Blissful Days After Widowhood

by Usui Takumii

not mine, word drain.

3. 21 to 40

Mrs. Wang asked the price carefully. At that time, he said hesitantly, "This house is only rented on an annual basis, and it costs… four taels of silver a year."

Mrs. Wang immediately raised her eyebrows and scolded, "You kid, I saw you as an honest guy, how can you deceive us?! This house is so dilapidated, you want us to give four taels a year?! Yesterday, I saw one that is bigger and newer than this, and it would cost two or three taels of silver a year! Not to mention that there is only a scholar and bureaucrat living next to it, even if the county magistrate lives there, it is not a good price!"

Xiao Erhei was a little stunned by Mrs. Wang's shouting, Gu Yin quickly pulled her hand, "Mother, this price can be found in here. It's not that he made the price out of thin air, let's not embarrass him."

She smiled at the frightened Xiao Erhei again, "My mother has a loud voice, but she's actually a nice person, so she didn't mean to scold you."

Xiao Erhei recovered, scratched his head embarrassedly, and said, "I also know that the price is a bit expensive. But the main point is if you like the house, if both madam and sister like it here, I will help you negotiate the price, alright?"

Mrs. Wang looked at Gu Yin with her hands in hers, and asked her what she thought.

Gu Yin lowered her voice and said, "Safety first, this house is collapsed, but four taels is really expensive, why don't we let Xiao Erhei discuss it, if we get the same price as the house mother saw yesterday, we will rent it, alright?"

The price of two or three taels was not low, but the neighbors on both sides were a scholar and a bureaucrat. For their safety, it was not wrong to pay more money.

Mrs. Wang didn't say a word, acquiescing to her statement.

Gu Yin said, "Then please make a trip, four taels is indeed expensive. We can pay two or three taels, you see…"

"No trouble, no trouble," said the little Er Hei, and snorted again, because Gu Yin looked at him kindly, he said, "I'll discuss the price, but the master said that you need to see the tenant, so madam and sister have to come with me."

"This master has so many demands!" Mrs. Wang complained again, but Gu Yin persuaded her to stop complaining.

Xiao Erhei smiled at Gu Yin, and then immediately went to knock on the door next door.

"Who is it?" After a while, the door creaked open, and a short, chubby, round-faced middle-aged woman wearing a cloth scarf came out.

Xiao Erhei hurriedly bowed his head and said with an apologetic smile, "Aunt Xu, it's me. I brought someone to see the house!"

When Mrs Xu saw it was him, her voice softened, "It's you kid, why didn't your master come?"

"Master is busy today, thinking that I've got mature too, so he gave me a chance to practice."

"It's not easy for you to practice alone, but as I told your master, my son is a scholar, and he needs to study hard, we can't let any kind of people rent it."

"I remember everything you said. This time, a kind-hearted lady is looking for a house with a young and beautiful sister. There is another child in the family. She has a simple population and will definitely not disturb Brother Qingchuan's study!"

As he spoke, Xiao Erhei stepped aside to let Mrs. Xu see Gu Yin and Mrs. Wang he brought.

Mrs. Xu had been lazily, and when she heard the words, she slowly lifted her eyelids to see—

Seeing the person in front of her, Mrs Xu's eyes widened and her voice raised, "Wang Baoyun!"

Mrs. Wang was still discussing the house with Gu Yin, and when she heard someone call her, she followed the sound and shouted, "Xu Jinchai!"

The two were old acquaintances!

Seeing that scene, Xiao Erhei thought it was half done, so he couldn't help laughing, "So Aunt Xu and Madam Wu know each other?!"

Mrs. Xu with hands on her hips snorted, "Who knows this scumbag?!"

Not to be outdone, Mrs Wang pouted back, "Who knows this scumbag?!"

The two glared at each other, Wang Shu turned around and left, and Mrs. Xu slammed the door shut.

Gu Yin and Xiao Erhei were caught in the middle, confused, they looked at each other wordlessly for a while, and then one of them went to inquire about the situation.

Mrs. Wang was walking fast, and Gu Yin chased her all the way to the inn to catch up.

"I'm so unlucky!" Mrs. Wang entered the room and sat down angrily, poured herself a bowl of water to drink, and then continued, "If I knew that the house was of that scumbag, I wouldn't have seen it!"

Gu Yin came in after her, picked up the water bowl and took two sips of water, only to be relieved.

Mrs. Wang's face turned pale when she saw her, and she felt distressed for a while. She stretched out her hand and stroked her back and said, "You child, why did you run? I have nowhere to go, I must go back to the inn. You should walk slowly. Can't you just come back alone? Why were you chasing after me?"

Gu Yin took a few heavy breaths, "I saw that you were walking a few steps ahead of me, and I thought I could catch up. Who knew that the faster I got and faster you were walking, I ran up unconsciously… Mother, did you have an enmity with that Aunt Xu?"

Mrs. Wang snorted again, "I don't know her!"

Gu Yin: …

Seeing that, Gu Yin turned around and saw Xiao Wu'an sitting on the bed looking at them eagerly, so she went to dress the little guy.

Gu Yin and Mrs. Wang were out early in the morning, so they didn't call him.

Seeing his mother's face was red, Xiao Wu'an didn't dare to speak loudly, and only asked Gu Yin softly, "Sister-in-law, who made my mother unhappy again?"

Gu Yin shook her head, then peeked at Mrs. Wang and said, "I don't know either. Mother refused to tell me. It seems that there is a secret."

"What secret?" Mrs. Wang heard the words and gritted her teeth, "That Xu Jinchai is an idiot!"

At the same time, in Jinyi Alley, Xu Qingchuan also came out of the study room to ask his mother what happened after hearing the door of the house slam shut.

Mrs. Xu was also stroking her chest and scolded, "That Wang Baoyun is an idiot!"

Mrs. Wang and Mrs. Xu did not have any enmity. On the contrary, more than twenty years ago, the two were close friends who talked about everything—

Their family background was similar. The treasure of the Wang family was their daughter, and the parents of the Xu family regard the only daughter of the Xu family as the lifeblood. The two girls who were raised like jewels met by chance, shared similar interests and hit it off.

How good were the two of them? Because they liked cyan (Qing) the most at that time, they agreed that the first child's name would have the word "Qing" in it.

Later, Mrs. Wang fell in love freely and deviantly, and the Xu family also secretly promised a poor scholar.

It was just that the two of them were not satisfied with the other's crush, and it was not an exaggeration to say that they were sneering.

Mrs. Xu said that Father Wu was too poor, a homeless and unemployed little businessman dared to beat the idea of a merchant's lady, but he still refused to join the family, and the toad wanted to eat swan meat!

On the other hand, Mrs. Wang thought that the scholar that Mrs. Xu liked was both noble and weak.

After the two had a fight, they got married. Mrs. Wang followed Father Wu to Batou Village, while Mrs. Xu married a scholar and moved to another place with her parents. Since then, they had cut off contact and never communicated again. Unexpectedly, time had changed and the world had changed. After more than twenty years, the two of them actually returned to Hanshan Town.

"She's going to die of complacency. Did Xiao Erhei just say that her son is a scholar? For a scholar's son, her eyes grew to the sky?!"

The more Mrs. Wang said, the angrier she became, and she simply laid back on the bed and sulked inwardly.

Gu Yin looked at her dumbfoundedly.

What kind of enemy did she encounter? She dared to be her mother-in-law's former best friend.

After a while, Xiao Erhei also arrived. He was afraid that he would mess up a business, so he went back to inform his master first, and asked him to come forward to go to Xu's place to be comprehensive, and then he went to apologize.

"I really didn't know that Madam and Aunt Xu have a enmity. Madam, I am young and not sensible, please forgive me."

Mrs. Wang was so angry that she didn't want to speak at all, she just waved her hand outward to indicate that the matter had nothing to do with him.

Xiao Erhei was about to cry in a hurry, and then turned to look at Gu Yin and explained, "I only heard from the master that Madam wanted a cheap, spacious and safe house, so I led you to Aunt Xu's place. On the one hand, there is a bureaucrat, and secondly, Aunt Xu is also a widow, and her situation is somewhat similar to yours, so…"

Mrs. Wang sat up awkwardly, "What? She's also a widow?"

The matter of the Xu family was not a secret in the town, so Xiao Erhei said, "Aunt Xu used to be the only daughter of a wealthy family in the town, but later she married her husband and moved to the prefecture together. Later, the Xu family's business failed, and Aunt Xu's husband also fell ill and died, so she took her son, Qingchuan, back to our town."

Mrs. Wang said anxiously, "Her business failed, the man died, she still has a son who wants to study, how can she live?"

Xiao Erhei was frightened by her unconsciously raised voice, and stepped back two steps, "A lean camel is bigger than a horse, and the three connected yards in Jinyi Lane belong to Aunt Xu. They live in one of them. One is rented to the bureaucrat man, and the other is the one I showed you today."

Mrs. Wang got off the bed directly, not even bothering to put on her shoes, and scolded, "I told her not to marry! She just didn't listen to me! Is it such a good life to live as a widow?! She's lazy and greedy! Is the rent enough for her expenses?!"

Mrs. Wang walked around the room several times, then turned her head sharply to look at Gu Yin, "You and Xiao Erhei go sign the contract. You like it very much, so rent the house for four or two a year!"

…

In Jinyi Alley, Xiao Erhei's master also went to the Xu family's door to apologize.

Mrs. Xu had already finished scolding Mrs. Wang with her son, and when she saw Xiao Erhei's master, she hung her face.

Although he impatiently pushed this deal to his apprentice, the deal was a small matter, but a bad reputation could be a big deal.

Therefore, he first apologized for his apprentice very politely, and then explained, "My young apprentice is ignorant, just thinking that Madam Wu has a similar situation and meets your requirements, so he took the risk of taking her to you, please forgive him."

Mrs. Xu was still annoyed, but she was stunned when she heard what he said, and asked him, "What do you mean by being in a similar situation?"

Although the incident with Mrs. Wang happened two days ago, the Hanshan Town was so large, and the middle man was naturally well-informed. He knew Mrs. Wang invited the patriarch to come forward and then got a sum of money from her brothers.

After hearing that, Mrs. Xu was silent. After a long while, she got up directly, but when she walked to the door, she felt that something was wrong, she turned to look at Xu Qingchuan and said, "Son, you go with the middleman and say… I don't know, you can make up your own excuses, anyway, I only need two taels of silver a year for that house."

Miao:

A lean camel is bigger than a horse. It expresses the gap between the rich person and the poor person. Even if the rich one suffers property damage, the rest of their possessions are much greater than the poor one's.

It was almost noon that day, Gu Yin brought Xiao Erhei, Xu Qingchuan brought Xiao Erhi's master, and the four met at Yaxing.

When Xiao Erhei saw the master, he shrank his neck first, and then immediately smiled to please, "Master, Mrs. Wu has changed her mind and wants to rent that yard."

Mrs. Xu's rent was high, and she was picky, which had become a difficult errand for the middleman.

Mrs. Wang's low cost and high requirements for the living environment were also a chore.

Having solved the two problems at once, Xiao Erhei felt that he had made a contribution that time.

His master hummed, "It's also you who has good luck. If you boy smashes my signboard, hum…"

Xiao Erhei hurriedly said that he didn't dare. He was still not up to the job, as he didn't do a background check in advance, which almost caused a big mess.

On the other side, Gu Yin and Xu Qingchuan also met. The two knew the old affairs of their elders, so the first thing they did was to apologize on behalf of their mother.

Gu Yin was fair-skinned and beautiful, Xu Qingchuan was tall and straight, and two people of similar age standing in one place would be a beautiful sight.

Xiao Erhei smirked and whispered to his master secretly, "Master, the elder sister of the Wu family and Brother Qingchuan look so good. You think if they…can we still receive another matchmaker red envelope (money)?"

Xiao Erhei's master immediately lowered his face and gave him a heavy look, "You child are really clueless! She wears a bun, and at first glance she looks like the daughter-in-law of Mrs. Wu! You don't recognize me as a master in the future!"

Only then did Xiao Erhei realize that he had said something wrong, and slapped himself hard.

His little tan face was beaten red, and his master did not continue to criticize.

On the other side of Gu Yin and Xu Qingchuan, although Mrs. Wang said four taels a year, Mrs. Xu said two taels a year, but neither of them were combative at the moment, so they quickly negotiated a compromise price.

After that, Xiao Erhei's master handed over the deed, and the lease of the house came to an end.

After completing the formalities, Gu Yin returned to the inn.

Mrs. Wang was looking outside with her neck outstretched. When she saw her, she asked anxiously, "Is the contract signed? Xu Jinchai didn't embarrass you, did she?"

Gu Yin shook her head and said, "I didn't see Aunt Xu, but her son came. Aunt Xu said that she will only charge us two taels rents a year, but I didn't dare to agree to her words, so I went with Xu Gongzi. We negotiated a compromise, and the price was fair, and neither of us suffered."

"You did a good job!" Mrs. Wang still hummed angrily, "Who wants to take advantage of her?!"

Noon was the time to leave. After Gu Yin had signed the deed, Mrs. Wang called them to pack up, and the family of three went to Jinyi Lane with their packages.

When she arrived at the door of her newly rented small courtyard, Mrs. Wang pretended to take a few casual glances, but the door of Xu's house was closed, so she couldn't see anything.

It wasn't until Gu Yin and the others unpacked that the door next door finally opened.

Xu Qingchuan came back from outside holding an old book.

Mrs. Xu had already heard the noise next door, and had been listening to it for a long time through the cracks in the wall.

Seeing her son come back, Mrs. Xu immediately pulled him into the house, lowered her voice and asked him, "Why did you come back so late? Did Wang Baoyun and the others move in?"

There was a smile on Xu Qingchuan's face, and he stopped laughing after his mother rolled her eyes. He first explained the same thing as Gu Yin, and then said, "I went to the bookstore. Knowing that my mother was worried and waiting to hear my reply, I should have come back and reported to my mother first."

"Who cares?" Mrs. Xu snorted, "I think she still has some backbone. She didn't take advantage of us."

Seeing her son's insightful eyes, Mrs. Xu looked away and said, "You must be hungry after working for a long time, lunch is ready."

After she finished speaking, she threw herself into cooking, but after a while, she came out with a big bowl.

Inside the big bowl were three pieces of rice cakes that were deep-fried to golden brown and the size of an adult's palm.

The Xu family only relied on two small yards to collect rent, and because she was picky about tenants, one room was often vacant, so they were not particularly well-off.

Xu Qingchuan hadn't seen his mother look so alive for a long time, so he asked knowingly, "Did you fry rice cakes? Didn't you say that this thing is very oily?"

"It's because I saw you study hard and did something good, so I wanted to reward you!" Mrs. Xu's eyes wandered around, "The stove should not have been used next door, you bring it to them and say… that we are the landlord. It's a little thought from our family, or the people in the province would say we are stingy."

Xu Qingchuan shook his head and smiled, picked up the bowl and walked toward the door.

However, as soon as he reached the door, he was stopped by Mrs. Xu again.

Mr. Xu had a pair of chopsticks out of nowhere, took a piece of rice cake from the sea bowl, and then said with a smile, "Okay, okay, you go."

Xu Qingchuan was helpless, "Mother, there are three members of the Wu family, can we just give two pieces of rice cakes?"

Mrs. Xu laughed and said, "Just don't give Wang Baoyun!"

Then she urged Xu Qingchuan to go quickly. After she watched him enter the next door, Mrs. Xu happily returned to the house.

Xu Qingchuan opened the door next door with a bowl of rice cakes.

Mrs. Wang didn't like Mrs. Xu, but she didn't show it to the younger generation, and Xu Qingchuan was a talented person. Although he only wore a white scholar's robe, he didn't look shabby.

Worrying that her loud voice would scare him, Mrs. Wang specially changed her tone and said, "Why are you still sending things? There is no need to be polite."

Xu Qingchuan pursed his lips and smiled, "Mother fried the rice cakes right now. Thinking that you didn't make a stove to cook when you moved here, she just made some."

"Xu Jinchai still has a bit of conscience," Mrs Wang muttered and took the sea bowl. After seeing the number of rice cakes in the bowl, the smile on her face stagnated.

"The number of rice cakes at home are not enough, auntie forgive me," Xu Qingchuan bowed politely.

Mrs. Wang hummed, "You don't need to make up for your mother, good boy. She must have done it intentionally!"

Xu Qingchuan touched his nose embarrassedly.

He didn't have much to say after delivering the things, so he said goodbye and went back to his home.

In the main room, Gu Yin and Xiao Wu'an were cleaning together. When Mrs. Wang came in with a bowl, Xiao Wuan sniffed with his little nose and said, "It smells so good, mother!"

Mrs. Wang put the sea bowl on the table, "It's not your mother that smells good, it's the fried rice cakes."

When he was still in Batou Village, Mrs. Wang would give the two children some stuff fried in oil every month, but since Gu Yin fell ill, the food at home got very bad. In addition, they were fleeing and staying in an inn. They almost always had dry food and hot water, not to mention Xiao Wu'an, even Gu Yin drooled unconsciously when she smelled it.

"Go to the kitchen to get chopsticks. Do you want the old lady to serve you?" Seeing the greedy cats, Mrs. Wang smiled a little.

Xiao Wu'an blew out like a small whirlwind, and brought three pairs of bamboo chopsticks in a blink of an eye.

"Mother, eat first," Xiao Wu'an handed them first to Mrs. Wang.

Mentioning that, Mrs. Wang's temperament came up again, "What am I going to eat?! She gave two rice cakes to three people, you eat!"

Xiao Wu'an glanced at Gu Yin timidly. She took the chopsticks and cut the rice cake into small pieces, revealing the crystal and full grains of rice inside.

"That's fine, let's eat together. If you don't eat, how can we both eat?"

Being coaxed by Gu Yin, Mrs. Wang reluctantly picked up the chopsticks, picked up a piece and tasted it, but said in disgust, "Hmph, this Xu Jinchai is more stupid than me since she was a child. She was blinded by this oil and fried to old age!"

But disgust turned into smile, and Mrs. Wang still laughed while eating.

Gu Yin and Xiao Wu'an then moved their chopsticks.

The two rice cakes were divided, and the three were full.

Mrs. Wang had no time to spare, and asked Gu Yin and Xiao Wu'an to tidy up the house. She went out to buy things. The food they brought from Batou Village had already been eaten during that time, including oil, salt, soy sauce, vinegar, grain, rice, and firewood. Additional purchase was required. There was also some simple furniture in the newly rented house, but there were no small things and mattresses.

Before reaching the door of Xu's house, Mrs. Wang specially slowed down, rubbing her stomach and shouting, "Oh, my children are filial, and even if I say I didn't want to eat, they have to let me eat first. Unlike some people, who deliberately gave two cakes for three people. I don't know what they thought!"

When Mrs. Xu heard it in the room, she stopped doing her work. She put the bowl and came out of the room, "You're talking so much, you can't keep your mouth shut even if you eat?!"

"Oh, oh, why are my children ao filial? I'm so happy, why can't I tell people?"

Across the door, the two of them sighed again in unison, and then went back to their own business.

On Gu Yin's side, after watching Xiao Wu'an finish eating the last piece of rice cake in the bowl, she went to the stove to wash the bowl first, and asked him to return it, and then cleaned up the stove.

Not long after, Xiao Wu'an came back from next door with a piece of caramel in his hand.

He handed it to Gu Yin as if offering a treasure, and said cheerfully, "Sister-in-law, look, the candy that Aunt Xu gave me! Eat it, it's for you!"

Since leaving Batou Village, Gu Yin had never seen him so happy.

Gu Yin blocked his hand delivering the candy, "Eat it yourself, sister-in-law doesn't like sweets."

Xiao Wu'an took out a handkerchief from his arms again and wrapped the caramel, "Then I'll wait for mother to come back."

Gu Yin didn't feel good when she saw him looking at a piece of caramel like it was treasure.

In fact, the life of the Wu family was really good at the beginning. In the years when the original owner arrived in the Wu family, she could still eat hunted animals every three or five months, only then did she grow from that thin appearance to a slim girl.

Only Xiao Wu'an suffered. When he was born, his father and brother were gone. His mother and sister-in-law in the family did not have any skills, so they could only do the simplest work. Later, the original owner fell ill, and in order to cure her, the family even sold the fields.

Up to now, although Mrs. Wang had received twenty taels from her parents' family, the income was less and the output was more, and the family would return to its former poverty in two years at most.

Gu Yin made up her mind. She must come up with another way to convince Mrs. Wang to let her do food business. Even if Mrs. Wang didn't believe it, she could still make something to conquer her taste buds, and at most, Mrs. Wang would give her a scolding.

After making up her mind, Gu Yin cleaned the stove with more dedication. Not only were the edges and corners of the stove clean, but even the corners of the stove were wiped clean with a mop.

It was late in the evening when Gu Yin tidied up the place and Mrs. Wang came back from outside.

She bought a lot of things, and she was covered with large and small bags.

However, when she got home, she was not in a hurry to unload the goods, but looked for Gu Yin everywhere.

Hearing Xiao Wu'an say that Gu Yin was in the stove, she rushed into the stove first, and when she saw the spotless appearance inside, she retracted her feet, "Is this still our home? Why has it changed in a short time?"

"Mother, you came back just in time, I have something to tell you."

"I also have something to tell you," Mrs. Wang beckoned her to step forward, and then pulled her out, "Child, what did you say about the dream last time? Tell me specifically."

Gu Yin's heart moved slightly. She thought that Mrs. Wang had forgotten about it. After all, what she said at that time was really low credibility.

"You really still believe me."

Gu Yin felt that she was too one-sided in looking at people. Mrs. Wang was not only soft-hearted, but also meticulous.

"I will definitely live up to your expectations…"

Seeing her excited look with red eyes, Mrs. Wang patted her thigh and said anxiously, "Don't talk about these things?! I've already blown cowhide (m. boasted) to the sky!"

…

A few hours ago, Mrs. Wang went to town to buy things.

She bought some household necessities first, and then thought that Gu Yin's tonic was almost finished, so she went to the pharmacy.

It had been three days since the last time she bought the medicine, and that part of the nearby transportation road should be repaired, so the price of medicine should come down.

Unexpectedly, the price of medicine had doubled.

Surprised, Mrs. Wang asked the reason, and only then did she know from the shopkeeper's mouth that the price of medicine had nothing to do with the road, but the war between the rebel army and the imperial army was getting more tense.

The current Emperor waved his hand and issued an imperial decree, scraping most of the medicinal materials from the hands of the national pharmacists, as all the useful ones were sent to the front line.

That was not enough. The Emperor only knew about pleasure, and the treasury had already been emptied by eunuchs without knowing it. Where would the money come from to buy medicinal materials? He just said that he owed it first, and then he could make it up after the tax was paid.

A group of merchants were suffering, but how could they dare to complain? They could only eat that stuffy loss.

But the medicinal materials were scarce and the supply was short. The pharmacist who had hurt his vitality had to find a way to make back the lost capital, and the price of the medicine doubled again.

Like the pharmacy asked by Mrs. Wang, some still had a conscience. Otherwise, those who were crazy about money simply closed the store and waited for other colleagues to sell all the medicinal materials.

The last time the shopkeeper saw Mrs. Wang's shabby clothes, she was willing to spend money to buy tonic for her daughter-in-law. He felt good to her, lowered his voice and said to her, "Mrs, buy it as soon as possible. Although our boss has ordered not to sell more, we are afraid of profiteers stocking up from us, but we are not sure that it will be sold out. If you want to buy medicine in the future, you have to go to those profiteers that are more than ten times more expensive. "

Mrs. Wang felt distressed and gasped as she touched the purse.

The money she brought from Batou Village had almost been spent. Later, she got twenty taels in total, three taels for renting the house, and five taels for buying things at home. Gu Yin's tonic had to be taken for another month, so it took another seven taels. After all, there were only seven taels of silver left.

Mrs. Wang regretted it for a while. She should have come to ask the price of medicine before buying other things. After all, the money for medicine couldn't be saved, but other things could be saved – just like she thought about buying out only one bed. When they slept in the bunk in the inn, everyone had one bed. After that, the family would have to sleep separately, so she thought about buying two more beds.

But how could she spend that money?

She could just buy a new bed for Gu Yin, who was recovering from a serious illness, and the old one for her son. She could either squeeze with them, or just use a few clothes.

And she also spent ten cents to buy a pot of rice wine, thinking about celebrating the new house.

Her daughter-in-law didn't like drinking, and the younger son was not old enough to drink alcohol, but she still wanted to drink.

Mrs. Wang slapped herself heavily.

People who were greedy should be beaten!

Just when she felt sorry for her daughter-in-law, a loud sneer suddenly came from beside her.

Mrs. Wang turned around and saw two young women dressed in rich and noble clothes, covering their mouths and smiling at her.

Seeing that the faces were still a little familiar, she didn't recognize the people for a while, but the other party looked at her, and spoke first, "I didn't expect to meet my aunt here."

After careful recollection, Mrs Wang realized that the two in front of her were the two daughters-in-law of Mrs. Zou, the second sister-in-law.

"It's you," Mrs. Wang nodded lightly, even if she had said hello.

Unexpectedly, the other party did not let go, but instead stepped forward to chat with Mrs. Wang.

The taller daughter-in-law smiled and said, "Is my aunt here to buy medicine for my cousin?"

Although Mrs. Wang was in a bad mood and impatient, she was the junior of her parents' family, so she still replied, "Yes, my daughter-in-law has just suffered a serious illness, and the doctor explained that she needs to take tonics."

For some unknown reason, the two daughters-in-law giggled together.

One said, "My aunt is really a bodhisattva. This medicine that is several times more expensive was bought for the daughter-in-law. I don't know how rich my aunt's family is."

Another said, "Sister-in-law, don't forget that my aunt got twenty taels of silver from us before, but how can she not be rich? Only those twenty taels are a one-shot deal. She won't come back to find us after buying medicine and spending all the money."

Only then did Mrs. Wang understand that these two were not there to greet her, but to provoke her!

Mrs. Zou was a shrewd person, and the two daughters-in-law she picked were eloquent, and they lived in the back of the house left by the two elders of the Wang family. After converting it into twenty taels of silver, Wang Dafu took the money. The big brother counted it on the head of the second brother, and let them pay fifteen taels.

Because of that matter, the two families quarreled for a long time, and Mrs. Zou's heart was not happy, so she asked the two daughters-in-law to pay the money.

Although the two of them had been married into the Wang family for many years, Mrs. Zou was shrewd and stingy.

Because of that, they hated Mrs. Wang and Gu Yin, so when they met Mrs. Wang, who was alone by chance, they fought hard.

Mrs. Wang had suffered that kind of loss under Mrs. Zou's hands. Thinking that Gu Yin was not there and no one would help her, she couldn't argue, and she didn't want to pay attention to them.

But the two daughters-in-law continued to laugh.

"No way, didn't my aunt say that she can make money by washing and sewing clothes, or even begging for food?"

"How much money can one make by washing and sewing? I don't think it's enough for a fraction of my cousin's medicine! This person has to accept her fate. As the saying goes, do not wear a hat that is way too big for one's head. Is my cousin worthy of this expensive medicine?"

Mrs. Wang's sewing earned less money, but it was not a shame to rely on her own hands to eat.

So at first she endured and wanted to leave, until the two daughters-in-law started talking about Gu Yin.

She stopped and scolded while rolling up her sleeves, "If tigers don't show their power, you think they are sick cats, right? Why isn't my daughter-in-law worthy of taking tonics?"

The two daughters-in-law didn't expect that the aunt would fight back, so they pulled back and said, "Cousin hadn't undergone childbirth, but let elders like aunt work for her, isn't it unworthy?"

Mrs. Wang sneered, "Who doesn't get sick? Who has to work to support the family when she is sick? My daughter-in-law is very capable!"

Speaking of that , Mrs. Wang was a little stuck. What was her daughter-in-law's skill? Immediately thinking of Gu Yin talking about the dream that day, Mrs. Wang, who was in a fit of anger, opened her mouth and said, "My daughter-in-law's cooking skills are superb. No one can compare to her!"

The two daughters-in-law wanted to laugh again but were afraid of Mrs. Wang's fist.

"Then we'll just wait to see our aunt and cousin make a fortune!" As she spoke, the wind was blowing under her feet, and she ran away as if to flee.

When they were frightened away, Mrs. Wang snorted triumphantly and walked home with a burden.

As she walked, she calmed down and realized that something was not right.

The words came out of her own mouth. If she couldn't do it later, then wouldn't that be letting her second sister-in-law spread out the word and mock her for a lifetime?!

She then hurried home to ask Gu Yin about her dream.

Gu Yin, who heard the ins and outs:…

The process was different from what she thought, but at least the result was what she wanted.

"That dream is actually very simple. In the dream, an old man taught me to cook porridge and soup. When I woke up, I felt like there was something in my head."

After buying all kinds of things, she asked, "What do you want to eat, mother? Let me show you my cooking skills."

Gu Yin was best at cooking porridge and soup, and was also good with other dim sum dishes.

Seeing her calm demeanor, Mrs. Wang's heart dropped halfway.

She looked at the thing in her hand, gritted her teeth, closed her eyes, and ruthlessly, shoved it into Gu Yin's hand, "Do whatever you want, you can use them!"

Seeing Mrs. Wang's appearance as if she was dying, Gu Yin smiled and nodded in response, turned around and entered the kitchen room.

Mrs. Wang bought a lot of ingredients, most of which was a large bag of flour, a small bag of rice, a small piece of pork the size of a palm, two small fish, a small basket of eggs, green onions and ginger.

Gu Yin decided to make fish ravioli.

She took out a large pot and kneaded the dough, made it into a smooth dough, put the large pot aside and covered it with a dry cloth to make noodles, and then first sliced off the large pieces of fish with fewer fish bones and chopped them. She made fish meat sauce, fried the remaining fish bones and fish heads on low heat for a while and added water to make soup.

Then, she added the minced fish meat, pork belly, eggs, chopped green onion, minced ginger, a little rice wine and other seasonings that were also minced into meat fillings, stirred them in one direction for a while, and the filling was ready.

At that time, the noodles were almost done. Gu Yin kneaded a large dough sheet, folded the dough in half like origami a few times, cut out a square shape of wonton skin with a kitchen knife, and then put the prepared filling on the wonton skin. With a swipe of it, it was a small "yuanbao" when you pinch it.

On Mrs. Wang's side, she said she was going to pack up. In fact, she put her luggage in the main room, as she couldn't help but worry, so she peeked at the crack of the window.

Xiao Wu'an saw his mother's strange behavior, and squatted with her to look in.

The two people, one big and one small, met head-to-head and saw that Gu Yin's movements were as skillful and swift as running clouds and flowing water. Mrs. Wang finally calmed down, while Xiao Wu'an sniffed the fish soup and looked at Gu Yin with glowing eyes.

"Mother, sister-in-law is amazing, she looks so good," Xiao Wu'an whispered while drooling.

Mrs. Wang laughed, "How old are you? You know what's good-looking and what's not good-looking?"

Naturally, Xiao Wu'an didn't look at Gu Yin with the eyes of a man who admired a woman, but smiled shyly, "I just think that my sister-in-law is so serious when she cooks, it seems like she would shine!"

Gu Yin's expression was focused and serious, and she exuded a kind of confidence, which made it really seem as if her personality changed.

"You brag before you eat!" Mrs Wang laughed and scolded in a low voice.

Of course, Gu Yin knew that Wang Shu was looking at her, but she didn't point it out. She just snickered slightly while doing her own work.

The wrapped wontons were put into the boiling fish soup for a while, and they floated up in a whirl after a while.

"Mother, come and have a taste," Gu Yin scooped the wontons with the soup into a large bowl with a fence, sprinkled with a small rub of green chopped onions, and the aroma was immediately overflowing.

Mrs. Wang hurriedly pulled Xiao Wu'an back, pretending to be still far from the kitchen and shouting, "Come here!"

The hot wontons were brought to the hands. The thin wontons were translucent, revealing the looming fillings, white fish soup and green chopped onions. Just looking at them made people's appetite greatly increase.

Watching the whole process, Mrs. Wang knowingly asked, "What is this?"

"It's a fish ravioli," Gu Yin also answered cooperatively.

"Fish meat can be very fishy if it is not cooked well." Mrs. Wang didn't want to pick on the thorns, but the general people's handling of fish was not right, so everyone prefered pork. Mrs. Wang was also trying to save money, so she bought two less valuable fish after buying pork.

When they were talking, Xiao Wu'an had already eaten it, and before she could taste it, he exhaled the heat and said it was delicious!

"Little bunny looks like he has never seen the world before, eat slowly!" Mrs Wang gave him a funny look, and then started eating.

Mrs. Wang had eaten a lot of good things when she was young, but when she ate a wonton, she also widened her eyes in surprise – it was not that the young son was ignorant, but that wonton was really delicious!

The wonton that was as thin as cicada wings melted in her mouth, the fillings were salty, fragrant and tender. Not to mention the fish soup, it was so fresh that people couldn't wait to swallow their tongues!

It was even better than the ones made by Bai An of the well known restaurant that her parents took her to when she was a child!

They buried their heads and ate hard, and the two bowls of wontons were destroyed in less than a quarter of an hour, and even the fish soup in the bowls was drunk.

Gu Yin looked at their appearance and suddenly remembered what her grandfather had said to her in her previous life.

Her grandpa said, "Girl, you are the most talented in our family. I don't have to teach the recipes to you. You can make similar things according to them. Although since your father was a child, he was detained. He learned it in the kitchen, but his talent was far inferior to yours. Until he passed away, he was not as good as you. But grandpa has to say, you are too crafty in cooking. I hope you can make a real difference one day. People feel happy when food comes."

Gu Yin grew up in a culinary home, and she really started to learn cooking after her parents passed away. Knowing that she would inherit her grandfather's craft in the future, she spent the winter and summer vacations in the kitchen every year as if she had to complete a task. After graduation, she practiced in the kitchen day and night for several years.

Cooking was not difficult in her opinion. As long as she memorized the recipe, wrote down the characteristics of each ingredient, the required cooking time and the amount of seasoning, and followed the instructions, the effect would not be much worse.

As for the "happy food" that her grandpa mentioned, she always thought that it only existed in novels and TV series.

But at that time, seeing Mrs. Wang and Xiao Wu'an's eyes, Gu Yin only felt a softness in her heart, and suddenly seemed to understand a little bit.

After the wind and the clouds passed, Mrs. Wang contentedly touched her belly and said excitedly, "Child, you really didn't lie, this craft is really great. It will be a pity if you don't open your own business! Alas, didn't the old immortal tell you anything else? For example, where is the treasure buried?"

Gu Yin felt helpless for a while, "No, the immortal only taught me the craft. Mother, it is better to teach a man to fish than to give him a fish. A lot of wealth will be eaten by the mountains, and it would last a long time by relying on craftsmanship to cook."

Mrs. Wang also thought about it, if the ancestors really gave a large sum of money directly, the troops outside were in chaos, and they, an orphan and widows would not be able to keep it!

"It's my fault for thinking that way, it would be great to have this skill!"

"Actually, what I'm best at is cooking porridge. Would you like to try it, mother?"

Mrs. Wang no longer doubted her, but after thinking about it, she still said, "We can't chew too much. Let's try selling wontons first. If they sell well, let's do other things."

Mrs. Wang's remark was in line with the idea of trial opening of new stores in later generations, and it was true that with every additional type, the corresponding cost would increase. Gu Yin did not say any more, anyway, as long as the wontons sold well, she would make them herself in the future, then she would add products in the menu.

After it was settled, Mrs. Wang went out to buy things in a hurry.

Xiao Wu'an was still licking the bottom of the bowl, Gu Yin felt distressed and asked him if he wanted another bowl.

He was growing up, a bowl of wontons was enough, but he could still eat more.

But just because he heard that his mother and sister-in-law wanted to sell the wontons for money, he immediately shook his head and said no.

Seeing his greedy but obedient appearance, Gu Yin scooped out a bowl of fish soup for him to drink.

Xiao Wu'an took a small mouthful of the soup bowl and drank it.

Half an hour later, Mrs. Wang also came back from outside.

She bought the ingredients she needed and put them home, and then knocked on the door next door and called Xu's name.

Mrs. Xu had smelled the fragrance from the next door earlier, and stood in the yard and sniffed it for a long time.

Hearing Mrs. Wang's loud voice, she thought she brought food, but she happily opened the door and saw that Wang Shu's hands were empty.

"Why are you looking for me?" Mrs. Xu asked her in a bad tone, frowning.

Mrs. Wang didn't quarrel with her this time, and asked her in a good voice, "My family wants to do a small food business. It's just that I haven't come back for many years, and I don't know the current market, so I have to ask you about it. ."

"Can you do business with your craftsmanship?" Mrs. Xu sneered, but she was in a good mood when Mrs. Wang looked humble and continued, "I only know that there was a lot of crowd at the wharf, and many small vendors sell things at that place."

Hearing that, Mrs Wang nodded again, and asked her, "Are those tools used for setting up the stalls bought ready-made or made to order?"

Mrs. Xu said, "You really think I know everything? Why don't you go to the town and ask?!"

Seeing that she really didn't know, Mrs. Wang also made a good face and said with her hands on her hips, "You don't know everything, do you?!"

"You scumbag, I kindly made fried rice cakes for you. You didn't want to send some of the delicious things you made, but came here to scold me, right?"

"I won't give you any food!" Mrs. Wang raised her chin proudly and went to the town to ask.

By the evening of that day, Mrs. Wang picked up a set of utensils for setting up the stall from outside.

Because it was ready-made, the price was naturally more expensive than that made of wood, especially if there was a new large iron pot in it. They could directly add firewood and charcoal below, and fire it directly on the stall, which was even more expensive. Low tables, benches, pots and pans, all kinds of things, cost her some taels of silver.

Of course, there were other things that were cheaper, but firstly, other things were not as complete and upright, and secondly, there was the name in the town. The owner declared that as long as it was his thing, he could sell it back at a discount if she didn't need it. That was more fair than others.

Gu Yin saw that she was busy outside all day, carrying a burden and sweating all over her face, so she quickly poured water for her, and then took a towel to wipe her face.

"Mother, you should let me go with you, it's not good for you to keep going around all day alone."

Mrs. Wang took a large gulp of hot water, "The doctor told you to rest. Just stay at home. Besides, if this business is done, there would be times when you would be busy in the future."

Gu Yin did not persuade her any further, and went into the kitchen to do the preparatory work.

Early the next morning, Gu Yin's wonton stall was placed on the pier in Hanshan Town.

Gu Yin got up before dawn.

Mrs. Wang woke up earlier than her, and when Gu Yin got up, she had already set the stove on fire.

Seeing the eye bags, Gu Yin couldn't help but persuade, "It's still early, I can take care of everything by myself. If you're really worried, I'll call you to go with me when the booth is set up."

"Don't worry about me, let's finish work, and I will naturally sleep soundly when we come back," Mrs. Wang yawned and shook her head.

How could she sleep? She was in a daze and didn't dare to close her eyes all night – when there were only seven taels left in the whole family, she felt so distressed. Later, she bought the ingredients and bought the utensils for the stall. It cost a total of three and a half, so it went to half.

At that time, she was driven by the words of her second sister-in-law's daughter-in-law, but when she calmed down, she was afraid. If that transaction couldn't be done, she really didn't know what would happen to the family in future!

The mother-in-law and daughter-in-law both started to work together, and when the sky turned bright, they took things out of Jinyi Lane.

At that time, there were no boats docked at the pier, but the small vendors came one after another.

Mrs. Wang had come to inquire the day before. There were no rules for doing business there. Only at the end of the month, the yamen would come to collect the booth fee.

Of course, booths couldn't be changed at any time. First-come, first-served. Those who come early could rent a good location closer to the wharf.

Like them, who had no foundation and couldn't afford the transfer fee, naturally they could only choose a position that was not very cheap.

Pots and pans, low tables and benches were all open, and the small wonton stall had begun to open for business.

When the sky was bright, the pier was crowded with people, and the nearby shouts were overwhelmed, and Gu Yin added firewood and started to heat the pot.

The stall next to theirs sold Youtiao (fied sticks). The fried dough sticks made a crisp sound when they were placed in the pan, and the smell of oily smoke overwhelmed the smell of Gu Yin's fish soup.

Of course, there were many people who saw that Gu Yin looked good and asked for the price, but her wontons weren't particularly cheap—a bowl of wontons cost four cents, while other wonton stalls sold it for only three cents.

Most of them were coolies on the dock, and a penny was very important to them, so after half an hour, a total of five people came to ask them. They heard that the wontons were made of fish, and the price was a penny more than others, so there was some hesitation, only two people bought a bowl with money.

Gu Yin asked Mrs. Wang to buy an extra jar of vinegar and some garlic.

The garlic was minced by Gu Yin and placed in a small wooden bowl. Like vinegar, it could be added according to the guests' taste.

One of the two guests put minced garlic and the other put a few spoons of vinegar, and they both finished the bowl quickly. Before leaving, they praised Gu Yin's fish ravioli.

Gu Yin's heart was slightly fixed.

In fact, eating was a matter of taste, and each flower appeals to each eye, just like the sweet dishes in the south couldn't reach the mouths of Sichuan people who liked spicy food, she was not sure whether her craftsmanship would be favored by Mrs. Wang's and others. People other than Xiao Wu'an recognized it.

But when the tastes of the two guests were obviously inconsistent, and they both praised her wontons for being delicious, she knew that her worries were unnecessary.

But even if she was not in a hurry, Mrs. Wang next to her was in a hurry.

If only two bowls were sold in the half-morning, how much money could they make that day?

"Mother, sit down and rest." When Gu Yin saw that Mrs. Wang's throat was dry, she poured a bowl of hot water and handed it to her, "We can't be in a hurry since we just arrived, and it will get better gradually. "

Just like when she took over the family's porridge shop in her previous life, the old customers doubted her craftsmanship when they saw her young and tender face. At that time, the business in the shop was also reduced by nearly half.

But as time passed, those who had tasted her craft became customers, not only the old customers came back, but also many new customers gradually added, and the business became more prosperous.

"I'm not in a hurry, I'm not in a hurry," Mrs Wang muttered to herself, not knowing whether she was comforting Gu Yin or herself.

After drinking a sip of water, Mrs. Wang was still unwilling to rest.

Seeing her like that, Gu Yin knew that she was in a hurry.

Her mother-in-law didn't close her eyes all night. If Mrs. Wang was in a bad mood again, she was afraid that she would not be able to sleep again at night.

Even though Mrs. Wang was in good health, how many days could she endure so anxiously? She was afraid that she would fall ill first.

Gu Yin pondered for a long time, then thought, "Actually, I have a way, but I'll wrong you."

"Hey, if there's a way, why not say it earlier?!" Mrs. Wang put down the water bowl and slapped the table, "As long as I can sell more, I won't have any grievances!"

Lao Liutou, who sold fried sticks, had been doing business on the dock for two years.

His family was originally in Yuanshan County next door, and his ancestors had been doing that all the time. He was already the third generation of his generation.

Three generations of people had made their fortunes by craftsmanship, bought a house in the town, got a wife, and saw that life was getting better.

But there were unforeseen circumstances, his daughter was swayed by the old foreign minister in the town, and he asked to take his daughter as the eighth concubine.

Lao Liutou ran away overnight with his wife and children, and went to Hanshan Town to settle down again.

He thought that life would be the same, but Liutou didn't expect it to be so difficult to start from scratch – the stalls at the wharf were poorly positioned. The passenger flow was low. The old customers accumulated over the years were gone, and the business plummeted.

Until then, two years had passed, and Lao Liutou's business had not been able to return to the past.

But he was very satisfied. The vendors on the wharf changed one after another, and only a few households with really good craftsmanship, including him, were able to do business for a long time.

Lao Liutou waited to save enough transfer fees to move his stall forward.

That day was also a rarity, Lao Liutou found a new wonton stand next to him.

The stall owner was a mother-in-law and a daughter-in-law.

It was also a pity that the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law only sold two bowls of wontons in the morning.

Lao Liutou was thinking about whether to give two words of advice when he suddenly heard a shout from the side.

"Go back with me!" The mother-in-law had a somewhat savage and fierce look. She became more fierce when she scolded people with her arms on her hips.

The young and thin little daughter-in-law next to her knelt down with a thud, and a crisp, crying voice spread out—

"Mother, just give me another chance!"

What was going on there?

Lao Liutou looked aside while frying fried dough sticks.

Not to mention the people nearby, as long as there was no work in hand, they would look there, and the passing guests even stopped.

"Chance? Didn't I give you a chance? Our poor family doesn't have enough to eat. You insist that you can make a living by doing small business. But look, only two bowls of wontons were sold till the middle of the morning, and our whole family would starve to death by relying on you to make a living!"

Hearing that, Lao Liutou frowned. He had been a foodie for half his life, and it took half a year to gain a firm foothold in another place.

That little daughter-in-law's wonton stall was less than half a day, wasn't it very common that the business was not done?

That mother-in-law was too vicious!

"Mother, please allow me two more days. You have also tasted my craftsmanship, and you praised me yesterday."

"Bah! I don't care about your craftsmanship, I only accept money. Our family can't survive. If you can't make money, see how I will deal with you!" Mrs. Wang snorted coldly, "I bought you back. You should repay my kindness when you are old! My son is gone, and it is a great gift to keep a little widow like you at home, why don't I marry you off to an old man to fill the house…"

"I…I don't want to be a concubine."

"Is it your turn to call the shots?!"

Mrs. Wang's fan-sized slap was about to hit Gu Yin's face.

How could this little daughter-in-law, with her delicate skin and tender flesh, stand that slap?!

Everyone looked worried, and Lao Liutou, whose daughter was almost forced to be a concubine, couldn't stand it anymore, and said, "What's wrong with you, woman? It's not your daughter-in-law's fault that your son is gone. At a young age, she still thinks about subsidizing her family. It's good to have such a kind heart. And the guests at your stall were full of praise for your daughter-in-law's craftsmanship. It shows that she is really capable! How can you make her a concubine for others?!"

Lao Liutou became more angry, and his voice became louder.

But strangely, the woman in front of him was not displeased by his interjection, but a faint smile appeared on her lips.

Why did she look so happy?

Lao Liutou didn't have time to think about it, and then listened to Mrs. Wang's words, "What's the use of delicious food? This stall is set up to lose money if it can't make money a day. Our family is not rich, how many days can we support her? What's wrong with marrying her off to become a concubine? I will soon get a sum of money for the family!"

"You, you…" Lao Liutou was so pissed off by her strong words that he hesitated for a long time and didn't know what to say.

Finally, seeing Gu Yin's pitiful appearance in tears, Lao Liu's heart softened, and he took out a few pennies, "I just didn't eat breakfast, make me a bowl."

Mrs. Wang turned her face away and muttered, "What can we do with a bowl or a half bowl? Humph!"

Gu Yin accepted the money, thanked Lao Liu with red eyes, and then quickly wrapped and unloaded the wontons.

The wonton wrappers seemed to come alive in her hands, but in the blink of an eye, a dozen or so were wrapped.

After the fish soup was heated again, a strong fragrance burst out.

"Don't cry, bring me a bowl too!"

"That's right, by the smell alone, I can tell it's delicious. Don't listen to your mother-in-law. It's not shameful for us to earn by craftsmanship!"

Passers-by and other nearby vendors used their actions to fight for Gu Yin.

Gu Yin thanked them one by one, and made a few bowls of wontons in no time.

At that time, there were more people watching the lively nearby, the air was not so well-circulated, and the scent pierced into people's nostrils like hooks.

And because there were so many people gathered there, other people saw the queue from a distance, and moved toward that place unconsciously.

The little wonton stall that no one cared about got overcrowded for a while.

While eating the fragrant wontons, everyone condemned Mrs. Wang with their eyes—

What a skillful and capable little daughter-in-la, but she was still beaten and scolded. Because she was taken care of by that evil mother-in-law, her life was hard!

Mrs. Wang shouted angrily, "I'll see what kind of money you can earn, hum!"

Then she pushed aside the crowd and left.

As soon as she left, Gu Yin said apologetically to everyone, "I let you all see a joke, everyone, go and do your own thing, I'm really sorry for delaying everyone's time."

The steam was steaming by the side of the pot, and Gu Yin stood there prettily, her eyes red like a bunny, and a shy blush appeared on her face.

It made it even more unbearable to see it.

Everyone felt pity for her again in their hearts, and after listening to more people's praise, more people followed suit.

Because it was a trial operation, Gu Yin only prepared about fifty bowls of wontons.

Before noon, her wontons were sold out.

At that time, the people in front of her stall had changed several times, and the focus of everyone was no longer the farce-like conflict between mother-in-law and daughter-in-law, but the food itself.

There were still people who hadn't bought it, and they said it was a pity, but they also inquired about the specific time of Gu Yin's booth, and decided to come the next day!

Gu Yin responded, then packed her things and left the pier with a load.

After walking for about a quarter of an hour, when the pier was no longer in sight, Mrs. Wang jumped out of the corner, took the things in Gu Yin's hand and said proudly, "How was it? Did I act well?"

Gu Yin pursed her lips and smiled, "Why did you add the lines yourself?"

"What lines? Didn't you want me to play a bad mother-in-law to embarrass you?" Mrs. Wang took the burden on her shoulders, and found that it was much lighter. Knowing that everything was sold out, the smile on her face became brighter, "My God, is this all sold out?"

"I didn't prepare much, and it got sold out as soon as there were more people." Gu Yin quickly followed, "But I didn't say anything about being a concubine."

"I learned it from the evil mother-in-law in the play. When their son died, they forced their daughter-in-law to remarry."

"Then why were you still doing it? You also wanted to hit me."

"That's definitely not true!" Mrs. Wang patted her chest to assure her, and said with a little guilty conscience, "That was just the feeling of rushing to play at that time."

Mrs. Wang was grateful to the stall owner next to them for stopping her, otherwise she really didn't know how to end it.

Gu Yin said helplessly, "In the future, we will have to set up a stall on the pier for a long time. Now everyone nearby knows that you want to force your daughter-in-law to remarry. What would they think of you in the future?"

"I don't care what they think." Mrs. Wang's footsteps were brisk, and the empty boxes and food buckets on both sides swayed by her, "I don't live with them, so they don't have to like me, hehe!"

After talking, the two returned to Jinyi Lane.

As soon as she entered the house, Mrs. Wang put the things away and started counting the coins.

In fact, there was no need to count at all, Gu Yin counted them all in her heart.

Although she used meat in the ravioli, which was cheaper than pork, but because it only used the meat without thorns in the belly of the fish, and the fish head and tail could no longer be used, the cost was higher than others' ravioli. A total of one bowl of ravioli cost about three cents.

But Mrs Wang was happy to count the money, the copper coins were spread all over a table, and she was so excited that Gu Yin let her go.

After counting the coins, Mrs. Wang began to count with her fingers, "If you earn fifty cents a day, that's 1,500 cents a month, how much is that a year?"

"A year is eighteen taels. The yamen charges a booth fee every month. I asked Uncle Liu next door, our location is poor, so it costs 500 cents a month and 6 taels a year for the booth fee. We can make a net profit of nearly twelve taels," Gu Yin quickly gave the answer.

Twelve taels a year! !

Twelve taels were enough for a family to eat for a year, which was a relatively nourishing way for urban people. Mrs. Wang used to earn only five or six taels a year in Batou Village.

Mrs. Wang hadn't seen so much money since she got married, and she felt like she was going to faint.

Gu Yin continued, "But today's trick can't be used again next time, and the business may drop a little tomorrow. Moreover, today was a trial, and there were few things to prepare, but tomorrow I can prepare more. I am confident that there will be more customers. The more customers, the more you will earn in a year."

Mrs. Wang laughed so much that her lips were almost reaching behind her ears, but she stopped laughing after a while and shook her head, "Are you alright? Those wontons are all pre-packaged, and it takes effort to wrap them for a long time. Didn't your hands get tired working all day?"

That worry was not without reason. The pier was windy. If the wontons were sold after being packaged, the taste would be affected if the wontons were dried by the wind.

Gu Yin used to soak in the kitchen for a whole day without feeling very tired.

But it couldn't be done. The original owner's body was so bad that she was too tired to lift her hands after being busy in the morning.

"Let's cook some porridge and sell it. Cooking porridge is all about the heat, and you don't need to worry about it after it's cooked. And I observed today that although there are many merchants and passers-by on the pier, there are more coolies working hard. If we make some buns to sell, and take the path of small profits but quick turnover, the business should be better."

Although Mrs. Wang had not tasted Gu Yin's porridge and steamed buns, at that time, she was very convinced of Gu Yin's craftsmanship.

In addition, she consciously did not help much in the past two days – she saw that Gu Yin relaxed in the morning, and she wanted to get started.

But when the wonton wrappers were in her hands, they didn't seem to be obedient as in Gu Yin's hands. She wrapped them not only slowly but also ugly.

Putting it side by side with the completed one packaged by Gu Yin, the appearance was really one heaven and one earth.

Food was all about color, flavor, and money. After all, they want to sell for money. With Gu Yin's pearls and jade in front, Mrs. Wang was embarrassed to sell her own to others.

The idea of selling porridge and steamed buns was very good. After boiling, they put them in the porridge bucket. The steamed buns could be wrapped in advance and steamed in a steamer. She could be responsible for selling porridge and steamed buns, and could also contribute to her own efforts.

Mrs. Wang was about to go out to buy ingredients again, but Gu Yin grabbed her and persuaded her, "Mom, we'd better go to sleep first, we can go shopping together after lunch."

Mrs. Wang was tense all morning and still didn't feel sleepy, but her eyelids fell straight down when she relaxed.

When she was about to fall asleep, she couldn't hold it anymore, so she went back to the house and said, "Then you go rest too, and call me when you have lunch. Don't move any utensils, and I'll wash them when I get up."

After coaxing Mrs. Wang into the room, Gu Yin sat for a quarter of an hour and felt relieved, so she washed the utensils and the stall.

At this time, it was already three poles (afternoon) outside, and it was time to prepare lunch.

There was still some fish soup left in the big pot at home. Gu Yin went to the alley to buy two pieces of tofu and simmered the fish head tofu soup.

She only remembered that she hadn't seen Xiao Wu'an for a long time.

When she entered the house, the little guy was not at home.

He had always been well-behaved. When he was in the village, he would not climb trees or mountains with children of the same age.

Gu Yin guessed that he went to the next door.

It just so happened that the pot was also rolling, and Gu Yin scooped out a large bowl and brought it to the neighbor.

Ever since she got up that day, Mrs. Xu had been smelling food.

Thinking of Mrs. Wang's empty-handed and assertive appearance, she was even more angry, and went to knock on her door shortly after dawn.

The door was opened, and it was not Mrs. Wang who opened the door, but Xiao Wu'an.

Xiao Wu'an rubbed his eyes and asked Mrs Xu in a cute voice, "Is aunt looking for my mother? She and my sister-in-law went out to the pier to do business."

"This jerk can't change even though she's old. She asked me yesterday, and just did it today. Is doing business so easy? Don't come back and blame me for losing money," Mrs. Xu muttered. After saying a few words to Mrs. Wang, she saw Xiao Wu'an pulling his shoes. He opened the door for her as he got dressed. Her heart softened and she asked, "My dear boy, I woke you up, are you angry?"

Xiao Wu'an smiled shyly, "It's okay auntie, I usually wake up early. It's just that my mother and sister-in-law are not at home today. It's too quiet at home, so I slept too much."

While talking, the little kid opened the two door panels to the maximum, then took out a broom that was taller than him from the door, and skillfully began to clean the yard.

Mrs. Xu looked at him lovingly, and the little figure in front of her somehow overlapped with the figure of her son in memory.

Xu Qingchuan was a genial and courteous person, but when he was as old as Xiao Wu'an, he was a ten-percent arrogant child.

Mrs. Xu's parents regarded this grandson as more important than life and wanted to give him stars if not the moon. At that time, he said that he wanted to play with slingshots, and the elder took the heirloom jade from the storehouse and polished him into a jade slingshot, and the glazed agate beads were used for him as projectile. They made him lawless.

But when Xu Qingchuan was five years old, the Xu family offended the powerful in the business field.

In fact, it was a bit biased to say that he was a powerful person. The other party was just one of the many Godsons of the eunuch.

But even with such an identity, it was an offense of ordinary people like them.

The Xu parents were taken into prison, and they lost their money before they recovered.

That prison was not good for ordinary people, let alone the elderly Xu family. Not long after returning home, the two old people died one after another.

Mrs. Xu's husband also became depressed at that time due to a change in his family. He was already weak, and he was emptied of his energy and spirit because he failed to perform in the imperial examination for many years and left in vain.

Mrs. Xu was a beautiful daughter of heaven, and she had a smooth sailing all her life, and she had never experienced any storms.

She lost her family business, her parents, and her husband all of a sudden, and she was heartbroken, wishing she could go with them.

At that time, the son seemed to have grown up overnight. He was no longer naughty and noisy, and he didn't need anyone to take care of him.

"Mother, don't worry. When I grow up and get a job, I will give you back everything that our family has lost," six-year-old Xiao Qingchuan assured her earnestly and stubbornly.

"Why are you crying?" Xiao Wu'an put the broom forward, took out a coarse handkerchief from his sleeves and handed it to her.

Mrs. Xu shook her head, no longer thinking about the pain in the past, and only asked him with a smile, "Have you eaten breakfast? Come and eat at my house, I will give you noodles."

Xiao Wuan shook his head and refused. A day before, Mrs. Xu gave him a piece of candy, and he was very happy.

But in the end, Xiao Wu'an was led to the next yard by Mrs. Xu.

At that time, Xu Qingchuan had already read the book for half the morning, and the three gathered together to eat a bowl of plain noodles.

At the dinner table, Xu Qingchuan also kept the book in his hands. Xiao Wu'an felt fascinating, so he couldn't help but take a second glance.

Xu Qingchuan also liked the sensible and quiet Xiao Wu'an, so he asked him how many words he had read.

Xiao Wu'an lowered his head even lower, and said in a somber voice, "No, I haven't read a book."

Half an hour after the meal was Xu Qingchuan's rest time, so he brought Xiao Wu'an into his study room, pulled out a copy of "A Thousand Characters", and read it to him.

After Xiao Wu'an listened quietly, Xu Qingchuan gave him the book, asked him to go to the side to memorize the characters, and gave him a small charcoal pen and a piece of cut paper.

"Can I become as good as Brother Qingchuan by learning this?"

Xiao Wu'an still didn't know how good he was, but Mrs. Wang often said a few words in private in the past two days, saying that Mrs. Xu didn't know what kind of sh*t luck she had, that she got a talented son in her early twenties. He knew that Xu Qingchuan, who could read, was very powerful.

Xu Qingchuan had already picked up his book, and when he heard that, he could not help but curl his lips and smiled. But he did not fool him because he was young, and explained, "When you read this 'Thousand Characters', you would be able to read and write. If you recite it, you can learn other things, and then you will become more powerful."

Xiao Wu'an nodded, and then stopped bothering him.

Xu Qingchuan was always serious about his studies, and he forgot about the kid.

When he was so immersed in his studies, his mother's voice came from the yard, "Your Wu'an is in my house. It's not a problem."

Another clear and tactful female voice said, "Thank you auntie. This is the fish soup I just made, I hope you'll like it."

His mother laughed and said, "Neighbors live in the neighborhood, so we're supposed to help each other out. Why are you so polite?"

Only then did Xu Qingchuan remember that there was another person in the study room, and when he looked up again, Xiao Wu'an was burying his head and scribbling on the lower table.

He blamed himself. He should have given this child a drawing book. How could he forget about him after giving "Thousand Characters" to an illiterate child? It was estimated that this little guy was suffocated.

On the other side, Xiao Wu'an stood up after hearing Gu Yin's voice, said goodbye to Xu Qingchuan politely, and then ran out of the study room with short legs.

After a while, Mrs. Xu leaned in and said, "Son, come and eat fish soup. It won't taste good if it's cold!"

The white fish soup was dotted with tender white tofu and green onions. The fragrance was rich and not fishy.

Xu Qingchuan felt hungry after smelling it.

"I don't know what kind of shit luck Wang Baoyun had. Her cooking is so unpalatable, but she has such a daughter-in-law with extraordinary cooking skills," Mrs. Xu was sour.

Xu Qingchuan smiled helplessly and shook his head.

After lunch, Xu Qingchuan went back to the study room again, put the "Thousand Characters" back in the bookcase, and then went to take the pen and paper that he had given to Xiao Wuan.

After a long while, his eyes widened in disbelief as he saw that both sides of the rice paper were full of writing. Although the handwriting was crooked and the fonts were large and small, it was indeed the whole book!

Gu Yin took Xiao Wu'an's hand and walked back.

The little guy was obviously in a good mood, jumping up and down, and mutteri, "It's too good to be true, slandering others is foolishness, ignorance and loneliness…"

Gu Yin listened and asked him with a smile, "Why do I seem to have only heard of 'unknown and ignorant', what is this 'ignorance and loneliness'?"

Xiao Wu'an let go of her hand shyly and trotted into the house.

Because Mrs. Wang hadn't woken up yet, the two of them lightly filled a bowl of fish soup after entering the door, and finished their lunch with the dry biscuits at home.

Not long after they finished eating, Mrs Xu came over to return the bowl.

Gu Yin greeted her with a smile, "Why did you come over to send it here in person? I would have asked Wu'an to get it later."

Only then did Gu Yin realize that Xu Qingchuan had come with her, so she quickly stopped.

Xu Qingchuan was also dazzled by her blooming smile, and quickly looked away.

Mrs. Xu didn't notice that, and only asked Gu Yin, "Is your mother at home? I have something to tell her."

"Mother didn't sleep well yesterday, and is making up for sleep in the room. Auntie please sit in the hall first, and I'll call her."

"Why are you looking for me?" They were talking when Mrs. Wang came out of her room with a smile.

She just had a good dream.

In the dream, the business of their small stall became more prosperous, and they made the twelve taels she expected in a year.

In a few years, the life of the family would improve, and they could purchase fields and houses.

When Wu'an also grows up, his family background would be good. Naturally, he would simply marry a sensible and beautiful little daughter-in-law, and spread his branches and leaves. (have kids)

The deserted home finally would become lively again.

After waking up, there was still a smile on the corner of Mrs. Wang's mouth, and even the eyes that looked at Mrs. Xu softened.

Seeing that she had a good attitude, Mrs Xu stopped hiding and said directly, "I'm here to congratulate you!"

Mrs. Wang hurriedly waved her hands while laughing, "You also know that our family is about to make a fortune? There's nothing to worry about, so don't rush to say it."

Mrs. Xu looked at her strangely, "What fortune?"

Mrs. Wang also thought about it, making a fortune was her dream, and her daughter-in-law was also a tight-lipped woman, and she would not just publicize that she made a sum of money in the morning.

"Then what kind of congratulations are you talking about?" Mrs. Wang returned to her usual self.

Mrs. Xu turned around with a snort, "Tell her, Qingchuan."

Xu Qingchuan showed the page that Xiao Wu'an had written to everyone, and said, "I just led Wu'an to read "Thousand Characters" once, and then let him read it for himself, and write it according to it. And I saw later that he didn't open the book again, but wrote it by himself."

Mrs. Wang was stunned while Gu Yin looked at Xiao Wu'an with a look of surprise, "You were reciting a thousand-character text?"

Everyone's eyes were focused on Xiao Wu'an, who shyly shrank behind Gu Yin and refused to show his head.

"What are you afraid of, there are no outsiders here. Are you able to memorize it? Tell me truthfully," Mrs. Wang pulled him to the front.

Xiao Wu'an lowered his head and twisted the hem of his clothes with both hands. His voice was low but his words were clear, "It's too good to be true, slandering others is foolishness, ignorance and loneliness…"

Mrs. Wang frowned and said, "He is reciting them backward, right?"

Children started from that book. When Wu Qingyi went to school, Wang Shu often accompanied her eldest son to do homework.

She also knew a few words in Thousands Characters, but it was not like that.

The most authoritative person present was naturally Xu Qingchuan, who was a scholar, and several people looked at him again.

Xu Qingchuan coughed slightly embarrassedly, touched his nose and explained, "He memorized it backwards, and it's my fault. I told him before that he had to memorize "Thousand Characters" in order to learn other things."

It was an exaggeration to say that it was a flow, but Xiao Wu'an didn't understand it, and thought that it was really necessary to do it backwards.

"Good boy, just recite it," Mrs. Xu had always liked scholars, otherwise she would not have recruited a poor scholar to join the family. At that time, she looked at Xiao Wu'an with love and pity in her eyes.

Xiao Wu'an dared to recite the "Thousand Characters" from beginning to end.

"This is a genius of heaven!" Mrs. Xu's voice was raised in surprise, and when she looked at Mrs. Wang, she couldn't help but say sourly, "I really don't know what God thinks. Giving you an extraordinary daughter-in-law with great cooking skills was not enough, he even gave you such a good child!"

The corner of Mrs. Wang's lips turned up when she said, "This cleverness must have been passed from me."

Mrs. Xu sneered, "You were sleepy when you were reading when you were young. There was a female teacher in your family at that time. After teaching you for so many years, didn't she teach you to read and write?"

Being ruthlessly uncovered, an embarrassed look appeared on Mrs. Wang's face, "His father didn't know any characters, and his brother has been studying for several years and has not learned anything."

Mrs. Xu was too lazy to break a bawl with her, rolled her eyes and said, "I don't want to fight for this, but your child's talent is so good, it would be too late if he didn't start early! It's a waste of this good talent."

That was indeed a sincere and good word, and Mrs. Wang heard it in her ears, "My daughter-in-law also said before that she would send him to study, but we just arrived. We don't know the place, and we don't know where to find a Master for him. "

"I think Qingchuan's Master is very good. He is a great man!"

Mrs. Wang looked at Xu Qingchuan, and he said, "My Master's surname is Wu, and he is indeed a serious person."

In that era, people could find a small official, and his value was naturally not comparable to ordinary talents.

Mrs. Wang pursed her lips and did not dare to ask any more.

Gu Yin asked, "I don't know about Mr. Wu…"

"Sir doesn't have many students, and every disciple must pass his personal assessment before entering his teaching. He charges fifteen taels a year, and he is very kind. But the Master only recruits students after the spring break every day. If Wu'an wants to go to school, he would have to wait for several months."

Gu Yin nodded repeatedly. It was a small class education for elites. It was normal for payment for private tutors to be more expensive than others.

But Mrs. Wang was not calm, and she exclaimed, "How much? Fifteen taels?!"

She was complacent just a while ago that she could earn twelve taels in the next year, and had a dream of making a fortune in the daytime.

"What are you yelling about? Fifteen taels is not cheap, but that's good value for money, understand?" Mrs. Xu lowered her voice, "I only talked to you when I saw that it was you. Qingchuan has a classmate, a person with very poor qualifications who did not even pass the 30th Tong Sheng test (Child Exam:Entry level Imperial Exam). He heard about Mr. Wu's name and came to study for a year. He passed the test a year later! However, he started studying late and his qualifications were poor, so he never succeeded Xiucai (entry level licentiate). Wu'an is so good, and if he studies hard with Mr. Wu for a few years, he can be much better!"

[Xiucai (distinguished talent) enjoyed officially sanctioned social privileges]

Although Tong Sheng was nothing in front of Xiucai, it was also very popular in the countryside.

For example, there used to be a private school run by old Tong Sheng in the former Batou Village. For a student, they only accepted one or two silver a year, but it had the crowd. They admit dozens of students, and earn dozens of taels a year.

Mrs. Wang was jealous of the days when she saw them earn, so she gritted her teeth and sent her eldest son to study at Xiucai.

Unfortunately, Wu Qingyi's talent was not enough, and after reading for a few years, he made no name in it. Only then did Mrs. Wang rest her mind and let her son come back to do farming and hunting like his father.

Seeing Mrs. Wang's pained appearance, Mrs. Xu couldn't bear to see Xiao Wu'an, a good seedling buried, and poked Xu Qingchuan with her elbow.

Xu Qingchuan then continued, "What my mother said is right, the main test of the Tong Sheng is the content of the book, Wu'an has no foundation and only listened to me read it once, and can dictate and recite it. He has this talent. As long as he studies hard for two years, it will not be difficult to pass the exam."

The Xu's mother and son said everything they should have said, and they didn't stay in the Wu house.

Gu Yin had to thank Mrs. Xu while sending her out.

In fact, whether Wu'an had any talent had nothing to do with them at all, but they came there specially to inform them, all out of kindness.

Before reaching the door, Mrs. Xu turned her head and looked around. Seeing that Mrs. Wang was not following, she said to Gu Yin, "Reading should start from an early age, you are also a smart and good girl, please persuade your mother, this is not the right thing to do so spare some money."

Gu Yin nodded and sent them out of the door before turning back.

Without anyone else around, the smile on Mrs. Wang's face completely collapsed. Before Gu Yin could speak, she waved her hand and said, "Let's go buy the ingredients first, and we'll talk about the rest when we come back."

Gu Yin didn't say more, told Xiao Wu'an to stay at home, and went out with Mrs. Wang.

Mrs. Wang had already bought things once, and by that time she was more familiar with the way. She had made up her mind, so that time Gu Yin kept silent, and bought whatever she said. More than an hour later, the two of them returned to Jinyi Alley with a large package.

Xiao Wu'an greeted them when he heard the sound, but seeing his mother's bad face, the little guy didn't dare to make a sound, and silently helped unload the goods.

Everything was put in the stove, and Mrs. Wang entered the room with a sullen face.

She was used to talking a lot, but stopped talking suddenly, which made them feel weird.

Gu Yin wanted to talk to Wang Shu in detail, but she saw that Xiao Wu'an did not play by himself after helping her with the work, but followed behind her with her clothes in his hand.

"Why do you keep your head down and look unhappy?" Gu Yin squatted down, "Are you hungry? I'll give you a penny to buy caramel, okay?"

Wu'an shook his head and said timidly, "Sister-in-law, I was wrong, I won't dare next time."

"Well, why are you crying?" Gu Yin stopped smiling when she heard the cry in his voice, raised his pointed chin with one hand, and wiped his face with a handkerchief.

Xiao Wu'an raised his face obediently to let her wipe away his tears, and then said in a loud voice, "I… I made my mother unhappy. She doesn't like me learning to read, and I won't do it in the future."

In fact, he didn't know what he did wrong. But he felt his mother's emotions, so he hurriedly confessed his mistake first.

Such a sensitive and well-behaved child was the most distressing, Gu Yin hurriedly hugged him and patted him, "You're wrong, good boy, mother is not unhappy. She is just worried about other things. You did well. Both me and your mother are happy for you!"

"Really?"

"When did I lie to you? I'll talk to her and keep her happy for a while."

After coaxing Xiao Wu'an, Gu Yin went into the house to find Mrs. Wang.

Mrs. Wang was sitting at the table in a daze, and only when she heard the movement did return to reality.

"I guessed that you will come over," Mrs Wang glanced at Gu Yin, "Do you want to persuade me to send Wu'an to study at Mr. Wen's place?"

Gu Yin sat down next to her, "Fifteen taels a year is indeed not a small amount, but mother also saw the market price of our trial sale this morning. Fifteen taels is not something you can't earn. And it's a year-over-year thing to go to school. We still have a few months to prepare."

Mrs. Wang still didn't say a word, Gu Yin paused and continued, "And I'm not going to hide it from you, my ambition is not to have such a small stall, but to open a shop, or even a restaurant. Fifteen taels sounds big at the moment, but in the future, you would not be bothered by such a small amount of money."

"Honey, your ambitions are not small," Mrs. Wang couldn't help laughing at first, and then she frowned again.

"Why, you don't believe me?"

Mrs. Wang shook her head, then sighed, "If Wu'an came out of your stomach, I would have nothing against it! But Wu'an has not, he was born to me, you are just his sister-in-law. 'Sister-in-law is like a mother', but I can't make you work hard to support your brother-in-law to study!"

At first, Gu Yin thought that Mrs. Wang was only worrying about the fifteen taels, but she didn't expect her to think so much.

"It's our family, so why do you think so?"

She really regarded Mrs. Wang and Wu'an as her family.

It was Mrs. Wang who was distressed to spend the money, but forced her to drink the medicine on time. It was also Xiao Wu'an who stayed by the bedside, and got up in the middle of the night to give her water and put a wet handkerchief on her forehead.

After suffering a great disaster, she left her hometown and traveled through mountains and rivers. Mrs. Wang never thought of leaving her after recovering from her serious illness.

That life was originally given to her by the mother and son.

Mrs. Wang shook her head, "It's our family. But Qingyi is gone, and you're only nineteen. Could it be that you have to be a widow for the rest of your life? You're going to marry after all. How would a brother-in-law dare to ask you to do such a thing?"

Gu Yin was surprised when she heard that.

Although the folk customs of that dynasty were relatively open at present, women did not need to bind their feet, and remarriage was also very common.

But a mother-in-law like Mrs. Wang who directly told her daughter-in-law to remarry was so enlightened that she was a bit ahead of her time.

She was stunned for a while, and then said, "I don't want to remarry."

She really didn't think so. In her previous life, she had been busy inheriting her grandfather's mantle since college, and had never been in a relationship in her twenties.

Let alone in this life, just thinking about how to eat and wear warm clothes, where did she have the heart to think about anything else?

"Don't say childish things. You and Qingyi were just a couple in name…"

Gu Yin was surprised, "You even know that?"

Back then, Mrs. Wang, who was eavesdropping on the wall for half a night, couldn't help blushing.

"Don't talk about that. Qingyi told me when he left, so that you don't have to wait for him. I was also selfish and delayed you for so many years, until I heard the news… But it's so bad to want to delay your whole life!"

"That's something in the future." Gu Yin lowered her eyes and thought for a while, then she said, "Mother might as well think about it this way, although our business relies on my craftsmanship, many things are done by you. Like this morning, if you hadn't sacrificed your face and pretended to be a villain, my wontons wouldn't have been sold so fast. The business is something we are doing together, and the money spent on Wu'an's study is certainly not only made by me. "

Mrs. Wang was about to speak again, but was stopped by Gu Yin, she continued, "And you also know that in this world, being merchants is good, but in fact their status is not high, if there is no support behind them, it is not worth it."

Mrs. Wang couldn't refute that. She already knew what happened to the Xu family in the past two days. She used to look at such a beautiful family, and it fell down so quickly.

The Xu family was a family that had been in business for generations, and they were quite well-connected. With an orphan and widows, the situation was even more incomparable.

"If not, this year's New Year's Eve is the deadline. If I can earn enough money and send Wu'an to school at the beginning of the year, it can be regarded as me investing in advance." Gu Yin took Mrs. Wang's arm and shook it gently, "You agree."

After a long while, Mrs. Wang finally raised her eyes and raised her voice to call Xiao Wu'an to come in.

"Kowtow to your sister-in-law." Mrs. Wang looked at her younger son seriously, "You have to remember that in the future, sister-in-law and mother will be the same. If in the future you dare not be filial to your sister-in-law, I will hang you at the door wearing only a trouser belt!"

That was really too serious, Gu Yin hurriedly wanted to stop it, but Mrs. Wang's attitude was very tough.

Although Xiao Wu'an didn't quite understand it, he obeyed obediently.

Pulling Gu Yin and accepting Xiao Wu'an's three bows, Mrs. Wang finally loosened up and her stomach growled twice.

She returned to her usual appearance, leaned to the side and shouted, "I haven't eaten lunch yet, I'm starving to death. Make two buns and give me a taste first!"

Mrs. Wang and Xiao Wu'an followed Gu Yin into the kitchen like two small tails.

When mixing the dough, Xiao Wu'an helped to pour the water, and when mixing the stuffing, Mrs. Wang helped chop and stir the stuffing.

With such two enthusiastic "helping cooks", Gu Yin's work was more effective.

She prepared two kinds of stuffing for the steamed buns, one was a vegetarian stuffing with only vegetables, and the other was a vegetable meat stuffing.

She first cut off a bit of fat and boiled it into lard, and then mixed the pork into the greens. Before she started wrapping it, the aroma penetrated into the nose.

Waiting until the fillings were ready, the buns were done.

Mrs. Wang's stomach growled. She didn't eat lunch, and Xiao Wu'an couldn't help swallowing.

Gu Yin flipped her fingers, and when the skin of the bun was twisted in her hand, it turned into a big fat bun in the blink of an eye.

The vegetable and meat were wrapped in three pieces, each of them was round and white and big as if they had been measured. The eighteen pleats were like flowers, and they were placed in the steamer next to each other. Just looking at it made people look forward to eating it.

Mrs. Wang and Xiao Wu'an had already taken the bowls and chopsticks and waited by the stove.

Gu Yin asked Mrs. Wang if she wanted more porridge, but she shook her head and said, "Enough is enough, don't do anything, take a rest."

After standing by the stove for a quarter of an hour, the big white steamed buns, which had gained a lot of weight, were out of the pot.

Mrs. Wang first put two buns into the bowl, but did not eat them first, but looked at Gu Yin before saying anything.

She understood and said, "Since it's a taste test, I'm afraid we can't eat it ourselves. Why don't we send it to the next door and let Aunt Xu and the others try it too?"

Mrs. Wang suddenly laughed, "It's you who are thoughtful. Xu Jinchai got it easily."

After finishing speaking, Mrs. Wang carried the bowl and went to the next door.

When Gu Yin was steaming the buns, Mrs. Xu had already smelled it. She was muttering that everything in the house was fine, but they were too close together. She had been smelling the delicious fragrance for a long time, how could she still eat her own food?

Unexpectedly, before she finished mumbling, Mrs. Wang came to visit.

"You have a heart," Mrs. Xu tried to keep her face straight, but the corners of her mouth couldn't help but curl up.

Mrs. Wang raised her chin, "Who said it was specially made for you? It was my daughter-in-law who said that as a family we cannot judge the taste fairly and she asked… to let Qingchuan help her taste it."

As she spoke, Mrs. Wang went to knock on the door of the study room.

A dead duck's mouth was hard (means the person is stubborn to a fault)! Mr. Xu went to the stove and took chopsticks and followed her, her eyes rolled to the sky.

Two steamed buns were brought to Xu Qingchuan. Mrs. Wang pointed to one of them and said, "Qingchuan, try this while it's hot."

Xu Qingchuan thanked her first, and then moved his chopsticks.

The bun was soft, and the chopsticks gently sank into it.

After entering the mouth, the sweet dough melted on the tip of the tongue, revealing the steaming stuffing inside.

The filling was half meat and half vegetables, neither greasy nor bland. When he took one bit, the gravy burst open on the tip of his tongue, making him squint.

Xu Qingchuan didn't like greasy meat and fishy stuff very much. Usually, he ate at most half of such a big bun, but that time he ate the whole thing in one bite.

"How is it? Is it delicious?" Mrs. Wang looked at him lovingly.

Xu Qingchuan praised without exaggeration, "Very delicious."

There was another one in the bowl, and Xu Qingchuan said, "I'm full after eating one, can I give this to my mother?"

"I've brought it to your house, whoever wants to can eat it."

Only then did Mr. Xu move her chopsticks.

As soon as she took a bite, she immediately showed a look of surprise on her face, "Who did your daughter-in-law learn the craft from? How can she make such a delicious bun? It's no worse than the chef of the state restaurant."

Mrs. Wang proudly raised her chin even higher, and said in her heart that if she knew, it would scare her to death. Her daughter-in-law learned from an immortal in her dreams.

But that was a strange thing, even to Mrs. Xu, so Mrs. Wang didn't say much, only said, "Naturally, she learned from me, but she is smart and clever, and she knows how to cook anything when she sees it once."

Mrs. Xu knew the abilities of the former best friend in front of her, so she attributed all that to Gu Yin's talent and intelligence.

Before, she also felt that although the two families had orphans and widows, her son grew up and was still a young scholar. After two years, he could give an exam and come back, and her family would be stronger.

But now she didn't dare to think so. Mrs. Wang's youngest son was so smart, and the eldest daughter-in-law had a craftsmanship that was not inferior to that of the chef of a restaurant. The life of the Wu family would be turned upside down before her son gets promoted.

Mrs. Xu was happy for her, but also a little sour, gave Mrs. Wang a sidelong glance, and then took a second bite.

After eating, Mrs. Xu felt that something was wrong, "How come my bun only contains vegetables?!"

Mrs. Wang said, "We made two flavors, you tried one of them out."

It was the truth, but Mrs. Wang deliberately pointed at one of them and let Xu Qingchuan eat it.

Mrs. Xu snorted angrily.

The vegetable stuffed bun naturally had no meat, but it was not bland. The oily and delicious vegetable stuffing was equally delicious.

After Mrs. Xu finished eating the whole thing, she muttered again, "I don't know which way the Gods opened their eyes and let you get such a good child."

The more sour she was, the happier Mrs. Wang was, and she wished she could shake to the sky.

After tasting the steamed bun, Mrs. Xu did not forget the serious business. She followed Mrs. Wang's footsteps and asked, "What about Wu'an's study?"

When asked about that, Mrs. Wang immediately stood up and smiled, "I would have refused. If his father and brother were here, he would have smashed the pot and sold the iron at home. If I dare to do that, wouldn't I lose my heart?! But his sister-in-law thinks differently from me. She told me that I also contribute to the business, and the money is not earned by her alone. Now, we all have benefits… Anyway, that little mouth is sweet, and I couldn't help it, I couldn't refuse her request at all."

Mrs. Xu was also happy for her when she heard it, "It's only because you have raised her well that you can get such a lovely daughter-in-law."

Mrs. Wang thought about it but felt that it was not the case. Gu Yin was indeed raised by her, but in the past, the child looked at her like a mouse looking at a cat. After she became seriously ill before the summer, she was reborn and changed. Only then did she get along with her better. If the girl hadn't left her eyes for a day, Mrs. Wang would have felt that her daughter-in-law had been changed.

She thought that it had something to do with the old immortal in her dreams.

It was hard to elaborate on that, so Mrs. Wang only vaguely said, "You don't have a daughter-in-law, so you don't understand."

It was just a random sentence, but she didn't know that Mr. Xu was stabbed, and suddenly raised her voice, "How come I don't understand?! Wang Baoyun, don't go too far!"

Mrs. Wang shouted back without any hesitation, "What are you yelling about? How am I going too far?!"

The two were talking at the door of the house, and Gu Yin came out and said with a smile, "Mother, the buns will get cold. It's better to eat first and then talk to aunt slowly."

"Who has something to say to her? I'll go in."

Mrs. Wang walked home with her hands behind her back while shaking her head.

Gu Yin stepped forward and touched her arm, and said softly, "Aunt just told us that Wu'an has talent, and you also sent buns over to their house. It is a good thing, so why did I just hear you two were going to fight again?"

Mrs. Wang hurriedly explained, "I didn't argue with her, she was sour and started yelling."

Gu Yin had no choice but to turn around and smile at Mrs. Xu.

Mrs. Xu smiled slightly, accepting her kindness.

When Mrs. Xu returned to the house, Xu Qingchuan also persuaded her, "Mother, you and Aunt Wu are old friends. If you have something to say, don't hurt the relationship between the two families."

"Who has a relationship with her?" Mrs. Xu still hummed angrily. In fact, she also knew that Mrs. Wang's sentence "no daughter-in-law" was just a casual remark, not deliberately stabbing her, but that matter was part of her worrying issue.

In the early years before the Xu family collapsed, many people rushed to make a match for the young Xu Qingchuan.

The second elder of the Xu family had been involved, and had settled on an engagement for Xu Qingchuan.

The girl's family background was ordinary, but was from a scholar family, and the family style was clean.

Since then, the two families had become good friends, and with the help of the Xu family, they got better.

That marriage was very much to her taste, and she treated the girl as her own daughter.

But then something happened to the Xu family, the second elder was taken into prison, and her husband fell ill again. In a panic, she went to her in-law's family for help, hoping that they could write a complaint for her and hand it over.

But they not only avoided her, but even asked the servant to throw out the betrothal token, saying, "It was just a joke made by the elders. Mrs. Xu should not call them anything like in-laws. It will make people laugh," which made Mrs. Xu's heart chill to this day.

It was not until later that Xu Qingchuan became a scholar at the age of thirteen, and he was in the limelight, and then another matchmaker came to the door to talk about his marriage.

But at that time, the statue of the family who came for the match was very low. After all, the Xu family's family background was plummeting. Although Xu Qingchuan was a young talent, no one dared to guarantee the future.

Mrs. Xu's heart was full of anger, thinking that she had to find a marriage for her son that was not inferior to that of the past, so she rejected all those people.

In a blink of an eye, Xu Qingchuan was already old, and Mrs. Xu still couldn't choose a daughter-in-law that she liked.

"Son, it's your mother who can't help you." Thinking of the old things, Mrs. Xu burst into tears, "Others have children at your age, but you…"

Xu Qingchuan hurriedly wiped her tears, "Mother, what are you talking about? I'm all into studying, and I don't even want to start a family. If you really make me marry an unsuitable person, it's not good for me."

Mrs. Xu found it right when she thought about it. Her son had a great future, and he really wanted to marry a good person.

Her emotions came and went quickly, and when she was coaxed, she burst into laughter, urging Xu Qingchuan to go back to the room to study.

…

Gu Yin and Mrs. Wang slept early that day, and woke up again in the middle of the night.

Gu Yin started to cook vegetable porridge. She first fried the chopped green vegetables with an appropriate amount of lard, and then boiled it with water.

When the porridge were in the pot, she started making steamed buns.

There were one hundred pieces of vegetable stuffing and fifty pieces of vegetable and meat stuffing. Every now and then, she had to adjust the fire in the stove.

Seeing her busy running around in the small kitchen, Mrs Wang said distressedly, "You just have to take care of it. I'll watch over the fire."

It was not that Gu Yin didn't believe her, but it was just that cooking porridge was simple, just boil it and keep it warm. But the porridge handed down by her family was different. What ingredients were used when and what kind of fire was very particular, and it was difficult.

Fortunately, after she finished wrapping the buns and the porridge was ready, Gu Yin finally sprinkled a handful of dried shrimp powder in the pot, and she was done.

After a busy day, the two of them arrived at the pier.

Lao Liutou arrived earlier than the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law. When he saw Gu Yin, he smiled at her first, then lowered his voice and said to her, "I was worried that you won't come today. How was yesterday? Your mother-in-law didn't embarrass you, right?"

Although Gu Yin and Mrs. Wang were acting, Lao Liutou's righteous help was not fake.

So Gu Yin smiled back, and while putting the table, chairs and benches, she replied, "Thank you for your concern. My mother is actually very good. Yesterday, she was impatient, so she got angry with me. After we went back, she didn't embarrass me but apologized to me."

Gu Yin tried her best to restore Mrs. Wang's image, but Lao Liutou didn't believe her.

If the mother-in-law just scolded her, it would be forgivable. But when she said that she would force her daughter-in-law to remarry an old man, how could she be as good as the little daughter-in-law said?

Lao Liutou sighed and shook his head, "No wonder your mother-in-law dares to bully you like that, your temper…"

While talking, more people came up to the pier one after another and the two of them stopped talking.

When there were many people, the first to come were the guests who could not eat wontons the day before.

They also thought the same as Lao Liutou. When they came, they first asked Gu Yin if she was embarrassed by her mother-in-law.

Gu Yin answered the same thing while making wontons.

The guests tacitly understood, and their thoughts were exactly the same as Lao Liutou.

Later, a few guests who remembered the previous day's excitement came over and walked around, and everyone was drooling when they smelled the scent of wontons.

But they were just drooling. For most people, a bowl of wontons for four cents was fine to try every once in a while, but it was still unaffordable to eat every day.

At that time, Mrs. Wang lifted the lids of the steamer and the porridge bucket, and shouted loudly, "The freshly boiled vegetable porridge, a big bowl for a cent! The new big steamed buns, meat for two, and vegetables for one cent!" She was up all night the day before, and her throat was hoarse. Now after taking a rest, her voice could be described as clear.

Other people's buns with plain stuffing on the pier were generally for less. Gu Yin's price was still a bit more expensive than others, but many people knew that her craftsmanship was superb, so it was no surprise.

And the price of the vegetable porridge was similar to other people's, even though they thought the buns were expensive, they were willing to choose to try her vegetable porridge.

The number of guests gradually increased. Mrs. Wang was quick in her hands and feet. She used wooden chopsticks to clamp the buns, and put them on the oiled paper and handed them to customers. She also came with a small bowl of steaming thick porridge soup. In the whole process, she did not let it touch her hands.

Who wanted to see their food handed out from hands with plaster on their fingernails? But there was no such a thing.

Mrs. Wang not only cleaned up properly, but also did not touch food with her hands during the whole process of selling food, so it was hard not to make people feel good. The guests who keow what happened a day before couldn't help but slander: This mother-in-law has a vicious temperament, but she is good at doing business.

But after they tasted the food, they didn't have time to think so much.

Needless to say, the buns were delicious, the small half bowl of porridge soup that was given was thick and greasy, salty and delicious, and fragrant. After a bowl, the people felt so comfortable.

If people who didn't feel full after eating buns tasted this porridge soup, they couldn't help but pay another penny to buy a bowl of porridge to eat.

The guests felt their stomachs and sighed with contentment. They couldn't help turning their heads to praise Gu Yin and said, "Little lady, this bun is really good, and the porridge soup is delicious too!"

"Yeah! This bun is also made of solid ingredients. I have a big appetite. Usually, I can eat only four or five buns. The little lady's bun is big, and with this porridge soup, it is not only comfortable to eat, but it didn't cost more than usual!"

Because of these compliments, Gu Yin's porridge and steamed buns became popular for a while.

However, in the end, the stalls were located in a biased position and the customer flow was small. Most of the people who came were people who had seen the lively scene the day before.

After half the morning, nearly twenty bowls out of the thirty bowls of the porridge prepared by Gu Yin had been sold. Half of the two flavors of buns were left, and the porridge was almost bottomed out.

Gu Yin made a calculation in her heart, the money she earned was no less than the day before, and her heart became more settled.

But Mrs. Wang was still impatient, and regardless of whether they make money or not, how could the farmers see food being wasted?

Although it was autumn, the sun was still very majestic, and the food made in the morning would go bad in the afternoon.

"Mother, don't worry." Gu Yin tugged at her sleeve, "We can have these for lunch."

"Our family can't finish eating all this stuff. Why don't we sell it cheaply in the afternoon?"

Gu Yin immediately shook her head, "The food will not be fresh in the afternoon, we can eat it by ourselves, if we let people eat it, we will lose more than we gain. And we can't make much money on this thing, we only earn hard money. If we sell it cheaply to others, people will feel that we have set a price that is a little more expensive than others. Besides, if they all know that we will sell at a low price in the afternoon, and the news spreads all over the place, then they will all be waiting for the afternoon to buy it."

"You're right. It would be great if we could act again." Mrs. Wang said sullenly, "Tell me, if I went to grab a fritter from Old Liu's stall, would he make trouble with me?"

"Mother!" Gu Yin was helpless.

"Hey, I know, I'm just saying."

Gu Yin stroked her back soothingly.

She had only been there for two days and had heard people say that the stalls on the pier were all looked after by the yamen, and the yamen was very close to that place. If anyone picked up quarrels or provoked troubles and reported them, they would be arrested within a quarter of an hour. As Xiao Erhei, who introduced them to the house before, said that the head of the yamen was unselfish, and the county magistrate respected him a lot.

They acted out conflicts within the family, and they didn't make too much trouble. They just said a few words and didn't do anything, so it didn't make a big fuss.

Suddenly someone sat down at the low table in their stall, slapped it hard, and said viciously, "Aren't you going to serve a bowl of wontons to me, the young master?!"

Gu Yin was stunned, while Mrs. Wang's whole body trembled slightly in excitement.

Ge Dalong was a man from Hanshan Town.

Eating, drinking, prostituting, gambling, that was all his hobbies, and he had no money.

Fortunately, his honest uncle and aunt set up a stall to sell food on the pier. Because they had set up stalls for a long time, they rented a very good location early, and the business had been booming. They didn't have any children, but they had this young, strong and generous nephew.

He could not only eat every day in the past, but also "help" to collect some money from the guests.

Relying on it, he had a very good life.

When he arrived at the pier as usual, he found that there were fewer people at the stalls of his uncle and aunt than usual.

He flipped over the steamer and took a steamed bun, and sat down at the table again, shouting, "Why are there so few people today? Uncle give me a bowl of noodles."

Aunt Ge couldn't get used to his appearance of eating for nothing, threw the things in her hand bitterly, and replied, "Our business can't be done, you are still here giving orders."

Uncle Ge gave her a hand, swiftly filled out a bowl of noodle soup, brought it to Ge Dalong and said, "You have soup first, and the noodles will be ready after a while."

Ge Dalong was shameless, so he didn't blame his aunt's attitude, "It's difficult to do business in this world, and my uncle and aunt are getting old. Why don't you transfer the stall and collect dozens of silver to support yourself?"

Aunt Ge glared at him and said nothing.

It was true that the couple were really old, and they couldn't do the work for too long. When the business was good, the oil cakes and steamed buns on the stall were often not enough to sell. Although they also invited people to help, they couldn't take apprentices at their age, and could only ask those who already knew some craftsmanship. But not to mention the high wages for those skilled in craftsmanship, how could they be willing to help people work for the rest of their life? It didn't take long before they set up their own stalls.

And the couple's stall was not transferable.

It was because they had a daughter back then, but when she was five or six years old, she was kidnapped by abductors.

At that time, their daughter knew that her parents set up a stall in the best position on the pier.

If they moved out, what if their daughter came back?

And with a rascal like Ge Dalong, if the stall were to be transferred, who would pay the transfer fee?

The husband and wife knew only to cook some food. Although their craftsmanship was good, they were not so good that they could earn a lot. It was really hard to say what would happen in the future without that stall.

Ge Dalong took a sip of the soup and then asked, "Uncle and aunt have set up this stall here for decades, why didn't people buy much?"

"It's because of a new mother-in-law and daughter-in-law. Yesterday, they sold wontons, and today they are selling porridge and steamed buns. All the people were full of praise, so our business will naturally be affected."

Aunt Ge deliberately exaggerated a bit.

That was good business for the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law, but it didn't affect them too much as it was an inconveniently located stall behind.

In fact, the bleak business was mainly due to the fact that there was a lot of work on the dock that day, and the coolie merchants were in a hurry, so most of them bought good food and ate noodles slowly.

In fact, the oil cakes and steamed buns had almost been sold out.

She just wanted to cry that she was poor. It was best to let Ge Dalong, the God of plague, help them in the stal!

Sure enough, Ge Dalong stopped eating as soon as he heard that.

He felt really anxious. He had already regarded his uncle and aunt's stall as his own. If their income was less, didn't it mean that he would earn less?

"Where are the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law who dare to steal the business? I will go to them!"

Uncle Ge hurriedly grabbed him and persuaded him, "Don't you know the rules of this place? You're going to get into the yamen for causing trouble!"

Ge Dalong took his hand away carelessly, "I know what you mean, but it takes a quarter of an hour for people to come from the yamen. Is it not enough time to deal with them for me?"

He was used to being stingy in town, and he was more familiar when he entered the jail than when he came home.

However, the trouble he caused every time was not that big. Every time he was beaten, he would come out after two or three days.

So he wasn't too afraid of going to jail, so he swaggered away after saying that.

Uncle Ge stomped his feet in sorrow, turned his head and saw the old wife also put on a sad look, complaining, "Now you know what will happen? Our Ge family has only this son, and if something happens, I would be ashamed to see my parents!"

Aunt Ge really regretted it, but what she thought was completely different from her husband's- This scumbag didn't come out of her stomach.

It was just that the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law were innocent. Especially the little daughter-in-law who was embarrassed by the evil mother-in-law, how could she withstand Ge Dalong's bullying?!

How could she feel at ease by implicating innocent people?

People came to the stall one after another, and Aunt Ge greeted them, but she still had this matter in her mind, so she took off her apron, shoved it into Uncle Ge's hand, and hurriedly chased out.

Ge Dalong didn't spend much time finding Gu Yin's stall.

Their stall was deserted, but Ge Dalong inquired about it, and there was no one who didn't give a thumbs up for everything they had eaten there.

So he didn't think much about it, he sat down at the low table, slapped the table and said, "Aren't you going to serve a bowl of porridge to me, the young master?!"

Hearing the sound, Mrs. Wang quickly nudged Gu Yin.

She was also very thoughtful. He looked fierce, what if she was scared away directly? hER daughter-in-law was tender and soft, and it was easy to be bullied.

Gu Yin glanced at her helplessly, and replied, "On it."

She went to the pot.

Ge Dalong first saw her white fingers fluttering as tender as spring onions, and then looked at her face.

Looking at her, he couldn't help but admire her beauty.

But if she looked good, he couldn't eat it. It was still his uncle and aunt's money that matters!

A bowl was quickly brought to the table. Ge Dalong had already prepared his belly, but as soon as he ate, the deliciousness exploded on the tip of his tongue.

He devoured it. The wind was blowing, and the expression on his face changed every time he took a bite, and it tasted delicious.

There were even people who stopped for a while because of his hungry appearance, and then increased Gu Yin's business.

After a bowl, Ge Dalong remembered that he hadn't done his business yet.

He put down the bowl reluctantly, slapped the table and scolded, "Bah! It's really unpalatable! It's so unpalatable and you dare to sell it for money? Only a fool would eat your stuff!"

Gu Yin was speechless.

Really speechless, shouldn't these kinds of provocative words be said after the first bite?

And if he wanted to scold but couldn't keep his eyes off the little half bowl of porridge, what did it mean?

She stood still, but Mrs. Wang thought she was afraid, so she jumped out from behind her and scolded back, "Why is it so bad? Whoever has eaten it on the pier is full of praise. It's just you who has a different opinion!"

Mrs. Wang's loud voice brought Ge Dalong back to his soul. He stood up and replied, "Everyone else is full of praise, I'm afraid they're the people you've brought!"

Neither of the two let the other win the argument, and the fight was about to break.

The crowd in front of the stall soon increased again.

There was even someone who knew what happened the day before and said, "This wicked mother-in-law was very majestic when she bullied her daughter-in-law yesterday! I didn't know there would be more wicked people today."

"It's unpalatable, and you've eaten the whole bowl?" Mrs. Wang pointed to the big bowl on the low table, "I'm afraid if it was a little later, you would have licked it clean!"

Ge Dalong was ashamed, "I was so hungry all morning! It is unpalatable!"

"I think you came to fight on purpose, didn't you?"

Ge Dalong slapped the table, first smashed the bowl on the table, and smashed the table with another punch.

"What if I did it on purpose? Let me advise you. I take care of the stalls on the pier, so take things seriously. If not, then your end will be like this table of yours!"

Mrs. Wang sneered, then pushed him away, punched the other end of the table, and smashed the one-inch table across!

"Do you have the guts to say it again?" Mrs. Wang looked at him aggressively.

Ge Dalong was stunned. He never thought that the skinny-looking Mrs. Wang would have such strength.

He was stunned, and suddenly there was a burst of warm applause from the crowd.

Especially some coolies, whoever had the most strength in their profession would be the bull.

Mrs. Wang proudly raised her chin, and then said to Ge Dalong, "I'll take a look at you again!"

"I, I…" Ge Dalong took two steps back without realizing it, and turned around to see that many people were watching the excitement. If he escaped from the battle with a middle-aged woman, wouldn't he be ashamed to come to the pier?

He was extremely embarrassed, his face turned the color of pig liver, and his fists the size of sandbags creaked.

At that moment, two from the yamen passed through the crowd.

As soon as the leader came, he shouted, "Ge Dalong, why is it you again?!"

When Ge Dalong saw him, he was like a mouse seeing a cat. He rubbed his hands together and said with a smile, "Sir Li, why are you here in person?"

That fair and tender face was less than twenty years old, but they all knew that he was Guan Chutou's apprentice raised since childhood, and Lei Ting's methods were exactly the same as him. One had to pick their tail up and be a man.

Sir Li frowned and said, "Is that your concern? What's going on today?"

"It's okay, I didn't do anything!" Ge Dalong shook his head frantically, "I just didn't like their food, so I shouted."

Sir Li's eyes fell on the table board that was punched with a big hole, and he said suspiciously, "Do you call this 'did nothing'?"

Ge Dalong immediately explained, "I slapped the table, this woman broke through it herself!"

Sir Li's eyes did not fall on Mrs. Wang.

Even though Mrs. Wang's confrontation with Ge Dalong was not at all timid, but she got frightened when she saw the official, and at that time, she didn't dare to say a word.