Time flies so fast, ten days passed in the blink of an eye.
Taipingju had already returned to normal. When Xu Maoxiu and others were imprisoned, shopkeeper Wu managed to stay closed for only three days without attracting much attention.
At this time, there was an endless stream of cars and horses in front of the door, and the hall was full. People waiting were sitting or standing under the pergola in front of the door, eating free refreshments, or laughing and reading the words on the door plaque. No one knew that this short period of ten years was
In the past few days, what happened around this peaceful residence.
Xu Maoxiu looked away from the window with some relief, and looked a little worried when his eyes fell indoors.
A trembling hand held a pair of chopsticks and reached for the dishes on the plate, but soon there was a clatter, the chopsticks fell to the ground, and the hand wrapped in white cloth stayed stiffly in the air.
Sister-in-law Asong, who was sitting on her knees beside her, covered her face and choked with sobs.
"Come again." Cheng Jiaoniang said.
Li Dashao responded and stretched out his hand again.
The sound of chopsticks hitting the ground sounded again and again. Shopkeeper Wu outside the door couldn't help but sigh. There were footsteps behind him. He turned around and saw Fan Jianglin walking quickly.
Fan Jianglin pointed inside and asked with his eyes. Shopkeeper Wu nodded and waved his hand.
The two took a few steps away.
"Have you said that?" Fan Jianglin asked.
Shopkeeper Wu shook his head.
"As soon as I got here, I asked Li Dashao. Sandong's family is also inside, and I haven't had time to tell him yet," he said.
When Li Dashao was mentioned, everyone looked a little sad and sighed in unison.
Although the hand is connected well, it cannot be grasped, let alone carrying the knife for cutting vegetables and cooking in the future.
If it were other people, they would be satisfied with the display of hands, but for Li Dashao, the display of hands was the same as not having any.
As the chopsticks clattered to the ground again, Li Dashao's hands also landed heavily, and he bowed his head.
A man's whimpering sounded in the room.
Xu Maoxiu couldn't bear to look any longer and turned his gaze to the window.
"Madam, madam, didn't you say it can be cured?"
Sister-in-law Ah Song cried, knelt down for a few steps, and leaned in front of Cheng Jiaoniang, sobbing uncontrollably.
"Sister-in-law A Song, what do you mean by this?" the maid said displeased.
"You don't mean what you say." Cheng Jiaoniang took over and said, "There's no need to rush."
The maid responded and took a step back without speaking.
"Although it is connected, I can't guarantee how it will recover." Cheng Jiaoniang said, "I can only raise it slowly."
What if I can't maintain it well? From the current point of view, even if I can grasp it in the future, it will be difficult to do fine knife work like before.
There was silence in the room, except for Mrs. Asong's sobs.
"Li Dashao, at what age did you start learning to cook?" Cheng Jiaoniang suddenly asked again.
The sobbing Li Dashao paused.
How old are you?
He was a little startled.
So hungry...
A skinny little child stood in the corner of the kitchen, eating with his fingers and staring at the people busy on the stove with wide eyes. The aroma was overflowing, and his saliva couldn't help but flow down.
If you learn to cook, you will have food to eat...
I want to learn to cook so that I won’t go hungry in my life…
But when I grew up, I realized that this was not the case.
"Those who are covered with silkworms are not silkworm farmers." Cheng Jiaoniang said. [Note 1]
The maid groaned.
"Madam, you said you can't compose poetry. This is really a good poem." She said.
"I didn't do it." Cheng Jiaoniang said.
"Who is that?" the maid asked.
Cheng Jiaoniang was silent for a moment.
"I don't know, I can't remember." She turned to the maid and said.
Why are you talking about poetry? Fan Jianglin and shopkeeper Wu looked at each other outside the door. Fortunately, the topic in the room quickly turned back.
"You started working as a cook when you were six years old." Cheng Jiaoniang said, "How many years did it take you to become a chef?"
Perhaps because he has lost his past, Li Dashao can easily recall the past.
"I'm stupid and didn't learn well." He said with a thick nasal voice, "I didn't learn how to cook until I was twenty-three, and it was only because of the appreciation of Mr. Dou..."
It hurts my heart to say this.
It was the Dou family who admired him at first, but now it was the Dou family who deposed him.
The Dou family succeeds and the Dou family fails, so to put it this way, in fact, everything he got was in vain.
"It took you seventeen years," Cheng Jiaoniang said, "to develop your current cooking skills. Do you think it took a long time?"
Li Dashao shook his head.
"You learned to cook with your right hand at that time, right?" Cheng Jiaoniang asked.
Li Dashao was stunned for a moment, that was natural.
"Your right hand is not as good as before, but you still have your left hand." Cheng Jiaoniang looked at him and said, "I will give you another seventeen years, how about you start over?"
Left hand? Start over?
Li Dashao looked at Cheng Jiaoniang blankly, and the others also looked at her.
"Shopkeeper Wu, brother." Cheng Jiaoniang didn't say anything more, but looked at the door and shouted.
Shopkeeper Wu and Fan Jianglin hurriedly came in.
"Third brother said you have something to discuss with me," Cheng Jiaoniang said.
Did the topic just change? While Li Dashao was in a daze, shopkeeper Wu and Xu Maoxiu looked at each other, and Xu Maoxiu nodded at him.
"Yes, Dou Qi has been looking for it several times." Shopkeeper Wu sat down and said, "The trustee came to me personally, and the bosses were kneeling and crying, insisting on giving the Immortal Residence to us."
"Taipingju is ours, and it's not an exaggeration to want to come back. Shenxianju is not ours, so how can we get it for no reason?" Cheng Jiaoniang said.
"He said that this thing was originally created based on Madam's passing fairy, and now it can be regarded as returning to its original owner." Shopkeeper Wu said with a smile, "Madam, he is scared out of his wits. He said he doesn't ask for anything else but his life.
live."
"It's really ridiculous, for no reason, who would kill him?" Cheng Jiaoniang shook her head and pondered for a moment.
It only kills people if they have a reason.
Everyone present said in their hearts.
"Of course it's not for free," shopkeeper Wu said, "it's for sale."
Xu Maoxiu smiled on the side.
"It's just a matter of time," he said.
With Liu Xiaoli's backer collapsed, Dou Qi thought this Immortal Residence could still be open?
Sooner or later, it will be sold at a low price, and now it is too disrespectful to send favors under the guise of apology.
"Since it's a business, let the shopkeeper make the decision." Cheng Jiaoniang said.
Accepted? That means Dou Qiyi will be let go. Xu Maoxiu was a little surprised.
"Sister, isn't that Dou Qi cheap?" He frowned and said, "Everything was caused by him!"
Xu Bangchui and others were already ready to put Dou Qi in a sack into the river in the middle of the night.
"Recognizing mistakes can greatly improve things." Cheng Jiaoniang said.
This kind of words that make people feel gentle and safe no matter whether they are men or women, everyone in the room felt a little strange when they heard it at this moment.
This lady turns out to have such a bodhisattva-like heart, but she mostly acts like a Rakshasa.
Although he couldn't figure out why, Xu Maoxiu didn't ask again, but nodded.
"Okay, let's go with what my sister says," he said.
Shopkeeper Wu responded happily that in his opinion, the bigger the business, the better, not to mention that this was the compensation they deserved for suffering so much trouble.
Cheng Jiaoniang looked at Li Dashao again, but Li Dashao still looked absent-minded.
"Look, I have another restaurant now." Cheng Jiaoniang said, "The Dou family's Zuifenglou can give you seventeen years, so can my two restaurants. It just depends on whether you dare to
."
Why not ask if you are willing?
Thoughts flashed through the minds of the people in the room, with some confusion.
Li Dashao looked at Cheng Jiaoniang, his lips moved twice, but he said nothing.
"You have suffered a lot in the past seventeen years, and in the next seventeen years, you will suffer even more." Cheng Jiaoniang looked at him and said, "And this is different from the previous suffering. Then
The suffering of seventeen years is the external suffering of lack of food, clothing and poverty. In the next seventeen years, you don’t have to worry about your food, drink and life, and your wife, children and mother will have no worries. However, you will be worse than those seventeen years.
The new year is more difficult, and this kind of pain is the pain in the heart. You have to bear the pressure, despair, others' ridicule, questioning and discrimination, as well as the self-slacking decadence of living a worry-free life..."
That’s right, you’re getting paid and eating food that’s rewarded by others, but you can’t do the work, you can’t pay for the work in return, and no one says anything for two days a day, but what about one or two years? What about three or four years?
That kind of pressure can drive people crazy and crush them.
Li Dashao was trembling slightly.
"This kind of suffering is more unbearable and painful than the suffering of living in poverty, so do you dare to suffer this?" Cheng Jiaoniang asked.
There was a moment of silence in the room, and everyone seemed to be thinking about whether they would dare to suffer like this if they were themselves? Can they suffer like this?
"Diseases cannot be cured, and life cannot be cured." Cheng Jiaoniang continued, slowly standing up, "Actually, it's all up to you. I will do whatever you want, so the most important and crucial thing is, what do you want?
how."
Li Dashao took a deep breath and looked at Cheng Jiaoniang.
"Thank you, madam." He said, leaning down to salute, "I am willing."
He has already stood up twice and been knocked down twice. He doesn't believe it anymore. His life really cannot be changed or cured. Isn't it just seventeen years? Then again!
Mrs. Asong covered her mouth and cried again, but this time, her eyes were no longer filled with despair and sadness but with joy.
In the afternoon, Cheng Jiaoniang got up to say goodbye, and Xu Maoxiu saw her off.
"It will be closer for my brother to go home in the future," Cheng Jiaoniang said.
Just now we briefly discussed the future management arrangements of Shenxianju. Fan Jianglin and Xu Maoxiu each led a few brothers to take charge of two locations.
Because there was a tofu shop in Taiping Residence, there were more people left, and Xu Maoxiu took two people to Shenxian Residence in the city.
"Yes." Xu Maoxiu nodded with a smile.
"Are your brothers' injuries okay?" Cheng Jiaoniang asked.
"It's okay, those little flesh wounds just look scary." Xu Maoxiu said with a smile.
"Are you afraid?" Cheng Jiaoniang looked at him and asked.
Xu Maoxiu smiled.
"Didn't my sister say it?" he said, "The pain in my heart is far greater than the pain in the outside world. Similarly, the horror of the external situation is nothing compared to the fear in my heart. With my sister here, we have nothing to fear.
"
Cheng Jiaoniang smiled and saluted.
"Go quickly, don't think too much." Xu Maoxiu smiled and reached out to lower the car curtain.
The carriage drove slowly through the streets, sinking gradually to the west. The streets were still bustling. When they approached the Yamen of Jingzhao Mansion, the road was blocked by a crowd.
"What happened?"
The maid leaned forward and asked.
"What happened?" the coachman asked passers-by loudly.
Passersby looked excited.
"Miss Zhu is kneeling at the door of Jingzhao Mansion to cry out for injustice!"
Miss Zhu?
The maid is familiar with Beijing, but she doesn't know the name.
"The oiran elected by Desheng House the year before last!" the coachman also shouted excitedly, "She has both talent and beauty, and it is rare for a rich man to see her! She actually knelt down in public and cried out for injustice! What grievance does she have?"
The so-called oiran must not be those who are prostitutes, but prostitutes. Since most prostitutes are affiliated with the Jiaofang Division, there are very few people who sell themselves into the Jiaofang Division. Most of them are women who have been assigned to work as prostitutes.
If something goes wrong in the family and the entire family is implicated, a woman like that will probably have some grievances in her heart.
The maid sat back and made the driver want to get out of the car and take a detour to watch the excitement.
"This has nothing to do with us," she said.
It's just that this time the maid was wrong, this matter really has something to do with them.
Five days later, Mr. Zhou came to visit again, his expression as respectful as last time, and a little more proud.
After sitting down in the room, he pushed over a deed without saying anything.
"What is this?" Cheng Jiaoniang asked.
"This is my wife's Yichuntang." Mr. Zhou said with a smile.
Cheng Jiaoniang reached out and took it, looking at the deed in her hand.
"So fast?" she said. Although her expression was normal, her voice was a bit surprised. It was obvious that she had not expected this. "Someone pushed the wall so quickly? Can it still be pushed down?"
"They are the family members of an official who was framed by Liu Xiaoli. They were falsely accused by him and sent to Nanzhou. They died on the way. They raped...ahem...and forced their female family members to death, leaving behind a young daughter about eight years old.
, was sold to the Jiaofang Division. When the official's wife bit her tongue and committed suicide, she hid a blood letter of grievance and evidence in the arms of the young girl. It was also Liu Xiaoli's negligence in not eradicating the root cause. This girl has always kept her hatred in mind for so many years. This time she got the opportunity to beat the drum.
Although His Majesty expressed sympathy for Mr. Liu's illness, the censor held on to him and refused to let him go." Mr. Zhou said with a bit of pride and joy.
"Oh, I know, the street said that Miss Zhu, the courtesan of Desheng Tower, turned out to be her." The maid said suddenly, thinking of what she heard on the street that day.
"Yes, Miss Zhu never complained in the Jiaofang Department. She was very obedient and well-behaved. She studied music, chess, calligraphy, painting, singing and dancing much harder than others. She cried in the hall that day. She was doing this for no other reason than to gain fame. Okay.
I can help someone with my body and avenge my parents." Mr. Zhou said with some emotion, "What a strong woman."
"Strength alone is not enough, right?" Cheng Jiaoniang said, "My uncle also contributed a lot, right?"
A family member of a criminal official wearing the title of an courtesan may attract more attention, but it is not enough to shake the emperor's compassion.
Mr. Zhou chuckled and couldn't help but feel even more proud.
"He, Principal Liu, can do tricks behind his back, but can't I? Who doesn't have one of his own to add fuel to the flames and find some crimes that His Majesty is more taboo about? What's more, an adult who is paralyzed by a wind disease is no longer needed by others.
From now on, no one will be able to use him anymore," he said.
Cheng Jiaoniang smiled and said nothing.
"Although His Majesty is sympathetic and cannot punish him because he is ill, several of his sons have been sent to prison for investigation, and their family property has also been investigated. Oh, I didn't expect this guy to have so many hidden assets.
Field..." Mr. Zhou continued, his eyes shining.
With so much property and money, there are naturally not a few people like him whose eyes light up when he hears it.
And these people will definitely make Liu Xiaoli's situation worse again.
"It's just that I am a humble person and it's not my turn to take action. However, I still got Yichuntang for you, Madam." Mr. Zhou felt a little ashamed again.
Cheng Jiaoniang nodded.
"Then thank you uncle for taking the trouble," she said with a salute.
"I don't dare, I don't dare, I should, I should." Mr. Zhou returned the courtesy and said, "It's most appropriate for the lady to hold this."
Cheng Jiaoniang saluted again and handed the deed in front of her to the maid, who happily put it away.
"It's really good this time. I gave away a Taipingju and got a fairy house and a medicine shop." She said happily, then tilted her head and thought, "I wonder if anyone else wants our Taipingju.
Maybe you can get something good."
Master Zhou felt his heart twitch after hearing this. When he walked out of Cheng Jiao's house, he raised the car curtain again and looked at the house door that was slowly closing behind him. He could see that the woman's back was slim, and the maids and girls beside him were happily chatting and laughing around her, looking relaxed and peaceful.
It's so easy. People who are relaxed can do all this without even realizing it.
Not only does a fairy live in a medicine shop, but the future of a family business that has been run by a Beijing official for decades has been wiped out. Even if it is not genocide, it is not much different from genocide.
Who knows and who is willing to believe that this fool from Jiangzhou is behind all this!
This Jiangzhou fool!
***************************************
ps: Liu Xiaoli has finally been stepped down and has no chance to stand up. Cheng Jiaoniang has finally established a firm foothold in the capital. Will life be smooth sailing now?
Note 1; "Silkworm Woman" by Zhang Yu of the Song Dynasty
Update today, I’m busy on my first day at work, so sorry. (To be continued)
