After the women from the Zheng family made way, Huang Wanzhen walked in with the three people from the Song family and Li Chunhua.
"Why did she change her personality? Is there something fishy going on?" Zheng Yumei said softly, her head lowered. "This is different from what we expected. What should we do next?"
Zheng Liu hadn't slept well at night recently, and she was obviously not in good spirits. She could hardly keep her eyes open. "Let her be. Those furniture are old and not worth fighting for." As she spoke, she yawned, "I didn't sleep well last night. I want to go back and catch up on some sleep."
"Mom, what's wrong with you lately? You don't look well." Zheng Yuli asked with concern, "How about we find a doctor to take your pulse?"
Zheng Liu sighed, "Ah, your father has been busy at the government office lately and hasn't been home. Now your brother is gone too. I feel so bad."
"Hey! I know an old doctor who's quite good at taking pulses. My mother-in-law always goes to him when she's feeling unwell. I'll take you there tomorrow to see him." Zheng Yumei reached out to hold onto Mrs. Huang's arm, unable to help but scrutinize her complexion. "It's certainly not looking good. You're just worrying about nothing, isn't my brother pursuing his future? He's coming back from school to do great things."
"You don't need to worry about my dad, he's the most reliable. He's so busy, maybe he's getting a promotion! This is a happy event, so many people are looking forward to it. Just put your mind at ease and be a good wife."
After hearing this, Madam Zheng Liu covered her mouth and laughed, "Haha," "I'm overthinking it. After seeing the doctor tomorrow, I'll go play mahjong with Madam Zuo."
Time flies and it is mid-December.
Huang Wanzhen, with her hair covered in snow, ran into No. 74 Hulu Street and shouted, "Morning, Master Chen!"
It wasn't even eight o'clock yet, but Chen Yumei had already practiced two sets of boxing in the yard. Seeing her apprentice coming over, she stopped and said, "It's getting late, hurry up and do the standing practice."
Huang Wanzhen smiled and saluted, "Yes, sir!"
After standing in the stance for half an hour, Chen Yumei led Huang Wanzhen in practicing a set of boxing moves before going into the house to sit down and rest.
"It's too cold in the room, Master. If you don't put out the charcoal brazier, you can heat up the kang. It's so cold, can your body bear it?" Huang Wanzhen rubbed her hands and put them to her mouth to breathe out.
"My eldest sister picked up two more children a few days ago. They were all frostbitten. She saved her firewood for them." Yuya pouted, looking like she wanted to cry but didn't dare. She was also picked up by Chen Yumei. She was only eight years old three years ago. After her parents died, she was driven out to the street by her brother and sister-in-law in the middle of winter to fend for herself.
A heavy snowfall almost took her life, but fortunately she was met by Chen Yumei who was visiting relatives, and she was saved.
"Where is it?" Huang Wanzhen stood up and stamped her feet. "Come on, take me to see it."
Yuya turned around and went to find Chen Yumei. After she nodded, she took Huang Wanzhen to the side room. "It's small here, so we don't need to burn much firewood to warm it up."
Huang Wanzhen stretched her head to look at the two children on the kang. The older one was seven or eight years old, and the younger one looked about five or six years old. Their faces were red and swollen, and their specific appearance could not be seen. "Are they both boys?" Huang Wanzhen pointed at their bald heads and asked.
Yuya shook her head. "The older one is a boy, and the younger one is a girl. They shaved their heads because they have lice all over their bodies. In this cold winter, people can freeze to death, but lice can't be killed by freezing."
"I simply shaved their heads so it would be easier to clean them up."
Huang Wanzhen couldn't help but admire her for being able to take care of two children at such a young age. She agreed with Yuya's point of view, "Yes, head lice are the hardest to kill. They are weak, and it's not suitable to use too many strong medicines."
Yuya nodded seriously in agreement, "This also cost me two packets of medicine. Oh! Raising a child is really expensive."
Huang Wanzhen found it very amusing to see her acting like a little adult, but she didn't dare laugh out loud. Children of this age have the strongest self-esteem, and if she laughed out loud, people would inevitably think she was making fun of her, and then she would get angry and ignore her for several days.
"This one isn't too small anymore. When he gets better, he can come and help me. I'll give him a few dollars a month, which will save you some food."
Huang Wanzhen's suggestion made Yuya's eyes light up, but then she lowered her head in embarrassment, "No, my elder sister said that you paid to learn martial arts here, so I can't bother you if I need anything."
Huang Wanzhen had no idea that Chen Yumei had such instructions before. She must have felt that Chen Yumei was having a hard time and didn't want to drag her down.
As the economy improved, Huang Wanzhen was no longer as stingy as before. Seeing how hard Chen Yumei was having, she wanted to help, but she didn't want people to think she was a pushover and trouble her with everything in the future.
Seeing that the child Chen Yumei had just adopted was still a teenager and could not do heavy work, but could run errands and serve tea, she thought of letting him support himself and reduce the burden on Chen Yumei.
"My shop has expanded by two more rooms, and I'm in need of manpower. He's small and can't do heavy work, so the salary is naturally not high. If you are all willing, I can get him a cheap laborer, so it won't be a bother to me."
Upon hearing this, Yuya jumped up in excitement, clearly unaffected by the taint of feudal ethics. "Really? That's great! He's cheap, only two dollars a month." Yuya thought for a moment, "Such cheap labor wouldn't count as taking advantage of Miss Huang. Would Miss Huang say anything?"
"Sure! Just two dollars." Huang Wanzhen agreed immediately and said with a smile, "Actually, I'd love to hire women like you who are good at martial arts. We already have three in our shop. I just gave them a raise a while ago. You should practice martial arts with your master. People with skills are welcome everywhere."
Yuya's eyes widened a little, and she asked seriously, "Do you give raises to men who know martial arts?"
Huang Wanzhen nodded affirmatively, "Of course."
As the twelfth lunar month approached, the weather became colder and the prices of charcoal and firewood in Beijing went up. Huang Wanzhen returned to the west courtyard of the Zheng Mansion and sorted out the dozen or so boxes and cages. She sold those that needed to be sold, and for those that could not be sold, she planned to chop small stones into firewood for heating.
Huang Wanzhen heard a noisy commotion from far away. She put down her burden and walked to the door to listen. Before she could make out who was making the noise, Zheng Yuli, her hair disheveled, ran into the yard, "Wuwuwu—Sister-in-law, go and save Mother! Father is beating her to death."
"What's going on?" Huang Wanzhen calculated the date and guessed that it was Zheng Ruqing's concubine who came to visit.
"My father was blinded by greed and actually had a mistress and got that bitch pregnant. My father said..." Zheng Yuli couldn't continue talking here. She just kept wiping her tears and asked Huang Wanzhen to save Zheng Liushi.
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