Chapter 234 Out of Reach
After saying goodbye to Erhu and Xiaotao, Xiaoran led her younger brothers and hurried towards the West Market.
As soon as they reached the entrance of the West Market, they saw Zhao Yin and his wife standing beside the oxcart, their faces showing obvious anxiety as they looked around.
Zhao Yin's wife, with her sharp eyes, spotted the three brothers immediately and hurried over, her tone tinged with reproach, but even more so with worry:
"Where have you kids been? We've been so worried about you for so long!"
Xiao Ran quickly explained, "Dad, Mom, I'm sorry for making you worry. I ran into a little trouble on the way..."
Since it concerned Xiao Tao's reputation, he didn't specify what it was about.
Zhao Yin knew that Xiao Ran wasn't the type to be playful, and his thick eyebrows furrowed as soon as he heard that something had happened.
Xiao Ran clearly didn't want to say more, so he didn't press her for details.
After examining the boy for a while and confirming that he was not injured, he said in a deep voice:
"The streets are a mixed bag at the end of the year, so be careful in everything you do."
"Yes, Dad," Xiao Ran replied obediently.
Zhao Yin's wife pulled Xiao Ran over and tenderly patted the dust off his clothes. She then looked at Xiao Qi and Xiao Yi beside her and, seeing that they were both safe and sound, she was finally relieved.
The Zhao family had a very fruitful day. The furs and dried mushrooms fetched good prices, and Zhao Yin's wife, with a satisfied smile on her face, carefully put away the heavy money bag.
Now that everyone is here, it's time to start buying New Year's goods.
The group then strolled around the market again. With money in hand, they felt more confident in their purchases.
Zhao Yin went to the grain shop and asked for twenty catties of refined white flour and thirty catties of high-quality japonica rice. Now that life is better, he naturally wants to treat himself better.
Xiao Ran told me that he always eats plain white rice and flour at Miss Jiang's shop. Let's splurge a little and eat plain white rice and flour for the next few days of the New Year.
After leaving the grain shop, we went to the butcher shop. The children were all at the age where they were growing, and we had heard that bone broth was the most nourishing.
The area in front of the butcher shop was packed with people.
Zhao Yin squeezed to the front row and pointed to the hanging pig hind leg: "I want five catties of pork belly and two pork bones."
The butcher deftly chopped bones and sliced meat, the gleaming blade flashing in the warm winter sun.
The freshly cut pork was still steaming hot when it was wrapped in lotus leaves, and the oil gradually seeped into the emerald green leaves.
The women lingered in front of the grocery stalls.
Zhao Yin's wife was buying various paper-cut window decorations, then selected gold foil ingots, sandalwood red candles, and finally weighed out two catties of osmanthus sugar and three packets of sesame brittle.
When these snacks were put into the bamboo basket, Xiao Qi's eyes almost popped into the pile of candy.
Xiao Ran had just come out of a liquor store; in this year of famine, the liquor there was far too expensive.
He didn't have enough money on him to buy even the smallest amount. He had no choice but to leave dejectedly.
The villagers also purchased the necessary New Year's goods: salt, soy sauce, cloth, needles and thread, incense and paper money for ancestral worship...
The oxcart was soon piled high with packages of all sizes.
As the sun began to set, painting the sky a warm orange-red, the group contentedly embarked on their journey home.
On the way back, the oxcart and the horse-drawn carriage traveled one after the other.
Xiao Ran took out the carefully wrapped silver hairpin from her bosom and handed it to her mother:
"Mother, this is for you."
Zhao Yin's wife was stunned for a moment. She took the red paper and opened it. When she saw the simple yet smoothly polished silver hairpin, her eyes instantly turned red.
"You child...why are you wasting money like this..."
She complained, but her hands carefully stroked the hairpin, her face revealing undisguised satisfaction and joy.
Zhao Yin watched from the side, a smile appearing on his honest face.
"Xiao Ran is so thoughtful. You had a silver hairpin in your dowry, but you pawned it to pay for my medical expenses. I've been saying I'd buy you a new one, but my son beat me to it."
Xiao Qi cleverly peeled open the candied melon and stuffed it into his mother's mouth, and the sweet aroma instantly filled the carriage.
Zhao Yin's wife stopped crying and smiled, then hugged her youngest son.
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Xiao Tao spent the entire afternoon in a daze.
She mechanically scrubbed clothes, swept the yard, and helped wash vegetables and rice in the kitchen, her movements more silent and efficient than usual.
The backyard was the domain of these lowly maids, far less glamorous than the front building. The air was filled with the smells of laundry soap and rice water, and firewood and miscellaneous items were piled up haphazardly.
Several maids, around the same age as Xiao Tao, were laboriously washing clothes by the well; their hands were red with cold in the dead of winter.
When they saw Xiao Tao return, they merely raised their eyes listlessly before lowering their heads again to continue working.
Here, everyone is too busy to pay attention to others.
As evening fell and darkness completely descended, the front building gradually became noisy, with faint sounds of string and wind instruments and laughter drifting through the air.
The backyard was also at its busiest, with maids carrying hot water, wine, and dishes, shuttling between the front and back yards.
Xiao Tao was assigned to deliver snacks to the two guests in the west wing.
She walked with her head down, carefully carrying the tray, through the brightly lit corridor filled with the sounds of traditional Chinese string and wind instruments.
As I passed a private room with its door slightly ajar, I heard a girl's soft moans coming from inside.
This is the path she will take from now on.
If you're lucky enough to secure a position as the most beautiful courtesan, like the Red Sleeve Girl, then you'll be qualified to choose your customers.
Otherwise, whoever Mom points to is who.
You will not have any room to resist.
If Heaven takes pity on you, even if you waste a decade or so, when you are old and faded, you may be able to save enough money to redeem yourself.
I'll buy a small courtyard in a distant village and spend my old age in peace.
If Heaven does not show mercy, one will die in wasted time or from illness, rolled up in a straw mat and thrown into the countryside, where wild animals will eventually devour one's bones.
"...Ah! Young master...you're so annoying..."
"Why are you hiding...?"
More offensive words reached her ears, and she instinctively quickened her pace.
She staggered away from the suffocating place.
Finally, as the night grew quiet, the noise from the building in front gradually subsided.
Xiao Tao dragged her exhausted body back to the servants' quarters, located in the most secluded corner of the backyard.
The room was crammed with shared beds, and the air was thick with the smells of sweat and cheap cosmetics.
The other maids had long since fallen into a deep sleep, their breathing even and steady.
Xiao Tao tiptoed to her narrow bunk and curled up in the cold blankets.
Only then did she dare to take out the few candies that were almost soaked with sweat.
She carefully peeled one open and put the glistening candy into her mouth.
The sweetness instantly spread across her tongue, so pure and so warm, creating a stark contrast with her bitter and desperate state of mind.
Tears finally welled up silently, soaking the worn-out pillow.
The faces of my parents and younger brother flashed through my mind again, along with that distant home...
She vowed that this would be the last time she would ever miss home.
After tonight, that home will no longer be my home...
Finally, Xiao Ran's calm and gentle figure flashed into her mind.
That night she had a dream.
She dreamt that Xiao Ran redeemed her from her servitude, and she returned to Jishui Village in a luxurious carriage.
From then on, she lived a peaceful life, devoted to her husband and children, working at sunrise and resting at sunset.
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