Xu Ying and Xu Sanniang returned to Taohua Street. Xu Ying went to return the cart, while Xu Sanniang went to the yard to clean it up.
In the yard, the first thing that caught the eye was a puddle of milky white tofu scattered on the ground. The originally square tofu had been smashed.
Xu Sanniang went into the kitchen and searched around, and found a basin under the chopping board that Xu Ying had missed. She washed it, took it out, and silently picked up the tofu on the ground. The ones on the ground could no longer be eaten, but the ones on the surface were still there.
Not stained with dust.
Putting the tofu aside for the time being, Xu Sanniang walked into the bedroom again. The bedding and clothes on the bed had been moved away by Xu Ying, and the remaining furniture was originally in the yard.
Xu Sanniang stood by the bed, a little hesitant and a little sour. She stared at the bottom of the bed for a while, then slowly squatted down as if she had resigned herself to her fate.
The box is still there.
Xu Sanniang breathed a sigh of relief, sat on the ground, looked at the mottled and blackened but spotless box, and was stunned for a long time before struggling to drag the box out and open it.
A large box of gold, silver, and several pieces of jewelry. These things have been her only comfort for so many years besides promises. Although it is just a box of yellow and white things, she can also find some of that person's care in it.
.
The man didn't take the box away, which made her already dead heart feel a little alive again. At least, at least, he wasn't really cold-blooded towards herself and her children.
Xu Sanniang took out four pieces of jewelry from the box, a hairpin, two bracelets, and a gold lock. Over twenty years ago, he gave her a hairpin when they first met, and when she left with him, he gave her two bracelets. Xu Ying was born.
I was given a gold lock as a gift.
At least, at least he still provided some friendship, although to her and Xu Ying, it was pitiful.
If you could do it all over again, would you make different choices?
"Mother..." Xu Ying's call came from the yard.
Xu Sanniang smiled self-deprecatingly and put down her jewelry. She probably would have made the same choice because she couldn't bear to part with her son.
Xu Ying walked into the house and saw Xu Sanniang locking the box. She stepped forward and said, "I only took away the bedding from this house. I don't know what other things are ours. Take them all away without leaving a thread behind."
"
Xu Sanniang smiled again and said in a gentle tone, "Okay, take them all away without leaving a single thread behind."
She stood up, holding a gold object in her hand, ready to put it in her arms. Xu Ying had sharp eyes and asked slightly, "Mom, what are you holding?"
Xu Sanniang spread her hands and saw a golden lock. She smiled and said: "This was given by your father when you were born. He said it was struck by the best goldsmith in Yinzhou. The cicadas on it are lifelike and there are also words written on the back.
Your name is also ours.
In fact, your father still loves you, he just... he also has his difficulties."
Xu Ying pursed her lips, but she still didn't say the unwanted words. After a pause, she said again: "Mom, please clean up, I'll go take a look at my house again." He walked out.
Xu Sanniang looked around the room again. There was nothing to pack. There were some things that she didn't need because they were too much burden.
Xu Ying quickly vacated his house, and indeed he didn't even leave any socks with holes in them. This tidying up was another big backpack.
Xu Sanniang cut a dozen rags, opened the chicken cage, and started catching chickens. After catching one, she tied the chicken's feet with a cloth strip and threw the chicken into a basket. In the yard, chickens and ducks croaked wildly.
Finally, all the chickens and ducks were caught. Everything that needed to be cleaned up in the yard was also cleaned up. Xu Sanniang looked at it a few times and said, "I'm going to find Master Li and ask him to send the money box to your father." Master Li is a horse racer nearby.
Car's.
Xu Ying felt it was troublesome, frowned and said, "Just leave it there, and even send it to him on a special trip. This house belongs to him anyway, and he will always send someone to take care of it."
Xu Sanniang smiled reproachfully, "Look what you said, I know when I will come and clean it up. No one lives here. If it is stolen, where can I tell you?" As she said this, she went out to find Master Li.
Xu Ying continued to walk around the yard. The place he was most familiar with before seemed a little strange now, and he didn't know if it was because he was moving away. He found a place to sit down and stared blankly.
Xu Sanniang quickly invited Master Li, and together with Master Li, they carried the box onto the carriage, paid the fare, and Master Li drove the carriage away.
Just like that, Xu Ying looked at the back of the carriage. Over the years, the heavy box of yellow and white things was the only care he could feel, but now, the things were sent back intact.
It seems that that bond has really been severed with a knife.
Xu Ying felt a little uncomfortable in his heart, and recalled that when he was fifteen years old, he happily told his father that he had passed the examination as a scholar, but he only received a black face and anger from his father, and told him not to dream of entering the officialdom from now on.
Xu Ying thought that he could probably remember that scene for the rest of his life.
He didn't want his mother to see that he was feeling strange, so he pretended to be relaxed: "Mom, let's go."
Xu Sanniang hummed, and put the chicken and duck in a basket on her back, and then put the pot of tofu on her back. Xu Ying put another basket on his back, and the two of them walked out of the courtyard gate, and a lock fell, locking everything in the yard.
inside.
On the way, Xu Sanniang discussed with Xu Ying: "Let's find a place to stay tomorrow. Although I am your friend, I don't want to disturb others too much."
Xu Ying said nonchalantly: "My little brother is very nice, and his family must be very nice too."
"But we can't be rude." Xu Sanniang said again: "It would be embarrassing to go to Daquwan to buy some gifts and come in empty-handed.
Moreover, their adults were not at home, so we moved our belongings there without permission. We don’t know if the owner would be unhappy, so we have to apologize to people when we see them at night.”
"Mom, don't worry. Their family is definitely not the kind of person who cares about everything. If we are in trouble now, we must accept help from others. When our son becomes successful in the future, we can repay the favor."
Xu Sanniang is a woman who raised her children by herself. She may seem weak, but in fact she is independent and self-reliant. Over the years, she has done everything by herself. Instead, she has been helped by others, which is a burden to her. She does not want to owe favors.
.
"Then go buy some food. They have several children at home, the youngest is only nine years old. It would be good to buy some snacks to comfort them." Xu Sanniang finally said.
Xu Ying nodded, "Then buy Jiu Su Zhai, their food is delicious."
The couple then went to Jiu Su Zhai and bought several packages of various snacks, large and small. Only then did Xu Sanniang feel more at ease.
"I will definitely not be able to live in the inner circle in the future, and I will have to wrong my scholar son." On the way back to Jiuquli, Xu Sanniang smiled and talked about her future plans.
"It doesn't matter where you live, it doesn't matter if you live far away." Xu Ying said nonchalantly.
Xu Sanniang smiled, "Your mother is not so poor that she wants to take you to live in Tongyuan. I still have some money here, so don't worry. Selling tofu can keep my mother and I fed. The main problem is where to live."
Xu Ying nodded slightly and thought to himself that he could also find time to set up a stall and make a living by writing for others.
The two of them discussed it all the way until they arrived at Tao Yaju in Jiuquli.