Bai Yumei was so hungry that she quickly drank the porridge, which had no side dishes.
"Phew, finally I can have a hot meal, Sister Tao, thank you so much!"
Tao Wanniang had heard Bai Yumei thank her several times already. Bai Yumei, who had lifted half of her face, still had a pretty face that could be vaguely seen. She must have been favored when she was a concubine!
"A bed is a must, but a wardrobe isn't important. With my face, what nice clothes could I possibly wear?"
"I don't want a mirror, and I don't want a dressing table either. I don't want to see my own face."
Bai Yumei looked around and said with a firm yet forlorn expression.
"By the way, Sister Tao, if you want to buy something, go to Erhutong on West Street. There are some secondhand shops there, selling old beds and cabinets, which are quite nice."
Tao Wanniang paused for a moment, looked Bai Yumei up and down, and asked tentatively, "What did you do before you got married?"
“My mother died early, and my father was addicted to gambling. Master Huang took a liking to me and helped my father pay off his gambling debts. The price was that he had to take me as a concubine. However, half a year after I married into the family, my father's old habit relapsed. He was in debt and drinking. He fell into the river at night and drowned!”
Tao Wanniang stopped asking; she was indeed a woman with a tragic fate.
"How old are you this year?" Tao Wanniang finally asked.
"I'm twenty-two now. I married into this family when I was eighteen, and I've been living in this house for four years now!"
"It happened around this time last year. I don't have any relatives. The madam said I ran away with my lover. No matter how angry the master was, there was nothing he could do. No one would know where I went!"
"I understand. You can stay in this room then. Remember to lock the door so that my troublesome son and daughter-in-law won't scare you if they come over!"
"I hope I didn't scare them!" Bai Yumei said with a self-deprecating laugh. "Sister Tao, I'll have to trouble you from now on!"
Tao Wanniang nodded in agreement. Having taken the money, she naturally had to keep her word.
As soon as Tao Wan's mother returned to the front yard, she saw her son and daughter-in-law waiting for her.
"Mom, Dapeng and I are going out for a walk to see if we can find work."
Ling Dahu spoke up, "Didn't you say you were going out too, and that you wanted the child's mother to come with you?"
"No need, you all go about your business, I'll go with Xiao Qiao'er!"
Tao Wan's mother refused outright, "There are still three children at home. Hongyu and Xiaoyun have to take care of the children and make clothes, right? Didn't we buy three bolts of cloth?"
“Mother, I was thinking that my husband has to go out to work, and we can’t keep wearing these old clothes all the time…”
Wang Hongyu immediately explained, thinking that if her mother-in-law asked, she would do it too!
"Don't tell me that. You can buy the fabric yourselves and make it yourselves."
Tao Wanniang interrupted Wang Hongyu, "If there's nothing else, then let's call it a day. You all have things to do at home, and I won't say anything!"
"By the way, you don't need to go to the backyard. If you're bored, loosen up the soil in the front yard. I'm going to buy some seeds to plant vegetables."
"Mother, there's more open space in the backyard..."
Ling Dahu spoke up instinctively.
Tao Wanniang gave him a cold look. He wouldn't listen to what she had just said!
"Yes, Mother, we understand!"
Wang Hongyu immediately spoke up, afraid that her husband would displease her mother-in-law.
"Let's go, little Qiao'er." Tao Wanniang had changed her clothes. She looked much more presentable in the two sets of clothes that Hu Shi had given her.
Xiao Qiao'er, although still wearing tattered and patched clothes, had carefully tidied her face and hair, and looked much cleaner.
Once outside, Tao Wanniang walked through the alley and onto the main street. As she passed the large house, she took a second look, hoping she wouldn't be so unlucky as to run into it.
On Erhutong Street, Tao Wanniang specifically asked a few people, and she actually found the answer.
This is indeed a street with many secondhand shops, and the items inside vary in their state of wear and tear.
"We need a bed, a wardrobe, a dressing table, and a few chairs too. And then, we need combs too. Little Qiao'er, come on, you pick one too. If we need two wives, then we'll have five..."
Tao Wanniang selected many items in the shop. Because some were large, the shopkeeper said he could deliver them to her door. However, after Tao Wanniang told him where she was staying, the shopkeeper's expression became a little strange!
"Why would you stay there, sir? Don't you know anything about that place?"
The shopkeeper kindly offered this advice.
"Yeah, I know it's haunted, right? But we're not afraid, since the rent is cheap there!"
Tao Wanniang said happily, "A whole bunch of things cost me ten taels of silver. If it weren't for Bai Yumei's money, I really wouldn't have been able to afford them!"
"Shopkeeper, I have a question for you. Was the family that owned this place before it became haunted surnamed Huang?"
"Sir, it seems you've inquired quite a bit. Yes, it all started with Master Huang saying that the place was haunted."
"Is it related to his missing concubine, Bai Yumei?"
Tao Wanniang asked without hesitation, then looked to see how the shopkeeper would react.
"We don't know that, but didn't Master Huang's concubine, Bai, elope with someone?"
The shopkeeper was taken aback, but then said, "Actually, we don't believe it either. Bai Yumei used to live not far from here. She had a gambler father who would sell his family's belongings when he was in debt, and she would find ways to buy them back. The shopkeepers on this street all knew her quite well. That girl has always been cheerful, innocent, and kind. She wouldn't do such a thing."
Tao Wanniang understood perfectly. After having the goods transported there, she took Xiao Qiao'er and went to other places.
She bought hair oil, soap, two sets of clothes and shoes for Xiao Qiao'er, two sets of clothes for Bai Yumei, and a gauze hat, because she couldn't let Bai Yumei stay indoors forever. This whole pile of things cost Tao Wan's mother another five taels of silver.
After strolling around the morning market, Tao Wanniang got a good understanding of the vegetable prices. She still needed to buy eggs, and she also bought two coins' worth of pork, along with a few side dishes, which cost her over sixty coins.
When they returned home, Tao Wan's mother and Xiao Qiao'er were carrying loads of things.
"Qiao'er!"
As they entered the alley, the man's voice startled Tao Wanniang and Xiao Qiao'er.
Tao Wanniang looked in the direction of the voice and saw a familiar face. Who else could it be but the man who boasted that he was the prefect's son-in-law?
"Who do we have here? It's the prefect's son-in-law. What's wrong? Didn't you refuse to acknowledge Xiao Qiao'er before? Why do you want to acknowledge her now?"
Liang Laifu looked pained, glanced at Xiao Qiao'er, reached out his hand, but then withdrew it.
"Linglong, I am your father, but I cannot acknowledge you!"
"Father, why?" Xiao Qiao'er was stunned. This person really was her father, but why couldn't he acknowledge her?
“I have already married another woman, and she is carrying my child. She is jealous and domineering, and she wants me to completely sever ties with my past. So I cannot acknowledge you, Linglong. I’m sorry.”
"Madam, since you've taken Linglong in, please take care of her for me. Here's five hundred taels of silver. Just pretend Linglong doesn't have me as her father, and don't call me that again if we meet again!"
As Liang Laifu spoke, he shoved a stack of silver notes directly into Tao Wanniang's hand, then turned and left briskly without looking back!
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