Last night, Lin heard her mother-in-law talking to her husband Luo Dagen, "The eldest girl is already nine years old. It would be best to sell her to Xiangmanlou at this age. The madam likes girls of this age the most. They can be trained and taught. Fortunately, the eldest and the second girl both have the looks of Lin. Sell the eldest girl first. The eldest girl is pretty and has good features. She can be sold for at least ten taels of silver. In a few years, when the second girl is old enough, she can be sold to Xiangmanlou as well. That way, you will have thirty taels of silver. You can divorce Lin and help you find a wife who can give birth to a big fat son. Dagen, what do you think?"
Luo Dagen muttered, "If the neighbors knew that I sold Da Niu and Er Niu to Xiang Man Lou, they would drown us with spit."
Here, even if one was so poor that he had to sell his children, he would sell them to rich families or officials as maids or servants. Sending them to a brothel would be shameful, and he didn't want to be scolded by the neighbors.
In the past, his mother sold his sister to that kind of place and used the money she got to help him marry Lin.
He didn't feel too strongly about selling his daughters. What use were girls? It was a good thing for them to be raised up.
Old Lady Luo whispered, "Manxianglou is in Raozhou City, not in our Yuanbao Town. Who would know if we sold it to Raozhou City? When someone asks about it, we can just say that our family is poor and can't afford to raise two girls. We can just sell the girl to some other place to be a maid in a rich merchant's house."
Luo Dagen was somewhat tempted.
Lin, who was sleeping in the inner room, trembled all over when she heard this. She covered her mouth but did not dare to go out to confront her mother-in-law and husband.
She couldn't resist. Her mother-in-law beat and scolded her every day. Although Luo Dagen didn't beat her often, he had beaten her before, and his beatings were even more severe than her mother-in-law's.
She knew that her mother-in-law and husband were planning to sell both the eldest and second daughters to brothels, but she was helpless.
If she could get a divorce and take her two daughters away from the Luo family, she would be willing to do so even if it meant going out to beg for food.
She could go to the government and break off relations with the family. The two daughters were surnamed Luo and she could not take them away unless she could find a way to get the county magistrate to award the two daughters to her, or the Luo family was willing to let her take the daughters away.
Even though he was very angry, Lin didn't dare to leave.
If she divorced and left, the two girls would have no chance of survival.
So the next day, her mother-in-law asked her to find a job in Xu Xiaoniang's restaurant, and she agreed, thinking that if she could get a salary of 800 coins a month, her mother-in-law and husband would not think of selling the girl anymore.
She even wanted to tell her miserable story in front of Miss Xu, and tell her that her mother-in-law wanted to sell the girl. Maybe Miss Xu would pity her and let her work in the restaurant. But when she saw Miss Xu, she couldn't say anything.
Miss Xu had a fair and tender face, but her eyes were different from those of other young ladies. There was a feeling in them that made her afraid to continue speaking. Miss Xu's eyes were firm, and she didn't shy away when she looked at people.
After being rejected by Miss Xu, she came back and heard her mother-in-law say this again.
She went back without thinking, she was no longer afraid of anything.
She looked at her mother-in-law blankly, opening and closing her mouth as she repeated what she had just said, "I said that Miss Xu is not a bitch. You disgusting old hag, if you dare to sell the girl away, I, I will..." She had never threatened anyone before, and at this moment she didn't know what harsh words to say.
Old Mrs. Luo had never seen Lin dare to talk back before, and she was shaking with anger. She didn't even think that Lin would find out that she wanted to sell the girl to Manxianglou.
She originally planned to secretly take the girl to Raozhou City and sell her while Lin was out washing clothes for someone else.
"You little bitch, you are rebelling!"
When had Old Lady Luo ever been treated like this? It was her cowardly and submissive daughter-in-law who made her angry. She picked up the broom beside her and swung it at Lin.
After saying what was hidden in his heart, Lin's mind went blank. He was shocked and afraid, but at the same time, he felt suddenly enlightened, fearless, and even a little refreshed.
When her mother-in-law swung the broom down while crying, she subconsciously raised her arms and grabbed the broom with her hands.
Old Mrs. Luo looked extremely unhappy. She pulled the broom twice with all her strength but it didn't move.
Lin was slightly stunned, and then she realized that her mother-in-law was just an ordinary thin old woman, not even as tall as her, nor as strong as her. It was obvious that she could easily raise her arms to block the bullying from the beginning.
Old Mrs. Luo was so angry that she was shaking all over and started to insult and curse Lin.
All kinds of humiliating and ugly words.
Looking at the face that was distorted by cursing and the chattering mouth on the old face, Lin couldn't help but raise her foot and kick Old Lady Luo in the stomach.
She didn't learn this from old lady Luo.
Old Mrs. Luo would hit people in conspicuous places, for she was afraid that others would not know that she was beating her daughter-in-law to teach her a lesson.
She thought about it countless times in her mind. If she had the chance to fight back, she would definitely hit the least conspicuous place, leaving the old hag with no way to complain. Even if she told others, no one would believe her.
She had wanted to resist countless times.
Old Mrs. Luo was knocked down by the kick and fell to the ground, screaming and groaning.
She was old enough to be beaten, so the kick would not kill her, but it caused her stomach to ache and she was completely unable to struggle, so she just lay on the ground.
The eldest and second daughter were hiding nearby, thinking that their mother was going to be beaten by their grandmother again. The second daughter started crying but did not dare to cry out loud. She hugged her sister tightly. Both children were beginning to get scared.
But I didn't expect that my mother didn't let my grandmother hit me today. Instead, she grabbed the broom and kicked my grandmother in the stomach.
Grandma was lying on the ground, no longer looking as scary as before.
The eldest and second daughter were stunned for a moment. The second daughter even forgot to cry and stared blankly at her grandmother and mother.
When Old Lady Luo saw that the two girls did not come to help, she scolded them, "You two little bitches, your mother is crazy. Why don't you hurry over and hold her back? How dare she hit me?"
Mrs. Lin looked at her mother-in-law lying on the ground with an expressionless face. She was so fragile.
She stepped forward again and punched Old Lady Luo in the stomach. She didn't use all her strength, but she still made Old Lady Luo's face distorted.
Afterwards, she punched Old Lady Luo's body again and again. No one could see those parts of her body, and she didn't use her maximum strength, so there shouldn't be any bruises. She had been hit so many times by Old Lady Luo that she knew how much strength was needed to leave no marks.
Old Mrs. Luo looked at Lin viciously and cursed, "You vicious whore, when Dagen comes back, I will tell him about this. You dare to hit me? When Dagen comes back, I will let him beat you to death."
Lin said coldly, "Do you think they will believe that I beat you? If you complain to them, I will beat you again tomorrow."
She was not afraid of anything now! She also knew how to deal with this old hag.
Old Lady Luo pointed at the eldest and second daughters and said, "Your two daughters saw it all. They can testify for me. Let's see how you can defend yourself."
Lin turned around and glanced at the eldest and second girls.
The two were not frightened at all. Instead, they looked a little surprised and looked at Lin with admiration.
The eldest girl even shook her head at Lin and said that she would never tell her father and grandfather.
Her grandmother beat and scolded them every day. She even heard her grandmother talking to her father at night. She thought her grandmother and her father were asleep in the main room, but they were not. She heard her grandmother say that she wanted to sell her to a brothel. She was so scared that she didn't dare tell her mother.
She hated her grandmother, her father and her grandfather. She hoped her mother would take her and Erniu away. She was willing to do so even if it meant having to go out with her mother to beg for food. She didn't want to be sold to a brothel.
Erniu doesn't like them either.
Lin turned around and punched old lady Luo again.
When Mrs. Luo finally couldn't bear it anymore and started begging for mercy, Lin stopped and took the two girls back to the room.
Back in the room, she whispered to the two girls, "I will find a way to take you away. Are you willing to leave here with me?"
She already knew that having taken this step today, she was no longer afraid of anything. She was going to force Old Lady Luo to divorce her and Luo Dagen, and also to give her both daughters-in-law, otherwise she would beat her secretly like this every day.
Both girls nodded vigorously.
Mrs. Luo lay on the ground for a while, feeling very painful. She slowly got up, went back to the room and lay on the bed.
After lying there for two hours, when the pain in her body was no longer so severe, she ran out and saw some neighbors standing in the alley chatting. She went up to them and cried, "I'm so pitiful. I just said a few words to my daughter-in-law at home, but she came up and kicked me, punched and kicked me." She wanted to tell all the neighbors and let them all curse Lin to death.
The two women next to her looked at her in surprise.
An older woman sneered, "What are you talking about, old lady Luo? Everyone knows that your daughter-in-law is the most obedient. She has been beaten by you for ten years, so how could she dare to fight back? If she dared to fight back, you would have sent her to the government office long ago."
"Everything I said is true!" Old Mrs. Luo was anxious. She lifted up her clothes to show them her soft belly, but her belly was nothing but loose and wrinkled.
The two women couldn't bear to watch and turned their heads away. "You old woman are really shameless. You lifted your clothes and exposed your belly in public. What's more, there is no mark on your belly. You still want to wrongly accuse your daughter-in-law?"
Old Mrs. Luo was also stunned. This shouldn't happen. She was clearly still in pain.
Of course Lin heard the noise outside.
In fact, even if there were really bruises on Old Lady Luo's body, outsiders would not believe that she was the one who beat her.
For ten years, everyone thought that she was weak and could be bullied. She would never fight back if beaten by her mother-in-law. Even if old woman Luo had bruises on her body, people would just think that she got them from bumps or that old man Luo beat her, because everyone in the alley also knew that old man Luo would beat his daughter-in-law.
Old Mrs. Luo rushed back to the house angrily, but she didn't dare to scold Mrs. Lin for fear of being beaten by her again.
She sat in the room, trying hard to think, but she couldn't figure out why her daughter-in-law suddenly dared to hit her?
Did the daughter-in-law rebel because she knew that she wanted to sell the girl to a brothel? Or was it Miss Xu who instigated her?
Her daughter-in-law went to visit Miss Xu and came back to beat her. She cursed Xu Qinyu in her heart, but she didn't dare to really go to Xu Qinyu's house to cause trouble, for fear that she would be attacked with a knife.
After waiting for a long time until dusk, Luo Dagen and his father Luo Laohan came back.
As usual, Mrs. Lin took her two daughters to the kitchen to cook.
When she saw her husband and son coming back, Mrs. Luo immediately cried and told them how Lin had kicked and beaten her today.
Luo Dagen looked impatient, "Mom, listen to yourself, is what you said reliable? Do you think we will believe it? Dad and I are very tired, can we take a good rest? Besides, if she dared to hit you, why would she still be in the kitchen cooking dinner? Wouldn't she have turned the tables long ago?"
"Da, Dagen." Old Mrs. Luo was anxious, "Mom didn't lie to you, she really beat me."
Luo Dagen didn't believe it at all, and ignored his mother, and went back to lie down.
Old Mrs. Luo stamped her feet in anger and went to talk to Old Mr. Luo.
Old Man Luo pushed her and scolded her, "Don't get in my way. Can't you see how tired I am?"
After saying that, he went back to his room and lay down, not believing what his wife said at all.
Old Mrs. Luo was almost dumbfounded.
She still refused to give up. When the family sat in the main hall to eat dinner, she asked the eldest and second girls, "Tell your father and grandfather the truth. Did your mother kick or hit me today?"
The eldest girl shook her head and said, "No, we didn't see it. It was my grandmother who scolded my mother."
Erniu also shook her head and said nothing.
Old Mrs. Luo was nearly mad with anger and raised her hand to slap the two girls.
Before she could wave her hand, Old Man Luo punched Old Lady Luo in the face, "Are you done with this old woman? Can you please let us have a peaceful meal?"
Every day when he smelled the fragrance from every household in the alley, he felt hatred for them. It was because of the old woman's greed that they could not eat such delicious fish and could only eat some unpalatable boiled vegetables.
Old Mrs. Luo screamed miserably after being hit by Old Man Luo's punch, and she shrank back and dared not say a word.
…
The next morning, after her husband and father-in-law left, Lin went to Old Lady Luo's room and beat her again. Old Lady Luo wanted to scream, but Lin covered her mouth and beat her.
Old Lady Luo was a thin and short old woman. Even though Mrs. Lin didn't eat enough on weekdays, she was only in her twenties and was considered a strong worker. Old Lady Luo couldn't resist her at all and was beaten again.
After the beating, Lin panted and said to Mrs. Luo, who was lying on the ground, "Tell your son to divorce me, but both the eldest and second daughters must follow me, otherwise I will beat you like this every day."
If she can't beat Luo Dagen, how can she not beat this old woman?
After Lin finished speaking, she took the eldest and second daughter out to work.
She took on some odd jobs and planned to bring the girl with her whenever she went out these few days, otherwise she was afraid that Old Lady Luo would take the girl to Raozhou City and sell her to a brothel while she was away.
When she went out, some neighbors saw her bringing the two girls with her and couldn't help asking, "Why did you bring these two girls with you when you went out to work? Aren't you bothered by the trouble?"
Lin glanced at the neighbors and seemed to be about to say something, but stopped herself.
The eldest girl didn't care about that. She wiped her eyes and cried, "My grandma said she wanted to sell me to Xiangmanlou in Raozhou City. She said the madam of Xiangmanlou liked girls aged eight or nine because they were easier to teach. She also said that in a few years, when my sister is older, she will also be sold to Xiangmanlou, and the money from the sale will be used for my father to marry another wife and have a son. Mom was worried, so she took us with her when she left."
Xiangmanlou is the largest brothel in Raozhou City, and even the people of Yuanbao Town have heard of it.
Upon hearing this, the neighbors' faces changed.
"What a sin! How can this old lady Luo be so cruel?"
"Don't you know that she sold her daughter to that kind of place? Previously, she sold her daughter to a brothel in Yuanbao Town. Later, her daughter couldn't bear the humiliation and hit her head against a pillar and died. Ten years later, she wanted to sell her own granddaughter to that kind of place. How could she be so vicious?"
"This old lady Luo is not afraid of retribution."
Even if there are people in Yuanbao Town who sell their children, they would not sell their own daughters or granddaughters to such places.
Even if there are, it is because the parents have passed away, the brothers and sisters-in-law or the uncles from the mother's side are greedy for money and sell their sisters or nieces to such places.
The neighbors in Guihua Lane began to condemn Old Lady Luo.
Old Mrs. Luo lay at home for a long time, then went out to complain to others. However, not only did no one believe her, but the neighbors also scolded her, asking why she wanted to sell her granddaughter to such a place. Old Mrs. Luo thought it was her daughter-in-law who said that, so she was furious and had to go back in disgrace.
In the days that followed, Lin would always beat up Old Lady Luo when Luo Dagen and Old Man Luo were not around. She didn't beat her every day, but only from time to time.
She also did not beat Old Lady Luo in front of the eldest and second daughters. No matter what, she hoped that the eldest and second daughters would be able to lead upright lives in the future, instead of being like her, who ended up having to leave the Luo family in this way.
No matter how old lady Luo complained to outsiders and her family, no one believed her.
She had also thought about going to the government office to report that her daughter-in-law had beaten her.
Because if she went to the government, she would have to have evidence to prove that her daughter-in-law beat her. No one could prove it except herself. Even if she invited the neighbors, they would only tell the county magistrate that she was the one who beat and scolded Lin every day over the years.
If she went to the government office and made a false accusation, she would be beaten with a stick. She had no evidence, so she would be beaten with a stick.
In just half a month, Mrs. Luo looked much older.
…
In the past ten days, Xu Qinyu received job applications from more than fifty people, so she went to chat with Xia's sister-in-law.
Wu Wan had also lived nearby for several years and knew the women in the neighborhood better than Xu Qinyu did.
She recognized almost all the women on Xu Qinyu's job application list and immediately helped Miss Xu screen out more than half of them. The women who were screened out all had some minor flaws, such as being greedy, lazy, inefficient at work, not clean, etc.
There are only about ten candidates left.
Finally, Wu Wan pointed at the names of the two women above and said, "They are both hardworking and capable, and they are not cunning. The one called Yuan Yueying is a widow. Her husband died outside with the caravan a few years ago. She relies on her two children. She is very hardworking and efficient. She is not talkative and just works hard. Her two children are also filial and obedient. The other one is called Chen Chunhua. She is a very straightforward person with good eloquence. Her parents-in-law are still alive at home. Her husband is a hunter. Her family lives a prosperous life. She is also a quick and straightforward person."
Xu Qinyu wanted to recruit three people in total. Wu Wan was a little hesitant about the last one. She didn't know the rest very well and couldn't help Xu Qinyu choose.
Xu Qinyu thanked Wu Wan, and the two chatted for a while.
Wu Wan secretly told Xu Qinyu, "I heard that the old lady Luo at the end of your alley has been telling others that her daughter-in-law beat her. How could that Lin hit her? If she wants to slander her own daughter-in-law, she has to see if everyone believes her."
In the past, Wu Wan and Xia Yuanzhi lived in Guihua Lane, so they were naturally familiar with Mrs. Luo and especially liked to take advantage of her. When they came to her cloth shop to buy cloth, they always asked her to give them an extra piece of cloth. Once, they bought the cheapest cloth, which cost only a few dozen cents, but when they left, she also gave them a piece of satin. The satin was a large piece of leftover material that could be made into a purse, so it could also be sold for a few dozen cents.
After she found out, she snatched the silk from her and scolded Old Lady Luo. Old Lady Luo tried to make excuses, but she finally said she would call the police, which frightened Old Lady Luo so much that she left in a hurry.
Xu Qinyu also heard about this.
Recently in Guihua Lane, a few women like to gather in front of every house to chat. The women chat about nothing but the trivial matters of each household. They all talk about the Luo family, saying that old woman Luo slandered her daughter-in-law and beat her, and that she wanted to sell her granddaughter to a brothel.
Xu Qinyu's fists hardened upon hearing this. A little girl who was not even ten years old was almost sold to a brothel by her own grandmother.
So she often saw Lin taking her two daughters out these days.
Every time he saw her, Lin would nod slightly.
For some reason, outsiders did not believe what Mrs. Luo said about her daughter-in-law hitting her, but Xu Qinyu believed it a little.
If anyone dared to sell her daughter to a brothel, she would resist even if she was weak.
So Lin might be weak, but for the sake of her daughter, she might really take that step.
From what the neighbors said, it seemed that Lin beat her mother-in-law every now and then.
Xu Qinyu wondered if Lin was going to use this to force her mother-in-law to persuade Old Lady Luo to persuade her son to divorce Lin.
Xu Qinyu felt that if Lin really had this idea, it would be difficult in the end.
First of all, Narodagen doesn't have the money to remarry, so he won't divorce his wife so easily.
Second, Lin's two concubines were named Luo. In the evil ancient times, it was very difficult for a woman to take her children away, whether she was divorced or divorced. Unless the man was willing, he would beat old Luo and insist that Luo Dagen divorce Lin, but not let Lin take the two concubines away. Lin would really be helpless.
No matter what, Xu Qinyu hoped that Lin could take the two girls away from the Luo family smoothly.
After chatting with Xia's sister-in-law for a while, Xu Qinyu also left.
She first went to the restaurant to see how the decoration was done. With the pillars still there, she was actually quite relieved. After checking that everything was fine, she went back to Osmanthus Lane.
When I finished cooking the fish in the afternoon and was about to close the stall after selling all the fish, Xu Yunlan, the daughter of Xu Kongmu, came.
Xu Qinyu hadn't seen Xu Yunlan for some time. Lately, it was the maids or servants from Xu Kongmu's family who came to buy fish, steamed buns with milk and custard.
She got to know Xu Yunlan because of the dishes she cooked at Xu Kongmu's house to entertain the county magistrate. After that, Xu Yunlan occasionally came to buy food made by Xu Qinyu, and the two of them got along quite well.
This time, not only did Xu Yunlan come alone, she was also accompanied by a plump white girl. The plump girl had fair skin and was wearing a crabapple red dress, which made her skin look even whiter.
Xu Qinyu thought the fat girl was cute at first sight, but she looked a little too fat. She was about 160cm tall and weighed almost 180kg. This weight was already very overweight and had a great impact on her health.
Moreover, this girl is so cute even when she is fat and her eyes don’t look small. If she loses weight, she will have a beautiful face, a real beauty.
But the fat beauty's eyes were red at the moment, probably because she had been crying.
Xu Yunlan's face was also filled with indignation.