[Red Mansion] Third Sister You's New Life in the Red Mansion

When they came to Xin'an Street, it was already late, so Mrs. Zheng first found an inn to accommodate the whole family.

This inn is diagonally opposite Zheng's rouge and powder shop. From the room where they live, they can clearly see the situation on the storefront.At this time, the sky was getting dark, and the shopkeeper hung Zheng Ji gouache lanterns at the door, and then closed the door, which was obviously going to close.

But the shopkeeper didn't put all the door panels together, but left a space just enough for one person to enter and exit.After a while, I saw a carriage slowly parked in front of the shop, the shape and style of the carriage could not be seen clearly in the night, only a dim wind lantern hanging on the top of the carriage; A tall man came out of the room, got into the carriage in a flash, and the driver quickly rode away.

"Hey, who is this?" Seeing this scene, Mrs. Zheng was a little puzzled, "Does it look strange? Could it be that the shopkeeper is doing something behind my back?"

"Our shop is close to the Qinhuai River. It's not uncommon for a man to buy some rouge and gouache for his friend. After the girl came here, she only settled accounts in the attic; the slaves followed, but they wanted to look around for the girl everywhere. Yes; eight out of ten people who come into our shop are women, but sometimes there are a few men." Mother Lu comforted her.

Only then was Zheng slightly relieved, and when she saw the two daughters whispering beside her, she couldn't help but explode again, "What time is it, go to sleep, what maggots are you still chewing here! Gotta get up early!"But one day, she reverted to her old ways, and Xiuying couldn't help but sigh in her heart,

Early the next morning, Mrs. Zheng took her sister Chu Xiu and Mama Lu to the store to check. Before leaving, she ordered Mama He to stay in the store with Xiuying and keep an eye on her luggage. The job couldn't be more secure.The purpose of bringing Xiu Xiu is because she has also reached the age of the housekeeper director, so she should follow along and learn from it.

The three of them came to the store, just arrived at Maozheng, the Qinhuai River was still shrouded in a layer of veil-like morning mist, and the women on the Fenlou and the flower boats were still asleep, so the store looked very deserted, Only a thin woman in a blue and white sarong was wiping the counter and clearing the shelves.

Mrs. Zheng recognized the woman's surname Liu at a glance, and she was the wife of Qingdong, the shopkeeper he had hired, so she coughed lightly, and the woman hurriedly responded with a smile, "The guest came so early!" Turning around, she suddenly found that It was Mrs. Zheng, the master, who couldn't help being stunned for a while, and then forced a smile to greet him, "It turns out that the master has arrived. We were still talking about it a few days ago, and the master hasn't come here for more than half a year. Inquire about it." It is said that you have returned to your mother's house. I am waiting for your return, and I will show you the account book at the end of last year. I didn't want you to come here." A few people went to the tea area to sit down quickly, "Master, wait a moment , I’m going to ask us to be the head of the house.”

She seemed to be hesitating for something, but after a while, she stomped her feet and turned around behind the screen.Zheng could easily tell that she went up to the attic along the wooden ladder.

"Hey, you are brave enough! This attic was decorated very finely back then, and I personally selected all the furnishings. It was originally a place to rest after my master's family came. This family is fine. If I don't come, They moved in! This is really amazing! Is the backyard I arranged for them uninhabitable?" Zheng laughed angrily, and said to Lu's mother.

"Don't be impatient, girl, let's see what Qingdong says after he comes down; maybe there is something hidden in it?" Mother Lu had no choice but to forgive her first.

After waiting for a while, I saw Qingdong rushing downstairs in a hurry.I haven't seen him for more than half a year, and he has become fatter and fatter. His whole body is like a round ball, but he doesn't look clumsy.

Qingdong trotted hurriedly to Zheng's, before he could stand still, he bowed to the ground, "Madam, forgive me!"

"Oh? What are you guilty of?" Zheng asked him with a sneer as he half-lyed on the armchair.

"The young family moved to the attic without asking for instructions. This is a crime!" Qing Dong said loudly.

"You mean, there is a second crime?" Zheng sat up straight, his eyes widened.

"It's like this. More than a month ago, there was a thief in our backyard. Seeing that the door was closed tightly, the thief dug a big hole in the wall of the backyard..."

Before Qingdong finished speaking, Mrs. Zheng became anxious, "A thief? What's the matter? Is your family dead? How many things are missing? Is it money or goods? Tell me quickly!"

Qingdong responded again and again, "Yes, yes, madam, fortunately, that day, I just sent the payment for the month to the bank, and the thief only stole the turnover money of that day, which is not a lot, a total of more than ten taels of silver The most important thing is that the house that had been dug was soaked by the rain, and a large wall collapsed. Seeing that there was no way to live in it, the young one took the courage to take the family to live in the attic.”

"What? Even the house in the backyard collapsed?" Mrs. Zheng almost jumped up, "It's your fault again! Why didn't you ask someone to repair it in time? Also, did you report to the police at that time? Did the neighbors have any witnesses? "

"Hey, ma'am, it was naturally repaired by someone, but before it was finished, it rained continuously, and the masons and bricklayers naturally refused to come to work. In addition, the river in the back was flooded, and the terrain of our backyard was very difficult. Low, didn’t it just collapse again? The young one reported to the police that night, and was reprimanded by the inspector of the city!”

Zheng was so angry that he threw the cup in his hand to the ground, and the people around him were startled, "Smart words! You are not at fault for cooperating with me, it is still my fault? Why didn't you tell me about this earlier ?”

Qingdong jumped to avoid the broken porcelain splashed on the ground, quite annoyed, "The little one wanted to report this matter to the master's family early on, but I went to the house to see that the building was empty! The little one was frightened." I jumped and asked the neighbors to find out that the wife sent the old lady back to the countryside of Suiyang, and then sold the house to go back to her mother's family! It was originally a matter of the master's house, so there is no need for us servants to know, but the wife If you insist on saying that I have lied to the master about something, I will never accept it! Does the wife still want to slander me for guarding and stealing?"

Zheng was so angry that she stroked her chest and yelled, "Mother Lu, I have a headache, hurry up, you and I will dispose of this family, and first deduct the lost ten taels of silver and the money for repairing the house." , you tell them to move me down from the attic, get out, now, immediately, immediately!"

Qing Dong also yelled when he heard it, "The master has always been kind-hearted, he has only been away for a few days, and the wife is so mean! I have been guarding this shop for more than ten years, and there is no credit but hard work! The wife is like this Send me? I don't agree!"

Zheng's voice became sharper, "You don't agree? Hehe, what a joke! This is my dowry shop, what has it to do with the master? Let alone your family, as long as I am happy, I can sell this shop! , I see you going to guard the grave for the master!"

Qingdong didn't back down, "Ma'am, this is exaggerated. You know, I signed a long-term contract with you. I am the shopkeeper, and I am not your long-term servant; I can handle every reason that happened. I have made it clear that I have never breached the contract; besides, where will my family go at this moment? Could it be moving to the street?"

He snapped his fingers, "Needless to say, my wife has been helping the store for so many years; my two girls have gradually grown up, and they also help take care of the store. I taught them how to do business. That's why our shop is unique in this street; even my half-grown boy, who drives a cart to deliver goods, carries and lifts, and does chores, is all done by him, and he doesn't ask Mrs. I want an extra penny. My wife insists on retiring me. Even if we file a lawsuit, we have to settle the accounts of the past few years. It's not my account, it's my family's account! It's all about wages !"

Mrs. Zheng was so angry that she couldn't speak, and pointed at him with trembling fingers, "Qingdong, you ungrateful bastard, thanks to the fact that I personally pulled you out of the dozen or so apprentices and became the shopkeeper, you just Treat me like this? Your conscience was eaten by a dog?"

"Madam has a conscience, and Qingdong has a conscience; Madam can do the first grade of junior high school, and Qingdong can do fifteenth!" Qingdong poked his neck, showing no sign of weakness.

"You!" Zheng Shi screamed angrily, "You betrayed the master's family, you bullied your superiors, you bullied our orphans and widows!"

"Madam must think this way, and I can't help it. It's just that I am the head of the family, and my whole family is pointing at me to live, but Madam plans to let us sleep on the street? Madam, at least find someone better for my family than here." Good place to go, let’s talk about letting me go!”

"Okay, hello, just wait!" Zheng put her arms around the frightened eldest daughter, "Don't be afraid, he still doesn't dare to do anything to us. Do you want to take my property for nothing? Is he dreaming?" ! Let's go, I'll have my own way to deal with him when I get back!"

Putting down a harsh word, Mrs. Zheng supported Lu's mother, and exited the rouge shop in a panic.But as soon as she went out, she couldn't help crying.She is a woman who grew up in the backyard. How often has she encountered such a difficult thing?

Once upon a time, she thought that the existence of her husband was a sin, a torment, and the source of all her pain; but now she realized that even if her husband was just a mud wall, he was standing there, covering her from the wind. , blocked the rain, but she hadn't realized it.

Now, she finally had regrets. Thinking of her little daughter's words, she also began to regret her urge to send her mother-in-law and her party back to their hometown.

But is it too late to regret it now?

Returning to the inn dejectedly, Xiuying immediately noticed the strangeness of several people, and quickly came up to ask, "Mother, what happened?"

Mrs. Zheng didn't want to talk about it, but when she thought about the problem of accommodation, it seemed that she would stay in this inn for a few more days, and Chu Ying would know about it anyway, so she told all the things, and finally said with tears : "Your father is gone again, what can I do? Can I go back to Yangzhou to beg my mother's family?"