not grown up yet. They sit around at Xu Yi's house, but Mrs. He cannot sit for a long time. She spends less time embroidering at home and walks out of the house more often. As soon as she walks out of the yard, she sees more people in the yard of the Xu family next door. A child.

Wearing Xu Yi's clothes, the sleeves and trousers are rolled up several times, which is really funny.

Madam He raised her eyebrows curiously and saw that there was a wound on the child's face and forehead, which was still obvious even after applying medicine.

"Which family do you come from, kid? Why haven't I seen you on South Street before?" Madam He asked, leaning against the courtyard wall and looking at the cow dung.

Niu Dung was picking vegetables in the yard and was startled when he heard the sound. He quickly got up and looked for her, only to see Mrs. He in the corner.

Madam He is in her thirties. Although she comes from an ordinary family, she does not have to work in the fields. Her face is well-kept. She has a plum blossom silver hairpin on her bun and silk flowers. She is the most beautiful lady in their village. Can't compare.

Niu Dung immediately stammered nervously: "I, I'm from Lang Jun's family, and I was just bought by him."

Madam He was shocked: "?"

"Brother Yi bought it and you came back?"

Niu Dung listened and clicked. He nodded, wrung his hands together, and looked toward the kitchen.

At this moment, Mrs. Chen on the other side came out to splash water. She saw someone in Xu's yard and said "Hey".

Cow Dung turned his head to look, dumbfounded.

Mrs. Chen looked at him up and down and asked with a smile: "Which family are you from?"

Niu Dung had no choice but to say what she just said again.

Mrs. Chen: "..." This is not like Xu Yi's style.

"What's the matter with the injury on your head? Could it be that someone bullied you." She asked again.

After asking, she noticed that Mrs. He was also looking here through the courtyard wall. The two people's eyes met, and they understood each other's meaning instantly. They came out of their own yard and came to Xu's house to look for Xu Yi.

What is Xu Yi doing?

He was making Xiaoshi pills in the kitchen, and making Xiaoshi pills had become an indispensable part of his life recently.

He took the steamed herbs out of the steamer and suddenly heard the door open, so he walked out to see what was going on.

As soon as he stepped out of the kitchen door, Madam He called over.

"Brother Yi, where did you buy this child? He is so well-behaved, but why are there so many wounds on his body? I asked him who bullied him, but he didn't answer." Mrs. He said angrily.

What kind of evil-hearted person could beat a child like this? It's really abominable.

Mrs. Chen echoed from the side: "He said you bought him out of kindness. I guess Brother Yi knows something."

Xu Yi could guess a lot from what they said.

Looking at the object of discussion again, Niu Dung lowered his head slightly, not daring to look into his eyes. Come to think of it, I am also afraid of being criticized and beaten.

Xu Yi sighed inwardly and said without changing his expression: "It's for some reason. I've met this child before. He's a good boy. Now he's been dragged into selling him. I met him and bought him back. After that

, he called Niu Dung to continue his work, and Madam He and Madam Chen would just let him receive her.

The family couldn't make ends meet, so they sold the children for a lot of money. Madam He and Madam Chen didn't think much about it, thinking that Xu Yi had bought it from someone they met on the way.

He did not continue to ask this question, but asked Xu Yi if he had any plans for the child.

"You are alone at home, and there is no one to help you with food and supplies. This kid seems to be able to do something, so it's better to keep him here."

"That's right. Staying here with Brother Yi is much better than selling him somewhere else. One or two." Mrs. Chen looked outside and looked at the child's thin back. She didn't know what to think, and said with emotion, "This child is lucky."

No matter what the reason, at least the cow dung is here. Xu family.

In the evening, Xu Yi tidied up the Xu family's parents' house and let the cow dung temporarily live there.

Fortunately, when the house was being renovated, Xu Yi asked the old master to renovate the house of Xu's parents. When the cow dung sister comes over, they can hang up a curtain to separate the house, so that the two of them can live in the house separately.

Now that their brothers and sisters are still young, it's okay to live like this for now, but in two years they may not be able to do it.

In ancient times, there was a distinction between men and women, and brothers and sisters had to avoid suspicion when they reached old age. Countryside people did not have so many houses for men and women, but they would also separate them with curtains.

Xu Yi thought of this, gave the cow dung the bedding, and asked him to make the bed by himself.

Cow Dung hugged the bedding with the scent of soap beans and touched it. It was soft and soft, and tears fell down unsatisfactoryly: "Thank you, Sir."

Xu Yi laughed dumbly, why is this child still a crybaby.

...

the next day.

At dawn, there was movement in the Xu family's kitchen.

Cow dung rolled up his sleeves, squatting on a wooden stool to light the fire, and cooked the rice porridge. He went to the water tank to scoop water, and used a bamboo brush to wash the unwashed food that Xu Yi left in the kitchen after making Xiaoshi pills yesterday. clay pot.

Xu Yi turned over in a daze while sleeping, and opened his eyes suddenly the next moment.

He hadn't gotten used to the fact that there was an extra person in the room, and the sudden extra sound made him subconsciously alert.

He got up and got dressed and opened the door. When he saw the cow dung working in the kitchen, he didn't know what to say.

When Cow Dung saw him getting up, he happily wiped his hands and ran over and shouted: "Lang Jun, I cooked the porridge and kept it warm in the pot. Mr. Do you want to brush your teeth? I will brush your teeth and wash your face." "

Xu Yi: "..."

"No." He quickly grabbed him, pinched his eyebrows helplessly, and asked him, "When did you wake up?"

Niu Dung shook his head and said he didn't know. time, and then said, "I woke up when I heard the gong, but it was too dark, so I stayed in the room for a while before coming out."

Xu Yi looked at him and said slowly: "There is no need to wake up in the future. It's so early, I'll give you some money later. If you wake up early, just call the idle man outside and give him two dollars and ask him to bring three breakfast meals. "

But since the cow dung is used to cook rice porridge today. Today, the idle man will not be allowed to bring breakfast food. He boiled three more eggs, one for each of the two people and the dog.

After peeling the eggs, Xu Yi put them in a bowl of cow dung and ordered him: "Sit down and eat."

Someone stood next to him and watched him eat, but he couldn't eat any more.

After breakfast, Xu Yi went to the well and picked up two buckets of water. He then ground the dried saltpeter into powder and dissolved it into the water, intending to make another pot of frozen ice water.

Making ice takes time, and he has to go to Yahangli to do business today. He can't wait for Pan's mother to come over with her children, so he will ask the cow dung to guard the house. If he sees Pan's mother coming over with his sister, he will go to Uncle Tang's house to invite someone over. .

After saying that, he took out a string of hundreds of copper coins and gave it to the cow dung.

"Take this money. If Uncle Tang is not here, you can count out 20 pieces of money and give it to Pan's mother as hard-earned money." Xu Yi said and asked him, "Can you count?"

Cow Dung held a piece of money . Bai Wen, everyone was stunned. When Xu Yi asked him, he nodded hurriedly and said, "I can count to fifty."

This was something he learned after selling medicinal materials for more than a year.

Xu Yi felt relieved knowing that he could count. Without explaining anything else, he went out to call Xiao Huang over, fed him a piece of dried meat, and told him to protect the cow dung at home.

Xiao Huang: "Woof woof woof!"

...

In the dental shop, Manager Huang was waiting anxiously, fearing that the boy might not come today.

Fortunately, not long after waiting, the handsome boy came and brought over half a catty of agarwood.

I weighed it with a scale and found that the piece of agarwood cost five taels and three cents. The whole piece of agarwood is of extremely high quality, and just by smelling it, there is a refreshing fragrance.

Manager Huang said hello three times and immediately asked his servants to follow him to Xing Mansion.

It was not convenient for Xu Yi to follow him, so he waited for him to come back in Yaxing.

About an hour later, Agent Huang came back with a glowing face. No need to ask, everyone knows that the transaction went smoothly. Mr.

Eighty taels of silver, 10% of which went to Huang's agent, and Xu Yi still had 72 taels left.

The silver looks good, the silver is new money, and it feels very textured. Xu Yi fumbled with it for a while, then asked Manager Huang to change it for him.

Xu Yi: "Please, Agent Huang, please exchange it for me with one twenty-tael and ten fifty-two notes, and hold the rest in broken silver so that I can take it back for business."

Agent Huang said that it was no problem, and it didn't take long. , he exchanged the money for jiaozi and gave it to Xu Yi.

Xu Yi got the money, didn't stay any longer, and said goodbye.

Manager Huang pulled him and said with a smile: "Brother, go slowly. If your officials have any good things to sell in the future, they can come to me. I am a trustworthy person and I have a tight mouth."

Xu Yi It should be said that this agent Huang is fast and can solve the problems that he cannot come forward for. In particular, the agency fee he asked for was expensive, but he was trustworthy and kept his mouth shut. Xu Yi had been running around the dental shop these days and didn't notice anyone following him.

Still cautious, he walked out of the door of Yaxing and headed towards East Street.

After going around in a circle, Xu Yi came out of the market on East Street, bought two meals, and took them back to South Street.

Xu family.

Cow dung, who was guarding the house alone, moved restlessly back and forth in the house.

After Xu Yi left, he found a lot of work. He first scrubbed the furniture in the main room, then swept the floor, washed and hung clothes. When he saw medicinal materials drying on a wooden shelf, he even moved a stool to step on it to dry the medicinal materials. Turning over...

After doing this, he found that Xu Yi hadn't come back yet, and Pan's mother, whom he had met yesterday, hadn't come either.

He felt uneasy, worried that Pan's mother had not bought his sister, and fearfully thought about what if his sister had been sold away.

After finally waiting for the sound to come, he hurriedly ran to see it. It was a seller, carrying a load and shouting to sell needlework and other small items.

Cow Dung shook his head and said he wouldn't buy it. The salesman then picked up the load and left.

Seeing the sun in the sky moving above people's heads, Xu Yi opened the courtyard door with food wrapped in oil paper.

Cow Dung quickly ran over and took the thing in his hand.

"Lang Jun, you're finally back."

Xu Yi said "hmm". Seeing that the house was quiet, he knew that Pan's mother hadn't come over yet, so he asked the cow dung to wash his hands.

The "candy" Xin Shengyuan gave him last time tasted good. Xu Yi thought that the children at home had never eaten such snacks, so he bought some.

But what he bought was not "candy". It was made from dough and rice flour and fried in a pan. It was a snack called "fried stew". [Note 1]

In modern terms, it is fried dough sticks.

It is also a pleasure to serve two bowls of rice porridge that were not finished in the morning and eat them together.

Cow dung had never eaten "fried stew" before. He swallowed unconsciously after smelling the fragrance. He murmured and asked: "Lang Jun, can I eat it?"

Xu Yi smiled: "Yes, but the wounds on your body are It’s not all good, so I can only eat one to satisfy my craving.”

Niu Dung said gratefully, “Thank you, Mr. Lang!”

This “fried stew” is so delicious to him. The smell of sesame oil made him want to take another bite.

But he still remembered what Xu Yi said, and after eating, he didn't touch the fried stew again.

Dessert varieties in the Song Dynasty can be divided into several categories: cakes, buns, cakes, pastries, dumplings, etc. There are countless different subcategories in each category, and the subcategories can be further subdivided, which can be said to be a dazzling array.

Yanting County is only a small county town, but because it is a famous silk producing area in Sichuan, there are many traders coming and going, and there are even more people who can be ranked as members. Therefore, even if it is not as convenient as the streets of Bianjing, there are still a lot of good things to eat.

In particular, business people will also bring over the fashionable gadgets and delicious food there. Xu Yi's life here is not bad. Except for the lack of technological products, everything else is even better than before.

After all, in modern times, there are not so many wild medicinal materials for people to dig up. Oh, by the way, some of them are even invited to drink tea.

Xu Yi smiled and said that if he had the opportunity in the future, he would take cow dung around and try more new things.

Niu Dung's eyes were suddenly filled with yearning, it was great to be by Lang Jun's side.

No need to starve, no need to be beaten, and good clothes to wear.

As he was thinking about it, he thought about his sister again, looking eagerly out of the yard, begging Pan's mother to come as soon as possible.

At this time, a boy hurriedly came to Xu's door and knocked on the door.

Cow Dung ran to open the door, looked at the man warily, and asked: "Who are you looking for?"

When the boy opened the door and saw a strange boy, he was not confused and said with a smile: "I am Sheng Langjun's book boy. I am here. " I'm looking for Xu Langjun. Is Xu Langjun at home?"

"Yes, wait a minute. I'll go ask Langjun." Niu Dung didn't take the initiative to let the person in, but ran to look for Xu Yi vigilantly.

When Xu Yi heard that it was Xin Shengyuan's bookboy coming, he asked Niu Dung to call him in.

The book boy entered the room, bowed to Xu Yixing and said, "Mr. Xu, my husband sent me to ask if the mint and loquat drink he asked you to make is ready. He asked me to come and get it.

" After Rixin Shengyuan ate the mint and loquat drink made by Xu Yi, he thought about it in his heart. He didn't even think about other delicious drinks, so he thought about the one made by Xu Yi.

A few days ago, he sent a book boy to hand over a post to ask. Xu Yi replied and told him to come back and pick it up in four days.

After all, saltpeter is used once and must be dried before use.

The summer is hot, but there is no day that the saltpeter water cannot be dried in the sun. Otherwise, Xu Yi would not have woken up today to fetch well water to make ice drinks.

Xu Yi said: "Just wait for a moment, I'm almost done here."

He returned to the kitchen, poured out the drinks in the clay pots, and divided them into packages. He was sweating thinking about the book boy running over to warm up. So I poured half a bowl of cow dung and sent it to him to drink.

The book boy never thought that he would be able to drink the drink that Lang Jun wanted to drink. He took a sip and thought, no wonder Lang Jun likes to drink it. After drinking this drink, he became energetic.

After sending Xin Shengyuan's book boy away, Pan's mother arrived late with a slender and short girl.

"Xu Xiaolang, I've brought you here~" Pan's mother knocked on the door with a smile on her face and said, asking for credit, "Xu Xiaolang, you don't know, this family is so shameless that such a young child dares to ask me for three taels of silver. I tried my best to bluff her into buying her for just two or three dollars."

The little girl behind her shrank in fear and didn't dare to look up.

Cow Dung ran out quickly, and when she saw it was her sister, she shouted happily: "Sister!"

The little girl looked up in surprise, and when she saw it was really her brother, she cried "Wow" and broke away from Pan's mother's hand, ran over and bumped into the cow dung. In arms.

On the way, Pan's mother didn't say anything to the little girl in order to hurry. The little girl was locked in the woodshed yesterday. After finally getting out, she was resold.

The mother who bought her was picky about her for a while, lowering her price again and again. Later, her father scolded her for not being able to sell her at a good price, and pushed her into her hands.

Being brought here all the way, she was so scared that she would never see her brother again in her life.

When I met my brother, all the accumulated emotions finally became uncontrollable, and I hid in his arms and cried loudly.

Niu Dung was in a panic and quickly comforted him: "Sister, don't cry, sister, don't cry. With husband here, we won't be separated in the future."

"Sister... husband?" The little girl looked up while sobbing, not quite understanding. .

Niu Dung nodded heavily to her and said to her carefully: "It was Lang Jun who bought us. Lang Jun is a good man and a doctor. He knew that sister, you were going to be sold, so he asked Mother Pan to buy you. Yes."

On the other side, Xu Yi invited Pan's mother to come into the room to talk.

When people are brought here, they should be given the hard-earned money. This time, Xu Yi put the money on the table and said to her: "I will give my mother some money to drink. I hope you won't find it objectionable."

Seeing his generosity, Pan's mother smiled and said, "How could I?" Disgusted, if you have such a good thing in the future, you still ask me to do things, and I will definitely satisfy you."

Xu Yi: "..."

It's enough to experience this kind of thing once.

Pan's mother still wanted to sit down and beg for another cup of tea. The tea at this young man's house was good, and a jar cost more than 20 yuan. Although she was engaged in this business, all the money she earned was given to her prodigal son at home. She herself could not afford anything good, but she could only dress up decently so that some people could envy her.

Unexpectedly, this young man was not as hospitable as he thought. After eating a bowl of tea, he stood up and said he wanted to see the guests off.

Pan's mother covered her handkerchief and curled her lips, then reluctantly got up and left.

...

In the yard, the brother and sister were talking quietly. When Pan's mother came out, Niu Dung took his sister to thank her.

Pan's mother waved her hand and lost the courtesy she used to treat Xu Yi, and said coldly: "Thank you for doing so, I just use money to do things."

After that, she left, Niu Dung looked at her leaving figure, and took her sister with her. Go to the main room to see Xu Yi.

After he came in, he asked his sister to kneel down with him and thank Xu Yi for his great kindness.

In this way, both the brother and sister stayed in the Xu family and became servants of the Xu family.

Xu Yi corrected helplessly: "You are not servants, but the deed of betrayal is in my hand. If you want to leave one day, just ask me to take the deed back."

The reason why it is not now is that these two people are too young, and the deed of betrayal is in my hand. Not safe on them.

Niu Dung was older and could understand better. After knowing Xu Yi's kindness, he nodded solemnly and made a decision secretly in his heart.

Xu Yi gave a few more words to let them feel free at home.

Then he called his sister forward and asked her to hold out her hands.

The little girl glanced at her brother timidly before walking forward. She had a pair of eyes that were the same as cow dung, completely different from those young and strong eyes.

Xu Yi thought thoughtfully, held the little girl's hand, and put two fingers on her pulse to feel.

The pulse is weak and weak, and there are some blockages, but it is not serious. It means that the physical condition is quite poor. He has received many beatings in the past, plus long-term malnutrition. If you eat a few good meals and adjust your diet slowly, there should be no big problem.

Xu Yi asked gently: "What's your name?"

The little girl: "My name is Daya."

Xu Yi: "..."

He paused and said: "Since you stay here, then your previous name is Don't use it, I'll give you a new name."

Whether it's cow dung or Da Ya, they are not good names, and he can't pronounce them.

Xu Yi said to the cow dung: "Your name will be A Xu from now on."

After saying that, he looked at the little girl and then said, "Your name will be A Jin."

If it's a surname, then follow his surname.

In this way, does he have a new family in the Northern Song Dynasty?