035, inquire
035, inquire
When the sun went down, the two craftsmen who were working at their house left. Because they had some work to do, they had to open their stall to do business the next morning, which was not convenient for them to do at home, so they agreed with the two craftsmen to come back the next afternoon to finish the unfinished work.
At this time, some neighbors nearby came to their house to fetch water to use.
Taking advantage of the fact that there were many people coming to fetch water, Liu Sanniang told everyone that it was not convenient for them to come early in the morning, and asked everyone to come to their house to fetch water in the afternoon.
"Okay, thank you. We will come to fetch water at this time in the future. Sorry to bother you." There were also people here who were sincerely grateful for Liu Sanniang's kindness. For example, there was a young lady named Xie next door. When she heard that Liu Sanniang had given them a fixed time to fetch water, her heart was filled with gratitude to Liu Sanniang.
Drinking and using water in the city has always been a problem for them. If they have a well at home, they can draw water whenever they need it. If they don't have a well, they have to go to someone else who has a well, or they have to pay for water, because many people are reluctant to open their doors and let neighbors in to draw water.
The family that used to live here just didn't want to open their door to let their neighbors come in and disturb them. Only the new neighbors who moved in recently were kind enough to open their gate and let them come in to fetch water, and they didn't charge them a penny.
After Miss Xie began to express her gratitude to Liu Sanniang, others followed suit and expressed their gratitude to Liu Sanniang.
Liu Sanniang said a few polite words to everyone, let the children play in the yard, and went to the kitchen alone to prepare dinner for their family of three.
After his mother went to cook, Lu Mingfei was alone in the yard, staring at the people who came to fetch water. There were children from the neighbor's house at the door, peeking into their yard. He glanced at the children and had no intention of playing with them.
At this moment, an old woman who had deliberately stayed until the end asked the young man who was watching her with a smile, "Your name is Qilang, right?"
Lu Mingfei nodded casually, wondering what the old woman was up to since she hadn't left when everyone else did. He remembered the gray-haired, hunchbacked old woman in front of him. It was this old woman who had said sourly that her family ate meat early in the morning and lived a life of luxury, so he didn't have a very good impression of her.
"Qillang, why don't you go out and play? It's so fun outside, with so many kids your age." Aunt Li looked at the handsome child, a trace of greed flashed in her eyes. This child... will definitely be able to be sold for a good price.
The old woman thought she had hidden her thoughts very well, but she didn't know that the greed in her eyes had long been discovered.
Lu Mingfei noticed the old woman staring at him. How should I put it? It was like she was examining a product to see if it was good...? This made him a little wary of the old woman. He decided that he would keep a close eye on her when she came to their house in the future.
"My mother told me not to go out." Lu Mingfei made an excuse. He didn't think that there would be no bad people in another world. Even if he didn't know how to read faces, looking at the old woman's appearance, with a triangular face, high scapula, and a pair of triangular eyes full of calculation when she looked at people, this kind of person couldn't be a good person.
"I heard that your father is sick? What is his illness? Can it be cured?" Seeing that there were no adults around, Aunt Li wanted to sound out the child and find out more about the situation of the newly moved neighbor's family.
Lu Mingfei looked at the old woman who was deliberately asking him questions with an expression that said "I don't understand anything".
Aunt Li asked a few more questions, but when she saw the child didn't know anything, she cursed him in her heart, "I didn't expect him to look so smart, but he turned out to be such a fool." Only when she heard someone coming out of the kitchen did she pick up her burden and leave.
Liu Sanniang, who was in the kitchen, had actually come out after hearing someone outside asking her child something. As she walked out, she saw the old woman who had come to their yard to fetch water hurrying out with her load on her shoulder. She followed her, closed the gate, and then bent down and whispered to her child, "From now on, when someone you don't know talks to you, don't answer them casually. Got it?"
"Yes, mother, I know." Lu Mingfei showed a sly expression on his face, telling his mother that he understood everything.
Liu Sanniang reached out and touched the child's head, then went over to cover the manhole cover and put a big stone on it before calling the child to have dinner.
***
The sun set in the west, night fell, and darkness enveloped the entire Kyoto Prefecture.
While the restaurants on the main street and the brothels and small restaurants in the red-light district were still bustling, the residential houses where ordinary people lived were already quiet.
The alleys of Tongshu Street also entered the quiet time of the day. Every household had closed their doors and windows. A few houses still had a little light from the fire, but most people had already returned to their houses to sleep.
Lamp oil was expensive, and most ordinary people were reluctant to use electric lights at night to waste lamp oil, so everyone went to bed early and got up early to save money on lamp oil. Isn't this how ordinary people live their lives? They save as much as possible, and the money they save is spent on more important things.
At this moment, the three members of the Lu family's courtyard all went back to their rooms to sleep.
Lying in bed at night, Lu Mingfei fell asleep thinking about setting up a stall the next day.
What he didn't know was that after he fell asleep, the two adults in the next room were still talking.
There were fewer and fewer passing cars on the streets at night, even the inns and restaurants were closed, and the bustling sounds in the flower street gradually died down.
The stars in the sky increase from few to many, and then decrease from many to few, and the cold moonlight fills the earth.
"Boom!—Boom! Boom!"
"At three o'clock in the morning, the gong was sounded to inform everyone that everything was safe and sound."
The sound of a gong, one slow and two fast, and the sound of a clapperboard rang out one after another, coming from far away and then from near to far.
Liu Sanniang woke up when the night watchman's call passed. When she woke up, her husband was still asleep. She got up quietly, put on her clothes and tied her hair, then opened the door and went out.
When Lu Mingfei opened the door and came out, he saw his mother busy in the yard alone. He came over to greet his mother and came over to help with the work.
The repaired stoves were now operational, with two large stoves burning, one simmering soup, the other cooking rice, and a small stove decocting medicine outside. Liu Sanniang had originally wanted to make some steamed buns to sell, but then she remembered that Xu Yueniang sold sesame cakes, and if they also sold steamed buns, it would conflict with the sesame cake shop's business.
After discussing it with their children, they decided to steam a pot of whole-grain rice and a pot of refined rice, selling them alongside the braised dishes. The meat dishes were more expensive, while the vegetarian dishes were cheaper. If someone on a tight budget came to eat at their restaurant, they could buy a bowl of whole-grain rice and a spoonful of vegetarian dishes for a smaller price, which meant they could still fill their stomachs.
Although they would earn less this way, their child said that they could make small profits but sell a lot, and as long as they could make money, it would be fine. Small amounts add up to a lot. Liu Sanniang felt that her child was right, so she agreed to do it.
In the middle of her work, Liu Sanniang thought of her husband in the house, took off her apron from her waist, and said to the child who was watching over the stove, "Qilang, watch over here. I'll go see if your father has woken up."
"Okay, go ahead, mother." Lu Mingfei looked up at his mother and said.
He also knew that his father, lying in bed, needed his mother's help with everything. If he were older and stronger, he could help his mother share the responsibility of taking care of his father. Unfortunately, his arms and legs were too weak to do much more than help his mother watch the stove and fetch some things.
Liu Sanniang put her apron on the cabinet beside her and hurried out of the kitchen to the main courtyard. Not long after, she came out carrying a chamber pot. When she went in, she carried a basin filled with water, and she walked hurriedly every time.
After a while, Liu Sanniang came out again with a basin filled with water. This time she poured the water in the basin into the corner of the yard, placed the basin under the eaves, washed her hands, and then returned to the kitchen to continue her work.
***
“Sizzle—”
The spices are fried in oil, making a sizzling sound.
When the spices were almost fried, Liu Sanniang took a colander to scoop out the fried spices, and then poured out the oil inside. She poured in the boiled bone soup and cooked it. Then she poured in the sesame oil as well, put the spices in a small cloth bag and put it into the pot of soup. Then she put the washed and blanched meat in one by one and cooked it.
As soon as the meat was put into the pot, the kitchen was filled with fragrance.
They were in their own home, unaware that the fragrance was spreading from the cracks in the kitchen eaves and through the doors and windows, wafting far away. That morning, many people on Tung Tree Street and several nearby streets were still asleep when they smelled a very fragrant aroma, and their mouths were moving constantly.
Some people were even woken up by the fragrance and couldn't fall asleep again.
When they were almost done with their work, the mother and son prepared to go out to do business.
"Qilang, you stay here and watch the fire in the stove. Don't add more firewood. Just wait until the fire in the stove burns out. I'll take your father's meal into the house and I'll be out later." Liu Sanniang was worried about her husband in the house, so she asked the child to watch the fire here. She first poured a bowl of rice, picked up a chopstick of vegetables, thought for a while, picked up a small piece of meat, poured a spoonful of broth on it, and then she carried the bowl of rice into the house. Author's words: Thank you Bole 9492239 (9492239) for your support, mua! To know more exciting content, please leave me a message on Liancheng Reading
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