Chapter 3 Why haven’t you left yet?
"I cut it."
Chunzhi said this, pointing to the pile of rags in front of the bed.
She hadn't had time to burn it.
Huo Zheng closed his eyes and said, "Go find me some clean clothes."
This is an act of ordering people around at will.
Chunzhi almost thought she was a maid in his house.
Chunzhi said, "I don't have any men's clothes here. I'll go buy you some tomorrow morning."
After she said this, she didn't hear the man's answer for a long time.
Chunzhi turned around and found that the man had fainted again.
She stepped forward and checked the man's breath. Even though he was unconscious, his breathing was much steadier than before. Only then did she feel relieved.
Although the man choked her as soon as he woke up and said she was shameless, he was the one who drove Zhang Hu away.
Chunzhi weighed the pros and cons in her mind and felt that this man was not a good person, but he was not a bad guy either.
The man had already woken up once, so it seemed unlikely that his injuries would get any worse in the second half of the night.
Chunzhi moved a chair to the next door house where soybeans were stored and found a jar to hide the banknotes.
She leaned back in her chair and dozed off for two hours before getting up to grind beans and make tofu.
It was still raining outside, but the rain was a little lighter. She took an umbrella and went to the nearest clothing store to buy clothes.
Qian Sanniang, the owner of the clothing store, was quite familiar with Chunzhi. She woke up before the shop even opened. She yawned and came to open the door. "Oh, Chunzhi, what a rare visitor. You're here so early in the morning to buy new clothes? Are you trying to dress up to outdo the top scholar's new wife?"
Linshui Town is not very big, so if there is a little excitement, it will spread throughout the city within half a day.
Qian Sanniang naturally also heard about the top scholar Lu Jingyun returning home with his new wife in glory and abandoning his child bride.
"What are you talking about, Sanniang? Yesterday a relative came to me for shelter, and he didn't even have any decent clothes. I'm here to buy him some clothes."
Chunzhi didn't dare tell Qian Sanniang that she picked up a man and brought him home last night.
"I'm buying it for a relative. Come in and choose."
When Qian Sanniang heard Chunzhi say this, her eyes, which had originally been shining with gossip, instantly dimmed.
Chunzhi entered the clothing store and went to the men's clothing section. Coarse linen was the cheapest, but seeing the man's noble look, coarse linen was not suitable for him, so she picked out an indigo round-necked robe for him.
Seeing this, Qian Sanniang's eyes lit up again, "Buying men's clothes?"
"Um."
Chunzhi nodded, and continued to pick out clothes without saying anything more to Qian Sanniang.
Qian Sanniang asked again, "How tall is he and what is his size?"
Chunzhi recalled the man's appearance. He was tall and strong, and even though he was covered with wounds, he did not look sick.
She said slowly, "I'm about eight feet tall, neither fat nor thin, and quite strong. Does this dress fit me? How much is it?"
Qian Sanniang said, "You're eight feet tall, so this dress is perfect for you. But it's not cheap, it'll cost at least two taels of silver. We're neighbors, so I won't bargain with you. If I were to sell it to someone else, I'd get at least five taels."
Chunzhi gritted her teeth and said, "Two taels is two taels. Please help me pack it up, and then give me a set of underwear."
"Okay." Qian Sanniang helped her pack it up quickly. "I'll only charge you half a copper coin for the underwear."
Chunzhi paid with change and went back with the packed clothes.
Qian Sanniang walked Chunzhi to the door. After she had walked away, she seemed to remember something and muttered, "No, that's not right... Chunzhi is an orphan that Lu Jingyun took home. How could she be a relative?"
Chunzhi returned home with the newly bought clothes, gently pushed open the door, and found that the man was still asleep.
She put the newly bought clothes next to the pillow, and regardless of whether the man could hear her or not, she said to him, "I bought the clothes for you. Put them on when you wake up, and then leave quickly."
The sleeping man showed no reaction.
Chunzhi stood by the bed and looked at him for a while. Seeing that he showed no sign of waking up, she turned around and went out, pushing the cart to sell tofu.
"Chunzhi is here." Aunt Zhang, the pancake seller, looked at her with eyes full of pity. "They all said you wouldn't be selling things today, and wanted to take your stall, but I wouldn't let them. I've been keeping it for you."
Chunzhi said gratefully, "Thank you, Aunt Zhang."
As soon as she set up her stall, people lined up to buy tofu, and her business was much better than usual.
Chunzhi cut the tofu skillfully, then wrapped it in lotus leaves and weighed it.
The white mist curled up, making Chunzhi's red lips, white teeth, almond eyes and rosy cheeks even more prominent.
A stranger passed by the stall and couldn't help but sigh that this tofu beauty, the most famous in the area, really lived up to her reputation.
The line was quite long today, and every now and then, a familiar old customer would ask Chunzhi, "Chunzhi, are you really not going back to the Lu family anymore?"
"Is it that the number one scholar's wife can't tolerate you?"
Someone else said, "In my opinion, it's better for Chunzhi and Lu Zhuangyuan to break up. Otherwise, where will we buy such delicious tofu in the future?"
Everyone treated this as a fun thing and said all kinds of things.
Chunzhi just smiled and said as usual: "Come often in the future."
Seeing that she was neither crying nor making a fuss, and that there was no resentment on her face, everyone felt that bringing up the matter in front of her would only lead to boredom, and they gradually dispersed.
Chunzhi continued to work hard. When she had almost sold all the tofu, two women started arguing in front of the stall. "I got here first! Why did you cut in line?"
"I was here first!"
Both of them are nearly fifty years old and still dress fancy. They are the two most famous matchmakers in Linshui Town, Matchmaker Li and Matchmaker Zhao.
Before Lu Jingyun had not returned, these two matchmakers had come to her house one after another, and were very enthusiastic about arranging a new marriage for her, so she recognized them.
Chunzhi said, "No need to fight. There are only two pieces of tofu left. You can each take one and both of you can have one."
"I want both of these pieces of tofu." Matchmaker Li came forward and said, "Chunzhi, I wanted to help you find a husband before, but you said you were waiting for Lu Zhuangyuan. Now that he's married to someone else, isn't it time for you to marry someone else? Mr. Zhou from the south city has always liked you and is willing to pay a betrothal gift of five hundred taels to marry you as his second wife!"
Matchmaker Zhao elbowed Matchmaker Li aside and stepped forward, saying, "With Chunzhi's beauty, she could find any husband she wanted. Young Master Chu from the east side of the city has been eyeing you for a long time. He's twenty-six and still unmarried. He's not interested in any other girl, but you."
Chunzhi didn't respond. She packed the two pieces of tofu and handed them to the two men. After taking the money, she pushed the cart back.
There were a lot of people buying tofu today, and it was sold out before noon. I just went home and cooked myself a bowl of noodles for lunch.
The two matchmakers were chasing after them with all their might, praising how great Mr. Zhou and Mr. Chu were.
Chunzhi pushed the cart very quickly. After returning to the tofu workshop, she immediately closed the door, locking the two chattering matchmakers outside.
No matter how they knocked on the door, Chunzhi didn't open it.
After a long time, Matchmaker Li and Matchmaker Zhao quarreled and left.
Chunzhi leaned against the door and breathed a long sigh of relief.
Looking towards the hut, I saw a young man in an indigo round-necked robe, with a figure as slender as a jade tree, standing by the window.
Standing by the wooden window of the humble room, he is a scene in himself.
It really made her small tofu workshop shine.
The man heard the noise outside the door and looked up at Chunzhi.
His eyes were as black as ink and bottomless.
Chunzhi slowly walked to the window, frowned slightly and asked, "Why haven't you left yet?"
Maybe he had never been chased away like this before.
A hint of disbelief flashed in the man's eyes. "Are you chasing me away?"
Chunzhi said, "Isn't it obvious enough?"
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