Chapter 53: Watching a Play on a Cold Day
I had just sent the letters back and forth to my eldest brother when I came back to see my second brother's family. Not only my second brother came back, but also the young lady from the Kong family.
Baozhu thought she was dazzled, but when the young lady Kong smiled at her, she realized she hadn't seen it wrong. The young lady Kong had become increasingly skilled at dressing up, and this time, dressed as a man, her face had darkened considerably. If Baozhu hadn't seen her before, she might have mistaken her for a young man from nowhere. Shocked, Baozhu pulled her mother aside to ask, and after she explained the whole story, Madam Xu realized that the young lady Kong had actually approached Baozhu before.
"You just pretend you don't know about this."
When Madam Xu wrote to her second brother, she had not told her family. Now that Erlang brought two people back, she found out that they were daughters of the Kong family.
Inside the room, Madam Xu and Erlang were whispering, "If he's really at your place, why did he take so long?"
"After you wrote, mother, I asked people to keep an eye out for her, but we've been searching for over a month and there's been no news." Erlang shook his head. "They must have seen me when I was supervising the work on the dam, so they came looking for me. That young lady Kong had her money stolen right after she arrived in Xijing, leaving her penniless and being tricked into working on the embankment. By the time I found her, she'd been mingling with the crowd for over a month, digging out the river silt. She was so exhausted she couldn't even be recognized, let alone anything else."
This young lady Kong was also funny. She was still chewing on steamed bread, but when she saw him, she thought she had seen a life-saving straw. She stared at him with a pair of clear big eyes, waiting for him to speak. Erlang originally wanted to scare her, but he made her lose her temper.
Xiao was about to send her home, but she was a little reluctant. It turned out that she was afraid of being scolded by her family, and she was also busy working outside and hadn't had enough fun.
"Is everything alright?"
"It's nothing, I just suffered for two months." It was because of her that Erlang knew that there were still termites in the water conservancy bureau. These black-hearted craftsmen tricked people into working, and then they would be more restrained when people came from the government office. Once the people left, they would only provide three meals a day without paying them, and would often beat and scold them.
Seeing this, Madam Xu knew that nothing serious had happened. She was about to go to the Kong family to inform them, but Madam Kong stopped her and said, "Aunt, please let me rest for one night. I will suffer if I go back."
Her big watery eyes looking at him were really pitiful. Erlang had lost his temper because of his repeated requests along the way, not to mention that it was the first time for Xu Niang to meet her.
Madam Xu asked Baozhu to sleep with her at night, and the maid slept with Baorong.
Miss Kong's maiden name is Kong Yuzhen. Perhaps because she is used to being free, she does not have the temperament of a lady from an official family. Instead, she has a bit of chivalry.
"I shouldn't have lied to you last time." She bowed and apologized as soon as she came. Baozhu liked her personality a little bit and picked up some snacks to share with her. Thinking that she dared to run to Xijing, she sighed.
"Young lady, you are truly brave. If I had known you were going to look for my second brother, I would not have told you that he was leaving for his post. It would have been very dangerous if you had encountered such a situation."
"This has nothing to do with you. I heard the news from someone else." Kong Yuzhen changed his clothes and became more polite. He took a sip of tea before saying, "My ancestors started out as military generals. It was only until my father passed the imperial examination and became an official. My grandfather was a general who conquered the north. When he was alive, he loved my temperament and taught me martial arts since I was a child. If I were a man, I would have participated in the martial arts examination long ago. Why am I confined at home all day and can't even leave the house?"
As for having her money stolen, it was simply because she felt sorry for the beggar and was not on guard. After all, she was deceived because she had not seen much of the world. If she went out again, she would definitely not be in such an embarrassing situation.
When talking about this trip, Madam Kong's eyes became brighter. "Although I suffered a little this time, I also saw the vastness of the world."
She excitedly recounted her experiences to Baozhu, and only started blushing when she mentioned her second brother. "I was a little dissatisfied when your second brother refused to meet me. But now that I see him repairing the river and clearing silt, I realize how narrow-minded I was."
"I can't tell him here today. When I leave tomorrow, please tell him that I was right in choosing him. His character is truly convincing. He can just focus on his work. I won't mention my meeting him to my mother again, and I'll let him go as soon as possible."
Baozhu smiled, thinking that her second brother might not care.
The next morning, Madam Xu went to the Kong family to inform them. Mrs. Kong immediately hurried to the Zhen family with her maid. Seeing that everyone was fine and nothing had happened, she breathed a sigh of relief. She wanted to scold them, but then she realized that it was someone else's house and it was not appropriate to lose her temper.
The cart of gifts was unloaded by the steward and his men. Mrs. Kong thanked Madam Xu again and again. She only received a letter last month saying that she was safe. The people sent out to look for her had no news at all, and the letter did not say where the person was. Only when she saw the handwriting was correct did she feel a little relieved.
A group of maids half-dragged and half-pulled Miss Kong back home. Before leaving, Kong Yuzhen turned back and exchanged a glance with Baozhu, and the two smiled knowingly.
As expected, when Baozhu told her second brother what Miss Kong had said, her second brother looked extremely strange.
Before leaving, he called Baozhu aside and said, "Tell her that when I get my holiday this year, I will go and ask her what she means."
Baozhu was curious about what had happened along the way, and wanted to make her second brother, who had always only cared about studying, pay attention to others, but she didn't dare to ask.
After the dock stopped working, Liu Si'er came to the restaurant to help. The business was not very busy at this time of year, but there was no need to be outside in the cold wind. The business of the stalls at Zhouqiao would be slower in cold weather. In addition to the monthly salary, the two of them now also received dividends, so it goes without saying that they were very grateful to Baozhu.
The eldest brother gave all the income from the two stalls to Baozhu. He just said that he didn't contribute much to the two stalls and didn't need to share the money.
Today, Zhen's father took over the banquet and went out early in the morning. Baozhu was busy in the kitchen alone, and Liu Si'er was collecting money behind the counter. The store was not busy today, so Sister Liu took a leave of absence for the whole afternoon and went back at noon.
Pei Yanqing had some free time in the afternoon and was now helping to add firewood to the stove.
After crabs and lotus roots were off the market, the store started selling pickled pork with preserved vegetables. A businessman from southern Zhejiang brought a lot of ham before the river was closed. Madam Xu asked Baozhu first, and Baozhu asked for a lot. This kind of food is used in the store all year round. She saw that the ham was full in color and smelled good, so she asked A Niang to leave some in the warehouse first. The warehouse was taken care of by a special person, and the food would not go bad easily.
Yan Du Xian is a famous delicacy in the south of the Yangtze River. It is mainly made of bacon and spare ribs, supplemented with winter bamboo shoots and ham. The soup base is a fresh broth made from large bones. After it is cooked, the soup is so delicious that people can't walk.
This soup can be put into a clay pot, covered and taken home without getting cold. Many old customers have been buying it in the afternoons these days to add another dish to their meal.
At the beginning of this spring, my grandmother bought a lot of pepper seeds from foreigners and grew many finger-sized chili peppers. These peppers are extremely spicy. Just adding a few seeds to the dishes will make people sweat.
When my eldest brother got married during the Mid-Autumn Festival, all the vegetables in the yard were dug up. There were many peppers in a row of pepper fields. Baozhu was afraid that they would be wasted, so she made a few jars of pickled peppers.
I forgot about it afterwards. Today I went to see that all the peppers were pickled. The taste of salt, wine and sugar diluted the spiciness, and they smelled no different from the pickled peppers of later generations.
Baozhu looked at the quantity, left a jar for pickling vegetables, collected a basket of winter bamboo shoots and half a basket of garlic and pickled them with pickled peppers, so that she could add them to the store as side dishes in two months.
The other jar was added with two cold dishes: fish skin with pickled peppers and chicken feet with pickled peppers. Not to mention eating them, just the smell of the pickled peppers makes one's saliva water.
Although the restaurant was delayed for a while due to the Sun family incident, business was pretty good afterwards. Adding the income from the two stalls, the total income for a month, excluding costs, was at least 70 or 80 strings of cash.
The restaurant business is slower after the weather gets colder, and it is estimated that business will not pick up until the twelfth month or the first month of the lunar calendar. When the weather gets colder, there are fewer people queuing outside, and most of them order dishes and wait to take them home to eat.
After the last customer left, Baozhu planned to close the shop. There was not much business today, so she wanted to rest early. The cleaning lady had already left. Baozhu counted today's bill at the counter, and Pei Yanqing helped grind ink on the side.
After settling the accounts and washing the pens, it was getting dark. He closed the door, locked it, and prepared to go home with the lantern. He asked someone to take the lantern from him.
No matter how dumb Ren Jiangshi was, he knew that the relationship between the boss and Master Pei was very close. He said he was going to the night market. Master Pei shook his head and said, "Let's go to the night market today. You can go to the puppet show in the tile house."
Jiang Shi took the purse he handed over and headed towards the theater.
Although their relationship is much closer than before, they are not as comfortable as before. Every time they meet, they have to adapt to each other before they can talk normally.
"I have to go on a long journey in a few days, and I'm afraid I won't be able to come back before the New Year. The new house has been prepared. I'm not sure if I let grandma move in alone first. We can move after the New Year." In addition to the errands he did, Pei Yanqing often told her what he saw and heard during the day.
Baozhu hummed and went to the stall to buy two cups of eight-treasure tea. "The plum ginger at the Zhang family stall in front is delicious. Let's go buy a pack."
Pei Yanqing was so excited by the sound that he couldn't help but turn around, paid the money and followed Baozhu closely.
"Let's go see the variety show? Zhengjiawazi has a new comedy." He was going on a long journey in a few days, so he especially cherished the time he spent with Baozhu.
Baozhu had just started to bloom for the first time in her two lives. She went into the tile house and bought some snacks, then went to the brothel where comedy plays were performed with Pei Yanqing.
There are lights on everywhere in the theater. It gets dark early. Although it is not as bright as during the day, there are still many people here. The dim environment makes the place seem even more lively.
In the past, these theaters performed obscene songs and erotic plays, but later the government issued an order to rectify the situation, and now they only perform serious plays.
There were many young ladies who came to watch the show. The security in Bianjing was good, and there were often patrols inside and outside the tile houses, so there was nothing to be afraid of even at night.
Baozhu took a good look at it, and occasionally laughed out loud when she saw something funny. Pei Yanqing had no idea what was happening on the stage, so he just kept squeezing out some space so that Baozhu could stand steadily.
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