The winter nights in the border town are very cold.
But the brothel was different; there were at least twenty stoves inside, and several people were hired to watch over them.
In the evening, girls should dress lightly, not necessarily revealingly, but at least in summer clothes, so that their shawls will flutter when they walk.
This is exactly the kind of atmosphere I'm looking for.
The end of the You hour (5-7 PM) is when the building is most crowded.
"Master Wang, oh my, what an honored guest! What brings you here today?"
Several waiters with towels draped over their shoulders were bowing to greet customers at the entrance.
"I've come to see Liu Xu today. I haven't heard her sing for several days, and I feel like something's missing."
"Alright! Sir, there's a VIP upstairs, the nameplate is for Miss Willow Catkins."
Xiao Er had a loud voice that could be heard up to the second floor even amidst the noisy music.
Cen's mother didn't want Huo Xiaolong to see these things. She felt that it was ultimately bad for a child to be exposed to such things and wanted to send her to bed.
"Ya Dan'er, it's time for you to go to sleep."
Mother Cen was also made up, with a red flower in her hair and her hair styled in a high bun. She was quite pretty, but her face was too pale, almost deathly pale.
He must have a chronic illness, which is why he looks unwell.
She picked up the little girl and walked into the house.
I'm not sleepy.
The little girl rested her head on her mother's shoulder. It was 7 p.m., but she wasn't sleepy at all; she had even taken a nap at noon.
"If Mom doesn't want me to watch it, then I won't watch it."
After saying that, the little girl smiled at Cen's mother.
"Mommy will take you to play in the backyard. In a few days, Mommy will buy you a little maid so she can keep you company at night, okay?"
Although she was a bit abnormal in her past life, she was still a red successor with impeccable revolutionary credentials. She had a mental block against this kind of human trafficking and couldn't get over it.
"I don't need maids. I have my mother and sisters, that's enough."
Hearing the little girl say that, Cen's mother was overjoyed and took her to the back to admire her for a long time before leaving.
"Sleep when you're tired, Mom will be back when she's done with her work."
"Um!"
After Cen's mother left, the little girl lay back, her eyes rolled back, and she lost consciousness. When her parents came to see her today, she felt something was wrong with what was in her head; it kept trying to push outwards.
When Huo Xiaolong first arrived and was still unconscious, he spent several days genuinely battling with the thing in his head.
Based on my past life, this thing should be called "space," a cheat code that comes with time travel.
But this ghostly thing kept her locked up, preventing her from leaving, leaving her consciousness trapped in the space. No matter what she did, this ghostly place showed no reaction.
It wasn't until Cen's mother took her back to the brothel and released her three days later that the little dumpling was able to freely enter and exit the space.
The space inside was quite large, but there was nothing there. The little girl looked around and found that there was a pool of water.
The little girl on the bed suddenly opened her eyes, got out of bed, grabbed a teacup, and dripped half a cup of water from her fingertips.
Pushing open the door, I strode with my short legs to the back kitchen of Fengyue Tower.
The kitchen is busiest right now, with lots of customers.
"Aunt Zhang, do you have any chicks?"
"Oh my, why did you come all this way?"
The woman who was tossing the wok put it down and turned around to brush the dirt off the little dumpling.
"Climbing the threshold again, be careful you don't stunt your growth."
"No way!"
The little girl scratched her hands. The woman was very tall and strong, like a small mountain.
The kitchen was quite warm, even in winter, and everyone's faces were flushed. Zhang's mother was tossing the wok with her sleeves rolled up, her biceps clearly visible.
I want to feed the chicks.
This was the first time she had ever asked someone for something, and she was a little embarrassed. The girl lowered her head and said softly.
After hearing this, Zhang's mother smiled.
"Don't even mention chicks, you can play with any of the hens that lay eggs downstairs if you ask."
The little dumpling has been at the brothel for almost a year, and this is the first time he has asked someone for something. This made Zhang's mother very happy, as he asked her for something on his very first visit.
What does this mean?
This means the little girl is close to her!
At least I didn't give her extra meals during the day or cook her different kinds of meat.
"Er Ya, take Ya Dan to the backyard to catch a chick."
"Okay!"
The girl chopping vegetables put down her knife, picked her up, and walked out.
"Thank you, Aunt Zhang!"
The little girl waved to the woman and said...
"Sister Er Ya, I want that one, the one that's not too big or too small."
The girl moved quickly, and in no time she tied the chicken wings together and handed them to her.
Huo Xiaolong squatted down, placed the chick on the ground, and held the teacup to the chick's beak.
"Drink water!"
"..."
"I'm not thirsty, why should I drink?" The little chick looked completely bewildered. "You don't sleep at night, you just drag me out to eat me, don't you? You think I'll drink just because you tell me to?"
"Sister Er Ya, why isn't it drinking water?"
Er Ya looked at the child with a questioning expression.
"It's not thirsty. What, do you really want it to drink, Ya Dan'er?"
"OK!"
Er Ya was a bit of a rascal; she grabbed the chick by the head, pried open its beak with her index finger, and poured the tea into the cup.
Such a small chick definitely can't drink that much water. After feeding it two or three sips, I asked...
"Are you done yet, sis?"
Huo Xiaolong thought for a moment and said
"That's about it, sis. There's still some water left. Do we have any pigs?"
Er Ya was sold into this place by her parents to raise money for her brother's dowry. They originally wanted to sell her as a girl from the brothel so they could get a higher price.
But Cen's mother was a very thrifty person. She insisted that the backyard needed a kitchen maid and bought her for six taels of silver!
Since Er Ya arrived, she has been helping out under Zhang Mama every day. Zhang Mama is a strong and straightforward person. Everyone in the neighborhood knows her and is happy to interact with her.
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