Chapter 178 World 8 (I)
The weather changed suddenly. It was sunny at first, but in the blink of an eye, thick dark clouds covered the sun completely, without even a gap.
People busy in the fields looked up at the gray sky, muttering, "It's going to rain!" They emerged from the fields, hurried home, fearing the rain would soak their clothes. Among the many hurried-looking people, Shen Liushi appeared unhurried.
She carried a bamboo basket on her arm, covered with a square piece of blue floral cloth.
A woman who was familiar with Shen Liushi stopped her pace and greeted Shen Liushi: "Yunshan will come back from the academy today."
Shen Liu nodded reservedly, lifted a corner of the bamboo basket, revealing extremely fresh and tender locust flowers.
"Come back in the evening. These are freshly picked locust flowers. Make him a steamed locust flower dish."
The woman chuckled: "Yunshan is a scholar and will be an official in the future, why does he eat these?
I still have half a piece of bacon at home, you can take it back to give Yunshan some meaty flavor."
Shen Liushi paused slightly as she stroked the bamboo basket, and refused in a cold voice: “No need, Yunshan just likes to eat these worthless things.”
After saying this, Shen Liushi quickened her pace, leaving the women behind. Although Shen Liushi was in a hurry, she was still walking, not running home like the surrounding farmers. Shen Liushi's behavior was, intentionally or unintentionally, to distinguish herself from the farmers and highlight the difference between her family and herself.
After all, Shen Liu's son, Shen Yunshan, is the youngest scholar in the village.
The woman's companion looked down on Shen Liushi's arrogant look and stood up for her, saying, "What are you so proud of? You are just a thing that men don't want!
If she didn't have a promising son, who would want to be close to her?
You kindly gave Shen Liushi bacon, but they pride themselves on being a family of scholars and are unwilling to deal with us, the landless eaters."
The woman smiled and said, "But Shen Liushi happened to have a son who is a scholar."
Otherwise, she wouldn’t even be willing to eat that piece of bacon at home, so how could she be willing to give it to Shen Liushi for free?
His companion's chest heaved with anger, but he couldn't utter a word of rebuttal.
When Shen Liu first married Shen's father, they had a good few years.
Father Shen is a good hand at farming. Occasionally he would go into the mountains to catch some wild rabbits and pheasants to add some fresh food to the family.
More than a year after getting married, Shen Liu gave birth to a son, Shen Yunshan.
Father Shen worked harder and harder. In addition to working in the fields, he also chopped large bundles of firewood and took them to the town to sell.
This kind of life where men farm and women weave should be prosperous.
But he never expected that after Shen's father went to town for a long time, he had an affair with Hua Niang.
Mr. Shen's firewood was solid, unlike others, which were mixed with wet branches.
Therefore, Hualou specifically asked Shen's father to deliver it every ten days.
Shen Liushi didn’t know how Shen’s father, a mere farmer, came to have dealings with Hua Niang.
When the villagers told Shen Liushi about this, she was shaking.
But the villager who passed the message did not know how to read people's expressions and described in vivid detail how Father Shen held Hua Niang in his arms and called her his darling.
The villager looked up, glanced at Shen Liushi who was full of anger, and then said: “…Sister-in-law, you should go to the town to take a look.”
Shen Liushi entrusted the young Shen Yunshan to the neighbor, asked a few villagers to accompany her, and went to the brothel in the town.
The ox cart swayed forward, and Shen Liu looked straight at the villager who had just delivered the message and asked, "Isn't that Hua Niang extremely beautiful?"
She knew that men were attracted by beauty.
The villagers who were called out had an indescribable expression on their faces, and stammered, "Sister-in-law will know once she sees it... She is different from the usual Hua Niang."
Shen Liushi didn’t ask any more questions.
Shen Liushi never thought in her life that the daughter of a good family like her would one day go to a brothel, and it was just to beg her man to go home. This was really ridiculous.
Seeing Shen Liushi, Shen's father's eyes flickered slightly, but his first reaction was not to run to Shen Liushi and beg for forgiveness. Instead, he stretched out his arms to shield Hua Niang behind him. Such a protective posture made it seem as if Shen Liushi was a scourge.
Shen Liushi pushed aside Shen's father's arm and saw Hua Niang's appearance clearly.
Only then did Shen Liushi understand why the villager who delivered the message hesitated to speak.
Because this Hua girl was not young and beautiful, her skin was even dark and her appearance was ordinary, except for her big and bright eyes.
According to people in the brothel, this prostitute was not very popular and could only make a living by doing some rough work.
After a few visits, he began to interact with Shen's father, who delivered firewood.
Under the persuasion of the villagers, Shen's father finally left Hua Niang and returned home with Shen Liushi.
Shen Liu pretended nothing had happened, and still coaxed the young Shen Yunshan to eat, fed the chickens at home, and finished all the housework.
But when lying on the bed, Shen Liushi did not face Shen's father as usual, but slowly turned her back.
But such peaceful days lasted only half a month.
One day, Shen Liu took Shen Yunshan back to her parents' home. When she returned home, she saw a mess everywhere.
Only a few feathers were left of the fat chickens she raised, and her father Shen was no longer at home.
Shen Liushi let go of Shen Yunshan's hand and immediately ran to the inner room.
She did not go looking for Shen's father, but took apart the pillow, only to find that the money that should have been hidden to support Shen Yunshan's study in the academy was gone, not even a copper coin was left.
Shen Liushi collapsed to the ground.
Father Shen ran away, and no one knew where he went. All they knew was that he took all the money in the family, even the chickens they raised, and sold them, just to redeem the not-so-beautiful Hua Niang in the brothel.
After that, Shen's father took Hua Niang away and was never seen again.
The villagers scolded Shen's father for being confused, not wanting a decent woman and child, but being obsessed with an old and ugly Hua Niang. But Shen's father could no longer hear these discussions. The villagers began to talk about Shen Liushi again, from sympathy at first to ridicule later.
They secretly thought that Shen Liushi was useless and could not even compare to a plain-looking Hua Niang.
In the surrounding area, Shen Liushi was the only one abandoned by her married man.
Shen Liushi has become a joke among everyone.
But no one expected that Shen Liu gritted her teeth and sent Shen Yunshan to the academy. Shen Yunshan was diligent and studious, and became the youngest scholar in the village.
The villagers now only dared to talk about Shen Liushi behind her back, and they would never dare to say nonsense in front of Shen Liushi.
They all knew that Shen Liu was extremely proud. If anyone displeased her, Shen Liu would not care about the feelings of neighbors and would directly throw the other person's face on the ground and step on it.
The villagers also hoped that Shen Yunshan would become a juren and bring blessings to the village. Therefore, they were also very friendly to Shen Liushi.
Shen Liushi stepped over the threshold, turned around and closed the door. She lifted the blue floral cloth and poured a full bamboo basket of locust flowers into the wooden basin.
Gently blanch the flowers in water to remove the astringency of the locust flowers, and then Shen Liu took out half a bag of white flour from the innermost wooden cabinet.
On weekdays, she would use cornmeal and whole grain flour to make pancakes and steam buns at home.
Shen Yunshan would only take out this fine white flour and eat it when he returned from the academy.
Shen Liushi dipped the washed locust flowers in white flour and sprinkled them with a layer of shiny salt particles.
Shen Liushi picked a lot of locust flowers. Apart from those used for steaming, she coated the rest with egg liquid and stir-fried them in a pan with lard.
Elsewhere on the stove, the simmering rice porridge had already begun to boil, and its rich aroma, mixed with white mist, filled the kitchen.
Hearing the noise coming from outside the door, Shen Liushi quickly wiped her hands and walked to the door in a hurry.
Outside the door, the figure in a green robe and gray belt looked a little thin.
But he looked like a gentleman, elegant and graceful. It was Shen Yunshan who had just returned from Xiangjiang Academy.
Shen Yunshan was not wearing a hat, but only tied his hair with a bamboo-leaf green headband. His pupils were very black, and he had the calmness unique to scholars.
Shen Liushi's face was full of joy, completely different from the stiff look when she was talking to the woman just now.
"Yunshan is back."
As Shen Liushi said this, she was about to take the school bag from Shen Yunshan. Shen Yunshan dodged it lightly, and said with a slight pause: "The teacher asked me to take good care of myself and do some heavy work so that I can survive the imperial examination."
Hearing this, Shen Liushi stopped trying to grab the book bag and instead led Shen Yunshan into the house, muttering, "The big locust tree on the mountain is in bloom. Mother picked a bamboo basket of locust flowers. They are the tenderest ones on the branches. I'm sure you like them."
The table was filled with steamed locust flowers, scrambled eggs with locust flowers, and a bowl of hot rice porridge.
Shen Liushi also used onions and mixed some wild vegetables, which looked colorful and tasted refreshing.
Thinking of the time when Shen Yunshan went to the academy, Shen Liushi handed the green onions and wild vegetables to Shen Yunshan, muttering, "A few days ago, several matchmakers from the village came to propose marriage. They sent all kinds of ugly girls to our house."
If Shen Liushi’s words were heard by a few matchmakers, they would cry out in grievance.
Shen Yunshan has a promising future, which is obvious to everyone in the village. Matchmakers have to be careful when proposing marriages. It is a small matter if Shen Liu dislikes him, but it would be a big deal if he becomes an enemy.
Therefore, the matchmakers recommended marriages to Shen Yunshan with good girls from all over the village who were hardworking and capable, and good at both housework and outside.
Even so, Shen Liushi was still not satisfied. In Shen Liushi's eyes, her son was going to be a high-ranking official, and he should marry the daughter of a wealthy family.
Shen Liushi counted on her fingers and told Shen Yunshan about the girls that the matchmaker had introduced to her: "I've met the girl from the Wang family in the next village. Her hands are rougher than mine. You can tell she's been abused by her family. When you become a high-ranking official in the future, how can you meet people with hands like that? No way.
The daughter of a wealthy businessman in town, his family is indeed rich, but the girl is extravagant and can’t be a good wife. Instead, she will hinder you, no…”
Shen Liushi said a series of names, but Shen Yunshan had no reaction.
"And the second daughter of the Li family at the head of the village, she's so spoiled she's bound to be a troublemaker in the future. Absolutely not.
She's not as famous as his third daughter, at least she can sew clothes and cook..."
Shen Yunshan placed the rice porridge in Shen Liushi's hands and said, "I just want to study and don't want to get married yet."
Shen Liushi deeply agreed. She looked down on these girls, let alone Shen Yunshan, a scholar.
Shen Liu's family had been farmers for generations, and in Shen Liu's eyes, being able to pass the imperial examination to become a scholar meant he was considered a top-ranking official.
Shen Liu thought to herself that she must find a woman who was satisfied with everything to be her daughter-in-law.
Shen Liushi hurriedly said: “Studying is the most important thing, studying is the most important thing.”
Marriage is a serious matter that requires careful consideration and cannot be rushed.
However, Shen Liushi thought of a small thing again, and suddenly frowned and said, “Do you still remember your cousin Baoshan?”
Shen Yunshan's eyes flickered slightly, and he shook his head gently. The Liu family did have a few girls, but none had ever been named Baoshan.
Shen Liu sighed softly: "Her father is a distant relative of mine from the same clan. We are not closely related by blood, and we can only call each other cousins. When you first entered school, you paid a hundred copper coins. I took you to thank this distant uncle, and you even held the treasure fan cousin."
Shen Yunshan's eyes were blank, and he obviously had no impression of it.
"Your cousin Baoshan has a miserable life. Both her father and mother are gone. She was raised in her aunt's home, never having enough to eat or warm clothes, and she is as thin as a piece of paper.
I thought that her father was quite kind, so I took the fan.
I don't want her to live here for free. She can also help me with laundry and cooking.
Find her a good family and marry her off early, and that will be enough to repay the hundred copper coins."
At the beginning, Shen Liu was penniless, and only this cousin, who was not very close to her, gave her money.
Shen Liu originally wanted to repay her son's kindness after he graduated from high school, but she passed away early, so she could only take care of the treasured fan to repay her kindness.
Shen Yunshan naturally agreed.
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