Chapter 72
Chapter 72
Prince Jing meant that he had no intention of letting him return to Fengcheng.
When Xie Pushe forced him to leave Dongdu, he gave up all his dreams of a career in officialdom. After being a playboy for so many years, he had gotten used to it. He would have to go back to Fengcheng sooner or later, so what was the point of holding a position?
Dongdu is so big, he doesn’t believe that he can’t find a job to make a living.
If words can't make a living, then use force.
When the sun was setting, Xie Shao took Min Zhang to the dock of Dongdu. Before they reached the alley entrance, they saw a long line of porters carrying shoulder poles.
Even women and children were included.
Seeing Xie Shao coming, several people around him swarmed over, "Sir, do you need a porter? No matter how big the object is, I can carry it..."
"Sir, the price is affordable. I guarantee that it will be done for you."
"Sir, are you loading or unloading?"
Min Zhang secretly glanced at his master. Although his clothes were a little old, compared with the people in front of him, he had fair skin and tender flesh, and was obviously a young man from a wealthy family.
Xie Shao pursed his lips and frowned.
Even for a porter, the competition is so fierce? Not giving up, I asked the porter in front of me: "How much can you make doing this in a day?"
"If I'm lucky, I can get 20 or 30 cents. If I'm unlucky, I'll be lucky if I can afford a full meal..."
There was no telling how many merchant ships docked at Dongdu Wharf every day, and it took manpower to load and unload. Xie Shao was puzzled and continued to ask, "Is there no work at the wharf?"
"The boat owners with a little bit of money always hire their own family members. Even if there are no porters, the bulk of the profits will go to the shipping merchants at the dock first. We, the independent porters, can only wait in line and get a chance to make a profit."
Xie Shao raised his head and looked forward, and saw a long queue with no end in sight. "So many people are trying to get a bargain?"
When to pick it up.
The old man sighed, "There are too many people coming to the East Capital to make a living, and we have no education, so we can only do some manual labor to avoid being reduced to begging on the streets and being caught by the soldiers and driven out of the city."
Because there were too many people coming into Dongdu, officers and soldiers would clear out a group of them every day. They would catch beggars on the street, send them out of the city gate, and persuade them to return to their hometowns.
However, although many people come to Dongdu, there are also many opportunities. There are many beggars today who can become wealthy people tomorrow.
Moreover, most people have already put in a lot of effort to get to Dongdu, so who would be willing to go back? As long as they have a job, they can slowly wait for the opportunity to make a fortune.
Seeing that he hadn't spoken for a long time, the old man asked again, "Sir, do you have any goods to load or unload? Can you get a smaller one at a lower price?"
As soon as this was said, a woman next to him came up and said, "Sir, I'm cheaper..."
"My lord, I have great strength."
Xie Shao looked at the group of people who had squeezed in front of him with his head tilted. If he said at this moment that he was also here to steal their jobs, these people would probably turn against him immediately.
These people have already had a hard time, he must not come and take their work away from them.
He turned around and called Min Zhang, and went to the downtown area again.
If he couldn't be a porter, he could just wash dishes. In order to live in a big house and sleep in a big bed with his young lady, he had given up everything.
I went to several inns and restaurants, but was rejected every time.
The reason is that each family only recruits slaves, and someone like him is more like a master than the master. How can he be used in the future?
The waiter at the last inn kindly pointed out a place for the two of them, "You two young masters are so well-off, it would be a waste to come here. Try the one with the colorful flags in front."
After thanking the waiter, the two men walked straight towards the house.
When I arrived at the door, I did see the notice recruiting odd jobs.
It was already dark, and the place in front of the door was quiet, with no guests coming and going. Pei Qing walked up to the door and asked, "Excuse me, are you still hiring here?"
The man looked at the two of them for a while, his eyes lit up, and he smiled very friendly, "We are hiring, please come in, gentlemen."
The two of them stepped over the threshold, one in front of the other.
In less than half a moment, he suddenly rushed out as if running for his life.
Xie Shao was panting heavily, his face was green, his shirt was tilted to one side, his hands were pinching his forehead, his temples were throbbing, he was so angry that he gritted his teeth, "Go, lift this up for me."
Min Zhang was not much better off. He sacrificed a lot to protect his master's innocence.
There was a lip balm mark on one cheek.
The wind is blowing down, when did the young lady from Dongdu become so corrupt, doesn't she have any shame...
When Min Zhang heard his master's order, he drew out his scimitar and was about to turn back, but Xie Shao hissed softly and called him back, "Come back and wipe your face clean."
The master and servant arrived at a dark alley, each of them fixed their makeup, and made sure that there was no trace of anything on the other person before coming out of the alley.
I searched for almost two hours and found nothing, and I almost lost my name.
He no longer had the energy to look for it, and returned to the house in a dejected and dusty state. Before entering the house, Xie Shao turned around and said, "Shut your mouth."
Min Zhang naturally knew about this embarrassing thing, "Yes."
The gate to the courtyard was not locked, so Xie Shao pushed it open and walked in.
I had promised to take the girl to the night market tonight, but it was ruined. I thought she had probably rested, but when I returned to the house, I saw lanterns all over the yard.
Hearing the noise, Wen Shuse poked her head out from between a bunch of lanterns. Since her hands were not empty, she just looked up and called out from a distance, "My dear, you are back."
Xie Shao slowly walked up to her side, looking puzzled, "Madam, why did you make so many lights?"
"Sell it." Wen Shuse finished drawing a line on the donated gauze, blew gently, turned to look at her husband, and the halo of the gauze lantern dyed a layer of joy on her eyebrows. She said excitedly: "Today, I heard from Aunt Qing that the gauze lanterns sold in the market are not as good as mine, and the price is not cheap. Anyway, I have nothing to do, so I thought of making a few to try. Who knew that they were all sold out in less than an incense stick of time."
She raised her head and pointed at the several lanterns piled in front of her. "I haven't stopped since my husband left. When I'm done, Aunt Qing helps me sell them. I've been running back and forth several times."
Xie Shao was stunned.
The young lady took out the purse from her waist and handed it to him, "My dear, please count it for me. I'm afraid there is almost half a string of money. If I work for a few more days, I should be able to pay this month's rent soon."
Xie Shao stretched out his hand woodenly, and inside his bulging purse was all copper coins. He suddenly felt a mixture of emotions.
It's so embarrassing.
Wen Shuse remembered, put down the lantern and stood up, "My dear, you must be tired after running outside for a long time. Come in and have a rest. I'll make you a cup of tea."
"No need." Xie Shao pulled her back.
He doesn't deserve it.
He ran for a long time but didn't earn a penny. In the end, he was not as good at making money as the young lady.
Wen Shuse saw that he looked unhappy, so she asked softly, "What's wrong, my dear?"
Xie Shao forced a smile, "I'm not thirsty, my lady, there's no need to work hard."
Seeing him like this, Wen Shuse sat down again, concentrating on sketching the lady painting on the gauze, and whispered to him: "When I first learned to make lanterns from my mother, my hands were very clumsy, and she even despised me. She asked who would dare to buy the gauze lanterns I made. I refuted her, saying that I would not make money from making gauze lanterns in the future, but I never thought that one day I would really make a living from this craft."
She looked back at her husband and said, "If you are tired, go inside and have a rest. I am not tired, so I will do a few more."
Xie Shao didn't move. After a while, he slowly bent down and said, "I'm not sleepy either. Madam, teach me how to do it."
Seeing his sincere expression, Wen Shuse picked up a bamboo strip from the ground and started to imitate him. She remembered the bamboo thorn that had pierced his finger before. She didn't want to pick it out for him again in the middle of the night. She put down the lantern and carefully took the bamboo strip from his hand. "My dear, you are a beginner and the bamboo strip will cut your hand."
Xie Shao had nothing in his hands, and was a little confused. "Then what can I do?"
After all this trouble, I wanted his attitude. After experiencing the hardship, I knew how to cherish. I looked up and asked him, "Can you draw?"
Xie Shao nodded, "Yeah."
"Then you draw the outline, and I'll make the frame." Pointing to the gauze lantern and pen at her feet, "I have already drawn one side of this one, and I'll give you the other side. You can draw whatever you like."
"good."
During his twelve years in the Eastern Capital, he had become famous for a time and had painted many acclaimed paintings. He flipped through the painting of the lady she had just finished, compared it with the other two, and slowly started to paint.
The two of them were busy with their own work. The chirping of katydids in their ears blended into the night. It didn't feel noisy at all, but rather empty and quiet.
Wen Shuse used a knife to pick holes in the stick, glanced at him, and suddenly asked in a low voice: "Did you go out to look for a job today?"
Although it was a bit embarrassing, I couldn't lie to the young lady. I hadn't touched a pen for a long time, so I was a little rusty. I concentrated on drawing a picture in my hand, and then I answered, "Well, I didn't find it."
Hearing his frustration, the young lady comforted him, "If you can't find it, just wait and see. My dear, don't worry. I have this skill. At worst, I can support you in the future."
The young lady spoke in a bold tone. After she finished speaking, she pressed her knee against the bamboo strips, and with a "snap" it broke in two. Then she buried her head in shaving the thorns with a knife.
Xie Shao paused and glanced sideways.
A few strands of hair were loose and hung down from the young lady's forehead. She was dressed in a plain dress with her sleeves rolled up. Her ten green fingers, which had never touched water before, were now holding a knife and doing rough work.
She raised him.
The young lady's sincerity and friendship towards him were touching, but at the same time, he felt ashamed. A hot night breeze blew on his face, and Xie Shao's heart suddenly ached, "Wen Er..."
Wen Shuse still buried his head, "Yeah."
"I broke my promise."
Wen Shu looked at him in surprise.
"We made three rules on our wedding night. I didn't do them. I didn't let you live a good life. I'm sorry."
The lamp next to him reflected two clusters of fire in his eyes, which were clearly visible and flickering slightly. Wen Shu was stunned and stopped the movement of his hands.
Suddenly, she felt guilty and wondered if she had given too much medicine. She quickly calmed down and said, "Don't mind me, my dear. We are like this now because of me. I am satisfied that you didn't divorce me."
She was planning to support him by working as a lantern. Even if she really squandered all the family fortune, so what?
Once a person is moved, the first thing he does is to start reflecting on himself and wondering if he had done anything wrong in the past. It would be fine if he didn't think about it, but once he thought about it, he would feel more and more sorry for the lady.
On the wedding night, he actually had a quarrel with his wife.
Not a human being.
A friend in need is a friend indeed. The young lady was able to come back for him at all costs and save his life. Now that she knows that he is penniless, she still sticks with him.
How could Xie Shao be so talented to win the favor of such a beautiful and affectionate young lady?
With a wife like this, what more could a husband ask for?
The Xie family went bankrupt, and it was not her fault. "The bankruptcy was all because of my laziness and inaction. It was not my fault. I am your husband, and I should be responsible for you. But from now on, I will make it difficult for you to suffer with me."
Thank God, he finally came to his senses.
Wen Shuse had a hope that hardship would soon pay off, so she accepted his kindness and encouraged him, "What happened before is all in the past, don't think about it, just work harder in the future."
He knew it without the young lady telling him.
"Okay." Xie Shao nodded, and suddenly reached out to grab the knife from her hand, "Madam, please teach me, I will make the rest of the lanterns."
Wen Shuse was stunned.
"I will make all these lights in the future, so you don't have to worry about it."
Things seem to be developing somewhat differently from what I expected.
She racked her brains and put in good intentions, sitting here making lanterns in the middle of the night, but she definitely didn't really want him to make lanterns with her, nor did she want him to inherit her legacy.
I want him to cheer up, make good use of his strengths and do what he should do.
When he was in Fengcheng, he was clearly capable of doing things well, so why couldn't he become an official?
Suddenly she felt a little frustrated. She had tried her best. So let it be. Madam Xie could blame her if she wanted to. It was because of her limited ability that she could not help...
Xie Shao didn't notice her expression. Seeing that she didn't say anything, he reached out and pulled her sleeve, "Madam?"
"I don't want to sell lanterns, nor do I want to make lanterns." The deep regret in her heart was blocked in her throat. Wen Shuse couldn't hold it back any longer. She suddenly stood up, shook off his hand, and looked at the man in front of her with disappointment on her face. Her tone was strange and cold, "Are you going to make lanterns for the rest of your life? Even if you can sell one or two strings of silver a day, how much money can you make? Can you support my family? Can you let me live a good life? Do you know what I really want? I want to have enough food and clothing, I want to be a superior person, I want to be an official's wife, I want to live a glamorous life, but look at what you look like now, you can't even buy me a few clothes."
Harsh words pierce into people's hearts, sharper than a knife, cutting through the throat with one strike of blood, and the ears become quiet for a moment.
The lantern she had just drawn fell to the ground when she threw it.
The blood flowed back too quickly, and his limbs became a little stiff. Xie Shao watched as the lantern hit the gauze lantern next to it and slowly burned, but he was unable to react at all.
At this point, Wen Shuse didn't want to pretend with him anymore, "I don't really want to suffer with you."
Wen Shuse felt that his idea was a little too naive. "Which young lady in this world is willing to suffer for a lifetime? Maybe there are some, but I'm not one of them."
She had experienced hunger in her childhood, and her mother gradually became ill and passed away because she had no money to buy medicine.
She knows the importance of money and power better than anyone else.
Even if I tell him that the Xie family is not bankrupt and he can continue to squander, but with his lack of ambition, he will squander the family fortune sooner or later.
"I can share the hardships with you because you are my husband. I promised you that I would spend my whole life with you, and I will not regret it. Even if you want to continue living like this in the future, I can stay by your side and never leave you, but that is not what I want, and it is not what I like."
Every word the young lady said carried a knife.
Therefore, all the emotions he felt along the way from Fengcheng to Dongdu were just the harmony she embellished.
Although cruel, it is more real.
There was no sudden emotion, nor was there love without reason. He was confused by the days that followed, thinking too simply, and forgetting the beginning of their relationship.
It is undeniable that she did a great job as a lady and left him with nothing to be criticized for.
Perhaps there was another sentence in her words, that the person she wanted to spend her life with was not him at the beginning, but something happened and she had no choice but to choose herself.
His vision suddenly became blurred. Xie Shao sat there motionless, not saying a word from beginning to end.
Things had come to this point, and he definitely couldn't stay any longer. Wen Shuse didn't look at him. He gave him the big bed in the main courtyard and turned to go to the yard outside.
After I walked out of the corridor and exhaled the breath that was stuck in my throat, I realized belatedly that my heart had become tight and painful.
Aunt Qing had just returned from selling gauze lanterns outside. When she saw Wen Shuse, she was delighted. Before she could report it, she noticed that something was wrong with her expression and her heart skipped a beat. "What happened to my lady?"
Wen Shu didn't respond, tears streaming down her face. What she just said were all from the bottom of her heart, but she didn't know why she felt so uncomfortable.
Aunt Qing had never seen her like this before, and asked anxiously, "But did the uncle bully my wife?"
Wen Shuse shook her head, stepped into the wing room, sat on the wooden stool inside the room, wiped the tears with the back of her hand, took a hard breath, and choked, "Aunt, my heart hurts so much."
The next morning, Min Zhang went to the corridor in the main courtyard and waited.
Last night I saw my master and Third Mistress sitting together in the yard making lanterns. I did not disturb them and went back to the outer courtyard. I have no idea what happened between them.
Seeing someone suddenly come out, he was about to ask if he was going to sell lanterns, when he heard Xie Shao speak in a hoarse voice: "Take the certificate and go to the Ministry of War."
Min Zhang was stunned, and smiled rarely, "It's great that the master can figure it out."
The treasures are here~ (dog head~)
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