Chapter 51 Sister Li’s Plan
After having a satisfying meal, the two of them closed the door and went back to the back room.
Cui Qingyi also felt lazy on the snowy day. She leaned on the kang with a big soft pillow and read a storybook. There were some dried fruits on the kang table, and she reached out to touch a few from time to time.
The window of the back room faces the backyard. When she gets tired of reading, she can look up and see the clean snow scene. Then she can take a sip of sweet red date tea. Cui Qingyi feels very satisfied with her leisurely life.
Konjac was too busy to sit still, so she sat cross-legged on the kang at the other end and did her embroidery.
She wasn't as active in embroidering handkerchiefs as before, and only took on large orders for things like folding screens. Although this kind of embroidery required a lot of effort, if she had the time, she could earn several dozen taels of silver per piece, which was much more profitable than embroidering handkerchiefs.
I had some hot shredded chicken noodles in the evening, and the leisurely day passed by.
When I woke up the next day, the heavy snow had stopped, but the sky was still gloomy.
Early in the morning, the two began to repeat yesterday's work of shoveling snow. By the time they finished cleaning the entire yard, it was already past noon.
After lunch, just as Cui Qingyi was about to go back to the back room as she did yesterday, someone knocked on the door from outside.
"Is this Madam Fan and Xiaoyuan? Why are you here today?" Konjac said as he went to open the door.
When Cui Qingyi saw Wangcai get up and follow, she knew that the person outside the door was probably not Madam Fan.
Outside the gate, Sister Li was holding a sewing basket in her arms, smiling a little sheepishly: "It's snowing so heavily, I'm bored staying at home, so I thought of coming over to your place to talk and sew together."
Konjac didn't expect that it was her neighbor in the alley. After what happened to the Gu family and the Feng family, she didn't want to deal with the people in the alley from the bottom of her heart. But since this person had already arrived at the door and there was nothing wrong with his attitude, she couldn't drive him away.
Really, why would you go anywhere else but come to their house?
Sister Li noticed the reluctance on Konjac's face. She touched the hair at her temples and pretended not to see it.
"My girl is getting ready for a nap, come in, sister-in-law."
After she said that, most people would have left, but Mrs. Li responded happily and went into the yard very quickly.
Konjac had no choice but to lead the people in. This was the first time that Mrs. Li entered the Cui family's house. When she raised her eyes, she saw Cui Qingyi sitting in the living room wrapped in a fur cloak.
The girl had fair skin and black hair like a waterfall. Her cloak was decorated with fur of some animal, a dazzling red that made her look extremely wealthy.
Only then did Mrs. Li notice Konjac who was walking in front of her. Although she was not wearing a cloak, the collar of her jacket was trimmed with fur. The fur collar wrapped around the girl's fair neck looked warm.
Cui Qingyi had a good memory and recognized the person as Mrs. Li from the alley entrance at a glance.
Although it was strange that people in the alley would come to her house on their own initiative, Cui Qingyi showed no sign of reaction, as if the previous conflict with these people had never occurred.
She greeted him with a smile: "Sister Li, come in and warm yourself by the fire. It's really cold today."
When she saw the smile on Cui Qingyi's face, Mrs. Li's uninvited embarrassment was relieved a little.
"I thought it was cold today and everyone was bored, so I came over to talk to you. You guys have such a nice yard, and your dog is well-kept, it looks so majestic."
As if knowing that the visitor had no fighting power, Wangcai lazily lay back at Cui Qingyi's feet. When he heard someone praising him, he didn't even move his ears.
Cui Qingyi rubbed Wangcai's big head and said, "Wangcai is a good person. He works very hard to guard the house."
Sister Li felt sad as she looked at Wangcai's broad back. Although the harvest had been good in recent years, the family could not save any money except for filling their stomachs throughout the year. No one would raise a dog as fat and strong as the Cui family.
But everyone takes care of their own business, and she won't say anything.
Mrs. Li stayed at Cui's house for over half an hour before leaving with the half-finished sole in her hand. "When the weather clears up, you can come over to my house. My eldest daughter is nine years old this year and she loves to play."
Cui Qingyi smiled and nodded. She thought that Mrs. Li came here for something today, but she didn't expect that she really came here to chat and do needlework.
When Konjac sent the people away and closed the door, Cui Qingyi had already returned to the back room.
Konjac came in carrying a charcoal brazier and asked, "Girl, what do you think Sister Li is doing here today?" She didn't think that the other party came to chat with them for no reason.
Some women in this alley would make an appointment to visit other people's homes every day to do needlework. She had seen Sister Li among them several times, so why did she come to their house today when she had nowhere to go?
Cui Qingyi didn't care: "Who cares what she wants to do? As long as she has no bad intentions and is willing to come, then she can come. If she comes with a purpose, since it is related to us, we will find out sooner or later."
Konjac thought about it and put the matter aside.
In the following days, Sister Li came over once or twice, but she just did some needlework and chatted.
Because the weather was cold, Cui Qingyi was unwilling to compromise herself in order to entertain her neighbors, so when Mrs. Li came again, she was taken directly to the back room.
I had heard before that the Cui family hired craftsmen to make a kang, but I had never seen one when I came here before.
When she sat down on the kang and felt the warmth, Mrs. Li's eyes lit up.
She had originally thought of making one for her own family like the Cui family did, but when she heard Konjac say that it would take charcoal to cook all night, she gave up the idea.
It’s so luxurious. Her bed is in great condition.
When the first sound of firecrackers was heard in the alley, Cui Qingyi suddenly realized that it was already the twelfth lunar month and the New Year was approaching.
Li family
Sister Li cut a square piece of the Laba cake she made and put it on a plate, then asked her nine-year-old maid Li Miao to deliver it to Cui's house.
When Mother Li saw this, her brows were furrowed with heartache. She watched her eldest granddaughter run out without saying anything.
Entering the kitchen, he asked, "You said you wanted to send Xiao Miao to learn needlework. Is that a reliable idea? Why would we need to find someone specifically to learn needlework? Can you teach me or can I not teach me?"
The old lady has been frugal all her life and has never heard of anyone finding a special master to learn needlework.
Sister Li was busy with her work, and she didn't even raise her head when she heard this: "Mom, don't worry about this matter and don't tell anyone else about it. Teaching others and teaching ourselves are two different things.
I only have this girl, and I want her to learn some skills so that she can have a way to survive even if she encounters trouble in the future.
Not everyone has the same good fortune as me, being sold out and still meeting someone as kind as you."
As he spoke, he raised his sleeve to wipe the corners of his eyes.
Seeing her like this, the old lady couldn't say anything she had to say.
"Forget it. You gave birth to a girl, so naturally, whatever you say is what she will do. Just don't raise a girl who has high expectations but poor skills, and doesn't have thoughts that she shouldn't have."
"Hey, Mom. You raised Xiao Miao. You don't know her personality. She's not the kind of person who doesn't know her place."
The old lady was obviously pleased by what her daughter-in-law said and strolled out.
Sister Li continued to work. She had been married to the Li family for so many years that she had already figured out the old lady's temperament. Although she seemed difficult to get along with, she was actually very soft-hearted.
When she was sold here by her father, she was in a dead end and couldn't get out of it. It was the old lady who scolded and coaxed her to live a good life.
The old lady fed her two meals a day and gradually restored her health.
Although the old lady may have done all this for her son, she actually benefited from it, so she couldn't deny it.
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