in spring

Chapter 7
Widow Cui is about [-] years old, with fair skin, slightly frowning eyebrows, with a bit of melancholy and poignant beauty.She looks quite beautiful, and it can be seen that she must have been an eye-catching beauty ten years ago. It's just that years of poverty have made her face pale and haggard, but her eyebrows and eyes are still beautiful.She has a thin figure, wearing a moon white dress, with a slender waist, and standing with her daughter, she looks like sisters from a distance, which makes people feel a little bit of pity.

Her face was as pale as a piece of paper, and she timidly reached out and pulled her daughter's sleeve: "Man'er..." The girl from the Cui family ignored her, and pulled back her sleeve vigorously, staring at the man in front of her, coldly Said: "Take the things away! We don't need them!"

The man muttered something in his mouth, bent down to pick up the small package and put it away, then stole a glance at Widow Cui, his face full of resignation: "It's not the first time, I know you got a job in the mansion." The errand is just a little girl, do you need to put on airs like this? When you go in, I don't know who will be cheaper!"

The face of the girl from the Cui family was flushed, and she stretched out her hand to pick up the broom by the door, and was about to greet the man. Widow Cui gave a low cry, and wanted to stop her, but she paused for a moment, but turned her head and covered her face with a handkerchief. burst into tears.

Seeing Lu Yougui in the house, he hurriedly turned to open the door, but his wife stopped him: "What do you care about other people's business?! Be careful of being gossiped!" Lu's mother shoved her son into his hand, and slammed the door behind her. He urged his daughter again: "Don't look at it, don't look at it, you will rot your eyes!"

Chunying was driven away from the window by her, but she still couldn't hide her curiosity. While she was turning around to pack her things, she moved to the side of the kang, opened the window a little, and peeked out secretly.

In the yard, the man had already been beaten several times, and he was annoyed: "You little whore, you are the same as your mother! You have collected so many things from me, and as soon as you climbed up the high branch, you will turn your back if you say it! There is something to do tomorrow. Come to me, don't think about me talking to you again!"

After hearing this, the girl from the Cui family beat people with all her might. Guanshi Liu in the north house didn't look like she was there, opened the door and rushed out to snatch the broom in her hand, persuading: "Enough! He went crazy after drinking, you What are you doing with his common knowledge?!" Then he turned around and scolded the man: "Go away?! Be careful your father knows!"

The man was unconvinced and wanted to scold again, but when he heard him mention the word "daddy", he immediately shrunk a bit, secretly looked at him and saw that everyone around him was looking at him, he couldn't help but hate and regret, so he had to throw a sentence at Cui's mother and daughter He said cruelly: "Wait for me!" and left in a hurry.

Guanshi Liu threw down the broom and looked back at Widow Cui. Seeing that she was crying out of breath, he couldn't help feeling sorry for her. Save some face for your mother. Otherwise, what will you tell her to do when you enter the mansion?"

The Cui family girl's face turned pale, her eye circles were red, she looked at Guanshi Liu with tears in her eyes, and said, "Uncle Liu..."

Guanshi Liu sighed again, and was about to say something to her, when he heard his wife's voice behind him: "Master, it's getting late, we should go out too." He looked back, and his wife was standing with their children In the back, the eyes were looking back and forth at the mother and daughter of the Cui family, and they all looked a little unkind.Feeling guilty, he casually comforted Cui's girl and left with his family.

The girl from the Cui family wiped away the tears on her face, raised her head, and met Shang Chunying's eyes. Chunying hurriedly retracted her head and closed the window. After a while, she heard the sound of the Cui family's mother and daughter closing the door. Look out the window, the courtyard is quiet.

Chunying turned her head, thoughtful.It seems that the little girl from the Cui family who has no idea is in a bad situation.

Over there, Mother Lu had already scolded her husband: "See? You wouldn't believe what I said in the past, but now that people have come to your door, it shows that I didn't lie. Don't say that I hate other people's good looks." !"

Lu Yougui was a little embarrassed, but forced himself to be stubborn: "It's just a bastard who got drunk and made trouble." Seeing his wife's angry face, he said in a low voice: "Forget it, it's not easy for her to be unemployed as a widow."

"That's what she asked for!" Mother Lu glared at him, "If you can't keep it up, just marry again, and no one stopped her. When Cui Da died, his girl was only four or five years old, and Mr. Wang even came to see her in person. Asked if she would like to arrange someone for her to help her, but she herself declined. Now, instead of being clear with the nephew of the Wang family, she still acts like a good woman all day long, bah, who doesn't know who she is? What kind of stuff?! Don't send the things at home again, or I will never end with you!"

Lu Yougui reluctantly said: "She also can't let go of her daughter, so she doesn't want to live a good life by herself. Cui Da got along well with the rest of us that day, so let's take care of his daughter."

"Still looking after?" Lu's mother sneered, "Now my own daughter is almost lost, we can't afford to take care of her!" Seeing her husband's face looking sour, she reluctantly said: "Cui's girl has a serious job now, and we won't be needed in the future." Don’t worry about troublesome things. I know you get along well with Cui Da, but his wife has a bad reputation, so be careful if others put you on the list, how can I and my children meet people at that time?!”

Lu Yougui was stiffened by what she said, so he reluctantly nodded.Lu's mother turned around with a smile on her face and went to rummage through the suitcase, found two half-worn white silk jackets, and threw one of the smaller ones to Chunying: "Put it away, and put it on when I go out tonight." .”

Chunying caught it in a hurry, feeling a little strange in her heart.Isn't it taboo to wear white clothes during Chinese New Year?However, the material and workmanship of the clothes are very good, and there is very elegant and delicate plum blossom embroidery on the neckline, and there are a few small places on the cuffs and underarms where you can see the traces of modification.She asked, "Mom, did you do this?"

"This is a dress that my aunt never wore before. I gave it to me before I got married. I made yours smaller. Come here and try some silk flowers." Mother Lu absent-mindedly answered her daughter's question, and picked the clothes from the bottom of the suitcase. He dug out a small wooden box, put it on the table and opened it. There were a dozen bright and delicate silk flowers or piles of yarn flowers on one side, and gold and silver jewelry on the other side.Chunying looked over curiously, and counted a dozen or so silver hairpins, four or five of which were inlaid with jade or coral, and several gold ones, four pairs of gold and silver bracelets, five or six pairs of ear pendants, among which There is a pair of pearls the size of a small fingernail, exuding a warm and soft light, inlaid on a base made of twisted gold wire.

Chunying was secretly surprised, isn't this family very poor?Why does mom have so many jewelry? !
Mother Lu picked up the pair of pearl pendants, looked at them again and again, sighed, and put them down anyway.Seeing you, Lu Yougui asked, "Auntie gave you the pair? Why don't you wear them?"

"Forget it, if it gets lost on the road, I'll be so heartbroken." Mama Lu took some gold and silver hairpins and a pair of gold bracelets, but skipped the ones inlaid with jade and coral, and changed to a pair of earrings.She combed her hair again, inserted those hairpins, and added two red piles of gauze flowers. Looking left and right, she was still a little dissatisfied: "It's a pity that they are all gilded. If they are real gold, they should be How nice?" While talking, he glanced at her husband, Lu Yougui didn't know if he hadn't heard, and tried hard to coax his son away.

Chunying was still staring at the jewelry, thinking that even if it wasn't real gold, it would still be worth a lot, right?Suddenly, a pink silk flower appeared from the side: "Take it and try it."

She took the silk flower, looked in the mirror, and inserted it in the middle of the hair ring where the red string was tied, always feeling a little weird.She asked her mother, "What are we doing here? Are we dressed up to see the lights?"

Lu's mother gave her a sideways look with a smile: "Fool, of course you are suffering from all kinds of diseases!"

After some explanation from her mother, Chunying finally figured out that this "walking all kinds of diseases" actually means that a group of women go for a walk across the bridge hand in hand. Married women will even touch the copper nails on the city gate to pray Give birth to a boy.Around the Lantern Festival, from the eighth day to the seventeenth and eighth day, there are people going there.All the sons and daughters of the Hou Mansion who have no serious errands or are not on duty will not be able to get the Lantern Festival and rewards given by the masters of the mansion, so they will go out on the night of the fifteenth day.

As soon as it was dark, Lu's mother eagerly urged Chunying to get dressed, and pickily changed her into a pink gauze flower in the shape of a spring peach, and the whole family went out together.When passing by the house of Cui's house, Chunying faintly heard a woman crying inside, and her feet slowed down, the old lady had already glared at her, so she could only follow quickly.

This is the first time Chunying walked out of the courtyard after crossing, and it feels very fresh.Outside the gate is a road about ten feet wide, with many courtyard gates on both sides, and lights shine through the gates.The right side is dark and it is not clear what it is, but the left side is brightly lit.The Lu family couple walked to the left talking and laughing, and Chunying followed behind, carefully inquiring about the situation of this street.

It turns out that this is the back street of the Hou Mansion in Qingguo. Half of the courtyards on the street are occupied by the servants of the Hou Mansion, and the other half are not outsiders, but belong to the same family as the masters of the Hou Mansion. No, some people are not as good as servants, they can only rely on the autumn wind in the Hou's mansion, barely get by, sometimes in order to ask to see the master of the mansion, they even have to laugh with decent servants and maids to please.

Furthermore, this Li family was originally a scholarly family, and generations of descendants have paid attention to "everything is low-grade, only reading is high". They had no choice but to find their own way out. If they were lucky, they would find a school or work as an accountant. If they were unlucky, they would go into business by themselves.

After hearing this, Chunying gained a new understanding of the environment she was in. Just as she was thinking about how useful this information would be to her, she suddenly heard her mother shout happily: "Purple fish? Is it a purple fish?!"

Looking up, I saw not far ahead, among several daughters-in-law who were chatting and laughing together, a woman in purple in her 30s turned around with a surprised face: "Red carp! Oh, it's been a long time. !"

Mother Lu left her husband and children and ran towards her. The daughter-in-law named "Purple Fish" also held her hand excitedly: "It's been four or five years since we last met. How are you doing?"

"Okay, I'm fine." Mother Lu wiped her tears, "How soon did you come back? Why didn't you send a letter?"

"I just arrived yesterday. My man brought a gift of filial piety from the village. He kowtowed to the elders on the way. I just met my relatives today, so I haven't had time to look for you yet." Zi Yu looked at Mama Lu up and down. With tears in her eyes, "Why did you lose so much weight?"

A daughter-in-law next to her asked curiously: "Sister-in-law Lu, are you acquaintances with sister-in-law Lu?"

"Of course they are acquaintances." Ziyu smiled, "We worked together as children when we were young, but we separated after we both got married." She looked behind Mother Lu: "Is that your second daughter? Have a kid? Where's Brother Xia?"

"No, it's because I have no fate with him." Mother Lu forced a smile, "Where's your kid? Why didn't you bring it?"

Ziyu's eyes were red: "It's in the village. How could Brother Xia..." Mother Lu couldn't help but want to cry.

Lu Yougui was ten steps away from her, seeing this, he hurriedly said: "Why are you crying? It's a big festival, be careful to be seen by the housekeeper's wife!"

Only then did Mother Lu stop her tears, and ordered Chunying to come over to greet her, and then brought her son over to show her old friend, and then asked: "Since you are back, you are the leader?"

"I almost can't recognize the way, it's my sister-in-law leading the way." Ziyu turned around and smiled at the just-in-law, "Let's just follow her."

The daughter-in-law Yu Jia had a smile on her face: "Leave it to me! I know where the lights are the best, and I also know delicious and cheap Lantern Festival stalls. Let's go, let's look at the lights first!"

As soon as she beckoned, a large group of people gathered around with a huff, twenty or thirty of them, which startled Chunying.These people, old and young, men and women, all bustlingly followed behind Yu's house, heading west.Chunying followed the crowd and listened to their discussion, saying that today they are going to the Lantern Market on Yibei Street outside Dong'anmen.A young man walking beside her has already been there before, talking about the unique styles of lanterns in the lantern market, such as jade rabbit lanterns, dragon and phoenix lanterns, flower lanterns, bee butterfly lanterns, tiger head lanterns, revolving horse lanterns... the words are endless. Splashing, scaring the children around for a moment.Chunying carefully avoided the area where his saliva sprayed out, and unknowingly reached the edge of the team.

Suddenly a cart rushed over, and the owner was still yelling: "Get out of the way!" Seeing that it was about to hit her, Chunying hurriedly avoided, and when the cart passed by, the team was already more than ten meters away from her .From a distance, she saw her father hugging her younger brother and listening to the boy talking about lanterns, while her mother was holding Ziyu's hand and chatting non-stop. A man reeking of alcohol rushed out of the room and bumped into her.

She jumped to the side, and saw that the man was a young man, drunk, squinting at her unsteadily, and said with a smile: "Little girl, pour me another glass of wine..." His hand was still on her body Touching, Chunying hurriedly avoided.

Two more men rushed out of the restaurant and dragged the man back desperately. One of them, a young man with two beards, cupped his hands at Chunying: "Little girl, are you okay? My friend drank too much for a while, I hope I didn't scare you." looking at you."

With the light from the restaurant, Chunying saw that the man was handsome, but his mustache looked very mature.But she still couldn't help muttering in her heart, this person looks at least 30 or [-] years old, why is his skin so fair and supple, it's almost comparable to the girl from Cui's family?

(Sorry for the late update! >_<)

(End of this chapter)