Most of the people present were women who all had children at home. Even if they were a little partial, they still loved their daughters and had never thought of selling their daughters, let alone selling them to such a place. They all felt that the Luo family was going too far and was bullying them. Originally, women who were divorced or divorced could not take their children away, but they subconsciously hoped that Lin could take the two daughters away. Even if life was a little hard, this was not a famine year, and as long as they were diligent, they could survive.
"That's right. Aren't you afraid of God's punishment that will make you have sores all over your body? What a shameless old woman! You really have no conscience. And how can you, a man, be a father to others? That's your own flesh and blood, you black-hearted ghost..."
The woman from the market used vulgar and unpleasant language when she scolded people, which made Luo Dagen's face turn red.
"Isn't Luo Dagen a peddler? How dare you buy such black-hearted things? If he really dares to sell his daughter to such a place, don't be afraid that he will steal your child away with a backpack and sell it away. After all, if he even sold his daughter to Xiangmanlou for money, what else would he not dare to do?"
"That makes sense. I'd better stay away from him next time I see him..."
When Luo Dagen heard this, he panicked instantly. He was a peddler who walked the streets. If the people of Yuanbao Town no longer patronized his business, how would he make money? Wouldn't that cut off his source of income?
Mrs. Luo wanted to scold these women, but the county magistrate suddenly slammed the table and said, "Be quiet!"
After the case was closed, he asked Luo Dagen, "Luo Dagen, what do you think? Are you willing to let Lin write a promissory note for twenty taels of silver, and then give Da Niu and Er Niu to Lin for raising."
Luo Dagen nodded without thinking, "Sir, I am willing."
Since he could get the silver, he didn't want to sell his daughter to such a place. Selling her there would only earn him a few more taels of silver. Moreover, he was afraid that if he didn't want to, the people of Yuanbao Town would hate him. Then when he went from street to street selling goods, no one would pay attention to him. Without a way to make a living, what would happen to him in the future?
He began to feel afraid, thinking that if he could get money anyway, he might as well sell it to gain a good reputation.
"Da Gen, no, that's not possible." Old Mrs. Luo was anxious.
She paid money to let Dagen divorce Lin because she wanted to separate them. What's the point of Lin writing a promissory note now? Whether Lin can earn twenty taels is another matter.
Isn't her money given away for nothing?
Luo Dagen said angrily: "Mom, stop talking!"
The county magistrate nodded and said, "Since you agree, I will have someone write a document and you can stamp it with your fingerprints and the official seal, and the matter will be settled."
Luo Dagen nodded in agreement, and Lin also cried with joy.
The women around couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief.
Old Mrs. Luo wanted to say something, but Luo Dagen held her back and told her not to talk nonsense.
Lin could not write, so the county magistrate had someone write a promissory note for twenty taels of silver that she owed Luo Dagen, stating that the money should be repaid monthly in ten years.
There was also another letter of severance, which stated that Luo Dagen accepted 20 taels of silver from Lin, and Luo Da Niu and Luo Er Niu followed Lin and left the Luo family and were raised by Lin. From then on, all matters concerning Lin and her two daughters had nothing to do with the Luo family, and Lin set up her own family with her two daughters.
The two of them pressed their fingerprints, and the county magistrate also stamped the letter of separation with his official seal. Three copies were made, and Lin and Luo Dagen each took one copy, and the other copy was placed in the government office.
From then on, Lin finally got what she wanted. Although she was in debt of twenty taels of silver, she was happy with it.
Aunt Bai also sighed after reading it, and couldn't help but worry about Lin and her daughters. After Lin took the two daughters away, she couldn't even go back to her parents' home. I heard that Lin's parents' home were not good people either, otherwise they would not have been so cruel as to accept the high betrothal gift of twenty taels of silver from the Luo family and let Lin marry a man like Luo Dagen.
Moreover, Lin's mother has never come to see her over the years. Lin has two sisters-in-law at home, and they would never let her bring her two daughters back to the Lin family.
The only possibility of making Lin return to her parents' home is to let her remarry.
After watching the excitement, Aunt Bai went to find Gui and naturally told her about the matter.
So after Xu Qinyu and Wen came back in the evening, Gui also talked to them about it.
After hearing this, Xu Qinyu was silent for a long time.
Wen couldn't help but ask, "Are you worried about Lin, Yu Niang?"
Xu Qinyu shook her head. "If it weren't for the famine years, I wouldn't be worried. After all, I wouldn't starve to death."
She just felt that the status of women in this era was really distressing, bound by all kinds of shackles. There were actually many cases like Lin's, but other women were not as lucky as Lin. Although Lin paid twenty taels, she was able to set up her own household with her daughter in the future, many women who were divorced and left would be sold by their parents to other men, and these women had no say at all.
Lin was lucky. She took the first step on her own and was not kicked out by the county magistrate even though she made trouble in the yamen. The county magistrate was kind enough to help her. Not only did he let her take her daughter away from the Luo family, he also let Lin set up her own family.
But don't underestimate this independent family. With this document from the county lord, Lin and her two daughters are a family and no longer need to be controlled by anyone. Even if Lin's parents come to visit, since Lin has her own family, her parents' family can't take her away.
In this era, there are very few women who can support themselves. They can only do so with a lot of money or a bit of luck.
In a word, Lin established her own household and raised her two daughters well in the future. She no longer had to worry about being sold by her mother, or about her daughters being sold, or about her daughters being sold to other men as daughters-in-law for high betrothal gifts when they grew up.
At this moment, Wen couldn't help asking Gui, "Where do Lin and her two daughters live?" She couldn't help but mutter, "The Luo family has done such a ruthless thing, aren't they afraid of being punished by God?"
Gui said, "From what your aunt Bai said, it seems that he is living with his daughter in the shabby wooden shed at the entrance of the town. These past two days, Lin has been doing odd jobs for others with his daughter, and he can earn some money to support himself."
There were a few kind-hearted people who were willing to let her wash their clothes.
…
The next day, Xu's Restaurant opened its doors. By noon, all the breakfast guests had left, and Xu Qinyu had also finished washing up.
As summer came, the weather became even hotter. She was sweating after making breakfast and only felt better after taking a shower.
At this moment, she was sitting in the front living room to rest, while several children were helping to kill fish in the kitchen to prepare fish balls and other food for the afternoon.
Xu Qinyu also changed the names of several children. The one-eyed boy was named Xu Feng, the ugly boy was named Xu Diao, the lame boy was named Xu Yu, and the six-fingered boy was named Xu Shun.
Derived from the phrase "good weather and favorable rain".
They all took her surname, and she had discussed this with her family. They said that since they were all beggars, she had no intention of taking them as slaves. They could be her apprentices or her adoptive parents, and it was also good for them to take her surname. Xu Qinyu thought of this word overnight and gave the four people names.
The four children were so happy to have new names that they would call out each other's names whenever they had free time.
"Xu Feng."
"well!"
"Xu Diao."
"well!"
"Xu Yu."
"well!"
"Xu Shun."
"well."
Xu Qinyu laughed so hard that she let them do whatever they wanted.
She was sitting in the living room taking a rest, thinking that she would have another two days to rest. She couldn't lie at home anymore and had to go to the mountain to pick some mushrooms. Also, the wild grapes on the mountain were ripe. They were very sour and no one would eat them. They could only be used to make wine or as an ingredient for cooking sour plum soup. The taste would change with the addition of the flavor of grapes. She could make some then to see what flavor of sour plum drink everyone liked.
Everyone was resting at that time, and Lin happened to pass by. She had just finished helping a family wash clothes and gave her five cents.
When she passed by Xu Ji, she saw the notice posted outside the door. She could not read very well, but she had heard about Xu Ji Sun's and Ping An Restaurant. She guessed that Xu Ji might be short of waiters now, and the notice posted outside might be recruiting waiters. After hesitating for a moment, Lin stepped into Xu Ji.
She actually guessed it right.
Xu Qinyu had been recruiting waitresses these days, and quite a few came. However, Xu Qinyu did not know them, and was afraid of meeting someone like Sun, or someone who was sneaky and cunning, so she just asked the women to tell her name, age, and where they lived, and she would inform them after she had chosen someone.
Lin went into Xu's and saw Miss Xu sitting on a bench by the window, her chin resting on her hands and her elbows on the table. She must have just finished her work, as her snow-white face was still a little red and her eyes were watery, but her gaze was a little wandering, as if she was in a daze.
Lin went over and called out, "Mr. Xu."
Xu Qinyu woke up. She was just daydreaming about recipes. Sometimes her mind would go blank when she was thinking about recipes. She was just thinking about the proportions of ingredients and seasonings for some new recipes.
Even for ordinary dishes, her recipes are different from others. In fact, cooking is the same after all, and the main thing to highlight is the taste, the difference in taste.
Xu Qinyu smiled when she saw Lin, "Sister-in-law Lin."
Lin stammered, "Boss Xu, is Xu's hiring waiters? Can I come to work at Xu's? Boss, don't worry, I'm very hardworking and can do any job."
Miss Xu had refused to let her be a waitress last time, but she wanted to give it a try this time. If Miss Xu still refused, she would just do odd jobs like sprinkling pulp and sweeping clothes, and catch some river shrimps to sell in the lotus pond in the field on weekdays.
Xu Qinyu said directly, "Okay, you can come to work tomorrow."
She knew Lin quite well. Lin used to be weak, but that weakness was caused by the environment and family she was in. Lin could do so much for the two girls, so there was absolutely no problem with her character. Character was also what she valued most when recruiting employees.
I didn't agree before because of the Luo family. Now that Lin has gotten rid of the Luo family on his own, there is nothing he can't use.
"Tomorrow, tomorrow to work?" Lin was stunned for a moment and stammered to repeat it. She did not expect that Miss Xu would agree so readily this time.
Xu Qinyu nodded, "These days, the other two ladies have been doing the waiting and washing. The work is a bit heavy. If you start working soon, they will have more free time. Let's make it clear first. The monthly salary is 800 wen, including breakfast and dinner. If there is any extra food in the restaurant on weekdays, you can take it home. If you do a good job, you will get a red envelope during the New Year, and your salary will increase in the future. You have to be diligent and focus on the work. Don't be distracted. Don't tell others about the restaurant's things or words without asking."
Lin's face flushed with excitement, and she nodded repeatedly, "Okay, okay, boss, don't worry, I won't have to worry about it."
Xu Qinyu thought about it, and then went to Wen to ask for 800 coins to give to Lin. "I'll pay you one month's salary in advance. You can rent a house and settle the eldest and second daughters first."
Lin suddenly wanted to cry and wanted to kneel down and kowtow to Xu Qinyu to express her gratitude.
"Hey, don't kneel down to me." Xu Qinyu's voice changed a little, and she even moved to the side.
Lin couldn't kneel down and was too embarrassed to raise her head to thank Xu Qinyu again.
After Lin left, Xu Qinyu went outside and took down the notice recruiting waiters.
Lin took eight hundred coins and took the two girls to rent a house.
The eldest and second daughter were still waiting for her outside. After hearing from Lin that Xu's boss was willing to let her come to work, the eldest daughter looked back at Xu with a firm look in her eyes. She held her mother's hand tightly and said, "Mom, the boss is a good man. Second daughter and I are both grown up. I will bring Second daughter to work for the boss every day when you go out. Although we are young, we can still do odd jobs. We don't want any wages."
Lin smiled and said, "Okay."
She was also worried about leaving the two girls alone at home, fearing that they would be taken away by Old Lady Luo.
Lin took her two daughters to rent a house on North Street. The houses on North Street were cheaper than those on South Street. She spent 150 coins to rent a small courtyard, which was enough for her and her two daughters to live in.
Lin rented the house for 150 wen, kept 150 wen for herself, and gave the remaining 500 wen to the Luo family in Guihua Lane.
Fearing that the Luo family would default on the debt, she found a piece of paper and asked someone to write forty notes of five hundred coins on it. She would then give the Luo family five hundred coins every month and ask them to put their fingerprint on the bottom of the note. This way, she would be able to pay off all the debt in more than three years.
When Lin went to the Luo family to give the money, she also asked the neighbor's aunt to help her witness so as to avoid the Luo family from cheating her in the future.
When Mrs. Luo saw her take out five hundred coins, she asked her fiercely whether she had taken away the money she had secretly saved in the Luo family before.
Lin said coldly, "It was the owner of Xu's Restaurant who was kind enough to let me work there, and gave me a month's salary in advance to let me settle down. I will give you 500 coins every month in the future."
This matter cannot be kept secret, the Luo family will know it sooner or later, so there is no need to hide it. If old lady Luo really dares to go to Xu Ji to make trouble, she will dare to pull the person out with a knife.
"What?" Mrs. Luo was furious when she heard this. "Well, didn't that little bitch not allow you to be a waiter before?"
Lin's face turned even colder. "Speak nicely. If you scold Miss Xu again, don't blame me for being rude."
Old Mrs. Luo curled her lips.
When the women nearby heard this, they also followed suit and condemned Old Lady Luo, saying that Miss Xu was really kind-hearted, as she let Lin work there well and raised the two daughters.
Old Mrs. Luo was annoyed by what she heard, and she looked at the half-coin in Lin's hand and was about to take it.
Luo Dagen suddenly came out. He had heard everything that was said outside. He took half a coin and asked Lin to give all the money to him in the future.
Mrs. Luo wanted the half guan of money, but her son would definitely not give it to her.
Luo Dagen felt a little regretful when he knew that Lin worked at Xu's, but when he thought that Lin could not give birth to a son, he had nothing to regret. He wanted a son even more.
Lin gave the money and went back.
The next day, Lin took her two daughters to work at Xu's.
Xu Qinyu didn't say anything about the addition of two little ones. She asked them to follow Xu Feng and the others to help in the kitchen. But in this way, the kitchen was quite crowded, with so many children. In fact, Cheng Ge'er was still a half-grown child in her eyes.
When the girl was helping, she saw Xu Qinyu making meat dumplings and said, "Boss, I can make pleats too."
Xu Qinyu smiled and said, "Okay, then you try it."
After washing and drying her hands, the girl started to pinch folds on the buns, imitating Xu Qinyu's example. She was not fast, but not slow either, and looked more skilled than many novices. When she was done, Xu Qinyu took a look and found that the folds were not round enough and were a little crooked, but better looking than those pinched by many people.
Xu Qinyu was surprised. "Is this your first time to fold the buns?"
The eldest girl nodded. Her family had never eaten buns before. She just watched her boss make them and thought it should be easy, so she wanted to help.
Xu Qinyu was a little happy. This child was quite talented in making pastry. Pastry was the same as making wheaten food. No matter whether she could make other kinds of wheaten food or not, the folds of the buns that the girl made for the first time were more beautiful than those of ordinary people. This was a kind of talent in making pastry. Maybe she could be taught how to make pastry.
She gave the girl a ball of rough dough and asked her to practice pinching pleats. She would help her pinch pleats first and then teach her other skills slowly.
The big girl took a ball of rough noodles and went over to pinch the folds.
When Lin learned about this, she was a little frightened, fearing that the employer would misunderstand that the eldest girl wanted to steal her cooking skills. However, Cheng Ge'er told her not to worry, saying that the fourth sister-in-law was an excellent cook and just wanted to find a few apprentices to spread her cooking skills.
Only then did Lin feel relieved and felt even more grateful to Xu Qinyu.
…
Two days later, Xu Ji took a rest. Xu Qinyu borrowed a donkey cart from Mrs. Xia and prepared to go to the mountain outside the town to pick mushrooms. Because they also wanted to pick wild grapes, they took Cheng Ge'er and Gong Ge'er with them and prepared to go out of the city. Finally, Xu Feng and the other three wanted to go with them, so they all went together. Even Wen Shi went with them, because she was worried about Yu Niang and the children.
In fact, the family already had enough money to buy a donkey cart, but they were too busy on weekdays, so Xu Qinyu planned to ask Cheng Ge'er to help run errands to buy a donkey cart when he came back this time. It would be more convenient for him to buy vegetables in the donkey cart.
We left the city and headed towards the mountains.
Going to the mountains, Xu Qinyu went to pick wild mushrooms.
Wen was worried about Yu Niang. There were many snakes, insects, rats and ants on the mountain. She was afraid that she would be hurt or encounter hunters on the mountain. Yu Niang was pretty, and she was also afraid that she would meet someone with bad intentions, so she let Xu Feng go with Yu Niang, and she took Cheng Ge'er and the others to pick wild grapes.
As summer begins, there are more delicious wild mushrooms in the mountains, especially those with bright colors. Some are edible and some are not.
In fact, at least half of these colorful wild mushrooms are absolutely inedible.
But looking at the other colorful mushrooms, Xu Qinyu was drooling. Although these mushrooms are slightly poisonous, if processed well, they are real mountain delicacies. The delicious taste lingers on the tip of the tongue, and no one who has eaten it will forget this delicious taste.
In later generations, many people knew that these wild mushrooms were slightly poisonous and would bring harm to villains if not handled properly. So why did they still eat them? It was because they were delicious.
When Xu Qinyu was picking the mushrooms, she also told Xu Feng not to pick them randomly. After all, these mushrooms, even if they are the same species, actually have slight differences. One kind can be eaten, while the other cannot be touched at all.
Xu Qinyu picked these mushrooms for her family to eat, and she didn't plan to sell them to restaurants, lest others learn from her and go up the mountain to pick mushrooms and get into trouble.
Xu Feng was very obedient. If Xu Qinyu didn't let him pick them, he would not pick them and would help Xu Qinyu find bamboo shoots.
The bamboo shoots in this season are not as fresh and a bit bitter. They are the bitter bamboo shoots that are only available in summer, but they are still edible. You can blanch them to remove the bitterness and stir-fry them to make sour bamboo shoots or stir-fry them with meat.
In addition to these mushrooms, Xu Qinyu also picked a lot of other edible mushrooms, roasted them, and ground them into powder for use as seasoning.
When Xu Qinyu saw some edible wild vegetables, she picked them as well.
At about the end of the hour of Wei, Xu Qinyu and Xu Feng came down the mountain. The donkey cart at the foot of the mountain was already piled with wild grapes, and Cheng Ge'er and his friends had picked quite a few.
When driving the donkey cart back to the town, she unexpectedly ran into a group of ragged, skinny people, all of whom were carrying their families and luggage. With just one glance, Xu Qinyu knew who they were. They must be people from the north who fled after the snowstorm last year. More than half a year had passed, and they had actually come to the southwest.
Most of the disaster victims went to the south or the capital, but I didn’t expect that there would be more victims coming here.
They probably didn't take the official road, otherwise they wouldn't have come here in a roundabout way.
Xu Qinyu looked at those people with numb eyes and felt uncomfortable in her heart.
At this moment, she couldn't give the bitter bamboo shoots and wild vegetables on the donkey cart to the disaster victims, for fear that they would snatch and hurt the children, or that they would steal the mushrooms and eat them, causing trouble.
In fact, there are many mountains in the southwest, and you can fill your stomach with wild game, wild vegetables, and other wild fruits. Even if you can't find these, there are many fields, ditches, ponds, and small lakes outside the town, and you can fill your stomach by fishing in them.
When you arrive in the southwest, you will never lack food or drink.
Xu Qinyu was not worried that they would come to steal the things on the stove cart. Wild mushrooms and wild vegetables were all in baskets, and the donkey cart was full of wild grapes. These things were sour, and even the refugees were unwilling to eat them because the more they ate, the hungrier they became, and it also caused acid reflux and pain in their stomachs.
Just looking at the disaster victims, one of them was a man carrying a woman on his back. The woman's face was covered with rashes and her cheeks were sunken. She looked like she had fainted. Seeing this, Xu Qinyu's face suddenly changed a little. She whispered to Cheng Ge'er, "Cheng Ge'er, take the other side of the road. Don't walk with these refugees. Don't get close to them. Then drive faster and pass them quickly."
Without asking any more questions, Cheng Ge'er immediately drove the donkey cart along another path, speeding up.
Xu Qinyu also quickened her pace, and the others behind her naturally followed closely.
After waiting to pass these refugees, Xu Qinyu whispered a few words to Wen Shi. Wen Shi's face changed slightly, "Okay, then you and Cheng Ge'er hurry up and drive the donkey cart back to the town to tell the county lord to stop them outside the town first. I will take Feng Ge'er and the others back to the town as soon as possible."
Xu Qinyu nodded and got on the donkey cart. Cheng Ge'er immediately urged the donkey to go faster.
The two returned to the town in less than half an hour. The town was also guarded by soldiers. People in the town could enter and leave freely, but people from outside the town had to pay a toll of two cents if they wanted to enter the town.
After entering the town, Xu Qinyu asked Cheng Ge'er to take her to the government office. She got off the donkey cart at the government office and asked Cheng Ge'er to take the things on the donkey cart back to the restaurant first.
Cheng Ge'er didn't ask any more questions, just nodded and drove away in his donkey cart.
Xu Qinyu did not knock on the drum of the yamen, but went through the backyard of the yamen and knocked on the door. A maid opened the door. She recognized Xu Qinyu and knew that she was a close friend of her daughter, so she immediately invited her in.
Yang Zhizhi was also very happy to see Xu Qinyu, "Qinyu, why are you here?"
Xu Qinyu didn't have time to say more to Zhizhi, and said seriously: "Zhizhi, I want to see the county master."