Chapter 156 Chapter 156 Update.
As I was riding my horse back home along the Wei River, I saw a figure standing by the Wei Bridge, looking back in the evening light.
"Mother? Why are you here?"
Ji Xu got off the horse and walked down the road. Tian Shi was holding a sheepskin cloak in her hand. She put it on her and said:
"Even though it's spring, the late spring cold is still freezing. Why didn't you put on your sheepskin coat before going out? And since you haven't come back yet, I'm worried about you, so I came out."
Wei Bridge was not far from home, so Ji Xu led the horse and walked back with mother and daughter.
"I went to Gao City for a stroll and got delayed."
I also told Tian about what I saw and felt in Gao City. I couldn't help but feel empty inside.
"Why didn't Mother ask me if I had accomplished anything at the Li family?"
"Needless to ask? It's written all over your face. My Ah Jiao has been so busy preparing those medicinal dishes. And Li Quanye from the Li family is so ungrateful that he refuses to eat them. He deserves to be impotent for the rest of his life. Impotence is his destiny."
Seeing that there was no one around, Tian said this with gritted teeth and hatred. However, Tian's tone made Ji Xu laugh, and he felt more relieved.
The Diaohu cat's meowing seemed to be responding to Tian Shi. It was in a cloth bag that Tian Shi had sewn for it. Ji Xu was carrying it on his back, and it could just stick its head out.
"Diaohu also thinks what mother said is right, right?"
Tian brought it in and they talked to each other.
"Meow."
"Diao Hu met that man today. What did you think?"
"Meow."
"Oh, that's a bad-hearted person. He doesn't say good things. He's not a good person."
"Meow."
"Is mother right? This cat really understands human nature."
Tian said, Ji Xu laughed and said:
"Why do I feel like the names for Diao Hu are all the same? They are all interpreted by the mother to comfort her daughter."
"Meow."
Tian held it and smoothed its fur, saying, "Look, even Diaohu won't agree to your words."
"You don't want to? Do you want to eat some dried fish?"
Ji Xu touched his carved beard, and the mother and daughter chatted and laughed as they returned home, only to find that dinner had already been prepared.
The mutton is stewed with radish, and even the radish has a nice sauce color; there is also cured fish fried with fern, which is fragrant and spicy; and there are fresh mushrooms and ham slices, which are green and red, which is very fresh.
"These mushrooms are wild. It rained in the suburbs, so many people came here today carrying wild mushrooms and fragrant mushrooms to sell. I thought they looked good, so I bought some to cook."
Tian said that she had prepared most of the dish before she left. She asked Jindou to watch the fire and serve the mutton until it was tender, then went to pick up her daughter.
It was still steaming, and the charcoal fire was burning in the stove beside the table, making the whole room warm.
Speaking of the Li family,
When Li Quanye heard no movement outside the tent, he knew that the foreigner had left. He lifted the tent and looked out. From a distance, he saw a small object on the food table. He got on his wheelchair and took a look at it.
It turned out to be a black cat made of wool, smaller than the palm of my hand, but vivid and lifelike, with only half of its tail left, which was extremely realistic.
That night, Maocai brought out the cold beef shank and mutton soup, heated it up, and ate it with his brother, sighing to each other:
"There will be no such good fortune in the future."
The next day at noon, Maoming brought in lunch and heard something being recited in the tent.
He listened carefully and heard what was said, "I saw the black dumplings yesterday. You made them quite well. I accepted them."
He was so scared that he ran out and said to Mao Cai, "Today is not a good day. I think the devil is talking nonsense. Wu Tuan'er has been sick and dead for four or five years, and he is still mumbling to himself."
After Wu Tuan'er died of illness, Madam Yu was afraid that the animal was unclean, so she fumigated the entire house with mugwort and even burned everything that Wu Tuan'er had used or touched. There was nothing left of Wu Tuan'er in their yard, and they were about to forget about him, until suddenly they heard him mention it like chanting a sutra.
Both of them were extremely alert and didn't dare to make any mistakes, for fear of being picked on and beaten by him. After a while, the devil actually asked for lunch.
Mao Cai was still kneeling with his hands on the table, and he was indeed scolded:
"Why not move those two copper tables over here and use them to hold the food tray? They'll be more stable than a lowly slave like you can serve."
But the lunch was not to his liking, so he put it down after taking two bites.
However, since he used it, Mrs. Yu was happy and rewarded the cooks who prepared lunch, ordering them to be more attentive.
The two brothers Maocai were also rewarded and were naturally happy. Moreover, for two consecutive days, Li Quanye did not make them kneel down to hold the food table. Instead, he used a copper platform to raise the food table, which made their life much easier.
Another day passed, and Maocai brought in lunch. Thinking that the Demon King had become more amiable recently, he did not leave the food quietly, but said to the tent:
"Master, lunch is here. Let's eat it while it's hot, or..."
As soon as the curtain was lifted, the people inside cursed:
"Who called you here? Did I call you? Why don't you just lie there and die?"
Maocai was frustrated and came out with a scowl on his face.
"It's fine, it's happening again."
They didn't even have lunch that day, and even dinner was thrown away.
The food that the master eats is naturally the best. They used to pick up what the devil hadn't eaten and eat it. But now Maocai and Maoming have taken it and think it tastes bad. They all say:
"Not as good as what a golden girl does."
And eating it doesn't give you any strength.
The next day, Maoming learned his lesson. He walked in quietly, put down his things and was about to leave without anyone trying to persuade him.
But the person in the tent was extremely perceptive and suddenly opened it, then saw him and cursed:
"Who let you in?"
Maoming said, "I am here to deliver lunch to the young master."
"She asked you to deliver it?"
she?
Maoming responded repeatedly,
"Yes, yes, I am also following orders. I dare not disobey."
But it was Yu who instructed them to deliver three meals a day on time.
This remark did not quite resonate with Li Quanye, who started to scold him:
"Who is she to you? If you listen to her so much, why not just serve her and acknowledge her as your master?"
Isn’t Yu his master? Why does he need to recognize him again?
Seeing that Maoming was angry, he did not dare to refute him. This devil was naughty and weird. When Yu forced him into a corner, he would still talk back. He was no longer surprised by hearing him compete with Yu so many times. He waited until he vented his anger before leaving.
Mao Cai heard the noise inside and asked:
"What happened again?"
"Who knows what's wrong with him, taking it out on me."
When Maocai heard this, he also had a lot of grievances but nowhere to vent them. The two brothers complained to each other, which only made them feel even more miserable.
When Yi Jin was around, she could understand their troubles and offer advice. After talking to her, I felt more open-minded.
Now the two of them are like they were before, with mature looks on their faces and nothing to say.
The next afternoon, it was Maocai's turn to deliver the meal. He was sure that he had not made a single sound, but the devil still grabbed him and kept scolding him.
"You even use my people, so tell her to come and send it herself."
"I dare not."
"Well, you guys listen to a lowly person from outside the Great Wall. Even I can't get my way!"
The jade pendant was smashed again, and Mao Cai was too distracted to care about it. Now he finally came to his senses and said:
"Master, are you talking about the girl named Yijin? She hasn't been here for a long time."
"Why aren't you coming?"
"The young master has always refused to eat the food she cooks, and Madam told her not to come again five days ago," said Maocai.
It rained more frequently after the spring, so Tian bought some cheap straw raincoats and called the nuns in the alley to come to her house to weave straw raincoats. She paid three cents for each one.
She then sold it to the students of the Imperial College. The rainy season was approaching, and the leaves of the sedge grass were smooth and hollow inside. A sedge quilt could be sold for fifteen cents each.
When Liu Laogu was young, she combed people's hair. She was quick with her hands and her braiding was solid. She could braid two sets of hair a day. No other nun could compare to her.
Qiu Gu also came here to weave straw raincoats. Excluding the time she spent cooking at home, she could weave one a day. The money she earned was enough to buy a small piece of fresh pork liver, which she chopped up and made into soup for her son Wang.
Aunt Liu said, "Brush and ink are the most expensive. Your student Wang'er is a money-eater. When will your wife, who earns money, come back?"
Qiu Gu said, "It will be soon. I heard that the tea from Bashu is good. When he comes back, ask him to send some tea to you."
"There are also clay figurines, wooden swords, and clay dogs... Before Aung left, he said he would buy them for me."
Wang'er looked forward to it.
Now that school is over, Feng and Zhu are weaving straw raincoats for their family to earn some pocket money. Da Ya and Xiao Hua from Liu Laogu's family are playing here together. Wang'er has stopped studying and comes here to join in the fun.
Qiu Gu urged him to go back. "You only think about these toys. Didn't you finish your calligraphy today? You ran away when I was away, and why don't you go back to write? Xiaozhu is younger than you, yet she was chosen to sing 'The Great Wind Song'. It shows you're not studying hard."
Wang'er was originally very happy, but now he picked up a piece of sedge grass, lowered his head and said nothing.
The other sisters wanted to persuade Aunt Qiu, but they also knew that Aunt Qiu was easy to talk to about other things, but she could not discuss Wang'er's studies.
Xiaozhu, her own child, was a talented and self-conscious child who never needed any persuasion in her studies. Tian was the one who was hard to talk to.
Aunt Liu was the oldest and had the right to offer some advice:
"It won't hurt to just let him play for a while."
"Giving him the pleasure is harming him."
Qiu Gu said,
"You don't work hard. Do you want to be like me, a comedian who tells stories for people and entertains them, but when you're old and ugly, no one will hire you. Or do you want to be like your grandfather, a peddler who can't go home? Why don't you go back?"
Wang'er was forced to go back, and Qiu Gu locked him in the house. Then he came back here to weave straw raincoats, and went back to cook for them at a certain time.
While eating, I was thinking that when the child's grandfather comes back with money, he shouldn't buy a house here.
There are many children in this alley, and most of them don't study and just play outside. Wang'er has become wild after following them and no longer thinks about studying.
We should move to a place near the Imperial College where there are many scholars and Wang'er will be able to study well.
Qiu Gu thought: I have also heard the story of Meng Mu's three moves. I think I should learn from her and find a better place for Wang Er.
At the front gate, when everyone was leaving, Tian took out a small piece of wood for practicing calligraphy and a pen, and wrote down how many straw raincoats each person had woven.
She couldn't write. When Ji Xu came back from cooking for someone, he looked at the counting board and saw that Qiu Gu had a rice ear on it with a circle underneath, indicating that she had woven one today.
Liu Laogu is a comb, with two circles and a half circle at the bottom, indicating that it has two and a half...
The nuns in this alley are all wearing various symbols, and the circles represent quantity.
"Don't tell me, it's easy to understand if I remember it this way."
After seeing this, Ji Xu also thought that Tian's idea was good, because some people only made half a piece, and it was difficult to pay those who did not finish it. He could record the number, round it up and pay them again, so that he would have a total when he looked at it later.
While they were talking, they heard Jindou say:
"There's a servant from the Li family at the door, looking for the young lady."
"Why would someone from the Li family come here? Li Quanye doesn't look down on the craftsmanship of us outsiders. Don't open the door to him!"
Tian said that she felt angry when she thought of her daughter coming back disappointed that day. She went to sell straw raincoats and groceries, and even went to the dock to steal from officials, but she didn't want her daughter to earn money to make her family suffer.
"Mother, don't get upset about that. Who is that boy outside? Did he say what he wanted?"
The day before yesterday, Ji Xu met Peng from Maoling County, the wife of the young chief clerk, and asked her about the burned shop, which was said to be the property of the Li family.
Peng had also heard about the fire there. During the previous banquet, she had said a few words to comfort Yu, but Yu did not take it seriously. After all, it was just an inconspicuous warehouse.
But Yu Jixu was different, so he always had some leeway for the Li family in his heart, so he asked.
Jindou replied, "It's a man named Maocai who wants to see the young lady, but he didn't say what he wanted."
Ji Xu went to see Mao Cai, who came to ask her to go back, saying:
"The young master said that the porridge with pea kernels and rice we had last time was very good, and he wants you to go back and make lunch for him."
"Madam is also happy. She sent me to deliver a letter, asking a rich young lady to come to the mansion again to take care of my young master. She will still use medicine in the food as before, but she won't tell the young master."
The maidservant beside Yu also came and said with a smile.
If what they said was not true, Ji Xu would have thought that Li Quanye was deliberately playing tricks on him. After confirming it again and again, he agreed to go to the Li family's house tomorrow.
She had thought this matter would not succeed, but now there was a turning point. She must seize it and try her best, so that she could find a chance to talk to Mrs. Yu about the shop.
Seeing that her daughter refused to give up, Tian knew that this was her first attempt at diet therapy and she wanted to achieve something, so she did not stop her. She packed her boxes, goat hair cloak and knee pads for her at night, and she rode away the next day.
This time I made the same rice porridge with bird's nest kernels, which he had complained about several times on the first day, and now I brought it to him.
It was still the same inside, pitch black. When she drew back the curtains, it was as if some switch had been triggered in the bed curtains. She wondered:
"Who let Zhao Guang in?"
Ji Xu then said to the outsider:
"He's awake. Move it in, slowly, slowly. Just put it here."
Maocai and Maoming brought in a high-legged dining table with four legs four or five feet high. It could replace the copper candlestick and was a perfect match for the wheelchair.
This is what Ji Xu told the maid yesterday. He asked her to make such a high-legged food table and even drew a set of it, saying that it would be convenient for dining.
It was Li Quanye who took the initiative to ask Yu to invite someone, so Yu's mother was very cooperative and asked the carpenter and painter to make such a dining table overnight.
"Take it away, I don't need anything like this."
Li Quanye knew at a glance who the high-legged food tray was for and didn't like it.
Maocai and Maoming guessed that he was like this. He was even resistant to this wheelchair at that time. These different objects reminded him of his disabled legs and feet. Over the years, they tacitly agreed not to mention it.
When his legs were just disabled, Yu also thought about it and made a similar high-legged food table for him to use when he couldn't kneel. But the devil ordered them to throw it far away. Over the years, except for the wheelchair, everything else in the house remained the same as before.
When helping to change clothes, Maocai and Maoming both knew that they had to cover the pair of legs that were a little shriveled and deformed, otherwise he would go crazy when he saw them.
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