Chapter 31 The Suffering of Women (Part 1)
After paying and parking their donkey cart outside the West Market, the group headed towards the newly arrived circus troupe.
On the way, Li San Niang saw that there was a pomegranate juice for sale, and it was even freshly squeezed pomegranate juice. So she paid for a small cup for everyone, and it was quite delicious.
Judging from the appearance of the pomegranate juice seller, he must be from the border region. His high nose and deep-set eyes are quite different from those of Li San Niang, a Han Chinese woman.
After drinking pomegranate juice, I also found out how to watch the circus.
Originally, the largest building in the east of the West Market, Ruyi Tower, had one ticket per person, with the lowest price being two hundred copper coins. The closer the seat was to the front, the more expensive it was, with the most expensive costing five taels of silver.
However, children under the age of three are exempt from the fee.
But which parent would feel comfortable letting their young child go to the circus alone? They all have to buy tickets to accompany their child.
Li San Niang felt that since they were already there, they should spend more money to get a better view, so she generously bought a seat for each person for 300 copper coins.
After paying and taking the ticket, we entered. It wasn't too far back; it was somewhat like a modern lecture hall, with a platform surrounded by seats on three sides. There were also private rooms on the second floor, mostly for wealthy people to relax.
There were many people, a mixed bag. Little Dewdrop was held in Brother Li's arms. Even before the show started, there were already quite a few people, bustling about.
After finally finding a place to sit down, Li San Niang regretted not listening to Li Da Sao's advice and bringing a few cushions before leaving home, so she could sit higher and see more clearly.
After a short wait, circus performers came onto the stage banging on a gong adorned with a large red ribbon.
As expected of people who make a living from this skill, although Li San Niang's family wasn't at the very back of the stage, they could still hear the jokes and banter of the gong-beater quite clearly.
The opening performance was a circus act. Brother Li explained that these were fine horses from the Western Regions, likely retired military horses from the Turks.
Li San Niang couldn't tell where the horse was from, but she felt that it was tall and handsome, unafraid of fire rings, and intelligent; the performer could tell whether the horse would walk, run, or stop just by squeezing its belly.
After the circus performance, during intermission, scantily clad and beautiful Hu women would roam the area selling melons, melon seeds, candies, and milk wine.
How could Li San Niang possibly resist chopping off her hand?
Smiling at Sister-in-law Li's expression that forbade her to spend money recklessly, Li San Niang took out her money and bought a small earthenware pot of roasted melon seeds. The melons were really not cheap, so she only bought two pieces. She gave half a piece to Lu Zhu'er to eat, Brother Li didn't eat any, and Li San Niang and Sister-in-law Li ate a couple of bites of the other half to taste it.
The remaining piece was divided among the four little ones.
As Li San Niang ate her melon, she wondered whether living another life after transmigrating was a gain or a loss.
This is just a cantaloupe; you have to come all the way to the West Market, spend a lot of money to buy it, and just have a taste.
Before Li San Niang could get out of her thoughts, an old man from the Western Regions with many small braids came up from the central platform. He was accompanied by two sheepdogs, and about ten sheep were released from behind them.
Haha, these people from the Western Regions are really interesting; they're actually going to put on a show of people herding sheep and driving dogs.
Indeed, people living in Chang'an had never seen such a scene before, so naturally they were curious and interested.
Then, a woman named Hu came on stage to demonstrate her excellent whip skills!
Li San Niang was so excited by what she saw that she wished she could also give a generous reward like the wealthy man on the second floor to express her delight!
Of course, in the end, I was short of money and could only leave ten copper coins as a token gesture.
After watching the entire circus performance, Brother Li said he would take everyone to try some hand-pulled mutton, to splurge a little, and he would pay for it himself.
After wandering around for a while, we entered a mutton soup restaurant run by a foreign merchant at the entrance of an alley. Brother Li said that his colleague had taken him here before, and that the portions were large, the food was affordable, and it was really delicious.
One person ordered a bowl of mutton soup. After a stack of naan bread was served, two large pieces of meaty bone were brought out, along with a small knife.
Brother Li readily helped everyone cut the meat to eat, and the mutton soup with pepper had a unique flavor.
Dewdrop has a big belly, but she eats a lot, and her belly is round and full.
Sitting in the mutton soup restaurant, listening to the people around me gossip about the latest happenings in Chang'an, was truly interesting.
The most interesting thing is that Li San Niang wanted to hear other people's gossip, but she didn't expect to hear it about herself!
The man at the next table was gossiping enthusiastically with his tablemates about the incident a few days ago when the Ministry of Revenue Minister Gao's house was surrounded by the Imperial Guards. He spoke so vividly, as if he had been there himself.
It was also mentioned that the reason why the Gao family was able to escape unscathed despite being surrounded was because a woman surnamed Li saved the life of the daughter of the Duke of Liang, giving the Gao family a chance to break free.
Hearing this, Li San Niang found it hard to bear the teasing looks from her elder brother and sister-in-law. Touching her feverish face, she said, "Elder brother, let's go home. Lu Zhu'er is too full and looks sleepy. Let's also buy a few pomegranates so that Father, Mother, Second Brother, and Second Sister-in-law can have a taste."
Li San Niang finally understood what the old doctor Gao meant when he came to her house and said that she was famous in Chang'an. She felt a little embarrassed and ashamed.
When Sister-in-law Li saw the dewdrop in Li San Niang's arms, she realized that the dewdrop was indeed so sleepy after eating that she could barely keep her eyes open and was about to fall asleep in Li San Niang's arms.
After paying, the group headed back the way they came. After walking only a few steps, Brother Li saw that Third Sister Li looked really tired from carrying Lu Zhu'er, so he took her from her. Third Sister Li was about to say, "Brother, I'm not tired. You can carry me again if you get tired."
A crowd had gathered in front of them, blocking their way. The road, which was originally wide enough for a horse-drawn carriage to pass through, was now so congested with onlookers that it was difficult for even a person to walk.
The group had no choice; they couldn't just block the street like that. If they wanted to wait for the crowd to disperse, they'd probably have to wait for the patrol to arrive.
So, they had no choice but to rely on the strong bodies of Brother Li and the four little ones to squeeze forward. Those who were pushed aside wanted to turn around and curse, but seeing Brother Li's tall stature, they didn't dare to say anything, muttering, "Even watching a show requires squeezing through people."
After finally squeezing through, I saw a woman with disheveled hair and covered in dust being pushed to the ground, a man holding a wooden stick being grabbed by the arm by an old man, and an old woman sitting on the ground slapping her thighs and shouting.
After listening carefully for a while, I realized that this was a family. The woman on the ground had been married to the man with the wooden stick for five years but had not had a son or daughter. The man drowned his sorrows in alcohol because he had no children and did not go out to work. How could he survive in Chang'an?
So the woman went out into the western market and earned a living by washing clothes for the Hu people.
But the man's mother, the old woman, heard from someone that the woman was having an affair with a Hu man in the West Market and told the man. The man felt that he had been cuckolded and wanted to beat the woman to death with a wooden stick.
The old man who was pulling the man was a neighbor in their neighborhood, and he was just trying to persuade him.
Just as they understood what was going on, they saw the man push the old man aside, grab a wooden stick, and come over to hit the woman hard on the head.
"Dalang!"
As soon as Li San Niang spoke, she called out to Li Da Lang. Li Da Lang stepped forward and used his skillful strength to snatch the man's wooden stick, then stood in front of the woman.
Once Li San Niang was sure it was safe, she went to check on the woman's injuries. The woman had her eyes open, but her gaze was completely lifeless, as if she were dead, with blood dripping from the corner of her eyes and her forehead.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com