Dinner was just rice, which didn't surprise Tao Wan's mother, but seeing the miserable faces of her two daughters-in-law, she couldn't help but complain.
"What's wrong? I just asked you to cook, and you're already giving me attitude?"
"No, Mother, we...we bought some rice, flour, oil, and cloth today, but we found that things are very expensive in the provincial capital. Our money won't last long."
Wang Hongyu explained that she herself had mixed feelings after saying it out loud.
"Tell me what you bought," Tao Wanniang asked casually.
“Just a peck of rice, a pound of flour, a pound of oil, and three bolts of cloth.” Wang Hongyu’s voice grew softer and softer as she spoke. “The rice and flour aren’t as good as what Mother used to give us.”
Tao Wan's mother also noticed that the rice wasn't fragrant at all, and it was yellowish, probably even containing sand.
After listening to Wang Hongyu's explanation, she gained a better understanding of the prices in the provincial capital. She would then go out for a stroll tomorrow to find out when she could set up her wonton shop.
"You don't know the cost of firewood, rice, oil, and salt until you're in charge of the household. This is no longer the Lingjia Village we used to be."
Tao Wan's mother composed herself and reminded her son and daughter-in-law, "You used to live off the land, but now everything costs money. You should both know that. Go find work tomorrow!"
After she finished speaking, she buried her head in her rice and ate it. Only when she was full would she have the strength to catch the "ghost"!
The four of them, including the son and daughter-in-law, all seemed preoccupied. If it weren't for the children asking for things, the meal would probably have been very quiet!
After finishing her meal, Tao Wan's mother didn't tidy up. Instead, she called Xiao Qiao'er and they strolled around the courtyard.
"Little Qiao'er, let's go out for a walk with Grandma Tao tomorrow. We'll buy some things for girls. Qiao'er is already ten years old, and in a few more years she'll be a big girl!"
Xiao Qiao nodded reluctantly, her mood remaining low.
Taking advantage of the opportunity to walk around after dinner, Tao Wanniang looked at the house again. What was strange was the Taihu stone. When viewed through the moonlight, the places where the stones met seemed large enough to accommodate a person!
"Grandma Tao, am I going to be a burden?"
Under the moonlight, Xiao Qiao'er suddenly spoke.
"What nonsense are you talking about, you little kid? You're just a tiny little girl, it's not tiring to raise you."
Tao Wan's mother immediately said, "Little girl, you've got something on your mind."
"Little Qiao'er, let me tell you, the person you mistook during the day lives nearby. If you actually meet him in the future, would you rather be seen looking poor and wretched, or clean, lively, and cheerful?"
"Regardless of whether that person is your father or not, he is of high status, but he would naturally not like to see a dirty little girl."
"Then...if I clean myself up, will he accept me?"
Xiao Qiao'er was startled and immediately looked at Tao Wan's mother expectantly.
Tao Wanniang was also taken aback. "Ah, of course that's impossible."
"Little Qiao'er, adult matters are very complicated. No matter what you want to do, you must first make sure that you are in the best possible condition."
Xiao Qiao'er didn't quite understand what Tao Wan's mother was saying. She looked at herself, smelled herself, and frowned. She smelled terrible.
"Go to the kitchen and get some water, wash your face, and go to sleep for now. We'll go take another look tomorrow. This huge Shanhai Mansion can surely accommodate our little Qiao'er!"
Tao Wan's mother tidied herself up and took Xiao Qiao'er back to her room. The lights were still on in her son and daughter-in-law's room, but she didn't want to go look at them. Her mind was still preoccupied with the figure she had lost earlier.
As night deepened, the house was quiet. In the kitchen, a white figure was rummaging around, as if searching for something.
"A bunch of penniless wretches, they don't even have a single thing to eat!"
"Sizzle~" was the sound of flint. A cluster of fire lit up and then enlarged. The firelight reflected Tao Wanniang's thin, dark skin, which looked quite frightening to others.
"Who...who are you, and what do you want?"
The woman, dressed in white with her black hair covering her face, was startled by Tao Wanniang's pale face.
"Shouldn't I be the one saying this? Who are you, and what do you want?" Tao Wanniang lit a candle with a tinderbox. She thought about it in the room and felt that the most likely place for this "ghost" in the dark was the kitchen. After all, the purpose of living is to eat!
"I...I...I'm from this house!" the woman said, her voice trembling with fear. With the exit from the kitchen blocked, she had nowhere to go and was filled with anxiety.
"Young lady, don't be afraid. You must have suffered a lot too. Otherwise, why would you choose to be a ghost instead of a normal person?"
Tao Wanniang spoke softly, with a slight smile.
"We rented this house. We heard it's haunted, but we have no choice. We're poor. This is the only place we homeless people can afford."
“Young lady, come on, tell me your story. We are all suffering people, and suffering people don’t lie to other suffering people.”
The woman in white hadn't heard such words in a long time, and she froze in place for a moment.
She has suffered inhuman hardships and has long considered herself dead. Now she looks neither human nor ghost, and anyone who sees her would be afraid.
"I...I used to live here. I didn't mean to dress up as a ghost to scare people. I had no choice. I just wanted to survive!"
The woman stammered as she spoke, then covered her face and began to cry.
"I'm so hungry..."
Tao Wanniang thought so too, otherwise, how could she walk as if floating!
“Sister, sit down and talk. We’re poor too, and we didn’t leave any dinner. If you don’t mind, please have some water.”
Tao Wanniang was telling the truth, but she was also being cautious. She had paid to rent the place, and she wasn't happy about having an extra person for no reason.
"I... thank you!" The woman sat down and drank the water that Tao Wanniang pushed towards her.
“My name is Bai Yumei. I was the concubine of the original owner of this house, Master Huang. I caught the madam having an affair with the farmhand, so they knocked me unconscious and threw me into the well.”
After the woman drank the water, she began to talk. Perhaps because no one had spoken to her for so long, she was initially a little trembling, but she quickly became eager to confide in him.
"When I fell in, the well water was almost gone, so I was unconscious for a few days but didn't die."
"Later I found a path at the bottom of the well. I climbed and climbed until I reached the artificial hill. I originally wanted to come out and tell the master that I was harmed by the madam and her lover, but that day was at night, and the master happened to be at the artificial hill. As soon as I came out, he shouted 'A ghost!' and then fainted."
"When I saw the servants coming, I quickly hid. That's when I found out that the madam had said I had run off with a stranger, and the master actually believed it. And then I discovered that my face was ruined!"
As Bai Yumei spoke, she suddenly lifted her hair, revealing a face covered in large scars, which startled Tao Wanniang so much that she gasped.
Her face was truly ruined. From her forehead to the corner of her eye, it looked like a piece of flesh had been torn off. The left half of her face was also covered in scars, which were numerous and messy. At first glance, it was truly frightening!
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