Chapter 115 Chapter 115 Take Refuge
Wu's Zaoluo was still busy, with Qian Lili worrying about marketing. After helping Xie Xiaoju for a few days, she was busy promoting the Zaoluo to friends and family.
She and Xie Xiaoju have different preferences. Xie Xiaoju prefers to work in the store rather than setting up a stall outside. She doesn't have to be exposed to the wind and sun, and she doesn't have to actively introduce people. Anyone who comes into the store is interested in the braised food, and Xie Xiaoju only needs to arrange for them to taste it, then pack it up and collect the money.
But isn't Qian Lili different? She likes new things and likes to meet different people. Being locked up in a small house all day is okay for a few days, but if she stays there for too long, she will feel uncomfortable everywhere.
Fortunately, Xie Xiaoju has adapted to the rhythm after a few days of work, and Wu Ji Zao Lu is no longer like when it first opened, with crowds flocking into the store. Although it is occasionally busy, Xie Xiaoju can still handle it alone.
Xie Xiaoju was putting the marinated meat into the plate in front of her when she saw a little girl.
The little girl had dry and yellow hair and sunken cheeks, showing signs of long-term malnutrition. She had very little flesh on her body. She looked at Xie Xiaoju with a worried look on her face.
Xie Xiaoju, because of Jiang Xi's on-the-job training, was told to treat every customer with a smile, so she didn't look down on him. Instead, she smiled and said, "Would you like to buy something, or try my braised pork? You can try it for free. If you don't like it, you don't have to buy it."
The little girl shook her head and said softly, "Excuse me, is Sister Jiang Xi here?"
Xie Xiaoju frowned and looked for Jiang Xi, but she had never seen this girl before, let alone knew her. "Who are you? What do you want from Jiang Xi?"
The little girl was a little nervous: "I have something to ask Sister Jiang Xi. Is she in the store now?"
The little girl who came to see Jiang Xi was Liu Hongxia, an orphan who was abused by Chen Xuemei's ex-husband.
Because her parents were gone, Liu Hongxia had no choice but to live with her uncle Liu Quan. However, she didn't expect that Liu Quan would beat and scold her and abuse her all day long. Liu Hongxia always had many wounds on her body.
The last time Liu Quan was beating Liu Hongxia, he was caught by Jiang Xi and Qi Yu'an. Jiang Xi and Qi Yu'an rescued Liu Hongxia, and Jiang Xi also gave Liu Hongxia fifty cents, which was the only help Liu Hongxia had received since she lost her parents.
Although Liu Hongxia escaped from Liu Quan's clutches for a short time, Liu Quan later intensified his beatings and beat her more and more frequently. Liu Hongxia really couldn't stand it anymore and ran away.
After listening to Jiang Xi, Liu Hongxia came to the county town to look for opportunities. She had nowhere to go because she was too young and many places refused to accept her. So, as a last resort, Liu Hongxia found Wu Ji Zao Lu and asked Jiang Xi for a job.
When asked by Xie Xiaoju, Liu Hongxia timidly said: "My parents are gone, my uncle beats me every day, I really can't live anymore, I want to find a job, sister Jiang Xi once told me that there are many places in the county recruiting workers, so I want to give it a try."
Xie Xiaoju felt the same way about Liu Hongxia's experience. In some respects, her situation was almost the same as Liu Hongxia's. Although Xie Xiaoju had never been beaten at home, she had also been abused by her stepmother. Now that her stepmother had given birth to a son, there was no room for Xie Xiaoju to survive at home, so Xie Xiaoju had not returned home for a while and had been staying in the county town.
Xie Xiaoju lowered her voice: "Wait here for a while, Jiang Xi should be back soon."
Liu Hongxia nodded: "Okay, thank you."
People would come to the store from time to time to buy fermented braised pork. Liu Hongxia felt very cramped. She stood silently in the corner for fear that she would affect the people who came to buy things. Liu Hongxia was almost sticking to the wall, and even squatted down as if she was afraid of taking up too much space. Her limbs were stiff, and her face was full of panic and anxiety.
Xie Xiaoju couldn't bear to see this and brought a small stool to Liu Hongxia: "Just sit here, it's okay. There aren't many customers eating in our store, and there aren't many people buying things at this time."
Liu Hongxia shook her head: "My clothes are dirty, please don't dirty the stool by sitting on it."
Xie Xiaoju didn't know what to say. This girl was too pitiful. Just when Xie Xiaoju was about to shed tears of sympathy, Jiang Xi came back.
Xie Xiaoju immediately stepped forward and said, "Jiang Xi, there's a little girl looking for you."
Jiang Xi looked in the direction Xie Xiaoju pointed and saw Liu Hongxia.
When Liu Hongxia saw Jiang Xi, she was first surprised and then a little flustered. She didn't know whether Jiang Xi would welcome her.
She was a homeless burden, but there was really no other way. She was too hungry, too cold, and had no place to live. Liu Hongxia had no one else to turn to except Jiang Xi.
Her only relative Liu Quan was still the same. Liu Hongxia knew that she was very shameless. Jiang Xi had helped her and given her money, but she still came to him for help. Liu Hongxia had no other choice.
Liu Hongxia said in a low voice: "I, I want to find a job. I've tried very hard. I've been in the county for two or three days, but I can't find a job. They don't want me to work because I'm too young, too thin, and too weak to do heavy work. I've tried very hard. I'm actually quite strong. I can carry two buckets of manure. I wanted to ask them to let me try, but they didn't want to..."
Liu Hongxia didn't know why. She had no relatives and no one listened to her. Liu Hongxia was not the kind of person who would easily reveal her thoughts to others, but when she saw Jiang Xi, Liu Hongxia couldn't help but tell him all the sadness she had encountered in recent days.
Maybe because Jiang Xi once saved her, Liu Hongxia inexplicably felt a kind of dependence on Jiang Xi. When talking about sad things, Liu Hongxia couldn't help crying.
Jiang Xi sighed. Although Liu Hongxia was young, she had experienced so much and was alone and helpless. Jiang Xi understood Liu Hongxia's feelings very well: "Please sit down first and talk slowly."
Liu Hongxia cried until she hiccuped. She covered her mouth embarrassedly and said, "I won't sit anymore. My clothes are dirty."
Xie Xiaoju couldn't help but say, "Just now I asked her to sit down but she refused, and kept saying her clothes were dirty."
Jiang Xi's tone became tougher: "Just sit down if I tell you to. Since you've come to see me now, everything should be arranged by me."
This sentence worked very well for Liu Hongxia. After hesitating for a while, she finally sat down. Her calves hurt so much after standing for a long time. After sitting down, she breathed a sigh of relief in her heart.
Jiang Xi handed Liu Hongxia two pieces of braised chicken and said, "Try it. This is our signature dish."
Liu Hongxia's eyes lit up but she was too embarrassed to reach out her hand. This was chicken. Even when her parents were around, Liu Hongxia's family rarely had meat to eat, let alone now.
Liu Hongxia asked timidly, "Can I eat meat?"
This sentence made everyone present feel sad. Xie Xiaoju even said: "Of course you can eat it, why can't you eat it?"
Liu Hongxia looked up: "My uncle said I was a girl, and girls were not worthy of eating meat. He also said that women are inherently lowly and are not worthy of making any demands. Drinking some hot pot water is good enough."
Liu Hongxia can still recall the scene where Liu Quan pointed at her nose and scolded her. Liu Quan looked at Liu Hongxia with a fierce look on his face as if he saw something dirty. His words were extremely abusive, as if Liu Hongxia's existence was a crime.
Although Liu Hongxia's family was poor before, her parents did not abuse her, so Liu Hongxia was a lively little girl before she came to Liu Quan's family.
However, after living in Liu Quan's home for a while, Liu Hongxia's mental state became worse and worse, and she became more and more timid, and she didn't dare to speak loudly at all.
In the end, because of Liu Quan's words, Liu Hongxia had a deep sense of inferiority. If Jiang Xi had not appeared, Liu Hongxia would not have the courage to leave Liu Quan's family. The fifty cents given by Jiang Xi became Liu Hongxia's ticket to escape from Liu Quan's family.
Xie Xiaoju was furious: "Who said that? You bastard, let him eat shit. Don't listen to those people's nonsense. What's wrong with us female comrades? The Chairman said that women hold up half the sky. We female comrades can also do business and make money, we can also set up a family, and we can also eat meat. Not only should we eat meat, but we should eat meat in big mouthfuls!"
As Xie Xiaoju spoke, she picked up a piece of braised chicken and bit it hard, as if she was biting those who looked down on lesbians.
Liu Hongxia was frightened by Xie Xiaoju's ferocity, but she felt inexplicably relieved. Although Xie Xiaoju looked ferocious when eating, the food looked very delicious. This piece of chicken must be delicious, Liu Hongxia swallowed her saliva.
Jiang Xi smiled and said, "There's still one piece left. Do you want to try it?"
Xie Xiaoju finished eating a piece of chicken before she realized: "Ah, I ate your chicken, I'll get you another piece."
Liu Hongxia shook her head desperately. This was a good thing. She was already shameless enough to come here to find Jiang Xi. How could she eat such precious meat?
Jiang Xi pushed the braised chicken in front of Liu Hongxia and said, "Eat some. It's okay. The last thing we have here is chicken."
Seeing that Liu Hongxia still didn't move, Jiang Xi deliberately put on a stern face: "I just told you that since you're here, you have to listen to my arrangements. Now I'm going to arrange for you to eat meat, so hurry up and eat it."
Liu Hongxia glanced at Jiang Xi. There was no disgust or disdain in Jiang Xi's eyes, only encouragement. Liu Hongxia's throat was dry and her eyes were sore. A warm current flowed into her heart. How could there be such a good person who coaxed her like this just to let her eat meat?
Liu Hongxia finally reached out and picked up the piece of meat on the table that looked delicious. Liu Hongxia lowered her head and took a small bite of the chicken. The chicken tasted better than she had imagined. The smooth and tender texture seemed to melt in her mouth. Liu Hongxia tried to slow down her chewing.
“It’s delicious, really delicious, thank you.”
Liu Hongxia had almost forgotten what meat tasted like. After eating a few bites, tears welled up in her eyes.
Jiang Xi and Xie Xiaoju did not disturb Liu Hongxia. Liu Hongxia wiped her tears and ate the braised chicken in her hand carefully and cherishingly.
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