Chapter 19 Chapter 19 Two Waterloos
After Laba, the weather became colder and colder. Grandmother and Li Hongying lit the ovens, and the two of them continued to work together to make clothes. Miao Ying continued to teach Huo Xiaobao how to write and read, and Huo Xing went out several times.
After Huo Xing came back, he brought back news about Huo San. Huo San had not been home for several days since the Laba Festival.
Huo Xing did not tell Li Hongying what he had found out. For the first time, he took the initiative to pull Miao Ying into the room and told him what he had found out.
"So you mean, his ex-lover came back, and he got close to her again?" Miao Ying opened his eyes wide.
Huo Xing nodded.
Miao Ying hammered the bed, his eyes full of resentment. The bastard was really a jerk. "Let's go, take mother and grandmother and leave. Let him die."
Huo Xing just looked at him, not knowing how to comfort him.
Miao Ying added, "We need to make plans early. Although our family is poor, we still need to share something."
Huo Xing nodded: "Do you want to tell mother?"
"Of course I have to tell you." Miao Ying had long been fed up with that old man. It would be great if he could get rid of him completely. "I don't want to have to share all the money we earn in the future with him, even if he gets to drink a little broth!"
Huo Xing agreed, and then the two of them left the room. Huo Xing looked at Li Hongying, but he couldn't say what he wanted to say.
Seeing that he was hesitant, Miao Ying simply said, "Mom, Huo Xing has found out that the old man is getting together with that girl from the past again. Huo Xing and I plan to kick him out of the house after the New Year. We have already discussed it. After you separate from him, our family will move to Linzhen. Huo Xing's master has a wooden house on the mountain that is big enough for us to live in."
Li Hongying no longer felt sad or happy. Huo San was no longer worthy of her lingering. Maybe she had some feelings for him in the past, but after those things happened, she just wanted to live with her mother and her son.
She looked at her grandmother and said, "Mom, I won't leave you to him. You will come with us when the time comes."
My grandmother covered her chest and almost fainted.
"Now that things have come to this, we must strive for the greatest benefits for ourselves." After Miao Ying finished speaking, he glanced at his grandmother. In fact, he was still a little worried that his grandmother would not be firm, after all, that was her own son.
"Don't worry about me," said my grandmother. "There's no mother-son relationship between him and me anymore."
Miao Ying nodded and prepared to roll up his sleeves and work hard. Since they were going to split up the family business, the first thing they had to do was to make more money. He planned to put his money-making plan on the agenda, so the next day he took the money and went to the county town with Huo Xing.
They had not eaten in the county town on their previous visits, so today they planned to go to a restaurant. If they could sell a few recipes, Huo Xing wouldn't have to go up the mountain to set up a tent, and they could buy a house in the nearby town to settle down.
When they arrived at Yingkeju, the largest restaurant in the county, the corners of Huo Xing's mouth twitched, but seeing Miao Ying's eager expression, he still said nothing. His arm had not hurt so much in the past two days, and he should be able to continue making money in two days. Just eat whatever he wants.
Yingkeju is a single-family four-story building, which looks very different among the low-rise houses. He took a deep breath, then walked into the store with his head held high.
He originally wanted to go upstairs and sit by the window for a better view, but he didn't expect the waiter to say that he had to pay extra to go upstairs, and the higher the floor, the higher the price.
Miao Ying curled his lips and had to sit down in the lobby. He looked around and saw prices clearly marked on the wall: the second floor was half an ounce, the third floor was one ounce, and the fourth floor was one and a half ounces.
Although they didn't look like high-ranking officials, the waiter was still very enthusiastic and didn't look down on them at all: "What would you like to eat?"
Miao Ying nodded and asked what dishes were available.
The waiter took a deep breath and began to call out the dishes: "Honey-pickled tofu with chives and eggplant, red oil-fried shredded plums and ginger, steamed goose with salted bamboo shoots and braised chicken with red sauce, and pan-fried quail with yellow sparrow..."
Miao Ying looked dazed: "Is this, so rich?"
"Our chef's ancestors were imperial chefs, and the spices we use are all shipped here from specialized caravans in the Western Regions. They are guaranteed to be the best in the county."
Miao Ying: ...
"What would you like to eat, sir?" The waiter kept smiling.
"Well... let's discuss it." Miao Ying had just seen the prices written on the other wall of the store. Meat dishes ranged from one hundred to two hundred wen, vegetarian dishes from thirty to fifty wen, and desserts were one hundred wen. Calculating it, the two of them would have to spend half a tael of silver on a meal, and they still wouldn't be full.
The waiter nodded and left. Miao Ying looked around and saw that no one noticed them, so he took Huo Xing's hand and ran outside. Huo Xing didn't understand why, but still obediently followed him. When they ran out of Yingkeju, Miao Ying supported himself with his hands on his legs to catch his breath. He was so out of breath after running such a short distance. In contrast, Huo Xing looked like nothing had happened.
Huo Xing raised his hand and patted him on the back. After seeing him catch his breath, he asked, "Why don't you eat anymore?"
Miao Ying shook his head: "I originally thought I could go to a restaurant and sell some recipes or something, but I didn't expect that their cooking skills are much better than mine. If I can't sell the recipes, then I don't want to waste my money."
Miao Ying looked at the sun above his head and encountered his first Waterloo since traveling through time. It seems that the experience of his predecessors is not all applicable, and opportunistic behavior should be reduced.
But at this moment, both of them were hungry. Even if they didn't go to the restaurant, they still had to fill their stomachs, so Huo Xing took him to an alley.
The alley was a bit dark, and even on this sunny day, not a single ray of sunlight could get through. As soon as Miao Ying entered the alley, he felt a chill: "Where is this?"
"A place to eat."
This was the place he often came to eat when he was working. They did manual labor, so they were looking for food that was large in portion, greasy and cheap. He often ate at the restaurant run by an elderly couple. It was cheap and delicious, at least he thought it was no better than the dishes in the restaurant whose names he couldn't understand.
But he was still a little nervous, afraid that Miao Ying would dislike the bad environment here. But when he looked back, there was no disdain in Miao Ying's eyes, but rather anticipation.
It was not dinner time yet, so not many people came to eat. The old lady still remembered Huo Xing and asked him why he hadn't come to eat recently. Then she saw Miao Ying behind him and said in surprise that his husband was really handsome.
Ordinary boys would be shy or hide behind their husbands when hearing this, but Miao Ying accepted the old lady's compliment graciously and asked her if she had any delicious food.
The old lady took out a big bowl, which contained a bowl of braised pork intestines with radish, and also gave them four mixed flour steamed buns.
Miao Ying was stunned when he saw this dish. Huo Xing on the side suddenly remembered that his brother-in-law once said when he came to their house last time that Miao Ying would not eat pig offal. He felt a little embarrassed for a moment. He only thought that the food here was delicious, but did not think about whether Miao Ying liked it.
He was just about to say that he didn't like it, but Miao Ying had already started eating it. Who said that people in ancient times didn't eat pig offal? The time-travel literature had harmed him. He had originally thought that if it really didn't work out, he would go find his elder brother and partner with him in the pig offal business, but now this path couldn't be taken.
In just one morning, he suffered two Waterloo!
Moreover, this bowl of braised pork intestines with radish has no strange smell at all, and it is very oily. No wonder those who work here are willing to eat here, spending the most cost-effective money to eat a delicious and filling meal.
Seeing that Miao Ying was eating happily, Huo Xing sat opposite him and started eating slowly. Miao Ying was full after finishing one steamed bun. This was the way his body was now. He had a small appetite, so he gave the remaining three steamed buns to Huo Xing.
After finishing the meal, Huo Xing gave Miao Ying the money. When they walked out of the alley, Miao Ying felt a little confused. This way of making a decent living was no longer feasible, and he had to think of other ways out. But the most important thing at the moment was to divide the family property quickly and not let the old man take advantage of them.
As expected, one cannot talk nonsense. As soon as they came out of the alley, they saw Huo San, who passed by them stealthily without even noticing them.
After Miao Ying glanced at Huo Xing, the two of them followed him, staying not too far behind Huo San.
Finally, Huo San stopped in front of a gambling house and seemed to say something to the person guarding the door, and the two men let him in.
Miao Ying was furious. Knowing that he was an alcoholic was fine, but he had said he had changed and stopped gambling. Why was he gambling again now?
He looked at Huo Xing, who clenched his fists and wanted to rush in without thinking, but Miao Ying grabbed him by the waist and hugged him: "Don't, don't be impulsive, there are too many people in the gambling house."
Their actions had attracted the attention of the guards, so Miao Ying quickly dragged the man away. Only after they reached a nearby alley did he let him go. "He hadn't been back for a while. He must have gone gambling and got lucky. I guess he spent the money on that girl."
Huo Xing lowered his eyes and looked at Miao Ying, who was holding his arm and continuing to talk: "I think the gambling house is letting him have a taste of the sweetness first. We can't say for sure what will happen next. Our top priority now is to quickly draw a clear line between us and him. We can't wait until the New Year. It's best to get this done in the next two days, otherwise the same thing will happen again, and Mother will no longer have a dowry to fill the hole for him."
Maybe he would even set his sights on Miao Ying's dowry. After all, when people are forced into a corner, they can do anything.
Huo Xing nodded: "Okay, let's go home and discuss it with Mother and Grandma."
They no longer lingered in the county town and hurried back home. When they got home, Miao Ying told Li Hongying about what he had seen today. He thought Li Hongying would be angry, but unexpectedly, Li Hongying just smiled and said, "I knew it a long time ago. A dog will always eat shit."
"Then we'll split up when he comes back next time." Miao Ying stood up. "We still have about nine taels of silver, which is enough to get us through the New Year."
Li Hongying nodded: "Okay."
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
